The
hate and distrust that exists in society today is a direct result of
the nature of societies past and present. A society in which we must
compete to survive, in which our jobs are threatened by other workers,
in which we do not feel secure, is fertile breeding ground for racism,
sexism, nationalism and all the other hatreds that abound.
Even
today, while this hatred is sometimes used to pit one worker against
another, it appears that overall, these hatreds are being rooted out
and made socially unacceptable. This is particularly noticeable in
countries like South Africa where there is a shortage of white workers,
and black workers must be brought into previously "white" workplaces
without the major disruption that is caused by overt racism.
No
society can meet our human needs as long as there are different classes
of people. Every person has abilities that differentiate them from
others, but we are all equal in our humanity. We all have strengths and
weaknesses. What we need is a society that allows us to use our
strengths, and that accepts and accommodates our weaknesses.
Socialism
will be a society geared to meeting human needs, and the need to be
accepted for what we are is probably the most basic of human needs.
When the breeding ground for these hatreds has disappeared, people will
naturally be able to eradicate them with all the other negative
leftovers of capitalism.