Why I’m a communist
Akilesh Perera, Preston
Coming from Sri Lanka, a ‘developing’ (i.e. exploited) country, I have never seen a time when people were happy with their lives.
I have seen kids my age begging and people dying because they could not access necessities. Politics was always seen as a joke, and politicians as criminals.
I thought coming to a developed, ‘first world’ country like Britain would be better: people would be happier, and things would be better. People are perhaps even less happy here.
Which got me thinking: is it a systemic problem?
It was at freshers when I met the communists. Walking back to my dorm I saw a big red banner with the words ‘Revolutionary Communist Party’ etched onto it. I thought to myself, “communism, in this day and age?”
I had never even seen the word ‘communist’ outside of my history books. But here they were in front of me – actual communists – so I thought I’d ask them a few questions, they invited me to a meeting on the genocide in Gaza.
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The meeting I attended that day changed the way in which I viewed the genocide and all wars in general.
Wars have never benefited us normal people. The only beneficiaries of war are the imperialist nations and their ruling classes.
The interests of normal people – the proletariat, the masses, the members of society that actually run society – will never ever align with the interests of the ruling class, and that is exactly why we must build a party that will fight for our class.
The meeting I attended that day made me conclude that the only logical way we would ever live in a future that we could enjoy is through a socialist revolution.
I have been a member of the Party for almost six months now and I can confidently say becoming a communist was probably one of the best decisions I have made.
I am frustrated with the world. I hate that we prioritise profits over people, that we exploit the most vulnerable and that we have abundance in this world but so many go without. I want to be part of a revolutionary movement that genuinely works towards change.
Jamie H, Houston, Scotland
I have spent the last 30 odd years working in social housing. I was born into a poor working class household and still have family who struggle to get by.
I have witnessed the impacts of successive governments upon the poorest in our society and despair of the lack of willingness or ability of mainstream parties to address the unfairness I have witnessed.
Having considered myself a socialist for a long time, I find myself now, more attracted to communism and the need for real and radical change.
John W, Laurencekirk
Although I’m just turning 16, for years of my life I’ve been passionate about wanting to make change in this world for the better.
All my life I’ve lived in poverty, which amongst other things has radicalised me at a young age.
I do not want to see a future in which people are suffering due to the gargantuan greed of the rich; I do not want to see a future in which people are forced to hide their identity or are treated unfairly for what they cannot control; I want to see a world without pollution and with equality for all.
I believe that all issues in this world originate from capitalism. Inequality stems from the rich dividing and ruling. Climate change comes from selfish corporations trying to find ways to increase their profits without care for the effect this brings on the rest of us.
All of these things can change if a different form of economic policy is put into action.
I desperately want to make a change in this world.
Angel E, Leicester
Capitalism and militarism have driven the world to its knees. Something needs to change and action needs to be taken before it’s too late. Billions of pounds is hoarded by the rich or pumped into the arms race.
Working people have been subjugated for far too long by a succession of increasingly oppressive regimes. Israel’s destruction of Gaza and the wider Palestinian nation is a crime against humanity perpetrated in plain sight.
Michael W, Yorkshire
In many ways I’m ashamed that it’s taken the imminent collapse of the world for me to finally click some buttons on the internet but better late than never.
I am unsure if there will be an inhabitable world left by the time I’m an old man. What I do know is that either I see the collapse of capitalism in my lifetime or the collapse of the planet. I grow more sure of this by the day.
And while the Mark Fisher-esque pessimism within me will tell me that it’s the latter, I’d rather have tried and been unsuccessful than done nothing when I could have helped.
So I’m ready to help.
Sam S, Bath
I’ve been thinking about joining for a while now. I share the principles of the party, and I don’t see how any other party is going to make significant change for this country.
With Labour having betrayed the people time and time again, I’ve been pushed further and further left and I’ve found people who actually care about the working class.
I’d love to get organised and help any way I can to further the party and its goals. It’s the only way I see this country changing for the better.
Ivory Conroy, Blyth
Blame the boomers? Blame the bankers
Ben Cownley, Manchester
Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey, is blaming Britain’s elderly for why the British economy is in a horrible state.
This unelected lord of British bankers with a 500K salary believes that the British state retirement pension is unaffordable and unsustainable.
The state pension is already not enough for most old people. £221 per week is already below a liveable amount, yet Bailey thinks it must be lowered or that the age of retirement must go up… again.
The British state retirement pension is one of the least generous in Europe and now British capitalism demands that the elderly sacrifice even more than they already have.
The reality is pensions would not be a problem had the British capitalists been properly investing into infrastructure and productivity.
If productivity was kept up, you could get more for less; it wouldn’t matter if there were less people working due to age. If infrastructure were maintained, bills would be lower so pension pay-out would stretch further.
But British capitalists have neglected their historic role of reinvestment, there’s no way to profit off increases in productivity or public projects. All their money is going to businesses abroad or into speculation.
Andrew Bailey has no right to talk about old workers draining the state budget. The real problem are the old bosses and bankers that he aids. These are the real old people responsible for breaking the Britain economy. They are the ones to blame, not us.
“We will continue to fight…”
Redhead
I am writing this letter amidst large protests in Türkiye which have been barely covered in the media.
The Erdoğan regime has arrested nearly 1500 people, including opposition politicians, academics, journalists and the youth, including a raid on Middle East Technical University, which has been a target of the police for years for their militant resistance.
Protesters detained by police are stripped and beaten, with women being kicked between their legs and sexually assaulted.
The brutality of the regime – answering protesters’ calls for peace with pepper spray, rubber bullets, tear gas, batons and water cannons – is matched only by the contempt that the youth have for it, with young men doing push-ups under fire from rubber bullets.
The youth of Türkiye will continue to fight. We might lose blood, but we don’t lose hope. When we were fighting in the Independence War against the western mandate and imperialism, we proved to the world that we can face death for our freedom.
I would like to finish with a quote by Nazım Hikmet, a Turkish poet who was declared a traitor and communist sympathiser:
“Bir gün güneş herkese eşit doğacak.
Ama o günleri göremesek de,
Bir umuttur yaşamak.
One day the sun will rise equally for all of us,
Even if we don’t live long enough for that day.”
