Open Source: USE IT!

The open source community creates free (for the most part) software. Very few people, however, are aware these things exist and instead they fuel capitalism by buying software from the likes of Microsoft or some other corporations. In my opinion, open source is the most communist thing the world has going for it. The community consists of people who enjoy what they do so much that they would do it for free or let their code be seen by any one and everyone.

People have a lot of misconceptions of Linux. Most people think that you have to type in everything in order to get it to work. However, if you get the right distributions it can be as simple as Windows. I use Fedora Core 3 and I found it rather simple to learn. There are something you need to learn about Linux, such as installing non-RPM programs and getting your printer to work. For those of you who would like to try Linux, but don't want to install it you should try PHLAK or Knoppix - both are Linux distros that are bootable from a CD. If you have any questions, I can answer them at DCH.Bokk@gmail.com.

Not only does the open source community offer OS's, they also offer other types of software. For those of you who use MS Office, OpenOffice is similar - and free. MS Word also has a free and good replacement, AbiWord. If there's software that costs money, there is probably someone who made the same thing and is distributing it for free. For more open source (free) software, visit SourceForge.net.

The Evils of Capitalism

To quote Albert Einstein, "The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil." If you would like to read more about what he has to say read: "Why Socialism?"

One would wonder why it is anyone would want to move away from capitalism in favor of a different type of economic system . Currently, the US is ranked number one in GDP. Capitalism, on the outside seems to be working extremely well. However, when you look at the people in the country and it's wealth distribution, you will soon see why it isn't such an ideal economic system.

In America, one out of every five children live in poverty. One out of six children go to bed unnourished. How can it be that the wealthiest nation cannot supply it's weakest citizens, children, with enough food? The problem infact is that the vast majority of the wealth is polarized towards a small minority who are constantly striving to get more.

Americans tend to work more than our European counterparts. Not only do we work more, but we also have a higher poverty rate than most European countries. The minimum wage has stayed stagnant at $5.15 since 1997, while the living standards rose. The large corporations will not pay more because that will cut into their profits, so our third class citizens must suffer so the higher ups can become more wealthy.

Every once in a while we're told about the "trickle down" effect. The government gives tax breaks to big companies claiming that the money will trickle and create more jobs. However, this practice, in theory, sounds like a good idea, but never works. The top executives, in turn, will use the money as a bonus for themselves and rarely use it to create more jobs. If anything is trickling down, it's their urine.

700,000 Americans are homeless and of those are families that work full or part time jobs. No matter how hard some people try, they're doomed to remain at the bottom. Harvard studies show that people are not free to move up in life, the ones at the bottom tend to remain at the bottom. Capitalism makes people believe that if they work hard, they can become rich. However, for those whom weren't already born into a propelled family, have a far greater difficulty. The "American Dream" is just that, a dream.

Sources:
GDP:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html
Children Poverty: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/002484.html
Homeless:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050226/ap_on_re_us/24_hours_with_the_homeless

Socialism - What is it?

For those of you whom aren't aware of what socialism is; it's a form of government in which every civilian is equal. Our current class system is completely demolished and there is no private property, the land belongs to everyone. Some claim that this system is a utopian form of government and will never work. However, I don't believe that and in future postings, you will see why.