The Daily Reveille
Opinion
page 8
SCUM OF THE GIRTH
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Communism in China won’t survive against power of greed Last week, the BBC reported China now has more than one million millionaires. With a total population of 1.3 billion, that means roughly 1 out of every 1,300 Chinese citizens is at least a millionaire. According to the CIA World Factbook, China is a communist state. In a communist state, the general idea is to put everyone on an even keel. Theoretically, under communism each person would have a job to benefit the group as a whole. Under true communism, everyone is equal. Everyone makes the same amount of money, and if everyone is equal and making the same amount of money, theoretically there should be no jealousy or envy, and peace and harmony would prevail. Everything sounds better in theory doesn’t it?
Communism never happens as it’s supposed to. Prior to the rise of communism in Russia, the vast majority of people lived in poverty. The fall of the Russian aristocracy and the rise of communism promised change and bet- Parker Cramer Columnist ter lives for the Russian people. However, life under the Soviet Union was no different. They just swapped one dictator for another. The same thing happened in Cuba. Fidel Castro overthrew a U.S. backed dictator in Cuba and promised better lives for his people. He didn’t follow through either. Castro assumed absolute power until a few years ago when
he became ill and handed the country over to his brother. As for bettering the lives of his people, a 1955 Buick is considered a new car in Cuba. The problem with communism is the communist. Communism looks like a decent system on paper, but it never works out that way because greed is part of human nature. Greed is a survival instinct. I’ll prove it to you. Imagine you’re starving in the middle of the desert. Miraculously, you stumble across a Caniac with a large sweet tea. There’s 4 other people with you that you don’t know. What are you going to do? Let the others eat all the delicious Cane’s and leave you with a cup of sauce to lick? No, you’re going to be greedy and get what you need to survive. Greed is why communism fails. You have a country in which
the majority of the population is poor while the communist leaders are living in luxury. The people lose faith in the system — which causes the system to collapse. With a million millionaires living in China, the hundreds of millions who live in poverty are going to notice the brand new Bentleys and Ferraris rolling through Beijing — and they are going to want one, too. From an American perspective, they have an oppressive government. They also have a very rich elite. If one out of every 1,300 is a millionaire, the other 1,299 are not — a sure sign of disaster. Communism will fail in China just as it has failed elsewhere. Last year Fidel Castro said, “The Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore.” He later withdrew that statement. The fact of the matter is that
when a population is comprised of mostly lower class or poverty stricken people who are controlled by a government that tells them they can’t ever be as rich as the man in the Bentley and they have to farm for the rest of their lives, it will lead to rebellion. The current system of China calling themselves communist while a small minority of their population lives lavishly will not last. The masses will wise up. There may not be a complete overthrow of the government, but reform is coming. That is a certainty. Parker Cramer is a 20-year-old animal sciences junior from Houston, Texas. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_pcramer. Contact Parker Cramer at pcramer@lsureveille.com
VIEW FROM ANOTHER SCHOOL
National Election Day would increase voter participation Atticus Bringham
Washington Square News
NEW YORK CITY (U-WIRE) — Regardless of who wins next year’s presidential election, the majority of Americans eligible to vote will not vote for the winning candidate. Given the intensity of public discourse and the enormous impact the executive branch, low levels of involvement cannot be said to stem from apathy or lack of an incentive. Yet every election cycle, Americans fail to turn up at the polls, allowing for increased centralization of political power among incumbents and the interests that support them. An electoral process in which so many do not participate is a weakened form of democracy. While voting is accessible to almost all, in reality higher-income Americans are better represented than our poorer countrymen and women at the polls. According to exit polls taken by CNN after the 2008 elections, people making over $150,000 a year represented 8.3 percent of the country’s population but 12 percent of the voting population. By contrast, those making under $15,000 a year made up 13 percent of the population but
merely 6 percent of voters. This disparity has logistical causes. Though poorer Americans have as much at stake (in the form of federal assistance), they are less likely to vote because of challenges such as taking time off from work and finding affordable transportation on Election Day. While some would like to increase voter turnout by implementing a system of compulsory suffrage, similar to the one currently in place in Australia, I believe that practice infringes on Americans’ rights to express their disapproval of the political process through non-participation. Instead, an effective way to increase civic participation (an integral aspect of any government calling itself a democracy) would simply be to make Election Day a national holiday. Making Election Day a national holiday would underscore the importance our society attributes to voting, reminding all that the purpose of the day is to focus on choosing who should represent their values in government. In addition, we need universal Election Day registration to enable more citizens to exercise their voting rights. If the addition of another holiday to the federal calendar worries some about another loss of
The Daily Reveille Editorial Board
Steven Powell Stephanie Giglio Adam Vaccarella
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Multimedia Editor
productivity, Election Day could be moved to the second Tuesday of November and be combined with Veterans Day. This day might then emphasize the importance of civic involvement while honoring those who have fought to protect our right to it. Though the wealthy will always exercise undue influence in
our electoral process through unlimited campaign donations now equated with “First Amendment free speech,” making Election Day a national holiday would increase popular participation. As the results of NYU’s student elections come in and Republicans begin to announce their presidential bids, let’s think
of how we can strengthen grassroots democracy. This reform would help Americans realize the egalitarian principles codified in our founding documents.
Contact The Daily Reveille’s opinion staff at opinion@lsureveille.com
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Quote of the Day “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”
Neil Peart drummer, musician Sept. 12, 1952 — present