Rick Nagin: Is Socialism Possible?

Given the unprecedented economic, political and military power of the U.S. ruling class, it may seem like a pipedream to believe that working people can ever take over.

And yet, there are good reasons to believe the foundations of this colossus may not be that strong.

First, the natural evolution of capitalism, in which the big fish eat up the small fish, has channeled an unbelievable concentration of wealth into the hands of an extremely tiny group. Only 1% of the population now owns just over half of all stocks and bonds and the richest 5% of the population holds 60% of all the wealth in our country.

In reality, there are a few thousand families with hundreds of millions and billions of dollars in assets who control the main banking, finance, manufacturing, extraction, media, communications, transport, aerospace and real estate corporations.

Second, the corporate system which has nowhere been more successful than in our country, has clearly failed to guarantee basic necessities of life - jobs, health care, housing, education - to the workers and people. In fact, the system is in crisis. The Wall Street meltdown, massive unemployment, stagnant wages, fierce repression of unions, endless wars and a growing, life-threatening environmental crisis have led millions of Americans to question the entire system of corporate power.

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