It all boils down to fear of death

I CAN boil down my own college study of Marxism, socialism, communism, and capitalism, and 15 years of post-college back-burner thinking about it, to this:

1. Capitalism is an economic system based on competition. This disadvantages people who are less able to compete.

2. Socialism and communism are economic systems based on cooperation. They disadvantage people who are more able to compete.

3. We compete because we're all afraid of dying, and so we instinctively hoard resources, even when we don't need to, in order to further stave off the threat of death, real or imagined.

4. Until, as a species, our intellects can overcome our instincts, we're all in real trouble.

5. Therefore, thinking is important, and you should do more of it.

STEVE LINBERG
Amherst