Why do people donate their blood to institutions such as the blood bank? If you are the donor, you will never know whether a right-winger will receive your blood. If you are the donee, you won't know whether a right-winger's blood just saved your life.
Perhaps the answer is obvious: the issue becomes irrelevant and it does not matter who you are or whose blood you are receiving when you are in a life threatening situation and in desperate need of blood.
People have much in common with one another. But capitalism encourages individualism and self-interest; we are coaxed to believe that we are only in this world for ourselves and our individual benefit and that these are somehow different to and above everyone else's.
Yet, we see altruistic behaviour around all the time. In the past year of natural disasters millions of people donated generously to charities, and donated their own blood to save others' lives.
The logical explanation is that there must be something we all have in common. The least we have in common is that we all need blood to live.
The most beautiful thing about this is that, boiled down to its essentials, there is something that unites people. In this case it is blood, because without blood there can be no life.
The determination to live is one thing we all have in common. Really, we are all fighting for this same thing.
If only people could see that this is what socialism is all about. Socialism is about ensuring that all people, not just you, have a life.
If people can freely give their blood to aid others, why are they so scared of an egalitarian society?
Leyal Aksu
From Green Left Weekly, February 8, 2006.
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