In Praise of the Socialism of Meerkats

There is lots of chatter lately on socialism — and very little on meerkats.

Those opposed to socialism fear government will run every aspect of their lives. Freedom is a precious commodity. Advocates are on the losing end of the “capitalist system” and they want equity.

Certainly there is a happy medium.

Yes, there are countries in the world that successfully operate under a socialist form of government. The common component is abandoning that style of government as a basis for economic growth. Socialism defined is,

a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Many believe that regulating production, distribution and exchange would be horrible for an economy. They argue capitalism must be present for an economy to be successful. Because greed is inherently built into acapitalist system, swinging the pendulum to the far end of a Socialist society is equally flawed.

This is what led to the fall of Rome.

Replace Money with Socialism

In the Animal Kingdom, we see perfect examples of how species live in social cultures.

Meerkats live in large communities and thrive in the unforgiving African heat. As one of the smallest mammals, they are successful in an environment where large predatory animals such as lions, hyenas and wild African dogs prey upon them. They survive by working as a team and putting colony first.

Lions live in social societies called “prides“. Even though they are formidable creatures and “natural born killers”, they would starve without the pride. Top speed for a lion is about 30mph, and stamina is not a strong suit. Smaller prey would simply outrun them. Zebra weigh twice as much as a lion and water buffalo significantly more. Without the teamwork of the pride, the mighty lion would go the way of the Dodo.

Orcas, or “killer whales” are apex predator of the oceans. One on one, they even best a Great White Shark. When hunting in packs, they are a fearsome predator. A single Orca is not strong enough to knock a seal of an ice floe, but working in tandem every killer whale gets lunch.

The Wolf has the best reputation. The strength of the pack is inherent in each wolf, and the strength of each wolf is inherent in the pack. Like the lion, much of their prey is larger than them. It takes a lot of food to feed pack. Watching wolves work is akin to a tight military unit attacking an adversary.

Why Socialism Works

Focusing on the social unit while ignoring individual gain is how a species survives in the animal kingdom. The importance for survival is cohesiveness. That is the key ingredient missing from capitalism. Our lawmakers are focused on money and the their own career. They are not looking out for the people or what is best for the nation.

Capitalism rewards those that have the funds to “buy a politician.” Defenders of this way of life spends millions of dollars on propaganda. They paint progressive ideas as being negative for individuals and a threat to personal liberty. The rationale for this thinking usually is, “I don’t know what socialism is, I just know it’s bad”. Then the second line is, “I really just don’t want to pay attention.”

A majority of America understands we can have a hybrid style of government. True capitalism promotes individualism, growth and opportunity. Unfortunately that form of capitalism no longer exists in our nation. Monopolies such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, join with scores of insurers, pharmaceutical companies, contractors and media. The companies control our government. That is not capitalism.

It is time we recognize necessities like health care medicine should not be based on profit, but what is best for society.

The Apex Predators have shows us the correct approach for eons, it is time we take heed for the survival of our own species.