Ele Jane, Cardiff East Socialist Party
Growing up, we were taught about the brutal histories of colonialism and imperialism as if they were from the distant past. But, confronted with the images coming from Gaza and the sociopathic response from western capitalist leaders, the state of affairs was impossible to ignore.
I should not have needed the extreme scale of the Gaza genocide as a wake-up call, but I had been disillusioned ever since the defeat of Jeremy Corbyn.
The list of crimes of capitalism is never-ending: destroyed rainforest, dumped sewage, sweatshops, wars and conflict. Large businesses find loopholes to treat the planet and their employees in the cheapest manner possible, to create an abundance of goods that often get thrown away.
In the UK we are experiencing the biggest squeeze on workers I have seen in my lifetime. Each year brings more work and less money for the working class, while the big bosses reward themselves with bonuses.
My friend introduced me to a Socialist Party branch meeting and I was immediately impressed. I had been living in a void of any principled leadership or any clear purpose on the way out of the capitalist crisis. It was a breath of fresh air to speak to people committed to not only doing what is right but finding out what is right, through debate and inclusivity. Immediately I felt respected and my opinions valued.
