Capitalism and Mental Illness
Capitalism, the final epoch of class society, can be described in the simplest terms, as sickening. That is to be taken in the most literal sense, as in, capitalist society renders the masses of people forced to live in it literally ill. The disease that capitalism forces onto its victims afflicts the most personal, the most human component of one’s being. That is to say, capitalism afflicts one’s mind. To live and work under the capitalist system, is to be mentally ill. For the original Socialist Patients Collective (SPK), which existed in the German Federal Republic from the late 60’s to the early 70’s, the logical extension of that fact formed the basis of the radical axiom at the center of their movement which was conveyed to the world with the concise slogan: “ Every suicide is a murder! ” This was a great charge against the system that forces the starving to endure the anxiety of finding their next meal. It was a powerful accusation against the system that forces the majorit...