This is what happens under capitalism - as long as corporations and the super rich own the economy and the politicians, every new generation has to fight hard just to defend itself.

Capitalism is based on ruthless exploitation and competition, and leads inevitably to the development of mega monopolies.

There is plenty of work to do, but big business isn't investing in rebuilding a green economy for the 21st century. Instead, they put their money into a gigantic financial casino, and when that led to catastrophe in 2008-9, they made us pay for it.

While we still live in a capitalist society, we of course will fight for whatever reforms help make life better for working people.

Socialism is a society where the resources are used democratically to provide a better life for all, based on ending the dictatorship of big business over the economy and politics.

Whether or not you agree with Bernie Sanders' version of socialism, it is enormously significant that, for the first time in US history, a presidential candidates who calls himself a socialist has had an actual shot at winning the presidential election. And to his credit, he has not backed down from the label.

A permanent and sustainable solution to all the problems facing working people is possible by taking the biggest companies into democratic ownership, and reorganizing the economy on a democratically planned basis. Under such a system we could democratically decide how to allocate resources. We could rapidly transition away from fossil fuels, develop massive jobs programs to rebuild the country's rotting infrastructure, and begin to build a whole new world based on meeting the needs of the majority, not the profits of a few.