At the heart of Communist ideology is the idea that wealth should be distributed equally among all people. In theory, the redistribution of wealth would reduce large gaps between the rich and the poor. The Soviets used the state-run command economy to reduce the economic gap. However, this method failed to provide a stable economy and, along with huge military spending, was the major cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union. But in capitalist economies the gap between rich and poor still exists, and in some places the gap is widening. Should capitalist countries try to narrow the income gap? Why or why not? What kinds of policies do you think would work? What are some of the effects of poverty? Can you see evidence of the income gap in your community?

It me to understand the world and my place in it. for example, (and i know i’m using the terminology ‘historical perspective’ loosely here; some of my examples may be better termed an ‘evolutionary perspective’) knowing that all humans can trace their ancestry back to a common ancestor who lived in southern ethiopia ~200,000 years ago makes me feel connected to everyone on the planet. knowing that some of our ancestors left africa about 70,000 years ago and interbred with more archaic hominin species in europe and elsewhere, me to see the stupidity of white supremacist ‘purity of the race’ themes. seeing how religion was used to enslave people, and how callously lives were thrown away by those in power in the world wars of the past century makes me feel extremely fortunate to be living in the modern era. and, perhaps most importantly is that this knowledge makes me for the sacrifices our ancestors made to get us to this point, and determined to do my part to make the world a better place for the next generation.