The editor:
This letter is in response to a recent letter by GR Lambert “explaining socialism.” Rather than using the classroom metaphor to talk about being mistaken for mediocrity under socialism, let’s talk about how things really are here. Let me borrow Mr. Lambert's metaphor of the classroom to simplify and explain how things work now, under capitalism.
If our Texas Tech classroom is to be run under the capitalist model, then the teacher must begin the semester by picking one student in the class to be the leading student of the class. What makes this student the leader you ask? It's not academic ability, but his position in the economic pecking order of society. But for the sake of simplicity let's say the leader was randomly chosen from the class.
Now this leading student never does homework, he has others to do his homework. During class he simply sits at his desk and comfortably manages others that do his homework. Moreover all the other students in the class, let's call them worker students, cannot get an A in the class no matter how hard they work. They can at most get a B in the class, and it's the leading student who decides their grade not the teacher. Grades for worker students are based upon how much homework they're willing to do for the leading student.
The worker student can neither improve his or her academic position through hard work nor refuse to do work without the harshest penalties...though once a year at Texas Tech there is a lottery where one student of the 100,000 or so gets to become a leader. The worker students have to do someone else's homework to enter, but for most becoming a leading student is just a dream.
Charles Groce
Formerly of Morehead (1994-2003)
RCSHS graduate
MSU Alumni
Ypsilanti, Mich.
