Recently we did a sticker campaign with the Eastern Brabant Socialists. As designer of the sticker I wanted to write a short piece to explain the idea behind the action.
Before I became a socialist I had a hard time getting started in politics. Aside from the fact that it can be overwhelming to join a new group. The theory and literature discussed in these political groups can be quite extensive. Looking back at myself, I see someone who had the best intentions, but who didn’t have the knowledge to fully grasp these complex texts about socialism. Instead I started thinking about how I could explain these concepts about class and exploitation to myself. In my opinion, the best way to start is to talk to people about things they experience in their daily lives. For me this was my side job. I realized that every job I got had the same problems. But I did not know why, or what to do about it.
I had been thinking to do a campaign against low wages for quite some time. It’s a good problem to discuss at this time. Everything is getting more expensive, but increasing wages does not seem to be on the agenda. Instead companies try to lure employees with fun actions, advertisements, one-time cash payments, or even a trip to space. Unfortunately, most young people, and sometimes older people employed here don’t know that this is quite something you can rebel for. Our sticker campaign aims to reach people who don’t know much about socialist ideology, but who do notice that something is wrong. In my view many people have the right intentions, but they don’t have the knowledge that they can stand up for themselves.