Sydney Life

One of the great things about growing up, at least in my understanding, is that it leads to moderation. Who can forget those heady days of believing in the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny (or maybe some less denominational non-existent sprite)? It is, perhaps the mark of leaving childhood, I believe, that you decide to get rid of these ideas. Sure, Christmas loses some of the magic, maybe loosing a tooth doesn’t become such a big deal anymore (or maybe it becomes an incredibly expensive deal), but it’s a mark of maturity.

However, with hormones racing and a mind full of new ideas, the teenage years can see a whole new set of beliefs drive every fibre of your body. I know many people who took up religion enthusiastically in their teens. Some took up drugs with a great passion. I happened to take up Marxism. And what a wild ride it was. From those early days of hearing the glorious egalitarian ideas laid out in the Communist Manifesto, I convinced myself that communism was the one, truth path. Nothing could shake my firm belief that Marx was the prophet of the age, and that humanity would only progress by destroying capitalism, and building a socialist society. Lenin, Trotsky, Engels were the angels of my pantheon, beacons of an enlightened world. All the failed communist states of the past where, I would tell myself, were not really communist, because they simply hadn’t properly applied Marx’s manifesto to the letter.

It has taken me a very long time to put these men away, to consign them, as it were, to the dustbin of history. I remember being told when I was younger that my beliefs were “just a phase”, and feeling deeply offended. They couldn’t possibly be just a phase. It was what I believed in. But, hurtling towards twenty, here I am, a recovering Marxist. I’ve not altogether abandoned the dream. I still believe a better world is possible, and that the best possible world is one in which everybody, regardless of race, sex, or wealth, is equal. But I no longer have the same, confident, blind faith that “if only everyone just followed the communist manifesto, the world would be alright”.

The simple fact is that the world is a complex, diverse place. University should teach you that. We have billions of people, living together on one tiny planet. To believe that any one way has all the truth, rapped up in one little bundle, is a dangerous fantasy. One might even say, fascistic. Believe what you will, but understand, other people will never always agree with you, and above all, they shouldn’t have to. Moderation, diversity, and respect are the key to success.