ژورنال سایت خبری سیاسی ژورنال
English Journal is published on Fridays
PDF-English Journal-25 July 2025-No24
According to official statistics from Iran’s national data centre, the misery index rose this spring, with Khuzestan province registering the worst figures. But the real misery index in Iran extends far beyond these numbers.
In capitalist economies, the misery index is calculated by adding the unemployment rate to the inflation rate. But this only measures a relative level of poverty within capitalist societies. Even at its lowest levels, the index fails to capture the full scope of poverty and inequality under capitalism. The widespread misery that defines everyday life is the product of capitalism itself—of wage slavery and a system in which the owners of production extract astronomical profits, regardless of the cost to the people.
In capitalist societies, even when unemployment and inflation are at their minimum, justice is not served. Those who keep society running through their labour rarely receive their full share. After 30 or 40 years of constant work, even in the most advanced European countries, workers may manage only a meagre, hand-to-mouth existence—receiving just a sliver of the vast wealth they themselves have produced.
Yet even within capitalism, confronting this misery is possible. When unemployment exists, it is the state’s responsibility to materially support all unemployed individuals, using the highest possible standards. These funds should come from the boundless profits of capitalists and be redirected towards improving the lives of the very people this system has cast aside. Inflation, too, is a symptom of capitalism—a situation where people produce goods but can only watch them gather dust behind shop windows. Life’s creators are left with nothing but suffering and deprivation.
When inflation occurs, we must force the ruling system to hand over the resources it hoards—to raise the people’s standard of living. This is the basis of countless strikes and protests, especially in Iran today.
But this situation won’t change through moral sermons or mystical platitudes. It demands struggle and organisation. In this society, we must both fight for maximum welfare within the capitalist framework, and also push toward a new society—one where production serves human well-being, not the profit of a single class. A decisive step toward such a society is the overthrow of capitalist rulers and the establishment of a system run by its citizens—a world free of wage slavery and class exploitation.
Editor: Patty Debonitas
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