As I grew up, I became more and more disgusted with what was happening in the U.S. and around the world, but I never felt I could do anything about it. The invasion of Iraq was announced on my 20th birthday and, disillusioned, I turned a blind eye. I knew the war was wrong and I knew on a basic level it was about profits, but I had no idea what to do about it.

It was only after almost two years had passed that I become so fed up with the war that I decided to join an antiwar coalition at my school. Through the coalition, I met members of Socialist Alternative and began studying socialist ideas. This opened my eyes. I learned not only to understand the system of capitalism as the root cause of war, poverty, corruption, etc., but also how to fight against it.

Marxism is not a utopian vision that says, “In a perfect world, this is how we would like things to be.” It’s a guide to action. It helps us explain our circumstances, how we got here, and what we need to do to change things. Socialism provides a way forward, a way out of this mess.