It’s hard to make a statement like that with the amount of jobs losses, home foreclosures and financial setbacks going on. The recession has affected everyone to an extent, some worse than others. I’ll admit I’ve been very lucky – I have had to make some major cutbacks in conveniences, but at least I still have a shitty job that can eek me through a month, and I am not tied down to dependents I have to support. But because I sympathize with those who have seen the worst of the recession, because I’m aware my security is not guaranteed, because I know there are people in this world who will be fucked beyond help if something isn’t done soon, and because I know we can and should do better for ourselves, I’m as outraged as anyone else aware of the facts.

As we should be. A few shots from the G20 protests in London:

But in the midst of the crisis, I see an amazing ray of potential in our collective outrage. We are not just concerned about immoral bankers and corrupt loopholes in laws – we’re concerned about poverty, climate change, and (finally!) the limitations and consequences of heavy capitalism.

US government responses to the recession really are genius considering our limited resources. Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes tax cuts for the majority of Americans, an increase in available unemployment benefits, and generous investments in infrastructure, education and healthcare investments. At the very least, it’s a huge step up from a last year’s rebate that I used to pay off my Visa.

And it's pretty, too.

Things have been pretty bad since then, and they’re about to get worse before they get better. But at the bottom of this Pandora’s box is the realization that the public is not blind to corporate and government actions, and more importantly that we are all seeking a stronger voice in our own economy. We are realizing that we need to find common ground to get out of our rut, and that the only way we can ensure fair-play in the future is by ensuring we all have a fair shot at real opportunity – first by socializing the programs that make playing the field possible: education, healthcare and welfare.

The biggest obstacle towards democratic socialism is the fear of enforcing strict regulations on our market, but if we’ve learned anything in the past few months it’s that it’s not enough to entrust companies with a blank check in our name. Bank of America spends $10 million of the bail-out money on a superbowl party, and AIG hands out over $100 thousand in bonuses. We shouldn’t have been surprised – businesses don’t have the common interest in mind, it’s intuitive they focus on profit and internal strength. It’s increasingly clear they haven’t been playing fair with the public, either.

This recession doesn’t have to be cause for a depression – in any sense of the word. It can be good for us; it’s our wake-up call. Now, we can see where unregulated market has taken us. We see the limitations of capitalism. We have been given an amazing opportunity to rethink our and our government’s involvement in the economy. We don’t just have to be consumers, but reformers. And we need to start by ignoring the fears that come with the outdated stereotypes of Socialism. A more socialized economy is right where we’re headed anyway, this time by popular demand.