When people ask me why I'm openly Marxist, this is generally what I tell them:

I grew up in a world where income inequality has skyrocketed and the rich consolidate their wealth while the middle class gets screwed.

I grew up in a world where if you can't afford the insane health insurance premiums, your options are go bankrupt from medical bills or die.

I grew up in a world where getting a college education, which is now the equivalent of what a high school diploma was 30 years ago, means being saddled with around $30,000 in inescapable debt before you've even started you career with no guarantee of a job after graduating.

I grew up in a world where the previous generation voted in favor of policies that raped and pillaged the environment.

I grew up in a world dominated by a system of 'profit over people', where the elected officials who are supposed to represent my interests care more about their billionaire donors and multi-national corporations than they do the American people.

I'm a Marxist because Marx's critique of capitalism was spot on. Neoliberalism is at the center of all of our problems, and we need to take back our democracy--by force if necessary.