“Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”
-Jim Jones

Perhaps one of the most disturbing events in modern history, the Jonestown Massacre was the site of the largest recorded mass suicide and the point of origin for the phrase “drinking the kool-aid”. On November 18, 1978, over 900 people from the settlement of Jonestown, Guyana willingly died from cyanide poisoning.
The settlement was established by Jim Jones, a communist who founded his own church – the People’s Temple – in 1950. Jonestown was meant to be a utopia for its citizens, but as so often is the case, fell far short of its idyllic goals. Jonestown was a cesspool for illness, hard labour, overcrowded housing and food shortages.
Nevertheless, capitalism, the nemesis of communism, that is the prevalent system worldwide is far more disappointing in creating the utopia it once promised not so long ago. While the citizens from the settlement of Jonestown harmed themselves only, capitalism has unleashed demagogues worldwide that are pushing societies to commit suicide in every sphere of life.