You're right that I'm drawing on Marxist analysis - because Marx correctly diagnosed the fundamental problems with capitalism. The fact that you've been taught to reflexively reject anything "Marxist" is exactly the kind of ideological conditioning I'm talking about.

Let's examine your key argument: that capitalism creates opportunity through "hard work." But who actually created that value through their labor - you, or your employer? The fact that you feel "grateful" to a system that extracts surplus value from your work shows how deeply ingrained this ideology is.

You mention immigrants coming here for better lives. But why are their home countries so impoverished? Could it have something to do with centuries of colonialism and economic exploitation by wealthy nations? The same system that forces them to flee their homes is the one that then exploits their labor when they arrive.

As for socialism "never working" - the early Christian community described in Acts 2:44-45 actually practiced a form of communal living: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need." This wasn't a failure - it was violently suppressed by empire, just as later attempts at creating more equitable systems have been.

Your assumption that greed is simply "human nature" rather than a product of our economic system is another example of capitalist ideology at work. Jesus showed us a different way is possible - one based on mutual aid and care for one another rather than exploitation and accumulation.

I invite you to examine these deeply-held beliefs about capitalism, where they came from, and who benefits from you holding them. The good news is that another world is possible - but first we have to break free from the mental chains that keep us defending a system that exploits us.