The Free Access Movement

A study of history shows that from the earliest recorded times to the present, human society has had a process of change, now slow and gradual, now violent and dramatic, during which the existence of classes with opposing interests has been revealed. A fundamental Marxian position is that class struggle is the motor that drives change. Built into capitalism is a class struggle between those who own the means of wealth production and those who don't. These classes struggle for the control of society, for the power to govern society in their own interests.

What has taken place over the last few years of workers spontaneously resisting the State is indeed heartening. In the last couple of weeks and past few days we have witnessed workers in cities of Turkey and Brasil acting in their class interests.

The socialist revolution may start from some street protests spreading to the whole of the working class. Which leads to the importance of who controls the state. At the moment, this is in the hands of people favourable to the continuation of capitalism, itself a reflection of the fact that most workers too don't see any alternative to capitalism. The state, therefore, upholds legal private property rights. The end of capitalism can only come as a result of a consciously socialist political movement winning control of political power with a view to abolishing all capitalist property rights and ushering in the common ownership and democratic control of the means of production. The preconditions for ending capitalism are a majority socialist consciousness and workers democratically self-organised in a large-scale socialist party. Neither of which, unfortunately, exist. There is no way that an anti-capitalist social order can be constructed without seizing state power, radically transforming it the constitutional and institutional framework that currently supports private property. To ignore the state is a ridiculous and dangerous idea for any anti-capitalist movement to accept.



Workers must rid themselves of romantic notions of battles on the barricades and concentrate on the main issue - the overthrow of capitalism, not picking away at it and then to have our gains eroded later. We should never lose track of the actual aim of the socialist movement, the overthrow of capitalism and its replacement by a democratic association of peoples.  To get socialism requires a class conscious working class democratically capturing state power to prevent that power being used against them. It is impossible for the working class to take and hold the parks and squares and streets as long as the state is in the hands of the capitalist class. Moreover, this power is placed in the hands of the capitalist class by the workers themselves. The capitalists rule today because the workers sanction and uphold the existing form of property relationships. All of capitalism’s power, including even its coercive power, is in the hands of the working class.

The SPGB applauds any upsurge in the militancy and resistance and organisation of our class as we have been observing throughout the world. But we also know, from bitter experience, that work of a more patient, more political kind is also needed. The class war must be fought but we must also seek to stop the skirmishing of the class struggle by winning the class war. That means that the working class as a whole must understand the issues, and organise and fight for these ends themselves. Here is where socialists have their most vital contribution to make clear that the alternative is not mere utopianism, but an important ingredient in inspiring successful struggle. The more widely known, discussed, accepted the communist/socialist case is, then the more likely it is that "day to day" class conflict will escalate into a decisive mass struggle against the money system itself. This is where the importance of promoting the socialist case) arises. Capitalism will continue to throw up situations where an escalation of class struggle towards communism is possible, but the more workers there are who are conscious communists or are aware of the alternative to capitalism, the greater the likelihood there is of getting rid of the system.

The Free Pass Movement of the Brasilian cities just might progress to the Free Access Movement.