The Socialist Object

There is a real question of confidence. The confidence of the organised labour movement and of the working class in socialism, producing for themselves and for the needs of the people. The only solution for the working class, the only way they can attain all their political and economic objectives is by the overthrow of the rule class and not by palliatives. Our aim is to rally workers who aspire to socialism. The day for social reform has passed, if it ever actually arrived. The capitalist class are far more thoroughly organised and far too powerfully entrenched not to be able to yield the few concessions demanded of them. The language of the Socialist Party dwells expressly and uncompromisingly, on revolution. Socialism is not a reform, it is a revolution. Therein is the difference between the Socialist Party and all others. Or principles declare our object to be the formation of a working class party; the abolition of wage slavery; severance with all capitalist and reform parties; abolition of class rule; the establishment of the brotherhood of man.

What is the meaning of capitalism? It is an economic term applied by economists and sociologists to the system of our civilisation, by means of which men achieve economic independence and have the privilege of living idly upon the labour of others, who produce a surplus value above that which they receive for their own sustenance. A capitalist is one who profits by this system. If he works himself, it does not alter the fact that he has an income apart from his labour sufficient to sustain him for life without working for a living, and therefore his is economically independent. The working class under capitalism live in hope of creating an income and of increasing it through the appropriation of the surplus products of others who labor. They would like to achieve economic independence in the same manner as the capitalist class. Capitalism divides society into two antagonistic forces, because it is based upon two sets of conflicting economic interests. They each desire economic independence. One of these forces believes that it is justly entitled to the economic independence which it has, but which it manifestly did not create; the other force believes that it is being unjustly deprived of that which it creates and which it never possesses. Private ownership of the means of production and distribution is the seed of capitalism, of which wage slavery is the most degrading feature. This seed brought forth a bitter fruit in the class struggle, but the Socialist Party declares its intention to be the abolition of wage slavery by the establishment of a system of cooperative industry, based upon the social or common ownership of the means of production and distribution, to be administered by society in the common interest of all its members and the complete emancipation of the socially useful classes from the domination of capitalism. In socialism, private ownership and exchange being at an end, money would lose the functions which it possessed under capitalism and would be redundant.

The most widespread image of a so-called ‘socialist’ regime is one of state ownership and planned economy, directed by the ‘revolutionary’ party. This meant the virtual fusion of State and party, with the trade unions reduced to the role of a transmission belt for the State's requirements and  subordinated to purely a nominal role. Since the State was to be defined as ‘socialist’ and the party designated as ‘revolutionary’ the conclusion was that this was the same thing as power to the people. Of course, this was never the conception of Marx.

Reformist  generally accepted, without discussion, that the State represented Society as a whole; that its parliamentary institutions provided the means for popular opinion to express itself; and when that opinion became Socialist, or at least the majority of it, the State would become Socialist automatically. The State is not an autonomous, self-determined structure above the social and property relations of a particular regime. It is the fully conscious expression of the collective interests of the dominant class in a particular society, and takes the form of an articulated series of institutions.Therefore, to bring something under state ownership does not mean to ‘socialise’ it,  in the sense ,where ownership is transferred to the the whole society. To bring something under state ownership, simply by having the workers get their wages from the state rather than from private bosses, is not to transform social relations in a socialist sense. And genuine socialist planning  is to satisfy the real social needs of the working people and citizens, with decisions made democratically from the bottom up and vice-versa, in a process of interaction which is constantly readjusting. The path to Socialism is not through public ownership but through a fundamental change in class relations.

What socialism proposes is wealth for all and plenty of the good things of life for  everybody. A fine house to live in, nice furniture in it, and a lovely garden about it. A table spread with good things to eat. Abundance of clothes, comfortable to wear. Opportunity and means to travel all over the world. Leisure to rest, work and play . No poverty anymore with its filth and disease and crime.  With all these things, socialism assures a natural human development,  healthy men and women, a happy, energetic, progressive people.

You say all this is a dream? No, not dream at all, but an immediate possibility. By means of the vast new technology of this modern world, we can produce wealth enough for all without any trouble whatever. By means of  new machines  mankind can produce a hundred or a thousand times as much wealth as in the times of our fore-fathers. There is no doubt at all about this. Modern inventions have so increased the productive capacity of civilisation that there could be an  abundance of wealth by working only 3 or 4 hours a day. Socialism proposes to get this abundance for all.

In order to get this abundance for all we must take control of this vast new technologyand use them for producing new wealth for all instead of producing it for a few. The only reason we are not all well off now is that a few people own these great modern tools and refuse to let us work at them except when they can make a profit for themselves. If we collectively  owned these factories and mines and mills ourselves and all of us worked at them to produce wealth for our own use and happiness, all the troubles  of poverty would disappear at once. The only thing that lies between us and a world of abundance is this private ownership of the means of producing wealth. Therefore, what socialists intend is to take possession of the means of production and run them for the use of all. The Socialist Party seeks the abolition of wage slavery and establishment of the cooperative commonwealth. In every country, capitalism makes life harder for the workers to endure. Therefore, it generates the workers’ resistance. The world should be thought of as a combination of communes and regions that will  be self-administered  by its peoples. Upon socialism, depends the happy future of humanity and of civilization. The working class is called upon to save society from barbarism, the only alternative to socialism.

It is of no use to talk about what we propose to get nor even what we propose to do to get it, unless we know just how to do it. We say that people should come together in a political party and vote the capitalists out of power. It is easy as that. The Socialist Party appeals to our fellow workers on the ground of their self-interests, the ground on which all practical persons base their appeals to others. Being a very practical lot, we  indulge in no dreams or false hopes. We say to the worker - Come join our party, vote yourselves into power, use that political power to take back that which the capitalists have stolen from you, and then you will get all that abundance which modern inventions entitle you to. This is the object the Socialist Party,a  political party of the class conscious working class,  to gather together all those workers whose real interests lie in abolishing the private ownership of the means of production.