A Socialist Future

Human society has always consisted of masters and slaves, and the slaves have always been and are today, the foundation stones of the society. Socialists did not invent human aspirations for a just, egalitarian and free society; men and women have cherished this dream for a very long time. The lash of hunger compels the poor to submit and in order to live we must sell - “voluntarily"- ourselves every day. To perpetuate this state of affairs is the aim of the ruling classes. Though seeking to gain advantage over the other by tricks of trade, cunning in speculation and competition  - but in opposition to the workers they stand united. The life of the poor is valued as nothing by the rich.

If the poor are unable to sell himself to an exploiter, then he or she is pilloried by the press as undeserving, a scrounger. And dare he or she steals, in order to live – our “betters” are filled with  moral indignation and repugnance, demanding punishment and prison and from that lesson some poor people learn that prison cells are healthier than the pest-holes they come from.

When the workers actually combine in trade unions to obtain a higher wage, shorter hours , or improved conditions, the employers immediately decry it as unfair competition which must be prevented. When the workers organise politically, they are denounced as defying tradition and custom.

When the worker is out of employment, he or she at the mercy of hordes of profiteers ready to pounce  to complete their ruin. Payday lenders advance small sums at high interest, their contracts so carefully written that they repayments terms can hardly be kept. Unfortunate out of work women with families to feed are driven into prostitution, shamelessly plundered by keepers of brothels disguised as massage parlours and saunas.

This is the lot of the poor from the cradle to the grave, surrounded by vampires and leeches thirsty for every drop of blood. Capitalism cannot be tamed, nor made useful to mankind.

Wealth is not only a generator of more wealth, it is also a political power. Under the present capitalist system rule is a mere matter of price which will buy over who may be of service, whether political leader or press baron. The “sovereignty of the people” turns to dust before the influence of these money magnates and they ensure the “voice of the people” is silenced. Whoever uses “free" speech will be accused of disturbing the peace or a threat to the security of the state by the government officials (Assange and Snowdon being prime examples).

Free society consists of autonomous, i.e., independent communities but networked into federations, the result of freely made social contracts, and not of authoritarian government. Common affairs are attended to in accordance with free deliberation and judgment by the interested communities or producers associations. The people, without distinction of sex, meet to decide from case to case in all matters touching public affairs, or for appointing individuals to execute their wishes, and hear their reports.  There is little doubt that the new communities will be entirely different from that of the present cities and villages. Traffic-filled streets have vanished, tenement are torn down, and spacious, well-fitted abodes surrounded by gardens and parks, erected in their places, with communal, civic  buildings  brought together by identical interests.

 In the country the people will be more connected. There will be agricultural commune with city conveniences. Interlinked farms will no longer be separate, sharing the general application and constant improvement of agricultural implements and fertilizers, with  the growing perfection of the means of communication and transportation simplifying the process of serving consumers. The former contrast between city and country disappears.

Private property exists no more. All wealth is held in common by the people themselves. Everybody, whether able to work or not can obtain from them such articles of necessity as he or she may desire. The sum total of necessities and comforts demanded regulates the quantity of production. Working hours for the individual is limited to a few hours a day, because all those able to work, regardless of sex, take part in production, because useless, injurious, or similar work will not be done, and because the technological means of production has grown highly developed and universally applied. By far the greater part of the day can be spent in the enjoyment of life. The highest gratification will be found in freely chosen intellectual employment. Some spend their leisure time in the service of their fellows, and are busy for the common weal. Others apply themselves to educational pursuits. Others again devote themselves to the exploration and experimentation of science. Academies of the arts will be available for the creators of literature,   painting, sculpture, or music. Theatres and concert halls will offer seats to all. Teaching will be done for the equal development of mind and body.

These are our aspirations and we hold that achieving them is a viable option and a feasible practicability for the world’s people. This is the re-organisation of society we espouse and it need not be an impossible task.  Those in the Socialist Party are not “believers”.  We do not bow down before Marx or Engels. We debate their ideas, we accept them when they are in accord with our experience and knowledge of the world, but we reject them when they don’t strike a chord within us. We are far from possessing blind faith, trusting in something just because someone said it had to be so and it would be too sacrilegious to dispute.

We want to replace private property system with socialism. We don’t claim that all men and women are equal, have the same brain, the same physical attributes. We know that there will always be the greatest diversity in mental and physical abilities. It is precisely this variety of capacities that will bring into being the production of all that is necessary for humanity, and we count on this as well to maintain emulation in a socialist society. There will be engineers and labourers: this is obvious. But one will not be considered superior to the other, since the work of the engineer is useless without the collaboration of the labourer, and vice versa.

Will everyone want to work? We answer yes and here is why.

Workers are kept busy in occupations that are absolutely useless to society, the armaments industry. Add to this a considerable number of able-bodied men and women who produce nothing.  Many are also unemployed. We can thus say, without being accused of exaggeration, that of a hundred capable of producing some kind of labour, only twenty furnish an effort truly useful to society. It is these twenty who produce all of society’s riches. From this flows the deduction that if everyone worked, instead of ten hours the workday would decrease to only two. We can draw the following conclusion: A society where all would work together, and which would be satisfied with productivity far beyond its consumer needs (the excess would constitute a small reserve) is feasible and would have to ask of each of its able-bodied members an effort of only two or three hours, perhaps less. Who would then refuse to give such a small quantity of work? Who would want to live with the shame of being held in contempt by all and being considered a parasite?

A seemingly better-founded objection is the following: If there is no more authority, how would we stop the criminals? Crimes committed today in two principal categories; crimes of interest and crimes of passion. The first group will disappear on its own, since there can be no attacks on property in a society which has done away with property. As for the second group, no law can stop them, as they are irrational acts.  A socialist lifestyle, however  would raise the level of humanity. Individuals will understand that they has no rights over another. Consequently crimes, in a future society, will become increasingly rare, until they disappear completely.

Many other questions arise, but they are of a secondary nature, the most important thing being to establish that the suppression of private property would not cause a cessation of production due to the development of laziness, and that socialism would know how to feed itself and satisfy all of its needs. All the other objections that can be raised will be easily refuted by taking inspiration from the idea that a socialist society would cause to grow in each of its members mutual solidarity. No more nationalisms and no more religions pitting one people against another. Science unmasking the charlatans and illuminating the truths. The free blossoming of humanity.