It's time to break a taboo about the word
"socialism". Down through the ages, working people have dreamed of a
world of freedom and equality, an end to exploitation and misery. From the time
of the Roman slave revolts, people have struggled for the dream of a society
based on the values of equality, freedom, generosity and solidarity. For
thousands of years the dream could never become reality – society was too poor
to provide a decent life for all. We call ourselves socialists because we are
proud of what we are. No matter what we call ourselves, our opponents will use
it against us. Anti-socialism has been repeatedly used to attack working class
people. We call ourselves socialists to remind everyone that we have a vision
of a better world. Socialism has never been truer or more relevant: Most of the
world's main problems today are inseparable from the capitalist system itself.
With capitalism everywhere in command, the outlook is for increased poverty and
more environmental degradation, undermining of traditional societies and ways
of life, for a culture dominated by marketing, advertising and uneven global
development. It is the capitalist system, based on private ownership of the
means of production, which has no future. Having outlived its usefulness, it is
incapable of meeting the needs and aspirations of the world’s peoples. By its
very nature, capitalism generates and intensifies mass unemployment and
poverty, national chauvinism and exclusiveness, racism, gender inequality and
oppression, environmental collapse, and war. Capitalist “democracy” guarantees
the right of the capitalist class to dominate the economy and society and to
exploit the people.
Socialists do not want to create an all-powerful government
bureaucracy. The Socialist Party has
been among the harshest critics of authoritarian so-called "communist" countries.
Just because their bureaucratic elites called them “socialist” did not make it
so. The Socialist Party has long rejected the belief that the whole economy
should be centrally planned. Nor do we want huge corporate bureaucracies to
control our society either. Today, executives answer only to themselves and a
few of their wealthy stockholders make basic economic decisions affecting
millions of people. Socialism is a real political force espousing radical
democracy. Socialism is the rule of the people, by the people and for the
people. Only socialism makes the needs and aspirations of the people its highest
priority. Only socialism can use the benefits of the scientific and
technological revolution for the well-being of all, not for the enrichment of a
few and for waging war. There is no alternative to socialism, no “third road.’ In
socialism the means of producing and distributing wealth will be the common
property of society as a whole. The exploitation of labour will be abolished.
Ecological degradation will be stopped, and a planned approach to the
relationship of human life with the natural environment will be implemented.
Want, poverty, insecurity and discrimination, rooted in capitalist
exploitation, will be ended. Socialism will finally realise a new society based
on solidarity, equality and emancipation, a classless society, in which for the
first time in history, the free all-round development of each individual can be
the condition for the development of all.
We don’t agree with the capitalist assumption that
starvation or greed are the only reasons people work. People enjoy their work
if it is meaningful and enhances their lives. They work out of a sense of
responsibility to their community and society. Although a long-term goal of
socialism is to eliminate all but the most enjoyable kinds of labor, we
recognise that unappealing jobs will long remain. These tasks would be spread
among as many people as possible. In short, we believe that a combination of
social, economic, and moral incentives will motivate people to work.
As socialists we bring a sense of the interdependence of all
struggles for justice. No single-issue organisation can truly challenge the
capitalist system or adequately secure its particular demands. Socialists have
conceived of a society that provides for the needs of every individual,
including adequate means to live a decent life and develop each person's
capacities. The well-being of all the people of the world would be the goal of
society, not their exploitation as it is under capitalism. Socialism should belong
to the people, be part of their living politics. Socialism is not supposed to
be like any other political movement. Socialism needs to be participatory. Socialism
is the only possible alternative to capitalism, the source of gross
inequalities and environmental disasters around the world. We could readily
meet everyone’s needs for food, housing, health, education, culture and
recreation if the modern technologies, scientific knowledge and organisational
know-how were brought under the control of all people.
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