Understand the world to change it (2)

The Socialist Party believe that in order to save humanity from the economic chaos, social injustice, and environmental destruction caused by global capitalism, it is necessary to abolish the capitalist system altogether and replace it with a humane, democratically-run planned socialist economy. It will be necessary for people, worldwide, to adopt the principle of socialist revolution. There is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about what “socialism” means. A big barrier to building the alternative to capitalism is confusion about what socialism actually is. This is not accidental. For those who are not familiar with it, let’s get one misconception out of the way right at the start. Socialism is not what existed in Soviet Russia, even before Stalin, or in China, even under Mao. No totalitarian or autocratic system can be considered socialist. Socialism also is not the same as the “social-democratic” capitalism that exists in Scandinavia and some other countries with welfare-states. Socialism is an economic system under which all natural resources, as well as all means of producing goods and of organising the delivery of services, will be owned in common by all and managed by a democratically-run for the benefit of the society as a whole. Rational planning, not competition for profit, will drive the allocation of resources, with the goal of meeting the needs of society as a whole. Under capitalism, advances in technology are used to replace workers, so that the wealthy owners of large enterprises can increase their profits, while the displaced workers are thrown out on the street and left to fend for themselves. Under socialism, in contrast, advances in technology – intelligently designed and environmentally sustainable – will be planned and implemented so as to reduce the level of human drudgery. Advances in productivity will result in reducing the length of the work week and raising the standard of living for everyone, rather than enriching a privileged elite. Everyone will reap equal benefits from, and thus have an equal stake in, improving the way goods and services are created and delivered. All workers – not just those in a few lucky occupations that possess a certain degree of job satisfaction – will be motivated by a positive desire to help others, rather than by the need to avoid hunger and homelessness.

The class struggle -- the conflict between the capitalists and the workers -- is at the very heart of the capitalist system. The great bulk of people would vastly prefer to live in a world free of poverty, unemployment, racism and war. This kind of world is only possible under socialism. Many today would readily agree that this is the kind of world they would want for themselves and future generations. But they think it’s a pipe-dream. Previous historic systems like feudalism and other more primitive societies were overthrown when they outlived their usefulness and could no longer bring humanity forward. Likewise the capitalist system is now retarding further advances for humanity. It is the working class which allows the economic system as a whole to run. Nothing can be built or moved without us. Yet, the vast majority of workers have no real stake in maintaining capitalism because we don’t own any means of production or businesses; we aren’t bosses. Indeed, workers have to sell their labour power to employers in exchange for wages. As the fundamental source of their profits, our strategic economic position gives the working class the power to forge decisive change but there are good reasons for workers’ current skepticism about the power of our class.  One of the biggest reasons is the misplaced trust placed in leaders. They have engineered decades of defeat for the working class. It is they who have made us feel powerless to change things. The so-called vanguard of revolutionaries undermine the unity of the whole working class. There is no need to “instigate” fellow workers: it is the conditions of capitalism itself which eventually force workers to act to defend ourselves, to engage in mass fight-backs. The best way for workers to see their own power in action and workers become confident and radicalised. The working class searches for its own alternative to capitalism only when it knows its own strength to actually achieve big changes. Today capitalism is on a global offensive that is wiping out past gains. As profit margins have fallen in the system as a whole, competition between capitalist firms and nations has become ever more vicious. The “race to the bottom” in which capitalists try to outdo each other in finding the cheapest labour possible is prevalent. The needs of the ruling class to boost profit rates mean they are well aware of the need to escalate their attacks against workers, to increase the number of low-wage jobs with harsher working terms and less generous benefits.  Workers’ pensions has been one focus of this onslaught. Pension funds have been underfunded for years. The previous stock market boom hid the fact that the bosses weren’t meeting their fund obligations with hard cash. When share prices crashed, the funds ended up short of cash. Now the bosses are demanding that workers either pay into the pension funds themselves, accept inferior plans or give up on their claims. However, now there is the return of the value of stock, there is no reciprocal rise in pensions being offered. The profits are being retained by the bosses.

Given capitalism’s necessary priorities, the desperate plight of people and the planet, only the working class, through socialist revolution, can end this nightmare. Capitalism will destroy the human race. It is absolutely clear that the ruling class will continue to put the drive for profit ahead of everything, even our own existence as a species. Capitalists are incapable of changing. Even when they individually recognise the dangers, collectively they cannot cease doing what they do, making profits, accumulating capital, re-investing for more and more new profit, growth for capital’s sake. If capitalism is not overthrown, humanity is most likely doomed. Socialism is the only solution. The only way out is the abolition of capitalism and its replacement by socialism. And the only means to do this is by socialist revolution.

To win abundance for all, the working class will have to take matters into our own hands. In order to build toward this future we urge interested workers to get in touch with the Socialist Party to learn more. Let us know what you think of our views. If you agree, let us know. If you disagree, let’s discuss it. Members of the Socialist Party are optimistic because we recognise that the best hope for a new future are the resilient working class. Nobody needs fundamental change in this corrupt, top-down economic and political system like we do. We reject in advance any argument that the social problems and crises are so critical that it stands above politics there is no time to wait for socialism to replace capitalism. We don't propose waiting for anything — we are campaigning all the time and are trying to drive the struggle forward right now. But the basic point still stands: the capitalist class is leading humanity to absolute disaster and its class position means it cannot and will not do anything else. What is necessary is to prise their mad grip from the steering wheel and carry out a drastic change of course. Can this be done? Ever since class society that came into existence had to face the resistance of the oppressed. There have been an endless series of revolts and uprisings — whether by slaves, peasants or workers. The dream of a society where there is no inequality, no division into rich and poor — i.e., of a classless society — is a persistent one. As been already said, the working class is essential for the operation of the social means of production but itself owns none of it. Its conditions of life make it cooperative and collectivist in outlook. Its objective interest is to collectively appropriate these means of production and establish a classless society. This makes it revolutionary — at least potentially. It is the sole authentically revolutionary class. It has no interest in setting up a new system of class oppression but can only end its alienation by destroying the whole edifice of class domination. The class at the very bottom of the social heap — struggles for power in order to construct a socialist society where all forms of oppression and exploitation are eliminated.

Reformists have denied the need for revolution and instead held out the fantasy of gradually humanising capitalism. The Socialist Party holds to our basic principle that objective conditions are being created in which the socialist movement can grow and attract a significant working-class following to mount a challenge to the system and allow the real history of humanity to commence, free, cultured human beings living in a collectivist society of social solidarity and cooperation. People cannot live without hope for the future. Our task as socialists are to inspire, to instil confidence that the future will be better than the present if only they strive to make it so. The world will be changed by people who believe in the boundless power of themselves.