The Socialist Party strives to establish a social democracy
that places people's lives under their own control - a classless society where
working people own and control the means of production and distribution through
democratic control and where the production of society is used for the benefit
of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few. We believe socialism and
democracy are one and indivisible. These are strange days indeed for socialists
and all those who fighting for a better world. Social movements are, in
general, at a low ebb. It would be easy to be despondent. But we should not be.
There is widespread cynicism about capitalism, yet virtually no discussion of any
other perspectives. Socialism is not, at
this point, rising from the ashes. This is a time when the relevance of
socialism seems almost self-evident, and yet it is, in practical political
terms, more marginal now than at any other time.
Election activity provides voters with choices – an
essential component of any system that seeks to portray itself as
democratic. Deeper than that, socialist
candidates offer other working class people a vision of themselves as possible candidates. Socialist Party candidates are not career politicians. We have no spin doctors, no public relations
consultants and no corporate funders who will pull our strings after the
election. We offer independent voices
advocating socialism. Electoral campaigns offer fertile ground to bring a fresh
vision of democratic socialism. For other political parties, elections,
including this one, have as their aim to get “our guy” into a place of power –
the government – and to “educate” the public on issues of importance. But what
kind of power is this? And what are people being taught?
Reform is the idea that the system can be successfully
modified and improved through legal means and especially through participation
in its official channels like lobbying and elections. Reformists argue that
this is the realistic and peaceful approach to change. The problem is that the
system, while very adept at incorporating and co-opting reform efforts, is also
incredibly resistant to any fundamental structural change from within. It is
built to administer class division – not to end it. Those that accept the logic
of helping run the system are rewarded. Many more reformists have been changed
by working within the system than vice versa. The Socialist Party is not about defending
past gains or making limited demands but calls for a social revolution that
expropriates the rich, dissolves the State apparatus and builds decentralised,
directly democratic, ecological self-governance from below. Our goal is
revolution not reforms. Socialism points beyond capitalism, towards another way
of organizing human life based on unleashing our creative capacities through
genuine democratic control of the key productive resources of society. Socialism
shows the way to another possible world, even if it is way over the horizon and
invisible from our present location. Socialism provides a unique perspective on
capitalist society and allows us to see the everyday world in a new way,
bringing new light to aspects of life, work and politics that we usually take
for granted because they seem fixed and unchangeable.
Right now, socialism
is highly marginalised and many on the left suggest that struggles should
concentrate on finding “practical” solutions, leaving aside any transformation
of the system. This ultimately means limiting the horizons of change to what is
possible within capitalist social relations, as this power structure will be
there until it is deliberately overturned. Socialism rests on the conception of
overturning the capitalist system through the activity of the majority of the
working class, rather than liberation being the act of some small elite. People
who labour every day in factories, offices, schools, mines and a variety of
other settings will take over their workplaces.
The reclamation of socialism is crucial for people’s future.
Socialist ideas are more relevant than ever. An understanding of socialism must
start by recognising that it a society of "bottom-up" participatory
co-operative communities. Socialists reject the notion that individual
self-interest and competition are the sole motivating factors in human
behaviour and hold that other human characteristics may be fostered by a
co-operative society. This has implications for how we respect and treat the environment
and value other people. The Socialist Party does not accept an attitude of
passive resignation to the status quo and actively works towards reclaiming the
socialist vision. Our problem today is to figure out how best to reach out. How
to encourage our fellow workers to work together to revive the socialist
movement. What can our party, with finite resources, do to make a difference?
How can we help bring humanity out of capitalist purgatory and into a
sustainable future.
We live in a global capitalist system, which is why we have
seen crisis and austerity around the world. Under capitalism the needs of
profit and big business will always be put ahead of those of working people. An
economic recession destroys millions of jobs and undermines the security of the
working class. The gap between wealth and poverty is greater than ever. An
environmental and climate catastrophe threatens our way of life. The inherently
wasteful capitalist cycle of expansion and contraction is undermining the
planet’s ability to sustain human society. The bottom has fallen out of
people’s lives. These crises presents new challenges for socialists. Capitalism
has exhausted itself but it will not pass into the pages of history without a
ceaseless struggle by the working class. New social movements have arisen
across the world to challenge capital’s domination. The interconnected crises
of social life, the economy and the environment makes the solution of any one
crisis dependent upon solving the others. The unity of the many currents of
struggle is a prerequisite to attaining democratic control of our society. The
political and social democratic power of the majority is the basis for building
a socialist society.
Articulation of the
needs and demands of the people is essential. Rebuilding and re-energising the
labour movement are fundamental. Socialism cannot emerge from sentiment or wish
fulfillment. Socialism arises because the working class, as it struggles around
the crisis of everyday living comes to recognise socialism as a necessity.
Socialism’s fundamental building blocks are already present in society. The
means of production are fully developed. There is an enfranchised electorate.
The workers for the most part, are highly skilled at all levels of production
and management. There exists a widespread mass means of communication. Many
earlier attempts at socialism lacked these advantages. Socialism will be gained
by the class-conscious working class winning the battle for democracy in
society at large.
Socialism will be a society in harmony with the natural
environment. The nature of global climate change necessitates a high level of
planning. We need to re-design communities, transform transportation, introduce
healthier foods and sustainable agriculture — all on a global scale, but on a
human scale with participation of diverse communities. A socialism that simply reproduces the
wasteful expansion of an earlier capitalism creates more problems than it
solves.
Socialism is the solution to the intractable problems of a
capitalism devoid of all hope. The Socialist Party stand for a fundamental
change in society, not based on nationalism but worldwide socialist revolution.
We are fighting for socialism, the only way forward for humanity. The working
class is the major force worldwide that can lead the way to a socialist future
- to a real radical democracy from below. We will oppose the soulless ghouls of
the capitalist system.
THE COMMONWEALTH OF
TOIL
In the gloom of mighty cities
Mid the roar of whirling wheels
We are toiling on like chattel slaves of old,
And our masters hope to keep us
Ever thus beneath their heels,
And to coin our very life blood into gold.
But we have a glowing dream
Of how fair the world will seem
When each man can live his life secure and free;
When the earth is owned by labor
And there's joy and peace for all
In the Commonwealth of Toil that is to be.
They would keep us cowed and beaten,
Cringing meekly at their feet.
They would stand between each worker and his bread.
Shall we yield our lives up to them
For the bitter crust we eat?
Shall we only hope for heaven when we're dead?
They have laid our lives out for us
To the utter end of time.
Shall we stagger on beneath their heavy load?
Shall we let them live forever
In their gilded halls of crime,
With our children doomed to toil beneath their goad?
When our cause is all triumphant
And we claim our Mother Earth,
And the nightmare of the present fades away,
We shall live with love and laughter,
We who now are little worth,
And we'll not regret the price we have to pay.
RALPH CHAPLIN
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