Change is Taking Place Whether We Like It Or Not

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It’s the system. A world of afflicted human beings, nearly half of whom struggle to survive on less than $2 a day. Capitalism is designed to profit a privileged few, not to nourish a humane and sane society. Unbearable conditions are causing upheavals globally, and rulers are desperate to suppress them. Capitalist barbarities are global and workers organising across borders vital. It’s going to take a revolution to abolish this system. The owners of capital have zero interest in such a radical change of ownership. It doesn’t take a genius to see that we live in a deeply destructive world.

The word “socialism” is so loaded with negative connotations, being linked to totalitarian regimes and brutal repression of freedom and rights from Stalin to Pol Pot where everyone suffers under the oppressive the heel of relentless state control. Socialism, then, is vilified as a fundamental danger to human freedom. Socialism that envisions a significant reorganization of society is seen as merely an anachronism. It is time that those of us shake off our fear of being branded as wild-eyed radicals who espouse long-discarded Marxist pipe-dreams of sharing the planet’s resources and proposing a society controlled by membership in that society, not by accumulated wealth whether individuals or corporate. If socialism were as anachronistic and as irrelevant as those who oppose it say it is, then why such a reaction to it? There are those who see change as absolutely necessary for survival and they are doing all they can to bring it about, no matter how the ruling minority’s media and political servants act to the contrary or some Left critics insist it’s ineffective or even hopeless for capitalism’s apologists are paradoxically joined by many of its critics in seeming unity of belief that there is no chance or need for change. This is understandable as we experience an almost endless loop of bad news about everything, along with a political system that offers a choice between cholera or plague every election day with no seeming hope for ending the disease. Nevertheless, while the danger to humanity is greater than ever, so are the possibilities for success. The rise of resistance to dictatorships, corporate rule, military occupation and corrupt politics brings new hope for humanity.

The current ecological and economic problems facing the world have happened precisely because we live in a political and economic system that puts profits ahead of people and the planet—capitalism. To save ourselves and our planet we need a sharp change of direction towards a new people-centred form of social organisation—socialism. Imagine a society where each individual has the means to live a life of dignity and fulfilment, without exception; where discrimination and prejudice are wiped out; where all members of society are guaranteed a decent life, the means to contribute to society; and where the environment is protected and rehabilitated. This is socialism—a truly humane, a truly ecological society.

The goal of the big corporations is to secure the greatest possible profits for their share-holders —regardless of the consequences to the planet and its people. More and more people are realising that society needs to be liberated from the rule of capital. Under capitalism, a tiny handful of people—the capitalist class, “the 1%”—control the means of production, distribution and exchange. They own the corporations that own the mines, factories, banks, transport networks, supermarket chains, media empires, and so on. The economy is a social enterprise. We all depend on it and the labour of working people keeps the wheels turning. But because the capitalists control it they get the profits and workers’ wages never reflect the full value of what they produce. The fight for a decent wage is a constant struggle against entrenched corporate power, backed by the state. The market-based system is represented in the media as all-powerful and constant. Any possible alternative is excluded. But our economic and social relationships are a human creation, and as such, they can be changed. Our economy must be socially owned and controlled. We need a radically different political system: a system of grassroots, participatory democracy that empowers the big majority of people who are currently excluded from genuine decision making power. This would be based on organisations of popular democracy in localities and workplaces which could directly make decisions affecting their respective communities. Any administrators or officials elected by these bodies would be subject to recall through a simple process if their electors are dissatisfied. Centralised decision making bodies need to be accountable to their local counterparts. Real democracy is impossible if one part of society (the capitalist class) owns the main levers of the economy and can run them autocratically in their own private interest and at the expense of the workers who are compelled to work for them. By contrast, social ownership makes possible democratic decisions about the main goals and targets of economic activity including environmental, labour and human rights standards. These goals and targets should be popularly decided. Workers should be able to elect their own administrators and collectively direct their workplaces.

We need revolutionary change. Revolution doesn’t mean a violent coup by a minority: a revolution can only come about when the majority of people see the need for radical change, and are actively involved in bringing it about. A revolution is a mass struggle to create new and far more democratic forms of political power and a new social system. While this seems a long way off at present, deepening economic, environmental and political crises can create a situation where people are looking for solutions and are open to revolutionary ideas. An important step in the struggle for such change is winning political power and capturing the machinery of the State within the current parliamentary system. History also shows that we will have to mobilise in the workplaces and neighbourhoods to defend any the political majority. If we can overcome capitalism—if the economy is socially owned and controlled and we have a system of popular power—then we have a framework for dealing with the ecological and social problems that we face. The guiding principle of a post-capitalist society would be placing the welfare of all people and ecological sustainability first. No one would be abandoned to their fate, as is the case under capitalism.