Which Way Is Left For Socialists?

“Study because we will need all your intelligence.

Agitate because we will need all your enthusiasm.

Organise because we will need all your strength.”

Gramsci

Never before has the Socialist Party had greater need for the recognition of the whole of its ideal. Let the Socialist Party hold aloft its ideas and be above any compromise or concession. It is a democratic party to the highest degree since it wants to give every individual the concrete means of development that alone will permit one to fully realise oneself. Despite its recent shift to the left with the election of Jeremy Corbyn as its leader, all that the Labour Party has laid claim to do up to now is to be able to manage the capitalist ship of state just as good or just as bad than anyone else. It has never seen itself as being, despite its name, a party which represents the working class. It has consistently been a party for “the nation as a whole”. It has claimed to represent the capitalist class as much as the working class. It has therefore never sought to overthrow that ruling oligarchy, but, on the contrary, to gain admittance to its hallowed citadels. The cruelest trick that the Labour Party has played has been to use its position within working class culture to popularise any real vision of socialism distinct from capitalism. And none of the current arguments around the question of party democracy or proposed “radical” policies are projected in terms of the social relationships within socialism. There is a total absence of any class analysis or any characterisation of the state as an instrument of class rule. Nowhere do they indicate how the fundamental contradiction within the capitalist mode of production can be resolved. Perhaps of significance is the definition of the enemies of the working class used by Corbyn and others on the left of the Labour Party which generally consists of “the City of London, the IMF/World Bank, the transnational corporations”, all of which are part of finance capital. Industrial capital is not only largely excluded, but is, indeed, seen as the lifeblood of the nation. The nature of industry, production for profit, and the relations within production are not criticised. If the Labour Party holds out no solution, what are the alternatives?

The principal task of the members of the Socialist Party is to try to restore the credibility of socialism in the consciousness of millions of men and women. We can formulate these as feed the hungry, house the homeless, offer a dignified life to everyone, safeguard the lives of the sick who die from lack of proper medical attention, in short, generalise free access to the wealth of society to all. The producers must hold the real decision making power over what they produce this power must be exercised in a completely democratic manner; that is, it must express the real aspirations of the people. There is a total renunciation on the part of the Socialist Party of all substitutionalism, paternalism and top-down practices. The emancipation of the workers will be the work of the workers themselves. It cannot be done by states, governments, parties, supposedly infallible leaders or experts of any kind. The Socialist Party can only assist people to free themselves by education; they cannot be a substitute for them. Priority must be given to solidarity and cooperation. If we direct our attention and actions against all conditions in which human beings are alienated and humiliated and our practice is consistent socialism will once again become a political force to contend with.

The Socialist Party are revolutionary socialists who believe that capitalism — as a system centered on private accumulation and profit — is inherently a system of inequality, injustice, and war. We want a social system where social wealth is not in the hands of a few billionaires or government officials, but is controlled by the people. The working class is made up of men and women who sell their labour power or are dependent on the sale of labour power (housewives, children, unemployed, etc.). We seek both economic and political democracy.  Human needs cannot replace profit as the driving force of society unless the people control their workplaces and their neighbourhoods. To end exploitation, the working class needs to struggle for its own interests. Our enemy is capitalism. We live in a world where the capitalist mode of production predominates. In order to fight the enemy and win, we have to understand the foe. Capitalism dominates our economic system. Under capitalism, a handful who own the factories, the mines, corporate farms, and the banks control the wealth that the majority of the people produce. It is this system that we are fighting. Capitalism organises globally. Blocs of capital compete intensely for growth and profits. Under capitalism you either destroy the competition, or are destroyed yourself. This drive sends the giant corporations around the world, seeking cheaper raw materials and corrupt local governments that will insure a "friendly investment climate." Capitalism continuously seeks cheaper labour costs. This is why we see so many plants closing down and moving "offshore," i.e., into the Developing World. The capitalist class rules this country. We are told that this is a democracy, where the people rule. It is, however, “their” democracy. It is not just that it takes millions of dollars to run for high office. The state – the government and the legal system – were set up and developed to serve the interests of capitalism, to uphold the rights of property over of the people. Capitalism is a system of violence. Poverty is built into its operation. The capitalist class needs to maintain its grip on the levers of power. History has shown again and again that the capitalists will stop at nothing to maintain their wealth and power. Capitalist democracy is protected by the threat of force.  The capitalist class has kept the working class divided along national and racial lines.

Today’s struggle for a livable planet is a life-and-death issue. Corporate greed has polluted our air, destroyed the soil, poisoned our waters, and drenched our food with dangerous chemicals. To develop our vision of socialism, we will have to deepen our understanding of the relationship between humanity and the rest of nature. People will have to change how they live and how society is organised. The threat to the environment touches everyone. We believe in a socialism where fulfillment will be found in the relationships among people and not in the consumption of things. Only conscious socialist planning by all of society can make this a reality.

Our enemies are organised; we must be organised, also, to bring about socialism and the liberation of the people. The interests of the working class around the world are in the final analysis the same. This means that the interests of the working class has a crucial internationalist aspect requiring solidarity and support for all our struggles. We do not attempt to lay out a blue print for socialism, because the conditions existing at the time of the overthrow of capitalist power will determine the specific path of socialist construction. History has shown that attempts to impose preconceived strategies for socialist construction can result in a dictatorship not of but over the proletariat.