The idea of socialism has been around a lot longer than
Marx, indeed is older than capitalism, if one takes John Ball's speech - 'When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then
the gentleman?' in 1381. An aspiration for social equality which could not
be met from the primitive technology of its day...but what an aspiration when Peasants
Revolt leaders were being beheaded and put on spikes.
Marx was a radical journalist who wished to see the end of
feudal relations and the ushering in of capitalist development and technology.
He supported emerging capitalist revolutions for a while. He saw peasants being
cruelly treated and driven from land which had long been in common where wood
could be gathered for fuel. He was chased into exile by the powers that be when
his journalism questioned events such as that one. He learned his socialism
from the French working class. As a polymath Marx was a prodigious scholar and
teacher. He even gives credit to the Anabatists, who opposed private property
and preached that all goods should be held in common. His gibe about the Church
of England illustrates this, "...The
English established Church, e.g. will more readily pardon an attack on 38 of 39
of its articles than on 1/39 of its income. Nowadays atheism is culpa levis (a
relatively slight sin, c.f. mortal sin) as compared to criticism of existing
property relations." This is the one he had in mind. (What a learned chap
he was)
“XXXVIII. Of Christian
men's Goods, which are not common.
The Riches and Goods
of Christians are not common, as touching the right, title, and possession of
the same, as certain Anabaptists do falsely boast. Notwithstanding, every man
ought, of such things as he possesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according
to his ability.”
All wealth springs from the collective labour of the working
class. It should be owned in common. Why settle for crumbs when we can own the
bake-house in common? If we abolished the wages system, the governments
(slavemasters’ overseers), the private and nominally public ownership by
corporations and individuals (The slaveowning class), of the means of producing
and distributing wealth, and established equal access in a production for use,
market free, free access, commonly owned world, there would be a sufficiency
and more, indeed a superabundance probably.
Capitalism is incapable of satisfying or meeting human needs
and must exploit the poverty stricken majority's relationship to the means of
production and distribution, by ensuring wage slavery for the majority, to
produce a surplus value (The workers commodity labour power produces a surplus
over its value, the only commodity which does so) for the continued economic
dominance enrichment and benefit of the minority parasite owning class. Capitalism
is obsolete and has been so since the beginning of the last century. We need to
have a dialogue with fellow workers worldwide, and make our common cause about
abolishing the wages system and establishing a post-scarcity world of free access
for all. It is a 'Free Access' society. The access will be 'self-determined',
according to self-determined needs. There will not be any overlords in a free
access society or access privileged above anyone else. In this sense we will
all be genuinely social equals with equal access but needs are of course
individual. Contributions likewise will be 'self-determined'. Free labour
rather than waged. The surgeon will have gone into medicine to administer to
the health of society. The sewage worker likewise, will have the same access to
the common wealth. There will be no buying or selling so no need of monetary
transactions, banks, Insurance sales, advertising, etc. and therefore a freeing
up of the general population to render useful service utilising the previous
productive capacity from the inefficient rationed economy of capitalism, to
efficient allocations and sharing of resources globally instead of warring over
them. As all will be held in common there is no need for rationed access,
policed restrictions, or armies fighting over minority controls over vital
resources. As it is a post capitalist society, it sees the end of social
classes proper, in the last great emancipation. The end of governments 'over'
people and the genuine democratic administration of resources introduced, (with
re-callable delegation where required) with the utilisation of 'calculation in
kind' stock controls using information technology to provide automatic stock
controls and replenishment signals. There would be no prices, taxes or other
rationing when we utilise the productive potential of present day technology,
to produce a superabundance of wealth, with free access, instead of rationing
it via waged slavery and price mechanisms, turning it off, when markets become
glutted as at present. It is past time for a societal upgrade. Capitalism is
well past its useful social stage. Politicians can't do it for us. But we can
ourselves. It is time to turn ourselves to saving the planet and utilising the
productive capacity allied with the latest in technology and informational
techniques, algorithmic based decision-making instead of price mechanisms, to
satisfy production needs, ensuring everyone without distinction, has free
access to all we need, to live a useful and healthy life.
Smarten up and get up off your subservient knees to help
create a 'post capitalist' system of society, where everything is owned in
common and controlled democratically. Hasten the post-capitalist, free access
socialist society, of open borders and healthy and secure places the world
over, from which no one has to flee! We can have a class-free, slavery-free
world to win, where we really can be, "Free at last".
You will find more on the World Socialist Movement website,
or one of the companion parties site such as Britian’s oldest existing
socialist party and second oldest political party, an honourable and refreshing
exception to the usual run-of-the-mill organisations.
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