On with the class war

The Socialist Party aims to replace the present capitalist system, with its inherent injustice and inhumanity, by a social system from which the domination and exploitation of one class by another will be eliminated, in which economic planning will supersede unregulated private enterprise and competition, and in which genuine economic equality will be possible. The aim of the Socialist Party is the establishment by democratic means of a cooperative commonwealth in which the supplying of human needs and enrichment of human life shall be the primary purpose of our society. the ownership of the world by a small propertied class is driving the people of this planet swiftly along the path to perdition. The hope of humanity and the path to progress lies in the revolt of the wage-earners against the propertied class, the seizure of political power from the propertied class, and the seizure of the land and the means of production from the propertied class. The capture of political and economic power constitute the social revolution. This great change means that the common people (the workers) will own the world in common, produce wealth in common, possess in common all wealth produced, and by common agreement distribute that wealth to the common advantage.

Capitalism fosters competition, strife, and bloodshed. In its path to mayhem hundreds of millions of helpless people are being crushed by a growing poverty. The present order is marked by glaring inequalities of wealth and opportunity, by chaotic waste and instability; and in an age of plenty, it condemns the great mass of the people to poverty and insecurity. In spite of great economic advancement, large sections of people do not benefit from the increased wealth produced. Great wealth and economic power continue to be concentrated in the hands of  relatively few capitalists and corporations. The gap between those at the bottom and those at the top of the economic ladder has grown. Thousands still live in want and insecurity. Slums and inadequate housing condemn many families to a cheerless life. Older citizens exist on pensions far too low for health and dignity. Many too young to qualify for pensions are rejected by industry as too old for employment and face the future without hope. Many in serious ill-health cannot afford the hospital and medical care they need. Educational institutions have been starved for funds and, even in days of prosperity, only a small proportion of young men and women who could benefit from technical and higher education can afford it.

The growing concentration of corporate wealth has resulted in a virtual economic dictatorship by a privileged few.  Power has become more and more concentrated into the hands of a small irresponsible minority of financiers and industrialists and to their predatory interests, the majority are habitually sacrificed. When private profit is the main stimulus to economic effort, our society oscillates between periods of feverish prosperity in which the main benefits go to speculators and profiteers, and of catastrophic depression, in which the common man's normal state of insecurity and hardship is accentuated. We believe that these evils can be removed only in a planned and socialized economy in which our natural resources and means of production and distribution are commonly owned, collectively controlled and operated by the people. The new social order at which we aim is not one in which individuality will be crushed out by a system of regimentation. What we seek is a proper collective organization of our economic resources such as will make possible a much greater degree of leisure and a much richer individual life for every person.

The world’s productive capacity is not fully utilized. Its use is governed by the dictates of private economic power and by considerations of, private profit. Similarly, the scramble for profit has wasted and despoiled our rich resources of soil, water, forest, and minerals. This lack of social planning results in a waste of our human as well as our natural resources. Our human resources are wasted through social and economic conditions which stunt human growth. Industry can and should be so operated as to enable people to use fully their talents and skills. Such an economy will yield the maximum opportunities for individual development and the maximum of goods and services for the satisfaction of human needs. Unprecedented scientific and technological progress have brought us to the threshold of an industrial revolution. Opportunities for enriching the standard of life are greater than ever. However, unless a n careful study is given to the many problems which will arise and unless there is intelligent planning to meet them, the evils of the past will be multiplied in the future. The technological changes will produce even greater concentrations of wealth and power and will cause widespread distress through unemployment and the displacement of populations. Economic expansion accompanied by widespread suffering and injustice is not desirable. Our society must be built upon a relationship based on mutual respect where everyone will have a sense of worth and belonging.  

We do not believe in change by violence. This social and economic transformation can be brought about by political action and through elections. The Socialist Party aims at political power in order to put an end to this capitalist domination of our political life. It is a democratic movement. It appeals for support to all who believe that the time has come for a far-reaching reconstruction of our economic and political institutions and who are willing to work together. The hungry, oppressed and underprivileged of the world must know democracy not as a smug slogan but as a way of life which sees the world as one whole, and which recognizes the right of every person to the highest available standard of living. The Socialist Party will not rest content until every person on this planet is able to enjoy equality and freedom, a sense of human dignity, and an opportunity to live a rich and meaningful life as a citizen of a free and peaceful world. This is the cooperative commonwealth which the Socialist Party invites fellow workers to build.

The present structure of society, capitalism, based on the exploitation of the working class and the division of the spoils. Capitalism, the private ownership of the means of production, is responsible for the insecurity of subsistence, the poverty, misery, and degradation of the ever-growing majority of people. It has necessitated the adoption of socialism, the common ownership of the means of production for the collective good and welfare. The Socialist Party declares its object to be the organization of the working class into a political party to conquer the public powers now controlled by capitalists and the abolition of wage slavery by the establishment of a system of cooperative industry, based upon the social or common ownership of the means of production and distribution, to be administered by society in the mutual interest of all its members, and the complete emancipation of the socially useful classes from the domination of capitalism. The Socialist Party is not a party of patchwork reform, nor a party of sham revolutionary phrases, but operating on a policy of education. We fight for nothing short socialism, because we believe that nothing short of that will save the workers. To us the fight for socialism is the life and soul of the working-class movement and help to bring to the surface the fundamental antagonism of the classes when the workers will be able to control production and distribution by socially owning the great agents of production. What our fellow workers have to learn is that the socialists are in the end the only practical men and women, because the only real practical work for the people is the transformation of capitalism into socialism. Let us cast doubts aside and proceed heartily than ever into the fight, knowing that not many years will have to pass before the world’s socialist movement will prevail.

The safety of society rests not in the hands of a few leaders or party heroes, but in the growing mass of workers becoming conscious of the need for a new society. The more quantitative change on our side, the more will become qualitative, it becomes. In other words, newer and clearer views will come with numbers, and the moment will come when the workers will challenge capitalism to the last fight and win through to the world society of a united human race, producing each for all and all for each. The workers are linking up all over the world, are preparing for the final clash of the class war.