Real Social Democracy

When the Socialist Party talks and writes of democracy we mean democracy must entail the involvement of the community at every level in political and economic decision-making, something very different from what the mainstream media which informs us that we require to elect a professional career politician, to represent our political interests every five years or so. Do we really need to depend upon professional a minority of specialists who claim their expertise and knowledge cannot be easily understood by the ‘layman’ and who is therefore excluded from democratic debate and decision? Are these aspiring statesmen (and women) the only ones with the talent and ability to make decisions concerning our communities?

The Socialist Party declares that socialism can be summed up as the conscious social control of all aspects of life, including the production and distribution of wealth. Under capitalism, we are victims of blind economic forces beyond our control but with the establishment of socialism people would be carrying out their own desires and decisions. What will give humans this freedom in socialism is the fact that all the Earth's resources, including the means for producing wealth, will have become the common heritage of the whole of humanity. Actually, this is just another way of saying that the world will belong to nobody: there will be neither property nor territorial rights over any part of the globe. Humanity will, therefore, be free to organise its social life in accordance with its wishes. To do this—to decide on and carry out its wishes—humanity will have to organise itself, inevitably democratically, since if decision-making were left to a permanent minority they would constitute a new owning class.

Socialism will be a society entirely geared to satisfying human needs. What human beings decide they want will be paramount; everything else will be subordinate to this aim. It is difficult for us, living in a capitalist society where time-measured cost as reflected in accounting in monetary units is paramount, and where human energies are no more than a costed factor of production, to appreciate how enormous a change this will be. Today time is money and the economic pressure is to do everything as quickly as possible. In socialism not only will there be no money but time will no longer be so important. Men and women will be free to choose to take longer to produce something if, For instance, this slower production method endows the product with a  more aesthetic appeal and offers the producers more pleasure in its creation, or results in a manufacturing process that is better for the health and the welfare of the producer. Satisfying our needs will be the sole determinant of production.

The decision of the allocation of resources within socialism would have three stages: Dissemination of information, debate and vote. The first part would rely on the expertise and talent of those involved within the relevant industries, in this case, scientists and technologists. Because of the absence of political pressures, they would be free to articulate candidly about the benefits and risks of developing certain productive technologies. There would have to be an element of trust in taking this advice but as in criminal trials, this will be balanced by experts who take a different perspective. A debate by the wider community would then take place using this information and evaluating possible contrasting opinions. Again, as in present day trials, the community will be asked which course to take based on their assessment of which evidence they find the most compelling. As is the case now mistakes will be made but at least they will be the result of honest error rather than Machiavellian political intrigue and corruption which is so ubiquitous today.

We maintain that no meaningful democracy is possible until the decisions concerning the production of the means of life are taken under the democratic control of the whole community. That this is a possibility will make the motivation for democratic activity so much more exciting – in contrast to the obvious impotent and cynical gatherings which parish, county, regional and national councils/governments now represent. Production for profit is the antithesis of democracy because it can only ever work in the interests of the parasitic minority. Democracy is still a concept that waits in the wings of history’s theatre, ready enter centre stage.