Correcting the Misconceptions

Since the Communist Manifesto was written the world that Marx and Engels envisaged, has not yet been reached anywhere. The most popular depiction of “socialism” is one of state ownership and a command economy, directed by the ‘revolutionary’ party in a virtual fusion of State and party. Of course, this was never the conception of Marx or Engels.  Socialism means that the means of production and the land belong to the whole people and are organized and run democratically. The way they organise themselves depends on the kind of enterprise it is; on the general way in which the society as a whole has evolved.  This means that there is no ideal form of self-management that springs up but that it is an on-going process, before, during and after the socialist revolution. The basic issue is that real power is in the hands of working people. Workers’ self-management does not mean enterprises acting each for itself, in uncontrolled competition but an integrated social plan, which is applied and worked out democratically. This presupposes a radical rethinking of the idea of rigidly-centralised planning. The socialist economy is composed of many different ultra-modern enterprises, within the coordinated framework of democratic social planning at a local, regional and global levels. The aim is to satisfy the real social needs of the citizens, with decisions made democratically from the bottom up by a process of interaction and delegation which is constantly readjusting and adapting to execute and meet the objectives.  The world should be thought of as a combination of communities, divided not simply for the sake of administrative control but also because they are homogeneous, coherent regions to be provided for and also to provide for others. These communes self-governed by their citizens and will have sufficient means to develop their own local plans within the general framework of wider production. This authentic socialist socialization. It end the centuries-old concepts of hierarchy, authority, ‘leaders’ and the ‘led’. It is a revolution not only of property relations but of social relations. It ends the whole barbaric past of humanity based on the exploitation and the subordination of some people by others. This is the only kind of socialism which is worth the struggle and the sacrifice.

The position of the Socialist Party is that the most preferable, the most desirable method of social transformation is to have it done peacefully by the majority. That opinion is based on a study of history, the historical experiences of mankind in the numerous changes of society from one form to another, the revolutions which accompanied it. Parliament has lost much of its prestige but its control over the forces of law and order and the armed forces means that it cannot be ignored. We can achieve socialism peacefully by the ballot – if the ruling class permits it. But neither did we represent ourselves as pacifists. The Socialist Party does not shrink from using force but we consider when faced by an overwhelming majority of determined and organised workers, they will accept their inevitable fate. Socialism is the doctrine of revolutionary action. But it has nothing in common with insurrection. The revolutionary plan which the Socialist Party contemplates is the action of the working class majority. Socialism will be won and built by our fellow workers , who those who meet the needs of society. They will create a society no longer based on chaos, but proceeds according to the planned fulfillment of genuine human needs. Classes and class struggle will cease to exist. Socialism will unleash a degree of productive forces unknown before in the history of mankind. Commodity production, that is, production for sale or exchange on the market, will not exist. The system of wage labor will be abolished and the guiding principle of labor will be “from each according to ability, to each according to need.” The means of production will be held in common and private property will be eliminated. Standing in the way of social progress and socialism are two obstacles:

1. The capitalist class.

2. Socialism will be possible only when the workers decide that they are determined to lay the living conditions of mankind on a new foundation.

The class struggle is important and cannot be avoided because it marks the road towards the class-free society. With the end of class oppression, the state disappears. We can play no part in the building of the new society – that privilege must be left to those who come after us. Solidarity in the working class as a whole, coming from below, is an urgent necessity if we are to further the cause of Socialism.