Socialism and socialist principles

What is the difference between the Socialist Party and all the rest of the political parties that call themselves socialist or communist? That or similar questions occur again and again. They arise because of the confusion engendered in the minds of a great many people by the claims and pretensions other organisations who contend that they are representatives of "socialism". For this reason, it is important that, once again, we restate in definite terms what the Socialist Party stands for, and at the same time pointing out the anti-socialist character of such self-styled socialist or workers parties.

Let us define socialism. First, with socialism, there will be no private ownership in the necessaries of life, i.e., the industries and the system of communication and distribution, as well as the social services. Second, there will be no political State and, accordingly, there will be no state ownership or bureaucratic control of these necessaries of life. Third, there will be no wage system, hence, no exploitation. In place of private ownership, we shall have common ownership of the means of production and distribution. In short, socialism is a social system under which all the instruments of production, distribution, education, health, etc., are owned, controlled and administered by the people, for the people, through industrial representatives who will be directly and at all times responsible to the people.  

These other parties that call themselves socialist have for decades advocated a hodgepodge of nationalisation, municipal ownership, cooperatives, etc., all of which (apart from being a denial of socialism) would make necessary the retention of the political state. In their effort to be "all things to all men," they also defend the private ownership of small businesses. They pay only lip service to "social ownership" and "industrial democracy" and "production for use," in the very next breath they promise to increase wages for the workers, increase unemployment insurance and expand social security, etc. -- all of which implies a continuation of capitalism! These parties are reformist seeking political power by making meaningless promises in the name of "Socialism," while the Socialist Party is a revolutionary political party whose aim is, and always has been, the abolition of capitalism and the establishment of socialism. They opportunistically trading on socialist sentiment whenever the opportunity presents itself. They speak and write in a jargon liberally sprinkled with socialist terms and phrases. They condemn capitalism at times in almost hysterical terms and then propose a series of reforms. Time and again, they have all shown themselves capable of coldly and brazenly sacrificing the interests of the workers, and even of collaborating openly with and defending the capitalist exploiters in supposed national liberation movements or united fronts. At no time did they represent the true interests of the working class, nor did they ever enable the workers to establish a socialist society. And, accordingly, they were and are the exact opposite of the Socialist Party.

The Socialist Party, founded in 1904, is the only organisation in the United Kingdom that stands uncompromisingly for the abolition of capitalism. We deny that there is any possibility of real or lasting improvement for the vast majority, the working class, within the framework of the capitalist system. On the contrary, the Socialist Party warns that the longer capitalism lasts, the worse becomes the condition of the workers as a class, and the more difficult will become the transition from capitalism to socialism. And this despite the persistent efforts of the liberals and reformers, whether they pretend to be socialists or not. The Socialist Party has learned through the hard school of experience that reforms lead away from socialism and progress. We call for the unification of the workers on the political field under the banner of the Socialist Party to demand, via the ballot box, the unconditional surrender of the capitalist class. Every clear-thinking worker should support the Socialist Party for a socialist reconstruction of society. Do not be deceived by those who lack sound socialist principles.