The Socialist Party vision for global human emancipation

"The liberty of opinion is the most sacred of all liberties, for it is the basis of all . . ." Ernest Jones, Chartist

Socialism does not aim at making people slaves of governments, but to get rid of all governments other than the ‘self-government’ of free citizens. Socialism is the recognition and adoption of the principle and practice of association as against isolation, of co-operation as against competition, of concerted action in the interests of all, instead of “dog-eat-dog” Socialism saddles upon each of us the responsibility of being our “brother’s keeper.” If a child, woman or man is hungry, socialism says there is something wrong in our social system, and upon us rests the responsibility of righting the wrong. If one family dwells in a slum, socialists say let us raze the slum to the ground and build decent homes for people to live in. If men and women are overworked from toil and drudgery, and so prevented from fully sharing in the joys of life, socialism tells us to end the toil and see to it that every man and every woman shall have a fair share of all that makes life worth living. Socialism means the complete end of the present capitalist system. Therefore those who do not believe in the necessity for and the justice of the total socialisation of the means of production should not call themselves socialists. We declare that the present capitalist system is based upon the legalised robbery of the wealth producers by the land-lords, the industrialists, and financiers, and the undoubted object of socialism is to get rid of these monopolists as speedily as possible. Among socialists, there may be differences of opinion as to the particular kind of tactics, political and economic for the realisation of socialism, but no genuine socialist would disagree with that object as stated. Socialism is the full realisation of the collectivist ideal, where not only will the means of wealth production be co-operatively owned by the people, but when there will be no regimentation or any dictatorial ruling class of the kind we have knowledge of today when even parliaments will disappear. Socialists desire a free state of society wherein exploitation will be impossible and minus armies of officials or parliamentarians. There is an alternative: that of adequately supplying the needs of all. A future where the world is to be co-operative, and not competitive.

William Morris describes socialism:

“…the centralised nation would give place to a federation of communities who would hold all wealth in common, and would use that wealth for satisfying the needs of each member, only exacting from each that he should do his best according to his capacity towards the production of the common wealth. Of course, it is to be understood that each member is absolutely free to use his share of wealth as he pleases, without interference from any, so long as he really uses it, that is, does not turn it into an instrument for the oppression of others. This view intends complete equality of condition for everyone, though life would be, as always, varied by the differences of capacity and disposition…”

The object of the Socialist Party is to secure economic freedom for the whole community, by that we mean all men and all women shall have equal opportunities of sharing in wealth production and consumption. Humanity cannot by any possibility remain in its existing chaotic economic condition. When we can expect to see socialism realised would be speculation and no socialist possesses a crystal ball for predictions. The Socialist Party works towards the defeat and the overthrow of the rule of the capitalist class over our lives, our society, and our world. We work for social equality and the radical transformation and/or abolition of oppressive institutions by the thorough democratisation of society. We seek to unite the many against the few with the inspiring vision of global human emancipation. The Socialist Party strives to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the hopeless across our world to foster courage, trust, and solidarity amongst those who have been beaten down by the current system, to turn our collective weakness into our strength. The Socialist Party aspires towards exposing capitalism before it poisons the planet to the point where it is unlivable. As socialists, we are citizens of the world. Our roots are in our communities and in our workplaces.