Sheep No More

To paraphrase Martin Luther King, we must shift from a thing-oriented society where the profit motive and property rights are considered more important than people, to a community and person-oriented society. A world without capitalism and its hierarchies and domination, its environmental destruction is often depicted as “utopian” and “unrealistic” by the mainstream media but it is what the Socialist Party strives towards as an achievable and attainable goal. It is not some future mirage from the books but our capacity to imagine real radical change in society which inspires us. There’s no time for self-doubt and despair. Our political activism goes beyond the “either/or”. We need a revolution that establishes new foundations. We need a revolution of solidarity that benefits all. This revolution will not be achieved by switching political power from one party to another. We reject the politics of lesser-evilism. After decade after decade of failed reforms, we are well aware that existing institutions are not up to the task of carrying through system change. The actions of businesses are limited by their adherence to the profit imperative and the pressure to grow shareholder value, while governments are constrained by short-term political imperatives and their commitment to economic growth above all other concerns. Change ‘within-the-system’ changes are not succeeding, and often do not even generate the small wins or incremental improvements that they seek. Time for ‘outside-the-system’ change for a sustainable future society. The problems of the world are so immense and interrelated, and the need for a global revolution and social transformation is urgent. The Socialist Party is drawing the battle lines worldwide. The nationalist call for separate nation-states results from the interests of the ruling class but does not reflect the interests of the people, since another state would only involve the creation of additional injustice.

We live in tumultuous times. Who knows what possibilities still lie ahead? Faced with a relentless austerity assault, protesters seek to secure some of the most elementary ingredients of a just, humane and democratic society. The one solution is to unite people throughout the world, which is our only hope for social transformation on a planetary scale. The only solution is the power of the people united. Politicians don’t like it when people come together because then they are threatened with losing their power and privileges. No other solution will work until the people across the globe rise up in unison and in doing so, we recognise that we are one humanity. The millions of people who shout for justice are standing for a better world. The politicians may decry these spontaneous uprisings as leaderless or unstructured, but they do not understand. Ordinary men and women are shouting out with the people’s voice on behalf of all the human race. It may please the populists who blame the bankers for all of society’s problems, but it will never bring a solution to social injustice as long as the system itself is based on the interests of privilege and wealth.  Imagine if there were millions of people demonstrating for sharing across the world, not for a redistribution of tax revenue, but saying ‘The food in the world belongs to everyone.” All for all. Each person in the world is family.

Socialism is the only humane alternative to capitalism. The role of the working class is the most critical. Only workers —labour in the broadest sense of the term that would include both the so-called blue-collar and white-collar workers—can bring an end to the rule of capital. Transforming the world economy in the interests of the majority of the people is not easy. It is clear, however, that to change the world economy in the interests of the majority of its inhabitants, workers need a new politics and new organisations to articulate the struggle for change. This requires a new independent labour movement to represent the interests of the entire working class and to challenge the logic of the profit-driven market.