The Battle-Field of Ideas

We are a movement of ideas; ideas cannot be imprisoned, they cannot be killed, and they do not require leaders. Across the world, it is becoming clear that the capitalist system is in its death throes, and that it must be put out of its misery before it takes us down with it. The acceleration of environmental destruction is unimaginable and it's happening quicker and quicker. We increasingly understand our responsibility in its dismantling. Whatever your particular campaign — be it the environment, food sovereignty, labour rights, or simply wanting the world to be a better place— it’s time to link up. Socialism needs to be an open and diverse movement. Many different people have contributions to make. Radical grassroots movements are the groundwork for the new world we carry in our hearts.

People refer to the 99%, The Socialist Party prefers to refer to the working class. When they hear the term working class, some people think simply of factory workers, but this is not what we mean. The working class is not limited to blue collar workers in factories, but instead, it includes all of us who are forced to sell our labour power to survive. This includes people who are in paid employment, whether in a factory, office or retail store. It also includes those who are unable to find paid employment, who provide a vast potential pool of labour that enables the ruling class to further keep wages down. The working class includes stay-at-home parents. It includes people who are too sick or unable to work for other reasons and their carers. In short, if you don´t own a business or if you aren't independently wealthy then chances are you are a part of the working class. It is necessary to understand how society is structured and how capitalism actually functions, in order to know where our collective strength comes from. One thing, from looking at this history, is abundantly clear. Mass action is vital for mass change. If you look through history, time and time again, it is when large groups of people have got together and shown themselves to be a threat to those in power that concessions have been granted. This happens on a small scale as well as a big one – when employees at a small business go on strike and refuse to work until their boss gives them a pay rise, the boss is forced to listen. Capitalism is not a static system, it is ever changing and adapting in response to situations. The threat of working class power has resulted in a number of changes to the functioning of capitalism over time. As workers, we create wealth for the bosses each and every day at our jobs. Some of this wealth is returned to us in the form of wages, but much is stolen. This stolen wealth is often called ¨surplus value¨. It is the accumulation of surplus value, stolen by our bosses, that forms the wealth of the ruling class. But because the goods and services that create this surplus value ultimately come from our hands and our brains, through collectively withdrawing our labour, we can force the bosses to give in to our demands. Taking collective action the workplace is one way we can impose our power on the bosses to help us better meet our needs and desires. It is important to recognise that this collected voice of engaged workers who are aware of the need for world reconstruction and renewal can be sufficient to challenge the immense forces of profit, greed, and control that stand in the way of transformative change. For global citizens who identify themselves as part of an emerging world community, the starting point is recognising our common humanity. When accept that the world is ‘one human family’ with the same needs and rights, as ourselves, the first priority must be to provide the very basics to those in a life-threatening state of deprivation. This may sound like utopian thinking but it assumes that the precondition of curative world change is goodwill from ordinary people towards the most deprived and marginalised people of the world. It assumes nothing more than redirecting public attention towards immediate human need, a fundamental reordering of global priorities in favour of securing the most basic necessities of food, water, healthcare and housing for the majority poor. For the necessary social transformation to come about by democratic means we will have to want these changes for ourselves. Few people are likely to oppose the restructuring of modern societies if it leads to less formal working hours, more recreation time, a less frenetic pace of life and greater well-being for all. Nonetheless, the desirability of a new way of living has to be recognised by a majority of people. Can we foresee masses of ordinary people who genuinely identify themselves as brothers and sisters of one human family, and who therefore demand that all the resources, technology and scientific know-how of the world are freely shared among everyone? It is a revolution of people coming together for the first time in human history, the united voice of the people, consciously mobilised in all lands towards a common set of principles and aims – world socialism.