One political party that stands uncompromisingly for the working class and human emancipation is The Socialist Party. For the present, the political ignorance of the workers stands in the way of their solidarity, but this can and will be overcome. Steadily the number of class-conscious toilers is increasing. The enlightened workers demand the ownership of the tools of industry and they are building up the Socialist Party as a means of getting them. The working class alone made the tools; the working class alone can use them, and the working class must, therefore, own them.
This is the revolutionary demand of the World Socialist Movement. The propaganda is one of education and is perfectly orderly and peaceable. The workers must be taught to unite and vote together as a class in support of the Socialist Party, the party that represents them as a class, and when they do this the government will pass into their hands and private ownership will give way to social ownership, and production for profit to production for use; the wage-system will disappear, and with it the ignorance and poverty, misery and crime that wage-slavery breeds; the working class will stand free, and a new era will dawn in human progress and in the civilisation of mankind. The World Socialist Movement's mission is to win the world — the whole world. The capitalist regime is but a mere passing phase. The capitalist era will be remembered in history, not so much for its own achievements as for what it has made possible after it has passed away. The historic mission of capitalism has been to place the forces of Nature at the service of man. The mission of Socialism is to release these imprisoned productive forces from the vandal horde that has seized them, that they may be operated, not in the interest of a privileged elite class, as at present, but freely and in the common interest of all. Then the world — the world the socialist movement is to win from capitalism — will be filled with wealth for all to have and to enjoy in its abundance. The earth is one vast mass of raw materials. Hidden in every passing breeze, in every wave, in river and ray of sun, are the energy to transform natural resources into wealth, and in such fabulous abundance as to banish for all time the spectre of want, and make the planet fit for humanity. The era of technological invention and transformation has brought us to this view. To realise this great social ideal is a work of education and organisation. The working class must be aroused. They must be made to hear the call of socialism. Economic solidarity and political solidarity. The working class are going to unite, economically and politically, for their emancipation. The unity of labour, economic and political, upon the basis of the class struggle, is at this time the supreme need of the working class. The prevailing lack of unity implies lack of class consciousness; that is to say, enlightened self-interest; and this can, must and will be overcome by revolutionary education and organisation. We are engaged today in a class war; and why? For the simple reason that in the evolution of the capitalist system in which we live, society has been mainly divided into two economic classes—a small class of capitalists who own the tools with which work is done and wealth is produced, and a great mass of workers who are compelled to use those tools. Between these two classes, there is an irrepressible economic conflict. Unfortunately for themselves, working people do not yet understand the nature of the conflict, and for this reason has hitherto failed to accomplish any effective unity of their class. The exploiting capitalist is the economic master and the political ruler in capitalist society, and as such holds the exploited wage worker in utter contempt. No master ever had any respect for his slave, and no slave ever had, or ever could have, any real love for his or her master. We are organised to fight that owning employing class. The capitalists are perfectly willing that you shall organise, as long as you don’t do a thing against them; as long as you don’t do a thing for yourselves.
When enough have become socialists — A new power will be in control! The people! For the first time in history, the working class will be free and no class will be in subjection. The average person imagines that he or she must have a leader to look to; a guide to follow, right or wrong, and therefore instinctively looks to a leader. We have depended too much on that leader and not enough on ourselves. The Socialist Party wants you to cultivate self-reliance, to rely upon yourselves. As long as you can be led by an individual you will be betrayed by an individual. That does not mean that all leaders are dishonest or corrupt. The most dangerous leader is not the corrupt leader, but the honest yet ignorant leader. This world only respects as it is compelled to respect, and if you workingmen and women would be respected you must begin by respecting yourselves.
In this barbarous competitive struggle in which we are engaged, the workers, the millions, are fighting each other to sell themselves into slavery; fighting each other to other to keep soul and body together. And this is called civilisation! What a mockery! What a sham! There is no real civilisation in the capitalist system. Whatever may be said of the past, there is no excuse for poverty today. And yet it is the scourge of mankind. Tens of millions are in a state of chronic poverty. Millions more have been sunk into pauperism. The whole working class is in a sadly dependent state, and even the luckiest wage-worker is left suspended by a single thread. He does not know what hour a machine may be invented to make his or trade superfluous and useless.
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