“The
whole world will be one brotherhood…That can only be obtained when
the people of the world get the world and retain the world.”
–
John
MacLean, 1918
One
of the strongest holds the capitalists have over the minds of the
workers is given by the workers' ready acceptance of the dogmas of
nationalism and patriotism.
Nationalism
bequeaths to the working class only a change in the hand that wields
the lash. Nationalism is merely the substitution of one style of
coercive state for another. Socialism, by contrast, will be a
state-free society in which human beings all over the world will
co-operate for the communal good. The achievement of that society
must be the democratic, conscious act of the world's working class
and they will not need violence or coercion to introduce the first
age of human freedom, unity and abundance.
When
the left-nationalists start talking about the importance of
preserving national independence it's a clear sign of a total lack of
elementary socialist consciousness. They may call it maintaining
local democracy but what's meant is maintaining local capitalism.
Real meaningful change to peoples' lives can only take place when the
root causes of the problems facing humanity are considered on a
worldwide scale. Even in the most politically democratic countries on
the planet the producers of all real wealth, the working class, are
simply wage slaves whose lives are dominated by the money-shuffling
activities of a minority class of capitalists which, by controlling
their means of life, controls their lives and denies them freedom.
Marx, after the most penetrating analysis of capitalism, affirmed that it was a system of social organisation in which a relatively small class exploited the great majority by its ownership and control of the means and instruments of production. The method by which these owners, or capitalists, carry out this exploitation is the wages and money system. Given then that capitalism is a system based on the exploitation of the working class it is patently absurd to suggest that there can be any form of national government that can make it function in the interests of the class it exploits. Within capitalism there is obviously an inevitable conflict of interest, a class struggle, between the overwhelming majority who produce but do not own and a relatively small minority class who own but do not produce. Members of the working class do not voluntarily elect to join this class struggle; we are mostly born into it and it governs the way we live. To promote the notion that the area of our birth (‘our’ country) or a religious or political ideology transcends or neutralises our class status or gives us a common cause with a class that socially deprives and demeans us, that imposes either mere want or grave poverty on our lives and the lives of our families, is to be cruelly deceived by the political machinations of capitalism.
Nationalism
is a political doctrine that preaches that people with a common
history or language or religion form a separate "nation"
from all other people and have the right to have their own political
state to defend their common interest. Socialists have always
rejected this doctrine, not just because it isn't true (people who
have a common history or speak the same language do not have a common
interest; they are divided into classes, and a worker who speaks a
particular language has a common interest with workers speaking other
languages but not with a capitalist who speaks the same one) but also
because of its practical consequences. Without the ideology of
nationalism, capitalist states would be unstable since, being based
on minority class rule, they need a minimum allegiance from those
they rule over. Nationalism serves to achieve this by teaching the
ruled to be loyal to "their" so-called "nation-state".
In states where a sizeable minority of the population do not fit into
the definition of that state's "nation"—because, for
instance, they speak a different language, especially if this is the
language of another state—then there is at least a potential
problem, to which the final solution is so-called ethnic cleansing.
Socialism
is the complete antithesis of capitalism. In a socialist world
private and/or state ownership of society’s means of life will give
way to social ownership and production of goods and services solely
for use. So goods and services will no longer be produced as
commodities for sale and profit. Accordingly there will be no role in
socialist society for a means of exchange; hence, the entire, utterly
wasteful commercial sinews of capitalism will be obsolete. The
class-free, wage-free, money-free society envisaged in the socialist
adage: “From
each according to their ability; to each according to their needs”
will
become a reality. A world free from the corruptive influences of
money and power where government of people will give way to a simple
administration of things.
Scottish
workers who are foolish enough to help Scottish capitalists to win
independence from Great Britain should learn that the capitalist
system is the same wherever it exists, and whatever the nationality
of the rulers who use the State to keep the workers' hands off their
property. We, in the Socialist Party have no sympathy whatever with
the demand for independence made by native capitalist groups. We
would no more assist them than assist the British Government against
them. A plague on both their houses! Our only interest is to try to
get our fellow-workers leave this quarrel about the right to exploit
to the people who gain from exploitation. Many so-called socialists
think, or at any rate act, differently. Some of them are still very
much the victims of the mental disorder called patriotism. Some
left-nationalists are playing a double game which they call
"tactics." They argue that as the people among whom it is
desired to propagate socialism are still entirely wrapped up in
nationalist illusions, then the way to clear their minds is to tack
their patriotism on to the socialist case. It is hard to imagine
anything less calculated to further socialism. When the left are
so adaptive and opportunist their propaganda becomes a farce and they
degenerate usually into the more or less open tools of local business
interests.
The
sooner they give up pandering to working-class political ignorance
and devote themselves to teaching socialism, the sooner will the
nationality problem be solved. The capitalists of the “oppressed”
nations will line up together for protection against the growing
unity of the working class, and the way will be cleared for the real
fight — the fight for working-class emancipation. Our vision is of
a world without borders where resources are shared communally. A
world where a co-operative effort of a free association of producers
aims at meeting human need in the widest sense. A world where
relationships are based on equality and mutual respect, overthrowing
all relationships where a few dominate others. As
we struggle for such a society which will put human need first, we
need to build up links with others doing the same thing
worldwide. Fundamental problems like war and the destruction of
the planet by climate change need to be tackled globally.
Fostering
distinctive cultures is positive but beware of governments and bosses
using nationalism to divide us and promote a false “national
interest”. In Scotland, as in all countries, there is no common
interest between the employers and the working class.
No comments:
Post a Comment