There exists an idea that small doses of 'socialist' measures can have a curative effect on the problems caused by capitalism and eventually lead to a socialist society.
It requires 'socialists' advocating revolution yet relying on amelioration and palliatives as the method of achieving it without any serious change to the ruling elite. These do not produce small effects but, in fact, produce no effect. Let us be very clear, socialism means revolution and that means a radical change in daily life. We cannot change society and at the same time not change society. Too many who style themselves 'socialists' assure us that every little adjustment to how society runs is socialism. They describe such compromises and concessions as socialist actions but if everything that political reformism does is called socialistic, socialism becomes to mean nothing. In all those "immediate demands" of the Trotskyists, their 'revolutionary' platform seldom contains any demand that a pro-capitalist party might not accept and promote in the overall interest of capitalism, 'in the name of socialism'. These camp-followers of the Left have much to say about socialism but nothing to tell about it. They use radical sounding terminology and language for revolutionary actions but the use of 'revolutionary' words and phrases does not demonstrate a revolutionary position. In truth, the progressive ideals of the working class have usually been adopted by their exploiters and then directed against our fellow-workers while the left-wingers sing the same song as the apologists of capitalism that genuine socialism is incompatible with human 'nature'. The openness of the socialist movement to welcome all who profess to be its friend and ally has done the utmost damage and continues to prove a hindrance to the socialist movement.
The Socialist Party must be judged by its decisions, its acts and the reasoning that have used to reach its conclusions. The Socialist Party will be judged by what it is doing and not by what it is promising to do. If the gradualist 'socialist' and the reforming capitalist expend the same energy doing the same things, they inevitably merge and become one. Only by differentiating ourselves by our activity can we distinguish ourselves as distinctive. The Socialist Party describes itself as the political expression of the working class. Only through a socialist political party can the unity of our class be brought about, rather than by the division of sectional trade unionism, its exclusiveness, and its nationalism.
The socialist movement is unable to prescribe one set of action since this must necessarily be different in different lands, varying with time and place and dependent on prevailing and diverse circumstances our fellow-workers find themselves in. But it is clearly our priority to encourage the working class everywhere in its opposition to the employing possessing class. The Socialist Party stands for the principle of world solidarity, placing the interests of humanity, as a whole, before and above the nation. When we speak of solidarity we mean that the no one person can emancipate him or herself without emancipating all people. Our liberty is the liberty of everyone. We are not truly free unless all men and women are our equals. It is as the First International expressed it - the emancipation of the workers is not a local or national problem but concerns workers of all lands.
Socialist politics are not politics in the ordinary sense of the word. Success lies in struggle and not in moralistic appeals to the better nature of our oppressors. The Socialist Party advocates class war against the master class.
Our aim is not merely for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren. our goal is not simply for this country but for all the world. We stand determinedly against the entire capitalist class and against the whole power of the State. The final struggle will be a political one to capture the State from the grasp of the capitalists and with that political power having been acquired, private and state-owned property can be transformed into common property and economic democracy established - socialism.
The Socialist Party tries to argue that its radical solutions are not to be postponed for a far-off future and that it will not tolerate unnecessary delay. We are unwilling to accept socialism by installment plan. The Socialist Party is not a reformist party but a revolutionary party that recognises social emancipation can only be achieved through waging class war. The socialist movement can have no part in in the grim game of reformist politics. Nothing of importance or substance can be accomplished by such opportunistic ploys, for the vast machine of State runs as exactly as before and those who maintain the machine remain in power. Nothing that upsets business efficiency is permitted.
The social revolution seeks as its goal the end of the capitalist regime and the end of classes. Socialists aim to build a new world out of the old and it can only be achieved by the revolutionary resolve of men and women. You cannot make socialism without socialists. We are not seeking catastrophes for what use are they to us. The cooperative ideal may well be innate to humanity and lie latent within us all but it will only be through experience and education that it will manifest itself in actual practice at a societal level.
The whole point of socialism is to produce with the least amount of resources, the greatest amount of products to guarantee the well-being of all by means of free associations, infinitely varied to meet the needs of communities. We live at a time when technology has created the potential for abundance but we exist in an era of austerity.
The world rightfully belongs to us all. It is now time we claimed it. It is also time to take back the real meaning of socialism so that it once more means what it once did before the distortions - a cooperative commonwealth.
The political task of the Socialist Party is not an easy one but it is do-able. In these days of despair and desolation, our priority must be to make a socialist society as thinkable and to constantly discuss and debate its possibility. The Socialist Party is not reluctant to talk about real socialism.
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