The State and political action

The Socialist Party view is based on a study of history and in particular of the role of the State. We see it as the seat of political power and the centre of social control. It is our view that it is possible for the working class to use the institutions to settle their class struggle with the owning class. The vote is thus a potential class weapon. But the vote, like other weapons, can be used properly or improperly. Because at present the workers use it to elect demagogues and careerists of one kind or another is no argument against its potentialities. As far as the Socialist Party is concerned, what is important is not so much the vote as the understanding behind it. Thus, when we contest elections we do all we can to make sure that only convinced socialists vote for us.  A vote won on other grounds is worse than useless as the history of the social democracy has shown. The vote is just a possible means to political power—the goal of a class-conscious working class. Our conception of political action differs from that of other parties and the reformists in particular. They engage in all kinds of demagogy in order to get elected. Without a Socialist working class behind them, what can they do? Nothing save maintain the status quo. Hence the phenomena of "sell-out” and “betrayal.” It is completely irrelevant to judge the usefulness of political action on how the reformists have used it, not least because they operate on a different assumption, namely, that you can substantially improve the lot of the working class without socialist understanding.

Economic systems are controlled politically. Marx showed that material conditions give rise to political institutions by means of which ruling classes dominate the economic world. The materialist view of history shows that the material conditions of production, etc., make necessary political machinery to govern or control the economic life of society. Every class struggling for control of the economic basis of society has to become politically supreme in order to maintain or obtain economic possession.

 Our case has always been that the establishment of socialism can be achieved only by parliamentary means: once the working class understands and wants socialism it will send its elected representatives to take control of the governmental machinery by which capitalism is maintained. The class struggle arises on the economic field, but that the workers can only be victorious in that struggle by becoming conscious of their class interests and controlling political power.  When Socialist Party delegates are sent to the centre of political power they will be the delegates of the working class because the Socialist Party will be the working class organised consciously and politically. The point is that we are not a political party in the conventional sense of the term, we are not a group of politicians trying to get elected to do something for the working class, to legislate the new society into being. Far from it, in our view, a socialist party should not be a vanguard but an instrument. We conceive ourselves as an instrument which the working class can use to achieve political power, a necessary prerequisite for the establishment of socialism. The struggle to change society from capitalism to socialism has nothing to do with fighting in the streets or organising strikes. It has to be a political one. The powers of government include and in the last analysis rest on armed force to maintain capitalism in each country. The only logical strategy to abolish capitalism is, therefore, for the working class — not leaders or an élite, but the socialist working class itself through its mandated delegates — to take control of those powers; so that the protection of capitalism has gone, and no-one can prevent the introduction of socialism.

In almost every way you examine it, capitalism has been an abysmal failure. The Socialist Party take the same position on not advocating reforms and on trade unionism now as in 1904 not because we are committed to any dogma but from that conclusion. Socialists are not concerned with reforms, but we are very much concerned with the conditions they attempt to remedy or palliate. Throughout this century, working men and women have been deluded that a change at an election — another party and another policy — will solve the problems for them. The truth is that these problems arise from the capitalist system we live under. People need housing, schooling for their children and “welfare” because they are wage-workers, producing wealth but denied access to it. While the unending awfulness of the housing problem is discussed, there is a surplus of housing. It is not a housing problem at all; it is an aspect of the working-class situation. Indeed a practical programme is needed. Clearly, it must be quite different from the chronically unsuccessful policies of the Labour and Conservative parties. The Socialist Party has a policy which will end forever the state of affairs these parties cannot overcome. It is a simple cause-and-effect proposition: if, as we have shown, again and again, capitalism itself produces the problems, the only solution is to abolish capitalism and put socialism in its place.

The Socialist Party candidates are not saying “Elect us, trust us, that is what we will try to do”. Far from it: our case is that Socialism cannot be presented to or imposed on people by leaders, even well-meaning ones. The condition for it is the working class understanding and wanting it, and giving the mandate to Socialist candidates to take possession of the powers of government and establish it. Those are the only kind of votes we want. One of the reasons for standing in elections is to show our position in contrast with the sham appeals of the pro-capitalist parties. Every vote now cast consciously for socialism is a step towards political control and a fresh notification that the future is ours. And if you have begun to understand what capitalism is and does, you have no alternative — the days of voting for the continuation of capitalism are over, and only socialism will do.