A major problem besetting society, and one that is justifiably receiving an enormous amount of attention, is the problem of race prejudice -- a sickness that infects all of our society to a greater or lesser degree. The whole subject of race is one that usually lacks constructive thought and sober reflection. Race hatred is not an ancient and inherent thing. On the contrary, all this prejudice, and the very concept of race is the product of the modern era, of the era we call capitalism. There were other fears, other hatreds, other prejudices, but before the capitalism mankind never discriminated because of the colour of skin. And, as they are wrong who say "race prejudice always was," so they are wrong who say it "always will be."
We think it is self-evident that the less the capitalist has to pay for this labour, that is less wages, the more he can take for himself. It's like dividing an apple in two parts -- if one part is smaller, the other part is larger. This brings us very close to one of the reasons why racial minorities are segregated and humiliated and held down to a status of second-class citizenship. To put it bluntly, by forcing racial minorities into submissive patterns of behaviour the ruling class supplies itself with a pool of cheap, unresisting labour. This is one way the capitalists benefit from race prejudice and race discrimination.
There is another more subtle way. We have shown that labour's product is divided between the wages paid to the workers and the surplus value taken by the capitalists. We said it's like dividing an apple -- if one part is smaller, then the other part is larger, and vice versa. Now, by the very nature of things, there is a struggle between the capitalists and workers over this division. The capitalists, either because they are forced by competitive compulsions, or out of sheer greed for profit , constantly try in one way or another to increase their share. Contrariwise, the workers resist and strive to maintain their living standards, and even improve them. Here we can see the focal point of the class struggle that rages in modern society. The Socialist Party hold that this struggle is irrepressible and irreconcilable. It can be ended only when the workers, male and female, black, brown and white, skilled and unskilled, Catholic, Protestant, and Jew, unite as a class to put an end to capitalist exploitation. The point is this -- race prejudice is one of the most insidious, and effective devices ever invented to keep the workers divided and fighting each other.
Another factor to be noted is the competitive nature of capitalism. And it isn't just the capitalists who are competing against each other; the workers also are cast in the role of competitors. They must compete for jobs. Now, then, the fewer the number of workers competing for the jobs the better chance each person has. And one way to keep the competition down is just to keep Nminorities who are easily identified by the colour of their skins, out of the job market. Of course, there has got to be some justification for such discrimination. So we find it in the myths that circulate about races. These myths and libels are not looked at too carefully. They are believed when it serves one's material interests to believe them.
And so the working class is kept divided, the capitalist class remains in the saddle -- and the outmoded capitalist system keeps all of society in turmoil and conflict, postponing the day of international peace and social harmony. There is but one way to end prejudice. That is to remove the capitalist cause and to lay a egalitarian economic foundation for human harmony.
We must outlaw private ownership of the land and industries. We must make the means of social production the property of all the people socially. Then, instead of producing things for sale and profit, we will carry on production to satisfy human needs. In short, we replace the competition and strife of capitalism with the cooperation and collective interests of socialism. There can be no peace without socialism!
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