Build Class-Consciousness

In all class societies, there is one class that rules over others. Capitalism is no exception. We live today in what is called the ‘CAPITALIST’ AGE. THERE ARE TWO GREAT CLASSES OF SOCIETY—the one, the CAPITALISTS, owns land and capital; the other, the WORKERS, owning nothing except the power to labour. We regard present-day parliamentary democracy as a form of capitalist rule because all the important elements of the state machine – the police and armed forces, the judiciary, the organs for controlling financial and economic policy, the organs for exercising ideological influence - are shaped and dominated by the representatives of the capitalists who in exercising their rule over the people, prefer to do so by persuasion and deception but are always ready, if these become ineffective, to resort to repression and force. So long as challenge from the working class does not seriously undermine the stability of the system, parliamentary democracy is a form of government with considerable advantages to the capitalist class compared with more openly dictatorial forms of rule. The relatively free and open exchange of social information among sections of the ruling class which goes on through the media and public discussion and through the representative organs of government affords them the opportunity of selecting policies in their best interests after weighing facts and taking account of opinions. The existence of competing political parties (superficially offering different policies but identical in their acceptance of capitalism) creates the illusion but not the reality of choice. To keep the thinking of the people in this mould, a vast ideological effort is carried on by the capitalists. The educational system, the diverse tools of the media, religion, and a whole host of think-tanks and societies perpetuate a belief in parliamentary democracy; promoting trust and faith in the democratic facade and conceal from the people the realities of capitalist rule behind it. The workers are ’educated’ to accept the ideas of capitalism with a view to turning them from class struggle and persuading them that their interests are identical with those of their own employers. The capitalists prefer to avoid resorting to open force so it is therefore important for them to ensure that the organisations of the working class are prevented from posing a threat to the continued existence of the system and they try to control the workers’ organisations directly and from within.

We defend a model of socialism that is totally emancipatory in all areas of life and which qualitatively extends democracy. The producers and the consumers equally must hold the real decision making power over what they produce. Priority must be given to solidarity and cooperation. The Socialist Party holds a  vision of a sharing economy to advance humanity. The Socialist Party is organised to build the working class power in every workplace, in every community and society in general to defeat the logic of capitalist accumulation that has not only pauperised workers around the world but it has caused the widest inequality and deepest poverty ever recorded in the history of humankind. Capitalism divides workers, which should be overcome through working class solidarity. The unity of the working class is the best possible way of fighting. As a united working class, we must stand behind workers on their issues Our fight must go beyond reforms. It calls for social revolution. We must point to the future by giving a glimpse of what it will look like. Our message to fellow-workers across the length and breadth of our planet is that the time has come to unshackle ourselves from the chains of wage-slavery and the bondage under which we suffer. Socialism is a viable alternative system, where social and economic priorities are set by the majority. It can begin to solve the core problems facing society today such as insecurity and war, environmental degradation, declining living standards, and inequality. All the important elements of socialism are already present in developed capitalist societies. In a technical or practical sense, it would not be difficult to make the transition to socialism. The Socialist Party recognises that capitalism is at the root of all the social ills that society faces and there is a need to fight for the creation of a cooperative commonwealth. Socialists around the world believe in the establishment of a society where the exploitation of one class by another will no longer exist and instead the creation of a system of economic planning to satisfy human needs rather than profit.