Humanity stands at a precipice

 The Socialist Party makes no apology for our preoccupation with Capitalism being alone responsible for the problems now confronting the working-class. It is clear that we must of necessity make frequent, and repeated references to that system and the effects to which it gives rise.  The capitalist system is a fact. It is not the creation of an abnormal socialist imagination, devoid of all basis in reality. It is not a bogey, raised by us to frighten normally contented workers into supporting us.

 Although we are the only party that, stands for the total abolition of Capitalism, we are not the only organisation that makes attacks upon it. All kinds of organisations and individuals are continually making efforts to reform and improve it. Even the capitalist class itself, through its apologists and its stooges takes great pains to convince the workers of its merits and the manifold benefits it confers upon them. True they refer more to “private or free enterprise system” than they do to capitalism.


Firstly. It is a class society. One class, the workers, possesses no property, and are consequently compelled to sell their abilities and energies to others in order to live. The other class, the Capitalist class, by virtue of their ownership of the means of wealth production and distribution, i.e., the. laud, the factories, the mines, the railways, etc., can buy the worker’s only commodity, his power to work, and exploit it for their own profit.


Secondly. Arising out of this relationship between the possessors and non-possessors of property, there results of necessity a conflict of interest between the two classes. The capitalist class, as a whole, do their utmost to maintain, and, if possible, increase their property, which they can only do at the expense of the working-class. They strive hard to keep the level of wages low and attempt, by all the means, possible to keep a plus sign in front of their annual profit figure. On the other hand, it is obviously in the worker’s interest to keep their wages high and their working hours low. Industrially, this struggle finds organisational expression in Trade Unions and Employer’s Federations; politically, in the attempts of the various parties to obtain Parliamentary power


Thirdly. Out of this class division in society arises also the wages system, whereby, for services rendered to his employer, the worker receives in return an amount of money, which he exchanges for the various commodities needed by him. The amount he receives in wages is seldom more than enough to maintain him in a state of reasonable working efficiency. It also enables him to raise a number of children to continue the good work of making profits for capitalists when he is reaping the reward of his lifetime of labour in the workhouse or on the parish


Fourthly. The goods produced by the workers take the form of commodities, i.e., they are goods produced for sale or exchange. They are not articles produced solely for use, but are made for the prime purpose of reaping a profit. When, as in times of “crisis" or “depression”, markets are restricted and there are few opportunities for profit-making, production is drastically curtailed and millions are thrown out of employment, even though large numbers of the earth's inhabitants are in dire need of food, clothing, and shelter.


These conditions will exist as long as capitalism exists. They will only be ended when the working-class, acting in unison and with understanding, take hold of political power, dispossess the capitalist class of its ownership of the means of life and make them the common property of the whole of society.

The task of the Socialist Party is to convince our fellow workers of this, their task.