Our policy is simple -Socialism

If you proclaim yourself to be “anti-capitalist”, it is a good idea to have some idea of what capitalism is and understands that the abolition of capitalism involves the disappearance of money, wage-labour, commodity production and buying and selling generally and that Marx does not distinguish between communism and socialism. You would have thought that the main aim of an anti-capitalist movement would be to end capitalism and establish socialism. Apparently not. Many in the “anti-capitalist movement are not anti-capitalist as such but more anti-‘globalisation’, or perhaps anti-neoliberal, or even just opposed to particularly malignant corporations. They assume that the detrimental effects of the capitalist system can be eliminated by taming global corporations or by making them more ‘ethical’, ‘responsible’, and socially conscious, by legislation and regulation. The aim seems to be to bring pressure on existing governments to introduce reforms and to change their policy so as to tame multinational corporations and/or return to the state interventionism. Coherent anti-capitalists should be campaigning for socialism not changes of policy.

Labour has always stood for step-by-step reform and the Socialist Party opposed Labour when they claimed to be working for socialism by running capitalism. Labourites accept capitalism as a desirable economic system, aims to gradually improve the economic position of workers by providing welfare policies (health, education, social security, old age pensions, unemployment benefits), and by so doing alleviating the inequalities  of unbridled capitalism. Reformism is alive and well and in complete control of the Labour Party. And, if it comes to power again, it will again fail to deliver the promised goods. Some pioneers of the Labour Party used to think that it stood for peace, security and prosperity. That was their dream. But what was the reality? The Labour Party will stand foursquare behind the war effort of British capitalism. A future Labour government would e as keen to protect the interests of the British capitalist class as is the Tory government we have at present. No worker should waste his or her time by voting for a Labour government. The Labour Party aims for power to run British capitalism. And no party has yet succeeded in doing that to the benefit of the majority.

It is only too easy in these days for the working class to succumb to the promises (not a few made in all sincerity) of left politicians. Wealth is not created by market forces; at most it is only distributed by them — unequally and to the benefit of those who own the means of production.  Socialism does not mean state industries run on capitalist lines. Socialism means a system of society in which the means of production are owned by society as a whole, a system in which goods will really be produced for use, not for sale and profit-making, and in which there will be no such thing as an income from the ownership of property, whether as land, buildings, plant, shares or Government bonds. There can be no such thing as compensation if Socialism is to replace Capitalism. What the owners now possess is the right to an income from property, the right to live without working, the right to exploit the labour of the working-class. There can be no Socialism unless and until the means of production and distribution are taken from them and made over to society for the use of all. The former owners will then enjoy the fruits of associated labour on an equal footing with all other members of society, neither privileged nor suppressed, but as equals. But there can be no compensation. You cannot abolish exploitation and at the same time give the exploiters something equivalent to their former right of exploitation. A slave-owner, deprived of his slaves, could be given property rights of another kind under capitalism. But abolish capitalist wage-slavery and you end exploitation for all time and for all persons.

 People should have a proper understanding of capitalism’s class structure—what it is, how it operates and what it does to us. Simply—class is determined by a person’s economic standing and interests. Those who have to be employed—at whatever job—for a living are members of the working class. Their interests are the same as those of all other members of that class and opposed to those of the one other class, who as a class employ and exploit them. In this process capitalism’s class structure is protected and perpetuated. Whether Labour Party  politicians understands this or not is another matter.

The Labour Party will take office if opportunity arises, determined to apply its numerous and complicated schemes for reorganising industry, raising wages, abolishing unemployment, etc., while retaining all the essentials of capitalism. It will retain rent, interest and profit, the wages system, buying and selling, and the struggle for foreign markets, and will leave the capitalist class still possessed of their property rights, their right to exploit the working class. The penalty for the working class is appalling to contemplate.