We must possess vision

The class struggle is the ceaseless struggle which goes on from day to day in every country and between the same combatants, the masters, the capitalist class and the slaves, the working class. The Socialist Party did not invent human aspirations for a just, egalitarian and free society. Mankind have cherished this dream for a very long time.

Capitalist society is like a huge market.  The capitalist brings his money, and the worker brings his or her labour power.  The worker sells the labour power in exchange for some money which will bring the subsistence of life.  But it must be remembered that the commodity of labour power is free, that is to say, that the worker has no personal ties like the feudal serf or chattel slaves.  We can either sell our labour power or withhold it; but our well-being depends on the things we must eat and drink and where we dwell.  The capitalist has already accumulated these necessities which he sells by means of his money, consequently the free labourer with empty stomach is forced to sell the labour power in return for the commodities without which we cannot live.  The wage labourer therefore is in the grip of a system that can beat us down to the lowest bare subsistence.  The supporters of this system are those who have gained control of it and control of the means of production, all those whose interests are bound up in it.  The system is capitalism, and those who control it are capitalists.  To manage it effectively and to their interests they must have a group of people to assist them and to operate the machinery.  The section or class who assist must be subject to their controllers or, in other words, must be slaves.  In return for their slavery they receive only sufficient money to enable them to continue operating the machinery from day to day, and to perpetuate their class.  It would be a catastrophe to the capitalist system if slaves did not breed more slaves.

From this we see that for any material advantage one class must take from the other class.  This attempt to take, be one form the other, goes on all over the world, day in and day out.  It is like a tug of war and imagine your bread and butter in the form of a rope – with the capitalists at one end and the workers at the other.  The more of the rope that is won, the more material comfort is acquired. This is the class struggle. Economic power is—and always has been—the foundation of political power. Those who control the peoples’ means of living rule. Capitalism has now placed us in a trajectory to possible self-extinction—a future with no winners, rich or poor. Marx described it as the mutual destruction of the contending classes. We must now seek a path that intends to restore equity, material sufficiency, peace, and abundance for all—exactly the opposite of the capitalists drive to secure the power, privilege, and material excess for themselves. This makes socialism far more than just a good idea; it is now an imperative. In our complex and interconnected world, socialism will global administration, responsive to the people’s will and well-being, that supports cooperation and sharing among communities, but the real power will be dispersed locally. There would be ample room for competition among local communities to be the most beautiful, healthy, democratic, creative, and generous. There is no place for predatory institutions. These communities will feature common ownership of enterprises recognising shared responsibility to care for the environment.

The power of the capitalist depends on keeping members of our class divided against one other along gender, racial, national or other fault lines. The goal is to divert our attention from themselves so that they can maintain their power and continue to amass wealth. The problem is not that the capitalist corporations are “out of control,” the problem is that the capitalist corporations are very much “in control.” Capitalism has ruled over us for three hundred years. We have far less time to come up with social democratic alternatives. That search must quickly become the focus of debate and discussion. Reformism talks the language of legislative regulation, not socialist revolution. No one is going to save us. How do we save ourselves? It is impossible to know in advance, with any certainty, which tactic or strategy is best. However, the Socialist Party argues that its case for socialism offers the most suitable path toward socialism for this country and others like it. Elections do matter but we also acknowledge that there are many other struggles which must accompany it as complementary methods of revolutionary change. Voice must be given to mass movements to defend the planet and realise its promise. We want the whole of the people fighting for the a whole of the Earth.

Wage Slaves! Think about it! The time has come for the abolition of the wage system.