Socialism – or perish!

The working class must get rid of the whole brood of masters and exploiters, and put themselves in possession and control of the means of production. It is therefore a question not of “reform,’ the mask of fraud, but of revolution. The capitalist system must be overthrown, class-rule abolished and wage-slavery supplanted by the socialist cooperative commonwealth. The enslaving and degrading wage-system in which we toil for a pittance at the pleasure of our masters must end. 

We hear it frequently urged that the Labour Party or the Democrats are the “poor man’s party", and “the friend of the worker” There is but one way to relieve poverty and to free labour, and that is by making common property of the means of production, the tools and machinery. Is the Labour or Democratic Parties, which we are assured possess “socialistic” tendencies, in favour of common ownership of the means of production? Are they opposed to the wage-system, from which flows a ceaseless stream the poverty, misery and wretchedness? If they are the “friends of labour" any more than the Republican or Conservative party, why is its platform silent about the shocking outrages—and crimes upon working people. Why do they not speak out? Between these parties socialists have no choice, no preference. They are one in their opposition to the emancipation of the working class from wage-slavery, and every worker who has intelligence enough to understand the interest of his or her class and the nature of the struggle in which it is involved, will once and for all time sever relations with them and recognising the class-struggle which is being waged between the producing workers and non-producing capitalists, cast their lot with the class-conscious, revolutionary Socialist Party, which is pledged to abolish the capitalist system, class-rule and wage-slavery—a party which does not compromise or violate its principles in a dauntless determination to the goal of economic freedom. No sane person can be satisfied with the present system. We bring our message of hope to toiling humanity. We point out the road of salvation.

To conceal the true source of war, capitalist propagandists divide the nations into “aggressors” and “peace-lovers.” This is a lie. The people of every nation hate war, for they are its victims. They are plunged into war by the capitalist rulers, who alone profit from it. It contributes exactly nothing to an understanding of the profound social causes of war to say that Germany or Japan started it. The germs of war are STILL lodged in the heart of capitalist society. No trust whatsoever can be placed in the “peace-loving” declarations of the statesmen of capitalism in this or any other country. The Socialist Party warn that war was inevitable if capitalism is allowed to live. We have never ceased to proclaim this truth.

Today we also caution that because of the consequences of climate change, the fight for socialism is now more than a fight to end poverty and inequality, to abolish the exploitation of man by man. Today the fight for socialism is a fight to prevent the possibility of the annihilation of the human race. Mankind must now exterminate the capitalist system – or be exterminated. Time is of the essence. At an ever faster pace capitalism is rushing mankind toward the last abyss of environmental destruction. 

  Only the working class, which suffers the cruelties of capitalism in peace and war, can deal the death-blow to this foul system. The workers can rally together and can change the world. Having abolished capitalism, they can harness the productive forces and the wondrous discoveries of science to the service of human needs. New technological developments of automation and robotics holds the promise of eliminating all poverty and raising the living standards of all peoples to undreamed-of heights. Hazardous and unhealthy occupations can become things of the past. The drudgery and servitude of ugly and unnecessary toil can be ended. There can be leisure and comfort and cultural advancement for every man, woman and child on earth.

All on one condition – that capitalism, the strangler of human progress, is ended! Join with us in the great battle for a new world in which permanent peace and well-being will be assured for all.