Socialism will change our way of life

Standing in the way of social progress and socialism is the capitalist class. The ruling class is composed of the owners and CEOs of the huge multinational corporations that control the economic life of the planet. They control the destinies of billions around the globe. The capitalist class is a powerful enemy and it will require protracted efforts to overthrow it. But there is a potentially much more powerful force opposing them: the unity of the vast majority of working people. 

The working class is the class that is most systematically and brutally exploited by capitalism, and is the most revolutionary class. The working class is composed of all wage earners – mental and manual, urban and rural – whether in basic industry, manufacturing, service, farm, sales, domestic, clerical, public, or other jobs. The working class is composed of skilled and unskilled, employed and unemployed. The vast majority of people belong to the working class. The working class produces the wealth appropriated by the capitalists and its basic interest lies in the abolition of the private ownership of the means of production. There is a lot of confusion about class. Politicians, academics, media pundits and even trade union leaders, have obscured the issue. As a result many think the main classes are the rich, poor and middle class. This view has problems. It pits the employed section of the working class against the unemployed sections of the working class, by suggesting that the working class is the middle class and has different interests from the unemployed sections of the working class. Another variant is to think that everyone who lives in the suburbs is "rich." The effect of this kind of analysis is to pit the working class against itself, confounding friends and enemies and deadening class consciousness.

 Marxists approach the matter differently. When socialists look at the issue of class we see that every kind of society, from ancient times until now, is organised around its tools - it means of producing things that satisfy people's needs and wants. Ownership of the means of production is basic. Classes are large groups of people, who have a defined relationship to the means of production, such as ownership. They also have a defined place in the social division of labour, for example some people are supervisors or managers. The result of the these differences in who owns what and where one fits into the social division of labour, means a difference in who gets how much wealth. For revolutionary change to take place our fellow-workers workers who are held down by the capitalists - need to arrive at the conclusion that they are unable to live in the old way, and need to be willing to fight to bring the old order to an end.

The government today serves the interests of the ruling monopoly capitalist class. The state suppresses and controls opposition to capitalism. It maintains social order to provide a stable environment for big business. It does this through the massive state apparatus, including the courts, police and army. In times of crisis the repressive functions of the state become more visible. The teeming millions face two choices – either accept misery and murder or set out to overturn this system. Our principles are based on the revolutionary potential of those who have to fight this system in order to live. The decisive step today is to broaden and intensify the activities and influence of our party educate and organise fellow-workers to wage class war on the capitalist system.

Our aim is to reorganise society and to put an end to poverty and injustice once and for all. To change society and end oppression, we need a plan to get from where we are now to liberation - a strategy that will work. We need to turn things upside down. This means revolution. Identifying our real friends and our real enemies is a first step.

The only way that the majority of people can survive is if the marvellous means of production belong to society, the resources of society are distributed by need, and the individual contributes to society whatever he or she is capable of. Reality demands that we take over the economy and run it in the interests of the people. It can no longer be done on the level of private property.