Towards economic democracy

It is the declared principle of the Socialist Party that workers have no interests in common with capitalists; that, in fact, their material interests are in conflict, and it is its declared purpose to abolish the wage-system, and supplant it by a cooperative commonwealth in which the working people themselves shall have full control over their lives for their own benefit

Because we work harder and longer does not necessarily mean that we will share in the increased prosperity. Quite the contrary. Increased production will usually result in lay-offs because the market becomes glutted. Instead of everyone relaxing and working less and eating more, the capitalist shuts down the factory we the workers need to ask for a hand-out. The owner of the means of production (plants, machinery, transport, etc.) buys labour power (or employs workers, as they would say) to operate them. The more they produce, the higher his profit. When it is not profitable to produce, he lays off the workers. Capitalism has made of labour power a commodity to be bought on the labour market. As with any other commodity, the cost of labour power (wages) is determined by the cost of production. The cost of production of labour power is in the main what it takes to maintain the worker at his accustomed standard of living. It is, therefore, the cost of living which determines wages under capitalism. (For a more exact description of this process, see Wage Labour and Capital.) Workers have not been GIVEN a higher standard merely because the level of production has increased. It has not been GIVEN to them at all.

 They organised and FOUGHT for it. Once the workers have organised and introduced a socialist system of production, then more production will mean more for everybody. 

The more we produce, the more we would eat.

“Let us now picture to ourselves, by way of change, a community of free individuals, carrying on their work with the means of production in common, in which the labour power of all the different individuals is consciously applied as the combined labour power of the community…The total product of our community is a social product. One portion serves as fresh means of production and remains social. But another portion is consumed by the members as means of subsistence. A distribution of this portion amongst them is consequently necessary. The mode of this distribution will vary with the productive organisation of the community, and the degree of historical development attained by the producers.” Marx Capital, Vol I

There is a better alternative to the system we live under. It is socialism and it can be achieved. Capitalism is not eternal and just as it succeeded feudalism, capitalism will inevitably be replaced by the superior system - socialism.

To reshape society in a socialist direction it is necessary to take control of the methods of production and means of distribution. The socialist alternative is simple. It is to replace decision-making on the basis of competition between rival groups of capitalists by a genuine social democracy where working people democratically decide what the economic priorities should be and work together to plan how to achieve these. A socialist society would involve the producers and the consumers discussing and planning production to meet human need. What stands in the way are those who own and control the production of wealth today who will do anything in their power to keep things the way they are. The mass media, politicians, economists, etc. rush to defend the capitalist system. The aim of these apologists for capitalism is to turn people away from socialism and they are especially determined to discredit Marxism, claiming it is no longer relevant.

This means that the Socialist Party must redouble our efforts to show that socialism is a valid and necessary alternative and that Marxism is an effective guide for the working class. We also face pseudo-socialists who under a camouflage of revolutionary terminology add their own confusion.