We live in a period of rapid development of scientific knowledge, of technology, of the means of production, which deepens the contradictions of capitalism, and demonstrates more and more clearly the need for a new socialist organisation of society. This scientific knowledge that could, under socialism, so rapidly end poverty and hunger for the total population of the world. The Socialist Party is the political expression of the interests of the workers in this country, and is part of the World Socialist Movement. The capitalist state, by controlling the old political parties, control the powers of the state and uses them to secure and entrench its position. Without such control of the state its position of economic power would be untenable. The workers must wrest the control of the government from the hands of the masters and use its powers in the building of the new social order, the cooperative commonwealth. The Socialist Party seeks to organise the working class for independent action on the political field, not for the betterment of their conditions but with the revolutionary aim of putting an end to exploitation and class rule. Such political action is absolutely necessary to the emancipation of the working class, and the establishment of genuine liberty for all. To accomplish this aim of the Socialist Party is to bring about the common ownership and democratic control of all the necessary means of production — to eliminate profit, rent, and interest, and make it impossible for any to share the product without sharing the burden of labour — to change our class society into a society of equals, in which the interest of one will be the interest of all. Political action means participation in elections to gain control of the powers of government in order to abolish the present capitalist system and substitute the cooperative commonwealth.
The economic basis of present day society is the private ownership and control of socially necessary means of production, and the exploitation of the workers, who operate these means of production for the profit of those who own them. The interests of these two classes are diametrically opposed. It is the interest of the capitalist class to maintain the present system and to obtain for themselves the largest possible share of the product of labour. It is the interest of the working class to improve their conditions of life and get the largest possible share of their own product so long as the present system prevails, and to end this system as quickly as they can. In so far as the members of the opposing classes become conscious of these facts, each strives to advance its own interests as against the other. It is this active conflict of interest which we describe as the class struggle. The whole civilised world is in a state of social and political ferment.
The cardinal point upon which there is general agreement in the socialist movement is that no socialist revolution can be successfully accomplished without the active support and participation of the majority of the workers acting as a class in conscious and organised opposition to the ruling classes. The Socialist Party acknowledges that the bulk of workers have not yet reached the point of political class-consciousness. The task of socialists is to educate them, to it. The Socialist Party recognises the class struggle between the capitalist class and the working class, and the necessity of the working class organising itself into a political party for the purpose of obtaining common ownership and democratic administration and operation of the collectively used and socially necessary means of production and distribution. It is opposed to all political organisations that support and perpetuate the present capitalist profit system and opposed to any form of horse-trading with any such organisations to prolong the present capitalist system.
For the Socialist Party are profoundly convinced that there is no escape nor substantial relief for the people from the economic and political domination of the greedy special interests of which they are now the victims, except through the working people, organised as a powerful, irresistible political force throughout the nation, boldly challenging the corrupt and oppressive misrule of the pirating oligarchy now in control, in the name of the people. Without such a socialist party all political achievement of the workers is inadequate and ineffective, and true social progress utterly impossible. The parties of the capitalists, whether openly reactionary or well-meaning liberal parties, are tied to with the existing order of social and economic injustice, and they cannot therefore successfully combat its evils under penalty of their own destruction. Far from being proponents of some all-engulfing statism, the Socialist Party see the state, as class antagonisms dissipated, beginning to wither away — being transformed as an instrument to preserve the status quo into an administrative tool.
In present day, the raison d’être, the underlying purpose, of production is the amassing of profits for capital; in the new, free society its sole purpose will be to meet the needs of humankind. In the place of the present anarchy, waste and inefficiency, production will be planned. This planning, contrary to the type now commonly envisaged by would-be-advisors of capital, requires common ownership.
Marx and Engels never thought that a socialist society could be built on the foundations of a backward underdeveloped economy. They saw socialism as the next stage of social evolution, a higher stage than capitalism, at which level mankind has already conquered nature and has already developed means of production capable of supplying every human need. The coming revolution will be the most profoundly democratic act in our entire history. Those forces that have built and sustained a mighty union movement, created and sustained a mass political party of their own, who will overcome all the chicanery and deception of the ruling class and their high-priced help, to storm and conquer the very citadels of their power, are not likely to succumb to the blandishments of some two-bit operators who might inveigle their way into its ranks for their own purposes. The profoundly democratic instruments necessary to mobilize the vast majority of the population to such a titanic task will separate out the opportunists and frauds. There is no doubt that the working people will prove able to build the democratic institutions necessary to their struggle.
Not only will the revolution itself be profoundly democratic, but with its victory will come almost instantaneous benefits for all. Thanks to the tremendous productive capacity we have created across this land, we will be quickly able to satisfy all the basic needs of everyone. There will be no real shortages that would require some kind of policeman to supervise who gets what, and no bureaucrats with the possibility of providing special favors that would allow them to gather up connections that would frustrate the democratic process.
We would see our wealth as part of mankind’s common heritage. And we would immediately act to bring the future development of that section of the world which we inhabit into harmony with a world plan — a world economy. While many prejudices are deeply rooted in the past they have been sedulously fostered and even whipped up by the ruling class and their agents to divide the workers and pit them against one another and away from their common enemy. The new organs of power would drive out, terminate every element of racial discrimination.
Mankind is moving towards a showdown with all the forces of the old order.
Peace between the people! War against the exploiters!
No comments:
Post a Comment