It’s Up to Us!

Socialism will come into being mainly as the result of a conflict of interest between the possessing and the non-possessing classes. Reformists look towards the mutual good understanding and good intentions of the ethical good elements of all classes to recognise the wickedness of the capitalist system to bring about the co-operative commonwealth. Many socialists deny that socialism presupposes any radical change in individual character at all, or that it has anything necessarily to do with what is known as selfishness or unselfishness in the present condition of society. The human qualities with which socialism will be brought about, and upon which it will have to be based upon, we are convinced, is no more represented by the unselfish saint than it is by the ultra-selfish egotist.

 What we contend is that socialism, as primarily an economic transformation, brought about by the class struggle between the working class and the capitalist class, will change the character of all who come under the influence of the new conditions with quite different virtues and vices. The transformation of modern civilisation into the co-operative commonwealth, involving the greatest change known at least to history, must necessarily result in a corresponding change in the content of mankind’s nature. That the ultra-selfish individualist engendered by competitive conditions will speedily disappear in socialism we may fairly take for granted, just as we see no reason to expect that the unselfish saint will become more numerous even under socialism than he or she is at present. It is not the hearts of men and women, but the conditions of society that socialists intend to change. It is the transformation of society we seek and in doing so we want rather enlightened selfishness than unselfishness. The class-conscious worker full of the class war spirit could hardly be described as an unselfish saint identifying ones own interest with that of one’s class. The reorganisation of society in a socialist sense; we must lose no opportunity of proclaiming, does not require for its vindication men and women as paragons of unselfish virtue. It presupposes simply – an ordinary person.

We want the cooperative commonwealth. Our part is to get control of political power, in order to complete the transition to the socialist society peacefully and systematically. In whatever way socialism comes, we must have a majority of the people in favour of it. The Socialist Party does not hold with the small, well-disciplined minority theory assuming command and imposing socialism. It is the work of the Socialist Party to clarify and educate the vast amount of vague, undeveloped socialist sentiment existing today, and crystallize and organise it into something palpable and definite. The somewhat abstruse doctrines of Marxian economics must be popularised and put into such simple form and language. Ways must be devised of getting information and knowledge into the hands and heads of all workers.To institute a global cooperative commonwealth we must have a world organisation.

We must resurrect socialism from surviving on life-support. Restoring the validity of the socialism is not merely an academic project. The  aim of the Socialist Party is to establish socialism and abolish the right of one man to rob another of the fruits of his or her labour. This is what makes our Party different from all others. Nowhere in the world has socialism been established. To make revolution and put an end to capitalism, the proletariat must have a clear strategic orientation, a clear plan. It must determine what the nature of the struggle is, who are its main enemies, and who are its friends. Every day workers pour their sweat into production and experience the life-killing exploitation on which the system is built. 

 Working people build houses and live in hovels; manufacture clothes and wear second-hand garments; generate electricity and freeze; mill flour and starve; make shoes and go barefooted; sell their bodies and boast they’re free; curse effects, don’t see causes; complain about the rich capitalists yet vote for them; eat, sleep, toil, don’t read or think; love capitalism and hate socialism. Low wages and long hours mean a harvest of profits to those who buy labour, and a world of misery to those who must sell their labour to live. Nearly all the laws in existence have been made for the protection of life and property, and as the judges of the courts are the creatures of the capitalist class, they so construe the laws that all of the force of government is used to protect the life and property of the capitalist class.

Socialism is coming. Don’t say it is far off. If you believe in Socialism, vote for it. It will never come any other way. Vote for the platform and candidates of the Socialist Party. That is the party which stands uncompromisingly for socialism. Refuse to vote for the palliatives, the half-way measures of the decoy capitalists political parties. A vote for a capitalist party is a vote for robbery of the working class. Vote for the interests of the working class. Be a class-conscious socialist.