The poor die younger

 The death rate of people living in the most deprived areas of Scotland was almost double that of those in the least deprived areas last year.

Figures showed the pandemic appeared to be increasing the gap.

The National Records of Scotland's (NRS) annual population report also said the poorest could expect fewer "good health" years.

Those in the poorest areas could expect 20 fewer years of good health than the more affluent.

Men in the poorest parts of Scotland have a "healthy life expectancy" - the number of years they can expect to live in good health - of just 47 years, compared with 72.1 years for men in the least deprived areas.

Women in the richest areas can expect to enjoy more than 21 years of good health than their counterparts in more deprived areas, where the healthy life expectancy is just 50.1 years, compared with 71.6 years for the most affluent communities.

The general mortality rate in the most deprived areas of Scotland was 1.9 times the rate in the least deprived areas. However, for deaths caused by Covid-19, the figure was 2.4 times the rate of those in more affluent areas. The risk factors associated with the virus were more common in poorer communities - such as diabetes, obesity and lung disease.

 The mortality rate for drug-related deaths in deprived areas was 18.4 times higher than in more affluent areas. For alcohol-specific deaths, the figure was 4.3 times as high and for suicides it was three times higher.

Pandemic sees death rate among rich and poor widen - BBC News

Thunberg on the Scottish Greens

 Greta Thunberg says she doesn't regard Scotland as a world leader on climate change.

She told BBC Scotland she recognised that some countries "do a bit more than others" but that none were coming close to what was needed. The Scottish government has previously described its climate change legislation as "world leading."It includes a target to reach net-zero emissions by 2045.

On the Scottish Greens' deal to enter government, she said tackling climate change was not as easy as voting for a green party.

She said: "Of course there might be some politicians that are slightly less worse than others. That was very mean but you get the point.

"It's a hopeful sign that people want something that's more "green" - whatever green means - but in order to solve this we need to tackle this at a more systemic approach."

She said she was "not 100% sure" that she would attend the COP26 talks in November and that her decision would be based on whether the event was "safe and democratic".

Thunberg still believes the conference will not lead to anything "if we don't treat this crisis like a crisis."

Greta Thunberg: Scotland 'not a world leader on climate change' - BBC News

For Workers' Emancipation

 

Capitalism can be reformed. It can be reformed in many ways. But it cannot be reformed in such a manner as to effect an essential improvement in the working-class conditions of life. It cannot be reformed in such a manner as to raise the workers from the poverty level. Reforms, insofar as they have had any effect, have been effective simply by preventing the workers from sinking too far below the poverty level, their function is to do no more than preserve the workers as able-bodied means of production.

It is not in the nature of capitalist society to provide better conditions for its slave class. The efficient operation of the capitalist industry requires not only a capable working class, it requires a working-class always at the beck and call of the master class. Only by keeping the workers bordering on necessity at all times can this condition be assured. The whiplash of poverty is far more effective than any coercive force could be in keeping them tied to the machine and subservient to their masters.

Those who would administer the affairs of capitalism are limited in their endeavours by the requirements of capitalism, and even though they would bend every energy to lighten the burdens of the workers, the system itself inevitably reduces the results to disheartening proportions.

Practically all of the reform legislation on the statute books of the capitalist world has been placed there by capitalist parties. The capitalists have never been noted for their generosity towards the workers, but they are practical gentlemen and they have long known that the smooth and economical operation of their system requires periodic additions to the mountains of reforms. Reforms to them are like a vile tasting tonic that must be taken from time to time for the protection of their health and well-being. Workers who live under poor sanitary conditions are ready victims of ailments that often develop into communicable diseases, and diseases do not respect the superior and necessary persons of capitalists. Moreover, workers afflicted by ailments spend time at home that could better be spent in the factory turning out surplus values for the factory owner. They must be protected against these conditions. They must also be protected against malnutrition, accidents, etc., in order that their efficiency as cogs in the wealth-producing machine may not be impaired. They must even be provided for when they are unemployed, for the repressive measures of bygone days are no longer sufficient to deal with the vastly increased number of workers thrown periodically into the scrap heap by modern industry. It is now more economical to provide them with necessities than to maintain a coercive force great enough to prevent them from helping themselves. Besides, as in times of war or other periods of trade expansion, their services may be required again.

Hence the measures dealing with sanitation and housing, sickness and accidents, health and unemployment! Hence the reforms piled upon reforms, reaching to the heavens! Hence the gradual conversion of the workers into destitute wards of the state!

There is a further reason for the acceptance of reform measures by the parties of the capitalist class. The workers form the immense majority of the members of society. They are the ones who suffer most from the evils of capitalism. They are only too conscious of the existence, if not the cause, of these evils, and they are ever ready to lend their support to whoever will promise redress. No party can govern without the consent of the workers. The capitalists, in consequence, must be ever ready with the required promises, if they are to protect their exclusive right to govern. Reforms that are not desirable to them can frequently be sidetracked afterwards, together with flattering appeals to the workers for loyalty, understanding and co-operation. Where they cannot be sidetracked, these reforms can always be watered down and presented with fanfares and glowing self-praise. It is an easy game to play, and while it does not give the workers very much, neither does it cost the capitalists very much, and it frequently assures for them a period of contentedness on the part of their slaves.

The class struggle is the product of a class-divided society. It exists no less today than in the class societies of history. By means of political action, the oppressed classes of the past strove to gain their emancipation. The form that this action took was dictated by the conditions then existing. By means of political action – and by no other means – can the workers gain their emancipation. The politics of the working class form the subject matter to be discussed below.

Society rests on an economic basis. The manner in which wealth is produced and distributed determines the form of existing society. The development of the productive forces calls periodically upon mankind to adapt society to the changed economic conditions. Modern industry ushered capitalism into existence. It now demands that capitalism pass out of the picture, to be replaced by a new form of society, one that will conform to the needs of the developing means of production, and, therefore, to the essential needs of mankind. It is the duty – the imperative mission – of the working class to undertake this task.

Capitalism has outlived its usefulness. Within its confines can be found no solution for the wretchedness and insecurity endured by the workers. Not more than momentary relief has ever resulted from the generations of effort to improve their conditions of life. Even their trade unions – their most potent weapon in these activities – have been forced to remain for the most part on the defensive, struggling not so much to improve their conditions as to prevent these conditions from becoming worse. Socialism offers the only way out. The failure of the workers to recognise this fact – no matter what else they may do – can result only in the preservation of things as they are, with the prospect of darker days ahead.

In the main, the world’s workers have in the past given their support to parties openly representing capitalist society. The principal agencies for spreading education and information have, throughout the period of capitalism’s existence, been under the control of the capitalist class and have been used for the purpose of fostering and preserving the illusion that there is no practicable alternative to capitalism. Incessant, insidious propaganda is levelled at the workers from the cradle to the grave, designed to cloud their minds in their own interests and protect the dominant position of the capitalist class. They are taught that their interests are tied up with the interests of their masters and that only in the solution of the latter’s problems can the solution of their own problems be found. It is no wonder, therefore, that for generations they have been only too willing to give their support to one or another of the various capitalist parties.

Capitalist parties represent, first of all, capitalism. They may differ as to the manner in which the affairs of capitalism ought to be conducted. They may differ as to the sections of the capitalist class whose interests ought to be the most favoured. But they are united in their opposition to those who would end capitalism. They are united even in opposing any effort to provide the workers with a greater share of the wealth that they produce. All of them are servants of the ruling class.

Social Ownership and Democratic Control/

 

One of the basic tenets of Marxism that the ideas of the ruling class are always the ruling ideas.

"The ideas of the ruling class are, in every age, the ruling ideas; i.e., the class which is the dominant material force in society is at the same time its dominant intellectual force" - Karl Marx.

Capitalist ideas dominate the political-economic and social scene for the capitalist own and control the means of propagation, education, information and news. Thus, all discussion and debate is undertaken on their terms. It should be clear, then, that bourgeois ideology serves capitalist interests not only when it provides pro-capitalist solutions to pressing social problems but also when it confuses people, or makes them overly pessimistic and resigned, or makes it difficult for them to formulate criticisms or imagine alternative systems.

For many years the world was haunted by the fear of nuclear war and its potential to destroy humanity. Throughout this time, the companion parties in The World Socialist Movement continually pointed out the destruction of humanity could occur without nuclear war, and that capitalism was doing just that. Now, that threat is becoming abundantly clear.

“The day will come when the day won’t come.” Capitalism’s rapid, rampant, and remorseless rape of the environment is such that our planet may not be habitable in the not-too-distant-future.

The main focus of environmental destruction has been, as we all know, global warming. Though socialists fully welcome the attention given to the other world problems, such as the poisoning of land and water.

It’s typical that the effects of capitalism create a problem for everyday, normal functioning and then its apologists panic when it affects them.  For a business to survive, it must show a profit quickly and maintain its profitability to compete with other companies. In such a situation, human needs, including those of the capitalists, become meaningless.

In a socialist society, with the abolition of the profit motive, very different priorities will be apparent. Whereas water, and anything else people need may be moved from one place to another, environmental and human considerations would be prime motivators. The latest technology and safe, clean practices would be demanded and care of the eco systems on which human life depends, would be possible as the drive for profit and all that entails would have disappeared.

The Socialist Party and its companion parties stand alone in their respective countries in their consistent advocacy of the socialist solution. Their examination of society has taught them that nothing less than socialism can suffice, and they have adopted a common set of socialist principles which constitutes the basis of their movement and their conditions of membership. Adherence to these principles makes possible their steady insistence upon the fact that the immediate need of the working class is:

The establishment of a system of society based upon the common ownership and democratic control of the means and instruments for producing and distributing wealth by and in the interest of society as a whole.

These parties at present form only the nucleus of the great working class movement which must finally rise to bring this programme into effect. The workers cannot depend upon others to do the job for them. It is a job that requires conscious and deliberate effort on their part. It is a job which they must do themselves.

Many and varied have been the interpretations that have been placed upon socialism. Stalinism and Hitlerism have both been described as socialism. At different times socialism has been announced. Labour parties frequently come forward with lengthy lists of reforms or elaborate plans for “nationalisation”, or “socialisation”, and describe these as socialism. Workers must guard against such nonsense if they are not to be fooled by political quacks, or people who have themselves been fooled. For this reason among others the socialists stress the necessity for socialist education. The workers must understand socialism before they can serve usefully in the struggle for its attainment.

Social reform is not socialism. Neither is government ownership. Socialism has not yet been established in any country. It exists today only as an independent working class movement striving against the opposition of capitalist and labour parties alike, its energies directed without deviation towards a single goal. There are no short cuts to socialism. It can be reached only through the conscious political organisation of the working class. But with that organisation accomplished, no obstacle can stand in the road. Socialism may be had for the taking. Take it.

The workers must ultimately turn to socialism as the only means of finding release from the problems of capitalism. Even though it were possible (which it is not) for the present system to provide considerably improved conditions for the workers, that would still be no justification in the eyes of an informed persons for its continued existence. It has solved the problem of wealth production, but it has failed to solve the problem of distribution. It divides the toil of the workers between production and a myriad of unnecessary activities related to distribution. It is wasteful and destructive of workers and materials. Its conflicts over markets, trade routes and sources of raw materials breed wars that grow ever more terrible in their dimensions. It is a haven of luxury and idleness for a useless parasite class. It is a fetter on further social progress.

Socialism solves the problem of distribution. Its introduction will mean the conversion of all the means of production and distribution from private or class property into the common property of all the members of society. Goods will no longer be produced for sale; they will be produced for use. The guiding principle behind the operations of industry will be the requirements of mankind, not the prospects of profit.

 Production under socialism will be pre-determined, and distribution effected with neither advertising nor sales staff, thus reducing wasted materials to the minimum and making possible the transfer of great numbers of workers to desired occupations.

The ending of exchange relationships will bring at the same time the ending of an exchange medium. There being neither sale nor profit associated with the production and distribution of goods, neither will there be money in any of its forms. Currency, credit and banking, whether private or “socialised”, will pass out of existence.

The advent of common property means the abolition of private or class property, which in turn means the abolition of class society together with the class struggle. The antagonistic classes of today will become merged in a people with common interests, and the former capitalists will have the opportunity of becoming useful members of society. This will not only remove the greatest of the burdens resting today on the backs of the workers, it will also further augment the available labour supply, by the inclusion of the capitalists and their former personal attendants, thus contributing to the general reduction in labour time needed to produce society’s requirements.

Since unemployment means not only idleness but also severance from the means of subsistence, such a condition could not exist under socialism. That there will be plenty of leisure time, however, is beyond question. It will be the conscious aim of society to constantly reduce the obligations of its members to production, thereby providing ever-increasing leisure time in which to enjoy the proceeds of their labour.

Wars constitute another wretched feature of capitalist society that will come to an end under socialism. Since they arise from the struggle of the capitalists over markets, etc., and since these struggles will no longer play a part in the affairs of society, they will remain only as a ghastly memory from a horrible past.

Socialism will not solve all the problems of human society. But it will solve all the basic economic difficulties that are a constant source of torture to so many of its members. The solution of a single one of these difficulties would warrant its introduction. The solution of them all renders it imperative.

Scottish Greens Enter Government

 

The Scottish Greens have formally entered government. It isn't the first time a Green Party has become a part of a ruling government coalition. It has happened in the Irish Republic, Germany and New Zealand. And of course, the Green Party have been running the city of Brighton for a number of years.

 Can we expect the Scottish Greens to make such a different impact on policies as all those failed to accomplish?

The blog will not question the good intentions or challenge the sincerity of the green activists but do they seriously expect the outmoded, profit-motivated, competitive and class-divided capitalist system that has created the mess we are in, to get us out of it. 

Change is to be made within the framework of the existing capitalist system. Ignored is the waste and destruction of raw materials and natural resources by the anarchy of capitalist production—its unplanned, senseless duplication of effort in a mad, competitive drive by each capitalist to “capture” the market. 

The harm and damage already done to all of us and to our environment by capitalism’s existence are now beyond exact calculation. If it is not abolished and replaced with a viable socialist cooperative commonwealth by the politically and industrially organised working class there is the distinct possibility that it may destroy civilisation in the process. 

The Scottish Green Party sees itself as the political tool of the wider environmental movement, arguing that it is not enough to be a pressure and lobby group, however militant, like Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth, or Extinction Rebellion.

 The Greens says it should organise to contest elections with the eventual aim of forming a Green government that could pass laws and imposes taxes to protect the environment. 

The Socialist Party says that no government can protect the environment. Governments exist to run the political side of the profit system. And the profit system can only work by giving priority to making profits over all other considerations. So to protect the environment we must end production for profit. 

The choice facing the world is one of the ruination of civilisation or the construction of world socialism. We address ourselves to those who agree that the capitalist society must be replaced with a free association of producers and citizens. We are committed to building a world that prides itself on having a sustainable environment and society that co-exists in relative harmony with undeveloped areas of the planet. We insist that our environment not be sacrificed on the altar of profit — either in the form of corporations devouring our forests and waters or in the form of urban sprawl and unnecessary development. 

We, in the World Socialist Movement, seek to build a society where the barriers between rural and urban are broken down through the reorganisation of society for the benefit of all life on the planet. We understand that we are not isolated from the world community. On the contrary, our internationalism allows us to understand how what we do has an effect on what happens across and around the world.

Socialism is the Power

 

Why have we suffered for so long for so little? We working people hold great power in our hands, a power awesome to behold. The power of the working class is the power of production. Nothing is produced that we have not made, nothing is transported that we do not transport, nothing is serviced that we do not service, nothing is maintained that we do not maintain, no one eats and no one lives without the work of someone. Though the privileged ones seeks to divide us, we have a common bond, the working class is all of the people who do the useful work in society. And though the privileged class looks down upon us as inferiors, the great truth of existence is that they cannot live without us. Our society could continue without the politicians and the rich bosses. For they are only parasites feeding upon the blood of the many. But if you were to remove those who do the real work the wheels of industry would grind to a halt. 

The creative power that lies within the hands of all working people is not yet used for our own benefit. We allow the  parasites to babble of lies. We allow their media and fabricated culture to numb our thinking. But if were to cast off the ideas of our deceivers and use our power for the well-being of all, the wrongs we endure would cease. Our power could put an end to the poverty of all working people, for we could ensure production be for use, not profit. Our power could make all work places safe and healthy, for our purpose is to benefit the many and not the few. Our power could end all wars, for we would no longer produce their weapons and would no longer supply their armies, and would no longer fight our sisters and brothers throughout the world. Our power could end all the bigotry and hate that is used to divide us, for the solidarity of our powers is made up of the diverse elements of humanity and that diversity is our strength, not our weakness. Our power can be used to end the environmental abuse of nature, heal the wounds upon the planet and restore the balance of human society with all things upon this world. Our power could build a world based upon the well-being of all.

This is not a daydream or a fantasy, it is the real power we possess, if only we choose to use them for these great purposes. Class struggle may be about better conditions, but it should also be about fulfilling our social responsibilities. No longer should we delegate to others the responsibilities for our world and the people upon it. We are responsible for that which we produce and the effects of that production upon all. We are responsible for the well-being of all as they are responsible to each of us. This responsibility means we must end our allegiance to the masters. our liberation will only come when the organised power of the working class is greater than the organised power of the ruling class. This organisation of our power must not be delegated to be led by any but ourselves. The organisation of working people must not be a rigid dogmatic top to the bottom organisation, but rather a horizontal organisation that bonds together all working people in the spirit of solidarity where there is no head and each worker is its leader. 

Why have we let the greedy few divide and control us using racism, sexism, ageism and other artificial differences? Why have we suffered for so long for so little?

Working people are not some army of ants nor a hive of drones. The working class is a great diversity of people and different ways. Each worker is an individual with their own unique desires and creative abilities. It is within this that we find our true creativeness. Armed with the knowledge of our great power and the strength of our organisation we will be able to remove the parasites from the face of the earth. The fact is we are faced with a well organised and powerful capitalist class and in order to face that organisation and power we need to be better organised. In fact the working class does have greater power than does the capitalist class, we have the power of production and services, but our power needs to be organised so that when the organised power of the working class is greater than the organised power of the capitalist class we will be able to take control of the means of production, that already is in our hands, and produce for the benefit of all rather than for the profit of a few. 

The rights and wrongs of socialism

 

The world is ruled by power. The foundation of this power is control over a large number of people. The capitalists rule the world today because they control, own and direct the means of production. The Socialist Party’s aim is not to establish a political dictatorship, but to remodel the world in such a manner that there shall be nobody to be a dictator over. The Socialist Party is a movement that advocates a new society, in which the workers employed in the world’s industries shall own and control those industries--shall own and control the world in fact. It means the creation of a new world--a new life. Socialism is evolutionary and revolutionary.

When the capitalist employs the worker he of course pays as little in wages as possible. If the worker is skilled he or she will usually get more wages than if unskilled because it required time and labour to develop skills. If workers are scarce their price in the market will go up for a time. If, however, there are many unemployed, wages will fall. Wages is the price paid in the market for the labour power of the worker. The amount of wages does not depend at all upon the amount of the workers' product. On the average, wages amount to just enough to keep the worker in good shape for work. If there were no great unemployed army, if machines did not constantly take the place of more and more workers, then the average worker would have to receive enough to support a family. But the unemployed army and the new machines are constantly forcing wages in many industries down to a point below what is absolutely necessary to support oneself alone, not to mention a partner and children. Profits do not go up because the capitalists do more. The manager's brains are under the worker's cap. In fact, as industry develops, the capitalist does less and less useful work. Profits go up because the capitalists own and control the industries. The capitalist are few in number. They do no useful work but live as parasites off the labor of the workers. They are entirely unnecessary to the running of industry. They perform no useful function in society. But they are organized, and by virtue of their organised power, they control the natural resources of the earth and the machinery of production, and only allow the workers access to them on condition they can make a profit off their labour.

All wealth is produced by labour being applied to the natural resources of the earth.The workers are absolutely necessary to running industry. They furnish the labour power without which not a wheel would turn. But they do not control their own labor power. Since the beginning of civilisation, workers have slaved under one master after another; we, the workers, have produced all the goods for society. We have fought all the wars and made all the sacrifices that the masters' economic system has required. We, the workers, have been forced to produce, and never have we had a say in what we made, how it is made, or what it is used for. We have been slaves to them all, be it by wages or chains. To them we are a commodity, to produce at their bidding. And what do we, the workers of the world, have to show for these years of toil? They have given us as little as they can get away with! They work us as hard and fast as they can. They make us produce cheaply, with no regard to quality or possible hazards from the products. They make us build out of inferior material and work us in such a way that we cannot make our work of best quality. They make us produce things that are ecological harmful to our world. They make us destroy food when there are thousands of people dying of starvation. Low wages, unemployment, war and hunger are some of the problems we, as workers, have had to face all of our lives and throughout history. In any time of crisis, who are they that are told to make the needed sacrifices? Have you ever heard of the rich helping? Have they ever been willing to use their great wealth (which they got from our labour) to relieve suffering? Do they not always use these times of crisis to add to their wealth? Do they not even hold back food from the hungry to drive up prices? Inequality has existed in our economic wage system since its development.

 On top there are the masters who own and rule industry, and below are the slaves, the workers, who produced all the goods. Wages are paid to workers for this production, which is only a small portion of the market value of the goods that we the working class produce. The greatest part of the wealth we create goes to our masters in the form of profit.

Is this the life we doom our children to?

As long as there are masters, the workers are no more than a commodity, to be bought when needed and cast away when not. Because of this, a class war has gone on through the ages of civilised history.

 Wherever labour and natural resources come together, there industry springs up. The wealth produced on the job is divided in two parts. part goes to the workers in the form of wages and part to the capitalists in the form of profits. The share of each is determined by the amount of control they exert over the job. On every jobs there are two conflicting interests. The capitalist wants to make the biggest possible profits in the shortest possible time. To accomplish this he must get as much as possible out of the workers and must give them as little as possible. He wants hard work, long hours, low wages, and low running expenses, which makes rotten conditions. The workers are on the job to make a living. To this end they must have short hours, high wages, easy work and good conditions.

This conflict of interest is the cause of the struggle that goes on between workers and employees--the class struggle.  Every strike, boycott, or any job action is a battle in this class war and it shall continue until we, the workers of the world, take industry into our own hands use it for the benefit of all.

The oppressive conditions under which the vast majority of wage workers must live is forcing them to struggle for political and economic freedom. Capitalism was never intended to benefit anybody but the privileged few. The wage system implies the existence of two economic classes. Under it the workers suffer, it means no end of misery, therefore from the standpoint of the workers it is Right to get together as a class and abolish the wage system, and in its place erect the cooperative commonwealth.

 

The Socialist Party's Principles

 

If democracy means control of society by the majority of the people, then democracy does not exist. Under the domination of the small ruling class, political freedoms are being eroded; the power of corporations and government bureaucracy grows; militarisation, economic exploitation and environmental harm intensify daily.  Economic freedom and democracy will be integral parts of the revolution, the one that will build socialism. To accomplish this will require the most organised and conscious revolutionary movement in history. It means organizing all working people around the world into a single unified socialist movement. We must organise politically to contest the politicians committed to continuing capitalism, to educate for the need for socialist change and to openly and painstakingly gather our forces in as peaceful a manner as possible, using all our efforts to build a new society suited to the conditions of our time.

Under capitalism today the means of wealth production are privately owned. With socialism tomorrow they will be collectively owned. Under capitalism government’s main purpose is the protection of private property. Industry is at present controlled by a few industrial barons whose purpose is to take from the workers as much wealth as possible. In socialism, the political State will have ceased to exist. Socialism is industrial democracy. Industrial democracy is Socialism. The government is the government of the property-holding classes. Its purpose is to keep the workers, who have no property, in subjection. Its most important laws are laws of oppression. Socialism will need no armies, police and prisons. The courts and judges today are almost wholly concerned with two kinds of work. One is to try cases at law that grow out of private property relations. When two property holders quarrel about a piece of property they go to court in order to have the fight settled as cheaply as possible. Another function of the courts is to sit in judgement upon and determine the punishment of such of the poor as may have been "guilty" of disrespect for private property. Of course, everybody now knows that rich offenders purchase this "justice," while poor offenders get it presented to them. Do the starving poor take food? They are sent to jail. Such is the nature and purpose of the political government today.  In socialism, there will be no lawless rich to keep their place by repressing the poor. There will be no enslaved poor to be suppressed. There will be no great private fortunes to fight about in the courts. In their class war upon the working people, one of the most effective weapons of the capitalists has been the force wielded by their political government. Everywhere the workers have been fooled into supporting the government. Even reform politicians use the powers of government in the interests of the master class. They vote for such politicians as call themselves "the friends of labour." But they soon find out again that "the friends of labour" out of office, become the enemies of labour when in office. In every country under the sun, the workers are forced to organize a party of their own.

Government ownership is not socialism. State ownership can never lead to socialism. It is not a step toward socialism. It has nothing socialistic about it because all political government is the rule from the top.

The Socialist Party stands not merely for POLITICAL supremacy.  Its purpose is not to secure higher old-age pensions and free meals for school children. Its mission is to help overthrow capitalism and establish socialism. The great purpose of the Socialist Party is to capture the powers of government and thus prevent them from being used by the capitalists against the workers as socialism is constructed. The Socialist Party is not a political party in the same sense as other parties. The success of socialism would abolish practically every ministry existing under the present form of government. Local councils, legislatures and parliament would not be composed principally of office-seekers whose highest ambition seems to be to enact laws with loopholes in them for the rich. But the administrative organs of the workers would be composed of men and women and their work would be to improve the conditions of labour, to minimise the expenditure of labour-power, and to increase production. Everybody now realises that it is ridiculous for sane people to work all day and every day. "The less work the better," is the motto that the workers must set themselves. The Socialist Party is the bearer of sound knowledge, using its great and growing organisation to teach socialism. When the working class is strong enough at the ballot box, it will make an end to capitalism. When a worker understands socialism, he or she does not ask who will do the hard work, will socialism divide up, will socialism destroy incentives, and similar, foolish questions. Socialism is explained as a political scheme.

 Let all the wealth now being wasted in wars and in competitive commerce - let all this waste stop. Let the latest technology be everywhere used. Let the genius of the workers be liberated for the many inventions and the development of better processes. If all this were to be done, it is readily seen that a small portion of the day, or a few days per month, or a few months steady work per year, will yield social wealth in abundance. It would be foolish for us to say how much a worker should work because we do not know how much wealth he or she will desire for oneself and family. It is not for us to determine that. But it is most reasonable to suppose that with socialism an individual working eight hours a day for four months in the year will produce food, clothing and shelter in abundance. Those who will not work will not be permitted to starve. At present, even all healthy people wish to work, yet none desire life-long slavery for the profit of others.

 People will be educated in freedom. They will work in freedom. They will live in freedom. Most of the diseases which now afflict humanity will be unknown because their causes will have been removed. Where there is plenty for all, none will be driven to swindle, to steal or to take profits. Education will be within the reach of everyone. Science and the arts will flourish. Socialism will free not only the slave but the slave-driver and the slave-owner. Socialism today makes war upon the enemies of the working class. When it is victorious, even the enemies of the working class will embrace it. Peace and brotherhood will come with freedom. Then we shall have economic democracy and a cooperative commonwealth.