Socialist Democracy

 

The illusion of democracy peddled by the exponents of the capitalist authoritarian order hinged on the existence of political pluralism which allowed the masses to choose their leaders. Socialism does not negate pluralism. But it goes further by creating the conditions for people to indeed exercise their right to determine not only their leaders but the oath towards the future. Under capitalism, politics is limited to the elite who have the resources to engage in politics. While elections allow the masses a token right to choose their leaders, the choice is actually only between members of the ruling class. While recognising the limitations of democracy in a capitalist order, we must also deplore the depolitisation that has taken place in many countries, where a small bureaucracy had effectively paralysed the masses and simply rules in their name. 

In a capitalist order, the inequalities in the economic sphere spawn inequalities in the enjoyment of human rights and freedoms. The capitalist class that wields economic and political power which live in material comfort, comprise a small segment of the population, which can enjoy the rights, and freedoms of citizens under a capitalist democracy. But the exploited majority who are consigned to poverty know no freedom and suffer violation of their human rights. In a socialist society, the absence of the force of private property, which determines inequality, is what provides the basis for the equal enjoyment of rights and freedoms. Contrary to the usual attacks against it, socialism does not substitute material welfare for human rights. The socialist vision, in fact, is not meant to negate the rights enjoyed by only a few in a capitalist society, but to expand these rights and make them available to all.  socialism must therefore ensure the full flowering of equal rights and freedoms. One of the basic requirements is the full guarantee of the right to dissent. The freedom to criticise must be guaranteed not only on the law but in fact. The right to free speech, to assembly, to demonstrate against the government, must be protected at all times. But the actual guarantee of these rights can only come from an organised and politicised people.

Socialism means the creation of a society where the people, not a few property owners, own and manage the affairs of the country. In such a society, production would be basically oriented to need, not to market demand. This can only be accomplished through rational social planning. A planned economy requires the identification of basic need that must be met, and an efficient distribution system. These can only be achieved through the effective participation of people in the determination of production goals. It is crucial, therefore, that a planned economy be the result of decisions popularly participated in by all sectors of society. This is the only way through which real needs can be arrived at, people motivated to act collectively made based on rational choices. Democratic  planning is thus in complete contrast to the anarchy of capitalism where surplus is expropriated from those who by the social classes the own the means of production. 

If economic planning is not to degenerate into control by bureaucracy, it must be based on the direct producers’ control over decision making. Under capitalism, control is purely in the hands of the owners of the means of production. Workers must also have control over both the organisation and technology of production to avoid becoming slaves to these.  Control over the wealth produced should therefore rest in the hands of the actual producers. Under capitalism the economy always responds to the logic of the world capitalist market. In contrast, a socialist system, being under the control of the people, develops production sensitive to real needs rather than to global market demands.

Socialism is not Luddism or the worship of the primitive. Considering the 19^th century level of our productive forces which resulted from inefficient and dependent capitalism, socialism must put special emphasis on the development of science and technology. Economic progress and improvement of the people’s standard of living are largely dependent upon the capacity to produce our own means of production. What is important is to identify needs that must be met and to develop appropriate technologies to realise these. Science and technology must always be conscious of the need for technology that does not alienate, but rather enhances the humanity of the worker. Such a technology must therefore be in the control of the people.

 A socialist society can be sustained only through a stable and adequate resource base. Hence the conservation of natural resources and the maintenance of ecological balance must be integral principles of  socialism. Our natural resources, whether organic or inorganic, are not infinite. They will not last unless necessary policies and measures are undertaken to preserve them. This task is both immediate and long-range. It is urgent because of the continued depletion and deterioration of our natural biosphere due mainly to the intensive, wide-scale agricultural and industrial activities of capitalist corporations. The result has been widespread poverty among the masses, especially in the countryside. Among others, this task entails a transition process involving: the phasing out of non-ecological capitalist production technology (i.e., polluting, disruptive and inappropriate); the regeneration of ruined and weakened ecosystems (i.e., upland areas, inland and coastal waters, agricultural soil and air) towards a new balance, and the establishment of an optimum equilibrium between human population and nature’s limits (i.e., the capacity to provide space, food an other raw materials). The initial foundations of this transition process, in the form of preliminary solutions guided by scientific study, must be laid down as the masses are organised for political and economic empowerment.