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Capitalism is beset with an immense political and economic crisis, the likes of which it has not experienced. It is rife with misery and oppression in various forms. Hunger, poverty, unemployment, racial and sexual discrimination, wars and many forms of environmental degradation. Far from diminishing with the progress of science and the advances of technology, living conditions are worsening, the gulf between the rich and the poor, between the powerful and the dispossessed, is steadily widening. Capitalists seek to increase the productivity of workers. They impose speed-ups and compulsory overtime. They multiply their attacks on the democratic rights of working people and continually try to control their organisations and even to destroy them. 

Socialist revolution is the only way that the working people can ensure the abolition of all exploitation. The working class cannot free itself without freeing all of humanity at the same time, because the ultimate goal of its struggle is not to replace the power of one class with that of another but rather to abolish all classes. This is the only way to put an end to all the social divisions and inequalities that have characterised class societies thus far. The expropriation of the capitalists and the socialisation of the means of production will lead directly to the abolition of society divided into classes with opposing interests. The abolition of classes will in turn lead to the withering away of the State.

Socialism will put an end to the recurring crises of capitalism which result in the destruction and waste of productive resources. It will mean the scientific, technological, economic and human resources currently devoted to the preparation and waging of war will be redirected to socially useful purposes. Socialism will also remove the enormous waste inherent in capitalist production with its duplication of effort - the manufacture of numerous but essentially similar washing powders, cars, and so on. It will put an end to the massive sums spent on advertising and production of superfluous luxuries for the rich. Socialism will be a society where all injustice would be banished forever, a society with no trace of corruption, a society in which the weak would no longer be oppressed by the strong, a society in which one class would no longer be exploited by another. The dreams of the past have become real possibilities for a future that can already be foreseen, because the material conditions necessary for achieving them are steadily appearing. Working people are becoming increasingly aware that this society can be achieved if only they can put an end to the capitalist relations of exploitation that are now the fundamental obstacle to the further evolution of society.

Million of our fellow humans suffer from chronic malnutrition and go without food. Charities and NGOs may do their bit, alleviate a little suffering here and there, but their work in is in reality only addressing the symptoms, not the disease. The disease is the global profit-drive market system whose golden maxim is “can’t pay–can’t have”. It is a system governments believe they can run in the interests of us all. In the years to come we will see many conferences and summits looking at the problem of global hunger. A lot of rubbish will no doubt be uttered at the same and you can bet no remedy will emerge. This is because there is only one remedy and governments cannot contemplate it because, as the executive of capitalism, it runs counter to the real interests they serve. The remedy involves abolishing the money system, freeing production from the artificial constraints of profit and establishing a world of free access to the benefits of civilisation. A utopian dream you may say, but is it not more utopian to believe the present system can be made to work in all our interests?

The Labour Party pledged to make capitalism work and pave the way for socialism at the same time, has forgotten the second in face of the obstacles that have frustrated their efforts in pursuit of the first. While the working class are blind enough to acquiesce in a social system in which they are governed by leaders in the interests of the capitalist class, it is of little consequence whether the leaders are politically skilful or not. But the working class are not politically mature. They vote in ignorance and in docile acceptance of whatever capitalism likes to dish out to them.

The Socialist Party was never impressed by the extravagant claims made for the ideas of the Welfare State by the various parties in 1945. By then, we had already issued a couple of pamphlets analysing the Beveridge plan and the proposals for family allowances, and we said that they would make no essential difference to the workers' position as the exploited section of the population. Because of this, we felt sure that the worry and insecurity that is life for most of us, would continue. Social security was in fact a gigantic misnomer. Many Labour Party governments later, we still see no need to alter our claim.

We are solely concerned with the establishment of socialism. This cannot be obtained until a majority of the workers want it and work for it. Once the workers do understand and want socialism, and without this socialism cannot be established, then they will vote delegates to parliament to take control of political power for the sole purpose of establishing socialism. Clause 6 of our Declaration of Principles points out that the armed forces of the nation are controlled through Parliament, the centre of political power. Once the workers obtain a majority in Parliament, for the purpose of establishing socialism, they will have control of the armed forces.