For a New Socialist Society

 

“For our part, it is our task to drag the old world into the full light of day and to give positive shape to the new one. The more time history allows thinking mankind to reflect and suffering mankind to collect its strength the more perfect will be the fruit which the present now bears within its womb.” - Marx

 Capitalism promises the people not amelioration of conditions but austerity, oppression, wars and environmental destruction. Technological progress is now reaping vast profits for the industrial and financial oligarchy and condemning many of us to vulnerable jobs or unemployment. The people have been robbed and cheated for too long.  We suffer low wages and higher costs of living while the employers get richer. To create a new society, it is necessary that we reject the present economic and political system which we live under. More than this, we need to construct an entirely new system of values where the lust for money, power, and individual selfish gain are no longer the motivating factors. he new society must not only speak of democracy but must practice it in all its aspects. Our first task, therefore, is to join hands with us here to build a better world for our children and our children's children.

Each day real conditions grow worse. There is inflation. Threats of unemployment. Working conditions become more miserable. The insecurity of daily life becomes unbearable. The capitalist system won’t work, for the very root of capitalism is all wrong.  The working people themselves should own and operate the industries cooperatively, through owning and operating the government. This would end production for profit and the waste of competing corporations. There would be planned production for the first time, increasing the output of wealth so that there would be plenty for all. Socialism demands the conscious participation of millions of workers to end capitalism and replace it with social ownership. The kind of planned economy we envisage would, for the first time, make possible an end to wars between nations. Because the planned economy would include all countries. The aim of the working class would be to end capitalism and all forms of exploitation everywhere and to create a socialist world. Socialism is not just about fighting for reforms or demands. Reformism is not the same as revolution. We can’t make that distinction clear if we lend our support to capitalist politicians no matter what they call themselves. There is no such thing as a kinder and gentler capitalism. That is an oxymoron. Capitalism’s assault on the working class is not a matter of moral or immoral decisions being made by individual capitalists. It is an economic imperative that has a logic of its own that individual capitalists cannot control. For the economic system of capitalism to survive, it MUST increase profit by any means necessary including driving down our wages.

There is a war being waged against the entire working class by the capitalist class. In every country, in every corner of the world, workers are being force-fed austerity while the capitalists accumulate more wealth. The capitalist political system of “lesser evil” politics is designed to channel workers into a downward spiral of powerlessness by voting for the least-bad candidates among all the capitalist candidates. It is not a democratic system at all. Money drives all the campaigns and political parties and their candidates are representatives of the commanders of capital. They will say whatever they think will get them elected—whatever might get the most votes. But they are not held accountable whatsoever to their promises. Their job is to preserve the power of the capitalist class over the working class. Workers lose no matter which pro- or reform-capitalist candidate is elected to office.

Our environment is being systematically plundered for the natural resources capitalism needs to fuel its profits. Capitalism is destroying the planet. It cannot be reformed, reshaped or restructured—it must be abolished. This is no easy task. Working people are kept divided and live in constant fear of poverty, made to feel powerless. Through unity and solidarity across the world, we can overthrow capitalism. We need socialists who understand that capitalism must go and that workers must organize independently of the capitalists so that there can be no collaboration between the workers and the capitalists. The power of a united working class is the only way to create a world that can answer the needs of all of humanity and all life on the planet to establish a truly democratic socialist society without borders, exploitation and oppression. The  Socialist Party—with the support of the overwhelming majority—does have the power to end capitalism and replace it with a socialist system that puts people and the planet first.