You Win Some, You Lose Some

Discussing the Trans Pacific Partnership, Tony Burman (Toronto Star, Oct. 10) reports the World Bank as stating that the number of people living in extreme poverty world wide has dropped below ten per cent for the first time, but added that 900 million still live on less than $2 a day. On the other hand, UNICEF reported that in the world's most affluent countries the number of minors living in poverty has increased to 76 million. You win some, you lose some in capitalism's casino economy. John Ayers.

Modest Goals

As an example of what nations are doing, developing nations are being called to address their contributions to climate change. In addition, Barack Obama has announced a plan to reduce carbon emissions from power industries by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030. China expects emissions to peak by 2030 and expects plans to be in place by 2017 for emission reductions. These are only goals and are very modest and subject to all kinds of opposition and trimming, so do not hold your breath! John Ayers.

The cause of socialism

ABOLISH WAGE SLAVERY

Working people are waging and will continue to wage struggles on many issues, including wages, health, industrial accidents, social services, unemployment, political rights, etc. These struggles put them in direct opposition to various sectors of the ruling class– this or that capitalist, manager, government minister, municipal politician or whatever. Workers know very well who their immediate enemy is and where their immediate interests lie in such conflicts. It is not the job of the Socialist Party to substitute itself for the peoples’ protests. Its role is to point out what all these struggles have in common, to point out that the cause of these problems and the misery that workers have to endure under capitalism is one and the same, to identify the class enemy hiding behind each specific, individual enemy and to indicate the only path that will enable us to solve these problems once and for all. In opposition to those who promise “socialist” reforms as a way of eliminating the exploitation of man by man, the Socialist Party puts forward the revolutionary struggle, the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the establishment of the socialism. We defend the slogan, “The emancipation of the workers will be accomplished by the workers themselves”. This is how we carry out our tasks associalists; not as reformists, but as conscious revolutionaries who go against the tide – against the nationalists divisions between immigrant workers and indigenous workers maintained by the ruling class; against the idea that capitalism can be gradually improved until it becomes a society free from exploitation. These are the ideas that we sow and cultivate. Experience has proven that unless our ideas triumph in the working-class movement, socialist revolution is impossible.

The aspiration of Marx and Engels was a society based upon free association of completely free men and women, where no separation between ‘private and common interest’ existed: a society where ‘everyone could give himself a complete education in whatever domain he fancied’. For ‘man’s activity becomes an adverse force which subjugates him, instead of his being its master’ when there is ‘a division of labour’; everyone must then have a profession, that is a ‘determined, exclusive sphere of activity’ he has not chosen and in which ‘he is forced to remain if he does not want to lose his means of existence’. In their socialist society, on the contrary, a man would be given ‘the possibility to do this today and that tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, to go fishing in the afternoon, to do cattle breeding in the evening, to criticise after dinner’, as he chose (‘The German Ideology’.) It is clear that there is not the slightest relation between their vision and the conception of Lenin’s Soviet Union. The future world of Marx and Engels is a world where will be no exploiters or oppressors, no landlords and capitalists nor will there be any oppressed and exploited people, or any of the darkness, ignorance and backwardness resulting from the system of exploitation. In such a society the production of both material and moral values will develop and flourish mightily and will meet the varied needs of all its members. Today, our task is constantly to advance the cause of socialism so as to make it a reality as soon as possible. It is the greatest cause in human history, for it will eliminate exploitation and classes once and for all, emancipate mankind and bring humanity into a world of happiness such as it has never known before.

The aim and purpose of the Socialist Party is to replace the world capitalist economy by world socialism which will abolish the class division of society, i.e., simultaneously with the abolition of anarchy in production, it will abolish all forms of exploitation and oppression of man by man. Society will no longer consist of antagonistic classes in conflict with each other, but will present a united commonwealth of labour. For the first time in its history mankind will take its fate into its own hands. Instead of destroying innumerable human lives and incalculable wealth in struggles between classes and nations, mankind will devote all its energy to the struggle against the forces of nature, to the development and strengthening of its own collective might. After abolishing private ownership of the means of production and converting these means into social property, socialism will replace the global market, competitive and blind processes of social production, by consciously organised and planned production for the purpose of satisfying rapidly growing social needs. With the abolition of competition and anarchy in production, devastating crises and still more devastating wars will disappear. Instead of colossal waste of productive forces and spasmodic development of society-there will be a planned utilisation of all material resources and a painless economic development on the basis of unrestricted, smooth and rapid development of productive forces.

The abolition of private property and the disappearance of classes will do away with the exploitation of man by man. Work will cease to be toiling for the benefit of a class enemy: instead of being merely a means of livelihood it will become a necessity of life: want and economic inequality, the misery of enslaved classes, and a wretched standard of life generally will disappear; the hierarchy created in the division of labour system will be abolished together with the antagonism between mental and manual labour; and the last vestige of the social inequality of the sexes will be removed. At the same time, the organs of class domination, and the State in the first place, will disappear also. The State, being the embodiment of class domination, will die out in so far as classes die out, and with it all measures of coercion will expire.

The development of the productive forces of world socialism will make it possible to raise the well-being of the whole of humanity and to reduce to a minimum the time devoted to material production and, consequently, will enable culture to flourish as never before in history. This new culture of a humanity that is united for the first time in history, and has abolished all State boundaries, will, unlike capitalist culture, be based upon clear and transparent human relationships. Hence, it will bury forever all mysticism, religion, prejudice and superstition and will give a powerful impetus to the development of all-conquering, scientific knowledge. In socialism no social restrictions will be imposed upon the growth of the forces of production. Private ownership in the means of production, the selfish lust for profits, the artificial retention of the masses in a state of ignorance, poverty-which retards technical progress in capitalist society, and unproductive expenditures will have no place in a Communist society. The most expedient utilisation of the forces of nature and of the natural conditions of production in the various parts of the world, the removal of the antagonism between town and country, that under capitalism results from the low technical level of agriculture and its systematic lagging behind industry; the closest possible co-operation between science and technique, the utmost encouragement of research work and the practical application of its results on the widest possible social scale; planned organisation of scientific work; the application of the most perfect methods of statistical accounting and, planned regulation of economy; the rapid growth of social needs, which-is the most powerful internal driving force of the whole system-all these will secure the maximum productivity of social labour, which in turn will release human energy for the powerful development of science and art.

“From each according to his abilities to each according to his needs!”

Our Economy?

There is another climate change conference coming up in December in Paris. Some countries appear to be getting more serious. Perhaps they see that eventually it will cut seriously into profits, especially when half the world is under water! However, there are still plenty of idiots trying to deny the science. The New York Times (Oct.11) contains an article entitled, "Stuff Happens, Like Climate Change". In it they quote Republican presidential candidate, Marco Rubio, "We're not going to destroy our economy the way the left-wing government that we are under now wants to do." Meanwhile, Governor Christie said about George Schulz (Reagan's secretary of State who now proposes that Republicans start to come to terms with climate change), "Listen, everybody makes mistakes once in a while." Hurricane Sandy caused $36 billion in damage in Christie's state! John Ayers.

A Continuous Grind

So now it is back to school and for parents it means dipping deeper into their pockets, especially if the kids want whatever is considered 'cool', hence expensive. A Fraser Institute paper said, "Between lunches, clothes, extra-curricular activities, and birthday parties, parents are likely to spend $3,000 to $4,500 a year. Furthermore, fifty per cent of secondary students will end up asking their parents for additional support because they've run out of money. 

Another example of how life is getting harder for every one under capitalism. 

John Ayers.

Slaves to the Left

The absence of a viable socialist movement today is an indisputable and depressing fact. This is hardly a profound observation. It has been noted by many others. Those who do acknowledge the problem have offered differing explanations. Some blame sectarianism. Dozens of other explanations abound. Obviously, history has not unfolded as Marx envisioned. The absence of a strong socialist political party has driven some on the Left to delude themselves into pursuing a strategy that envisages capturing the Labour Party and transforming it. Suffice it to say, those who advocate such a strategy are hard-pressed to provide one shred of evidence of the Labour Party’s receptivity to a socialist agenda. Such a strategy is an exercise in futility. The bulk of the Labour Party MPs do not even seem willing to defend what’s left of the welfare state. The trade union movement affiliated to the Labour Party is also an embarrassment. The TUC slavishly accept the capitalist labour laws that severely constrain and restrict overall union activity. They have essentially capitulated and proved themselves to be incapable of defending the interests of working people. To say this is not to argue that all work within the unions should be abandoned, that need is undeniable.

Nationalistic jingoism, xenophobia, racism, and sexism are well entrenched and permeates all facets of daily life. Appealing for human decency and compassion has clearly been inadequate. People who feel increasingly alienated and disempowered go on the defensive and often into denial. Socialists face a most difficult situation for the problems are many and the solutions so far unknown. Unable to chart a path out of isolation, socialists expend much of their time and energy in tried and trusted activities. Unfortunately, this is further evidence of their impotent state rather than its vitality. Each year activists stage “mass” demonstrations and rallies. While they have some worth, they usually attract only the faithful and have become little more than media events. Moreover, such protests are now incorporated into the legal bureaucracy with the use of police permits and the like and has become almost institutionalised. The lack of unity for the socialist goal has prompted the establishment of numerous organisations of varying forms – loose federations, flexible networks, etc.– without any clear solution to the problem. Socialist unity remains elusive. There are no ready-made answers to the complex questions facing socialists today. At the same time, the lack of such answers is no excuse to throw in the towel. Regardless of the weaknesses, the day-to-day struggle continues, whether it be in the trade unions, civil rights, environmental campaigning or what have you. Socialists must look beyond the immediate situation and be willing to outline a vision of a future society. The issues must be about how goods are produce and distributed, who owns the means of production and how work is organised and administered. Socialists must question the very way we spend our lives in a never ending and environmentally destructive process of expanding production and consumption. Overcoming scarcity, i.e., meeting people’s elementary material needs for food, clothing, shelter, etc., is obviously necessary. A more insidious problem, however, is the mindless consumerism and the ever-expanding creation of “needs”. The fact is that the planet cannot possibly sustain this toxic wasteful lifestyle on a global scale. Besides being ecologically unfeasible, the unrelenting drive for increased growth and production is threatening to permanently subvert the struggle for human liberation itself. A technological faith in expanding production has become synonymous with “progress” and “freedom” is equated with the right to consume. All this turns people themselves even more into commodities, reduced even more into yet another expendable raw material.

Our socialism should be not only democratic, non-exploitative, egalitarian, and internationalist but one that thoroughly replaces the limitless growth model of capitalism. We must keep the ideal alive and struggle to make it a reality to triumph over the present-day insanity and avoid the path of barbarism or collective self-annihilation.

Our Enemy is Capitalism

Capitalism remains the enemy of humanity, it cannot be reformed and the only solution is to build a new social system. Socialism cannot be anything but global. All attempts to make socialism national have failed, because the economy is global and there cannot be a socio-economic solution of the problems within the narrow borders of a country. In this era of nationalist movements who believe that everything can be solved in the own country, the Socialist Party says there is only solution at the global economy level which is socialism. It is not possible to build socialism city by city or government department by government department. The revolutionary heart of the socialist critique lies in the refusal to accept that what is will always be. Marx showed that change was inherent in the very fabric of society. Leftists are well known for putting the world to rights while downing a pint. The Socialist Party does not believe that the world is on the verge of revolution but it does not mean that we consider revolution as a far off dream. The present inactivity of our fellow workers cannot change the facts which Marx exposed, namely the contradictions inherent in capitalism’s very existence: A handful of capitalists still get rich at the expense of the rest of us – those who work for wages who bear the misery of unemployment caused by capitalism’s constant search for profits. So we are not misled by surface appearances - the nature of the system has not changed. The possibilities for change is ever-present. There is massive cynicism and distrust of the system, its inability to provide basic services, its determination to charge us for the necessities of life and to impose unaccountable bureaucracies to rule our lives. The problem is, what course of action can offer a solution? Things never stay the same: opportunities will arise to assert the working class’ interests – peacefully if possible, by force if necessary. There is no socialism but democratic socialism.

We live in a world dominated by capitalism, a system which allows a small minority of capitalists to oppress and exploit the great majority of humankind. It is capitalism that brings about great inequalities in living standards with more poor people now in the world than ever before, starts murderous wars to steal the resources of less developed countries and causes the growing devastation of our natural environment. Either we get rid of this outmoded and increasingly decrepit system or it will devastate humanity. The hour is late and urgent action is necessary. The only viable way forward is to achieve socialism, a classless and stateless society on a world scale where people do not oppress and exploit each other and where we live in harmony with our natural environment. To create such a world it is necessary to overthrow the rule of capitalism and this can be done only through a social revolution.  The working class must depose the capitalist ruling class and establish socialism, a system of real, popular democracy. People know that capitalism is no good but few can see a way forward to a better type of society. To achieve this aim we are spreading knowledge of the revolutionary outlook of socialism. It is through political action that we reach out to people with our revolutionary message.  Socialism and the classless society is just as necessary as ever and just as vital an idea as ever. And it is still necessary to organize into political parties to wage the struggle for socialism. Ours is a revolutionary party. It isn’t just trying to improve capitalism. It aims to organise the workers so that they can collectively transform society.

Crime and Poverty

Scotland's criminal justice system punishes poorer people and makes it difficult for them to escape poverty, according to an academicstudy by University of Edinburgh researchers. Report author Prof Lesley McAra said: "Our findings highlight a very destructive dynamic - poverty increases the risks of violence. Contact with juvenile justice system increases the risks associated with poverty. As a result, contact with the very agencies meant to stop offending is inadvertently reproducing the conditions in which violence can flourish."

It found children from deprived backgrounds were twice as likely to face police action than better off children who commit the same crime. Living in poverty also increased the likelihood of violence among both boys and girls. Poorer young people were also about five times more likely to be placed on statutory supervision than their better-off counterparts. They found that a history of being in trouble with the police was the strongest predictor of whether a young person was not in education, employment or training by age 18.

Household poverty was identified as an exacerbating factor that increased the likelihood of young people offending. This was the case even when a range of other risk factors have been taken into account, the researchers said. They found that people who lived in extreme poverty were much more likely to be the victims - and perpetrators - of crime. Girls from poorer backgrounds were twice as likely as girls from more affluent households to be involved in violent crime, the authors said. This was the case even after other factors - such as truancy, substance abuse and poor parental supervision - were taken into account.

 Another study by Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQMeN) Research Centre - also based at the University of Edinburgh's Law School - suggested that victims experiencing the most crime continued to be within the most deprived communities. Half of the communities with the highest crime rates were found in the top 20% of areas with the highest levels of chronic health problems, the report showed. A third of the communities with the highest rates of crime were in the top 20% of areas with the highest levels of unemployment.

Lead researcher Prof Susan McVie said: "The findings are important as they suggest that crime tends to be highly concentrated amongst poor people and within poor neighbourhoods, and this has not changed despite crime being at its lowest level for decades.”

There Is Only One Enemy

Posters calling for the formation of a white students' union at the University of Toronto have been removed after student union reps called them "triggering". The poster featured the pictures of two blond white guys staring into the sky flanked by the CN Tower. They directed people to a web site supporting students for a western civilization. A post on the site calls multiculturalism an undemocratically imposed immigration culture policy that is rapidly reducing white people to minorities, and calls for a students' union that promotes white people's interests. This is just another incident of racism and emphasizes to all who can see clearly that a society based on private property interests will always turn people against each other until they realize they only have one enemy – the economic system that creates racism and other divisions. How else can the one per cent rule the ninety-nine per cent? John Ayers.

The Message

Grosvenor Cinema in Glasgow was due to screen  the Oscar-nominated The Message, on behalf of the Islamic Society of Britain. But it pulled the screening after an anonymous petition with 94 signatories – largely from Scotland but also from people registered in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia – criticised the film as being “inappropriate and disrespectful” to Islam. Complaints against the film on the petition included the “inappropriate material such as music and dancing” as well as supposed historical inaccuracies and non-Muslim actors portrayed some of the prophet’s closest companions.

The ISB called for the cinema to overturn its decision taken after such a “small number of objections” and said: “These protestors demonstrate the worst elements of our community, as they are imposing their beliefs on others.” The ISB said it “has worked for decades to promote the rights of people to make Islam relevant to British society” before adding: “We will not be bullied by these people and challenge them to make themselves known. We are also appealing for the Grosvenor to stick to the original agreement and show the film.”

SNP MSP Humza Yousaf was “appalled” the cinema had caved in to “a few narrow-minded imbeciles”.

The National Secular Society (NSS), has condemned pulling the screening as “contributing to the climate of censorship”. Stephen Evans, a campaign manager for the NSS, said: “Incidents like this have a real effect on free speech. The limits on what is deemed to be acceptable are constantly shrinking and there is a real fear of causing offence.” The NSS has written to the cinema urging it to think again. “This is an Oscar-nominated film from the 1970s. This shows you how regressive this incident is. Too often people capitulate to the reactionaries; it’s dangerous.” In the letter the NSS said it was “surprised and extremely disappointed to see a cinema capitulate to reactionaries who wish to deny freedom of expression, and we are keen to learn the rationale behind your decision”.

                                             

We need change

It is often argued that no matter how desirable socialism may be, it could never be made to work, because, whatever changes are made in the form of society, human nature will always remain fundamentally the same: there must always be rulers and ruled, rich and poor, employers and employed. This argument springs from ignorance. The study of history, and the observation of primitive communities still living in the world, prove that in the earliest kind of society not only were the land and the tools (what are called the means of production) regarded as the common property of the tribe, but everyone shared in the common tasks of production. Because of the low level of technique such communities were necessarily rudimentary, but because there was common ownership, and therefore no classes, they are correctly described as “primitive communism.” Gradually, however, as mankind achieved greater mastery over the forces of nature through increased society the exploitation of the vast majority by a small privileged section, and the class struggles resulting from that, were unavoidable because of the low technical and productive development. Now, however, capitalist society has led to such a tremendous improvement in technique and to such a vast increase in the productive forces that there is no longer any need for the division of society into classes. Moreover, by explaining how the capitalist class exploits the working class, socialists are able to show that the very existence of the capitalist class, instead of helping forward the development of the productive forces, is now increasingly hindering such development. It follows, then, that the next step forward in the development of human society can only be taken by the working class. By taking this step, the socialist revolution the working class, being itself the great majority of the people, will end the exploitation of man by man.

 Capitalist society is a society divided into two main classes: the capitalists, (or bourgeoisie); and the working class, (or proletariat.) The former own the land, the factories and the machines, and all the means by which wealth is produced (the means of production), and are therefore the ruling class, though they do no productive work themselves. The latter though they do all the real productive work of society, own neither the means of production nor the wealth they create; and, therefore, are forced to sell to the capitalists their ability to work and produce. Numerically, the capitalists are an insignificant minority, while the workers constitute the vast majority of the people. Capitalism is not based on plenty. Though it has developed, for the first time in history, the possibility of providing enough for everybody, it has always condemned a great part of the people to live in poverty and insecurity. This is because the capitalist class, who decide what is to be produced, base their decisions not on what people need but upon how much profit they will make when the goods are sold in the market. Capitalist society is not a peaceful, international society, but, on the contrary, nationalist in a narrow, selfish way. Just as within each capitalist country the various capitalists and groups of capitalists compete with each other in order to sell their goods at a greater profit, so capitalist countries as a whole enter into competition with other capitalist countries. This competition inevitably leads to wars: on the one hand to enslave more backward countries; and on the other, to re-divide the countries which have been enslaved between the different capitalist countries. Such wars are not in the interests of the working class, but only of the capitalists. Because capitalism is a class society, in which the small class of capitalists exploits the great majority of the people—not only the manual workers, but also the professional and technical workers and the small farmers it is necessary for the capitalists to impose their will upon the people. It does this, partly by filling all the key posts in the armed forces, the Civil Service and all legal institutions (that is, in the State) with members of its own class; partly through its control of the media and so on, by which public opinion is influenced. Thus, while in a capitalist democracy it is true that the majority of the people have the opportunity of taking part every few years in the election of the Government and of the local authorities, and in addition have won a number of democratic rights such as the right to organise in trade unions and political parties, freedom of the press, etc., nevertheless the real power of the State remains in the hands of the capitalists. The strength of this power has been shown in fascist countries, where the capitalists, threatened by the growing strength of the working class, were able to sweep away all the people’s democratic rights. Under capitalism human society is condemned to a series of bitter struggles; class against class, nation against nation, and individual against individual. Inevitably, therefore, the great majority of the people, instead of being inspired by a common social purpose, are forced to struggle for their own individual and selfish interests. Moreover, since capitalism condemns the majority of people to poverty or insecurity, there is a continual waste of human talent and ability.

The first and fundamental contrast between socialist and capitalist society is that under socialism all the means of production—the land, factories and mines—are owned in common. Thus the exploitation of one class by another is ended. Instead of one small class being able to live on the labour of the majority of the people, everybody is obliged to undertake some form of productive or administrative work on behalf of society as a whole. In socialism, production is organised to meet the needs of the people and not to provide profit for a single class. It will, therefore be possible to plan production; and so to increase enormously the amount produced.  With the ending of exploitation people’s attitude to work will change; instead of being merely a means of living it will become a necessary part of a new kind of social living. Similarly their attitude to property will change, family life will take on a new significance, etc.; and with these changes a new code of morality will develop. 

Rate Of Progress!

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and author of "Lean In" released a women-in-the-workplace study of one hundred and eighteen companies and 30,000 employees and concluded, "At the current pace of progress, we are more than a hundred years away from gender equality in the C-suite." If capitalism lasts that long it's a good bet that she (or somebody) will be saying the same thing then

As proof of the above, tens of thousands African Americans converged on Washington calling for justice and equality. It came twenty years after the Million Man March and fifty-two years after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Anyone taking bets that it will be necessary to do it all again? Maybe it's time to drop performing the same experiment and getting the same results and try a new experiment! John Ayers

To the people belongs the world

There is an alternative to the system we live under. Capitalism is not eternal and just as it succeeded feudalism, capitalism can be replaced socialism. Many in the mass media defend the capitalist system. Their aim is to discredit socialism, claiming it is no longer relevant. This means that Socialist Party must redouble its efforts to show that socialism is indeed a valid and necessary option. By using our traditional institutions and rights, we can transform Parliament into the effective instrument of the people’s will to end the rule of capitalists. Basing itself therefore on the interests of the working class and the oppressed toilers, the Socialist Party is not a mere parliamentary party, capturing and using the State machine for the exercise of its own class power for the building of socialism. When the working class has power it can build socialism  and, for the first time in history give the majority of the population, equality of opportunity, control over their daily lives and power to build the future. We can change capitalist democracy, dominated by wealth and privilege, into social democracy. Real democracy means the people being at once voters and administrators, collectively participating in the conduct of their own affairs, the running of industry and the organisation of social life. Working class power is the essential condition for far-reaching social change. It is possible to have a better world if we ourselves make it possible. Parliament is an instrument of capitalist class rule. This holds true regardless of the incumbent in Downing Street. To say otherwise is a denial of all historical fact. Whichever party is set to treat the ill they use the same medicine, only varying the manner of administering it and the dosage. Were their motives of the highest, and they are not, it would make no difference. Parties that claim to serve the interests of the working class are being increasingly shown up for the frauds that they are.

The Socialist Party is the enemy of capitalism and capitalist parties. It has as its aim the overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of a society in which the means of production will not be the private property of the few, a society which will not be based upon profit, will not be based on class division, will eradicate wars and abolish poverty forever. Socialist society will be very different from the society we know.  In the first place socialism will be a classless society, in which all the means of producing wealth are owned in common. Instead of being divided into workers and employers, rich and poor, society will be an association of free people, all making their special contributions to the well-being of society, which in return will supply them with what they need in order to live full and happy lives. Such a society can be summed up in the slogan: “From each according to ability, to each according to needs.” For this to be possible, socialism must be based on abundance. Production will be organised in such a way that there is plenty of everything for everybody: not only food, houses and so on, to satisfy material needs; but also schools and theatres and playing-fieldsso that people can lead full, physical and culturally rich lives. 

Socialism will be a worldwide society. It is not something which can be fully completed in one country, isolated from the rest of the world. On the contrary it must embrace all the peoples of the world; and in so doing it will put an end to war.  It is obvious that by the time such a stage of human development has been reached many institutions which we accept today as essential, such as policemen and prisons, employers and workers, armies and civil servants, will have disappeared. Because no wars can take place in a truly international society there will be no need for armies. Because it will be a community of plenty, where there is enough for all and therefore no advantage can be obtained by theft or other forms of crime, all need for courts of justice and police will have disappeared. In other words, the State, which is the sum of all these institutions and organisations, will itself disappear. Instead of one section of society ruling and oppressing another, men will have grown accustomed to living together in society without fear and compulsion. Thus, for the first time, mankind, united in a world-wide family of nations, will be free to devote all its creative energies to completing the mastery of nature. Such a society implies tremendous changes in people themselves; not only in their economic position, but also in their whole moral and intellectual outlook. For instance, work, instead of being simply a means of earning a living, will have become the natural expression of men’s lives, freely given according to their abilities. Moreover, the nature of work will itself have changed. Through the development of science much of its drudgery will have disappeared and every man and woman wild develop their mental and physical capacities to the full.

Severe Consequences

On September 13, twenty-eight people seeking a better life in Europe drowned as they attempted a wind-swept crossing from Turkey to Greece. The Greek coastguard said the twenty-eight, including four infants and ten older children, died when their wooden boat collapsed near the island of Farmakonissi, which is one of the favoured places for smugglers sending thousands of people daily to the Greek islands. From the beginning of time people have wandered the earth searching for a better life, but today the consequences are more severe than they have ever been. Better a world where people can wander at their leisure in security. John Ayers

No Relief In Sight

Statistics Canada revealed that for the second quarter of 2015, household debt hit a record high. The ratio of debt to disposable income reached 164.4 per cent as debt loads grew faster than incomes. This means that for every dollar Canadians earned, they owed nearly $1.65 in credit debt. This included mortgages and other kinds of consumer loans. So things are not getting better, nor does there seem to be any relief in sight. It's a case of abolish capitalism and the money system, or suffer under it.

Organise for socialism

WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE

The world needs socialism and automation and the new technology gives added weight to the argument for socialism. In the hands of capitalism it can only bring social chaos but with socialism it would bring immeasurable benefits. Yet there are a majority in the labour movement for whom common ownership holds little appeal, and they are content to follow orthodox labour leaders' paths and by-ways of social reform. In part, this contentment stems from a simple failure to grasp the fact that socialism without common ownership is an absurd contradiction in terms. It is surprising that the notion of common ownership, of the planned and rational use of society’s resources for the greatest good of the greatest number, should not exercise a powerful appeal to workers. There is no point in socialists thinking that the present indifference to our society’s economic base is going to change miraculously and overnight into a mass enthusiasm for its transformation that will suddenly make common ownership the policy of the labour movement. This is not to say that more favourable circumstances for the propagation of the socialist case will never occur but what it does mean is that it will take time. Socialists are in r the politics for the long haul. There is the need for socialists to make clear why common ownership of the means to life is the key to social change. This demands more than a pious repetition of the ‘common ownership of the means of production and distribution’ formula. The other task is to carry this clarification to the workers themselves. In other words, to make socialists.

Socialism is that form of society in which there is no such thing as a property-less class, but instead the whole community owns the means of production—the land, factories, mills, mines, transport and all the means whereby wealth is created and distributed to the community. Socialism is also the name given to a body of scientific and philosophic thought which explains why the socialist form of society is now a necessity, the forces upon which its achievement depends, the conditions under which and the methods whereby it can be achieved. Socialism is not a particularly complicated doctrine. Socialism stands for social (property owned in common.) Capitalism stands for private property. Socialism is a society without classes. Capitalism is divided into classes—the class owning property and the property-less working class.

It is impossible to provide more than this basic picture now of what socialism will be like, for it will depend in the particular details on the actual conditions at the time. For as long as anyone can remember, the ruling class have paraded one political representative after another before the people promising a lifetime of “peace with prosperity,” while they have subjected millions here and hundreds of millions around the world to agony and waged wars of plunder.

Most workers accept capitalism, believing it cannot be changed, and they view socialists who want to change it as idealists. We can easily understand, therefore, why the great majority of landlords, employers of labour, financiers and the like are opposed to socialism. Their very existence as the receivers of rent, interest and profit is at stake. They do not merely reject the theory of socialism, but actively and bitterly fight any movement which is in the slightest way associated with the struggle for socialism. But how do we account for the support of workers for a system built upon the exploitation of workers? The basic premise of socialism is that the development of capitalism itself drives workers into revolt against the system and in a revolutionary situation, workers change their ideas very, very quickly.

Capitalists disagree from time to time. They argue about tactics and squabble over their ill-gotten gains. But in the face of workers’ resistance, they join ranks and coordinate their forces. If the workers are to prevail, they have to organise. 

Sharing The Benefits? No Chance!

Socialists say the war is endemic to the capitalist mode of production, stemming from its competitive nature. One example is that of the Philippines who expelled the Americans from its naval bases twenty-five years ago but is contemplating inviting them back as China lays claim to lays claim to almost all the South China Sea in some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. China is currently putting military installations on many of the islands there even though many nations claim the same territory. Sharing the benefits, not surprisingly, is not an option. John Ayers

For world socialism!

A WORLD TO WIN,
 A PLANET TO SAVE 

 For world socialism! To this inspiring task, we summon the workers of the world, all who are oppressed by capitalism. Only a socialist world can give us peace and plenty. Look how the capitalist world totters on the brink of destruction. The capitalist parties are as rotten and bankrupt as the system they uphold. They can maintain themselves and that system today only by piling additional burdens upon the people with continued insecurity and increasing hardships. The myriad evils of capitalism will disappear only with the building of socialism. The only road is the socialist road. The word “socialism” still carries the stigma of the distortions by those usurping the name. There are people fearful of the word, all across the political spectrum yet socialist principles are the values and aspirations that most people share. The change from capitalism to socialism, from capitalist dictatorship to rule of the working class, is a revolution, the most far-reaching revolution in human history. By socialism we understand the transformation from ownership and control by a few capitalists to ownership and control by the whole community of all the industries and services essential for the satisfaction of the people's needs. Capitalists are not interested in production to benefit the peoples of the world. They are interested only in profits. If the productive forces in the world were to be used for the purposes of construction, the entire planet could be transformed and the standards of living and level of culture raised to undreamed of heights. This is not possible under capitalism. Capitalism promises the people not amelioration of conditions but austerity, oppression, and the environmental destruction of mankind. Only through an irreconcilable struggle against capitalism, towards its elimination and the establishment of socialism, will the people of the world find the full freedom, equality and democracy for which they aspire.

The Socialist Party says that all the problems people experience in our present society — war, poverty, pollution, economic crises— flow from a cause, the nature of this profit-oriented society. We see that there are no real solutions to these problems until the entire society is changed. We should be very clear about the kind of change that we are talking about. When we say that we are revolutionaries we are not talking about a change in society that would take place when a small group takes over Parliament and runs up the red flag. We are talking about a change that will involve the vast majority of workers consciously acting to change the entire society and all the relationships in it, from the way people relate to each other to the way that people relate to their jobs. We're out to change the whole system. A few workers see the need for socialism yet many more don't see that need. They think their problems can be solved by electing a government to enact reforms in their interest. Despite the campaign of lies and distortions about the socialist viewpoint we are confident that developing realities, together with the conscious participation of all who consider themselves socialists will bring a powerful leap forward on the march to a socialist society.

The Socialist Party, if it is to fulfill its mission, must be uncompromising so far as its principles are concerned, true to the interests of the workers in every phase of the struggle, clean and above-board in all its methods. Support the Socialist Party, the only party that keeps the revolutionary banner unfurled. Forward to the Social Revolution!

‘Banish gods from the skies and capitalists from the earth.’ 

No Cry For Abolition Of Wages System

In an article on income inequality (Toronto Star September 26) a columnist reveals that "overall, CEO pay climbed 937 per cent between 1978 and 2013, while the pay of the typical worker rose just 10.2 per cent" (quoted from "Saving Capitalism" by Robert Reich) and in Canada the one hundred highest paid CEOs made 195 times the average Canadian income of $47,358. Unfortunately, this just leads to the call for a slightly more equitable split instead of the cry for the abolition of the wages system. John Ayers.

This is what socialism is

The state – the police, army, courts, bureaucracy and similar institutions  – is set up and controlled by the capitalist class. These big businessmen consistently use the police, army, and courts to break workers’ strikes and generally to put down the rebellions of the poor who own little or no means of production. You yourself can decide how often the police and state officials are against the bankers and corporation executives when they break the laws of the land. Banking fraud, company bribery, tax-evasion...all gone unpunished by the courts. A tiny handful of profit-makers rule society and uses the state as their machine to protect their interests. The ruling class goes to great lengths to cover up their dictatorship under the mask of democracy, for it is extremely difficult for a minority of exploiters to rule by force alone. The capitalists are no more willing to “share” political power with the majority of people than it is to share the ownership of the means of production and the wealth that comes from this. For them to function as a capitalist class, they must exploit the working class; and to exploit the workers, who constantly resist this exploitation and oppression, they must use the state to suppress the workers. For sure, the ruling class has been forced to grant the workers some democratic rights such as the right to vote, free speech, free press, etc. But these freedoms mean one thing to the ruling class and quite another for the workers. For the capitalists, freedom of the press and free speech, as examples, mean the right to fill the air-waves and daily newspapers with their propaganda and lies and to use them freely to debate with each other. For the capitalists, elections are a way to settle differences among themselves, while making it look like everybody has equal say. For the working class, democratic rights are the fruits of previous struggles, and we fight to preserve them for they make it easier to organise and mobilise for the day when the capitalists will be overthrown. Nevertheless democratic rights for the masses are primarily a sham, a mask, to cover the real dictatorship of the capitalists. This becomes especially clear when democratic rights come into conflict with the most basic “freedom” of bourgeois society–the right of the capitalists to their “private property” and to exploit the labour of the workers.  In the final analysis all their talk about democracy boils down to one thing. The ruling class decides by struggle and compromise within its own ranks, and among its paid politicians, how it will maintain its system of exploitation over the people.

Socialism will replace capitalism, creating a new society and ending the old dog-eat-dog social system. Everyone in society will share equally in mental and manual work, in producing goods and services and managing the affairs of society; where the outlook of the working class, putting the common good above narrow, individual interests, has become “second nature” to members of society; when goods and services can be produced so abundantly that money is no longer needed to exchange them and they can be distributed to people solely according to their needs. Classes will have been completely eliminated, and the state as such will be replaced by the common administration of society by all its members. With socialism, the working people will take over the economic forces developed by capitalism and operate them in the interests of society. This will bring a qualitative improvement in the lives of the people.

Our vision of socialism is that the  means of production – the factories, mines, mills, offices, agricultural fields, transportation system, media, communications, medical facilities, retailers, etc., will be transformed into socially-owned common property. Private ownership of the main means of production will end. The economy will be geared not to the interest of profit, but to serving human needs. This will release the productive capacity of the economy from the limitations of profit maximisation. A great expansion of useful production and the wealth of society will become possible. Rational economic planning will replace the present anarchistic system. Coordination and planning of the broad outlines of production by public agencies will aim at building an economy that will be stable, benefit the people, and steadily advance.

Socialism is not some Utopian scheme. Capitalism has created the economic conditions for socialism. Today there is social production but no social ownership. Because capitalism already has a developed and centralised economy, socialism’s main task will be to re-orient this structure towards social needs. Although there may be a period of economic reconstruction after the revolution, we will not face the problem of building a modern economy. Socialism will bring social ownership of social production. It is the next step in the further development of this world. Because the working people will control the great wealth they produce, they will be fundamentally able to determine their own futures. The end of exploitation of one person by another will be an unprecedented liberating and transforming force. Socialism is not more government control. Under capitalism the state serves the interests of the ruling capitalist class. Government ownership and control is a form of state capitalism. When the government intervenes in the economy, it does so to help, not hurt, capitalism. Redirecting the productive capacity to human needs will require a variety of economic methods and some experiment. There could be a combination of local and central planning and coordination. Workers will be able to manage democratically their own work places through workers’ councils and elected administrators. In this way workers will be able to make their work places safe and efficient places that can well serve their own interests as well as society’s. Various policies might be used, depending on what will be appropriate to changing conditions. But no matter what means are chosen, a socialist economy will uphold the basic principles of collective ownership, production for the people’s needs, and the elimination of exploitation. Socialism will open the way for great changes in society. The protection of the environment would be ensured.