End Capitalism - Build Socialism

 

The Socialist Party struggles to transform the means of production (natural resources and industries, etc.) into social property, ending their private property, which only allows the exploitation of the working class and the impoverishment of the people. Being anti-capitalist means seeking to rid the world of capitalism and establish socialism. No support to capitalist parties or parties that believe capitalism and socialism can co-exist—they cannot. nationalisation of industry means simply State capitalism. The workers have no control whatsoever. This is true even when the Labour Party is in the government. The government is still a government over the workers. The elections of the Labour Party are run on the assumption that Labour Party victories would mean workers’ control over the resources of the nation. As a matter of fact, everywhere we see these Labour Parties defend capitalism. They would like the workers to trust to the Labour politicians to bring the factories under workers’ control. Workers’ control to the opportunists of all stripes means simply workers’ participation in a government that controls the industries and runs them. 

 

Socialism is a society of free people. They cannot be compelled to do what they do not want to do, either by brute force or (as in capitalism) by threats to their livelihood, built upon a recognition of our shared heritage and  our common  ownership of the fruits of the planet, the common wealth belonging to humanity in its entirety. There is absolutely no excuse for any hard times anywhere in the World. There exists fabulous and inexhaustible riches, enough for all, times more Yet in the very midst of these we are unable to feed and shelter ourselves. Capitalism is a system of gorging one and famishing the other Capitalism is essentially anti-social. Its entire structure rests upon the production of things primarily for sale to the end that a ruling class may profit, instead of upon the social principle of production for use, for social gain, for the common good and joy of all. The only reason why working people who are capable of building beautiful homes – as is shown by the palaces they build for the rich – build ugly, prison-like, gloomy tenements for themselves  to dwell in is the fact that their labor is governed, not by the desire to attain supreme usefulness, but by the desire for profit.

 

No longer one against all and all against one, but one for all and all for one. From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs; that is to say: From each and to each at will. Production for use instead of profit, for the collective good instead of for the gain of a few at the cost of the many, can only be made possible through the common ownership of the resources of nature and the principal means of production. And so everywhere the socialist movement is striving to bring about the social ownership and democratic control and management of all those means of production which so long as they are owned and controlled by individuals, or by groups of individuals, enable their owners to build thrones of pride and power upon the degradation of the many, the users of the tools, the actual producers. Common ownership of the means of production, with democratic management, is the central demand in the socialist programme everywhere.

 

Socialists do not contemplate the destruction of all forms of private property, and the making of all things common to all. On the contrary, it is quite certain that collective ownership of the great social agencies of production and exchange would result in making private property far more general than it is now. Millions of people have practically no private property at all to-day. They do not own the homes in which they live. They do not own the things they produce. They do not own enough to provide the necessities of a decent existence during a month of enforced abstention from labour. When sickness, accident, or other misfortune, compels them to be idle for a few weeks they are reduced to dependence upon charity as the only alternative to starvation. Even in the most prosperous times millions of people are so divorced from property of all kinds that they never have enough good food to eat, enough good clothes to wear, or decent homes in which to live. How idle, therefore, it is to urge as a reason for opposing socialism and remaining content with the existing order the fear that socialism would do away with private property. Capitalism has never provided all people with private property. Socialism on the other hand, would make it possible for every human being to have and own all the private property which that human being could use to advantage and without imposing any disadvantage upon another human being. Common ownership of the principal means of social production – that is, the natural resources, the mines, factories, railways, machinery, and so on – would not take away anything from the great majority of people. True, the worker would not himself own the machine used by him, but that is his condition to-day. The workers in factories and workshops do not own the tools with which they labour. They do not own the raw materials upon which they labour. They do not own the places in which they labour. They do not own the things which they produce by their labour. All these are owned by an exploiting class of non-producers, whose interest it is to see that the producers get in the form of wages as little as they can manage to live upon, and produce as much more than they receive as possible. This is the inevitable interest of the owning class, because its own income is derived from that which the workers produce over and above what they receive in the form of wages.

 

Common ownership and democratic control of the means of production would not give the ownership of the tools of labour to the individual worker. That was once possible, in the days when production was of necessity carried on by hand labour. It is not possible with machine production, which is only carried on by the organised labour of masses of workers. But collective ownership would make it impossible for the idle few to exploit the industrious many. It would make it possible for the workers themselves to exercise an effective control over the products of their labour and their distribution. It would make certain a fuller enjoyment by the producers of the wealth they produce. This is what we mean when we say that common ownership of the forces of social production would result in a greater diffusion of real private property. 

 

Socialism, then, is an attempt to realise in the larger life of the community that rational and fair adjustment of collective and individual power and responsibility 

 

 

The socialist ideal is not at all incompatible with the development of individual genius and character.  Until we socialise all we shall waste an incalculable amount of potential individual genius. We must give to every child born full and free access to every social gift, to develop all his or her gifts. Socialism, then, is not aiming at equality and a level plain of mediocrity. Poverty must be abolished, because it is anti-social, and denies millions opportunity to develop their inborn powers. The disease-breeding tenement and the slum must go for the same reason. To-day the production and the exchange of wealth are functions carried on with an anti-social object, namely, the profit of a class of non-producers. That is the fundamental wrong of capitalism. That is the source of its poverty and its inequality. Those who make the bread of the world cannot eat the bread their hands have made. No one is poor because there is not enough for all. No child suffers hunger because there is a dearth of food. No child wears rags or goes without shoes because good clothes and shoes cannot be made in sufficient quantity to supply all. We have abundant natural resources and wonderful powers of production; on the other side are have a great unsatisfied need which could be easily satisfied. But we have not as yet learned to direct our productive capacity to the social good. No human want would remain unsatisfied so long as there were unexhausted productive powers. All our resources and our skill and might would be combined to meet the needs of every human being. 

 

We must end capitalism and establish a socialist world. There is no other way. We aim to make life better, happier and more beautiful for all, capable of producing plenty for all.

No to Separatism

 

To advance the careers of a handful of members of the ruling class, workers are being set against each other by Scottish nationalists. The question of independence once more threatens relations between Scottish and  English/Welsh workers. Scottish workers are being asked to trust in the local ruling class rather than in the solidarity and unity with fellow workers. We cannot easily achieve combined working-class action by declaring there are supposed national differences which distinguish Scottish workers from, say, their English brothers and sisters. And certainly it is not aided by identifying with Scottish businessmen and landowners because of some imaginary concept of a shared ‘nationality’. 

To combine to defend our class is the strategy of liberation, not separatist notions of any Scottish constitutional sovereignty. The Socialist Party does not fall into the trap of the ‘progressive’ facade of nationalism as promoted by some on the Left. 

Sturgeon of the SNP is once more rattling her claymore calling for a new referendum. First, it was Brexit as the excuse, then it was the pandemic which became the reason, now it is Boris Johnson’s corruption as justifying another vote on independence.

“...Scotland faces two very different futures. We can decide to take the powers we need to rebuild our economy and society into our own hands, with a future as an independent country, working with our friends in Europe and building a fairer economy. Or we can remain tied to a Westminster system that is dragging us in the wrong direction and which with every day that passes is slipping deeper into a mire of Tory sleaze…”

But, as we have witnessed, in the Salmond-Sturgeon who is lying, power politics always remain the unstated position.

As Marx pointed out, “If they speak consciously and openly to the working class, then they summarise their philanthropy in the following words: It is better to be exploited by one’s fellow-countrymen than by foreigners.”

What we in the Socialist Party’s Edinburgh and Glasgow branches are saying is independence will not improve our condition one iota. Only class struggle could do that and only with difficulty. Such success depends on close ties with similar movements in England and elsewhere.

We are not defending ‘British nationalism’ or the unity of the United Kingdom in any way. That would be an endorsement for the status quo, something we do not support. We do not argue that the present constitutional arrangement benefits ordinary people either.

The freedom of Scottish workers can only come about by overthrowing capitalism itself. If this is not done, no amount of separatism can ever succeed in bringing freedom. Instead of tragically wasting time fostering nationalism, workers should be struggling for a socialist society without national borders.

‘Because the condition of the workers of all countries is the same, because their interests are the same, their enemies the same, they must also fight together, they must oppose the brotherhood of the bourgeoisie of all nations with a brotherhood of the workers of all nations.’ so said Engels. 

Real Change Needed

 

Revolution is neither possible nor desirable, we are told, except maybe to remove governments by  regime change if they interfere with the running of market capitalism. There is only a minority of people worldwide who accept the need for total social change, despite the growth of anti-capitalist ideas. Neither the Labour Party in the UK or the Democratic Party in the US are the “lesser evil” party. All capitalist parties are under the control of capital,  lock, stock and barrel. They can’t be transformed into parties representing those of us who the capitalists oppress—the working class—nor can they allow their candidates, no matter what they call themselves, to represent anything but the needs of the capitalist class. They represent the class enemy of the working class. Our power is in our unity and complete independence from the capitalist class and their political parties.

 

The workers’ job is essentially a simple one. It consists in recognising that all previously-existing ruling groups have hindered the development of a truly social production and distribution; in recognising the necessity for doing away with production and distribution as determined by the profit and power needs of special groups in society who control the means of production and the other social power sources. Production has to be shifted so that it can serve the real needs of the people; it has to become a production for consumption. When these things are recognised, the workers have to act upon them to realise their needs and desires. Little philosophy, sociology, economics and political science are needed to recognise those simple things and to act upon the recognition. 

 

Our task as socialists is even simpler. Our answer is: stimulate, encourage and strengthen every oppositional tendency within the working class movement against capitalism and against any idea of the co-operation of the classes. Only the working class fighting for the aims of all the exploited can secure  economic and political freedom. Only the working class can bring about the downfall of the capitalists.

 

Capitalism has always functioned by grabbing the cheapest raw materials and pouring out waste products, poisoning  the land air and water, destroying the environment we depend on for existence.  The devastation is global. Our rulers will attempt to compensate themselves for environmental losses at the expense of rivals in neighbouring states. What is certain is as resources dry up, rival capitalists and states will fight for access to them, increasing the burden on the rest of us and when ordinary people try to prevent themselves suffering, all the political and social tensions that characterise the world today will be intensified.  The signs of discontent with the present system are visible everywhere. The key question is whether unrest grow into a consciousness of the need for change among people and the anti-capitalist minority become a majority. Experience suggests such a transformation is possible. The Socialist Party has a practical proposal right now, an election campaign to bring about the biggest possible anti-capitalist and pro-socialist protest vote at the polls. Such political activity is not only desirable, it is possible. Any party which participates in elections and doesn’t tell these truths about the Democratic Party and the Labour Party doesn’t deserve the label socialist. There is only one party that reflects the sentiments and expresses the aspirations of class-conscious workers. It is the Socialist Party. We have and always will be an uncompromising opponent of capitalism. We do not believe that this society can be patched up to meet people’s needs, but that it must be entirely replaced by a socialist society. Women and men should by no means simply wait for .this revolution to solve their problems. Class struggle right now are very important. They can win important gains. Through such struggles, we will learn how to struggle, will gain confidence in our own strength, and learn who our real enemies are. We point out that the struggle against oppression is part of the struggle to overthrow the capitalist class and the institutions through which it maintains its power. But reforms are measures to improve the conditions of the masses without eliminating the source of oppression, the capitalist system. Socialist realise the limitations of reforms, that they do not end capitalism. In our view, the enemy of all humanity is capitalism (not only the one aspect of it which is called “neo-liberalism” or “imperialism”)

Choose, fellow-workers, world socialism now or a few years hence more war.

What we want is life

 

“There is this justification for political action, and that is, to control the forces of the capitalists that they use against us; to be in a position to control the power of government so as to make the work of the army ineffective, so as to abolish totally the secret service and the force of detectives. That is the reason that you want the power of government…” Big Bill Haywood

The Socialist Party said to be dogmatic and sectarian. We readily confess our guilt,  in so far as we hold ideas that make us strive to end capitalism. We are dogmatic because we talk about surplus value, another expression for rent, interest, dividend, etc. We are sectarian because we teach the class war, another way of asking the workers to cut adrift from the capitalist parties and form one for themselves in opposition to them. We are said to be too extreme. We fight for nothing short socialism, because we believe that nothing short of that will save the workers. 

The robber barons of Wall Street and the City of London are always hungry for profits. The antidotes to the economic crieses threaten to be more lethal than the original poison. Capitalism is responsible for all the violence in the world—only workers have the power to bring prosperity and peace. The power of the capitalist class depends upon how effective they are in convincing the working class that we have no power. They own the mass media that bombards us with lies and subterfuge.  The capitalist class knows full well that without the cooperation and collaboration of workers, the capitalist parties would be utterly powerless. They convince us that we are powerless against them—not only to end their power over us—but to even dream that a another world beyond capitalist war and exploitation could exist. Socialism is the way to end poverty and injustice, and it is attainable. All we need to do is realise that the power is in our hands, and our hands alone. Together.  Working people can end capitalism and build a world that can fulfill the needs and wants of all, instead of providing profits for the wealthy. Workers together with our own revolutionary party, completely independent of the capitalist class, have the power to end the barbarity of capitalist enslavement and war once and for all.

Capitalism can’t be reformed. It must continue on its profit-driven warpath. It cannot fulfill the needs of the majority of humanity—it never has. The vast majority of the Earth’s human population under capitalism has been impoverished for centuries. It is an economic system based upon the exploitation and oppression of the working class—the overwhelming majority. Capitalism has no other source of power other than the enslavement of the working class and the exploitation of our labor, which is how they maintain their power. Capitalists are not Gods; they are human. Without us, the working class, they are a tiny, untalented, helpless minority of despots posing as super-human deities. It is the working class that has the power to change the world for the better because it is the working class that knows how to do all the work. We can change the war industry into a human industry— building things we all need to live a fruitful and happy life with equality and justice for all—a world free of poverty, want and war. Only workers can build a new and better world. The capitalist class  is a hindrance to all the necessary work needed to build a healthy and prosperous future for all of us. Instead of building homes, they invest in building bombs. Instead of  clean and renewable energy, they spew pollution onto the land and into the oceans, rivers and streams. Their sole concern is to increase their profits We must embrace socialism as the only way to rid the world of this vicious system. We must be hostile to the capitalist parties—including those parties that seek to reform capitalism into a “kinder and gentler” capitalism—because there is no such thing. We oppose capitalism because we want to build a world of peace, democracy, economic and social equality—a world without violence, oppression, slavery and starvation.  

 

Capitalism promotes and festers violence among the working class over superficial differences in order to divide us—to convince us that we are each other’s enemy—and to hide the fact that it is they who are the enemy of all human kind. We workers have much more in common with one another than our differences. We all want to live a happy and comfortable life. We want to see a bright future for our children. We want to enjoy the comfort of our homes. We want good food, housing, education, clean water, air, and a pristine environment that flourishes with life. We want to heal the sick and care for our elders and safeguard the planet for the future of all the life that shares it with us. We must put aside our differences, and embrace our commonality, our love of life and of a better future.