Say it loud, Say it proud

We in the Socialist Party only want the votes of those who want socialism (a worldwide society of common ownership and democratic control where things are produced to meet people's needs not to try to make a profit). If you are just against "illegal" wars and would be in favour of a "legal" one or if you are against war but not against capitalism (i.e., are against the symptom but not against the cause), please vote for one of the other candidates. But, be warned, in voting for them you'll be voting for capitalism and capitalism is the root cause of wars, preparations for war and threats of war because built-in to it are conflicts between rival groups of capitalists backed by their governments over sources of raw materials, trade routes, markets and investment outlets. Normally, this competition is commercial and diplomatic but, when push comes to shove, the conflicts are settled by forces of arms. This is why Britain and America (or, rather, America and Britain) invaded Iraq where the former regime represented a threat to their supply of oil, a key raw material. Capitalism means war, so the only consistent anti-war stance is to work to get rid of capitalism.

Very few people would deny that the present state of the world leaves a lot to be desired. Humanity staggers from one crisis to the next -- from war to famine to slumps to repression.  Capitalism has developed a huge productive capability but its social organisation and relationships cause extremely serious problems and render it incapable of meeting the basic needs of its people.

A vast amount of the world's resources is expended in the production of weapons of war, from bullets and bayonets to nuclear and chemical weapons. Alongside these weapons are the armed forces which every state organises, clothes, feeds, trains and deploys. This is a massive waste of human effort; it is all intended to be destructive and none of it to create anything useful to human beings. In a world which could produce more than enough to feed and care for its population millions are homeless and tens of millions die each year because they don't have enough to eat or for lack of proper medical treatment. None of this is necessary. It happens while farmers in Europe and North America are being paid to take land out of cultivation; from time to time even food that has been produced is destroyed or allowed to rot. This makes sense to the profit motive; in terms of human interests it is wildly insane.

The environment is increasingly under threat from pollution and from the destruction of some of its natural, ecologically vital features. We hear well-informed warnings of an ultimate impending disaster unless we act to eradicate the problem but these warnings are always met with the objection that to save the environment can be a costly, profit-damaging business. Yet it is not necessary for industry and agriculture to pour out noxious effluents into the air, the earth, the rivers and the seas. They do this today because pollution is seen as being cheaper, which means more profit-friendly and to a society where profit is the dominant motive for production that is justification enough to override human welfare.

These are a few examples of how capitalism works against the interests of the world's people. In contrast, socialism -- real socialism, that is, not the obscene caricatures we've seen in Russia and elsewhere -- will have fundamentally different social relationships, motives for production and concepts about the interests and security of human beings.

All the programmes now being daily advanced by the professional politicians for dealing with the problems of capitalism through reforms must fail because of their essentially piecemeal approach. They attempt to treat symptoms instead of going for the basic cause. That is why, after a century or more of reformism the problems the politicians claim to deal with are still here. A far more radical, fundamental change is needed to create the framework within which they can be solved: the common ownership and democratic control of the means of producing wealth so that production can be geared to meeting people's needs, not making profits for a wealthy elite.

Because of we have endless problems of poverty, poor services and all the issues politicians love to spend time telling you they can solve, if only given the chance. We don't believe any politician can solve these problems, as long as the flawed basis of our society remains intact. In fact, we believe only you and your fellow workers can solve these problems. We believe that it will take a revolution in how we organise our lives, a fundamental change. We want to see a society based on the fact that you know how to run your lives, know your needs and have the skills and capacity to organise with your fellows to satisfy them.

You know yourselves and your lives better than a handful of bosses ever can. With democratic control of production we can ensure that looking after our communities becomes a priority, rather than something we do in our spare time. We all share fundamental needs, for food, clothing, housing and culture, and we have the capacity to ensure access to these for all, without exception. Together, we have the capacity to run our world for ourselves. We need to build a movement to effect that change, by organising deliberately to take control of the political offices which rule our lives, and bring them into our collective democratic control. We make no promises, offer no pat solutions, only to be the means by which you can remake society for the common good.

NEITHER LEADERS NOR FOLLOWERS.

NEITHER THE MARKET NOR THE STATE

No Resistance to Higher Profits.

Clean energy is progressing as we expect it to. That is, it's going backwards right now. The British Electric Company, SSE, has recently restarted a shuttered power plant that runs on fossil fuels because cheap fossil fuels are undercutting renewables, and the former is now more profitable. 

In other words, as we have said over and over again, capitalist production is incapable of resisting higher profits no matter what the human or environmental cost.

 John Ayers.

A New Competitor

Home Decor stores in Canada have a new competitor, the US on line retailer, Wayfair, that launched a Canadian web site in January. It claimed to offer more than seven million suppliers. The move into Canada will pit Wayfair against Ikea, Winners, Homesense, and Home Outfitters, owned by Hudson's Bay. Orders will be shipped form Wayfair centres in Kentucky and Utah. Shipping is free on orders over $75 and the average order is triple that according to a spokesperson. 

Such stiff competition will result in the loss of Canadian jobs, so another promising distribution idea that should benefit all society, simply brings problems to workers in some areas. 

John Ayers.

DIY Revolution

The Socialist Party is all in favour of workers organising to fight employers to defend and try to improve their pay and conditions. So, good luck to you. This is necessary under capitalism but it's like running up a downward moving escalator. It's never-ending. We would urge workers to look beyond this, and consider the case for a genuinely socialist society (which has never yet been tried) based on the common ownership and democratic control of productive resources, where there'd be no employers and no working for wages but the application of the principle of "from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs". As Karl Marx urged trade unionists years ago: "Instead of the conservative motto: 'A fair day's pay for a fair day's work' they ought to inscribe on their banners the revolutionary watchwords: 'Abolition of the wages system' ".

Imagine that all the people in the world made a set of informed, collective and democratic decisions about what kind of system would best meet their needs and solve global problems. Would they choose a money and property system that forced nearly half their total number to try to survive on a dollar a day? Or would they prefer to organise production and distribution of goods and services on the basis of what they need, without the profit system? Would they, if and when given the chance to vote, do so overwhelmingly for candidates who -- whatever labels they attached to themselves or their parties -- stood for the continuation of some form of capitalism? Or would they elect delegates, from among their own number, to initiate the process of setting up and running a fundamentally new form of world society, a system based on the common ownership and democratic control of the means of wealth production and distribution? Would they embrace nationalism, involving armed forces paid to kill and injure other groups ("the enemy") with whom they have no quarrel? Or would they regard themselves and behave as citizens of the world, regardless of any geographical, cultural or philosophical attachments they may feel? Would they divide themselves into classes, rich and poor, leaders and led, privileged and unprivileged, dominant and submissive, superordinate and subordinate, master and servant, powerful and powerless? Or would they, despite individual differences in abilities, personalities, interests, tastes, likes and dislikes, think and behave as members of the one human race, not perfect, sometimes fallible or irrational, but never deliberately cruel or anti-social?

Whatever words they use to explain or sloganise their ideologies, all parties except the Socialist Party stand for the continuation of some form of capitalism. From their point of view, a vote for their own candidate is best; a vote for one of their competitors is second best. Not voting could be a worrying sign of alienation from the system. Worst of all, a vote for the Socialist Party candidate -- or, where none stands, writing "Socialism" across the ballot paper -- would indicate the beginning of a resolution to replace capitalism with socialism.

Support for socialism isn't a matter of campaigning to make the poor rich in today's terms of material consumption. That wouldn't be environmentally sustainable. The socialist aim isn’t even equality in the sense of sameness, like amounts of work contributed or goods and services consumed. Socialism is essentially about social equality, encouraging and enabling every human being to realise their full potential as giver and taker, not buyer and seller, in the context of society itself moving towards reaching its full potential.

We put forward an alternative to capitalism and the madness of the market – a society of common ownership and democratic control. We call it socialism. But real socialism. Not the elite-run dictatorships that collapsed some years ago in Russia and East Europe. And not the various schemes for state control put forward by the old Labour Party. For us socialism means something better than that. We're talking about:

 A world community without any frontiers where the Earth’s resources would be the common heritage of all.

Wealth being produced to meet people's needs and not for sale on a market or for profit

Everyone having access to what they require to satisfy their needs, without the rationing system that is money.

A society where people freely contribute their skills and experience to produce what is needed, without the compulsion of a wage or salary.

World socialism, where all the resources of the Earth, natural and industrial, would have become the common heritage of all Humanity, is, quite literally, the only way to have a world without wars, the threat of war, and preparations for war. In such a world the resources now wasted in this way could be used to contribute to the satisfaction of people's needs, so that no man, woman or child in any part of the world goes without proper food, clothing, shelter, education or health care.

If you don't like present-day society ... if you are fed up with the way you are forced to live ... if you think the root cause of most social problems is the profit system, then your ideas echo closely with ours. We are not promising to deliver socialism to you. We are not putting ourselves forward as leaders. This new society can only be achieved if you join together to strive for it. If you want it, then it is something you have to bring about yourselves. Nobody can do it for you.

Don't support something you don't want

The Socialist Party is an independent political party that has been going since 1904. We stand for socialism as a society of common ownership, democratic control and production for use not profit. Socialism has never been established anywhere and certainly not in Russia. We are a single issue party and try to put information out to convince people of the merits of socialism. We're going to parliament as rebels and not reformers, changing one law here or there is ineffectual, especially and until we have a mass movement for the abolition of capitalism and the wages system. All politicians assume that capitalism is the only game in town, although they may criticise features of its unacceptable face, such as greedy bankers, or the worst of its excesses, such as unwinnable wars. They defend a society in which we, the majority of the population, must sell our capacity to work to the tiny handful who own most of the wealth. They defend a society in which jobs are offered only if there is a profit to be made.

The Socialist Party urges a truly democratic society in which people take all the decisions that affect them. This means a society without rich and poor, without owners and workers, without governments and governed, a society without leaders and led. In such a society people would cooperate to use all the world’s natural and industrial resources in their own interests. They would free production from the artificial restraint of profit and establish a system of society in which each person has free access to the benefits of civilisation. Socialist society would consequently mean the end of buying, selling and exchange, an end to borders and frontiers, an end to organised violence and coercion, waste, want and war. You can support those parties who will work within the capitalist system and help keep it going. Or you can show you want to overturn it and end the problems it causes once and for all. When enough of us join together, determined to end inequality and deprivation, we can transform elections into a means of doing away with a society of minority rule in favour of a society of real democracy and social equality.

The most common reaction to elections is "it doesn't make any difference anyway who gets in". Which corresponds with our analysis and shows that workers are not stupid: a lot of them do realise what's going on. Only they don't think they can do anything about it, so they just abstain and don't bother to vote at all. It is highly likely that, tomorrow, the abstainers will be the absolute majority. So, why if it makes no difference who gets in, do we in the Socialist Party stand? First, to use a period of heightened interest in politics to put across our case for a society of common ownership, democratic control, production for use, and distribution on the basis of "from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs". And, second, because if workers use their votes intelligently in their own interest they could change things, they could use the vote to help get rid of the profit system and bring in socialism.  It's voting for leaders to try to run the profit system in the interests of the majority that makes no difference, not voting in itself. That's why, where there's no socialist candidate, instead of abstaining we go to the polling station and vote, even if it's only a write-in vote. A way of keeping a potential weapon sharpened for the time when a majority are ready to use it in their own interest. Where there is a socialist candidate standing, we vote for them. Remember, we are the party that makes no promises - it's you that makes the promise when you cast your vote to say "I am a socialist, I will work for common and democratic ownership and control of the wealth of the world between me and my fellow workers." We don't want passive voters, but people to join us, or at least join the debate. Politics should be a two way process, not the passive spectator sport of the professionals in the mass media.

It's no wonder that people feel no pragmatic connection between their voting preferences and the outcomes; and no wonder that people feel so little connection with any of the parties. All these become are technocratic career structures for advancing politicians, a platform from which to project policy ideas to be reflected off the undifferentiated mass, which has no control over what is projected, beyond passive reflection. This process of “mass culture” has, of course, been assisted by the spread of the mass media. The social relationship is the same, a few technocratic broadcasters/media barons, projecting images and ideas to be passively reflected by a land mass of consumers. Indeed, representative politics follows the same course. Instead of abstractedly measuring response in terms of money, it reads response in terms of flat votes, formally equal but failing to register differences in value or quality.

Socialism is a world-wide community with common interests. Where the land, and all the means of production will be owned by mankind as a whole, with democratic control. Where the sole motive for production will be the satisfaction of your needs. Simply put, bread will be baked because people want to eat it—just that. Money will play no part at all in this society because there will be no need for money. Decisions by the community will be taken on their merits. The wages system will be abolished along with all the other stupid trappings of the present system. Socialism will be a system of co-operation; where each will give according to ability and take according to need. Mankind with its knowledge, harnessed to the riches of the earth, is capable of producing abundance. Why be satisfied with a world of shortages? Socialism cannot be introduced by waving a magic political wand. It will be the outcome of understanding and hard work; your understanding, your hard work.

Property Is Theft

On January 27, an article in "The Metro News" focused on the reappearance of an old crime, cattle rustling! Police say that it is on the rise in Alberta and Saskatchewan, driven largely by ranch hands stealing livestock when prices are high, "It's still a problem today. It's like any other property, if there is value to it people are going to steal it. In recent years the value of cattle has approximately doubled." said an RCMP spokesperson. The value of a cow varies from $1,500 to $2,000 and in 2015, six hundred were missing, presumed stolen in Alberta, and one thousand disappeared in Saskatchewan.

 So, clearly, nothing changes under capitalism and wherever there is private property there is value, hence theft. In fact, property is theft from the common ownership of the earth, so let's call it that and be done with it. 

John Ayers

Lack Of Commitment In Life's Natural Path

In 2015, the overall unemployment rate in Toronto fell by 0.5% whereas the that rate for youth rose from 18% to 22% according to Toronto Youth Employment Services. Their explanation was that when there is a lot of choice for employers they will choose older, more experienced workers over youth. Obviously, this makes getting experience a tougher job. It means that our youth face a bleak future unless they learn to organize for socialism and put an end to the capitalist system.

Against this backdrop, it is reported that many young women are disappointed with finding life partners these days. Not surprisingly, young men don't want the commitment of raising a family and buying a home in an uncertain world where well-paid jobs are scarce and companies come and go at the drop of a hat and job security is low. 

So, capitalism is not just adept at ruining existing marriages with the economic pressure of low pay and unemployment but is now preventing many even getting started on life's natural path. Great job! 

John Ayers

That Man to Man, the world o'er, Shall brothers be for a' that

Socialism can't promise infinite riches. Socialism isn't a magic wand. There exists a style of boss politics - vote for me and "I'll get things done for you." A kind of gift relation, we give our votes, they give us public service.  Someone once asked asked our candidate 'What are you going to do about the potholes in the roads?' It was suggested giving the guy a shovel. That's not far off our attitude, not necessarily dig it yourself, but you can organise yourselves, and if you have a problem, get it sorted, without asking the boss man to do it for you. Anyone can go around saying 'I'll do my best for you' and promise to nag officials to do their jobs but we're interested in that.  Our view on political power is so long as the mechanics are in place so that a majority of workers can organise to effect socialism, then it doesn't matter precisely how you count the votes. So far as we're concerned, it is the movement of the vast majority in the interest of the vast majority that matters. Getting a technical victory by counting one more nose than the rest isn't what we're about. What we remain more concerned about is the rights of minorities to try and become majorities, which are hampered by the mainstream media focusing on the existing parties and making it difficult for candidates to be heard on the stages where they need to be in order to make their case. We hold that there is a political decision to be made about the type of society we are living in, and that is the platform we stand on.

In a world that has the potential to produce enough food, clothes, housing and the other amenities of life for all, factories are closing down, workers are being laid off, unemployment is growing, houses are being repossessed and people are having to tighten their belts. And for once the main parties are being honest in offering more of the same, competing with each other as to which of them is going to impose the most “savage cuts”. Inconsistency and sacrifice of principle for the sake of votes marks most of the political parties. “Be all things to all men” might be the watchword of all the political leaders. All the other the parties serve capitalism, in one way or another.

Capitalism in relatively "good" times is bad enough, but capitalism in an economic crisis makes it plain for all to see that it is not a system geared to meeting people's needs. It’s a system based on the pursuit of profits, where the harsh economic law of "no profit, no production" prevails. The headlong pursuit of profits has led to a situation where the owners can't make profits at the same rate as before. The class who own and control the places where wealth is produced have gone on strike – refusing to allow these workplaces to be used to produce what people need, some desperately. So, as in the 1930s, it’s poverty in the midst of potential plenty again. Cutbacks in production and services alongside unmet needs. Why should we put up with this? There is an alternative.

But that's the way capitalism works, and must work. The politicians in charge of the governments don't really know what to do, not that they can do much to change the situation anyway. They are just hoping that the panic measures they have taken will work. But the slump won’t end until conditions for profitable production have come about again, and that requires real wages to fall and unprofitable firms to go out of business. So, there's no way that bankruptcies, cut-backs and lay-offs are going to be avoided, whatever governments do or whichever party is in power.

What can be done? Nothing within the profit system. It can‘t be mended, so it must be ended. But this is something we must do ourselves. The career politicians, with their empty promises and futile measures, can do nothing for us. We need to organise to bring in a new system where goods and services are produced to meet people's needs. But we can only produce what we need if we own and control the places where this is carried out. So these must be taken out of the hands of the rich individuals, private companies and states that now control them and become the common heritage of all, under our democratic control. In short, socialism in its original sense. This has nothing to do with the failed state capitalism that used to exist in Russia or with what still exists in China and Cuba.

African American ‘Soledad Brother’ George Jackson explains socialism:

"Consider the people's store, after full automation, the implementation of the theory of economic advantage. You dig, no waste makers, no harnesses on production. There is no intermediary, no money. The store, it stocks everything that the body or home could possibly use. Why won't the people hoard, how is an operation like that possible, how could the storing place keep its stores if its stock (merchandise) is free?

Men hoard against want, need, don't they? Aren’t they taught that tomorrow holds terror, pile up a surplus against this terror, be greedy and possessive if you want to succeed in this insecure world? Nuts hidden away for tomorrow's winter.

Change the environment, educate the man, he'll change. The people's store will work as long as people know that it will be there, and have in abundance the things they need and want (really want); when they are positive that the common effort has and will always produce an abundance, they won’t bother to take home more than they need.

Water is free, do people drink more than they need?"

What’s wrong with politics?

Mocking politicians is alright to a certain extent but it can give rise to the mistaken idea that it is because of corrupt and self-seeking politicians that we suffer from the social problems we do. It's not. It's the fault of capitalism. Even if all politicians were saints they still couldn't make capitalism work in our interest. Nor is it true that all elections are a joke and a waste of time. While what the professional politics who currently dominate politics get up to at Westminster and the antics they engage in to get votes do deserve to be mocked, especially as the media give them so much publicity, there is a serious side to elections.

Elections are ultimately about who controls the government and who gets to make the laws. Ever since most electors have been wage and salary workers the capitalist class has needed to persuade workers into voting for politicians who will support their system. This is what elections are about: tricking workers into voting for pro-capitalist politicians. It is right to expose this, but wrong to conclude that this means we should never have anything to do with elections. The response should be, as Marx once put it, to transform universal suffrage "from the instrument of fraud that it has been up till now into an instrument of emancipation". Which is one of the points we are trying to make in contesting this and other elections.

Universal suffrage came into being partly as a result of pressure from below. From the 1760s the elections were associated with radical politics: demands for reform of the political system and protests against the economic hardships and lack of liberty for the labouring classes began to appear in the speeches. But what was reform of the political system if not the extension of the suffrage and its use to gain access to political power to try to improve the situation of the labouring class, such as the Chartists later campaigned for? And what did the Suffragettes want if not to extend the suffrage? Was this wrong? We say no, the extension of the vote to workers is a gain and is a crucial difference between today and the situation in 1700s. Certainly, at present the vote is not used wisely -- in fact it is used very unwisely -- but that doesn't mean that it can't be used when once workers have woken up to the fact that capitalism can never be made to work in their interests. To try to speed up this awareness is another reason why we contest elections.

Any suggestion to try to disrupt the elections, is completely irresponsible is probably just anarchist bombast. If anybody really tried it, they should remember the song "I fought the Law...And the Law Won".

Political parties invariably try to give us confidence that this time promises will be kept, regulations will be tightened and adhered to, unemployment will be tackled and reduced (figures can be manipulated). A minor change here, a cosmetic tweak there, but the status quo will endure regardless. When reading or listening to the election promises and then thinking back rationally to other, similar pledges by previous candidates and recalling the reality of U-turns, excuses and failure to deliver over the years, how could anyone doubt the absolute imperative of addressing the question of what’s gone wrong with politics with the utmost seriousness? If we simply moan and complain from our armchairs what will change? A compliant, too passive electorate is repeatedly defrauded.

If you think you've been cheated over the years, you're right; capitalism is nothing but a racket. The proof of the failure of the world capitalist system to meet the needs and aspirations of the majority of the population of every country of the world is there for all to see, clear and manifest, if only they will open their eyes wide and acknowledge the overwhelming evidence.  Politics, the activities associated with how a country or an area is run, is something which should engage the interest and activity of every citizen worldwide as it bears directly on all aspects of life. The reason for contempt or indifference towards politics comes from a history of being excluded, the expectation of being excluded and the acceptance of being excluded. To be heard, to be considered, to be represented honestly we need to be involved in the decision-making processes, not to be told what is in our best interest by self-serving professional politicians. We need a system that works for us all, of which we're all an integral part, a system we're prepared to work to attain. What we need is socialism.

Capitalism's Wild West

 In China, a mountain of debris collapsed into apartment buildings killing 69, reported the New York Times, January 24. On examination, it was discovered that duplicity, doctored documents, and approvals ignoring safety rules were the culprit in the tragedy. 

Not only is China NOT a communist country, it is the wild west of capitalism. 

John Ayers.

Equalilty, Just A Myth

A Toronto Star article of January 25 reports Milwaukee as the most segregated city in the US. Apart from strictly white and black neighbourhoods, the numbers tell a tale. White employment rate is 88%, Black 58%; white poverty rate 8%, black 39%; whites living in extreme poverty areas, `1.6%, black 33%; white incarceration rate 0.9%, black 12%; median white household income $62,100, black $26,036.

 One may think this is difficult to believe over 50 years on from the freedom marches but we can easily believe that any equality under capitalism is just a myth. 

John Ayers.

It is up to you

No politician can help you. It’s their system of making goods and services to sell for profit that led directly to the crisis. So long as we have this production for profit, we’ll have periodic crises and politicians wringing their hands over them. The only way out is to change the rules of the game: to change the system by putting an end to minority ownership by replacing it with the democracy of common ownership by and for everybody. Enough resources, know-how and skills exist already to provide comfortably for everyone. It’s the profit system that prevents this. We need to do away with it and instead produce and access goods for needs.

At the moment so many people think that there’s no alternative that they are shrugging their shoulders and hoping for the best. If a few of us stand up and say “we will not put up with this, we want something better” then the idea that resources should be owned in common and used to satisfy people’s needs can get on the agenda as the only genuine alternative to capitalism and austerity. We need to organise to bring about a world where the Earth’s resources have become the common heritage of all and where every man, woman and child on the planet can have free access to what they need to lead a decent and satisfying life.

Most politicians blame our problems on lack of money, but this is not true. Money doesn't build hospitals, schools decent housing and a healthy environment. The things that make a good community can only be created by the work of the people. We have an abundance of skills and energy. If we were free from having to work for the profits of employers we would be able to work for the needs of everyone. The profit system is oppressive; it dominates our lives. It plagues us with bills. The rent and mortgage payments, the food bills, the rates, gas, electricity, water and telephone bills. Money is used to screw us for the profits of business. If we don't pay, we don't get the goods. Without the capitalist system, a socialist community would easily provide for all of its members.

The chief characteristic of capitalism is private ownership of the means of wealth production: Socialism implies common ownership. Therefore there can no penalisation of or discrimination against any person or groups of persons in socialism. Today we have a class society—a community divided into groups, economically speaking. This division has nothing to do with biological characteristics. It is largely an accident of birth that makes one a capitalist. What determines his or her place in society is their economic position; and everything follows from that. Our habits, manners, speech, customs, ethics, all follow from this is division. Therefore class society means grinding inescapable poverty for the working class. People can be in a state of poverty without going short a meal or clothes. We live in a class society and cannot escape from poverty.

The Socialist Party has only one objective and that is the need to establish socialism as a society based on common ownership and democratic control where goods and services are produced to meet people's needs instead of for profit. This has never been tried (and certainly not in Russia or China) and can only come about democratically when a majority want it. This system of society which we propose is entirely different from what we know today. After taking over the means of production the characteristics of capitalism will disappear. Exchange will cease, for socialism will replace sale by free distribution. Socialism will put into practice "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." Stock Exchanges, Banks, Insurance offices will all disappear. There will be no question of what to do with the man or woman who won't work; most people want to work; most would be only too glad to do a sensible job of work. Socialism will succeed by the enthusiasm and determination of the socialists who have brought it into being to make it successful. We stand for a system which will be world-wide, democratic, and based on a community of interest of the individual and society. The Socialist Party’s platform is for socialism (common ownership, democratic control, production for use not profit, and distribution according to need not money) and nothing but. We are not advocating reform of capitalism. Reforms trying to permanently redistribute income from the rich to the poor has been tried many times and has always failed because it is undermined by the way the capitalist system works and has to work. It would be more effective to work for a society in which there will be neither rich nor poor.

Socialists are working for a different and better world. This is a message to those who are fed up –

• with the failures of this dreary system

• with leaders and the false promises of career politicians

• with poor hospitals, poor schools, poor housing and an unhealthy environment

• with having to live on a wage that struggles to pay the endless bills

• with serving the profit system and seeing poverty amidst luxury

The world we want is a one where we all work together. We can all do this. Co-operation is in our own interests and this is how a socialist community would be organised – through democracy and through working with each other. To co-operate we need democratic control not only in our own area but by people everywhere. This means that all places of industry and manufacture, all the land, transport, the shops and means of distribution, should be owned in common by the whole community. With common ownership we would not produce goods for profit. The profit system exploits us. Without it we could easily produce enough quality things for everyone. We could all enjoy free access to what we need without the barriers of buying and selling. Most politicians blame our problems on lack of money, but this is not true. Money doesn't build hospitals, schools decent housing and a healthy environment. The things that make a good community can only be created by the work of the people. We have an abundance of skills and energy. If we were free from having to work for the profits of employers we would be able to work for the needs of everyone. The profit system is oppressive; it dominates our lives. It plagues us with bills. The rent and mortgage payments, the food bills, the rates, gas, electricity, water and telephone bills. Money is used to screw us for the profits of business. If we don't pay, we don't get the goods. Without the capitalist system, a socialist community would easily provide for all of its members.

The challenge now is to build a world-wide movement whose job will be to break with the failures of the past. It won't be for power or money or careers. It will work for the things that matter to people everywhere – peace, material security and the enjoyment of life through cooperation. This is the challenge that could link all people in a common cause without distinction of nationality, race or culture.

We in the Socialist Party reject the view that things will always stay the same. We can change the world. Nothing could stop a majority of socialists building a new society run for the benefit of everyone. We all have the ability to work together in each other's interests. All it takes is the right ideas and a willingness to make it happen.

The poor shut out of higher education

In some parts of Glasgow, a child is more likely to end up in prison than win a place at Glasgow University. In 2015, fewer than five students from Easterhouse, won a place at Glasgow University. That’s two fewer than the seven who were sent to Polmont Young Offenders Institution. These numbers give us a glimpse into the level of educational inequality in Scotland’s biggest city. Other working-class communities in Glasgow do equally badly. Fewer than five new students come from Bridgeton, in the east end, and seven from Possilpark. In each of the past four years, more young people from Possilpark, one of Glasgow’s most deprived neighbourhoods, have gone to jail than to Glasgow University.  In 2014, 17 new inmates at Polmont had a Possilpark postcode. That was more than three times the five students who made it to Glasgow University that year. Last year, seven of the university’s new undergraduates came from Possilpark; 10 young people from the area were imprisoned at Polmont.

More Glasgow University students come from the affluent south side community of Newton Mearns than anywhere else in Scotland. Last year, this prosperous suburb provided 57 undergraduates. It was closely followed by neighbouring Clarkston with 54 new students, and Bearsden, on the north of the city, with 52. Each of these well-to-do neighbourhoods sends more than 10 times as many young people to Glasgow University as Easterhouse.

Strathclyde University revealed that it admitted 103 first-year students from Newton Mearns last year and 102 from Bearsden, but just seven from Easterhouse.

Former Glasgow University student and cultural commentator Pat Kane describes how it is both a world-class and a local institution. "The other role it should play is as a symbol of aspiration for the ambitious, talented children of Glasgow, no matter what their background is. These figures show that it’s failing on that front - but it can’t in any way be entirely the blame of the institution itself. It matters hugely that, according to these statistics, Glasgow University is effectively closed off to so many kids from the poorer parts of the city."

Patrick Harvie, Glasgow MSP and co-convenor of the Scottish Greens, said: "Unequal access to higher education is a clear reflection of the deep inequality that tarnishes our society more generally.”

Not A Benefit For Employees

 The winter edition of the CAA magazine ran an article about the future manufacture of cars using the 3D printing method. A spokesman for Local Motors, a small vehicle maker based in Phoenix, said, "It takes thirty hours to make a car, but in a year or two, using this method, we can get it down to ten." 

 The technology is incredible and would be a wonderful benefit to humanity in a socialist world to reduce time spent on producing necessary goods, bur under capitalism, where profit rules, it can only lead to unemployment and more misery for the workers. 

John Ayers.

Confidence Trick?

In February we received the reassuring news from Factset that companies that buy their own shares are down a collective (if that word can be used to describe any capitalist activity) US$126 billion over the last three years. 

When a company buys its own shares, it makes its profitability look better and bolsters confidence in would-be investors. 

This just proves that the only confidence one can have is that things will go bad sooner or later. 

John Ayers.

Capitalism: they win, we lose

The Socialist Party contests elections on the single issue of capitalism (class ownership and production for profit) or socialism (common ownership, democratic control, and production to directly meet people's needs). Socialism is our priority and the only basis on which we want people to vote for us. In other words, we don't make promises to support particular measures within capitalism however desirable as we don't want people to vote for us on that basis -- even if, should we be elected, we might well vote for certain measures judged to further the cause of socialism or the interest of workers and their dependents.  Having said this, there is one pledge that, according to our Rulebook, all our candidates have to make:

"Candidates elected to a Political office shall be pledged to act on the instructions of their Branches locally, and by the Executive Committee nationally."

This, to ensure that any Socialist Party councillor or MPs remain mandated delegates, not leaders.

The Socialist Party stand in elections to raise awareness of the possibility of democratically establishing common ownership of the means of living. Enough resources, know-how and skills exist already to provide comfortably for everyone. It’s the profit system that prevents this. We need to do away with it and instead produce and access goods for needs. At a time when all other political parties are saying they have to make us all worse off in order to protect the wealth of the 1%, it's important that we each stand up to fight against this unnecessary impoverishment. The candidates of the Socialist Party if elected whilst quite prepared to use the powers for such small temporary benefits as may be forced from the capitalists' hands for the workers in those districts, nevertheless do not seek votes for this, which can only be a secondary business of the political party of the workers. The Socialist Party enters contests as a step in the work of capturing the whole political machinery. Fully realising, and pointing out to the workers, the strict limitations of the power, making no promises that are beyond our power to fulfil, we ask the members of our class, when (but not before) they have studied these facts and realised their correctness, to cast their votes for the candidates of the Socialist Party who alone stand on the above basis. Our candidates stand on a straight programme of socialism and nothing else and have no programme of ear-tickling, side-tracking, vote-catching palliatives and have not climbed into prominence on the backs of the workers, by posing as 'leaders'. We leave that to others.

What’s the point in complaining about the system and then voting for it to carry on? You’ve heard the Occupy people – you are the 99%, but the system is run by the 1%. The rich don’t create jobs and wealth, they create poverty. For the rich to be rich, millions of people have to be poor.  To get rich, they cut corners, rip off the world, fiddle, connive, cheat, lie and bribe. That’s the money system for you. That’s capitalism. There’s no such thing as an honest millionaire. There’s no such thing as honest business, or ‘fair trade’, or an ‘equitable share’. They win because you lose.

We have the technology and the know-how to run the world collectively, so that everybody can eat, have a place to live, and get access to a decent standard of living, but it is the money system that is making this impossible. If money makes you free, how come you’re tied down with debts, rents, mortgages, loans and bills, and doing some job you probably hate just to make ends meet? What kind of freedom is that? Is that a freedom you’d want to vote for?

The planet is being turned into a toxic waste dump, with poisoned air, warring factions and vanishing species, just so manufacturers can sell you more glossy trash that will break tomorrow, stuff you think you want because you can’t have the freedom you really want. Humanity is staring into the abyss, and our do-nothing politicians still cry ‘forward in the name of growth!’ Is that progress? Is that worth voting for?

This is a not an easy thing to explain to protestors but the fact is that under capitalism there is nothing that can be done to stop the cuts. All that can be achieved is a few concessions here and there and robbing one service to finance another. Of course people should protest at things getting worse but they shouldn't have any illusion that they can stop this. At most they can only slow it down a bit. Cuts are what the economic laws of capitalism require at the present time and no government can defy this. In fact they have to enforce it, as they did in 1984 when Ted Knight and Lambeth Council refused to make the cuts. Knight and the others were surcharged and bankrupted and banned for being councillors. Same in Liverpool with Derek Hatton. The cuts went through.  What this shows is that capitalism is a system that is not geared to meeting people's needs and ought to be replaced by one that is, one based the common ownership and democratic control. We are stand in elections with a view to raising awareness of this. Our candidates point out that capitalism can never be reformed so as to work in the interests of those who depend on having to work for a wage or a salary to live. We will advocating socialism as a society where there will be no banks and big business, and no profits, but where all productive resources will be commonly owned and democratically controlled by the whole community in the interests of all. This is the only basis on which to provide decent public services, transport, housing and education as it means there can be production geared to satisfying people's needs instead of for profit. People Not Profits, that's the real socialist slogan.

Why We Are Against Capitalism

Here is the Socialist Party’s definition of socialism:

Central to the meaning of socialism is common ownership. This means the resources of the world being owned in common by the entire global population. But does it really make sense for everybody to own everything in common? Of course, some goods tend to be for personal consumption, rather than to share—clothes, for example. People 'owning' certain personal possessions does not contradict the principle of a society based upon common ownership. In practice, common ownership will mean everybody having the right to participate in decisions on how global resources will be used. It means nobody being able to take personal control of resources, beyond their own personal possessions.

Democratic control is therefore also essential to the meaning of socialism. Socialism will be a society in which everybody will have the right to participate in the social decisions that affect them. These decisions could be on a wide range of issues—one of the most important kinds of decision, for example, would be how to organise the production of goods and services.

Production under socialism would be directly and solely for use. With the natural and technical resources of the world held in common and controlled democratically, the sole object of production would be to meet human needs. This would entail an end to buying, selling and money. Instead, we would take freely what we had communally produced. The old slogan of "from each according to ability, to each according to needs" would apply.

So how would we decide what human needs are? This question takes us back to the concept of democracy, for the choices of society will reflect their needs. These needs will, of course, vary among different cultures and with individual preferences—but the democratic system could easily be designed to provide for this variety.

We cannot, of course, predict the exact form that would be taken by this future global democracy. The democratic system will itself be the outcome of future democratic decisions. We can however say that it is likely that decisions will need to be taken at a number of different levels—from local to global. This would help to streamline the democratic participation of every individual towards the issues that concern them.

In socialism, everybody would have free access to the goods and services designed to directly meet their needs and there need be no system of payment for the work that each individual contributes to producing them. All work would be on a voluntary basis. Producing for needs means that people would engage in work that has a direct usefulness. The satisfaction that this would provide, along with the increased opportunity to shape working patterns and conditions, would bring about new attitudes to work.

As a world socialist who stands for a world without borders in which the Earth's resources will have become the common heritage of all, naturally we favour a welcoming treatment of fellow workers fleeing oppression. After all, Karl Marx was in this position himself

Profits before people that's how capitalism works and can only work. There is no alternative within capitalism and it's misleading and even dishonest to suggest that there could be. The real lesson is that, since all that capitalism has to offer is austerity and cuts, we should concentrate on organising to bring it to an end by political action aimed at ushering in a society based on the common ownership and democratic control of the means of production so that there can be produce for directly for use and not for profit, and distribution on the principle of "from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs". Socialism.

It’s the system that’s to blame, not those elected to run it. That’s why changing the politicians in charge makes no difference. As the saying goes, “changing governments changes nothing”. It will be like this as long as the profit system lasts. So there is no point in voting for parties that accept this system. The alternative is to change to a new system based on satisfying our needs, where the places where wealth is produced will no longer be owned by profit-seeking businesses but will be owned and democratically controlled by us all. That’s what the Socialist Party stands for. We are contest elections to raise this issue, and to give those of you who agree a chance to be counted. Parties promising to do things for others is not our idea of politics, so we make no campaign or manifesto promises to do anything for anyone. The Socialist Party is standing to give people the chance to show they reject the capitalist system where making profits always comes first. Capitalism is going through one of its economic crises and the only way out for it is to restore profits by cutting the living standard of working people and their dependents. That’s why what our wages can buy has shrunk. It’s why benefits are being slashed. And it’s why local councils have been cutting local services. It’s councils everywhere, whichever party is in control. Politicians, local and national, are just running the system in the only way it can be. It’s the system that’s to blame, not those elected to run it. That’s why changing the politicians in charge makes no difference.  Instead of trusting in politicians we’ve have got to change the system ourselves, to one where the places where wealth is produced are no longer run as profit-seeking businesses but owned and democratically controlled by the community and used to provide a decent life for all. Public services and amenities are being cut and people shouldn't put up with this, but this is the fault of the capitalist profit system as it goes through one of its economic crises. So, it is misleading to blame those who administer this system rather than the system itself. The only way capitalism can get out of a crisis is by cutting living standards.  This is why the Socialist Party campaigns for the abolition of capitalism, not for a change in the people running it or trying to make it work in a way it just cannot.

THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE FUTURE

When we speak of the commonwealth, we think of a confederation of free people united in one common bond - socialism. The trend is towards the cooperative commonwealth. It is the hope of the world. We in the Socialist Party will continue to seek the world wide advance toward the cooperative commonwealth. Our every step will be in the direction of the co-operative commonwealth where the motto, “From each according to ability, to each according to needs,” ceases to be an aspiration and becomes a reality.

The capitalistic system of production, under the rule of which we live, is the production of commodities for profit instead of for use for the private gain of those who own and control the tools and means of production and distribution. Out of this system of production and sale for profit spring all monopolies (arising from and following competition) and out of it, naturally, grow an overwhelming percentage of moral evils, and the entire problem of misery, want, and poverty that, as a deadly menace, now confronts civilisation.

To substitute common, for private or state, ownership in the means of production is what we say socialism means. It means a co-operative system of production and the extinction of the exploitation of the workers. The natural resources of the world are the property of the people as a whole. The abolition of the present system of production means substituting production for use for production for sale. Production for use, which is the social or co-operative production for the satisfaction of the wants of a commonwealth. Under the capitalist system, all products are produced for the market, they all become commodities. Capitalist society is based upon the exploitation of labour. A small minority owns everything; the working masses own nothing. The capitalists command. The workers obey. The capitalists exploit. The workers are exploited. The very essence of capitalist society is found in this merciless and ever-increasing exploitation. Until the present system of capitalist production (production for sale) was developed, co-operative production for common use was the leading form; it is as old as production itself. If any one system of production could be considered better adapted than any other to the nature of man, then co-operative production must be pronounced the natural one. In all probability for every thousand years of production for sale, cooperative production for use numbers tens of thousands. They all had certain essential features in common. Each satisfied its own wants, at least the most vital ones, with the product of its own labor; the instruments of production were the property of the community; its members worked together as free and equal individuals according to some plan inherited or devised, and administered by some power elected by themselves. The product of such co-operative labor was the property of the community and was applied either to the satisfaction of common wants, whether these were occasioned by production or consumption, or were distributed among the individuals or groups which composed the community. Socialist production will and must have certain features in common with the older systems of communal production, in so far, namely, as both are systems of co-operative production for use.

Whilst the Socialist Party share with many other organisations the general principles of democracy, co-operation and worldwide action, we see the problems facing the world as stemming from the ownership of the wealth of the world by a privileged class. We do not think the world's problems can be solved until the wealth of the world is taken into the common and direct democratic ownership of the whole of humanity. Specifically, we think this requires a self-conscious and active movement of people working together, worldwide, and we cannot allow this movement to be divided into nation states or rely on governments to help us. The present system can never be reformed to work in the interest of the majority. All the other candidates disagree and are promising to reform it in one way or another. But reform has been tried many times and look where we still are. The present system can only work by putting profits before people. That’s how capitalism works and can only work. It’s the economic system. And that’s what got to be changed. The Socialist Party seeks an essentially peaceful democratic majority revolution to replace capitalism with a system in which productive resources have become the common heritage of all to be used for the benefit of all.

Things are not produced today to meet people’s needs. They are produced to make a profit. And that’s the cause of the problems people face. Under the profit system profits always come first. Before providing basic services like health care and transport, before improving conditions at work, and before providing decent housing. It is profits first, people second. Under the profit system production is in the hands of profit-seeking business enterprises, all competing to maximise the rate of return on the money invested in them. Decisions as to what to produce and how much, and how and where to produce it, are not made in response to people’s needs but in response to market forces. As a result, the health and welfare of the workforce and the effects on the environment take second place. The profit system can’t help doing this. It’s the only way it can work. Which is why it must go. Governments, whatever their political colour, have to cut their spending so as to give profits a chance to recover.

So, what’s the alternative? One thing is certain. The Tories and Labour have nothing to offer, nor the LibDems, UKIP or the nationalists. They all support the profit system and are only squabbling over which of them should have a go at running it. If we are going to improve things we are going to have to act for ourselves, without professional politicians or leaders of any kind. We are going to have to organise ourselves democratically to bring about a society geared to serving human needs not profits. Production to satisfy people’s needs. That’s the alternative. But this can only be done if we control production and the only basis for this is common ownership and democratic control. Supporting the Socialist Party registers your rejection of the profit system and your agreement with the alternative.

So, let's be clear: The Socialist Party doesn't want your vote to be in office. We're seeking to abolish a society in which people are made to work for the people who own all the property. We're in politics to call you to revolt. If you want a state-free, class-free, money-free society where we co-operate to produce the things we need, then you need to revolt. You need to say that that is your priority.  You need to tell your fellow workers that you want them to revolt too.  That is what putting a cross next to The Socialist Party candidate means, it means a rejection of the whole system of government and society, with no compromise. It's a big leap, let's see you make it.

Let us hoist our sails and sail straight for the cooperative commonwealth. The sun shines upon us and the wind blows our way.  The future is ours.

All Change for Socialism.

It’s all a bit overwhelming, isn’t it? Inequality is rising, and services are being cut to those who most need them. Our eco-system is teetering on the edge, and oil companies are controlling the climate agenda. Multinationals are booming off the labour of the poorest and racism is rife. Our current reality is an economic/political arrangement that is run by and for the richest people in the world. Effectively it is an oligarchical system of one dollar, one vote; certainly not a democracy based on one person, one vote. Power is global. The financial elite now float beyond national borders and no longer care about the common good. Hence, the ruling class make no concessions in their pursuits of power and profits where increased human misery is an acceptable price to be paid. They foster a new breed of politician who wages war on any viable notion of the welfare state.  Workers are demonised, criminalised or simply abandoned and discarded. A perpetual climate of fear and insecurity has been created. The propaganda and indoctrination we are fed are so disconnected from facts, evidence and logic that it has become laughable. Capitalism is a coercive economic system that creates persistent patterns of economic deprivation.  If capitalism makes workers’ lives miserable, for those who can’t work it is even worse. True freedom requires freedom from destitution and freedom from the demands of the employer. Capitalism ensures neither. But the ripples of dissent are very much there. All over the world people are standing up and being heard.

More and more people are identifying capitalism as the underlying cause of our social ills and crises. That’s certainly positive: the first step toward cure is a proper diagnosis. But most of what is being offered are placebos, an endless supply of ineffective remedies to “fix” or reform it, to make it “less greedy.” Getting the greed out of capitalism is impossible, and we’ll just waste precious time by trying. The faults of capitalism is integral to the way it works. Capital must expand, buy up or destroy competitors, reach into every corner of society to try to squeeze money out of it. It naturally accumulates, concentrating wealth in the hands of the few at the expense of the many. That’s not a mistake. That’s what it does. There’s no other way it works. The problem isn’t extreme capitalism, corporate capitalism, crony capitalism, vulture capitalism or greedy capitalism. It’s just capitalism. Capital has its own relentless drive, never to be satisfied, feeding ever more hungrily on the life-force of the world while leaving mountains of destruction and misery in its wake. It can’t do otherwise. Forget trying to fix it. It needs to be ended.

If we want the socialist movement to grow then we have to create opportunities where the learning process is welcome and valued. We have to celebrate the new possibilities that each new individual brings. In practical terms, this means making sure our meetings are open to newcomers, and that quieter and introverted folks are given opportunities to speak. Folks who are good at talking and writing usually have the most power, while those who have less experience and are less vocal have the least.  It means that terminology is explained when necessary, and it means not using academic jargon to sound impressive. Refusing to explain yourself contributes to a form of discrimination in which people with less formal education and access to information are marginalised.  Obsession with “correct” language plays an enormous part in making socialist ideas inaccessible to many people. Having reading the ‘right’ books and blogs there are still disagreements between activists about which terms are and aren’t appropriate. Many in the socialist movement happen to be educated enough to understand varying levels of heavy jargon. Some don’t have any conditions that prevent them from reading for hours and they have the luxury of sufficient free time in which to do this. But most people don’t have that level of luxury. People are busy, you know, surviving themselves. They don’t necessarily have laptops, broadband, and ample time in which to make use of those things. There is also an unawareness of just how much there is to read out there. It also assumes that there are 'correct' resources to be reading that are available, and that the person in question will be able to find them among thousands of conflicting resources. Multiple lifetimes are required to really get to know in-depth all the topics, multiple entire academic careers of critical analysis.  We should accept that nobody gets things right 100% of the time. They’re still learning. It means having the humility to know that all of us are, in fact, still learning.

How do we discover and implement new tactics and methods?  Perhaps we return to basics like compassion, altruism, empathy, and communication.  Perhaps we learn to listen to and heed the voices most often drowned out.  Perhaps we do the work to cultivate authentic organisations in which everyone is held accountable for their behavior.  Perhaps we start refining and honing our own face-to-face social skills such as making eye contact. Speak the language you know. Many folk lack the gift of oration that moves people, yet our own words are often good enough. Working together offers the strength that comes from the fact that we are dreaming and longing and working together for all of us to be free. Freedom requires creativity, a little skill, and a daily dose of courage. Most of all, it requires us to share our stories of our own struggles with each other. “We are the 99%.” For decades, the Left had been trying to come up with a slogan that was both inclusive and oppositional. A slogan that put a relatively complex critique of class society in populist language.

Is it possible that a different system could be built without people first imagining it? Is imagining a better economic/political system a necessary step in making it happen? For those of us who believe human beings are in control of our own destiny, or at least the rules that govern our economic and political system, it is time to come together and imagine a better system, one that promotes environmental sustainability, equality and world-wide cooperation. It seems impossible to deny, at least for any reality-based thinker, that our current global capitalist economic/political system has created, and prevents us from fixing, the mess we are in. This is due to the powerful private profit engine of capitalism, which in turn incentivises the externalisation/socialisation of as many costs as possible. The owners of capital are driven to make ever greater profits -- the system rewards those who do and punishes those who don't -- which of course leads the profit seeker to reduce costs in any way possible. To survive, capitalists must try to avoid paying for the negative consequences of whatever is the source of their profits, be it the instruments of war, environmental destruction, global warming, over-consumption or an unhealthy food system. Protecting and maximising profit gives capitalists an incentive to deny the ill effects of their products, to fund global warming deniers and to promote war. The potential for governments to pass laws that may negatively affect profits is an incentive for capitalists to do whatever it takes to make sure the political system works in their narrow, immediate interests. This is the source of what some defenders of an abstract, idealised capitalism call cronyism, but which is, in fact, a logical outcome of a system that promotes greed and private profit.

What sort of economic/political system can be imagined and then built that will save us from global warming, other forms of environmental disaster and growing inequality; one that can come about relatively peacefully so that weapons of mass destruction are turned into ploughshares rather than destroy the planet? The new system we imagine must get rid of the perverse incentives that result in war, the devastation of our environment and inequality. Instead it must encourage environmental stewardship, cooperation and equality, both of responsibility and power. These must become foundational principles of our economy as well as our political system on the individual, local, regional, and world level. This imagined system must be achievable, because it is worse than pointless to dream about something that cannot happen, it is a waste of time we do not have. And to be achievable this new system must be something that can be built by the people. For change to happen peacefully it must be popular, supported by most people around the world. That, in turn, means the new system must ultimately be more democratic, because the most popular system is one in which most people feel they have a stake. Whatever the details of this new system of economic and political democracy, millions of us need to soon begin imagining it.

This new world is one we call socialism. Let’s get together as social beings and organise our society as we would like it. Let’s have production for use not profit and at the same time remove the evils of war and environmental destruction that threaten to eliminate our species altogether. Come on! Change for socialism.