We are The Socialist Party

The Socialist Party purpose is straightforward, and we do not hide it. We want to re-establish the genuine meaning of socialism. The socialist movement is a project for revolutionary change. Socialists want to overthrow today’s society based on exploitation, and build a new world where ordinary people have control over their lives and communities. The agent for this change is the working people themselves. Socialists seek to empower working people to change the world while trade unions are organisations for working people to defend their interests. An overlap of purpose is obvious. Capitalism is a system that serves to exploit. This exploitation changes and develops over time. To challenge capitalist exploitation, it is important for trade unions to be in all sectors of the economy. When workers are organised they can exercise their collective power by going on strike or refusing to over-time or working-to-rule to combat low pay, long hours, or bad working conditions. Socialists support trade unions as organisation for workers to fight for their interests. Therefore, socialists do not support practices that undermine unions. However, socialists have a vision that looks much further than limiting the forms of exploitation that working people submit to and socialists strive for the overthrow of capitalism and building a new world based on co-operation and social ownership. Socialists support unions because we believe in the power of ordinary people. The role of a socialist in a union can be varied. Socialists will always try to be good unionists at their work, but this can take different paths, depending on a range of factors. Being a union radical can mean assisting with initiatives in the union and building organisation for the next fight with the boss. It could mean opposing a corrupt leadership and building rank and file networks to challenge an entrenched union bureaucracy. Sometimes socialists may work for unions to contribute to building the organisation as an official. But always, socialists union activists seek to build the capacity for the working class to fight against their oppression.

The “disappearing working class” thesis in unsupportable. It was fashionable in the past to say it had been “bought off”, become “middle class” etc. etc. but hasn’t this recession exposed that myth. What is disappearing is the false idea that those in the middle class are not actually members of the working class.  It's true that waged industrial manual workers has shrunk in size and significance but you don't cease to be working class because you're serving burgers in a McDonalds rather than a factory worker. “Working class” denotes a position within the social relations of production. Socialists see the working class as the agents of revolutionary change not because it suffers a lot (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't), but because it's so placed within the capitalist system as to be feasibly capable of taking over. Who else but the men and women who create the system, whose livelihood depends on it, who are capable of running it justly and collectively, and who would most benefit from such a change, should take it over?

The central place of wage workers in the productive process gives them the social power to overthrow capitalism. No other social class or group has the power to achieve this. Because the system of private property is the source of its oppression, the working class can liberate itself only by abolishing this system and replacing it with a system based on social ownership of the means of production. The working class re simultaneously at the root and source of the capitalist system and incapable of being wholly included within it. Only another of the contradictions of capitalism.

The point Marx made over and over again is that the working class is revolutionary or it is nothing. Worldwide the labour and socialist movements appear to have been in retreat for several decades. Yet it is a mistake to see the workers movement as merely that section of the working class organised within the trade unions or worse still the union leadership. The predominance of racist and sexist ideas, the whole-scale belief in religion, and other socially conservative ideas that seem to belie any possible revolutionary role for the working class. Despite the rout of the traditional working class organisations, the class struggle continues unabated.

If our vision of socialism is simply a slightly modified version of what exists, don't expect it to embraced. The market cannot coexist with socialism because socialism means that society owns and controls both the means of production and the goods which result from productive activity. For the market to exist, some sectional interest (an individual,  a joint-stock company, a nationalised concern, a workers' cooperative and so on) has to be in control of part of the social product, which it then disposes of by entering into exchange relations with others. Exchange cannot take place when society, and none other, controls the means of production and the social product. Far from socialism being compatible with exchange and the market, the generalised production of goods for exchange on the market is the hallmark of an entirely different type of society - capitalism. We are not saying that absence of the market is the sole defining feature of socialism. On the contrary, socialism is not merely a market-less society; it is also a stateless society, a classless society, a moneyless society, a wage-less society. The fact that social democrats, Leninists, Trotskyists and other supposed “socialists” or “communists” accept a role for the market, tells us that they represent forces for maintaining capitalism, not for achieving socialism. Haven't they all had their share of power, and haven't they all proved totally ineffective in ridding the world of the problems which capitalism continually recreates? Other contenders for the privileges which accompany the administration of capitalism such as the 'Greens' are waiting in the wings, and are having some success in turning themselves into mass movements because of the illusory attractiveness of their promises to reform the market system. Like previous attempts at reform, these latest efforts directed towards making the capitalist system function in a manner which gives priority to human interests are bound to fail. As long as the world market remains, human beings will be forced to dance to its tune. Market forces cannot be tamed; only eliminated. The very existence of humankind is now threatened by the rivalry and the fixation on profit which are inherent in the market system.

In the society envisaged by non-market socialists, the people of the world would own the global means of production in common and would operate them communally for the benefit of humankind as a whole. Socialism in one country, or even one part of the world, is impossible. Since capitalism today is a global society which encompasses all parts of the world, the socialist alternative to capitalism must be equally global in its scope. Socialism is as relevant to the plight of those who are starving in Africa and other parts of the world as it is to the inhabitants of London or Paris. It is true that non-market socialists have generally seen the wage workers of those advanced, industrialised areas of the world which act as the power-houses of international capitalism (Europe, North America and Japan) as the force which is likely to initiate the revolutionary change from world capitalism to world socialism. Yet the establishment of non-market socialism could not be accomplished without the active cooperation of the majority of the population in those parts of the world which capitalism has consigned to underdevelopment. In contrast to the hopelessness and destitution which afflict the majority of the people in backward countries under world capitalism, the prospect of dignity and sufficiency which world socialism would open up for them would be overwhelmingly attractive. It is also worth mentioning that several of the non-market socialist principles closely resemble the principles of social cooperation found among hunter-gatherers and other supposedly 'backward' people. People in their social position would take much less convincing of the desirability of non-market socialism than would many of those in 'advanced' countries who are currently steeped in the values and assumptions which capitalism encourages. Socialism would be a global solution to the global problems which have accompanied the rise of world capitalism.

If Socialism is worth struggling for, it is precisely because it will be based on the principle of "from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs". And capitalism, with its reliance on exchange, utterly fails to satisfy the real needs of the vast majority of the humanity.  

Change your minds - Change your world

The Socialist Party stands for the transformation of human society, from its current basis of exploitation and oppression to a commonwealth, a classless society based upon a worldwide system of democratically planned production to meet human need and social ownership in harmony with our planet’s ecosystems. The working class is the only social class that has the potential to replace capitalism with socialism, not only because its organisation and centrality to production under capitalism give it the ability to do so, but because it is the human embodiment of socially cooperative labour.  Capitalism has “united” the world, but to maintain its exploitation of the working people, the capitalist class creates numerous inequalities that work to prevent the exploited uniting — racism, sexism, discrimination based on national or ethnic or religious origin, persecution on the basis of sexual orientation. Exploitation and oppression cannot be finally overcome while capitalism continues to exist. But partial victories against them can be won, and can contribute to the weakening and eventual overthrow of capitalism.

Revolution is seen as being impossible. People are told we are too apathetic or ignorant—we’ll never fight back. They tell us the working class has been bought off, so forget change and instead, relax and enjoy life the best you can hope for. Workers are brought up to believe that capitalism is normal. Society tells us that anyone who believes the status quo can be changed is simply extremist, utopian or unrealistic. This leads people to believe that capitalism cannot be brought down by the mass of working class people, and that we have to rely on parliament for reform. Nevertheless, over and over again, people unexpectedly, out of nowhere erupt and engage in radical struggles. Then we are told such momentous events cannot happen here. But they do. The working-class struggle for socialism is prepared by and grows out of the contradictions of the capitalist social order.

Large numbers of people want change - radical, revolutionary, real socialist change. They don’t just want to elect a different government but to do away with rulers and ruled, to do away with rich and poor, to entirely do away with bankers and bosses. They want to run their own lives, in what is called participatory democracy, the idea that we should have the right to make the most important decisions that affect our lives, and that we should determine the conditions under which we live. As people begin to see that there could be change, new movements that had not previously existed arise. We expect that the future will bring many new experiences, which we must think about, learn from, and incorporate into our theory and practice. The Socialist Party want people power and an end to our exploitation and oppression. All of us are called upon to make a decision. There’s nobody who can liberate you but yourself. The first thing you have to do is liberate yourself; liberate your mind. Decide that you will not put up with injustice, oppression, exploitation and war that you’re not going to go quietly being processed to put up with all they want you to accept. You have to know who you are, and which side are you on. You have to know is that you cannot liberate yourself by yourself; you can only do it with other people. There’s no way to end your own oppression and exploitation without collective action, collective struggle, joining with other people to change this world. And so all of you have to start thinking through what that means; how you’re going to educate yourself, to raise your own and other peoples’ consciousness, to create the sort of effective organization that can lead to a successful liberation. The historian Howard Zinn said it is who’s “sitting in the streets, occupying, protesting and demonstrating” who are more important that who is sitting in the White House. No socialist president alone can change the system. That is a job for the people themselves. We need to build a mass movement for revolutionary change. Socialists aim to change the world and have always sought to organise themselves as effectively as possible in order to achieve this goal. The lessons are that we should be preparing now for the future explosion by building revolutionary working-class politics and organisation. More important than what we have done in the past, is what we will do together in the future to build a society that makes possible the full development of all human beings: the socialist society.

Humanity stands at a crossroad. The knowledge and productive capacity that already exist could, if used rationally, enable all people not only to be supplied with the material means for a full and ample life but also provide for a vast advance in humanity’s social and cultural development. The alternative is also already visible around us. It is the further intensification of human misery and environmental destruction. The threat of extinction of the species homo-sapiens from the increasing pollution of the planet’s air, water and land looms over the whole of humanity. Socialism must give priority to sustainability, not growth without limits, not growth that degrades the natural conditions that make the production and reproduction of life and human society in its infinite variety of forms possible. Humankind now faces changes in our planet's climate that could not only make socialism a mere dream, but make the Earth itself uninhabitable. We are approaching tipping points which if reached will give global warming a momentum that human actions will have little or no control over. These dangers must be confronted now. Only a determined socialist movement stands a chance of defeating an entrenched and powerful economic and political bloc and, in doing so, taking a first and absolutely necessary step to protect and sustain Earth and life on it - and the possibility of a socialist future. The problem is not that there are “too many people” or that our living standards are “too high”; the problem is the completely irrational nature of capitalism, arising from its basis in private ownership and production for profit. There is no reason why we couldn’t massively raise the standards of living for the whole population, whilst at the same time greatly reduce society’s impact on the environment. The productive forces have reached the point where life without starvation and homelessness is within reach, for all. The technologies exist to do so; what is needed is a rational and democratic plan of production to integrate and implement these technologies. Only the rule of one class over the rest prevents it. Clearly the world faces a choice between socialism and an increasingly apparent barbarism. There is no room left for any alternative but revolution. Yet the bulk of the world’s leftists remains dedicated to “realism”, ‘pragmatism”and populist “nationalism”.  In short, what is really needed is the revolutionary socialist transformation of society. The task facing the Socialist Party is to explain the common cause of capitalism behind the various problems facing both people and the planet; to link these struggles together by fighting for a revolutionary socialist change in society.

Only through a revolutionary change in the system of ownership and management of society’s productive wealth can working people guarantee themselves — and humanity as a whole — a future. Ownership and control of society’s productive resources must be taken out of the hands of the capitalist minority and transferred to society as a whole, and subordinated to democratic planning in order to meet humanity’s rational needs. Such a change is not only possible; it is long overdue. It will bring about the next great step forward in the evolution of humanity — the creation, through the transfer of political and economic power to the working class, of the classless socialist society. If our vision of socialism is simply a slightly modified version of what exists, don't expect it to embraced. Only a vision that is modern and forward looking will capture the imagination of the people. It is evident that people are gravitating toward a radical critique of society. Economic crisis alone, however, is not the sole cause of revolutionary change. The ground is prepared via the cumulative impact of many different issues- economic, political, social, and moral - taking place over time, during which people's understanding gains in sophistication going beyond "them and us" and "the system sucks". The “revolution" is a more protracted and complicated political/historical process. Socialism, it is correctly said, must be the product of an engaged, united, and politically sophisticated majority. But it doesn't follow that such a majority will simply emerge out of everyday struggles. It is also mistaken thinking that socialism will be the product of a radical minority. The struggle for democracy (economic and social as well as political) is at the core of the struggle for socialism. It's not a diversion or a second-order task. The point of political engagement isn't to feel righteous or conjure up "get socialism quick schemes." It is to change the world.

The spectre of communism does not haunt the world today and elementary socialist principles have been abandoned. Across our planet, in recent decades the working class has risen up time and again against the murderous and exploitative rule of capitalism. But its struggles have not resulted in socialism. The working class does not need “condescending saviors” in the words of The International. Leaders have been a big part of the problem and not the solution. The working class is capable of achieving socialist consciousness through the lessons it learns in the course of struggle. Under the banner of authentic socialism, in open and defiant hatred of the ruling class, The Socialist Party is dedicated to the struggle to overthrow the employs. In the spirit of the Communist Manifesto, we disdain to hide our political identity. We means what we say. Trickery and opportunism will not advance the cause of revolution – working class consciousness and therefore the truth about what must be done, will. The working class alone has been created by capitalism itself to be its gravedigger and the independence of the working class is a prime necessity for class consciousness. Only the proletariat can make the socialist revolution. In our efforts, the Socialist Party is devoted to exposing, not hiding, the vacillations, capitulations and betrayals of the reformists who have stood as a major prop for the preservation of capitalism. Whichever road reformists choose, they promote class collaborationist populism.

The full development of the forces of production, the achievement of abundance for all and the flowering of humanity and human culture, require the establishment of socialism, a classless society. The Socialist Party proudly tell the truth as we see it to our fellow workers. Capitalism destroys human beings and nature and that we desperately need a vision of the socialist alternative. Our party is committed to destroy the cancerous capitalist system by revolution, nothing less than the complete dismantling of the system. Socialism will foster a society where humanity will organise their economy in accordance with peoples’ needs and environmental demands. 

PEOPLE POWER

Monbiot's one step beyond

‘Tartan Stalinists”, the “Highland Stasi”, “Scottish Nazi party”. The mild proposals in the Scottish government’s land reform bill, published last week, provoke much fulminations among the proprietorial class. David Cameron’s stepfather-in-law, Lord Astor described Scotland’s proposals as “a Mugabe-style landgrab”. He owns, among the other properties he was enterprising enough to inherit, the deer-ravaged Tarbert estate on the isle of Jura, run by a trust patriotically registered in the Bahamas.

Much of this fury is caused by the plan to cancel the business rate exemption (granted to the aristocracy by John Major’s government in 1994) for deer-stalking estates, grouse moors and salmon fishing. Talk about a culture of entitlement.

As a result of the Highland clearances, which dragged much of the population off the land destroying their houses and replacing them with sheep ranches or deer and grouse estates, Scotland vies with Brazil for the world’s highest concentration of ownership. (It’s hard to tell which comes first as the ownership of many estates has been kept secret.) One estimate suggests that 432 people own half the country’s private rural land. No other rich nation has so excluded its citizens from their common heritage.

Given these circumstances the bill is, if anything, too timid. It gives local people consultation rights over how land is used, strengthens the ability of communities to buy land, improves the position of tenant farmers, removes the business rate exemption, tries to discover who the owners are, seeks to reduce the ridiculous densities at which deer are maintained for stalking, and creates a land commission to keep the issue alive. That’s all.

It seems that two things are missing from the bill. While there are new opportunities for families and communities, there is no designation of land for the nation as a whole. There is also little that will alter the ownership pattern where it is most extreme: in the rocky Highland cores, which are likely to be unsuitable for community buyouts. As the Scottish minister Aileen McLeod concedes, “community ownership may not be appropriate for all land: it’s not a panacea”. 

But perhaps there’s a way in which both issues could be addressed.

 With the possible exception of the western side of the Cairngorms, there are no nature parks in Britain that meet the international definition: places protected mainly for their wildlife and habitats. When the International Union for Conservation of Nature sought to classify Britain’s national parks, of which there are 15, it had to invent a new category. Ours are not set aside for nature. They are, strictly speaking not parks. There are good reasons for this and bad ones. When the parks were designated, many people were living within their boundaries. It’s essential that they can make a living and keep their communities alive. (Unfortunately the industries covering most of the land offer neither possibility: though lavishly subsidised, they still bleed jobs and money.) But on the rare occasions when the private owners are not wrecking the land with sheep, overstocked deer and scorched-earth grouse shoots, the park authorities step in to finish the job.

With a few exceptions the ecological management of our existing national parks is irrational, anally retentive and scientifically illiterate. They remain subject to a 19th-century worldview in which the natural world is seen as a garden to be pruned and trimmed rather than as a thriving, living system in which we could escape from the management and control that surrounds us everywhere else.

Scotland, thanks in part to its dismal feudal legacy, has only two national parks, and less land designated than in the other parts of Britain – 7%, while England has 9% and Wales 20%. Is it not time to augment those with new parks, with a different philosophy. Where Scotland’s deer stalking and grouse shooting provide possibly the lowest level of employment per square mile to be found in any temperate region in Europe, national parks could generate new jobs within an economy built on wildlife and tourism. They would restore both human populations and the other species that were wiped out by the clearances. They would bring life of all kinds to barren lands. Long live the Highland spring.

Adapted from George Monbiot in the Guardian

Socialism is the Future of Humanity – Start Building Now

Anger at capitalism is growing daily. Human beings are losers. We have lost families, friends and our communities. Have we also now lost our will to fight back? Capitalism’s days are numbered. Across the world, millions of people have taken to the streets against austerity, injustice and endless war. Capitalism has far outlived any usefulness. Under capitalism, people have no future beyond wage slavery and poverty. Socialism as a possibility will exist so long as capitalism persists as a reality. To build unity and solidarity, we need a vision for the future. One vision of socialism is the expansion of democratic decision-making into the economy, the common ownership of resources and free access to goods and services based on need. In other words, making the worker and community control over production a reality. It is clear that the world as a whole is becoming one community, or at least needs to be seen and treated as one. The human species needs socialism not only to realise all its potentials but to survive.

Marx used 'socialism' and 'communism' as synonymous terms, both referring to the same kind of society, that is, a 'cooperative society' or 'association' based on 'free associated labour'.  Marx nowhere speaks of 'socialism' as a distinct stage or social formation or of 'transition between socialism and communism'.  For Marx, as the new society emerges from the capitalist society itself, the former is obviously an integral part of the same new society, being its 'first phase' only chronologically, with the specific kind of developments corresponding to it. For him between capitalism and communism lies no stage or stages, only a transition, more or less prolonged according to circumstances.  That there is no fore-ordained model or blueprint of socialism or socialist transition, certainly none suitable for all countries and all times, does not mean absence of general principles. Marx was no determinist. For Marx socialism is nothing inevitable, it is something to be struggled for. Thus there are no guarantees of victory; only alternatives, one being the mutual ruination of the contending classes, the total destruction of humanity summed up by Rosa Luxemburg as 'socialism or barbarism'. Optimistically, Marx gave capitalism a short lease of life, looking forward to an early revolution in Europe and, therefore, Marx never explored the possibility of this imminent threat hanging over the future of humankind. This makes the struggle for socialism all the more imperative and urgent today.

However, capitalism continues to survive, but this, by itself, cannot be seen as an argument for the desirability, or a sign of the progressiveness of the capitalist order. Capitalism is a system that is chronically diseased by pathological inflictions which manifest themselves variously in different places as racism, sexism, anti-semitism, xenophobia, ethnic or national hatreds, fundamentalism and intolerance, even as plain cruelty and criminal aggression.  Poverty, unemployment and insecurity-related crimes and associated phenomena – ill-health and suicides, alcoholism and drug addiction, violence against women and child abuse, etc. -- are on the rise everywhere. The introduction of new technology and communication have become the means of debasing people's understanding and preventing them from looking beyond the capitalist horizon of a consumerist paradise of instant gratification. Gone is the aspiration for a life which would fulfil basic human needs -- decent livelihood, knowledge, solidarity, cooperation with fellow human beings, job satisfaction at work and freedom from unnecessary drudgery and toil. Today’s society is sick and who can deny that diagnosis but it lingers on in its putrefying decay. Socialism will always remain on the agenda wherever capitalism exists, be it 'developed', 'under-developed', 'developing' or any other part of the world. Socialists say surely it is people and not 'economic growth' and GDP that must come first in society.  Socialism is a humane society that fosters cooperation, solidarity and respect and makes for a non-alienated, 'truly rich human life' that Marx spoke of.  Of course, such a world cannot be achieved without basic material conditions being met but to believe that you can assure satisfy the majority of people through greed, private acquisition, competition and rivalry-- the values of capitalism -- and yet still hope for a humane society of cooperation and solidarity is utopianism of the worst kind. As human beings, people simply don't fit into the capitalist market exchange economy. Capitalism has to go. No matter how slowly or haltingly we must strive and struggle for our emancipatory vision of socialism. Just as there is no single model of socialism, one that is suitable for all climes and all times, there is none of socialist politics either.  The specific conditions or demands and the forms of struggle they generate will vary from country to country.  Which, however, also again, does not mean the absence of general principles to guide it. The application of these principles is in fact a must for any successful pursuit of socialist politics today. Socialism is the only just, rational and sustainable future for the people of the world and that this future has to be struggled for here and now.

Socialism is a difficult word to define, especially given the various countries that have called themselves "socialist" at one point or another in time. Many people believe socialism only means government nationalization of the means of production, which is a definition we in the World Socialist Movement distance ourselves from. Socialism isn't something that can be summed up in one sentence. Socialism is about radical democracy. It would give people democratic control over political as well as economic matters, rather than the system we have now that concentrates the control of these areas into the hands of a small group of people at the top of the socio-economic ladder. It means giving you control over your workplace rather than in the hands of some board of trustees, the stock holders, or the bureaucrat official in a government ministry who are only interested in profit and not your livelihood. Within socialism people have the right to a job , decent housing, health care, education, etc.  Socialism means common ownership, and democratic control by the people, of the factories, farms, mines, offices and all other industries and services, a moneyless wageless stateless commonwealth. But if you need just one sentence, there is the old adage: "From each according to ability, to each according to needs." Or in two words – People Power. The workers must prepare themselves for their emancipation by class-conscious organisation on both the political and the economic fields for the establishment of socialism. The Socialist Party never asserted that socialist society would result from the actions of parliamentary delegates alone.

The most common argument against a moneyless society is that money seems to be the only effective regulating force which can prevent wastage. This may be the case in a money-driven society, where everything is evaluated by its price-tag, and the manner in which we deal with things is determined to a big extent by the monetary value. The higher the price, the bigger the value, the more one takes care of it; the lower the price, the lower the value, resulting in indifference and carelessness; this is the mechanism of a money-based society. But in a moneyless society the rules of a money-driven society do not apply anymore. You cannot predict behaviour patterns in a moneyless society by the rules of a money-driven society. In the usual money-based society the individual has the right to do whatever he wants with his financial resources. He sees everything through the perspective of its price. And if he has enough money, why not afford something which makes life more convenient or nice? And if something is cheap or free of charge, why bother about it? In this attitude the typical individual is fully justified in a money-based state of life.

But if we try to install a moneyless society around the world, then this attitude of course has to change, and will change. Once it is clear that electricity, water or food is a common commodity, which is free for all, but which has a cost for the community, then the justification for a non-caring attitude is gone. Today the fact that somebody pays for his electricity gives him the right to use it as he wants. Nobody can say anything, and he may feel himself fully justified in using it carelessly, or with care. This attitude of a money-based approach is of course stillexists within today’s society, since we still have a money-based society. But once we no longer have it, this attitude will change. Even the richest of the rich then won’t be able to treat the common commodities carelessly anymore, because they will no longer be “his electricity”, “his water”, “his food”, etc, that he is using. He will use a collective value and be forced to cherish it. There may be people who won’t like it that their electricity or water or food comes free, because it takes away their justification to use it as they like. Responsibility for the collective is inevitable in a collective based economy.

We therefore do not think that individuals will start wasting common commodities with indifference once he or she no longer feels any personal financial disadvantage in doing so. Some people may claim that a person will leave their light on when they leave the house, their windows open with air conditioners running, etc, once electricity is free. Such a claim can only be based on the assumption that the average-person is a careless, unconscious person who is not interested in anything but their own personal advantage. We do not think that this is true.

.Attempts to install a money-less approach within a money-driven society cannot work. As long as the basic thought and behaviour pattern is still money-based, you cannot expect a consciousness to come up. The basic idea of a money-less economy is that the motivation to work, to care, to make an effort, does not originate from a desire for money. If we want to install a money-less economy on a money-based consciousness we will fail.

Profit From Others Misery

That abomination known as incarceration, otherwise known as unnecessary torture, is still rising in the US. There, 2.2 million are in jails, greater even than in that 'communist' country, China, that has 1.6 million incarcerated. State spending on jails has soared from $16.9 billion in 1990 to $51.9 billion in 2013. 40,900 were jailed for drug crimes in 1980, by 2013 the number was 489,000. The black population in the country is thirteen per cent but they make up 38% of the prisoners. Obviously there is a plan to incarcerate as many as possible and someone is making a lot of money out of it. Profit from the misery of others!. John Ayers.

The Rich Do Better.

 "It should shock no one that in the matter of access to health care, even to the organs in other people's bodies, the wealthy and well-connected...are different from the rest of us.' The rich do better', Dr, Arthur Caplan, head of bioethics at New York University Medical Centre, told the Star (May 23). 'I don't know that that's a headline, but it's nonetheless true. Right down to the homeless, health care is a tiered system. John Ayers.

Action Man (video)

No More Empty Promises

“Accumulate, accumulate! That is Moses and the prophets!” - Marx

Capitalism has now become a threat to life on Earth. The system’s need for infinite growth and the finite resources of Earth stand in contradiction to each other. Successful capitalism means growth which means that on the one hand nature is treated as a resource to be exploited ruthlessly, and on the other, toxic waste is dumped. The capitalist class appoint economists, rather than environmental scientists to advise them on the ecological crisis. What these economists do not appear to realise is that, while starting from the assumption that the ecological crisis can be solved within the capitalist system, their calculations, which show the required costs would be unsustainable, prove the opposite, namely that this environmental  crisis cannot be solved within capitalist relations of production. It is clear that the demands of the capitalist system, namely profits via cheap energy are being followed in preference to any strategy which could ensure the long term survival of life on the planet, the exact opposite of what rationality should dictate. The capitalist system requires continuous accumulation of capital. If capitals do not accumulate they will collapse, and there is therefore a general struggle for accumulation of capital, which means growth and expansion of markets, throughout the entire system. This drive for accumulation is derived from the internal functioning of the system and cannot be avoided. Capitalism has to “expand or die”, which is why all countries measure their success in terms of economic growth. The forces propelling this drive come from the workings of the capitalist system itself, not from the immorality of the capitalist class. Consequently the attempts of environmentalists to persuade the capitalist class to “wake up” and to adopt a zero growth economy, reflect a failure to understand capitalism, and are therefore futile.

Capitalism is a productive system which produces for profit not for human needs. Only when the ecological problems start to affect profits will capitalists start to treat them seriously. This will occur when the ecological reserves have been used up and by then it will be too late to do anything about it. Regarding climate change, the problem isn’t “industrial civilization” as such. It is its particular form known as capitalism, which stands in an inherently incompatable to livable ecology. The capitalist system at its root is all about the growth, accumulation and is exploitation-addicted world system, with its anarchic and atomized decision-making, incapable of democratically planning for the common good. Capitalism is inseparable from the compulsion to indiscriminate growth that drives consumerism which is inimical to collective values and insensitive to the environment. As a social system based on private ownership of production it can’t support the kind of planning that could avert environmental catastrophe. The owners of capital are fragmented and compelled by competition to look after their own interests first, and any serious planning would have to override property rights — an action that would be opposed by vested interests.

Ecological harmony and a sustainable environment are essential to the continued existence of humanity. Humanity is the only species that has developed the ability to alter its environment. Under capitalism, these alterations have been at once beneficial and harmful. While human beings marvel at the latest technological innovations and feats of engineering, we also lay waste to whole sections of the earth. In the name of capitalism and the drive for the highest possible profits, we have threatened the very ecological balance that created us. The Socialist Party believes in using all the technology and knowledge available to us to undo as much of the damage humanity has done to the planet we all share, in addition to improving on and creating new ways to rebuild our natural world. Once we can eliminate the profit motive, the door is open to rational use of natural resources for the first time in human history. How we make use of such resources will naturally be informed by our understanding that reason governs the outcome and not quarterly earnings returns to the boards of corporations. Naomi Klein is correct when she writes “We are stuck because the actions that would give us the best chance of averting catastrophe – and would benefit the vast majority – are extremely threatening to an elite minority that has a stranglehold over economy, our political process, and most of our major media outlets”

The really “inconvenient truth” (as one of the Socialist Party’s pamphlets on the environment is titled) is that the problem is capitalism, itself.  It is not merely the Friedman free-market vulture capitalism but also the he Keynsian “regulated” and “welfare state” capitalism. Any form of capitalism is the recipe for disaster and catastrophe, for the profit system lays at the base of all the “Doomsday” scenarios. Understanding and going beyond capitalism is essential for averting the ecological apocalypse that we are heading towards. The disharmony with nature and all the other social evils and ills of so-called modern-day society are intimately interwoven and interrelated with the capitalist economic system. All our struggles for justice around the world—for equality, the right to food, economic fairness, human rights, decent work, environmental protection and more – are interconnected and all are tied up. The real problem we face are not the important but nevertheless innumerable superficial matters but the vital radical reconstruction of society itself. We need to replace capitalism and repair the world with socialism. Nothing less than the transformation of our society, our economy, and our world will suffice to solve the climate crisis. All around the world we are seeing the effects of the climate crisis. But all around the world we are seeing an unprecedented movement of people calling for urgent and concrete action to protect people and our planet. It's good to see the environmental movement catching up with the idea that truly addressing climate change will real attention to the root causes of the crisis - capitalism. We must send a clear message that our demand is for people power. We have to be much more real, much bolder, and much more determined to make it happen. It is all about people, and our capacity as humanity to secure safe and dignified lives for all with solutions based in a vision of the world that recognizes the need to live in harmony with nature, and to guarantee the fulfillment of all human needs. The balance of power is changing across the world, because people across the world are prepared to fight to protect their homes, their right to food, and their right to a decent job.

The World Socialist Movement acts as a catalyst for those who possess this shared vision for a better future. We need a broad deep movement of solidarity and action, with electoral commitment but also a focus on the effective exercise of popular power in other ways. Electoral efforts will emerge from wider forms of popular organizing as the outgrowth of people power.

Capitalism Lampooned

With all the gloom and doom around, it's nice to report some good news – the meteoric rise of comedienne Amy Schumer, who, in a word, can be described as refreshing. Though no subject is too sacred for the adventurous satirist, the area she specialises in is gender politics. Her recent lampooning of rape culture was both hilarious and to the point. As one scribe said, "Her comments are funny and horrific at the same time, mostly because they have a ring of truth." Though we know nothing of her political views, it's good to see the effects of capitalism lampooned in such a devastating way. John Ayers.

Money Counts People Don't

On May 1, Canada and the US announced a ten year plan to phase out trains like the one used in the Lac- Megantic disaster in Quebec. It set a series of deadlines by which different models need to be retro-fitted. By 2020 all types of cars carrying crude oil will have to have new shells, head shields and thermal protection. To quote the Transport Minister, I know the safety measures we have outlined today will not be easy and, quite frankly, they will not be cheap, but the financial losses and the costs of cleaning up after such events as Lac-Megantic will in the long run be more burdensome." In other words, it costs less to improve safety features than have a derailment. The minister said nothing about the loss of people who died in that and other disasters. Money counts, people do not. John Ayers.

Class Contrasts

The New York Times reported that the sale of a Picasso painting for $179 million is a reflection on inequality. The soaring price for art over the last generation shows the growing number of people with vast amounts of money for such things is producing a competitive market that drives prices ever upward. It begs the question, where is all the money coming from. While billions struggle with poverty and deprivation of vital needs the world over, including in the 'rich world', they are eclipsed by the incomes of the top 0.1 per cent, and, as the article says, "And the kind of people who can comfortably afford to pay a nine-figure sum for a Picasso, the top 0.001 per cent, say, are doing still better than that." What a crazy system where children die of malnutrition and the rich can fork out millions for a painting! John Ayers.

Freeing Ourselve

“enough for everyone and time for what we will.”

Slavery existed long before capitalism. Today the vast majority of people are employees, "wage earners," at least the vast majority of those who can find a job at all. Wage slavery is the predominate form of oppression today. Workers are forced to sell themselves (actually, their labour power) in order to survive. Rather than being owned, and provided for in some fashion. A typical wage slave’s day is eight hours of wage slavery, eight hours of free time to eat, relax and watch TV, and eight hours for sleep, in order to regenerate for the next day of wage slavery. Everything we need to live our daily lives has to be paid for. Water, gas, electricity, housing, transport, food and clothing – the principle is the same: if you can’t pay, you can’t have. No one likes being in a condition of slavery. It’s understandable that slaves either identify with their master or deny that they are slaves. Slavery has never lacked for defenders, and wage slavery is no exception. One after another they appear, selling their services to the plutocracy, presenting arguments in defence of capitalism, or in attempted refutation of Socialism. They have been hailed as new prophets, as the saviors of the capitalist slave system.  The ineffectiveness of their defence of wage slavery, has changed little since Marx's time.

Marx should be acknowledged as the most dominant thinker affecting the way political economists think about world poverty and mass powerlessness over the last two centuries. Marx cannot be faulted in his analysis of why a market economy in the modern world contains the seeds of its own destruction, assuming that the ownership of the means of production remained concentrated in too few hands and workers had only their labour to sell in direct competition with labour-displacing technology or with workers willing to work for lower wages. Whether the bosses are state-officials or CEOs, the paid hirelings of a small ownership elite, the worker ends up being a wage-slave. Even unions, if they confine themselves to obtaining higher wages do nothing to empower the worker or gain real liberty and justice. The worker may be well paid, but in the end he is still simply a wage-slave who gets more than the other wage-slaves. Instead of fighting for an end to the system of wage slavery, reformists prop it up by sowing illusions in the advantages that come from a higher wage. Rather than fight to free workers from exploitation by the ruling classes and oppression by their state, the reformist “socialists” seek to transform the capitalists’ state into an institution that “works for the people.” They may litter their speeches with appeals for “socialism,” and “revolution but the radical rhetoric and wishful thinking cannot measure up against what these phony socialists” end up doing in the real world. It would be both dishonest and unprincipled to portray reformism as something “revolutionary.” Wage slavery and exploitation have not ceased to be at the heart and root of capitalism. Today there seems to be no challenge to this system.

In Wages, Price and Profit, Marx talks about ‘that false and superficial radicalism that accepts premises and tries to evade conclusions’. He goes on: ‘To clamour for equal or even equitable retribution on the basis of the wages system is the same as to clamour for freedom on the basis of the slavery system. What you think just or equitable is out of the question. The question is: What is necessary and unavoidable with a given system of production?’ Later on he says: ‘Instead of the conservative motto, “A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work!” [or any other dream of a cooperative and crisis free capitalism] workers ought to inscribe on their banner the revolutionary watchword, “Abolition of the wages system!” Marx’s point is completely valid. How can there be justice when the system is built on and exists on the injustice of exploitation?

In the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels explained:

“The modern labourer… instead of rising with the progress of industry, sinks deeper and deeper below the conditions of existence of his own class. He becomes a pauper (i.e. beggar), and pauperism develops more rapidly than population and wealth…. (The bourgeoisie) is unfit to rule because it is incompetent to assure an existence to its slave within his slavery (as a slave to his/her job – a wage slave), because it cannot help letting him sink into such a state, that it has to feed him, instead of being fed by him. Society can no longer live under this bourgeoisie; in other words, its existence is no longer compatible with society.”

What could be more true today?

The apologists for capitalism portray it as the “natural” state of affairs arguing “it’s always been like this, and it always will be”. But they’re wrong. Early human societies were communal: they weren’t divided into rich and poor and they shared property instead of having to buy and sell the things they needed. After this, human history has been a succession of different class societies: different systems of the rich exploiting the poor. We get the slavery of Ancient Greece and Rome, then the feudal system of barons and serfs, and then we get capitalism. Under capitalism the vast majority of the world’s population is systematically deprived of any way of supporting itself other than working for an employer. An economic system that cannot hush the wails of hungry children isn't worth a damn. Wage slavery is more about living an inhuman life an exploitative system to survive. We don't have freedom to choose our values. We must choose those values that help us to make money. We can’t ensure a safe environment for our loved ones. We can't protect them from exploitation or pollution,

Where do profits come from? It is argued that it comes from buying cheap and selling dear - “marking up” the price. But if all capitalists systematically charged too much for the things they sell there would be spiraling inflation and the system would collapse. No, the real source of profit is the labour of all the people who work for a living. The harder the workers work, and the lower the wages they get paid, the bigger the share dividend. Would you help to abolish crime, disease and despair from the world? Then abolish poverty which is the cause. Would you abolish poverty? Then assist us in abolishing the wages system, the cause of poverty. So long as society maintains the present system of wage slavery, there can be no relief except through the united effort of the whole working class in ending it. Socialists recognise the system for what it is – vicious, brutal, built on the exploitation of workers and interested in only one thing – profit, profit and more profit.

Class-struggle must not limit itself to narrow “bread-and-butter” economic demands. We only have one life and people should rather spend it enjoying themselves instead of being wage slaves. It’s as simple as that. Socialism would end wage slavery and give the means of production back to people for use and not for profit. Socialism is what people truly need and deserve. We can build a sharing economy and give each other the means to make our own way in this world with dignity. We can do it together. We can balance the needs of the planet and human needs. Our fight is to organise as a clear conscious force, a class for itself, to break capitalist state power, abolish wage slavery and establish a comprehensive, democratic self-rule throughout society. Capitalism holds no future for the human race other than the destruction of the environment, mass poverty and unemployment, disease and war. Capitalism’s not natural, it’s not fair and it’s not permanent. It will produce either socialism or barbarism. Which will it be? The answer is in a co-operative commonwealth. Cooperative labour and association shall take the place of the wage system with its class rule.  The instruments of production must cease to be the monopoly of a class -- they must be the common property of all. There shall be no more exploiter or exploited. Production and distribution of the produce must be administered in the interest of the whole. Our end is a society of associative labour. The welfare of all is for us the one end of society. We seek justice and fight injustice. We seek free labour and attack wage slavery. We seek the prosperity of all and struggle against misery. A Utopia? No. It’s a necessity.

The Socialist Party is united upon one issue: No More Wage Slavery! 

A SOCIAList PARTY

"Glasgow branch held another big meeting at the Central Halls, Glasgow, on Sunday evening, March 8th. Com. Higgins was the speaker, and reports indicate that the Branch's efforts to ensure a good attendance, literature sales, etc., were rewarded with success. 

Perhaps the high-light of Glasgow branch's activity during March was their annual dance, which took place at the New Astoria Ballroom, Sauchiehall Street, on March 12th. Over 750 friends and sympathisers enjoyed themselves at the dance."

From the April 1942 issue of the Socialist Standard

Free Access For All

On May 1, Social Services Minister, Helena Jaczek, apologized and admitted that case workers had not been properly trained in how to use the province's new problem-ridden welfare caseload software. This meant that many case workers have been unable to do their jobs. A new retraining program has been suggested. We would suggest scrapping the welfare system in favour of free access for all, John Ayers.

Indentured Servitude

Many young people from Spain, Greece, and Italy went to Germany to seek work after the financial crisis of 2008. They received lower pay than their German counterparts and worked longer hours, even though they were better qualified in some cases. Some tried to quit but were locked into contracts that demanded they pay off language lessons and accommodation provided by the employer. (a tactic as old as the hills in capitalism). There are cases where up to US$12,000 was demanded after employees left their jobs early. It's a modern version of indentured servitude, better known as slavery. Taken with the above point re nail workers, it is easy to see that we are losing many gains won in the past century. Another reason why we want revolution, not reform. John Ayers.

The Price Of Nails

 In "The Hidden Price of Nails" (New York Times, May 17) we are told that in the 17,000 nail salons in the US, exploitation of workers, mostly young Asian and Hispanic women, is rampant. Picked up in battered Ford Econoline vans they are ferried to the salons for ten to twelve-hour shifts. For this they carry their own tools and pay $100 to the salon owner for the privilege of having a job. Interviewing one hundred and fifty nail salon workers, the NYT learned that most are paid below minimum wage, routinely lose their tips for minor infractions, and are often subjected to physical abuse, to say nothing of the cancer risk and serious health problems due to the toxic nature of the products they use. Third world conditions are alive and well in North America and will become more and more common as capital puts the squeeze on workers to increase its returns. John Ayers.

The Changing War Story

Is there any wonder why there is perpetual war in the world? The New York Times (April 26) that "US arms sales fuel the wars of the Arab states'. Saudi Arabia is using Boeing's F-15 fighter jets to bomb Yemen, United Emirates' fighter pilots are flying Lockheed Martin' F-16s to bomb Yemen and Syria and want to use Predator drones for spying missions. Middle Eastern countries that have stockpiled American military hardware are now using it and wanting more. The result is a boom for American defence contractors And the fuelling of a new arms race in the region. The long time ban on selling certain types of weapons that could be sold to the Arab nations to ensure that Israel maintains its military advantage, is being lifted, at least partially, as those Arab nations fighting ISIS are now seen as allies. Alliances may change, countries can be redrawn but the profit motive carries on unabated. John Ayers.

We Can Build A New World

Neither Marx nor Engels ever drew up any blueprints of the society of the future. At most they deduced certain general features of socialism by inference from the opposite. They assumed, expressly or implicitly, that economic phenomena which they saw as being peculiar to capitalism would vanish with capitalism or would not, at any rate, survive into the age of fully-fledged socialism. Wages, profit and rent represented such social relationships, peculiar to capitalism and unthinkable in socialism. The same was true of the modern division of labour, especially the separation of brain work from manual labour; and, last but not least, of competition. To the reform-minded socialist ideas of the future have always seemed either too unreal or too remote to be taken very seriously so these  reformists have tried to find a compromise between capitalism and socialism; and they have tended to project that compromise on to the future. So in general, the writers and speakers of the working-class can come up with only the most general notions of what socialism will look like, such goals as planned production for human need, distribution of the social product on an equitable basis, protection of the environment, etc. Within these general guidelines, everything else will be determined by conditions inherited from the past and by the political will and intelligence of the revolutionary movement. We will advance as we walk…

The Socialist Party is unlike any other political party. We believe that a new society must be organised and built that can serve the interests of the true majority. We as a party seek to develop a new vision for the future of the world in which we live. The Socialist Party works for a world without war, without poverty, without discrimination or chauvinism, without fear and desperation. We are committed to raising the hard questions that none of the other parties wish to raise and we are committed to giving real answers, and offering real solutions. We are committed to real change. The classless society is a free association of producers. Everybody will contribute according to their ability and take according to need. Real human history begins at this point, and society leaves behind the era of scarcity. The Socialist Party is a party of principle. With us, there are no hidden agendas and no secret deals. As well, our principles are non-negotiable; we will not give up our vision for a better world for the sake of votes. When you vote for the Socialist Party, what you see is what you get. For us, democracy is the right and power of the people to determine their own destiny. Democratic control of production is the heart of the new society. Community control of neighborhoods, cities and society goes hand-in-hand with control of production. The exercise of community control — over everything from education and housing to municipal services and infrastructure repair — would bring democratic practice and accountability into every home, every neighborhood and every community. We Socialists commit ourselves to seeking to empower all levels of society.

The Socialist Party is committed to promoting solidarity and united action among the working people of the world in support of their common interests. In conjunction with this, the Socialist Party is committed to building a peaceful world for this and all future generations. We understand that, while the capitalists are the ones who get us into wars, working people — on both sides — are the ones who have to fight them. As long as capitalism continues to commit us and our brothers and sisters to fight in wars, it is the main enemy of all working people. Thus, the Socialist Party seeks to unite with working people in all countries to bring lasting peace to the world through the socialist transformation of society.

The job of Socialist Party members is to actively and creatively inject the idea of socialism into every debate, giving working people confidence that to achieve socialism is a winnable fight. It is argued that socialism is a proven failure and can never work because it goes against human nature so we need to demystify socialism. Explain it in a way that it just makes common sense. So more and more people will begin to think about socialism. Remember: If it does not fit this description, it is not socialism—no matter who says different. Those who claim that socialism existed and failed in places like Russia and China simply do not know the facts. Socialism will be a society in which the things we need to live, work and control our own lives—the industries, services and natural resources—are owned in common by all the people, and in which the democratic organisation of the people means that “government” of the people, for the people and by the people will become a reality for the first time. Socialism is that social system under which the necessaries of production are owned, controlled and administered by the people and under which, accordingly, the cause of political and economic despotism having been abolished, class rule is at end. That is socialism, nothing short and nothing more than that.

In 1882 Engels gave his support to Guesde and the left-wing minority when they walked out of the French Workers Party, which split into a Guesdist and a "possibilist," i.e., reformist, party. "If, like the possibilists, you created a party without a programme, which anyone can join, then it isn't a party any more," Engels argued. "To be for a moment in a minority with a correct programme . . . is still better than to have a big but thereby almost nominal semblance of a following."

The only goal of capitalism is to make a profit. Capitalism creates problems for society — Socialism solves problems. Socialism is about meeting the needs of the people — all of the people. Socialism solves the problems capitalism creates. To the socialist the answers are simple — end capitalism. Socialism is hope, the greatest hope for humanity. Socialism is a society where mankind is liberated from chains of exploitation and alienation. If we struggle for the new society then it must really be new. The liberation of working class must be done by itself. It is expected to be done by it and only by it because if socialist revolution is fundamental change of one society with another, if it means that the class of owners who ruled for centuries have to disappear economically, it is impossible to reach this aim only with activity of political organization, no matter how well organised, mass and supported it is. It is said that new society is in the interest of great majority of people. If this society is to come, this majority have to understand and accept it as its interest and ideal. The substance of socialism is that there is not a group of people who will be in position to hold the power and exclude all others from exercising democracy. As Rosa Luxemburg said: "There is no socialism without democracy and there is no democracy without socialism".

The capitalist system cannot be overcome by persuading capitalists to be more reasonable or by electing “better” politicians to office. It can be done away with only by replacing capitalism with a socialist system of collectively owned and democratically planned production. A fully socialist organisation of society will be a worldwide social system.

When People Start To Think.

The Toronto Star of May 2, had two articles about leaders, one about a school for leaders, and one about new leaders for the Upper Canada Law Society. Furthermore, we have recently heard a lot about leaders re the UK election and we expect a lot more as Canada goes to the polls in the Fall. The moment somebody says they need a leader, it is an admission they cannot think for themselves, so they elect someone to do it for them. Then, as that leader fails to deliver on promises, they go looking for the next leader. When people start to think for themselves, they will realize they do not need leaders and can make their own decisions and can administer a truly democratic society. It will be a society where (in the words of W.S. Gilbert) 'everyone is somebody and no one is anybody. John Ayers.

The immigration Issue

Migration is but yet another symptom of the bankruptcy of capitalism, yet another contradiction that cannot be solved on a capitalist basis. The only way to solve this, like all the other issues, is the socialist transformation of society which would remove the need for migration. The answer to people fleeing conflict, deprivation and brutal regimes is to remove the root causes of such nastiness—minority ownership and control of productive resources which generates rivalry for the upper hand, and restricts provision of, and access to, goods and services according to available profits and ability to pay. It is this exclusive possession and control of resources that also divides the world into separate competing countries and blocs, and the need for associated borders to prevent others from attempting to acquire these valuable assets by armed force, subversion or, in the case of migrants during economic downturns, "excess" demand (i.e., too many unemployed and unemployable people burdening state finances). And since these means of production responsible are possessed and run by ruling classes in all countries worldwide, worldwide socialism is the only solution. Then we will be able to truly live in peace, and all our brothers and sisters, wherever they may be in the world will be able to make a positive and meaningful contribution to the world we all live in and live as one, free from the exploitation and the barbarity that so blights the lives of so many of our fellow human beings at the present time.

When asylum seekers – children, women and men who have to flee their homes and families and make the hazardous and often outright dangerous journey across the globe – arrive in this state, their ordeal is far from over. Rather than being given the opportunity to rebuild their lives, they are often isolated from society. We live in a period in history where war and conflict are a more permanent feature affecting a huge proportion of the world population as never before.  Millions of people are displaced from their homes because of this, those who make it onto these shores should be guaranteed the opportunity to rebuild their lives. People want to move to improve their family’s finances, escape poverty or flee from war and persecution. In the same way, British people choose to live and work abroad, either where the money is, or to retire and where their meagre pensions go further.  Would those who want to restrict migration into Britain also want to stop British people moving abroad?

The legal system has always reflected the class interests of the ruling class, and indeed the need for laws reflects the tensions between the classes. Socialists support campaigns to reform oppressive laws, such as the Asylum Act, whilst pointing out these are preliminary skirmishes in the war to overthrow the rule of the capitalist class. Immigration law has always been determined by the requirements of the capitalist economy. Initially the needs of the British capitalists for extra labour in their expanding industries was supplied by dragging the rural poor to the growing towns, and then from their oldest and nearest colony, Ireland. We oppose the capitalists’ immigration laws for many of the same reasons the capitalists support them. Our interest are opposite. Most people who try to come to Britain are refugees from terror or economic migrants escaping poverty at home. They are mainly working people, and they will strengthen our class here. They will strengthen our links with workers and socialist parties in such places as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Caribbean. The capitalists oppose their entry because they are poor, and if they don’t require the extra labour see them only as a drain on their economy.

If all of the world’s refugees were to form one independent country, it would be the 24th largest, just behind Italy and ahead of South Africa. Capitalism produces unmanageable waste, human included. The reserve army of labor has long been filled, and so the remaining population is superfluous. Precarious, low-wage labor is the international norm, even increasingly so in the industrial north, where social-democratic protections are under steady assault. Nonetheless, conditions remain superior enough in these countries to attract millions of migrants each year. Some migrants wind up in camps that are essentially prisons, often for protracted periods.

In Dabaab, Kenya, there are three migrant towns operated by UNHCR, primarily housing refugees from the Somali Civil War. There are currently about 450,000 people in an area originally designed to handle only 90,000, and some have been there since the formation of the settlement in 1991. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 3.7 million refugees, with most coming from Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. The catalyst for these migrations is the growing instability of African states amidst civil war and regional sectarian conflicts, and the concomitant proliferation of terrorist organizations throughout the region.

France has closed the border near Ventimiglia, prompting Italian police to forcibly close a camp of mostly Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees. The Italian state is desperate for help from its European partners to absorb the flow, as some 57,000 displaced people have landed in the country so far this year. For its part, France has played a particularly disgusting role in this saga, which is hardly surprising given its recent history of treatment of minority communities within its borders. This is the land of the burka ban, where Nicolas Sarkozy rose to power on promises to hose the scum (“les racailles”) out of the streets of the suburban ghettos, and both he and his Socialist successor, Francois Hollande, forcibly expelled Roma communities in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Likewise, the French government has broken down several makeshift camps in recent years in the port city of Calais, and Human Rights Watch has documented widespread police abuse and harassment of migrants living there. Reports include unprovoked beatings and deployment of pepper-spray, even on people obeying orders. Volunteers have found evidence of physical abuse, including scars and broken bones, which victims claim were inflicted by French authorities.

The Socialist Party opposes the prejudiced populist attacks on asylum-seekers. The Socialist Party supports the rights of workers to be able to move freely around the world. We condemn and oppose the entire reactionary framework of ‘border controls’ and anti-immigrant legislation. The scapegoating of asylum seekers is rooted in the exploitation of nationalism for short term political ends. This politicking plays into genuine fears people hold for their own future and anger at a system that doesn’t work for them. The growing gap between rich and poor is being felt by many and they are looking for someone to blame. Socialists point people away from blaming those who are themselves victims of a rotten system and towards genuine solutions.

 In arguing for the right of complete freedom of movement for all people we must remember that ultimately it is capitalism which has created emigration system which often threats those who suffer its worst abuses as little better than animals. This is why the fight for refugee rights needs to go beyond simple appeals to people’s humanity and generosity. The strongest argument as to why people should support rights of migrants is because it is in their interest to do so. The Socialist Party will challenge workers who cannot see beyond the existing divisions of the world, and who believe in measures against labour from other countries. Marxists will continue to press for socialist internationalism. Workers of the world unite in the fight for world socialism!