Life Under Capitalism

An analysis of U.S. government data, recently reported in the New York Times, shows that the wage gap between coal executives and the average coal worker has increased considerably.

There was a 60% raise in pay for the former, but an 11% raise for the latter from 2004 to 2016. There were 2.5% unionized coal mining jobs in 2016 compared with 40% two decades ago. The hourly wage for coal miners in Pennsylvania is $17, which is temporary and without benefits.

Seems pretty gloomy, doesn't it? But that's life under capitalism, chum, prosperity yesterday, poverty today. 

So there it is folks, things ain't getting better, are they?

 Steve and John.

The Future Belongs to the People

“What is it you want?” is one of the most frequent questions directed at the Socialist Party (a name which should shock no one as it only means all those who profess anarchist principles and work for their realisation) We respond, no private property, no privilege, no difference in status, no coercive government.  We seek a free community.

No serious-minded person would venture to predict exactly how the Revolution will come about. Revolution is not the act of a few persons; it does not take place according to a preconceived plan but is produced by circumstances which no individual can command. We do not, therefore, intend to draw up a blueprint for the future revolution. It has been claimed that the revolution can’t be hastened by a single second. However, mankind is always the agent, the principal actor of social transformations. History is made by people: the more conscious they are of their goals, and the more conscious individuals there are, that much more certain and rapid is the march of progress.

The character of the revolution must at first be negative, destructive. Instead of modifying certain institutions of the past, or adapting them to a new order, it will do away with them altogether. Therefore, capitalism will be overthrown and the government will be uprooted, along with all their subservient institutions. But the same time the Revolution is also positive in that the workers take possession of all the means of production and distribution. It is evident that collective labour is imposed by the very nature of the work and, since the tools of labour are no longer simple individual tools but machines that must be tended by many workers, the machines must also be collectively owned. Each workshop, each factory, will re- -organse itself into an association of workers who will be free to administer production and organise their work as they think best. Will these enterprises belong to all the workers in each factory, or will they belong to society as a whole? Workers in revolt don’t have to ask permission of anyone to take over factories, workshops, stores and houses and to install themselves there. It is just that this is barely a beginning of taking possession, a preliminary. If each group of workers, having taken holds of a part of capital or wealth, wanted to remain absolute master to the exclusion of others, if a group wanted to live on the wealth taken hold of and refused to work and come to an agreement with the others for the organization of labour, we would have, under another name or for the benefit of others, the continuation of the current regime. The original taking of possession can thus only be provisional: wealth will only truly be placed in common when everyone works, when production will have been organised in the common interest. Unlike some who promote syndicalism or cooperatives we claim that all will be the property of all.

But when we say that ownership of the factory itself, should be with the community, we do not mean that the workers will be ruled by any kind of government having the power to do what it pleases with the tools of production. No, the workers in the various factories have not the slightest intention of handing over their hard-won control of the tools of production to a superior power. What they will do is, under certain specified conditions, to guarantee reciprocal use of their tools of production and accord to their fellow workers in other factories the right to share their facilities, receiving in return the same right to share the facilities of the fellow workers with whom they have contracted the pact of solidarity. Social organization cannot be restricted to the local commune or the local federation of producers’ groups. We will see how social organization is expanded and completed, on the one hand by the establishment of regional federations.The revolution cannot be confined to a single country: it is obliged under pain of annihilation, to spread to the whole world. It goes without saying that artificial frontiers created by the present social system will be swept away by the Revolution. Districts and regions will freely unite and organise themselves in accordance with their economic interests, their language affinities, and their geographic circumstances. This will not be a rupture of unity and a return to the old fragmentation of petty, isolated, and warring political states. These diverse federations of communes, while maintaining their identity, will not be isolated. United by their intertwining interests, they will conclude a pact of solidarity, and this voluntary unity founded on common aims and common needs, on a constant exchange of informal, friendly contacts, will be much more intimate and much stronger than the artificial political centralization imposed by violence and having no other motive than the exploitation of peoples for the profit of privileged classes.

 In an association, workers will reciprocally commit to a certain number of hours of labour, in another to accomplish in a given amount of time a given task. We possess, even today, sufficient means of production to satisfy all reasonable needs, i.e., to provide a well-being to all greater than that of the average of the capitalist class of today. But all this well-being must be created by labour, by the transformation of industry and technology. There will no longer be, as is the case today, men and women condemned to long days of toil and drudgery, to stupefying fatigue. People will pass from one job to another, from manual labor to study to artistic recreation. But in working, in studying, in cultivating the fine arts, etc, the purpose will always to be useful to others. Work is life and also the tie that unites men in society. There must be solidarity in labour in order for society to function properly.

The revolution we conceive of can only be made by and for the people, without any false representatives. The success of the revolution lies in the immediate organization of the working class. The Socialist Party contributes to the revolutionary orientation of working class organizations in that we caution against power and activity is concentrated in the hands of a few leaders and where “followers” are called upon only to pay their dues and obey orders. We show the drawbacks on democracy, the ease of betrayal or abandonment of principles by chiefs, the rivalries for office, the internal discords, and intrigues that can come from such. The workers have no need of leaders: they are quite capable of delegating one of their own with a particular task, as long as they are on their guard with proper procedures such as the right of recall.

The Socialist Party seeks expand the goal of the workers and their associations. Instead of thinking of its own self-interests, fellow workers must fraternise, practice solidarity on a vast scale. It is in the interest of the better-treated workers to take the cause of the less-favoured workers and the unemployed in their hands. Assisting the latter to improve their situation is the most certain, if not the only means of durably improving their own lot. For their part the unemployed workers should not stand in the way of the demands of those workers in a better situation. By making it understood that it is in the interests of every category of workers to support the demands of all other categories we will reveal to the workers their true strength. The employing class must know that it has against it, not detached and divided groups, but all workers and that every strike is necessarily the signal for the general mobilisation of the working class. It must know that the workers place the general interest above every particular interest, and above all questions of wage and work they aim for total emancipation, at doing without bosses and exploiters. The Socialist Party is intent upon teaching workers the need to learn from each other, to build a true solidarity that has as its basis common aspirations and a community of ideas. It is only through this that workers unite, even if they don’t have the same organisation. The sacrifices demanded by the struggle against the bosses can only be carried out by men and women with convictions. A person with convictions will never betray his or her own kind. There is thus a too-neglected real force for the working class in the propaganda of principles. The existing associations pay too much attention to immediate self-interests, and too little to principles. And it is principles that truly assure the triumph of trampled upon interests. It is necessary that in each association there be a means of agitating the great social questions, that all ideas be discussed, that the workers be intellectually prepared for the task incumbent upon them: that of renewing society.

When our fellow-workers demand improvement in conditions, pay rises, reductions in working hours; when they go on strike to defend their dignity or to affirm their solidarity with another mistreated by bosses, we have to say to them that none of this resolves the question. We must profit from the occasion to preach more widely and effectively the need for the revolution for the abolition of private property and the profit system. We must do everything possible to widen and generalise the movement and give it a revolutionary character. But above all, we must be with the workers, support and struggle along with them. To turn away from the movement would mean appearing to be friends of the ruling class, rendering our ideas and persons unsympathetic to our fellow-workers and consequently renouncing the people indispensable for making the revolution. If the outcome of strikes are partial, transitory, or even disastrous, that doesn’t change the fact that every strike is an act of dignity, an act of revolt, and serves to get workers used to thinking of the boss as an enemy and to fight for what he wants without waiting for permission from on high. A striker is already no longer a slave who bows to the boss: he or she is already a rebel, engaged on the path toward revolution and socialism.

It is up to the Socialist Party to speed the advance along that road. This then the objective of the socialists: the social revolution as the immediate goal, agitation among the working class as principal means to attain it. We want to dedicate ourselves to the cause of the social revolution. Our strength is presently limited; we know we can increase it with through mutual aid and solidarity. Wanting the revolution, and wanting it completely and seriously, we will choose the means that seem most apt to bring it closer. We want to dedicate our organisation to the cause of the social revolution. We think that the moment has come to take from the hands of the reformists and left-wing politicians the heritage of the working class movement. Everyone now knows that partial palliatives and ameliorations are worth nothing. 

There is no lesser evil

FOR REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE

“Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.” - 17th-century Spanish philosopher Baltasar Gracián y Morales

There is a recognisable political cycle. We have been through it before, over and over again. It is the cycle of lesser evil.  For instance, it is argued, isn’t it worthwhile just to reduce (just for the sake of debate, remember) the probability of an increased attack on welfare benefits to get Corbyn into office so to ward off a greater evil. But once in office, Corbyn comes under irresistible pressure from his capitalist masters to break his “populist” promises, to disappoint, disillusion and betray the working people who placed their trust and hope in him. Some supporters sink back into apathy and despair, while others fall prey to the populist-type backlash. These reactions give the Tories their chance to return to political power. Those who support the lesser evil play an essential role in constantly reproducing the cycle. They share the responsibility for its persistence. Support for the lesser evil also entails support – indirect and delayed, but support nonetheless – for the greater evil. The outcome of the General Election carries one truth: namely that whichever party assumes office, it has but one remit once in office – to further the interests of the UK's corporate elite. It’s just not a feasible option for any newly elected prime minister to entertain any idea other than guaranteeing a safe playing field for the domestic profit-machine.

Politicians knowingly market themselves to lesser evil voters by constructing phony sales pitches, making themselves look more progressive than they really are. Voting is a sacred cow. Popular slogans such as “if you don’t vote, you have no right to complain”, or “it is your duty to vote” are repeated ad nauseum. It is almost impossible to watch the news without the classic platitude from celebrities, to public intellectuals: “Whatever you do, just make sure you get out there and vote”. They ask “How do we bring the non-voters into our political process?” or “How can we engage voters?” but rarely do they question “Why are these voters not engaged” and never “Is their disengagement correct?” and “Should we join them in solidarity?” The lesser evil invariably paves the way and makes inevitable the greater evil because people cease to vote when they have been betrayed by the lesser evil. What lesser evilism is about is supping with the devil, but with a longer spoon. 

The Socialist Party is convinced that workers' cannot be defended by an adoption of the 'lesser evil', that is, a policy of concessions to and compromise with elements of capitalism. We do not unite with non-socialist organisations which claim to be defending our fellow-workers. A worker that has been robbed is like a cow that has been milked. The poor dumb animal is incapable of worrying about what becomes of the milk, but the so-called “intelligent” worker takes sides in the quarrel which goes on over that which has been taken from him. When sections of the capitalists, who exploit the working-class milch-cow squabble over their share of the surplus value, workers who line up and take sides in this quarrel are in the same position as the worker who has been robbed by thieves who then later fight over the division of the booty. It would be funny if it were not so sad and tragic to see the workers take sides, as they often do, with one gang of robbers that has plundered him as against the bunch of thieves.

No matter what the outcome of the election no matter who wins, the continued existence of capitalism is guaranteed. The problems of capitalist society have been described by journalists, novelists, historians, economists, sociologists, and even many politicians. But only socialists recognise that these problems cannot be solved until capitalism is replaced by a social system in which people throughout the world will work harmoniously together to produce and distribute wealth to satisfy society’s needs.

Where the choice is between one capitalist politician and another, the defeat comes in accepting the limitation to this choice. The lesser evil has proven wrong in practice. We are tired of being blackmailed into voting for our enemies. We should realise that voting for one crooked politician to stop another, backfires on the working class. Your vote does count in elections. It counts for capitalism. It becomes the mandate for all the actions of government over the next four years. Of two evils, choose neither. Abstention from voting, but more importantly spoiling your ballot, is a valid legitimate expression of a person’s political position. It is an opting out from the system and declares, to a degree, dissatisfaction in the system. There is nothing more dangerous for the workers than a socialist endorsing a class enemy. The idea of supporting any capitalist candidate is unspeakable. Our goal is for the working class to become conscious of itself and become a power in society. Genuine socialists understand that all political consciousness begins with the recognition of the fundamental class division: the working class versus the ruling capitalist class. Success in the class struggle demands working-class independence from all capitalist parties. The Socialist Party uses electoral campaigns to promote socialist consciousness among workers and it cautions that social change cannot be achieved by electing a capitalist candidate. But too often political activists on the Left feel a desperate need to offer a “pragmatic” electoral policy. But all they are doing is giving a “radical” cover to capitalist reformism and offering a diversion from the necessary task of making socialists.  There is no such thing when the choice is between measles and German measles. The “lesser evil” fallacy serves only to underestimate the danger of the poison you opt for.  

Too often the media appraises candidates on the basis of what they say about themselves, not by their actual deeds and real class role. For any organization claiming to be socialist to endorse a capitalist party is a shameful betrayal of principles they allegedly stand for. The reason real socialists never support candidates of capitalist parties is that there is nothing more dangerous for the workers than endorsing a class enemy. The Socialist Party seeks that fellow workers become conscious of themselves as a class and of their power in society. Genuine socialists understand that political consciousness begins with the recognition of the fundamental class division: the working class versus the ruling capitalist class. Success demands the working-class to be independence from all capitalist parties.

In the conflict between Tweedledum and Tweedledumber, our advice is to spoil the ballot paper and abstain from voting for either evil. The only way we can prevail is by offering an alternative – don’t play the game, don’t be forced into a false and hypocritical “choice”. The only way to save democracy is to expose the falsity of the choice at hand. Reformists are Judas goats, helping to lead the working class into the slaughterhouse. Well-meaning, good-intentioned reformers have nearly obliterated one of the fundamental principles of socialism, that the independent working class must create its own revolutionary party and put an end to class collaboration. A genuine working-class party would tell the truth about the system.  The Socialist Party is intent upon using the electoral arena for its long-term struggle for socialism, not to gain immediate amelioration by a reform platform of palliatives. The ruling elite uses the line of opting for the lesser of two evils as a way to divert and detour the working class into a dead-end, a way to politically disarm people and demoralize them, a way to keep the working class chained to the treadmill of capitalist politics. By not voting working people will register their rejection of pro-capitalist candidates. The enormous success of the lesser-evil political system is in getting about half the people simply not to vote and forcing those who do to vote, in favour of what they oppose.

We want an anti-capitalist party, an anti-war party, a party for the environment and mankind. We want a World Socialist Party. We must start now to build a party that will speak for the workers. We cannot wait for ‘ideal’ conditions which never come. We believe capitalism must be overthrown. Socialist revolution is the only way to end capitalism. Socialists say to our fellow workers don’t lend your support to the capitalist election circus! The solution to the lesser evil/bigger evil is to build the independent activity and consciousness of the working class. It is to unite the working class in the fight for socialism! Our job is to hasten this process, our job is to break with the idea of a ’lesser’ evil. Capitalism offers no future for any worker. There is no choice for workers on June the 8th election. Sadly, there will be no genuine socialist party to offer a real alternative. Until we form a mass socialist party we are accepting the rule of the capitalist parties. The working class must make use of democratic rights under capitalism to build their own organisations of struggle and in doing so we shall acquire the ability to bring down this wretched system of exploitation, oppression, and sham democracy. The working class needs a political alternative, a socialist party dedicated to overthrowing both the capitalist economic system and the state that defends it.

When the General Election is over and done with, the struggle still continues. Join us in the Socialist Party.

Poor Scots

More than half of Scots have run out of money before payday, according to a new report.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) study found 15% of people said it happened "most of the time" or "always".

Nearly a quarter (23%) had gone without food at least once in the previous year.

CAS said its findings showed that debt was "just a fact of life" for most people.

Almost half (48%) who took part in the survey had been forced to borrow money or use credit to buy food.

A fifth needed help to pay their rent or mortgage - a figure which jumped to 29% when it came to utility bills.

The report also found that 55% of the people quizzed would be unable to pay a sudden bill of £100 without borrowing, using savings or cutting back on essentials. For a £250 bill, this rose to 69%, and for £1,000 it was 83%.

Only four in 10 (38%) felt they were "living comfortably" on their income.

CAS policy manager Keith Dryburgh said the study showed that debt was not just an issue for people on low incomes. He said: "Many working Scots on reasonable salaries occasionally need to borrow money to get them from one pay day to the next."

The SPGB Case for your Vote

There are those who criticise the Socialist Party for participating in elections and we are accused of advocating parliamentary action. Indeed we do but at no time do we envisage getting elected on a reform programme which we would then try to get parliament to implement. Our case against parliamentary reformism is that firstly many of the reforms that can be achieved are reforms that would strengthen capitalism and would only be passed with this end in view; and secondly, campaigning for reforms would corrupt a socialist party and relegate the establishment of a socialist society to a secondary purpose. Socialism can only come through the efforts of an organisation having that as its goal, and in a capitalist society that organisation must find expression as a political party – a socialist party.

Running Socialist Party candidates is all about exposing the agenda of the employing class, challenging the false promises and policy lies of the pro-capitalist candidates, and putting forward socialism as the alternative for working people. Running candidates is about providing a platform to gain support for the idea of socialism. Elections are an organising tool to expose the powers that be and to confront the ideology of the bosses. There are some who believe that the elections were created as a trap to ensnare the socialist movement. In reality, the ruling elite has systematically looked to deny anyone that dispute their right to exist the right to vote. If we limit our struggles just to the workplace and the streets, then that allows the 1% to dominate the other arenas available in society. They already control the courts, the police, and the mass media. But we can battle them in the political arena. The idea that boycotting or abstaining from the election is the best way to resist the 1% neglects this fact. That’s why we need to challenge them in the elections as well as in every other arena. Also, if we do not try to win support from those angry at the system’s failures, then the right-wing will endeavour to do so by tapping into working people’s legitimate frustrations and anxieties. But their solutions will amount to not much more than populist scapegoating.

Marx and Engels insisted the overthrow of capitalism will only be accomplished by the working class. “The emancipation of the working classes must be conquered by the working classes themselves...” [“Provisional Rules of the Association,” in The General Council of the First International]. Hence, the goal of socialists must be to consistently assist in the organization of the working class so that it is in a position to consciously act in its own self-interests independently of the interests of capitalists. Working people must come to the realisation that they are members of an exploited class and that capitalism does not operate in their interests, and their only salvation lies in joining together in order to collectively create an entirely different economic system that actually operates in the interests of the majority. 

The Socialist Party has been successful in developing a clear critique of capitalism, reaching out to let as many workers understand the system they live under. We're holding up a sign to let workers who have come to socialist ideas themselves know we're here.  The revolution will not happen because workers have or have not been exposed to our case. They won't even read it unless they feel the need it, they'll continue to support capitalism as long as they feel they need capitalism. Prevailing powerful propaganda is a useful tool for the ruling class, but it cannot overrule the lived experience and capacity of workers to think. It only works now because it is going with the grain.

We reject the conservative call 'a fair day's pay for a fair days work', in favor of the revolutionary call 'Abolish the Wages System'.

We recognise that the wages currently paid by the employing classes, can never be 'fair' because they represent only the market-price to the employer (buyer of labour, competing in that market with all other buyers/employers)  of the employees' ability to labour ('labour-power') : they bear no necessary relation to the prices that labours' products eventually realise on successful Sale by the employer ( the products of labour belong to the employer) on the market. Indeed the employer's profit grows in direct proportion to the difference between the two prices. Hence the perpetual pressure from the employers to resist wage increases, or improvements in working conditions, or indeed, force wages down and worsen conditions.

We recognise that, within this 'arrangement' the employee class can only ever, on average, gain in wages it's subsistence as necessary to maintain and reproduce it's labour-power under the market conditions prevailing at a particular time: we do not oppose actions by the employees to raise their wages or improve their conditions, but recognise such pressures can never move their position far beyond that average.

We recognise that in times of 'boom', when employers are keen to maximise production as far as possible and so seek to avoid disruptions to production, such actions to raise wages are most likely to succeed, at least temporarily; conversely, in times of 'recession' when the employers are curtailing production and shedding labour, they are almost certain to fail, except, perhaps, in certain industries that are perhaps not as subject to the general down-turn.

We recognise that competitive production only for profit between a myriad 'blind' competing employers is the last remaining cause of poverty in the world today - the purely technical problem of producing sufficiency for all, reliably, has long since been conquered - and that capitalism and its wages system cannot be reformed to work in any other way than it currently does and always has.

We say again 'Abolish the Wages System'.  This will occur when a majority of the population opts to take the means of production and distribution of the common property of the whole community, under the democratic control of the whole community, producing only for use (without the paraphernalia of wages and prices  only necessary to support sale at a profit for the benefit of the tiny and shrinking minorities currently monopolising those means of production and distribution) which implies free access for all to the socially available product.

Where is the voice of the working class? The Socialist Party say it is the clarion call of our candidates and our members. The Socialist Party has kept alive lessons from the past that today we should all be learning from. Today more than ever, our problems are global. Capitalism is a global system. Not only is it attacking living standards around the world but, due to its insatiable drive for profit with no regard for social consequences, it is threatening the survival of life as we know it on the planet. There has been a groundswell of resistance and a growing disillusionment with “politics as usual”. Our experience on the campaign trail has been that people are more open to alternative ideas and visions. Voters are genuinely looking around for a serious alternative, for a party they can identify with and one that articulates what they have been feeling and thinking. So, is a vote for the Socialist Party a wasted vote? The answer is no. A socialist in parliament can amplify the voices of community, workplace and social campaigns and activists, so they have a better chance of being heard. We have to use all avenues at our disposal, including parliament, to build the movements to defend and mobilise our class. Direct and participatory democracy is all about empowering people so they become the organised force for social change. 

Unfortunately, in Scotland, there is no Socialist Party candidate for you to vote for. What we suggest is that you spoil your ballot paper by inscribing "world socialism" on it

Lest we forget (Obituary: James McMillan, 1996)

Obituary from the June 1996 issue of the Socialist Standard

The death of James McMillan in March was a shock to all members of the Glasgow Branch.

James was a character. Outside the Party he was known as "Maxie’’or “Jimmy the Pill". Inside it, he was known affectionately as "Wee Jimmy”. Wee Jimmy had a ready wit and was known for his quick-fire delivery. A couple of examples may give some idea of the man. At a party where a non-socialist objected to his swearing and said "Please don’t swear in front of my wife", Jimmy replied "I'm sorry, comrade, didn’t know it was her turn.” On his early life in the East End of Glasgow, he would comment “If there was an egg short, I got it” When a family friend read his tea-cup and said “Maxie,. I see a stranger in your future”, he asked "Is it the butcher?” Wee Jimmy joined the Party in 1965, he was an ever-present at the many outdoor meetings of the Party in the sixties and seventies. He never deviated in his socialist principles.

Our sympathy is extended to his sister, Winnie and his brothers, John and Peter. He will be missed.

For world socialism and global solidarity

The capitalist social system produces a mass of terrible problems; people suffer, deprived, suppressed, degraded and killed because of capitalism. At present, it is difficult to be anything but pessimistic about the future. Environmental calamities are now facts of life. The drive for profit leading to the neglect of everything that stands in the way of this has created ecological havoc in every part of the world. The history of environmental degradation is a history of greed, poverty, and ignorance. By greed, we do not mean the individual idiosyncratic greed that might yearn for three yachts where two would do. Rather it refers to the institutionalised greed of business that has to expand to survive, that is always looking for new products, ways to create new needs, ways to cut costs by reducing environmental safeguards or evading the enforcement of existing ones. And the solution to it all is the setting up of a Socialist Commonwealth. The issue is plain. We can have capitalism, with its problems. Or we can build a new society of freedom and dignity. We can have capitalism or socialism and capitalism is incompatible with meeting basic human needs. We never go back on our policy, we never betray our principles, we will never compromise. Our analysis of capitalism remains valid. The Socialist Party calls for a leader-free global revolution. The people must capture legislative and executive control constitutionally and legitimately because this will assure mainstream support for the revolution.  

Every time Election Day rolls around, any conscientious voter who wants to listen to all sides, weigh the merits of the several contenders, and vote with a clear understanding of the issues should be in a state of total confusion. For how can one evaluate the claims and counter-claims? What credence should be given to political promises, seeing how often they are made cynically with never an intention (nor even the possibility) of making good on them? Some voters will be so discouraged or so skeptical that voting can have any real influence on the way our lives are run, that they will turn their backs on the whole electoral process. Others will vote with no real expectation of improving things; they will settle for the “lesser evil” in the hope of keeping the worst scoundrel out of public office. And they will feel that they have thereby made a realistic compromise. Meanwhile, the news media will say the “good citizen,” should support the party of his or her choice. He or she must use the vote, not waste it. What the opinion molders do not mention is the obvious yet significant fact that the major parties (and their would-be reformers) support the capitalist system. Their candidates differ at most on how to cure the mortal ills of capitalism. But they support it—every one of them. And they don’t deny it. The deception lies in their claim that legislative tinkering with capitalism can cure the mess we’re in. But that mess is the direct result of capitalism and cannot be cured by reforms, no matter who applies them.

This country will have continued unemployment, poverty, urban decay, pollution and rape of the environment not because the people don’t care but because the capitalist owners don’t care—or care about profits more. This country will continue to support dictatorships abroad as long as capitalist influence and markets are at stake. This country will continue to whittle away the rights and privacy of its citizens and to curtail the right of dissent. We say “this” country and not “our” country because it isn’t our country in an economic sense. We, the working-class majority, don’t own it and we don’t control it. When it does become our country—owned, operated and administered by the majority—we can easily solve all our problems. And not until then.

That is central to how you ought to think about your vote. Viewed thus the choices boil down to two.

1. Support capitalism and leave things as they are.

2. Vote and work for socialism.

As socialists, we are opposed to choosing between politicians who are pledged to administrate the affairs of the capitalist system. Why? Because no form of capitalism is worth voting for. Election campaigns are more and more decided by access to the media who consistently refuse to cover any activities except those of the major party candidates—candidates who represent the same ruling-class interests as the media corporations themselves. Is this what free elections are all about? Some will say socialism is utopianism. But isn’t it naive to think this era of endless wars and environmental destruction, of vast economic inequality and entrenched global poverty, can be healed under the very same socio-economic system that continually recreates this diseased social reality? Is there any alternative to the needless human suffering and deprivation, to the horrors of the modern era, than to embrace a revolutionary vision of democracy—socialist democracy—on the grandest scale ever imagined?

Corbyn might do a bit better than May, but as socialists, we don't care about a bit better, but a whole lot better, which won't happen until a fundamental change is made in society. A change that will eliminate the above social evils – a change called socialism. The task of convincing fellow-workers of socialism is a daunting one. The working class has been fooled into accepting the concept of common interests wherein the problems of the capitalist class and its state are theirs also. The belief that there exists a community of interests from which we all derive common benefits is a mistaken one but nevertheless held strongly even by supposed critics of the status quo such as Sanders. Two crucial political fallacies permeate workers thinking. First, that the present system can be organised through a process of legislation and regulation so that it will operate in the interests of the majority, and second, that "proper leadership" is an essential requirement. Such ideas have created a cornucopia of radical-left parties but the almost-forgotten Socialist Party may impress you if you have an appreciation of the history of the socialist movement. The Socialist Party maintains that it has been unique since its inception by unrelentingly putting forward the original conception of socialism, defined as a post-capitalist mode of production where the accumulation of capital is no longer the driving force governing production, but production is instead undertaken to produce goods and services directly for use. The Socialist Party defines socialism as a money-free society based on common ownership of the means of production and cooperative and democratic associations as opposed to bureaucratic hierarchies and corporations. Additionally, the Socialist Party considers statelessness, classlessness and the abolition of wage labour as components of a socialist society—characteristics that are usually reserved to describe a fully developed communist society. Unlike anarchists, the Socialist Party advocates a political revolution because it argues that as the state is the "executive committee" of the capitalist class. It must be captured by the working class to keep the former from using it against the will of the latter.

Always, there are groups protesting and campaigning against some aspect or other of this social system. The energy and ingenuity they display in issues they consider important provides further proof that once working men and women get on the right track capitalism's days are numbered. Enthusiasm is an excellent and valuable thing when rightly applied, but when it is wasted in fruitless directions it only leads to disenchantment and apathy. The Socialist Party has resisted all attempts on the part of those on the Left to renounce its principles and in doing so has been accused dogmatism and sectarianism. This charge is seen by the members of the Socialist Party as a badge of political honesty and sincerity; of persistence and perseverance. These are precious attributes. But the Socialist Party needs more than that. It requires the understanding and cooperation of fellow-workers and it is humble enough to admit that it has been lacking in this particular support. The Socialist Party’s message has always been the same – that the workers can just as easily run society for their own benefit. By standing in this election, we in the Socialist Party are opposing the system of leaders and politicians, but also opposing the economic system that always makes them fail.

Private profit always comes before the needs of the majority, no matter what promises are made by the politicians. if you recognise that the problems we daily face are caused by the profit-driven nature of the economy, then consider voting for us: a genuinely democratic party without leaders that believes in a class-free, money-free society without poverty and insecurity. We believe that the voice of the working class needs to be heard in an electoral arena that is dominated by pro-capitalist parties. The Socialist Party is running candidates in this general election so that the arguments of business interests can be challenged and debated. The Socialist Party’s case is if we want to create a decent, sustainable life for all, it is not enough to reform capitalism. The entire system must be removed root and branch. At this particular moment in history, we do not expect to succeed when we engage in electoral politics. But it is the time to build for the future. The Socialist Party policy position is one of not doing things for working people but, instead, encouraging working people to do things for themselves and by doing so, building a real working-class movement. The Socialist Party uses electoral politics so that socialist ideas can be disseminated to a broader audience so it can be imbued with a sense of their potential political power. We hope to inspire workers to become politically engaged and take a step in establishing a real movement. For change to come will take more than a gentle nudge at the powers-that-be. It will take putting some serious anti-capitalist muscle into a movement. The first step towards socialist revolution is for you to get involved if you’re not already.

There is, due to our few numbers, no candidates in Scotland standing. But we counsel you to spoil your ballot paper by writing “socialism” across it.

CELIBACY RULES - OK? (weekly poem)

CELIBACY RULES-OK?

The Catholic Church has a shortage of trainee priests

and may consider a relaxation of their celibacy rule.

The Catholic Church is short of priests,

So may amend its rule;

To now enable married men,

To answer to the call.

Such is the Vatican's disdain,

For the whole human race;

It couldn't bear for normal men,

To show their actual face.

Thus as from the 12^th Century, (1)

It's eunuchs in long frocks; (2)

Have ministered the sacraments,

To their quiescent flocks.

The Vatican's fictitious world,

Attracts a certain kind;

Of those eccentrics who possess,

A otherworldly mind.

Reality for them exists,

Behind their secret doors;

Where sex-starved clergy formulate, (3)

A list of human flaws.

That they insist are quite innate,

Yet must be overcome;

A contradiction atheists,

Consider somewhat dumb!

(1) At the Second Lateran Council held in 1139,

all Catholic Priests were forbidden to marry.

(2) Some scholars believe Biblical references

to eunuchs may also include celibates.

(3) Wikipedia lists numerous Popes who disobeyed

the celibacy rule including Benedict IX who allegedly

practised sodomy, bestiality and arranged orgies.

© Richard Layton

Time to demand real change

Does your vote matter? Not in the slightest if you don’t use it to challenge capitalism. Why do the poor vote and act against their own economic and political interests? Instead of just voting for a lesser evil, many people in this coming election on June 8 will have the prospect of voting for someone who is contesting the constituency as a socialist. These are:-

Bill Martin - Islington North; Danny Lambert - Battersea; Brian Johnson - Swansea West.

Unlike some left-wingers and the anarchists, the Socialist Party does not accept that participating in elections is wrong. We do not divorce electoral politics from other strategies for basic change. There’s no contradiction at all between voting and civil protest, they are both democratic. It would be a mistake to assume that they are substitutes for one another. People want a voice in all the areas that affect their lives.

Reformism is the idea that the system can be successfully modified and improved through legal means and especially through participation in its official channels like lobbying and elections. Reformists argue that this is the realistic and peaceful approach to change. Yet the most effective reforms under capitalism have actually been the product of struggle from outside the system, not from the initiatives of friendly politicians within parliament. Any third party that doesn’t make clear that the interests of workers are diametrically opposed to the capitalist system, is simply part of the problem. The Labour Party and the Green Party are reformist. They preaches the gospel that capitalism can be reformed — against consistent evidence to the contrary. Despite their many anti-corporate speeches their policy positions stance pits it against effectively promoting systemic change.

A better and peaceful world is possible — a world where it is about people and nature and not profits. That’s socialism. That’s our vision. We advocate socialism, the common ownership and democratic control of the economy by working people. If we join together to take back our industries and natural resources, we can work together for the common good, rather than being slaves to the rich and their capitalist corporations.

The idea of working people taking democratic control of all aspects affecting their lives is new to many but it lies at the very heart of socialist thought and practice. The Socialist Party is planting the seed in people’s minds. We hold a vision of a state-free, class-free, communal future, but it is important to understand how this can be achieved. Only through socialism can we transform exploitative and divisive capitalist production and the society it produces into a harmonious, peaceful, collective society where everyone produces according to their ability and everyone receives what they need.

The way to build support for socialism at the polls is to present clear principled, anti-capitalist positions. Socialism is the only way to deliver shared abundance and solve the social problems that the rich ignore. The creation of a powerful socialist movement is the first step to creating a real party of the 99% that not only criticises capitalism, but contends to replace it. We need a movement explaining and de-stigmatising socialism. Your support for socialist candidates sends a positive message of solidarity that you reject the charade of capitalism. This year you can make your ballot count. But not if you live in Scotland, unfortunately. Here, we advise you to spoil your ballot and show your rejection of capitalism by writing "world socialism" across your voting slip. When we  say spoil your voting paper , does this mean standing on the sidelines? Not at all.  With the political will, we can create a world where goods and services will be used to provide the needs of humanity rather than accumulating even more wealth for an economically redundant class of parasites.

Political Action or Political Apathy – You Decide

A survey carried out for the Electoral Reform Society Scotland, found a significant number of those who will not vote on June 8 are not apathetic about politics.

Jonathon Shafi, Electoral Reform Society Scotland campaigns officer, said: “We find time and again that the claim that those who are not voting are totally apathetic is simply untrue...we find that large sections of those who don’t vote regularly discuss politics with friends and family. We also find that this part of the electorate want to make their community a better place to live. That is politics, just not in the ‘formal’ traditional sense: after all, this comes down to getting the power and resources to change things.” He continued: “Where we do find a disconnect with politics, it comes down in part to a strong feeling that their vote doesn’t make a difference. At a more personal level, they also feel that politicians don’t understand their lives, never mind being able to change it. This is an issue of political culture and how parties and politicians communicate with the public. But it’s also about how we deepen democracy and bring decision-making closer to communities.”

Two-fifths of non-voters think who is in government makes no difference to their lives. Meanwhile, a similar number (42 percent) said they felt all the candidates they could vote for did not understand their life. Just over a quarter (26 percent) of non-voters said they regularly talked about how to make their community a better place - with this rising to about a third (32 per cent) when those who probably will not vote are included. In addition, 27 percent of those who say they are certain not to cast their ballot said they regularly discuss politics with friends and family.

The process of making a revolution involves reinventing a democracy, free from the patronage, the power games and the profit motive that currently abuses it. The Socialist Party suggests that rather than abstain and not use your vote, it is better to participate in the electoral process and signal your dissatisfaction with a spoilt ballot paper. The members of the Socialist Party acknowledge and understand the feeling that politics has become a dirty word for many of our fellow citizens And why shouldn't it be? Politics of any colour, as currently structured, equates to lies, corruption, and furtherance of the aims of a minority elite. Politics is all about corruption, cronyism, compromise and concessions. It is a downright perversion whether for money or power or influence. Political democracy, despite its advantages, restricts popular participation to giving the thumbs up or the thumbs down every few years to rival professional politicians and with fewer and fewer people even bothering to do this. The system has developed as intended and has been shaped to be ideally suited to advantage the elite few at the expense of the vast majority so we really shouldn't be surprised. If you think you've been cheated over the years you're right; capitalism is nothing but a racket.

Most people are aware of this but don’t think they can do anything about it. They don’t like it but accept it as something they have to put up with as they try to make the best of their life and that of their family. This is what is being called apathy, but it’s really more resignation or fatalism. The Socialist Party has consistently warned of the dangers of political apathy, of trusting in leaders, of accepting all that governments say without question. Our silence and our inaction is an important element in our continuing exploitation, for the master class see in it as our consent for their abuses and excesses. 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 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 we need to be involved in the decision-making processes. Anger and outrage is not enough. Wherever you look nowadays, it is becoming increasingly clear that the self-serving hypocrisy of the ruling elite is not sustainable. Global capitalism is running everywhere into the social, financial and environmental limitations imposed by its own catastrophically shortsighted rush for endless accumulation.  Decisions have long been made for people not by people,  with electorates distanced from their representatives, decisions made with no consultation and “political leaders” believing they have been selected to take the reins and make all decisions on behalf of the voters. It's taken for granted that once elected the “politician” decides on behalf of the electors. Even our mass demonstrations against unpopular decisions can leave the elected unmoved and intransigent. As a result, there has long been a culture of complaint, a collective feeling of impotence with no expectation of being heard, even if seemingly listened to. Indeed, it can be easy to look at the situation today and become excessively pessimistic and negative. Cynicism and apathy can take hold and give rise to a belief that this is the way of the world is and nothing can or should be done about it. And this is the very stance encouraged via the media and by the political system as a way of preventing people seeking out emancipatory alternatives. Apathy is political suicide.