For a Workers’ World, For Worker’s Unity

The Socialist Party stands for world socialism and the overthrow of world capitalism. There is only one class capable of achieving a socialist world: the working class. Nationalism preaches to the people of a nation or national group that regardless of class they have more in common with one another than they do with the people of other nations. Nationalism helps bind the working class to the ruling class of its nation. Nationalism delivers working people into the hands of the exploiters of their own nationality. Since the time of Marx, class conscious workers have combated the capitalists’ patriotic appeals with calls for the international solidarity of the working class. They have fought the attempts to enlist the workers in nationalist strivings with appeals to join the class struggle of the workers of all countries against world capitalism.

Socialism unites the working people of the world against the capitalists. The Socialist Party says that working people’s destiny must not be tied to the capitalists. It says that the world’s working class must determine its own destiny. We are aimed at overcoming the nationalist and racist ideas that stand in the way of establishing socialism. We do not fan the flames of nationalism that fosters divisions among the working class. A socialist is an internationalist. It is nationalism that can divide the workers so that the workers of one nationality are struggling against the workers of another nationality for a few illusory crumbs. It is nationalism that pits worker against worker, while their mutual oppressors fill their pockets. Nationalism means exclusivity and isolation. Any nationalism finally implies that some people are better than others because of their place of birth. Nationalism teaches superiority and inferiority.

No matter how much the capitalists compete with one another, it’s always the working class that they attack first when their system of exploitation doesn’t produce the results it is supposed to. With the kind of difficulties that they face these days  around the world, they are getting steadily more aggressive with their austerity policies. Every time one group or sector of working people is attacked – whether it is immigrants or young people – the capitalists will try to weaken them by keeping them isolated. The working class must respond quickly, strongly and join their fight disunity caused by national divisions. The working class will be firmly on the road to revolution, if it starts now to reject all the appeals from the nationalists of various hues and stripes. The working class has one overriding responsibility, and that is to engage in the various struggles against the ruling class on all fronts. This includes adopting fully the internationalism of our class. That means denouncing patriotism.

Scottish nationalism is increasingly being identified for what it really is – the policy that wants to develop Scotland for the benefit of business interests. They give themselves a progressive image, but in fact it still leads to the same dead-end and the progressive rhetoric are quickly revealed. Nationalism’s  method is always the same – radical opportunism. We must treat like the plague those so-called revolutionaries who spend their time emphasising national particularities. Working people must refuse to play along with the independence fraud. Their interests do not lie in choosing “their exploiters”, nor in arbitrating the difference among various factions of the exploiting class. The only legitimate response towards Indyref2 will be to boycott the referendum by abstaining or, better, by spoiling one’s ballot.

The Socialist Party will agitate against every form and manifestation of national and racial prejudice; against every nationalism. We raise the red banner of raise again the historic battle-cry of the international revolutionary movement. “Workers of the world, unite!”

Don't vote for capitalism, Don't vote for nationalism

Tomorrow, Spoil your ballot paper

This General Election will be remembered as one of the most dishonest of modern times. The political parties have been competing with one another with seemingly endless pledges, promises, scare stories and counter claims. And the longer this circus goes on, the less interest many of us show in it. For those of us who struggle to make ends meet from week to week while the people with real money in society get even more money and the politicians play their games to distract our attention from it – it’s one long yawn. A nagging irrelevance that won’t go away. As socialists, we seek to help change the world in a positive direction, not get our bums on the benches of the House of Commons.

At the moment the Socialist Party is incapable of contesting electoral constituencies in Scotland. Where we do not put up candidates we urge those who agree with our principles to write ‘Socialism’ across their ballot papers. This is an indication that at least some workers wish to use their votes to support ideas which none of the candidates is offering. Don’t give a blank cheque to the parties of the profit system by voting for the lesser evil. Don’t play “follow-the-leader” and do as they are told. This election is about ensuring that the many follow the few.

Despite all the dishonesty and cynicism attached to this general election, the Socialist Party does not discourage the use of the ballot . On the contrary, used by conscious men and women ballot boxes can be revolutionary. They can reflect the growing will, and ultimately the will of the overwhelming majority for world socialism. When the workers of the world use their brain boxes and the ballot boxes, it will be the time of reckoning for the capitalist class.

In the absence of Socialist Party candidates you will be able to register your vote for ocialism by writing ‘Socialism’ across the ballot paper. This will serve to publicise the number of those who have realised that the use of the vote to support any other candidate no matter how described , is a vote for capitalism. To cast  votes for candidates other than the Sovcialist Party can only assist the enemies of the working class. We advise our fellow-workers to vote for no one but Socialist Party candidates and not for charlatans.

In voting to continue with capitalism, those who bother to vote will be voting for the problems in fields such as housing, health care, education and the environment to continue, because the root cause of these problems is capitalism and its economic imperative to put making profits before satisfying people’s needs.

We, in the Socialist Party, will still be going to the polling stations to show that we consider the vote a potential weapon that the working class can use to dislodge the capitalist class. We shan’t be voting for any of the candidates on offer but instead casting a write-in vote for world socialism by writing 'world socialism' across our ballot paper.

Humanity needs a socialist world!

What does the climate emergency mean? What is the future of mankind? Do we stand upon the threshold of the destruction for the whole of humanity? That is for men and women to decide. Or do we stand upon the threshold of a new age of unparalleled peace and plenty, the brotherhood of man?

 It must not be decided by those in power, the bankers, the industrialists, the politicians, all those who have taken mankind through its worst periods. It must be decided by the great mass of the working people. They must organise and speak out with one voice: We demand life under socialism before death under capitalism overtakes us all!

Capitalists are the most class-conscious people in the world. The capitalist class of America is no exception in this respect. Despite their family quarrels over how to divide the wealth that is produced by labour and appropriated by capital, the capitalists all stand shoulder to shoulder when they sense any danger to their system of robbery. One question finds all capitalists standing united, regardless of race or creed. That is the defence of their “sacred” system of “private property,” the system of capitalist exploitation. We socialists have always contended that capitalism should be abolished because it mismanaged the means of production so that a very few – those who own the means of production – reaped great profits while the masses of the people were deprived of a secure standard of living. We would often prove this assertion by demonstrating the tremendous capacities which the modern technology has; how it could satisfy the needs of everyone if it were run for that purpose; and how capitalism, instead, ran the industrial machine for profits.

Often large portions of the world’s industrial capacity lie idle because the capitalists could not sell their products for a sufficiently attractive profit; despite the need for these products. Look, we socialists say, if only the people could run these industries themselves, they could produce enough to satisfy everyone’s needs. After the 2007/8 recession prosperity has returned for the global bankers, the mammoth corporations, the stock exchange speculators and sharks: Quatitative Easing has rescued their investments and restored their profits. But the people continue to suffer. Wages rose but a fraction as the cost of living rose. The capitalist parties are as rotten and bankrupt as the system they uphold. They can maintain themselves and the system today only piles additional burdens and austerity upon the people. They offer continued insecurity.

It remains the great and tragic paradox of our age – poverty in the midst of plenty. But now it is underlined by the situation which the war has brought about. We do not refer to the general paradox of a social system which cannot satisfy the most elementary needs of the people, while it squanders billions of dollars for war: That is the greatest indictment of world capitalism. Capitalism is a wasteful and inefficient system. It cannot plan on either a national or an international scale. It deprives the mass of the people of products. 

Socialism could plan better, provide the people with all necessities. There would be no shortages or priorities unemployment created by the greed of a few owners of the means of production, because the people would own the means of production. Even more important, in a socialist world, that crowning and most damnable instance of capitalist greed and inefficiency – war – would be a thing of the past. 

Socialism could take the vast resources which are available and use them for constructive purposes. the inefficiency and economic inequality due to the impossibility of constructive economic planning under capitalism – all would be things of the past. In their place could arise the new society of peace and plenty. That is why socialism is the burning need of the hour. 

The fight for socialism has become the fight for the very existence of mankind. For world socialism we summon the workers of city and country – all who are oppressed by capitalism. 

Only a socialist world can give us peace and plenty. Look how the capitalist world totters on the brink of destruction. The myriad evils of capitalism will disappear only with the destruction of capitalism and the building of socialism. The Socialist Party dedicates itself to socialism. The only road is the socialist road. Today it is the ballot that we use against capitalism. Vote, then, for socialism. Vote for the Socialist Party, the only party that keeps the revolutionary red banner unfurled.

Health Inequality in Children

The obesity inequality gap among Scottish schoolchildren is continuing to grow, new figures show.

Almost a quarter of children in Scotland are starting school at risk of being overweight or obese.

The problem is worsening for pupils in the poorest areas, while children in affluent areas are much less likely to experience problems with their weight.

According to the Body Mass Statistics of Primary One children in Scotland report, "substantial inequalities" in child unhealthy weight exist across the country.

Obesity in childhood is associated with a wide range of health problems such as risk factors for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, emotional distress and mental health difficulties.