Feel alone? You’re not.

 

Nothing but a radical transformation of basic social relations can prevent the worst possible outcomes of the present climate crisis. Some environmentalists call upon people in developed countries  to accept a lower standard of living  in order to deal with the global warming emergency. But demanding that working people change their lifestyles is unlikely to convince our fellow-workers  when capitalist austerity is already cutting living standards. But the real factor is that the huge carbon emissions in developed countries are beyond the control of individuals but arise from the military presence, the modes of  transport, and the system of industrialised  agriculture. We need to focus on sustainable ecologically sound production methods where the economy is democratically and rationally controlled by the people, organised to provide the greatest possible public benefit.

Time and again, the  labour movement has taken up the struggle to reduce the work-week and improve workers’ conditions. Workers have strived for a world where people have more control over their lives, and one that builds the bonds of solidarity by uniting the interests of workers. This is the class struggle,  the daily war that goes on between capitalists’ search for profit and workers’ search for a decent living. We cannot, of course, make things right factory by factory or city by city because, after all, we are talking about changing the entire economic system which is the root of the capitalists’ drive for profit. There is no shared interest between the workers and management. The working class’ struggle for survival and an improved standard of living is a constant threat to the employer’s search for profits. The two classes in our society are the owning class, which owns the factories, banks, stores, etc., and the working class which, of course, works for them. The interests of the owners are individual profit based on ripping off the workers through the basic fact that all their profit comes from our labour. The interests of the working people are social equality, a decent standard of living, fulfilling and safe working conditions, control over our job, and above all, unity that cuts across racial, national and sexual divisions in our class. We create a surplus which goes into the pocket of the owning class and gets recorded in the annual reports as profits. 

The capitalist class fears unity within our class more than anything else. A united class, clear on its goals, is unstoppable, and the capitalists realise this. This is why they constantly seek to promote divisions in our class. The old are pitted against the young, men against women, native born against immigrant, black versus white workers. And as our class fights among itself, the capitalists gather tremendous profits, and more importantly, maintain the stability of their system through division in our class. The capitalist political system of “lesser evil” politics is designed to funnel workers into a downward spiral of powerlessness by voting for the least-bad candidates among all the capitalist candidates. It is not a democratic system at all. 

There is a class war being waged against working people by the capitalists. In every country, in every corner of the world, workers are being forced into war, racism, bigotry while the capitalists accumulate more wealth. Workers are divided and live in constant fear of poverty and death at the hands of the capitalist class. We are made to feel powerless against an allegedly indestructible power structure. But the opposite is true. A united working class dwarfs the capitalists. Through unity and solidarity across the globe—we could overthrow this unjust and murderous system of capitalism. In order to achieve this workers must organise independently of the capitalists; that there can be no collaboration between the workers and the capitalists. This is the only way to create a world that can answer the needs of all of humanity and all life on the planet. Through the power of a united working class we can establish a truly democratic socialist society without borders, exploitation and oppression. There is no such thing as a kind and gentle humane capitalism. That is an oxymoron. For the economic system of capitalism to survive, it MUST increase its rate of profit by any means necessary. And, in the current world economic crisis, the only way to do that is to squeeze the wealth out of the working class ever harder by waging war, driving down our wages.

 We live in a world where pollution of the air, water and soil is increasing. That pollution is the direct result of the crazy, profit-motivated system we live in. And so long as that system is allowed to continue, pollution will continue and increase. Our environment is being systematically plundered for the natural resources capitalism needs to fuel their private-profit industry. Capitalism is destroying the planet. It cannot be reformed, reshaped or restructured—it must be abolished. And the only way that can be accomplished is for the entire working class  to unite behind that goal.

Workers power is the answer. Working people are the overwhelming majority of the population and the ruling capitalist class is only a handful. They hold a monopoly over the media and the institutions of culture that create “public opinion”, as well as all educational institutions. In the final analysis, however, capitalists rule by military and police force and violence. Workers need to break definitively with capitalist parties, all of which are dedicated to preserving and advancing the capitalist system of social, economic and political injustice. Socialism, the ownership and democratic control of the means of production by the working class, and the removal of profit from the system of production, is the aim of Socialist Party. 

Socialism will end class oppression and exploitation for all time.  A socialist party with the support of the overwhelming majority—does have the power to end capitalism and replace it with a socialist system that puts people and the planet first.

Towards a Society of Solidarity

 “The ethic of capitalism is: ‘From each whatever you can get out of him—to each whatever he can grab” - James Cannon

The obscenity of today’s world  is that the most important thing is money and profit, and not human needs. We know how to feed people who are hungry, and we know how to cure people with preventable diseases, but it is obscene that we do not do it. In pursuit of maximising profits, capitalists intend to use Artificial Intelligence and robots to displace, if possible, millions of workers. The profit driven corporations “are racing to automate their own work forces to stay ahead of the competition, with little regard for the impact on working people. Money dominates the world as never before. Perhaps it is time to consider an economic and social system that puts social needs, social welfare and social health to the forefront.  Very few people in the world will go through life without some form of  economic anxiety or worry. Ultimately their problems must be addressed as part of a wider systematic change that moves away from a capitalist for profit system to a system directed by people’s needs.

Was this socialism? So many on the left today believes that  turning back the clock to the days of FDR’s New Deal, reproducing the welfare state of the Nordic countries is what socialism amounts to. The Socialist Party tends to be a bit old-fashioned. We cling to the concept that socialism is the abolition of private and government ownership, a class-free society and the  the total transformation of society that will allow us to enjoy true freedom for the first time in human history. Without a coherent  vision of a better world and the organization that goes with it, working people’s resistance to capitalism will likely go nowhere. The first and the easiest step is telling the truth about our current society and presenting a clear picture of  a society that serves the well-being of humanity. This is not how capitalism works. Capitalism breeds chaos because its priority is to maximise profits above all else.  It’s the poor who suffer the most hardships and hazards.

Wars can be ended. Global warming can be reversed and environmental destruction can be repaired. And the only way is to get rid of the cause, i.e., the profit-driven system of capitalism. Working people that have no control over their circumstances; no control over their governments; no control over their economic situation; no control over the weapons their governments produce in the world of capitalist competition for profit.  These are capitalists’ imperative to rule the world in their own interests. The capitalists care about nothing except their wealth and power. And, in order to maintain that control, they must resort to war, plunder and environmental destruction. They must drill and mine with abandon. They must bring down mountaintops. They must chop down rain forests.  They must pollute and poison the land water and air. Our masters are  creating a world of fear and chaos — blinding us to our common human interests of living in a peaceful and plentiful world shared by all. They want us at war with one another. They thrive on spreading race, class, religious and ethnic hatred where none instinctively exists. This is not humanity at work. This is capitalism working as normal. And only  working people across the globe, have the power to end this insanity by building a world where human interests and the welfare of our planet are our collective concerns, and the fruits of our labour are shared equally by all. This is our true human nature—to work together to save and protect our world—this is what socialism is all about.

 

When it comes to war, the capitalists say, “there has always been war—it’s human nature to be war-like.” When it comes to economic inequality they say, “there has always been a wealthy minority in power over the lower classes —the wealthy are on top because they are smarter, better, stronger. The poor are poor because they are less intelligent.” We are taught to believe that this is the way it is, has always been, and will always be. The economic structure of capitalism and the laws created and enforced by capitalists are all designed to allow the wealthy to accumulate the profits that the working masses produce. Capitalism—by its very structure—is designed to protect the privileges of the wealthy by any means necessary. That is the purpose of the courts, the police and the military. Capitalism is democracy for the wealthy and dictatorship over the working class.

 

Capitalism is a stage of social evolution that has outlived its usefulness. It destroys the world in order to increase private profits for the wealthy. Natural resources wherever they are found, are taken by force of violence for the benefit of privately owned corporations. Capitalist production pollutes and destroys the environment because taking the proper precautions to produce durable goods and to preserve the health and safety of workers and the planet cuts into their profits. That’s why factories spew their filth in the air, land and sea with abandon and without guilt. There is only one thing that stands in the way of our road to a socialist utopia—and that is capitalism—the private ownership of the means of production by a tiny, despotic, divisive, parasitic capitalist class that can only survive by oppression, violence and war. Capitalism has to go

 

So what will socialism look like? Socialism’s fundamental economic structure turns capitalism—the private ownership of the means of production — upside-down. Socialism is an economic system that democratises production in order to fulfill the needs and wants of all on an equal basis, instead of on the accumulation of private profits for the few. Production for need and want instead of private profit will free up resources to ensure safety and efficiency on the job—both for the health and safety of workers and the preservation of our environment. It will eliminate the waste of producing inferior products designed to break down so that they have to constantly be replaced—a standard practice of capitalist production to increase profits. Instead, we can concentrate on the production of durable products that can be upgraded as technology evolves. Without the private, profit-driven capitalist motive of production, we will be free to revolutionise production methods without sacrificing the well being of people or the planet. The goal will be to produce durable goods more efficiently—maximising automation while gradually shortening the work-week and increasing living standards for all—so that everyone can have, not only all the necessities and wants of life, but more free time to pursue personal interests, the arts, scientific advancements. We will be free to study life on earth, preserve our environment and explore the intelligence and diversity of the species that share our planet with us. It will be a world without racism, sexism, war, jails, poverty, starvation, homelessness, ignorance, despair, drug addiction, crime and pestilence. Under a democratic and cooperative socialist society, the free and equal development of each individual’s talents and abilities will finally become the condition for the free and equal development of all of us. With a socialist society—with an ecologically safe and carefully planned communal economy, there are no obstacles that we won’t be able to overcome. It will be a society designed to encourage human development to its fullest while preserving and safeguarding the health and welfare of our planet for the benefit of all.

Lie with dogs and get fleas

 

Serial party-founder, George Galloway, launches a unionist party, ‘All for Unity’, which will stand candidates in all eight regions of the country.

His fellow members include right-wingers such as UKIP and Tommy Robinson supporters

During the  2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign Galloway said, "I have always hated nationalism. My flag is red. I care nothing for either the Scottish or the British flags.” 

A sentiment shared by the Socialist Party even if Galloway’s later Brexit support suggested that he was indeed a British nationalist and that the Union Jack was indeed his flag.

To be clear, by refusing to join the Scottish separatists and advocate for an independent sovereign state of Scotland, the Socialist Party is no way endorsing the current status quo of the union.

A plague on both Westminster and Holyrood.