Socialism is the Power

 

Why have we suffered for so long for so little? We working people hold great power in our hands, a power awesome to behold. The power of the working class is the power of production. Nothing is produced that we have not made, nothing is transported that we do not transport, nothing is serviced that we do not service, nothing is maintained that we do not maintain, no one eats and no one lives without the work of someone. Though the privileged ones seeks to divide us, we have a common bond, the working class is all of the people who do the useful work in society. And though the privileged class looks down upon us as inferiors, the great truth of existence is that they cannot live without us. Our society could continue without the politicians and the rich bosses. For they are only parasites feeding upon the blood of the many. But if you were to remove those who do the real work the wheels of industry would grind to a halt. 

The creative power that lies within the hands of all working people is not yet used for our own benefit. We allow the  parasites to babble of lies. We allow their media and fabricated culture to numb our thinking. But if were to cast off the ideas of our deceivers and use our power for the well-being of all, the wrongs we endure would cease. Our power could put an end to the poverty of all working people, for we could ensure production be for use, not profit. Our power could make all work places safe and healthy, for our purpose is to benefit the many and not the few. Our power could end all wars, for we would no longer produce their weapons and would no longer supply their armies, and would no longer fight our sisters and brothers throughout the world. Our power could end all the bigotry and hate that is used to divide us, for the solidarity of our powers is made up of the diverse elements of humanity and that diversity is our strength, not our weakness. Our power can be used to end the environmental abuse of nature, heal the wounds upon the planet and restore the balance of human society with all things upon this world. Our power could build a world based upon the well-being of all.

This is not a daydream or a fantasy, it is the real power we possess, if only we choose to use them for these great purposes. Class struggle may be about better conditions, but it should also be about fulfilling our social responsibilities. No longer should we delegate to others the responsibilities for our world and the people upon it. We are responsible for that which we produce and the effects of that production upon all. We are responsible for the well-being of all as they are responsible to each of us. This responsibility means we must end our allegiance to the masters. our liberation will only come when the organised power of the working class is greater than the organised power of the ruling class. This organisation of our power must not be delegated to be led by any but ourselves. The organisation of working people must not be a rigid dogmatic top to the bottom organisation, but rather a horizontal organisation that bonds together all working people in the spirit of solidarity where there is no head and each worker is its leader. 

Why have we let the greedy few divide and control us using racism, sexism, ageism and other artificial differences? Why have we suffered for so long for so little?

Working people are not some army of ants nor a hive of drones. The working class is a great diversity of people and different ways. Each worker is an individual with their own unique desires and creative abilities. It is within this that we find our true creativeness. Armed with the knowledge of our great power and the strength of our organisation we will be able to remove the parasites from the face of the earth. The fact is we are faced with a well organised and powerful capitalist class and in order to face that organisation and power we need to be better organised. In fact the working class does have greater power than does the capitalist class, we have the power of production and services, but our power needs to be organised so that when the organised power of the working class is greater than the organised power of the capitalist class we will be able to take control of the means of production, that already is in our hands, and produce for the benefit of all rather than for the profit of a few. 

The rights and wrongs of socialism

 

The world is ruled by power. The foundation of this power is control over a large number of people. The capitalists rule the world today because they control, own and direct the means of production. The Socialist Party’s aim is not to establish a political dictatorship, but to remodel the world in such a manner that there shall be nobody to be a dictator over. The Socialist Party is a movement that advocates a new society, in which the workers employed in the world’s industries shall own and control those industries--shall own and control the world in fact. It means the creation of a new world--a new life. Socialism is evolutionary and revolutionary.

When the capitalist employs the worker he of course pays as little in wages as possible. If the worker is skilled he or she will usually get more wages than if unskilled because it required time and labour to develop skills. If workers are scarce their price in the market will go up for a time. If, however, there are many unemployed, wages will fall. Wages is the price paid in the market for the labour power of the worker. The amount of wages does not depend at all upon the amount of the workers' product. On the average, wages amount to just enough to keep the worker in good shape for work. If there were no great unemployed army, if machines did not constantly take the place of more and more workers, then the average worker would have to receive enough to support a family. But the unemployed army and the new machines are constantly forcing wages in many industries down to a point below what is absolutely necessary to support oneself alone, not to mention a partner and children. Profits do not go up because the capitalists do more. The manager's brains are under the worker's cap. In fact, as industry develops, the capitalist does less and less useful work. Profits go up because the capitalists own and control the industries. The capitalist are few in number. They do no useful work but live as parasites off the labor of the workers. They are entirely unnecessary to the running of industry. They perform no useful function in society. But they are organized, and by virtue of their organised power, they control the natural resources of the earth and the machinery of production, and only allow the workers access to them on condition they can make a profit off their labour.

All wealth is produced by labour being applied to the natural resources of the earth.The workers are absolutely necessary to running industry. They furnish the labour power without which not a wheel would turn. But they do not control their own labor power. Since the beginning of civilisation, workers have slaved under one master after another; we, the workers, have produced all the goods for society. We have fought all the wars and made all the sacrifices that the masters' economic system has required. We, the workers, have been forced to produce, and never have we had a say in what we made, how it is made, or what it is used for. We have been slaves to them all, be it by wages or chains. To them we are a commodity, to produce at their bidding. And what do we, the workers of the world, have to show for these years of toil? They have given us as little as they can get away with! They work us as hard and fast as they can. They make us produce cheaply, with no regard to quality or possible hazards from the products. They make us build out of inferior material and work us in such a way that we cannot make our work of best quality. They make us produce things that are ecological harmful to our world. They make us destroy food when there are thousands of people dying of starvation. Low wages, unemployment, war and hunger are some of the problems we, as workers, have had to face all of our lives and throughout history. In any time of crisis, who are they that are told to make the needed sacrifices? Have you ever heard of the rich helping? Have they ever been willing to use their great wealth (which they got from our labour) to relieve suffering? Do they not always use these times of crisis to add to their wealth? Do they not even hold back food from the hungry to drive up prices? Inequality has existed in our economic wage system since its development.

 On top there are the masters who own and rule industry, and below are the slaves, the workers, who produced all the goods. Wages are paid to workers for this production, which is only a small portion of the market value of the goods that we the working class produce. The greatest part of the wealth we create goes to our masters in the form of profit.

Is this the life we doom our children to?

As long as there are masters, the workers are no more than a commodity, to be bought when needed and cast away when not. Because of this, a class war has gone on through the ages of civilised history.

 Wherever labour and natural resources come together, there industry springs up. The wealth produced on the job is divided in two parts. part goes to the workers in the form of wages and part to the capitalists in the form of profits. The share of each is determined by the amount of control they exert over the job. On every jobs there are two conflicting interests. The capitalist wants to make the biggest possible profits in the shortest possible time. To accomplish this he must get as much as possible out of the workers and must give them as little as possible. He wants hard work, long hours, low wages, and low running expenses, which makes rotten conditions. The workers are on the job to make a living. To this end they must have short hours, high wages, easy work and good conditions.

This conflict of interest is the cause of the struggle that goes on between workers and employees--the class struggle.  Every strike, boycott, or any job action is a battle in this class war and it shall continue until we, the workers of the world, take industry into our own hands use it for the benefit of all.

The oppressive conditions under which the vast majority of wage workers must live is forcing them to struggle for political and economic freedom. Capitalism was never intended to benefit anybody but the privileged few. The wage system implies the existence of two economic classes. Under it the workers suffer, it means no end of misery, therefore from the standpoint of the workers it is Right to get together as a class and abolish the wage system, and in its place erect the cooperative commonwealth.

 

The Socialist Party's Principles

 

If democracy means control of society by the majority of the people, then democracy does not exist. Under the domination of the small ruling class, political freedoms are being eroded; the power of corporations and government bureaucracy grows; militarisation, economic exploitation and environmental harm intensify daily.  Economic freedom and democracy will be integral parts of the revolution, the one that will build socialism. To accomplish this will require the most organised and conscious revolutionary movement in history. It means organizing all working people around the world into a single unified socialist movement. We must organise politically to contest the politicians committed to continuing capitalism, to educate for the need for socialist change and to openly and painstakingly gather our forces in as peaceful a manner as possible, using all our efforts to build a new society suited to the conditions of our time.

Under capitalism today the means of wealth production are privately owned. With socialism tomorrow they will be collectively owned. Under capitalism government’s main purpose is the protection of private property. Industry is at present controlled by a few industrial barons whose purpose is to take from the workers as much wealth as possible. In socialism, the political State will have ceased to exist. Socialism is industrial democracy. Industrial democracy is Socialism. The government is the government of the property-holding classes. Its purpose is to keep the workers, who have no property, in subjection. Its most important laws are laws of oppression. Socialism will need no armies, police and prisons. The courts and judges today are almost wholly concerned with two kinds of work. One is to try cases at law that grow out of private property relations. When two property holders quarrel about a piece of property they go to court in order to have the fight settled as cheaply as possible. Another function of the courts is to sit in judgement upon and determine the punishment of such of the poor as may have been "guilty" of disrespect for private property. Of course, everybody now knows that rich offenders purchase this "justice," while poor offenders get it presented to them. Do the starving poor take food? They are sent to jail. Such is the nature and purpose of the political government today.  In socialism, there will be no lawless rich to keep their place by repressing the poor. There will be no enslaved poor to be suppressed. There will be no great private fortunes to fight about in the courts. In their class war upon the working people, one of the most effective weapons of the capitalists has been the force wielded by their political government. Everywhere the workers have been fooled into supporting the government. Even reform politicians use the powers of government in the interests of the master class. They vote for such politicians as call themselves "the friends of labour." But they soon find out again that "the friends of labour" out of office, become the enemies of labour when in office. In every country under the sun, the workers are forced to organize a party of their own.

Government ownership is not socialism. State ownership can never lead to socialism. It is not a step toward socialism. It has nothing socialistic about it because all political government is the rule from the top.

The Socialist Party stands not merely for POLITICAL supremacy.  Its purpose is not to secure higher old-age pensions and free meals for school children. Its mission is to help overthrow capitalism and establish socialism. The great purpose of the Socialist Party is to capture the powers of government and thus prevent them from being used by the capitalists against the workers as socialism is constructed. The Socialist Party is not a political party in the same sense as other parties. The success of socialism would abolish practically every ministry existing under the present form of government. Local councils, legislatures and parliament would not be composed principally of office-seekers whose highest ambition seems to be to enact laws with loopholes in them for the rich. But the administrative organs of the workers would be composed of men and women and their work would be to improve the conditions of labour, to minimise the expenditure of labour-power, and to increase production. Everybody now realises that it is ridiculous for sane people to work all day and every day. "The less work the better," is the motto that the workers must set themselves. The Socialist Party is the bearer of sound knowledge, using its great and growing organisation to teach socialism. When the working class is strong enough at the ballot box, it will make an end to capitalism. When a worker understands socialism, he or she does not ask who will do the hard work, will socialism divide up, will socialism destroy incentives, and similar, foolish questions. Socialism is explained as a political scheme.

 Let all the wealth now being wasted in wars and in competitive commerce - let all this waste stop. Let the latest technology be everywhere used. Let the genius of the workers be liberated for the many inventions and the development of better processes. If all this were to be done, it is readily seen that a small portion of the day, or a few days per month, or a few months steady work per year, will yield social wealth in abundance. It would be foolish for us to say how much a worker should work because we do not know how much wealth he or she will desire for oneself and family. It is not for us to determine that. But it is most reasonable to suppose that with socialism an individual working eight hours a day for four months in the year will produce food, clothing and shelter in abundance. Those who will not work will not be permitted to starve. At present, even all healthy people wish to work, yet none desire life-long slavery for the profit of others.

 People will be educated in freedom. They will work in freedom. They will live in freedom. Most of the diseases which now afflict humanity will be unknown because their causes will have been removed. Where there is plenty for all, none will be driven to swindle, to steal or to take profits. Education will be within the reach of everyone. Science and the arts will flourish. Socialism will free not only the slave but the slave-driver and the slave-owner. Socialism today makes war upon the enemies of the working class. When it is victorious, even the enemies of the working class will embrace it. Peace and brotherhood will come with freedom. Then we shall have economic democracy and a cooperative commonwealth.