Our Aim is Socialism

 

What is socialism? According to Marx and Engels, socialism means a society of associated producers that is characterised by collective ownership of the means of production, and the planning of production to satisfy needs (production of use-values and not commodities). It means a class-free society without a state, without, that is, special organs or apparatuses for administrative, managerial or joint decision-making purposes that are divorced from the decision-making of citizens and community. Such a society can exist only if it is managed by the working people themselves and only if it takes its destiny into their own hands, freed from the tyranny of the “laws of the market”. Socialism must NOT be based upon a one-party state or a single “ central command economy apparatus.  Socialism is necessary because private property and the market economy, the quest for private wealth and, above all, commercial competition are feeding makeand leading us to disaster.

The Socialist Party remains convinced that existing resources makes no reason to suppose that poverty is inevitable or that there are not sufficient goods and services to cover basic needs in terms of food, health, reasonably comfortable housing, culture, leisure, and public transport. It is not utopian to speak of the abolition of commodity production. lt is certainly possible to feed all the men and women who live on our planet without destroying the ecological balance, provided that population growth is controlled on a worldwide basis, and the indications are that it is starting to be controlled. The currently available scientific data show no ground for fears that energy or mineral resources will inevitably be exhausted. Global redistribution of the resources required to eliminate famine and poverty does not necessarily imply a fall in the standard of living enjoyed by the average person in the developed world.  Redistribution could to a large extent be achieved using resources which are now wasted or make no contribution to living standards, such as armament manufacture.

Socialism means cooperation and solidarity between producer-consumer to replace the selfish urge to acquire private wealth. Cooperation and solidarity were the prevailing features in primitive society and must again eventually become universal traits of humanity. It is not utopian to speak of altruism replacing selfishness.

Socialism is based upon a class-free society and it will result from education and “rationalist” propaganda, “science,” and a “desire for emancipation”  No socialist society can emerge without socialist theory or without a deep desire for emancipation.

Whoever travels around the countries of the world must be struck by its beauty. But, in addition to great natural beauty — our planet is rich in natural resources, the matchless skill of its people and in its potential to produce everything necessary for a good life for all. The world’s greatest single asset is the ingenuity of its diverse peoples. Our planet could be a paradise for people. But the world is not a paradise for the people. On the contrary.

What is wrong with the world is the way society is organised, the “system of society” which prevails. Some of the main features of this society are:

1.  It is divided into rich and poor

2.  Wars — involving incalculable suffering to the people — are a regular occurrence.

3. It is a system of exploitation. Capitalism is a system in which the means for producing the wealth (the land, the mines, factories, the machines etc.) are in private hands. 

By exploitation, we mean living off the labour of other people. There have been previous forms of exploitation. In slave society, the slave-owners lived off the labour of the slaves who were their property. In feudal society, the feudal lords lived off the forced labour of the serfs. In capitalist society the worker is neither a slave nor yet a serf, i.e. forced to do free, unpaid labour for a master. But he is exploited just the same, even though the form of this exploitation is not so open and clear as was the case with the slaves and the serfs.

The essence of exploitation under capitalism consists in this — that the workers, when set to work with raw materials and machinery, produce far more in value than what is paid out by the capitalists in wages, for raw materials etc. In short, they produce a surplus which belongs to the capitalists and for which they are not paid. Thus they are robbed of the values they produce. This is the source of capitalist profit. It is on this surplus, produced by the workers, that the capitalist lives in riches and luxury. Capitalism is a system in which the means for producing wealth are owned by a few who live by exploiting the workers, i.e. by robbing them of the values they produce over and above the value of their wages.

It is a system of booms and slumps. From the earliest days, capitalism has been marked by periodic slumps, or “economic crises” or recession as they are called, which cause mass unemployment and untold misery for the working people. Capitalism is a system based on competition. There are many capitalists each producing the same kind of commodity. Each hopes to sell all that he has produced and thereby realise a profit. He has to compete with his rivals in an attempt to sell his goods. The number of goods produced therefore bears no relation to the real demand. Capitalism is thus by its nature an unplanned, anarchic system. Each capitalist tries to produce as much and as cheaply as possible in order to grab as much of the market — and as much profit — as possible. To do so more effectively, to defeat their rivals, the capitalists constantly seek to cheapen production by introducing new machinery, speeding up the workers etc. Thus more and more goods are being produced. At the same time, they seek to drive down the wages of the workers in order to increase their share of the wealth produced.

So long as capitalism continues to exist crises are inevitable. 

Socialism, the society of tomorrow

 

Supporters of the established order have little doubt about what the future holds for working people. Capitalism is here to stay—indefinitely. Socialism has little future. A socialist revolution is a pipe dream. Socialism is a Utopian fantasy without relevance. The Socialist Party holds to the contrary that socialism is the only progressive alternative to capitalism’s misrule. Socialism is both a liberating and realistic goal. Many disgusted with the intolerable evils of capitalism have exclaimed at one time or another: “There must be a better way of living” There is and there can be. That is the essential message presented by the Socialist Party.

World socialism operating with a planned economy under the democratic control of the working people could assure everyone of the basic necessities of food, healthcare, and housing and provide an increasing abundance of material benefits and cultural advantages that would radically transform the habits, customs, and relations of human beings for the better. Such a system would eradicate oppressive inequalities of all kinds and enhance individual opportunities and freedoms in a fraternal atmosphere of social solidarity. This vision of what a socialist future could achieve is in contrast to the capitalist way of life. Sooner or later, he affirmed, the slumbering giant of the labour movement will shake off its lethargy and go forward to fulfill its historical mission. On this hangs the future of humanity.

 What will it be like after the revolution? How will socialism be organised? Socialist society is not anything immutable. Like all other social formations, it should be conceived in a state of constant flux and change. Its crucial difference from the present order consists naturally in production organised on the basis of common ownership of all means of production. 

We believe that it should be our special aim to make socialists, by putting before the working-class the elementary truths of socialism, since we feel sure, in the first place, that there are comparatively few who understand what socialism is, or have had opportunities of arguing on the subject with those who have at least begun to understand it; and, in the second place, we are no less sure that before any definite Socialist action can be attempted, it must be backed up by a great body of intelligent opinion, people who know what they want, and are prepared to accept the responsibilities of self-governance. Socialism is the rule by the working people. They will decide how socialism is run. 

When socialism comes it will not be through the back door nor in the darkness of night. It will come only when a socialist party, having won the confidence of the working class is able to convince the majority  that socialism, that is, the common ownership and operation of the means of production, has become necessary. Socialism is based upon the common ownership and democratic control of the means of production, upon production for use as against production for profit, upon the abolition of all classes, all class divisions, class privilege, class rule, upon the production of such abundance that the struggle for material needs is completely eliminated, so that humanity, at last freed from economic exploitation, from oppression, from any form of coercion by a state machine, can devote itself to its fullest intellectual and cultural development. Much can perhaps be added to this definition, but anything less you can call whatever you wish, but it will not be socialism.

,

Against this insane capitalist system, the Socialist Party raises its voice in emphatic protest and unqualified condemnation. It declares that if our society is to be rid of the host of economic, political and social ills that for so long have plagued it, the outmoded capitalist system of private ownership of the socially operated means of life and production for the profit of a few must be replaced by a new social order. That new social order must be organised on the same basis of social ownership and democratic management of all the instruments of social production, all means of distribution and all of the social services. It must be one in which production is carried on to satisfy human needs and wants. In short, it must be genuine socialism.

The Socialist  Party calls upon all who understand the critical nature of our times, and who may be increasingly aware that a basic change in our society is needed, to place themselves squarely on working-class principles. Join us in this effort to put an end to the existing class conflict and all its malevolent results by placing the land and the instruments of social production in the hands of the people as a collective body in a cooperative socialist society. Help us build a world in which everyone will enjoy the free exercise and full benefit of their individual faculties, multiplied by all the technological and other factors of modern civilisation.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE - FREEDOM NOW

 “The state has not always existed. There were societies which did without it, which had no idea of the state or of state power. At a given stage of economic development, which was necessarily bound up with the breakup of society into classes, the state became a necessity, as a result of this division. . . With the disappearance of classes the state, too, will inevitably disappear.” (Engels)

The capitalists are the ruling class. But the class of capitalists is itself divided. We have small businesses and big business, small landlords and large real estate companies. The various capitalists have interests that conflict.

No ruling class has ever inscribed on its war banner: “We fight for the Greater Good of Our Class Interests.” That is, no ruling class has ever done so if it expects the mass of people to do the fighting for it. It always goes to wars for God, for country, for honour, for defence, for freedom – for an aim which is also shared by those who have to do the dying.

class-divided

The first step in a class analysis is to understand the antagonism of the two basic classes: capitalist and worker. Racism, like nationalism, is the ideological product of class divided society. This ideology serves to divide the oppressed classes and strengthen the oppressors, a basic economic strategy designed to maintain a surplus of labour and prevent the unity of the exploited. All aspects of capitalist ideology that penetrate the working class must be struggled against and overcome. The establishment of a socialist society will go a long way toward the elimination of present-day racism until racism is wiped out entirely.

People have been taught to bow before the modern state with superstitious awe. The State has been looked upon as something sacred, as a “neutral arbiter,” standing above classes and mediating disputes between them. In reality, government institutions are dominated by representatives of the capitalist class and ensure their rule. The State is the product and the manifestation of the irreconcilability of class antagonisms. The State arises when, where, and to the extent that class antagonisms cannot be objectively reconciled. And conversely, the existence of the State proves that the class antagonisms are irreconcilable. The State is a special organisation of force; it is the organisation of violence for the suppression of the working class.

a 

In socialist society, all means of production will be common property. There will be no classes and no class struggle. The consequences of class-divided society – racism, national chauvinism, male supremacy, the monogamous family based on property, etc. – will all have disappeared. There will be no wars, no armies, and no need for weapons of war, which will become historical curiosities. There will be no distinction between mental and manual work. Socialism will be a life of material and cultural abundance. Contradictions between people will remain, but these will not be antagonistic and will be resolved by mutual cooperation.

Forward to a socialist world, a society where peace, justice, equality and an end to poverty can be achieved.

 

 

 

Abolish the Monarchy

 

Fewer than half of people in Scotland say they support retaining the monarchy, according to a major new poll that reveals the cultural divides emerging within the union.

Only 45% in Scotland said they wanted to retain the monarchy – with 36% saying the end of the Queen’s reign would be the right moment to move to a republic.

Only 48% of people living in Scotland are interested in the jubilee – fewer than said they were interested in the World Cup in December, despite the fact that Scotland have not yet qualified. This contrasts with 73% of people in Wales and two-thirds across England who are interested in next month’s events.

Who are our enemies? Who are our friends?

 Some fellow workers may have heard about the Socialist Party for the first time only recently, we are not a new party. Our programme is based on the principles worked out by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels over a century ago. Their teachings constitute a guide that can end the workers of their misery, and despair and eliminate the bloodshed of capitalism into a better world of socialism. We are their heirs. Our aims are far more radical than simple reforms and trade unionism. World society can no longer advance under the capitalist system. National boundaries are like a strait-jacket on industry. Environmental destruction is a most ominous warning that humanity itself faces extinction if the chaos and anarchy of capitalism continue. The only hope is to end capitalism and build a socialist society. With socialism, the rule of a privileged minority is ended forever. The national resources, transportation system, mines, mills and factories pass into the hands of the people. The Socialist Party is dedicated to the great goal of guiding working people out of the blind alley of capitalism and into the planned society of socialism. The road to socialism is the road to peace and plenty. 

The Socialist Party believes in the international solidarity of the working class. The interests of the workers extend across all frontiers. Every person who is against another war, who is against capitalist exploitation and capitalist oppression should join the Socialist Party. Here he or she will find enthusiastic, militant, and whole-heartedly devoted to the great historic task of freeing humanity from the chains of capitalism. The combined political power of these workers far exceeds the simple sum of their individual strengths taken one by one. This power gives new strength, courage and freedom of mind to the sincere worker who joins the Socialist Party – a life of the greatest satisfaction, the only life that is really worthwhile, a life dedicated to the struggle against capitalism and for the world of socialism. The class struggle and class warfare continue under all circumstances in capitalist society.

We have witnessed the complete bankruptcy of capitalism as a social system. Why has the bankrupt system of capitalism survived? Why has the scourge of hunger and poverty inflicted mankind? Why have the devastations of one  war has been followed by another and another. There is only one answer to these questions, and it has been given by history: Bankrupt capitalism has survived beyond its time, and inflicted untold evil on the world, primarily because of the betrayal of the principles of socialism by those who pretended to speak in its name. Pseudo-socialists, intervened to play their tragic role of deception, sabotage and betrayal. They continued to preach socialism in words, but in practice they placed themselves at the service of the capitalist class. We of the Socialist  Party have nothing to do with these brands of so-called “socialism” or “communism.” We are orthodox, Marxists because we know that Marxism is the only revolutionary socialism of the working class, and that is the only genuine socialism. History has demonstrated the spuriousness of every other brand. Marxism is a theory of social evolution which affirms that capitalism is obsolete and bankrupt and that it must be, and inevitably will be, replaced by a higher form of social organisation which Marx and Engels called socialism.  

The socialist society will eliminate the exploitation of labour by removing the capitalist ownership of all the means of production, distribution and communication. The working class owns none of these, and therefore workers must sell their labour power to the capitalist for wages in order to live. The worker creates a product of value, part of which is returned to him as a wage, and the rest of which is taken from him by the capitalists as profit. Thus is created the basic antagonistic contradiction between worker and capitalist, since the interest of one is, and has to be, directly opposed to the interest of the other. This most fundamental of contradictions will not end until capitalism with its private ownership and/or control of the means of production is itself ended and replaced with socialism.

Marxism teaches that socialism will not fall from the skies. Neither will it be gained by any appeals to the goodwill and compassion of the capitalist exploiters, as the Utopians, who preceded Marx, used to think, and as some people still seem to think. Socialism can be realised only as of the outcome of the class struggle of the workers. Many people become frightened by the immensity of the tasks, or crushed by adversity to the point of losing their moral and intellectual backbones, and losing sight of the main line of social evolution. This ‘lost generation’ has forgotten, if they ever learned, the supreme lesson of both world history. This is that the forces making for the advancement of mankind have overcome the most formidable obstacles and won out in the end. The idea, that people capitalism is the happy final chapter of human history, is but a repetition of the prejudice prevalent in both feudal and slave societies. Without a scientific long view of history, it is impossible for peoples at a given stage of culture to relate their past with their future; thus they accept their presence as given and unchanging.

To the establishment of socialism we pledge all our efforts.

For a socialist world

 

Join the only battle

Where no man can fail,

For whoso Fadeth and dieth,

Yet his deeds shall still prevail

William Morris

To this inspiring task, we summon all who are oppressed by capitalism. Only world socialism can give us peace and plenty. Look how the capitalist world always totters on the brink of destruction. Working people continue to suffer yet  mankind produces more with less labour. Capitalism has left the workers in hunger and want and sickness and despair. The capitalist parties and governments are as rotten and bankrupt as the system they uphold. They can maintain themselves and that. system today only by piling additional burdens upon the people. For the future they offer only war, continued insecurity and increasing reaction.

The single most decisive event in the social and political history of mankind will be the coming socialist revolution. This revolution will end this terrible period of the death agony of capitalism with its social decay, hunger, wars, and bestial bigotry, and open the socialist era of abundance, peace, and harmony – of truly human civilisation on a global scale.

The myriad evils of capitalism will disappear only with the destruction of capitalism and the building of socialism. The Socialist Party dedicates itself to urge the workers of the world forward to socialism. The struggle for socialism will be an arduous one, for the capitalists will not  relinquish their power and privileges to the people and only by wresting the state power from the capitalists can we begin the task of building a new social system. What will the people of the future think of a society where the workers lived in constant fear.

Socialism will do away with the anarchy of capitalism. Democratically-elected councils of workers and citizens in every industry and district will manage the factories and public services. The vast technological and natural resources of society will help us avoid the bitter years of construction. Freed from the fetters of production for profit, the technologically-equipped factories will pour out their products without interruption: the productive forces will leap forward to provide almost undreamed-of plenty. No longer will the food be ploughed under or dumped to keep up prices.

You can count on a shorter workday, and there will still be an abundance. Enlightened citizens of a free and prosperous socialist world will not be narrow-minded, ignorant, and selfish isolationists, but will regard themselves as citizens of the world, concerned with all the affairs of the world and all its peoples, and will seek fraternal association with them on the basis of equality. Workers will decide, freely and voluntarily the world outlook which the vision of socialism.

Capitalism offers no future to the people but more recessions, wars, violence and a final plunge into barbarism. All this is part and parcel of the development of capitalism—the system which puts profits above all other considerations. The capitalist system has long outlived its usefulness. To avoid such a fate, the workers of the world must go into politics on their own account, independent of all capitalist politics. A socialist economy eliminating capitalist wars, profits and waste, will be so productive as to ensure a rich living for all who are willing and able to work and provide security and ample means for the aged and infirm, to help the hungry people of the world to improve their standard of life. The economy of the entire world will be united and planned on a socialist basis. This will bring universal peace and undreamed abundance for all people everywhere. The real upward march of humanity will begin.

We, the Socialist Party, refuse to join the reformists in leading the workers into the camp of capitalism. Now is the time for the working class must overthrow capitalism. The only road is the socialist path.  All will be free and equal. The state itself will wither away. The government of men will be replaced by the administration of things. The goal we strive for is worthy of anything we do for it.

The working class can open up the way to this new world. They are the majority. They have the power. All that is necessary is for the working class to understand it—and to use it. We firmly believe they will do so. We firmly believe the working people will help save the world.