SOCIALISM - A BEACON FOR HUMANITY

 The Socialist Party wants to bring about a society in which men and women will consider each other as brothers and sisters and by mutual support,  through a fraternal, egalitarian and libertarian association, will achieve the greatest well-being and freedom as well physical and intellectual development for all. Your exploitation is ours and our case is yours. 

The strongest person is the one who is the least isolated; the most independent is the one who has most contacts and friendships. In spite of the bloody wars; in spite of the sufferings and humiliations inflicted one another; in spite of exploitation and tyranny,  human society still represents vital and progressive characteristics, feelings of sympathy, a sense of a shared compassion which in normal times cannot be flouted without rousing disgust and disapproval. In their daily lives humanity, one finds that as well as the struggle to  gain better working conditions, the lust for domination is viewed as an unhealthy passion which set people against people, while  mutual aid, unceasing and voluntary exchange of services, affection, love, friendship and all that which draws people closer together are seen as valuable virtues. Indeed, the very existence of any community would not be possible if the social feelings were not more present than the bad. The sympathy among mankind, and the experience and awareness of the individual and social advantages which stem from the development of these sentiments, have created and go on to produce concepts such as “justice” “human and civil rights” and “morality” that express the general interest and the common achievement of all mankind.  Working people are well suited for socialism because they’ve practiced it, at least in part, for many centuries. 

The Socialist Party says a free society can exist only through voluntary association, and that its ultimate success will depend upon the intellectual development of the workers who will supplant the wage system with a new social arrangement, based on solidarity and economic well-being for all. That is socialism, plain and simple, in theory, and practice. Mutual aid and solidarity are necessities of life. The masters of the world seek to seize back whatever gains the workers have achieved through class struggle.

The working-class movement is being weakened and undermined by the terrible economic conditions on the one hand and the capitalist offensive on the other. It is imperative that something is done to enable it to overcome its difficulties and deal with the present situation. All are agreed as to that. But what? Our policy is to promote the development of a class struggle and to oppose class collaboration. 

The Socialist Party scorns to hide its aims. It exists to fight against the exploitation of those who toil by hand and brain and to strengthen the working-class organisation and political understanding of the need of ending capitalism and establishing socialism. 

The Socialist Party represents the future and presents its conception of socialism of the future. We hold that the principles for which we stand should end impoverishment and win the Earth for the working peoples. We seek a world in which the exploitation of man by man shall cease when the evolution of human society to new and higher forms shall become possible to all mankind when socialism and peace shall be enjoyed by all.  The future is ours.

It is the capitalist system which produces disasters. It is clear that their solution requires the concerted and sustained effort of the entire world, the co-operation of all peoples on a universal scale and plan. All must be thrown into the common pool, and the whole of humanity must be set to the task as one huge association pursuing one, and only one object: to save itself from environmental destruction. Can this be realised under, the capitalist system? Obviously it cannot. It is evident that the capitalist system cannot remedy the present-day social ills, and that, consequently, if it remains in power, the world will suffer. Only with socialism is such worldwide cooperation and such concerted intensive effort possible. Gradually people are learning this truth, at least the most far-seeing among them.  Others are busy endeavouring to undo some of the problems, still, apparently, believing that the world can be restored, even though capitalism continues to be the system of the world. But they will recognise that they are mistaken and that the foundations on which, they propose to carry out the immense work are nothing but shifting sand. The gaps in the economic system of the world are so large and numerous that no amount of patching up here and patching up there will avail. The time for reforms is gone: now is the time for a radical change in the basis itself, that is, for the Revolution.

Clear Thinking.

 

What is a capitalist? A capitalist is one who owns enough property in the means of living such as land, factories, railways, steamships, raw materials, etc., to be able to live without needing to work. The income derived from this private ownership frees the capitalist from the necessity of working for his livelihood.

It may be asked, what, then, is a worker?

A worker is one who, not owning any or sufficient property, is forced to sell his or her labour-power to the capitalist class, in order that he may live. Workers are separated from their means of life and dependant upon their masters for work. 

There are those who credit our present rulers with special regard for the interests of the workers. Labour and Conservative Governments have succeeded one another in the task of administering the affairs of the capitalist class; with the result that working-men and women still go needlessly to their doom in order that their good, kind masters may enjoy lives of culture and benevolence on the profits realised from the workers’ toil. The wage-slaves of to-day pile up wealth in hitherto unheard-of quantities; yet it is too much to expect that they should be enabled to do so in security. It is cheaper to let them be burnt or buried alive than to pay for the necessary supervision to prevent such events.

 Socialism does not mean anything so negative as the entire absence of private property, nor is the State to own and control everything. The latter is a distorted description of State Capitalism which may justly be attributed to one section of the Labour Party. It is not socialism, and has never received the support of the Socialist Party as our “Object” states, socialism is “a system of society based upon the common ownership and democratic control of the means and instruments for producing and distributing wealth by and in the interests of the whole community.” Far from abolishing all private property,  socialism will place it in the power of all of the population to share in the varied kinds of wealth that society can produce—something which at present is denied in large measure to most of them.

We ask our blog visitors to remember that buying and selling, and the use of money as the basis of the economic activities of human society are relatively recent acquirements. They have served their useful purpose, and the means now exist (as a result of the development of capitalism), for society to arrange the production and distribution of wealth without the intervention of money.

 Socialism is not going to be introduced by a political party which has been placed in power for some other purpose by electors who are not socialist.  The important point is that Socialist Party candidates will only be elected to the House of Commons on a socialist manifesto (not on a programme of capitalist reforms), by a socialist electorate (not by electors who want a living wage, or family endowment, etc.) and for the single purpose of establishing socialism. The only way of retaining the confidence of a socialist electorate will be to work for socialism. If Socialist Party M.P.s fail to do the work for which they are elected, the voters will get rid of them at the first opportunity.

Critics of the Socialist Party accuse it of being inciting popular unrest and state that for years past we have been saying that the rich are growing richer and the poor becoming poorer. Also, we have said this so often and so persistently that many are inclined to believe there must be some truth in the indictment. In fact, there is none. So says apologists for capitalism.

 As capitalism develops, the major portion of the wealth produced concentrates still further into fewer and fewer hands. It is, therefore^ obvious that the poverty of the mass must increase relative to the wealth of the propertied class. And as bad as the lot of the workers may be at the moment, it will tend to become worse with the further development of capitalism.

The only solution to the poverty problem of the working class is not for individual workers to buy a house, a home or a few shares, but to organise to do away with capitalism, the cause of their poverty, and to bring into existence socialism, the social system which will free them from poverty.

Socialism -The Hope of Humanity

 We are constantly told that socialism will never work. They tell us that, human nature being what it is. the idea of producing what is needed and taking from the common stock of what is produced, without buying and selling anything, is pie-in-the-sky. Yet even today, with the profit system making us wary of giving anything away or having it stolen from us, people are willing to help others at some cost to themselves if they see there is genuine need. To imagine what life will be like in a socialist world we have to subtract all the institutions and the behaviour and ideas that go to maintain the profit system. Then we have to imagine the huge expansion of goodwill towards others, willingness to help and be helped, opportunities to be creative and not destructive, that a world of common property, democratic control, production solely to meet needs, and free access will offer.

There are sufficient resources in the world to provide adequately for every human being on earth. Why then do millions die annually of hunger and hunger-related illnesses? Why then is there poverty in every country throughout the world? Why then are people homeless and millions living in slums? Why then are there wars over markets, trade routes and places of strategic interest? Why is there competition, alienation, crime and the civil conflicts which, however disguised as a political or religious war is, when stripped of its rhetoric, a profane struggle over access to jobs, homes, status and profits? Why, when there is potential abundance for all to the goods and services that are needed by the whole human family do we live in a state of economic anarchy and political barbarism?

The answer, quite simply and beyond dispute, is that the resources of the planet are the property of a small minority class of capitalists. The working class is denied access to the land, factories, mills, mines, warehouses, stores and other resources of society except when they are permitted to work in the production of wealth. It is the working class that applies its skills and energies to the resources of nature and produces all wealth. But workers are only permitted to work in such circumstances as hold out the promise of profit for their masters. Production is not undertaken simply to satisfy real or imagined need. The primary purpose of production is profit and if there is not the prospect of profit for the capitalist class then, however essential the needs of the working class are, if there is no profit there is no production. That is why people who can not pay for food die of hunger and that is why we say that it is absurd to say that our society is civilised.

The destinies of men and women are bound up together, and the emancipation of women can only come with the emancipation of men. Socialism is the only hope of the whole working-class irrespective of sex, and The Socialist Party is the only party that stands for undiluted socialism. So long as the system of capitalist production endures, so long must toil and trouble increase for the workers, both men and women. The only hope for both is in socialism, for then only will wealth producers benefit by a plethora of wealth, and labour-saving devices mean a lightening of toil. If the increase of willing workers and labour-saving machinery serves only to make heavier the burden on the worker, we have to ask for an explanation. 

Mighty modern technology is a social instrument, ownership of which imparts almost absolute power. Too huge to be owned individually by the worker, the machine must be owned socially, and the workers can only throw off the yoke of wage-slavery and become their own masters by collectively assuming control of the machinery of industry and using it in the interests of the wealth producers.When the producers own the means of production and raw material they will reap the benefit of every improvement: but if the means of producing wealth are the property of a handful of individuals who use them as a means of profit only, then the greater the skill and number of propertyless workers, the fiercer will competition be between them, and the greater the portion of their produce they will tacitly be compelled to bid to the owners of the machinery of production in return for permission to earn a living.The decrease in the well-being of the worker is due to the divorce of the producers from the means of production and the ownership of the latter by a parasitic class: the remedy is the ownership of the productive and distributive machinery by the producers of wealth, and an end of class parasitism. In short, the disease is inherent in capitalism and can be cured only by socialism. Quack “remedies” that touch symptoms only are useless, the root cause must be abolished or the disease will grow worse. 

The Crumbling Scottish NHS

Unison's Janet Stewart said: "Staff are leaving, the turnover of staff higher than ever, we have waiting lists higher than ever, and the NHS is facing real challenges to recruit." 

Data published by the Royal College for Nursing (RCN) showed 45 per cent of respondents in Scotland said necessary care had been left undone due to a lack of time.

Almost a third of patients are still waiting too long to be seen at A&E departments. More than a quarter of nursing staff in hospitals across Scotland have reported patients being treated in ‘inappropriate’ settings such as hospital corridors. That number soared to 63 per cent for nursing staff working in emergency care.

Patients slept on recliner chairs for up to three days increasing the risk of pressure sores before being admitted at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, a report has found. Others lay on trolleys in corridors for up to 28 hours waiting for treatment. Those patients being cared for in corridors for lengthy periods of time and requirements such as washing, showering and toileting "could not be met".

Inspectors felt NHS Ayrshire and Arran were unable to show they could manage these patients safely. It also highlighted concerns over mixed-sex bays, overcrowding and staff shortages. Additional beds were found in some six-bay wards that did not have oxygen facilities or power outlets for monitoring equipment as part of the hospital's full capacity plan.

They also concluded managers did not have sufficient oversight of care provided in both accident and emergency and combined assessment unit (CAU) areas of the hospital.

At the time of the inspection, the fire alarm sounded, but staff were not able to move patients because they did not know how.

NHS Lanarkshire has warned its three hospitals are operating "beyond critical occupancy levels" due to staff and bed shortages. Patients have been asked not to attend accident and emergency unless their condition is life-threatening.

The health board confirmed University hospitals Hairmyres, Monklands and Wishaw are all at maximum capacity. It means a return to the "highest risk level".

Colin Poolman, RCN Scotland interim director, said: “It’s scandalous that nursing staff have to treat patients in the corridors, waiting rooms and even in the back of ambulances outside of hospital entrances.

"This must not become a ‘new normal’ – it is putting patients at risk. Today’s emergency department statistics show that severe staffing shortages continue to have a serious impact on patient care.

“We’re in the situation largely because of the failure of Scottish Government to address the nursing workforce crisis, which has seen registered nurse vacancies reach a record high. Urgent action is needed to protect patient safety, address staff shortages and demonstrate that the nursing workforce is valued as a safety critical profession.”

Save Humanity, Save he Earth

 

All the major political parties applaud the Welfare State. The truth about it all was that the so-called “Welfare State” arose not through the goodwill of any political party but because of the need to adapt the social services to the changing conditions of capitalism. The need to allay any possible working class discontent after the war. Of course, it was a benefit to the health of the working class. The socialist view is that the Welfare State won’t abolish the poverty problem which confronts the working class but is just the best method the capitalist class have devised to re-distribute poverty from the point of view of efficiency. Today is quickly being exposed by the widespread appeals of charities and food banks for help reveals its weaknesses.

Capital is money invested with a view to obtaining a profit by the employment of wage-earners. “Capital” cannot, therefore, be “communally” owned. Socialism or communal ownership involves the abolition of the wages system, the abolition of a propertied class and a wage-earning class, and the abolition of capital. The means of production, land, factories, railways, etc., will be owned by the community, and it will no longer be possible for a propertied class to live by owning property: the means of production will not then be “capital.”

As we have many times demonstrated, nationalisation, or state capitalism, is not beneficial but directly harmful to the working class, even considered as an immediate policy. Further, it is not a step towards socialism.

The  Socialist Party continually warn the wage-slave that when he fights he is not fighting for the benefit of himself, but of his master.

 

Socialism is the question of humanity. Its goal is the welfare of all the people. The capitalist system has divided society into two classes — capitalists and workers — and these classes are pitted against each other in a worldwide struggle. The capitalist class is unnecessary to society. Politicians employed by capitalists endeavour to keep the working people divided on alleged issues in which the toiling classes have no interest whatsoever. As long as they succeed in doing this the capitalists will hold the reins of power.We propose the abolition of the system that produces the conditions under which one person is gorged and another endures deprivation.This is a conflict between socialism and capitalism, a contest for the common ownership of the world for the benefit of mankind. The domination of one class over another degrades humanity. Socialism, which will abolish all class differences restores humanity.

The Socialist Party condemns the whole class system to extinction. Socialism alone gives true meaning to the whole idea of human justice. Every human being has a right to full and unfettered development. And  the community itself must have the right of ownership over all the means of production. To change the world and to create a better one has always been the aspiration of the Socialist Party. Its hope is that tomorrow's world can be free of today's inequalities, hardships and deprivations. Its belief is that people can, individually and collectively, influence the shape of the world to come. However, the Socialist Party is not a group of utopian reformers nor heroic saviours of humanity. Socialist society is not a fantastic design or recipe conceived by well-intentioned know-it-alls. Socialism is a social movement arising from within modern capitalist society itself, a movement that reflects the vision, ideals and protest of a vast section of this same society. - the working class.

The capitalist system is behind all the ills that burden humanity today. Poverty, privation, discrimination, inequality, sexism, political repression, ignorance, racism, bigotry, unemployment, environmental destruction, homelessness, insecurity, superstition, corruption and crime are all inevitable products of this system. Many of these have all existed before capitalism but  have found a new meaning in this society, corresponding to the needs of capitalism of today drawing their rationale from the requirement of the capitalists  that rule the world today. The economic laws that govern the capitalist system relentlessly resists people's effort to eradicate and overcome these ills. 

The capitalist system’s primacy of profit exposes working people to mortal danger and irreparable damage. Capitalism is based on exploitation. The essence of capitalism and the basis of exploitation in this system is the fact that on the one hand, labour power is a commodity, and, on the other hand, the means of production are the private property of the capitalist class. The surplus value extracted from the exploitation of the working class is divided among the various sections of the capitalist class. Profit, interest and rent are the major forms in which the different capitals share the spoils of workers’ sweat.  The market mechanism and also through state fiscal and monetary policies, the competition between  each capitalist branch, unit and enterprise determines the share. This surplus pays the whole cost of the capitalists’ taxes to the state machine and administration so by its work, the working class pays the cost of the ruling class.

The motivating aim of economic activity is not the satisfaction of people's needs, but profitability and accumulation of capital. The socialist revolution is the abolition of private ownership of the means of production and their conversion into common ownership of the whole society, an end to the class division of society and to the wage-labour system. Thus, the market, exchange economy of commodities, and money disappear. Production for profit is replaced by production to meet people's needs and to bring about greater prosperity for all.

 Work, which in capitalist society for the overwhelming majority is an involuntary, mechanical and strenuous activity to earn a living, gives way to voluntary, creative and conscious activity to enrich human life. Everyone, by virtue of being a human being and being born into human society will be equally entitled to all of life's resources and the products of collective effort. From everyone according to their ability, to everyone according to their need — this is a basic principle of socialist society.  Socialism is a global society. National boundaries and divisions will disappear and give way to a universal human identity. Socialist society is a society without a state. The administrative affairs of the society will be managed by the cooperation, consensus and collective decision-making of all of its members.

Socialism is not a dream or utopia. All the conditions for the creation of such a society already exist within the capitalist world itself. The scientific, technological and productive powers of humanity have already grown so enormously that abundance and a society committed to the well-being of all are perfectly feasible.  The organisation of a world community with collective participation in the design, planning and execution of society's diverse functions is possible more than ever before.

A large part of our planet’s resources is now either wasted or deliberately not used to improve society and satisfy human needs. But socialism will apply all the creative and living power of billions of men and women to free them all from class bondage, wage-slavery and alienation.