Where we stand

Capitalism, by its method of production, has brought isolated workers together and constituted them as a class in society. Capitalism has made the workers a class in themselves. That is, the workers are a distinct class in society, whether they recognise this fact or not. Historical development calls upon this class to reorganise society completely and establish socialism. To do this, the workers must become a class for themselves. They must acquire a clear understanding of their real position under capitalism, of the nature of capitalist society as a whole, and of their mission in history. They must act consciously for their class interests. They must become conscious of the fact that these class interests lead to a socialist society. When this takes place, the workers are a class for themselves, a class with socialist consciousness.

How are the workers to acquire this consciousness – a clear understanding of capitalist society, their position in it, and the need to replace this society with socialism?

Workers try to get better wages and working conditions from their employers and soon learn the need for a union to defend themselves from attacks by the employer. They learn also the need for political action in order to influence the government in their interests. Workers are forced by capitalism to engage in the class struggle.

The thinking of the workers, which guides their fight, is based upon the ideas of the capitalist class, acquired directly from the capitalist press, schools and the like.What the workers still lack is a fundamental and thorough understanding of their real position in society and of their historic mission to establish socialism. This lack of a socialist consciousness reduces the effectiveness of their struggle and prevents them from accomplishing their mission in society.

To imbue the workers with this rounded-out class consciousness, or socialist consciousness that is the specific function of the Socialist Party. It is composed of those workers who already understand the nature of capitalism and the task of the working class. Their aim is to develop the same understanding among all the workers so that they no longer fight blindly. They and their party, therefore, have no interests separate from the interests of the working class as a whole. They merely represent its more conscious section.  It makes clear to the workers the full meaning of their fight. It shows how even the local struggles, against one capitalist, are really class struggles against capitalism; how the local struggles must be extended if the workers are to win a lasting victory. It points out the political meaning of the economic struggle. It shows how the workers must organise as a class to take political power, and use it to inaugurate socialism. It combats the open and the insidious ideas of capitalism so that the working class as a whole may be better equipped to fight its enemy. It aims to improve the position of the working class, to strengthen it, to clarify it and supply it with the most effective weapons in the struggle, to lead it in every battle in order that it may most speedily and successfully win the final battle for socialism. Against the ideas of capitalism and reformism in the working class, the Socialist Party works for the goal of socialism. The Socialist Party needs to win the working class to the principles of socialism, to socialist methods of struggle against capitalist exploitations and oppression. Socialism will never come by itself. It must be fought for. Without an organised, conscious, disciplined, active global socialist movement, the triumph of socialism is impossible.

The Socialist Party represents a long and rich tradition. It is proud of the fact that its principles and program are founded on the teachings of the greatest thinkers and writers of the working class, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and William Morris, even anarchists such as Peter Kropotkin.

What is a social revolution? It is the replacement of one ruling class by another. History is filled with such revolutions and in almost every case they made possible the progress of society. The socialist revolution is simply the overthrow of capitalist despotism and the establishment of democratic workers’ rule. The Socialist Party says that socialism can be established by the workers gaining a majority of the votes for their candidates to public office. Once they have been elected in sufficient number they will possess the political power to establish socialism relatively painlessly. Those who advocate armed struggle and insurrection are not genuine socialists and foster illusions that are fatal to the working class. The workers cannot possibly rule by means of a governmental machine. It will have to be replaced from top to bottom by an entirely different form of administration. The Socialist Party favours active participation in election campaigns. It does not deceive people into believing that socialist freedom can be achieved by nothing more than a casting a ballot. But it seeks to use every election campaign to acquaint workers with political action and to elect the greatest number of workers’ representatives who can use their office to work for labour’s interests and to tell the truth to wider masses of people. Once the State machine is captured the capitalist class can be appropriated of their property and ownership.

Socialism cannot be achieved, and the workers cannot effectively promote their interests, without class consciousness. Class consciousness means an understanding working class, a self-confident and self-reliant working class.  Socialism means peace and freedom for the entire world. The Socialist Party, therefore, gives no support to any wars and opposes them at all times. It is the party of peace, not war; of the brotherhood of the peoples, not the slaughter of the peoples. However, we are not and cannot be pacifists, except in so far as pacifism means the advocacy of peace. The class-free socialist society cannot be established within the framework of one country alone.  Socialism is world socialism, or it is not socialism at all. Just as socialist economy could not exist side by side with a capitalist economy in one country, so a socialist nation could not exist side by side with capitalist nations in one world. one or the other would have to win in the end.

The Socialist Party is the staunchest and most consistent champions of democracy. They are the opponents of capitalist democracy only because it is a class democracy, because, at its best, it is only a political democracy which cloaks the economic dictatorship of capital. Genuine democracy is possible only on the basis of economic democracy. But it does not follow that we are indifferent to democracy under capitalism. Nothing of the sort is true. The struggle for socialism can best be conducted under conditions that are most favorable to the working class. The most favourable conditions are those in which the working class has the widest possible democratic rights. Hence, it is to the interests of socialism and of the working class to fight for the unrestricted right to organise, the right to free speech, free press and free assembly, the right to strike and the right to vote, the right of representative government, and against every attempt to curb or abolish these rights.

From national separatism to planetary unity

“Marxism rejects the theory that a man is a clam wedded to the rock of his nativity.” —Daniel De Leon

Ever since Marx and Engels gave voice to the interests of the working class, the socialist working-class movement has been recognised as a worldwide one and this spirit of internationalism remains alive wherever workers raise the banner of revolutionary socialism. De Leon once wrote, "There are but two nations in the world today -- the capitalist class nation, which exploits and lives upon the sweat of the brow of the working class nation, the sweat of whose brow, through unrequited toil, feeds, clothes, houses and fattens the capitalist class nation."

Nationalism is employed by the capitalist class deliberately to submerge the class struggle and to blind the workers to their own class interests. Internationally it is used to keep the working classes of the world divided against each other, and to blind them to their common struggle and common aim. Nationally it is used to make the demands of the workers seem in conflict with "national interests," and their efforts to enforce these demands as threats to "national unity."

Convincing workers that their fortunes were intimately tied to the successes of capitalist commercial adventures throughout the world required the whole litany of nationalist rhetoric, for it was working-class well-being that was to be sacrificed in the interest of profits. The 2008 Great Recession hit Europe hard. Unemployment is rampant. The guest migrant workers have apparently out-stayed their welcome as the nationalist virus mixed with deadly strains of racism have fueled resurgent neo-fascism. Suddenly the “guests” are now persona non grata. Various European politicians from fascist ultra-nationalists to social democrats — a narrowing difference as time goes on — have expressed degrees of opposition to the movement of migrant workers. These are the same parties and governments that once encouraged foreign workers to live and move about in the EU and to participate in the economic “miracle” and other high-sounding phrases that mark an ever more intensive exploitation of the working class. They are also the same politicians and governments that have now acquiesced to “Fortress Europe”. Every worker who can see what is at stake had best heed the alarm, rouse themselves and join the struggle to educate and organise our class for socialism -- while there is still time to do so.

A world socialist movement is a powerful antidote for some of capitalism's most vicious and virulent ideologies, including racism, divisive nationalism and blind patriotism. A clear view of the commonality of interests of the oppressed throughout the world provides a powerful bulwark against the bellicose, chauvinist propaganda which issues daily from ruling-class sources. Recognition of the interest all the exploited share in ending class rule is a large step toward exposing and withdrawing support from the nationalist aims of their respective ruling classes.

Seemingly innocuous activities such s sporting events and singing contests have formed nationalistic attitudes. We hear workers speak of national and world events in terms of “we” and “our” when referring to the actions of the government. The media, the pulpits, the schools, the politicians and other mouthpieces of capitalist ideology have apparently done their job well.  In short, many workers were, and remain, caught up by the "patriotism" of the capitalist class.

Socialism and nationalism are incompatible concepts since socialism can only exist when the political state has disappeared, and its shell, the nation, has disappeared along with it.

The nation-state is the political form of capitalism. It was fashioned and adapted to promote capitalist interests in opposition to the interests of the vast majority of the working class. It is a capitalist tool, and it is anathema to the working class. We must not lose sight of the fact that nationalism is a tool of capitalist reaction used to thwart the social unrest within the working class away from tendencies aimed at their emancipation from wage slavery. It is grit in the eyes of the working class to blind them from the conditions of their exploitation and misery under capitalism.

For sure, socialist internationalism understands that each country's working-class movement must adapt itself to the conditions peculiar to the particular country. It also realises that demonstrable signs of internationalist ties between various working classes can surface only in proportion to the growth of the socialist movement in each country. Given the current weakness of socialist forces, overt signs of internationalism are infrequent. But because the overthrow of capitalist class rule and a socialist reconstruction of society remain the sole solution for the working classes of the world, the resurgence of international socialism is inevitable and will grow step-by-step with the march of the workers of the world toward a socialist future. It is one of the touchstones for gauging the real achievements of the workers' movement.  For workers today, class-consciousness -- loyalty to one's class -- is patriotism. International working-class interests are the paramount interests to be served -- not those of any capitalist political state. Class-consciousness is the key to working-class victory in ending the class struggle. It is the mortar that will hold the bricks of human progress together. Socialist solidarity means that workers' real interests and loyalties lie in supporting the efforts of workers worldwide in the class struggle; in supporting all workers' efforts to resist their exploiters and defeat their exploiters through the establishment of socialism. It means rejecting nationalism and the efforts of ruling-class nation-states to pit workers against each other in economic competition or set them at each others' throats in war. It means holding up global working-class solidarity in opposition to ruling-class nationalism.

"He fights in the name of the international proletariat against international capitalism. He attacks it where he finds it and can effectively strike it; that is, in his own country. In his own country, in the name of the international proletariat, he fights his own government and his own ruling classes as the representatives of international capitalism.” Karl Liebknecht

Organisation and Consciousness

Capitalism, by its method of production, has brought isolated workers together and constituted them as a class in society. Capitalism has made the workers a class in themselves. That is, the workers are a distinct class in society, whether they recognise this fact or not. Historical development calls upon this class to reorganise society completely and establish socialism. To do this, the workers must become a class for themselves. They must acquire a clear understanding of their real position under capitalism, of the nature of capitalist society as a whole, and of their mission in history. They must act consciously for their class interests. They must become conscious of the fact that these class interests lead to a socialist society. When this takes place, the workers are a class for themselves, a class with socialist consciousness. How are the workers to acquire this consciousness – this clear, thoroughgoing understanding of capitalist society, their position in it, and the need to replace this society with socialism? In the factory, the worker tries to get better wages and working conditions from the employer. If he cannot get them by a simple request, he soon learns the need of union organisation with which to enforce his requests and to defend himself from attacks by the employer. He learns, too, that the workers must resort to political action in order to influence the government in their interests. He and all other workers are forced by capitalism to engage in the class struggle. The thinking of the workers, which guides their fight, is based upon the ideas of the capitalist class, acquired directly from the capitalist media. What the workers still lack is a fundamental and thorough understanding of their real position in society and of their historic mission to establish socialism. This lack of a socialist consciousness reduces the effectiveness of their organisation, of their struggle, and prevents them from accomplishing their mission in society.

To imbue the workers with this rounded-out class consciousness, or socialist consciousness; to organise and lead the struggle for socialism – that is the specific function of the Socialist Party. It is composed of those workers who already understand the nature of capitalism and the historical task of the working class. Their aim is to develop the same understanding among all the workers, so that they no longer fight blindly, or with only one eye open but with a clear and scientific knowledge of what their class enemy is, of what the working class itself really is and of what it can and must do in society. They and their party therefore have no interests separate from the interests of the working class as a whole. It makes clear to the workers the full meaning of their fight. It shows how even the local struggles, against one capitalist, are really class struggles against capitalism; how the local struggles must be extended on a national and international scale if the workers are to win a lasting victory. It points out the political meaning of the economic struggle. It shows how the workers must organise as a class to take political power, and use it to inaugurate socialism. It combats the open and the insidious ideas of capitalism so that the working class as a whole may be better equipped to fight its enemy. To put it briefly, the Socialist Party is needed to win the working class to the principles of socialism. Socialism will never come by itself. It must be fought for. 

Without an organised, conscious, active mass socialist party, the triumph of socialism is impossible. To judge the different parties, it is necessary to check on their words and their deeds. Socialism cannot be achieved, and the workers cannot effectively promote their interests, without class consciousness. Class consciousness means an understanding working class, a self-confident and self-reliant working class.The socialist who has no conscious understanding, cannot work to make non-socialist workers conscious of their task.

The Socialist Party represents a long and rich tradition. The Socialist Party knows the nature of the capitalist class and its long, brutal history, some of which is known to every worker. It is proud of the fact that its principles are founded on the teachings of the greatest scientific thinkers of the international working class, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The Socialist Party describes itself as Marxist which merely signify it stands firmly on the basic principles of the greatest teachers in the history of the working class. The Socialist Party champions the idea of social revolution. What is a social revolution? It is the replacement of one ruling class by another. History is filled with such revolutions and in almost every case they made possible the progress of society. The socialist revolution is simply the overthrow of capitalist despotism and the establishment of the cooperative commonwealth. Socialism can be established by the workers gaining a majority of the votes for their candidates to public office. Once they have been elected in sufficient number they can introduce socialism relatively painlessly.

Capitalism is a world system, and it can be thoroughly destroyed only on a world scale. The Socialist Party is internationalist because it considers nationalism reactionary and the brotherhood and equality of all peoples of the human race the highest social aim. It is internationalist because it understands that the class-free socialist society cannot be established within the framework of one country alone. It is internationalist because it considers that national frontiers have become an obstacle to social progress and a direct contributing source to conflicts and wars. Socialism cannot conceivably be restricted to one country, no matter how big it is. Socialism is world socialism, or it is not socialism at all. Socialism means peace and freedom for the entire world. That is why the Socialist Party endeavours to promote an international organisation, to build unity and solidarity of the working class. The Socialist Party itself is only the link of a world chain of similar parties and organisations that aim to establish a world socialist movement. The Socialist Party therefore gives no support to war and opposes them at all times. It is the party of peace, not war; of the brotherhood of the peoples, not the slaughter of the peoples. Socialists are opposed to all exploitation and oppression

The Revolution – Why we need it

Capitalist society does and can only exist to the detriment, degradation, and demoralisation of the working-class. The capitalist-class has its representatives in the Government, local and national, and uses the legislative and administrative boards as pliant tools for the protection and promotion of its class interests, for the maintenance and extension of class domination, and for the further robbery and enslavement of the working-class. If, then, this is the economic function and political role of the capitalist class, what have the workers to expect from the present-day rulers of society ?

The basis of a socialist party in any country must, therefore, be a recognition of the fact that the material interests of the working class are in entire opposition to those of the employing class, that is, the recognition of the class war. Any party which declares that no class war exists rules itself, by virtue of that declaration, out of order as a socialist party. It is, necessary, therefore, in forming and organising a socialist party to have a clearly defined class war basis, and in every action of the party to always keep the class-conscious character of the party clearly to the front. Any action tending to obscure this position, any position keeping the class struggle in the background, is a virtual betrayal of socialist principles, serving only to confuse the issues in the minds of the workers and to make it more difficult for them to understand their class position and the reasons for it, and to see the road which must be followed if they are to achieve their emancipation — serving only, in brief, to retard the development of their class consciousness.

Any alliance, either permanent or temporary, with a party which does not recognise the class war is therefore out of the question. For does not every such alliance, whether openly avowed or tacitly understood, make less clear the class opposition which exists between the various political parties? How can we claim to be essentially distinct and, in fact, diametrically opposed to all other political parties, if we can find sufficient common objects to make possible any common ground of working? We think that the teaching of our principles is hindered by every such concession to the anti-class war parties, and is, therefore, opposed to the true interests of socialism.

We have, therefore, to recognise all the time that it is only possible to secure any real benefit for the people when the people themselves become class conscious, when behind the socialists in Parliament and on other bodies there stands a solid phalanx of men and women clear in their knowledge of socialism and clear in their knowledge that the only way to secure the socialist commonwealth of the future is to depend only upon the efforts of themselves and those who have the same class conscious opinions. Therefore we have no palliative programme. The only palliative we shall ever secure is the socialist society of the future gained by fighting uncompromisingly at all times and in every season.

Those who think in directing the attention of the working-class to the political representatives of the master-class for relief from the misery which is crushing them, in holding out to them the prospect or possibility of amelioration through the good grace of the ruling faction, are incurring a serious responsibility. Promising the working-class something that must inevitably fail is the fruitful source of that apathy and indifference in which the workers are sunk to-day; telling the workers they have gained victory when it is only a victory for the capitalist-class, entrenches ignorance and calling upon the capitalist governments to undermine their own position, which must be the case if any measure of material value to the working-class is put into operation, creates that pessimism in the minds of the workers that you so much deplore.

The Socialist Party exists to teach the workers their true position in society, and to create the political weapon whereby alone that position can be altered. The mission of the Socialist Party is to show the workers that capitalism lives on their wretchedness and prostitution, and that, if their emancipation is to be accomplished, they must adopt a political attitude necessarily hostile to all other political parties. Outside the Socialist Party, the party of socialism, the party of the working-class, all other political parties uphold and safeguard the interests of the capitalist-class and the continuance of the wage system which is responsible for not only the unemployed but the other evils that afflict society. 

The Socialist Party is the political expression of the material interests of the working-class for whom there can be only one policy and one programme, that is the control through public ownership of the tools and machinery for producing the necessaries and comforts of life, to be achieved by the political action of the working-class, cognisant of the causes of its suffering and wretchedness and conscious of its material interest and historic mission.

The Futility of Reform

Socialist Standard, Issue 2, October 1904

The Socialist Party of Great Britain has often been asked why they have not drawn up a programme of measures for the partial redress of those evils which most immediately affect the position of the working class. “Should we not strive to palliate the existing misery”? “Should we not seek to foster the sectional differences existing among the capitalists so that we may use them in the interests of the working class"? “Should we not temporarily support, or form temporary alliances with, other political parties while working for common ends”? These and other questions of like import are constantly being put to us by non-members of our party. We now propose to answer them.

The basis of modern society is, economically, the holding by one section of the community of the means necessary for producing and distributing the means of living of the whole of the community, i.e., the ownership by a class of the whole wealth of society. As against them, there is the vast mass of the people owning nothing but their "labour-power,” their power of working.

The worker being compelled to sell this power of working on the labour market, in return for his means of livelihood, has interests diametrically opposed to those of the employer who buys his activity. Hence two classes with conflicting interests, constantly meeting on the labour market, must necessarily engage in a struggle in which each combatant can gain only at the expense of the other. Such a struggle between classes forms a class war.

Economically, the working class is impotent so long as the employing class has possession of political power. Therefore, the class struggle must manifest itself as a political struggle for class supremacy. The working class can only gain their ends by taking possession of the political machine and using it so as to gain their own economic emancipation. This can be done only by themselves, and the struggle in which they must take part to secure this is a class war—the working class against the employing class.

The basis of a Socialist Party in any country must, therefore, be a recognition of the fact that the material interests of the working class are in entire opposition to those of the employing class, that is, the recognition of the class war. Any party which declares that no class war exists rules itself, by virtue of that declaration, out of court as a Socialist party. It is, necessary, therefore, in forming and organising a Socialist party to have a clearly defined class war basis, and in every action of the party to always keep the class-conscious character of the party clearly to the front. Any action tending to obscure this position, any position keeping the class struggle in the background, is a virtual betrayal of Socialist principles, serving only to confuse the issues in the minds of the workers and to make it more difficult for them to understand their class position and the reasons for it, and to see the road which must be followed if they are to achieve their emancipation—serving only, in brief, to retard the development of their class consciousness.

Any alliance, either permanent or temporary, with a party which does not recognise the class war is therefore out of the question. For does not every such alliance, whether openly avowed or tacitly understood, make less clear the class opposition which exists between the various political parties? How can we claim to be essentially distinct and, in fact, diametrically opposed to all other political parties, if we can find sufficient common objects to make possible any common ground of working? We think that the teaching of our principles is hindered by every such concession to the anti-class war parties, and is, therefore, opposed to the true interests of Socialism. We, therefore, avow ourselves in hostility to all other political parties and can have nothing in common with them.

And this has been the experience of the Socialist parties of other countries. Wherever those parties have maintained an attitude of open hostility to all other political parties they are strongly organised. Whenever any of those parties, strong or weak, have formed temporary alliances, as they did, for instance, in Belgium, with the Liberal Party, for the purpose of securing universal suffrage, they lost strength, and remain as far from securing their desired reform as ever they were. Thus, then, is our first objection that such action confuses the issues and hinders our success.

Our next objection lies in the fact that any such dependence upon other political parties for their assistance assumes the maintenance of a majority of members on our legislative bodies who are not class-conscious representatives of the working class. So long as that remains the case, so long will the legislature be controlled by middle-class men, by capitalists. Every such capitalistically controlled legislature secures the control of the administrative and judicial functions by the capitalists.

The result of this is that every measure carried through Parliament is carried through by those whose position makes it necessary that these enactments should be piecemeal and ineffective. They will, therefore, endeavour to reduce every concession to the point of impotency except in cases where they think to maintain their power by greater concessions. In this latter case, they know they can depend upon their second line of defence—the administration of those laws which will cause the laws to remain a dead letter.

We have only to study the legislation of the last half of the nineteenth century to find that each of those phases of the economic legislation of the middle-class parties plentifully exists. We find that the administration of the law being in the hands of the capitalist class will be carried on by them in such a way as not to be dangerous to their own class interests.

Any “blue-book” dealing with any phase of working-class life, will show instances innumerable of the neglect of the Local Government Board, or of the Borough Councils, or of the County Councils, in applying the laws already in existence. Housing Acts and Public Health Acts and Acts for the prevention of women returning to work at too early a period after child-birth, and Factory and Workshop Acts are not efficiently carried out, while powers vested in governing bodies are hardly ever exercised. Thus we read with regard to the pollution of the atmosphere by smoke, that:
    “There are people in Manchester who systematically pollute the air and pay the fine, finding it much cheaper to do so than to put up new plant. The trial of such cases before benches of magistrates composed of manufacturers, or their friends, creates an atmosphere of sympathy for the accused, and it was alleged that magistrates who had sought to give effect to the law encountered the indifference and sometimes the positive opposition of their colleagues."

Just so! And this is only one case which may be cited from among innumerable others which lie before us.

We have to point out further that sometimes it happens that a reform asked for by the working class can be granted them without any serious danger to the capitalist class. In such cases, they make graceful concessions and the working class are usually called upon to hail the party granting such a "concession” as their truest friends.

Another case is that sometimes a measure is passed which, while benefiting certain individual workers, proves disastrous to another and larger section. Such as, for example, the Workman's Compensation Act. This Act was passed to benefit those workers in certain selected industries who met with accidents while in the performance of their duties. It is to be observed that the Act was again the minimum of possible concession. It benefited those workers who in consequence of meeting with accidents which disabled them, received compensation where, before the passing of the Act, they would have obtained nothing. But while they were benefited, a larger section of the working class was affected to their detriment. The employing class ever on the watch where their class interests are concerned, immediately claimed that the old men they employed, the men over a certain age, who were rendered infirm by the hard toil to which they had been subjected, were liable to more accidents than men in their earlier manhood, and that when they met with accidents, such accidents were more likely to prove serious or fatal than if they were younger. These men were in consequence immediately discharged. And what has happened since? A committee, on which was Mr. George N. Barnes, of the A.S.E., has reported:
    "That with reference to the employment of aged, infirm, or maimed persons, amendments should be made to enable the employer to offer work to such persons without incurring undue risk of paying compensation."

We are, therefore, forced to the conclusion that the trying to secure measures for the palliation of the evils of the existing class-governed society is useless. The men in control of the legislative, administrative, and judicial machinery of the community can always dodge any such partial attacks upon their position, can always find loopholes to escape from any concession appearing to endanger their position.

The only thing which will secure the alleviation of our misery and our wage slavery is the propagation of the principles of Socialism and the building up of a class-conscious Socialist party, prepared to wrest at the earliest possible moment the whole powers of government from the hands of those who at present control them.

When a strong Socialist party, fighting directly for the establishment of a Socialist regime, and prepared in their progress to secure any advantage which will act as a new vantage ground in their further fight is organised, then the capitalists will be only too ready to offer and to give each and all of those palliatives as a sop to the growing Socialist forces in the country.

We have, therefore, to recognise all the time that it is only possible to secure any real benefit for the people when the people themselves become class-conscious, when behind the Socialists in Parliament and on other bodies there stands a solid phalanx of men clear in their knowledge of Socialism and clear in their knowledge that the only way to secure the Socialist Commonwealth of the future is to depend only upon the efforts of themselves and those who have the same class-conscious opinions. Therefore we have no palliative programme. The only palliative we shall ever secure is the Socialist Society of the future gained by fighting uncompromisingly at all times and in every season.

Reform is not Enough

 Don’t just take down the statues - Take down the system

The world is in crisis. Capitalism cannot reform itself; it cannot be reformed. Humanity can be saved only by the socialist revolution. The Socialist Party proposes to “capture” the parliamentary state, to conquer and abolish it. Accordingly, it repudiates the policy of introducing socialism by means of legislative measures. The state is the organ of coercion for the capitalist. How, then, can it introduce socialism since all the political power, the army and the police and the media, are in the hands of the capitalists, whose political control gives them complete domination. Working people must expropriate all these by the conquest of the power of the state, by taking the political power away from the ruling class, before it can begin the task of introducing socialism.

The Socialist Party accordingly, proposes to conquer the power of the state. It proposes to conquer by means of political action — political action in the revolutionary sense, which does not simply mean parliamentarianism, but the class action of the working class in any form having as its objective the conquest of the power of the state. Parliamentary action is necessary. In the parliament, the revolutionary representatives of the proletariat meet capitalism on all general issues in the class struggle. The workers must fight the capitalist class on all fronts, in the process of developing the final action that will conquer the power of the state and overthrow capitalism. Parliamentary action which emphasises class struggle is an indispensable means of agitation. Its task is to expose through political campaigns and the forum of parliament, the class character of the state and the reactionary purposes of capitalism, to meet capitalism on all issues, to rally fellow-workers for the struggle against capitalism.

 Industrial action alone cannot conquer the power of the state. Syndicalism may construct the rudimentary forms of the new society; but only potentially. Industrial unionism may only simply be the starting point of the socialist reconstruction of society. Under the conditions of capitalism, it is impossible to organise the whole working class into workers councils; the concept of organising the working class industrially before the conquest of power is utopian. The revolution may well starts with strikes of protest, developing into mass political strikes and then into revolutionary general strikes for the conquest of the power of the state. But the objective is the capture of political power for the abolition of the state. Breaking the political power of the capitalists is the most important task of the revolution. The political expropriation proceeds simultaneously with the expropriation of the capitalist class economically.

Capitalism, by its method of production, has brought isolated workers together and constituted them as a class in society. Capitalism has made the workers a class in themselves. That is, the workers are a distinct class in society, whether they recognise this fact or not. Historical development calls upon this class to reorganise society completely and establish socialism. To do this, the workers must become a class for themselves. They must acquire a clear understanding of their real position under capitalism, of the nature of capitalist society as a whole, and of their mission in history. They must act consciously for their class interests. They must become conscious of the fact that these class interests lead to a socialist society. When this takes place, the workers are a class for themselves, a class with socialist consciousness. What the workers still lack is a fundamental and thorough understanding of their real position in society and of their historic mission to establish socialism. This lack of a socialist consciousness reduces the effectiveness of their organization, of their struggle, and prevents them from accomplishing their mission in society. To imbue and instill the workers with this rounded-out class consciousness, or socialist consciousness – that is the function of the Socialist Party. It is composed of those workers who already understand the nature of capitalism and the historical task of the working class. Their aim is to develop the same understanding among all fellow-workers, so that they no longer fight blindly without a clear knowledge of who their class enemy is, or what the working class itself really is and of what it can and must do in society. 

The Socialist Party therefore have no interests separate from the interests of the working class as a whole. It makes known to fellow-workers the full meaning of their fight. It points out the political meaning of the economic struggle and how the workers must organise as a class to take political power, and use it to inaugurate socialism. The Socialist Party combats the insidious ideas of capitalism which divides workers so that the working class as a whole may be better positioned against its enemy. It aims to clarify ideas and supply them as essential weapons in the class struggle.

A socialist party is needed to win over the working class to the principles of socialism, to struggle against capitalist exploitations and oppression, and finally for the socialist victory itself. Socialism will never come by itself. Without an organised, conscious, disciplined, active socialist party, the triumph of socialism is impossible.

The future is bright

Every day workers drip their sweat on to production lines and, in capitalist society, experience the life-killing exploitation on which the system is built. They take part in struggles, together with fellow workers and others, against the outrages of the capitalist system. For over 200 years the battle between the classes, the working class and the capitalist class, has raged. It has ebbed and flowed according to the strength, understanding and contradiction between these two classes. The working class never ceasing, never surrendering but neither remaining true to its revolutionary origin nor ever totally pursuing that aim without reservation.

 In order to become conscious of itself as a class, and to know and change the world in accordance with its interests, the working class must have its own socialist party consistently which points the way forward toward the goal of overthrowing the rule of capital and building socialism. The working class in each country needs only one socialist party. The capitalists usually have more than one party, because of their need to compete with each other and to deceive the people. 

Different sectors of capital seek to advance their own vested interests by competing both through and within these parties. The working class has no interest in competition among themselves – it is the rule of capital that pits worker against worker to compete for jobs and for survival. The working class has no need for masks but openly proclaims its intention to overthrow the exploiting minority. The working class needs a single party to unite it as a mighty fist, to build its understanding of the historical mission of ending all class society. The working class needs a socialist party to draw up a battle plan against the enemy. One socialist party, representing the interests of one class, and through these interests, the great majority of humanity.

Class struggle has always existed since there were classes to struggle. The interests of the classes – those who sell their labour power and those who exploit the labour of others – are so opposed as to make struggle inevitable. Instead of exposing the bosses, the media have put the blame for the crisis on foreign countries, foreign-born workers, women and minorities—anything that serves to divide the people and hide the real nature of the problem. The government is nothing but the tool of the bosses. 

The Socialist Party declares that the blame for the crisis lies exclusively with the capitalist system, and that the only real way out of the crisis is working class struggle and socialist revolution. No piecemeal reforms or partial solutions can bring an end to this state of things. Reformists stand exposed for their total inability to meet the people’s needs.

The Socialist Party is the party of the working class. It is a part of the working class against the ruling class. It has no interests apart from the interests of the working class. It is the very reason for its existence to bring to fellow-workers an understanding of the laws of capitalism and enables them to consciously change the world and make a socialist revolution. The working class are bound to overthrow the capitalist class, socialise the ownership of the means of production and remove all social chains on the development of the productive forces, by advancing to class-free society. Socialism promises peace because it offered a society with no cause for war, that is to say, in which capitalist contradictions and national rivalries are overcome.

Today, the people live under the capitalist class. The working class is the only class that stands diametrically opposed to the capitalists. The working class stands at the head and unites all those exploited by the capitalist system and has as its goal the emancipation of all humanity from wage-slavery. The working class can make no revolution without its own socialist party.

Here We Stand

The Socialist Party says once more this is a class war. The capitalist class and the working class have no common interests. The survival of the capitalist class depends on its ability to drive the working class into deeper and deeper misery.

 The Socialist Party understand its role as one to assist the working class to fight the capitalist class to the end, for an end to wage slavery. The working class is not a small, narrow class. The working class constitutes the majority of the population. The working class is composed of unskilled and skilled employees, farm-workers, and non-production workers such as office staff including lower-middle management, transportation and service workers. It can be defined as all those who:

1. Do not own the means of production; 
2. Have to sell their labour-power to the capitalist class to make a living; 
3. Directly, or indirectly, create surplus value...which is then expropriated by the capitalist class.

This exploitation, or expropriation of surplus value, creates an irreconcilable, antagonistic class contradiction between the working class and the capitalists. Only the emancipation from wage labour itself can liberate the working class. Its purpose, therefore, is to overthrow the capitalist class and replace capitalism with socialism which is a class-free society

We mean to replace capitalism, and to substitute universal socialist organisation and co-operation. Our first principle as socialists is that all should be well-fed, well-housed, well-educated. The Socialist Party opposes the spreading the illusion of a class partnership, that there is an ever-expanding “pie” to be divided up and “shared” between workers and capitalists. Reformists constantly spread the view that the capitalist system is fine except for a few adjustments or ameliorations. The working class and capitalists, can get along with one another, they tell us and that there is no reason for conflict. The reformists claim the neutrality of the government mediation and the legal system. But the facts of the class struggle, of our declining standard of living, dwindling trade union rights, and the viciousness with which the capitalists attacks those on State benefits puts the lie to this class partnership fakery. 

The Socialist Party knows that in a capitalist society where class struggle is the rule, no institution is neutral. The State is in the hands of the capitalist class. Our goal is overthrowing capitalism as a system. Our struggle is against the system of wage slavery. Our object is the complete abolition of capitalism and reorganising the whole world on a socialist basis. We recognise that in this endeavour, we are up against a most ruthless brutal ruling class. It is necessary to add a word of caution. Some on the left think a socialist revolution can be done without winning over a majority of the people to revolutionary principles. We warn, here, it would be a dangerous game to play with the principles of revolutionary socialism, aye it would be a violation of them. It would cast suspicion on our revolutionary integrity, and for a certainty it will keep us from our goal.

There are a number of illusions preventing our fellow-workers from seeing the underlying cause of their problems and from looking toward a socialist solution. The Socialist Party dedicate itself to exposing the domination of our life by a class of capitalists who use their immense propaganda machine to promote ignorance and confusion. Capitalism has outlived its usefulness and is daily threatening mankind with destruction and devastation by either global war or global warming. We strive to establish a democratic socialist society. Our desire is to advance the cause of socialism worldwide. 

We, in the Socialist Party, believe in the entire transformation of the social system itself, and this remains at once our primary and immediate aim. The Socialist Party pledges itself to wrest all the means of production and distribution from the hands of the exploiters and bring these into common ownership under the management of the associated producers and to continue the struggle against the existing system of exploitation until this new society has come into being.

STAND WITH KARL MARX