Deprived and Vulnerable

People living in Scotland's most deprived areas are twice as likely to die of Covid-19 as those in the least deprived areas, figures have shown.

The National Records of Scotland (NRS) said the death rate was 2.1 times higher in the poorest areas.

Capitalism - Too Much and Never Enough

The Socialist Party is often accused of being dogmatic, and to this charge we invariably reply that the truth cannot be dogmatic.

The human community is completely interconnected and interdependent. No-one can self-isolate. Without solidarity, especially with those most vulnerable among us, we all lose. We are paying the price for turning a blind eye to obvious injustices in the world. The problem is that how we produce and distribute wealth is not sustainable. Building a socialist society is essential to saving the planet from climate breakdown and ecological destruction. The fabric of society and the well-being of people hinge on our ability to create the cooperative commonwealth.

Economics to-day is all about accumulation. Production for the sake of further production. Everything is subordinated to this great end. New technology and machinery are invented, new methods devised and introduced so that wealth may be produced in still greater abundance. Brains, muscles and lives  are all thrown into the melting-pot in the feverish rush to produce and accumulate. All discoveries of the laws of nature become levers to increase wealth production. Instead of lightening the load of the worker, machinery has intensified the burden. The rich grow richer and the poor poorer. The greater the wealth the greater and more widespread the poverty. The poor are the wealth-producers— the working class. The rich are the wealth owners and idlers—the capitalist class. The workers are poor because the capitalists own the wealth produced.

The system advocated by the Socialist Party is production for the sake of consumption; production organised to satisfy the requirements of all the members of society. Instead of aiming at "an immense accumulation of commodities," the Socialist Party aims at an immense accumulation of comfort and happiness distributed over the whole of society.

In the existing state of things there is social production but individual appropriation. The Socialist Party would abolish this contradiction and substitute social appropriation of the social products. So long as the vast capacities of modern production are under the control of one class, and are used for the aggrandisement of that class alone, we will have the strange spectacle of poverty in the midst of plenty—a society of wealthy idlers and poverty-stricken workers.

Capitalism has shown us that wealth can be produced in abundance with a comparatively small expenditure of time and energy on the part of each of us. It has, therefore, performed its historic mission and signed its death warrant. It remains for us to profit by the lesson it has taught.  Capitalism cannot control the forces it has brought into being, therefore it must perish, and a new society will arise like a phoenix out of its ashes.

We must, therefore, organise for the overthrow of capitalism and the introduction of socialism if we would abolish poverty for ever. That means the capture of the political machinery which sustains the capitalists in their privileged position. The real interest of the working class is the possession of that knowledge in sociology, economics, and politics that will enable them to apply the revolutionary principle and establish society on a basis of production for use. All such knowledge points to this as the conclusion of the class struggle. But this involves the elimination from society of the class that lives by exploitation. Karl Marx and his twin discoveries, the ''Materialistic Conception of History" and the “Theory of Surplus Value” gave to the working class the basis of a critical analysis of the capitalist system. He laid bare and exposed to the full as a ruthless system of intensive slavery and exploitation. His remedy was to establish society on a basis of common ownership and democratic control.

Not understanding, or not daring to show, where and how the robbery of the working class takes place—i.e., in the mines, mills, factories, workshops and the like by the expropriation of the product of their toil—politicians  uses the question of the taxes as a stunt to gain their political ambitions.  Their concern is all for the taxpayer—the capitalist—and their only thought for the workers is that they should be kept exploited to full capacity. What the politicians never tell the workers is that the wealth of society—produced by them alone as far as the human factor is concerned— is appropriated by the capitalist class, and that the wages the workers receive are the price of their labour-power, determined by its cost of production. Competition for jobs prevents wages rising above the cost of living, and all the wealth the workers produce above their total wages is stolen from them by the master class. They never proclaim this robbery of the working class, nor the vital need for socialism as the only way to stop the robbery.

The Looming Scottish Recession

The Fraser of Allander Institute said the country was now in its deepest recession in living memory.

A report from the think tank said in the most optimistic scenario, it will be the end of 2021 before the economy recovers. In the worst case scenario it could be 2024 before a "new normal" is reached.

With more than 750,000 people in Scotland either furloughed or being supported through the UK government's self-employment scheme, the think tank fears a possible "raft of redundancies and business closures" will occur when this help starts to be scaled back. The institute's latest economic commentary said the immediate priority for many businesses is simply survival.

The number of Scots in receipt of the Universal Credit rose to more than 440,000 in May - more than double the total of 185,000 recorded in the same month last year. In addition, Scotland's unemployment rose by 30,000 to 127,000 between February and April as lockdown hit the labour market.

Prof Graeme Roy, director of the institute, said: "So far, as a result of the major government support initiatives that have been put in place the impact of the full effects of the crisis have been dampened. Sadly, it is only now once we start to switch the economy back on that the crisis will hit home with a raft of redundancies and business closures likely over the summer."

Steve Williams, senior partner for Scotland at accountancy firm Deloitte, said: "For the majority of organisations and consumers, the lockdown on non-essential parts of the global economy has left a scar on finances, with businesses and some individuals likely to emerge with a combination of higher debt and weaker financial reserves."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-53157358

There is only one banner - the Red Flag

Pro-independence group All Under One Banner have announced plans to hold rallies as coronavirus restrictions begin to lift in Scotland.

The group revealed the timetable for action will begin in Edinburgh on July 20, before the moving to Stirling and Glasgow in August and September.

Nationalisms divide the world.  The trouble with any nationalism is that it simply ignores the realities of power under modern capitalism. The ruling class has at its disposal massive economic wealth, on a global scale which exercises effective control over any sovereign nation no matter how powerful. 

An independent Scotland has no means of breaking that sort of power. 

The Socialist Party does not, of course, defend the present constitutional arrangement. Neither do we support encouraging separatist trends in Scotland. There is no doubt that the Scots consider themselves to be uniquely culturally Scottish but hat does not determine our socialist attitude  towards Scottish self-determination. 

The appeal of  nationalism to many working people is, of course, a result of the failure of capitalism and its political apologists to fulfill the repeated promises and Scottish national channels the discontent. Nationalism poisons the working class with the spurious belief in the common interests of opposed classes. Nationalism is always the tool of the bourgeoisie. Unlike the left-nationalists the Socialist Party does not tag along with or follow behind, nationalist movements. We resolutely struggle against them while propagating the case for socialism. Secession is not the way to workers’ liberation. It is not the remedy for the economic social problems of Scottish working people. 

What should the world tomorrow look like?

 

 Throughout society a deepening sense of malaise has become pervasive. Capitalist society is a reactionary social system. capitalism is on the edge of a profound crises. The real solution to the looming disasters is the socialist revolution. Only the world’s working class can lead humanity out of the historical impasse of capitalism, by making the world socialist revolution. capitalism and the consequent misery for the world can only be terminated by the conscious workers’ revolution. The socialist revolution is a conscious act of the working class. So-called “socialist” parties have been promoting state capitalism, not socialism.

The World Socialist Movement alone has a working-class policy which would give a knock-out blow to all of the exploiters and throw the whole lot of them out of the ring for all time. Then will the fullness of the earth and the valuable cultures of all peoples be freely available for the whole of mankind. The world socialist revolution, is a revolution of a majority aimed at the ending of class- divided society and the ending of all exploitation of man by man. With the ending of all property rights in the means of production, that is the establishment of a new form of society, class conflicts will cease. The way is prepared for the new progress in which man will replace the blind way of economic forces, by the conscious direction of economically free men and women—socialism. Emancipation is not going to be achieved by non-socialists led by professional party cadres because it requires a socialist working class getting control of the machinery of government.

The facts of history have proved the Socialist Party right in its outlook and its criticisms. We urge workers to study the position we put forward for it is the only position, the only solution to the problems of today that offers the workers hope. We have kept steadfastly to this position because we know that socialism is the system of society that will bring comfort and security for all mankind. Why should a vast number of people have to perform useless and frustrating tasks, in order to satisfy the selfish wishes of a ruling clique? Yet it is working people themselves who perpetuate this foolish system: who do the useless tasks as well as the useful; the unproductive as well as the productive.

The trouble is that the alternative, a world of common ownership and common effort, is frightening in its simplicity. It seems too easy to be true. Nevertheless, true it is. It’s as simple as that!

 The problems which face us are those that have plagued us for the past 200 years. To ignore the past is only to insure one’s dependence on the will-o’-the-wisp ideas of the moment. The problems persist because they have not been solved. Revolutionary and reformist movements have met with defeat, time and time again. We are without illusions, knowing that building socialism will be a long, arduous process.

 In protests across the world over recent years, people have said, “Enough!” People have had enough of the political elite looting and lying, intimidating them and imprisoning them. People are demanding an end to the outdated premise that the ruling class are above the law and are all-knowing. We no longer wish to submit to the authority of governments. We can demand equality for all members of our human family. No matter which region of the world you live in, the most urgent issues affect everyone. Pandemics, economic crises, the environmental emergency; war; poverty; food insecurity and refugees. Such problems go beyond frontiers and cannot be controlled or contained by national governments. No State nor global corporation can cope. They are all interconnected international issues and they require a coordinated worldwide response. Peace, hunger, migration environment, health, every issue is related, one impacting on the other. All arise from and are intensified by the all-pervasive unjust socio-economic capitalist system. Everything and all areas of life have become commodified and commercialized, including nature, food, healthcare and education. No money - no food, no cash - no healthcare, no income - no housing, even though the means of providing a decent life for humanity, promoting human well-being and offering a healthy environment exists. The key to a better life is the introduction of sharing. Our planet is overflowing with an abundance of riches and everyone is entitled to access its collective storehouse of wealth.

What Population Explosion?

The number of children born in Scotland last year was the lowest since records began in 1855.

The number of babies born was down for the 11th year in a row and there were more deaths than births for the fifth year running.

Everything is Possible

The Socialist Party does not believe "that socialism can only come about via parliament", as explained quite clearly in its pamphlet, “What’s Wrong with using Parliament?” Rather, it believes that socialism can only come about as the conscious decision of a majority of the working class. And, given that, elections are one way, and, given present conditions, the safest and most sensible way, of propagandising for socialism (in the short term) and demonstrating majority support (in the long term). If conditions change, then the pamphlet mentions other ways of demonstrating majority support – demonstrations and strikes, for example.

We say in the pamphlet: "...the majority's organisation for socialism will not just be political and economic, but will also embrace schools and universities, television, film-making, plays and the like as well as interpersonal relationships. We're talking about a radical social revolution involving all aspects of life."

 And what do we use as historical examples to back up our view of majority support leading to relatively peaceful change? Things like the collapse of the state capitalist dictatorships in Eastern Europe in 1989-90. If what you are saying is correct, we would surely have dismissed such things as irrelevant to "the real business" of winning power through the ballot box. The plain fact is that both Marx and Engels, towards the ends of their lives, approved of the idea that the working class should use the ballot box to come to power. It's a simple and plain fact. You don't have to agree with Marx and Engels, of course, but you can't change the facts.

We are accustomed to hearing that the Socialist Party believes that socialism can only come through parliament, that any activity outside of parliamentary activity is a waste of time, that socialism can only come when the workers have been educated into the right ideas by the SPGB, that for us class struggle is an irrelevance compared with propagandising for socialism, and so on. All very amusing, but all absolute nonsense. We believe that socialism can only come about through the activity of the working class itself; that any activity outside of parliamentary activity is to be welcomed, if it is on sound, class lines, but that the Socialist Party as a party should not try to dominate or interfere except as individuals in solidarity with the rest of the membership; that education is a vital aspect of the struggle, to which we hope to make our own unique if small contribution; but that this propaganda work, however important, pales in comparison to the development of the class struggle, including the intellectual development of workers through their own self-education; that to establish socialism the working class must take political power, and that the most obvious and sensible way for them to do this, in democracies, is to use the vote (a view that can't be all that silly given that Marx and Engels agreed with it).

The Socialist Party position is that, once this consent to capitalist rule has been withdrawn, the question arises of what is the best way to end capitalism with a minimum of bloodshed and of disruption to production and social life?

 The Socialist Party answers: in those countries where stable, elective political institutions exist, by organising to take them over (as well as to take over and run production). Other ways are conceivable: ignoring the state, a general strike, civil disobedience, armed insurrection (as have all been proposed by anarchists in particular). The Socialist Party rejects these on the grounds of the risk of them leading to the "bloody civil war" that your correspondent seems to relish. The Socialist Party’s position is that, in the developed capitalist countries, using elective political institutions is the best (if not the only conceivable) way and that, in the event (and where, as in some less developed capitalist countries) of this not being possible, some other method would have to be used. As anyone who had been in the Socialist Party would know, it has always endorsed the old Chartist slogan of "peaceably if we may, forcibly if we must". The Socialist Party says that socialist agitation and education is essential to the emergence of a mass socialist consciousness, that it says that this is not the only factor involved. Socialist consciousness emerges out of the interaction of the working class discontent and struggle that is built-in to capitalism and the propagation of socialist ideas by that section of the working class which has, as a result of the same discontent and struggle, come to see things more clearly. Nobody claiming some affiliation with the ideas of Marx could claim otherwise. And the Socialist Party doesn't. But talking of Marx, while in the 1840's when he (mistakenly, as he and Engels later admitted) thought that the bourgeois revolution in countries like Germany would be rapidly followed by a proletarian one he did think in terms of socialism emerging out of a civil war... later he did argue that workers could and should use the vote and parliament. Anti-parliamentarianism is an anarchist not a Marxist position.

Our principles are very clear, we do not want to prolong the wage slavery, and we do not promote a better pay, which is only a capitalist reform, we want the total elimination of the wage system, because our immediate and future program is socialism, but we support any gain that might temporally benefit the working class. The Socialist Party is supportive of workers taking action to defend or extend their interests (pay and conditions), but as a Party does not take part in organising such actions. It may well be that individual members, as trade unionists, are involved in these actions, and there are examples of that in the Party's history and that of its companion parties. The Socialist Party’s role is chiefly one of education/propaganda, with some electoral activity as well – all of which is part and parcel of the class struggle. It recognises that it's inevitable that workers should resort to strikes etc. in order to protect ourselves from capitalism's assaults, but that these actions by themselves are not going to put an end to the wages system.

Many workers think the police and the state are a neutral force. The Socialist Party says they are not, but disregard the statement, and remains not convinced, until a strike or a protest and the police begins exercising brutality. Now, workers change their mind about the police and starts questioning the state and what exists and generally starts to 'think' about some things.' It's the experience of capitalism that makes workers question capitalism and in that confrontation alternative ideas develop of how to organise society on a different basis, the Socialist Party argues that we must be in the fray expounding socialist ideas, but not only that: how these ideas can be practically implemented by the working class; democratically; without leaders; the means of production will be own the community - the world community- and produced for needs of that community. The Socialist Party maintain a unique position amongst self-described Marxist groups; in contrast with myriad Stalinist, Maoist, and Trotskyist tendencies, they display a clear understanding of socialism as the disappearance of class society, abolition of wage labour, and production on the basis of need, and do not peddle state-capitalist illusions or the empty promises of nationalisation under capitalism. The Socialist Party has made a number of contributions to Marxist theory one of which is recognition of leadership as a capitalist political principle, a feature of the revolutions that brought them to power, and utterly alien to the socialist revolution. The socialist revolution necessarily involves the active and conscious participation of the great majority of workers, thus excluding the role of leadership.