We have heard it all before

 

Most in the Socialist Party will agree that of all the questions put to them in their attempt to explain socialism to our fellow workers, “Who will do the dirty work” is among the most common. In fact, sooner or later during the process of convincing a worker, it is almost certain to come up.

We all know what is meant by the question. The enquirer is not alluding to the sharp practices of his masters, the betrayals of labour leaders, nor yet to our own exploitation. It refers to some of the jobs that are looked upon as dirty and degrading, and to which many fellow workers seem doomed to perform by the very nature of things.

They never mean those conducting autopsies, up to their elbows in blood and gore but those working in abattoirs, the badly paid dirty work.

Our proposition is that socialism is quite different from and vastly superior to trying to run capitalism. In all countries the mass of the population live in constant poverty, in fear of losing their employment, and in fear of losing their lives in capitalism's wars—for wars and crises are just as much part of capitalism as are millionaires.

The  Materialist Conception of History is one of the fundamental tenets of the socialist outlook. According to this theory ideas are the product of conditions, and not the other way round. Men have not started cut with original ideas of absolute liberty. Justice and equality and then striven to make a world that would fit them; what they have done is striven to make alterations in the economic and political framework that would fulfil their needs and then sanctified their proposals with moral maxims. Their ideas have been shaped by the world around and were limited by the social development so far attained and the immediate future which that development foreshadowed. Since the advent of private property, in the dim and distant past, moral, intellectual, political and religious ideas have been bound up with different forms of property ownership. These forms of property have split society into antagonistic classes which have engaged in bitter class struggles, each class striving to dominate society and serve its own interests As we look back through history we see that it is made up of these class conflicts and that it is they that are the vital thread from which progress has been woven— meaning by progress an ever wider adaptation to natural forces and the bringing nearer of the possibility of humanity, as a whole, achieving comfort, security and happiness.

Each new form of production has brought into being new social classes, a change in social relations, and a change in current ideas. The freeman and slave of antiquity looked upon the social world differently from the feudal lord and bondsman of the middle ages, and likewise capitalist and worker have different ideas from those of their mediaeval counterparts. To understand the ideas of a period it is necessary to examine the economic framework of the period from which the ideas are derived, because the economic framework is the dominating influence. Ideas carried over from old outworn systems are carried over into the new, in fact, as Marx puts it so well “the tradition of all past generations weighs like an Alp upon the brain of the living ” ; but these traditions are forced into the mould of the new system, though they may have some influence on the shape of the mould. The confused social outlook of a period, including the present, is the resultant of the mixture of ideas thrown up by the different classes that together make up society, but the prevailing, or the most insistent, ideas are those backed by the dominant class; and they remain so until another class becomes sufficiently conscious of its interests and strong enough to challenge the supremacy of the dominant class.

Each era in the history of mankind contains the voice of the past, the present and the future. The voice of the future is small and weak at first but grows stronger as time passes until it eventually becomes the voice of the present; mankind only takes up problems that it can solve since the problem only arises as a problem because the solution is contained within it. It is the solution that has forced the problem to the front.

Under capitalism where the means of wealth production are owned and controlled by a minority, technology is developed and applied in their interest with the aim of maximising profit. To blame technology, rather than capitalism, for our problems is a mistake which leads to wrong, indeed absurd, conclusions.

The industrial revolution, carried out as it was within the context of capitalism, certainly worsened the conditions of many people at the time but it also created the material basis for a socialist society of common ownership and free access to wealth.

It is neither possible nor desirable to abolish industrial technology. Without it we would have to go back to a much harsher form of living. What is required is to change the basis of society so that technology can be developed and applied in the interests of the majority and not for profit.

We are all in favour of humans living in a balanced, sustainable relationship with the rest of nature but, even in the field of ecology and the environment, industrial technology is useful, indeed essential. Renewable energy sources such as solar power, wind power, tidal power and so on all involve the necessary use of quite sophisticated machinery and equipment which we would not be able to make and operate without the technological knowledge acquired since the industrial revolution.

Such is the life of the worker

 

The ruling class must force the workers to forge the gilded chains that enslave them. The wage-slave is showing signs of bewilderment towards present day events. We cannot make head nor tail of the explanations politicians or economists  give us. The puzzled wage slave knows that things have gone wrong somewhere but we do not hit upon the cause, and feels inclined to blame oneself. For too long the working people have had their strength drained by poverty and economic insecurity. They have accepted their condition as being inevitable : content with the reform crumbs that have been grudgingly given after bitter struggles. As yet they know of no alternative. The slogans of the masters. “There have always been rich and poor” , “You must have capital and labour” ,‘‘Hard work never hurt anyone” ,‘‘The bosses have got the brains.” These phrases have dulled workers' political alertness, because, always hoping to rise in the social sphere by hard work, they eventually discover there is nothing on that road but toil and poverty. They do not know the alternative.

Capitalism is run by the capitalist class for one purpose only, the obtaining of a profit. Profits cannot be realised until goods are sold. The market of the world consists of the purchasing power of the people of the earth. In proportion to what is placed on the market the purchasing power of the producers is becoming relatively less. The trouble is further complicated by constant capital in the shape of machinery having always to be sold to capitalists; working men and women do not buy machinery. As the capitalist class have only claims on wealth yet to be produced they are finding things extremely difficult at the present time. 

Poverty is a social disease which has undermined the health of the working class. The “middle-class” suburbia, think the term poverty refers to the slum dwellers, of the homeless and beggars . It is never on their own doorstep. It is always the other person who is poor. The suburbanites desire to ‘‘get on” in the world. Being snobs, they try to find out what the other fellow does ‘‘in the city.” It is never called work. They receive a ‘‘salary,” not a wage.

 

They wear out their lives trying to keep up appearances and have been known to go without food in order to do so. Property-conscious, with shoddy clothes and affected speech, they ape their masters in an endeavour to hide their poverty. Their condition is wretched, for they are acting a lie throughout their lives. All have one fear — the fear of losing a job.

Not only do you produce the wealth that the capitalist class enjoy, but they control your thinking, and you are content despite your wretchedness, that this should be so. It is true you grumble—that is a safety valve, but animals do not whine and skulk in corners.

One can understand the capitalist class defending their power, prestige and property. They have got a lot to lose, but you have only your poverty.

You are the toiling millions who produce the wealth of the world, for others to enjoy. As yet, the capitalist class is not afraid of you, for they have got you where they want you, but when you begin to think in your own interests, they will not be so flagrant. The newspapers will not show a photo of super yachts with their millionaire oligarchs on board, and on the same page, mention the prevalence of food banks.

It is the above facts that are driving governments to indulge in all kinds of tricks and experiments to induce the worker to produce more per man hour. The wage slaves are re-acting well, they don’t like the idea of speeding up, their class instinct warns them that there is something wrong with what the leaders advocate; they smell treachery but can’t detect exactly where it is. Neither do they like the irksome restrictions that are everywhere in evidence. The country is fast becoming one huge slave camp and feelings of frustration are everywhere being revealed in the expression on the faces of those of our fellows we meet on the street and on the job.

The emancipation of the working class cannot be brought about by developing the mechanism of capitalist production; the present machinery was not designed for the wage slave’s benefit, but to exploit him or her. To achieve a state of society in which goods are produced solely for use, a complete transformation of the mechanism of production will be essential. Socialism means as great a change in the mode of production as in the mode of distribution. The society of the future is one of associated humanity; people must be the main consideration. The welfare of mankind is the sole aim of socialism. The aim and object will be quality, pure food, the best of clothing. homes that are homes—for everybody. Ours will be a world without money and without price. Labour applied to the natural resources of the earth will give us everything necessary for our existence and well-being. When the workers have the intelligence to abolish the wage system and establish their own social order we emerge into what may be described as a new world. 

Workers, rouse yourselves from your lethargy. Try to understand the world in which you exist. Join with us in working for a society where poverty and degradation will be replaced by comfort and a fulfilling life for all.

Socialism and Mutual Aid

 

Socialism is a doctrine which gives an adequate explanation of the whole course of civilisation. Thus destroying the fallacious arguments of the capitalist theoreticians, the doctrine was essential to the interests of the working class. Not only did this doctrine give a clear demonstration of the inconsistencies of the opponents of socialism, but furthermore when showing their mistakes it supplied a historical explanation of these errors.

Just as Darwin enriched the natural sciences with his work on the Origin of Species, a theory simple and scientific, so the founders of socialism showed that in the development of the forces of production, and in the struggle of these forces against the social condition of production, there was implicit the principle of the transformation of social species. It must not be supposed that socialism is an absolute truth. Obviously even today the development of socialism is not finished. That development did not come to an end with the writings of Marx and Engels, any more than the theory of the Origin of Species was worked out once and out for all. Socialism is based upon the Materialist Conception of History. This means that it explains ethical and moral history as the outcome of the development of social relations, partly influenced by the natural environment.

To hold the view that mankind is a product of one's environment, that humanity is moulded by its surroundings, is not enough to account for the social differences. The environment itself is a complex of contradictions. It is not the consciousness of men which determines their existence, but conversely their social existence which determines their consciousness; so that people by acting on natural forces outside themselves and changing them at the same time, change their own nature.

Capitalism with its tremendous potentiality has made it possible to provide all members of world society with their needs of life to transform this potentiality into an accomplished fact. This is the historic mission of the working class. To change the basis of society from its present capitalist form to one of common ownership and democratic control, and so harmonise the present form of social production with one of social ownership in order that goods and services shall be freely available to all mankind. To bring about this change in the basis of society it is imperative that the working class (that is those who are dependent on wages or salaries in order to live) shall take control of political power in order that this power, at present being used to maintain capitalism, shall be so shaped and altered to the needs of the new society.

When we see how slowly the majority of workers the world over learn the facts of capitalist life and the need to end the system and establish a worldwide class-free society in its place, we can take comfort in the fact that there must be magic in the very name of socialism. Even if it is used up to now only to cloak the hideous reality of capitalism, there are many rulers who realise that the time has come to pay lip-service. There are still many people who will tell you that the British NHS offers the best medical attention, for patients of all social strata, in the world. In fact, nearly all its original claims have proved to be miserably false.  It was once boasted that the NHS would provide free specialist treatment for all and that the needy would not have to suffer ill health anymore because of their poverty. But now, with waiting periods of months for specialist appointments and years for routine operations, this is an empty promise. When told of these waiting lists workers often ask how much it would cost to “go private” and so have their case dealt with much sooner. When told the probable fee, some struggle to find it and others turn away amazed and disappointed. 

Taking over political power under these circumstances will be a revolutionary act. Nevertheless, it must be a democratic act, a deliberate act by class-conscious men and women, a class scorning the idea of leadership, a class which will instruct its delegates to work for the abolition of the working class, and thus abolish class society, and bring into being the new society. Capitalism will continue. And continue it will until you and a majority like you take the revolutionary step of deciding to abolish capitalism in all its forms and to bring into being a new society.

For a better world (video)

 

Where Our Principles Stand

 There is not one single country in the capitalist world which is not suffering either from a political or economic or military crisis. Some have all three. 

The capitalist world is like fermentation, but this is a second fermentation. The first produces the wine — the second vinegar. The system has outlived its usefulness and is no longer a progressive force developing the powers of production and distribution. The market, or the mode of exchange, is in conflict with the mode of production. The forces of production are capable of producing an ever-increasing abundance of wealth, but the mode of exchange forbids any production of wealth beyond that which can be sold or exchanged. The social relations of production, wage-labour, capital, money, are restricting and fettering the means of production and distribution. Capitalism has become reactionary. When the social relations of production are in contradiction to the powers of production, and when society demands that these powers of production shall fulfil social needs, a revolutionary situation has developed.

The Socialist Party has always taken the view that revolutionary ideas which seek a social change can only arise when such a change is possible, and that the means and conditions are ripe and success can be guaranteed. Revolution is not a change of government or system of administration; i.e. dictatorship or democracy — state capitalism or private enterprise. These are superficial changes but they are not revolutionary because they do not change the social basis of capitalist society, or the social relations which hold it together. Russia and China are included in this category of non-revolutionary systems. The establishment and maintenance of capitalism through the State machinery as exists in these countries, and others with similar false socialist pretensions, is not revolutionary because they retain the same social basis of capitalist production and distribution. The Socialist revolution cannot be achieved by force of arms, by violence, whether in the form of armed revolt or industrial sabotage. Neither can it be achieved through strikes and general strikes. We are opposed to all these methods advocated by the variegated groups of the Left, who style themselves as the leaders of working-class emancipation.

Paying lip-service to socialism they have managed to sway millions of workers to support régimes and systems of administration which are alien to the whole concept of socialism. What’s more, they have turned the administration of capitalism into a profession. The old ruling class has been superannuated; the part-time aristocratic gentlemen rulers have been replaced by a new breed of self-seeking ambitious professional politicians, only too eager and anxious to prostitute their abilities, and who are ruthless in their determination to get to the seats of power.

Reformist propaganda is one of the main reasons why the workers do not understand socialism and in fact, is harmful to socialist propaganda in that it detracts from the issue.

There are so many forces working against socialism that it is a wonder that a Socialist Party can still survive. It does survive because Socialist society will be the result of historical necessity. That is, that it is the inevitable result result of the course of social evolution. There is a social law of development which traces the birth, growth and decay of social systems. This law was discovered by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels and is known as the Materialist Conception of History. Its scientific validity has been demonstrated repeatedly. Broadly, it maintains that all history has been a struggle between social classes for control of political power. That social systems change when all the productive forces for which there is room within any given society have been developed and are prevented from developing further. Revolution occurs when men become conscious or are aware of this situation.

Socialist ideas are indestructible because they are born out of the social conditions and cannot be destroyed any more than you can abolish the Law of Gravity. The inevitability of socialism is a historical necessity based on a historical cause. But we are not mechanical puppets moved around by historical necessity. The existence of the conditions will not, in themselves, produce the desired social change. This is the argument of the economic determinists who wrongly claim the authority of Marx for this erroneous proposition. The inevitability of socialism must be a combination of two things; conditions and ideas. The social conditions are present, the socialist ideas are not. Again, if we refer to human history we shall see that men do eventually become conscious of the need for social change, and provided the conditions are present will successfully accomplish that change. Socialism will be no exception to this historical law. Socialism is inevitable because men will seek and gain socialist knowledge, and change society. Socialism cannot arise from a collapse of capitalism through crises or unemployment — it can only arise through international working-class consciousness.

The means of production have been developed to the point where universal social needs can be satisfied. This is beyond dispute. Capitalist society cannot use the productive forces at its disposal, including the greatest productive force of all — the international working class.

Society must, therefore, move on to a higher stage of production. Social problems must be dealt with fundamentally. To achieve this socialist consciousness must be created and this is the work of the Socialist Party of Great Britain. The class struggle can only be successfully fought on the sole issue of socialism or capitalism.

 

That workers struggle is not in question, but what are they struggling for? One thing is certain. They are not struggling for socialism, but for better conditions within capitalism. There is the never-ending clamour for full employment and high wages instead of the abolition of employment and wage-labour. And yet something useful has emerged, and that is that the so-called vanguard of the international working-class movement, the Labour, Social-Democratic and Communist parties everywhere, have been thoroughly discredited and exposed for what they really are — the agents of class exploitation and the natural enemies of socialism. That lesson will be learned by workers sooner than later.