Tuesday, May 01, 2018

Social Revolution Not Reforms !

Millions of people all around the world are seeking change and a different way of living, demanding justice, peace, and freedom. Our society is beset by a series of interconnected crises. What are the crises facing humanity: The environmental catastrophe and war, global poverty, inequality, terrorism, the displacement of people, and, festering beneath all of these, the socio-economic system under which we all live. Political leaders are incapable of responding to these demands. For lasting change to take place, social prosperity to blossom, we must break free from conditioning. The recognition that humanity is one is crucial in bringing about the much-needed transformation. Solidarity across racial and ethnic divides is growing. Solidarity across social issues scares capitalism. Workers must now regain the militancy and rebuild their popular movements. We have to show the potential of a unified peoples' power. The escalation of militancy should not demand the failed solutions of the past but demand the new economy of the future, socialism, building a cooperative commonwealth of democratised communities and ending economic inequality in our lives.

The Socialist Party does not oppose reforms, some of which, like the NHS, are of benefit to the working class. What we do not do is advocate them because we have something better to advocate.  As socialists, we advocate a world where the tools of production and the world’s wealth are held in common and where all humankind may take goods and services, as needed, for a full and happy life. What we do is point out the nature of the capitalist system and how their benefits are mostly temporary. Medicare is beneficial to the capitalist class also. In Britain, in 1939, when many thousands of young men were drafted for the war, it was found that an alarming percentage were not fit ‘to fight for king and country’ after a decade of depression era unemployment and poor nutrition. Hence the British Health Act of 1948. Many called it ‘The Back To Work Act’, implying, correctly, it was to repair an injured worker so he could return all the sooner to be exploited. As early as 1951, this great reform was in trouble with the addition of some prescription charges (initially free) being added. Now everyone agrees the system is in a mess with the government contracting out services and allowing a parallel private system. So much for the permanence of reforms.

To focus and to see the major problem as the growing gulf between the 1% and the 99% has led to solutions to reduce the gap when it really has to be eliminated altogether. It’s not good enough to simply expect to finish up with less poor and less rich and leave the system that demands that there be a gap in fact. All inequality - economic, political, racial, gender must end. Given that, it must be quite obvious that we haven’t had equality of access to necessary goods and services since the advent of private property. We have a system that is based on inequality - owners and non-owners, employers and employees, capitalists and workers. Inequality has been around a long time but that doesn’t mean it must or will last forever. It must be obvious if we think this through to its logical conclusion that we must simply get rid of private property, the private monopoly of creating and distributing wealth.

 The Socialist Party says a socialist revolution and its ideas would not be confined to one country or region but would spread like a virus throughout the world. National borders may be armed to the teeth and its walls and fences policed 24/7 to keep people in or out, but they cannot contain and stifle ideas, thanks again to modern technology.

There is only one answer, the democratic ownership, and management of the whole system of producing and distributing wealth. This would necessarily mean the abolition of money and the production of goods and services to meet the real needs of the whole community. In such a system, all will contribute according to their abilities and take from the common pool whatever they need. Common ownership of the world’s resources and their use for producing necessary goods and free access for all mankind to all these goods, as needed, will necessarily end inequality. There won’t be owners and classes any more - we will all be owners!That is socialism and it is ready to be implemented now.


Are you ready to work for it? 


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