Unitarian Church,
High Street,
Swansea SA1 1NZ
The
Socialist Party is not sitting back waiting for everybody to suddenly
want socialism. We are actively working to help such a majority
desire develop as soon as possible. It is part of the process of the
development of socialist ideas which at the moment largely involves
talking, writing and meetings but, later, when there are many more of
us practical plans will no doubt be drawn up, for instance stopping
world hunger, restoring the balance between human society and nature,
solving the housing problem for implementation after the winning of
control of political power via the ballot box.
The
Left are not a part of the opposition to capitalism. On the contrary
they advocate merely a variation to its form (that is the
state-capitalist one) in which the wages system, buying and selling,
police, armies and so on will continue to exist. They peddle the
illusion that it is in our class interest. Do not be fooled by their
use of the words “socialism” and “communism” or by their use
of Marxist terminology. The test to use is a simple one—will the
successful outcome of their policies result in the abolition of class
exploitation and its replacement by a world-wide system of common
ownership and free access by all to the wealth produced? Clearly the
left-wing do not work for this end as an immediate practical
possibility.
Many
sincere and well meaning people vent their anger with the system by
actively taking part in left-wing activity. It will not remove the
cause of working class misery, rather it will confuse the issue which
workers everywhere should have always before them—capitalism or
socialism? Confusion gives rise to
frustration and often to apathy which is a barrier to the democratic
class conscious political action which must be undertaken if we are
to liberate ourselves. We
do expect workers to give up their support for organisations which
simply tinker with the problems of class society. Sticking plaster
solutions must be abandoned if we are to free ourselves by capturing
control of the State.
The
Socialist Party claims that the majority of the working class are
capable of understanding socialism. This being so we are often asked
the question, why then, are there not many more socialists? At
present the vast majority of workers mistakenly can only see the
solution to their problems in reforming capitalism in one way or
another. Capitalism itself is not questioned, it is only the patching
up of its effects that is attempted. From our point of view, one of
trying to make socialist ideas known, the problem is not one of
understanding, but of communication. Today information is mainly
passed on by the mass media to which the Socialist Party is virtually
denied access. What is seen and heard in the mass media is the misuse
of the word 'socialism'. This means that we are called upon to spend
a lot of time in explaining what socialism is not, that socialism
does not yet exist anywhere. What is important about the mass media
is not so much that they create attitudes and values but that they
continue to reinforce existing ones. Socialist ideas are not
propagated in a vacuum but within capitalist society, meeting all the
obstacles and prejudice of capitalist ideology. A great deal of
expense and time is spent perpetuating attitudes which maintain the
capitalist system. Marx wrote, and it still applies today, that “The
prevailing ideas in society are the ideas of the ruling class.”
To
those who say “Yes socialism is a good idea, but you will never get
the majority of people to understand it,” we ask: If you can
understand socialism, why not then the majority of people? Members of
the Socialist Party are no more or less intelligent than most other
people. What we say is that if you think socialism is such a good
idea why not find out more about it? Then join with us in helping to
explain it to fellow workers so at least they may have the
opportunity of deciding for themselves.
Socialism
is not an ideal. It is based on the sound facts of the way human
society evolves, and the way capitalism works. We are not asking for
a change of heart — we are asking for the conversion of the means
of production from private or state ownership to common ownership.
This is not an ideal but a practical and material demand. The
material conditions for socialism have long been in existence. All
that is needed is for the majority of the working class to realise
their common interest in abolishing capitalism.
2 comments:
A very good synopsis of the problem and solution! I'll be there on Monday at the meeting in Swansea and look forward to engaging with other comrades in the struggle to extricate our species and the planet generally from the death cult of capitalism and create a life-giving, life-sustaining system of socialism.
I think one weakness we have is that we have very limited outlet for people to express themselves in a practical way. Nobody within the SPGB seeks to be an armchair theorist. We want to be able to exercise our socialist ideals in a constructive manner and share them with others. Every branch has to consider ways of doing so. We cannot persist in preaching to the converted, all of us singing from the same hymn-sheet. That is the challenge we all must accept and explore methods of achieving connections with our fellow-workers (and of course fellow members)
We have to be present so that our voice can be heard, the mountain does not come to us. We have to seek out the audience and have different means of communicating that resonates with it.
A tough order to accomplish, demanding much trial and error.
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