In Place of Capitalism
Recently the word ‘capitalism’ seems to be on everyone’s lips. The main reason for this is probably that capitalism – also known as ‘the economy’ or ‘the market system’ is going through a bad patch. The Labour government’s claim to have ended the cycle of boom and bust has been proved disastrously wrong. The last boom, during which food, energy, house and stock market prices rose at unsustainably high rates, has given way to bust.
As usual, workers are the main victims. Many of us have lost our jobs, can’t get new ones or can’t enter the labour force for the first time. We have seen our outgoings soar, our incomes squeezed, even our homes repossessed. Even if we have so far personally avoided the worst of these fates, the worry that we may not continue to do so can be very stressful.
Who or what is to blame for this sorry state of affairs? More constructively, how can it be put right? Only the pitifully small socialist media insist that we need to replace capitalism with socialism. All the other media, which shout so much louder than we can, say things like “We’ve got the wrong kind of capitalism” or “Some people (bankers) have been too greedy.”
There is a widespread and heavily promoted belief that ‘capitalism is the only game in town.’
Anyone who disputes this, for example by advocating that all goods and services should be available on the basis of need, not ability to pay, is dismissed as idealistic or utopian. It is a classic case of self-fulfilling prophecy: support (or at least acquiesce in) the way things are organised today and tomorrow will be more or less the same. But it doesn’t have to be.
Socialists urge that it is futile to try to reform capitalism – the whole system needs to be scrapped and replaced by something better.
The world could be run on different lines which could get it out of the mess it is in. People could organise their affairs so that everyone has free access to the things they need to lead a decent and satisfying life.
To raise this issue of an alternative society we will be standing here in the next local elections.
If you are interested in discussing the alternative society, get in touch with us, by email to spgb@worldsocialism.org
For information on local meetings (in Clapham High St), write to: Gwynn Thomas, 52 Clapham High St, London SW4 7UN.
1 comment:
As a member I recall getting stuck on questions like "will there be only one kind of car" in socialism, etc. I wasn't very good at explaining these things and eventually I stopped trying.
I am over 9000 miles away from my reading materials. I am glad there are so many issues of the Socialist Standard online (and this blog)
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