The political arm of capitalism rules the economic body of the system in the final analysis, which reveals the chief reason why the capitalist class concern themselves so much about elections, they realise that in this field their economic interest finds its ultimate, if not immediate, protection. Thus, the political organisation of the workers for socialist purposes is thrust upon us as a primary and imperative necessity. The workers' political organisation must precede the economic, since, apart from the essential need of the conquest of the powers of government, it is on the political field that the widest and most comprehensive propaganda can be deliberately maintained.It is here that the workers can be deliberately and independently organised on the basis of socialist thought and action.
Acquiring the vote was a gain for the working class and became a potential class weapon, a potential "instrument of emancipation" as someone once put it. We don't advocate de facto disenfranchisement of the worker by promoting political abstention. The right to vote can become a powerful instrument to end our servitude and to achieve genuine democracy and freedom. Working people with an understanding of socialism can utilise their vote to signify that the overwhelming majority demand change and to bring about social revolution. The first object of a socialist organisation is the development of the desire for socialism among the working class and the preparation of the political party to give expression to that desire. The modern democratic state is the capitalist state. But the democratic state has been forced, frequently against its will, to bring into being methods, institutions, and procedures which have left open the road to power for the workers. In this country the central institution through which power is exercised is Parliament.The important thing is for the workers to gain control of the political machinery, because the political machine is the real centre of social control - not made so by capitalist rulers but developed and evolved over centuries and through struggles .To merely send working class nominees there to control it is not sufficient. The purpose must be to accomplish a revolutionary reorganisation of society, a revolution which which will put everybody on an equal footing as participants.
Political democracy under capitalism is not all that it is claimed to be by the supporters of the system and it is severely limited, by the very nature of capitalism being an unequal, class-divided society. In practice people generally elect to central legislative assemblies and local councils professional politicians who they merely vote for and then let them get on with the job. In other words, the electors abdicate their responsibility to keep any eye on their representatives, giving them a free hand to do what the operation of capitalism demands. But that’s as much the fault of the electors as of their representatives, or rather it is a reflection of their low level of democratic consciousness. It cannot be blamed on the principle of representation as such. There is no reason in principle why, with a heightened democratic consciousness (which would accompany the spread of socialist ideas), even representatives sent to state bodies could not be subject – while the state lasts – to democratic control by those who sent them there. Control of parliament by representatives of a conscious revolutionary movement will enable the bureaucratic-military apparatus to be dismantled and the oppressive forces of the state to be neutralised , so that socialism may be introduced with the least possible violence and disruption. Parliament and local councils , to the extent that their functions are administrative and not governmental, can and will be used to co-ordinate the immediate measures to transform society when Socialism is established. Far better, is it not, if only to minimise the risk of violence, to organise to win a majority in parliament , not to form a government , but to end capitalism and dismantle the state. "Democracy" has become an ideology used to give capitalist rule a spurious legitimacy. But it is, nevertheless, still sufficient to allow the working class to organise without too much state interference to allow a future socialist majority to gain control of political power.
In Britain, the provisions for voter registration, nomination of candidates, counting of votes and declaration of results can be used to express and count, more or less fairly and accurately, a majority desire for socialism. So we have no interest in running down the system as such and way to show that you accept the electoral system but yet reject the sham choice is to go and use it but do not vote for any of the candidates.In a vote between lesser of two evils, " Vote Cholera or Vote for Typhoid" , not voting at all may be a valid choice but casting blank ballots is a more effective option .One or two spoiled ballot papers can be ignored, tens of thousands or even millions could not be, especially when backed by a vocal protest movement.
The Socialist Party is not asking people to vote for them so they can solve the problems the electorate have to contend with. The SPGB is saying quite clearly that workers need to understand and support socialism themselves in order for it to come about. It cannot be imposed from above. Without a socialist working class, there can be no socialism. The establishment of socialism can only be the conscious majority, and therefore democratic, act of a socialist-minded working class. Whereas you can make people do what they do not wish to do, you cannot make them adopt a set of social relations which require their voluntary co-operation if they do not voluntarily co-operate .In these circumstances the easiest and surest way for such a socialist majority to gain control of political power in order to establish socialism is to use the existing electoral machinery to send a majority of mandated socialist delegates to the various parliaments of the world. Furthermore, we make the point that if they dont understand or support socialism then they should NOT vote for the Socialist Party. The SPGB does not contest elections to "take office", to form a government and nor to we desire that other people should "vote us into office" either. What we do propose is that people should use the vote in the course of the social revolution from capitalism to socialism to vote capitalism "out of office".
To do this they will need to stand recallable mandated delegates at elections but these will be just messenger boys and girls, not leaders or would-be government ministers, sent to formally take over and dismantle the central State. The vote is merely the legitimate stamp which will allow for the dismantling of the repressive apparatus of the State and the end of bourgeois democracy and the establishment of real democracy. It is the Achilles heel of capitalism and makes a non-violent revolution possible. What matters most is a conscious socialist majority outside parliament, ready and organised to take over and run industry and society; electing a socialist majority in parliament is essentially just a reflection of this. It is not parliament that establishes socialism, but the socialist working-class majority outside parliament and they do this, not by their votes, but by their active participating beyond this in the transformation of society.
The barriers to the establishment of socialism exist in the minds of the working class, and capitalist control of the machinery of government is a consequence. The institution of parliament may not be perfect but it is not at fault. It is just that people's ideas have not yet developed beyond a belief in leaders and dependence upon a political elite.
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