Some may find this leaflet of interest. It was published and distributed by comrades of what is now the World Socialist Party of New Zealand and provides a brief overview of the principles of socialism.
ELECTION MESSAGE
THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND
To
the Workers of Tamaki
When a political candidate stands for a
moneyless world in which people take what they need when they need it, in which
there is no army, navy or air-force, no police, no banks and no national
boundaries, you are expected to dismiss him as a crank. Without a full
examination of the Socialist case it does sound crazy.
But the Socialist means exactly what he
says and what is more he is prepared to argue logically and scientifically
that, not only is this possible, it is the ONLY solution to the problems of today's
world.
As cranks we have been around a long time.
Our first members got together in 1904 and formed the Socialist Party of Great
Britain, and in 1930 the Socialist Party of New Zealand sprang into existence,
Today there are thousands of Socialists in parties with identical objects and
principles in U.S.A., Great Britain, Ireland, Austria, Canada, Jamaica, Sweden,
Australia and New Zealand. More parties are in the process of starting in other
countries.
Politics for us means something quite
different. We maintain that the ever present problems of war, pollution, racial
prejudice, crime, housing, industrial unrest and unemployment are not caused by
governments or leaders, sincere or otherwise, but by the way society is
organised throughout the world. This system, which we call capitalism, is a
system whereby the means for producing wealth, the factories, the mines, the
sources of raw material, the airlines, shipping and transport are all owned and
controlled by a small minority (about 10%} of the world's population.
That society is organised on a basis of
producing goods and services so that vast profits may be accrued by that small
minority is the basic cause of 99% of the problems that face us.
When you grasp this rather basic fact that
society is run in the interests of the profit-making machine you are very close
to understanding our case. You will realise, of course, that despite what Mr
Marshall and his cronies would have us believe, profits are far more important
than people in today's society. You will also realise that any political party
that pays allegiance to the profit-making system can only ever run society on
that basis.
The alternative, which we call socialise,
does not exist anywhere in the world yet. Socialism calls for the co-operation
of the peoples of the world to work together on a democratic basis to produce
the needs of the people. We maintain that society today has reached that stage
in production where, if we used the world's resources end cur technical and
scientific knowhow in a sane and sensible manner, we could produce an
overwhelming amount of wealth to satisfy everybody's needs on a very minimal
amount of time and effort.
Free access would be the order of the day
with no need for money, buying and selling, wages and profits. This would
eliminate all the problems that exist today because of the buying and selling
of commodities. War, economic crises, slumps etc., on the international scene
and strikes, lock-outs, unemployment and poverty on the home front. People
would be engaged on a work basis of producing the best possible under the best
conditions that man can create.
... Satisfaction and pride in our work
could exist for every man and woman.
What about us?
The
Socialist Party has no leaders. Leadership is a myth which still lingers in a
so-called democratic society. We are democratic in the true sense of the word
and do not regard democracy as a device for keeping people quiet while we
bamboozle and rob them.
We do not seek power. Our purpose is to
abolish it forever. We do not aim to benefit a working class, except by
abolishing it along with all classes,
We are realists. We do not think that
praying to a god and trusting a leader is going to do us any good.
We are not patriotic. As workers, we have
been dispossessed of our countries and our allegiance is only to the 99% of the
world's population who make up the international working1 class.
We do not compromise. As a working class
party we are opposed to all other political parties and governments for all
respect capitalism in its various stages of development. This is true of
state-capitalist Russia and China as it is true of Britain or U.S.A. -
National, Labour, Social Credit and so-called "Communist" or what
have you.
We are workers. We sell our physical and
mental energies just like 90% of the rest of the world. We know capitalism from
the receiving end, not from the privileged, superior level which sees people as
objects to be managed.
We are cranks because we are few against a
world owned and controlled by non-cranks who murder, steal, lie, cheat and
condone the possible destruction of man.
We know that as working men and woman
living under capitalism, leisure time is a scarce and precious commodity. But
think for a minute - can you honestly say a night's television is more
important than dying of cancer from adulterated food and polluted atmosphere?
Is a round of golf or an afternoon at Eden
Park more important than the possibility of seeing your children die in a
nuclear war?
Do you value a night in the
"G.I." pub more than allowing your family to be subjected to the rat
race that this society has to offer?
Listen to us, argue with us, doubt
everything you hear from us, but remember the onus is on you and each and every
member of society.
THE CHOICE IS YOURS
ERNIE
HIGBDON, SOCIALIST PARTY CANDIDATE
TAMAKI
ELECTORATE
1972
GENERAL ELECTION, NOVEMBER
WSP(NZ)website:
E-mail: wsp.nz@worldsocialism.org
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