What a way to run the world

 We live in a world in which 800 million are malnourished, in which 600 million have no home, in which 1 billion have no access to clean water and in which over 1 billion have no work. Our world is racked by war and civil strife, crime is on the increase everywhere and racism and nationalism is again rearing its ugly head. Were this not enough we now face the threat of environmental catastrophe.

 These are not natural problems, they are social problems and all rooted in the way our world is organised for production – production for profit not social need. The terrible irony is that these are problems we are already capable of solving.

 While we destroy mountains of food, children starve. We employ 500,000 scientists world-wide on weapons programmes, while the world cries out for medical and technological breakthrough that. can directly benefit humanity. 

 Countless families sleep rough on the streets or the world's cities, yet there is no shortage of vacant building, stockpiled bricks and mortar and unemployed builders. We pollute the world, yet for 6 per cent of the money we spend on weapons each year we could provide 1 billion people in underdeveloped countries with solar power. The list is as endless as it is insane. Everywhere we look we are reminded of the maxim of capitalism: "can't pay, can't have". At every turn we find evidence that capitalism impoverishes our lives and retards real human development.

The alternative

 The World Socialist Movement, which dates back to 1904, believes the only way forward lies in the establishment of a world of free access. A world social system based upon the common ownership and democratic control of productive wealth by and in the interest of all people. Production for social need, not profit. A world without borders or frontiers, social classes or leaders, states or governments, money, wages, buying and selling. A world in which we all give freely of our abilities and take according to our needs, with all work being based on voluntary cooperation. A world devoid of force or coercion and in which we each have a real democratic voice.

 We reject that such a system can be brought about by force. World socialism will only come when a majority of the people of the world want socialism and are prepared to organise for it peacefully and democratically to get it. We further reject the idea that socialism has already been tried and has failed. We have always maintained that what was named 'socialism' was only ever state capitalism.

 We are a leaderless organisation consisting of a membership of equals. We have companion parties and members throughout the world, all sharing the same vision of a moneyless world. We make no promises and ask not to lead you. There is nothing we can do for the workers of the world that they are not capable of doing for themselves – after all, they already run the world from top to bottom. If we want change then we have to bring it about ourselves.