The
Socialist Party today has candidates standing in the South East of
England contesting the European Union elections. No doubt we will
lose our deposit and harvest relatively only a few votes for our case
for socialism. It makes observers wonder why we in the Socialist
Party still persist. So, is a vote for the Socialist Party a wasted
vote? The answer is no. By now some of you will have grown weary of
listening to the mainstream candidates in this election. They have
waffled on and on about Brexit and Remain. All nationalisms are
reactionary because they inevitably clash with class consciousness
and poison it with chauvinism. Our view is that a bloc of states such
as the EU ultimately exists only to defend the property interests of
the owning class and to protect the interests of the capitalists and
their businesses at every turn. Those Brexiteers who say that the
main enemy is in Brussels and Strasbourg mislead workers into
thinking we have less to fear from the British capitalist class.
Brexit has no answers for the working class and would continue to be
used by the millionaires and multi-nationals to control and rule.
Most of us don’t own a single square inch of the UK. It doesn’t
belong to us: we just live here and work for the people who do own
it. In or out of the EU, that won’t change. Society is run in the
interests of those who own the wealth. They argue among each other
over , GDP rates, profits, imports and exports, because where the
borders lie matters only to the ruling class. Not to us.
Our goal is
socialism, a new social system based on common ownership of our
resources and industry, cooperation, production for use and genuine
democracy. Only socialism can turn the boundless potential of our
class and resources to the creation of a world free from tyranny,
greed, poverty and exploitation. Capitalism has failed, and so have
efforts to reform it. That failure puts a campaign for the socialist
alternative on the immediate agenda. We will recognise ourselves, not
as British or European but as members of humanity.
Running
Socialist Party candidates is all about exposing the agenda of the
employing class, challenging the false promises and policy lies of
the pro-capitalist candidates, and putting forward socialism as the
alternative for working people. Running candidates is about providing
a platform to gain support for the idea of socialism. Elections are
an organising tool to expose the powers that be and to confront the
ideology of the bosses. Elections are one of the best ways for
socialists to get a public hearing. Elections should be seen as a
great arena to publicise and populise socialist ideas. It is
marvellously morale–raising to discover while canvassing that there
are already a great many socialists out there, and many more
potential socialists. It would be difficult to campaign for election
without making new contacts, new recruits and increasing the working
class' understanding of political realities and socialist ideas.
Party members and volunteers grow immensely as speakers, and
organisers. And voters are refreshed by real solutions. If we
socialists don’t speak up for socialism in the electoral arena, who
will?
If
you think you've been cheated over the years, you're right;
capitalism is nothing but a racket. The proof of the failure of the
world capitalist system to meet the needs and aspirations of the
majority of the population of every country of the world is there for
all to see, clear and manifest, if only they will open their eyes
wide and acknowledge the overwhelming evidence. Politics, the
activities associated with how a country or an area is run, is
something which should engage the interest and activity of every
citizen worldwide as it bears directly on all aspects of life. The
reason for contempt or indifference towards politics comes from a
history of being excluded, the expectation of being excluded and the
acceptance of being excluded. To be heard, to be considered, to be
represented honestly we need to be involved in the decision-making
processes, not to be told what is in our best interest by
self-serving professional politicians. We need a system that works
for us all, of which we're all an integral part, a system we're
prepared to work to attain.
The
Socialist Party appeals to real socialists, those who, to quote the
Communist Manifesto, “disdain to conceal their aims.” We take on
those phony pseudo-socialists who pin their hopes on backing
capitalist reformers as a way to build for socialism. Why head south
to go north.
A socialist is not a member of, or supporter of, any
capitalist party whatever. This is the first test of socialist
seriousness and sincerity. The problem is this gives socialist cover
to a capitalist party. For example, though the Greens may desire a
kinder, gentler capitalism, the practical outcome of their dreams can
be seen in Europe where they have been in coalition. Greens prosecute
wars, impose austerity, and more. Why would socialists feed the Green
Party’s false hopes that capitalism can be fixed?
The
Socialist Party and its 10 candidates are alone in speaking for the
working class and fighting for its interests in these 2019 EU elections.
The working class cannot defend its independent class interests
except through a complete political break with all the parties and
organisations that defend the profit system. Workers must reject all
forms of racism, nationalism and xenophobia, including the demonising
of migrant workers and political refugees. The aim of our campaign is
to develop a working class, imbued with socialist consciousness, and
armed with the understanding that nothing less than the abolition of
the capitalist profit system and the establishment of world socialism
can provide a future for humanity as a whole; free of war, poverty
and oppression. Presently, the Socialist Party lacks the resources in
this election. Some voters will support the candidate who is the
“least worst” until such a time that there is a real candidate
who truly represents us. In this election, the arguments don't pit
capitalism against socialism. It's about trying to decide what kind
of capitalism there will be – we have a choice of capitalisms.
Sometimes not voting is the way to be heard yet non-voting is often
indistinguishable from apathy. It sends no message at all. The only
thing that can transform "apathy" into an actual political
force is to organise the non-voters. This is why Socialist Party
always advocate workers to vote even when there is no one to vote
for. We suggest a spoiled ballot or as we describe it, a write-in
vote for socialism. It may not help much – it might even seem to
some just a pointless gesture — but at least it can’t hurt. We
will be advocating a third choice - a spoiled ballot with the words
“world socialism” written on it. The Socialist Party is
committed to destroying the capitalist system, the root cause of all
oppression. It aims to unmask the irrationality of Don’t degrade
yourself by sinking to the “lesser of two evil” mentality. On
this occasion, go to the polling-booth and inscribe, “WORLD
SOCIALISM!” upon your voting paper.
Today,
if you agree with the Socialist Party, vote:
Mandy
Bruce,
Ray
Carr,
Dave
Chesham,
Rob
Cox,
Mike
Foster,
Stephen
Harper,
Neil
Kirk,
Anton
Pruden,
Andy
Thomas,
Darren
Williams.
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