Contributions to Socialist Theory

The Socialist Party has also made its own contributions to socialist
theory, in the light of further developments, going beyond some of the
theories of socialist pioneers like Marx and Engels. We set out below a
number of these contributions:

1. Solving the Reform or Revolution dilemma, by declaring that a
socialist party should not advocate reforms of capitalism and by
recognising that political democracy can be used for revolutionary ends
(see Gradualism and revolution, p. 25).

2. Realisation of the world-wide (rather than internaticnal character of
Socialism. Socialism can only be a united world community without
frontiers and not the federation of countries suggested by the word
'international'

3. Recognition that there is no need for a 'transition period' between
capitalism and Socialism. The enormous increases in social productivity
since the days of Marx and Engels have made superfluous a period, such
as they envisaged, in which the productive forces would be developed
under State control and in which consumption would have to be rationed.
Socialism can be established as soon as a majority of workers want it,
with free access.

4. Rejection of any further progressive role for nationalism after capitalism became the dominant world system towards the end of the last century. Industrialisation under national State Capitalism is neither necessary nor economically progressive.

5. For the same reason, rejection of the idea of "progressive wars".Socialists oppose all wars, refusing to take sides.

6. Exposures of leadership as a capitalist political principle, a feature of the revolutions that brought them to power and utterly alien to the socialist revolution. The socialist revolution necessarily involves the active and conscious participation of the great majority of workers thus excluding the role of leadership.

7. Advocating and practising that a socialist party should be organised as an open democratic party, with no leaders and no secret meetings, thus foreshadowing the society it seeks to establish.

8. Recognition that capitalism will not collapse of its own accord, but will continue from crisis to crisis until the working class consciously organise to abolish it.

We have refused to compromise our socialist principles by uniting with reformist organisatons, and have firmly insisted that the only road to Socialism is through democratic organisation and political action based on class-conscious understanding.

Socialist Standard May 2009 Volume 105 Issue 1257

May 2009 Volume 105 Issue 1257 out now
		Click image for front-cover view. Index Editorial Contents PDF Go to Standard Online download page.

A Euro Appeal

A Euro Appeal

We don't want your vote. We don't want your vote if you think socialism means nationalisation, higher taxation, welfare state, council estates, national liberation, legalising marijuana or anything of that sort. In short, we don't want your vote if you think we need to keep and act within existing capitalism.

On the other hand, if you do want a society of common ownership and democratic control; a worldwide co-operative commonwealth; the emancipation of labour from the chains of capital; then we're your people, because that's all we stand for.

Well, there's a further catch, because all we're doing is holding the banner aloft. If you want to make socialism happen you've got to prepared to do the work yourself - we're not leaders, and don't want to be. If you need someone to lead you into the promised land, some other bugger'll lead you straight back out again.

That's the choice in this election in a nutshell. A choice between confusing the issue, like whether it's better to be dominated by British capitalists or European ones; whether it's better to only allow capitalists to exploit us for a third of our waking hours, rather than a half; whether the state is the one that extracts profits from our labour, or private employers; or, making our demands crystal clear.

If you call yourself a socialist, why do you want to waste time trying to figure out how to make capitalism run better, anyway? The power to change the world lies in your hands, you don't need to be bound by accepting things as they are – the point is to change them. If a majority decided to remake the world, no force on Earth could stop them.

A vote for the Socialist Party is a vote that says you are ready to act to make this change. A signal to your fellow socialists that they are not alone. A signal to your fellow workers that some people take the actual idea of socialism seriously, rather than relegating it to some bedtime fairytale never-never for after the work of running capitalism is done.

Let's end on William Morris:
“One man with an idea in his head is in danger of being considered a madman: two men with the same idea in common may be foolish, but can hardly be mad; ten men sharing an idea begin to act, a hundred draw attention as fanatics, a thousand and society begins to tremble, a hundred thousand and there is war abroad, and the cause has victories tangible and real; and why only a hundred thousand? Why not a hundred million and peace upon the Earth? You and I who agree together, it is we who have to answer that question.”