At the time of the first European Elections in 1979, we asserted that the European Parliament was not a step towards world unity and nor was it meant to be. We put forward the socialist proposition that the only solution to social problems is the establishment of a world without frontiers, based upon common ownership and democratic control of the means of living, with production solely for human need.
This argument was a condemnation of the political and trading arrangements entered into by various European states, in order to further the interests of their capitalists. It also put out the challenge of positive and practical action which could establish a sane world operating in the interests of the whole community.
The argument still stands, vindicated by the experience of the past five years which have been tragically wasted. These have been further years in which society has remained trapped in the insanities of economic, political and military power structures.
What has happened during these years in this so called “European Economic Community?” Disregarding the empty promises of Labour, Conservative and other reformist politicians, what, in reality, did the electorate support in 1979? Governments have paid farmers to destroy cattle, tear up orchards, plough back vegetables and destroy fruit. They have created milk and wine lakes and butter mountains. Now they are cutting milk production in the overall interests of profit. All this in a world in which 40,000 children die every day from starvation. In Europe itself, over 30 million of the population are living below the official poverty line with many seriously undernourished.
In reality, what does the “common market” mean for workers? It is the labour market in which our powers of work are the commodities. We sell our skills and energies producing goods which the capitalists then own. Just as commodity goods are unsold when they are surplus to the market, so our powers of work are unsold when they are surplus to the labour market. Millions of workers are unemployed in the EEC, but at the same time billions of pounds, francs, marks and guilders are extracted as profit from those who are “employed”. We are used as the source of profit and live on wages or salaries while the capitalists maintain their economic power and their grip on the means of living.
This is what the “European Economic Community” is all about. It is part of the profit system, and to protect the capitalists interests involved, millions are wasted in the armed forces and in armaments production. This could provide for Europe as a power bloc to stand against such existing power blocs as America or state capitalist Russia.
Market surpluses amidst deprivation; unemployment amidst poverty; economic exploitation; preparations for war; waste and pollution of the atmosphere; these are the destructive forces which promote the interests of the capitalists in their so called “European Economic Community”. How many more years will be wasted on a system which is utterly unworkable as far as the interests of the whole community are concerned.
Only one interest rises above the economic, political and military divisions of national and international capitalism—our single, world-wide common interest as workers. Its political direction is clear—we must ensure the growth of the world socialist movement with the object of capturing political control of all the powers and machinery of governments by democratic political activity.
From this position we will enact the common ownership of the means of living. This will strip the capitalist class of their monopoly of land, industry, manufacture, transport and resources, whether maintained by private ownership or state control. We will establish free access by the democratically organised community to all these productive means and resources so that they can be freely used to provide directly for human needs.
This will involve the abolition of the state and the conversion of all useful government functions for the democratic administration of needs, operating through a decentralised system of decision making on world, regional and local levels.
Socialism will remove all economic constraints on social action, and will involve the abolition of not just the “common market” but all distribution by buying and selling through the use of money; and therefore will establish free access to all the goods and services which the community could more freely make available. The wages system, which is the market for labour power, will be replaced by direct co-operation between people.
With this world co-operation, socialism would abolish all armed forces and armaments production. Thus all the potentially useful resources of labour, materials, technique and equipment now used for the military would be re-directed for human needs. During all the years which have been wasted on support for capitalism, socialism could by now have solved the major social problems.
Again, the choice between capitalism or socialism is the issue which socialists are raising in this election. The urgent priority is for workers to join the growing world socialist movement. This is the only practical activity which is now being directed at the solution of social problems. Support for parties seeking to participate in the administration of capitalism through the European Parliament will prove as irrelevant and futile now as it did in 1979. But those who want and understand socialism will use the electoral process as and when possible. In the meantime they can show their support by writing “SOCIALISMUS”, “SOCIALISM”, “SOCIALISME”, as the case may be, across their ballot papers.
The Executive Committee
The Socialist Party of Gt. Britain
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