The Socialist Party and the General Election (1974)

From the March 1974 issue of the Socialist Standard

A “snap” General Election is disadvantageous to small political parties lacking the resources and paid workers of the major parties. It is the Socialist Party of Great Britain’s policy to put up candidates for Parliament whenever possible. However, on this occasion we had to consider realistically the problems imposed on us, including that with the Election announced on 8th February to take place on 28th the Socialist Standard could not be produced and distributed in time to support a campaign. It should be borne in mind also that candidates of ours are not “gimmicks” hoping to attract impulsive votes but seek serious consideration of the case for Socialism. In these circumstances we have decided not to attempt an electoral campaign but instead to publish statements of the Socialist position in the press; and we present below our attitude in the Election.

The parties of capitalism had some difficulty drawing up their manifestos for this election. As prophecies of total economic blight and national disaster are uttered, politicians cross their fingers and urge the need for greater sacrifice and a return of the “war-time spirit”. The usual vote-catching promise of jam tomorrow being no longer credible, they are offering you continued inflation, severe “wage restraint”, and rising unemployment in as pleasant a manner as possible. In contrast to all other political organizations, the Socialist Party of Great Britain does not form policies designed to tackle economic crises but exists solely to abolish their cause.

That social conflict and disunity characterize Britain today is apparent to anyone who opens a newspaper; what is not realized is that it cannot be otherwise while society is organized on its present basis. Your life and those of the majority of people are spent running a system co-operatively for the benefit of a minority who own the means of living and all that is produced — the capitalists. It is this contradiction between social production and private ownership which gives rise to our problems. While being the creators of all society’s wealth, members of the working class accept as natural the selling of their energies for wages and salaries which are less than what is produced is worth. In short, you wish to be rationed so that a few can enjoy lives of privilege. Industrial strife, war, unemployment, luxury amidst squalor, homelessness, and endless struggle to “make ends meet” are what human beings vote for at elections. The Socialist Party has always maintained that capitalism cannot evolve into something different or better and tries to induce workers not to direct their resentment against trade unions, property speculators, immigrants or politicians, but against a system which demands that priority be given to profit rather than human need and compels them to engage in degrading struggle to decide the level of their own exploitation.

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There is no “lesser evil” as far as the major political parties are concerned; they all favour your membership of the working class. When capitalism destroys the best-laid plans of governments it can be taken for granted that politicians will offer you excuses and generally resort to deception. Record inflation will be blamed on world prices, as though profits for capitalists overseas as well as at home could make you feel better. The outcome of serious argument concerning the length of time a miner takes to have a bath, you will be told, can influence an economic crisis. Oil sheikhs acting as all good capitalists should will be accused of “blackmail” and members of the working class, who possess nothing but their ability to work, will be told they have a balance of payments deficit of thousands of millions. The only response can be to mind our own business and leave the problems of capitalism to capitalists. The Labour and Communist parties, however, see as part of the solution an extension, of Nationalization, or letting fewer capitalists mind their own business. This entails transfer of control of certain industries to the State but leaves ownership in the hands of capitalists, who simply receive interest from State bonds rather than company shares. For workers nothing is changed. State control of capitalism, whether in Britain, Russia or China, is not Socialism and cannot lead to it. Labour is again seeking to “eliminate poverty wherever it exists”, something which governments have promised to do for decades. Such an objective is rather like wanting to run a car without petrol: capitalism needs the existence of poverty in order to survive and will destroy the noblest of aims. The Liberals, seeking votes from the disillusioned, present themselves as a party above sectional interest and against the “greed of unions and big business”. They promote this “classless” image with slogans such as “Forward with the People!”, “Liberalism is about people”, and “people count”, offering workers “participation” in industry and housewives “community politics”. What should be remembered is that whoever runs capitalism must do so in the interest of the owners of capital, and that this interest is not your own. Liberalism is capitalism, which is only about people as producers of profit. Giving a man a “say” in his own robbery will not bring harmony to social relations and discussion of such issues as efficient garbage removal and more zebra crossings is irrelevant to the fundamental problems from which you suffer.

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The Socialist Party and its companion parties abroad stand for Socialism, a classless, moneyless world community in which the means of life will be owned and democratically controlled by the whole of society and where the only motive for production will be the satisfaction of human need. With the abolition of money and the wages system millions of workers now engaged in unproductive work such as accountancy, banking, insurance and selling will have the opportunity to develop their potential for their own and society’s good, rather than restricting their lives in the service of profit. People will freely take part in social production and take freely from the social wealth whatever they think they need. Capitalism has developed technology and industry to the point where an abundance of wealth was possible; it cannot be created where production is limited to what can be sold at a profit. In the process of changing society man changes himself and his relationship to his fellow man. Capitalism is not the “natural order of things” and will be abolished when a majority reject the promises and leadership of politicians and understand what Socialism implies. We urge you to read carefully our Object and Declaration of Principles, and if you are in agreement with us we ask you to come and give active help. Capitalism may produce chaos and apathy, but it also creates the Socialists who will finally free and unite mankind.