Vital statistics
I would be grateful for your observations through the SS to put a friend’s mind at rest. He wants it in black and white!
For the attainment of a socialist society, what would constitute the majority? Is it 100 per cent. of the working class who are 86 per cent. of the population, or 100 per cent. of the population? We agree that 51 per cent. or even 65 per cent. would not be enough for the socialist case to succeed. But he is of the opinion that we must aim for 100 per cent. of the population or we have no chance of success. This, I feel, is an impossibility and unattainable. I have tried to explain that it will depend on circumstances at the time, and when that time comes the working class themselves will decide what constitutes the percentage of the majority, be it 60, 70 or 81 per cent., etc.
Would be thankful if you would expand and settle the issue.
Brian Johnson
Pontypridd
Reply:
“Majority” means an electoral majority. At the beginning of this century the question was of there being enough working-class votes, assuming they were nearly all cast for Socialism, to outnumber the capitalist class. Today the electorate (people over 18) in Britain number roughly 40 millions, of whom about nine-tenths are workers. Clearly 51 per cent. would not do; it would mean nearly half the population did not accept Socialism and were not prepared to operate it. 100 per cent. of the electorate would mean all the capitalists had become Socialists, which we doubt. One vital factor would be what was happening in the rest of the world. Another would be the strength of what feeling against Socialism remained. If it appeared that the non-socialists were mostly unconvinced but amenable, those who were ready for Socialism might decide that they could go forward (bearing in mind that everyone would benefit from the change).
What we would say about these difficult decisions is that we are anxious to be confronted by them. Tell your friend to join us and help to spread Socialism.
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