It’s up to You (1966)

From the December 1966 issue of the Socialist Standard

We are on the verge of a slump. The so-called affluent society is crumbling.

Once more the capitalist class is caught up in the implications of its own ridiculous system. For weeks past we have had news of redundancies, mounting unemployment, falling share prices and gloom on the stock exchange. Those who have been clamouring for a reduction in the cost of living for so long are due to have their ambitions realised in a most unpleasant manner.

It has all happened before and will continue to happen periodically so long as the working class continues to support the capitalist system.

During the last General Election the working class, upon whom the capitalist class depend for support, was promised more of everything desirable and less of everything undesirable. Once the Labour Party was well and truly in power the mask of good humoured tolerance was cast aside and those who had expected years of continued affluence measured in terms of bigger cars, TV sets, holidays abroad and all the things that have been available in recent years were suddenly confronted with a Labour Party that is hardly distinguishable from the Tories who are traditionally opposed to working class interests.

So here we are. The Socialist Party of Great Britain has never had any illusions about the way capitalism would go. We were not deceived after the war when optimistic forecasts were made about the years of prosperity stretching out ahead and slumps being things of the past. We know how capitalism works and are therefore able to tell what is likely to happen next.

Even without the Labour Party’s conscious effort to create unemployment by introducing the Selective Employment Tax capitalism would follow its familiar pattern of overproduction. Foreign markets are becoming more competitive and some manufacturers are finding it more and more difficulty to compete with rivals. The smaller companies will crumble, and survival will only be possible for the large groups who will cut out unprofitable products as was recently seen in the case of ICI. The continued dismissal of workers means that there are more workers on the labour market and since labour power is a commodity a surplus of it forces the price down. Unemployment becomes a problem for the worker which intensifies his struggle to live. The trade unions are made impotent by mass unemployment and it then becomes obvious how limited are their powers. They can only resist the encroachments of capitalism on their members wages and conditions of work. This is the extent of their usefulness. Their role is purely reformist and can never be anything else.

Their muddle-headedness shows itself in trade union support for the Labour Party and the acceptance by trade union officials of knighthoods and other “honours” with which the capitalists buy off potential opponents.

It is possible that the slump that is just beginning will make the nineteen-twenties and thirties look like a Sunday School treat followed by another arms build up and the Third World War to decide who shall have the pick of the markets.

These events are the deadly monotony of capitalist production and so-called progress. There is only one way to stop it. The majority of the world’s workers must work together for the establishment of Socialism.

We must consciously take over from the capitalist class the sources of raw materials and the instruments for producing wealth so that we can build a society in which food, clothing and shelter will be produced for the use of all. In which competition will be abolished and with it the causes of war, insecurity and mass misery.

This is not a dream. It is the only practical solution to our economic problems. All that is needed is working class understanding and your conscious support of the Socialist Party case. We are here already organised as the only political party whose object is Socialism.

L.J.C.

Notice from the January 1967 issue of the Socialist Standard:

Last month we published what seemed to be an article, with the title, ‘It's up to You’. We did not make it clear that this was in fact a letter from a person who at the time was not a member of the Socialist Party of Gt. Britain.

Blogger's Note:

I think that this confirms that 'L.J.C.' was in fact Louis J. Cox. He originally joined Bloomsbury Branch of the SPGB in 1943, resigning in 1958 ('personal reasons"), and then rejoined the SPGB via Paddington Branch in November 1966. He didn't stick around for long, resigning from the Party in 1970 ("not in agreement with party case"). He rejoined the SPGB again in 1980, finally resigning from the SPGB in November 1991 (reference to a "starry-eyed" takeover in his resignation letter). I've no idea if he went on to join the Socialist Studies group. 

Why not here? (1967)

A Short Story from the June 1967 issue of the Socialist Standard

Two observers from Outer Space peer at the earth through the porthole of their orbiting space craft.

The younger one turns to his companion. 

“How many times have you made this trip?”

“I can’t remember”.

“Have they visited us?”

“Not yet. They haven’t yet developed a ship that can penetrate deep space”.

The younger man glances at a spent booster in close orbit.

“Is that what they are trying to do now?”

“No, they are merely concerned with getting to their dead satellite which they call the Moon.”

“Isn’t that rather a waste of time?” 

“Not as they see it. Technically it could be used as a launching base for longer trips, but they are also concerned about exploiting its mineral deposits for use on earth”.

“I suppose they are running out of natural resources”.

“The earth isn’t seriously short but the rival factions are individually concerned about getting their supplies cheaper”. 

“What do you mean—cheaper?”

The older astronaut leaned against the cabin wall and smiled.

“Down there on earth they have a system of society known as capitalism in which a small minority owns and controls the earth’s resources and they are enabled to continue in this state by the fact that the non-property owning class are quite ignorant of the fact”.

“How can a large number of people be ignorant of such an obvious fact?” 

“Because they are conditioned to accept the proposition that they live in the best of all possible worlds and that their leaders are much more capable than they of deciding which course they should follow”.

“Why do they need leaders? Are they blind, or imbeciles?”

“They need leaders for two reasons. Firstly that they suffer from the delusion that capitalism can be made to run in everyone’s interests, and secondly because they can’t visualise any other system. They vote for one set of rulers and when they don’t get what they had hoped for they vote for another set. The irony of the situation is that whichever set they return to power the ownership of the wealth remains the property of the same class”.

“It seems incredible. I can hardly believe you are serious. How long has this been going on?”

“Years and years. Now they are at a stage where they have solved the problems of production but they can’t distribute the wealth they produce”.

“Why not?”

“Because they operate an exchange system in which metal discs or pieces of coloured paper represent the value of the objects to be exchanged. The slave class receives a certain amount of discs and notes according to the number of hours worked.

“Different types of worker are paid different amounts. Basically it is decided by the amount necessary to keep a worker and his family and to produce more workers. After all, the owning class must never be short of slaves, who are also employed to protect their masters’ property”.

“How do they do that?”

“Every few years various sections of the earth population go to war. That is to say they don uniforms according to whichever interests they are protecting and they proceed to kill one another”.

“Whatever for?”

“To eliminate the opposition. They kill and maim their fellow beings, male and female, young and old, and destroy any form of wealth that could be used against them”.

“How ridiculous”.

“They don’t think so. They allow themselves to be duped into believing that their opponents will perpetrate all sorts of cruel acts against them if they are captured and by these means their masters keep the slaughter going”.

“How revolting”.

“Revolting or not, that is how private ownership works”.

The younger astronaut turned pale.

“We don’t have to land, do we? I wouldn’t like to go too close to that lot”.

“No, we are just seeing how they are getting on and who is destroying whom this time”.

“Are they all as savage as one another?”

“No. As a matter of fact they are highly civilised but they haven’t yet reached the stage of political development where they realise that there is a solution.

“There are political parties in various parts of the globe that want to overthrow the present system and introduce another called Socialism in which all wealth and resources will be owned by the whole community. Where everyone will help to produce what society needs and take from society whatever they need as individuals”.

“Exactly what we’ve got, in fact”.

“Precisely.

“It’s all so simple that I can’t understand why they haven’t thought of it a long time ago but the forces of capitalism are so powerful that the majority are still trying to make capitalism work in the interests of everyone”.

“But how can they do that?”

“They can’t, but they don’t know that yet.”

L.J.C.