The Socialist Labor Party of America
Socialist Labor Party's National Platform—
America's Workers Can Build a Better World
Capitalism Must Be Abolished!
Few can deny that the world today is in a constant state of upheaval. That
is reflected in the widespread anarchy, turmoil and conflict not only in the
developed
industrial nations but also in developing nations throughout the world.
The fact that such conditions prevail generally throughout the world, and have
prevailed for a long time, logically suggests the presence of a dominant common
social factor. That common social factor, the Socialist Labor Party has repeatedly
demonstrated, is the capitalist system that does not and cannot work in the
interests of the majority. It is a social system in which society is divided
into two classes—a
capitalist class and a working class. The capitalist class consists of a tiny
minority—the wealthy few who own and control the instruments of production
and distribution. The working class consists of the vast majority who own no
productive property and must, therefore, seek to work for the class that owns
and controls the means of life in order to survive.
The relationship between the two classes forms the basis for an economic tyranny
under which the workers as a class are robbed of the major portion of the social
wealth that they produce.
The beneficiaries and defenders of this economic dictatorship never tire of
declaring it the “best of all possible systems.” Yet, today, after decades
of new deals, fair deals, wars on poverty, civil rights legislation, government
regulations, deregulations and a host of other reform efforts, capitalist America
presents an obscene social picture. Millions who need and want jobs are unemployed,
including many of whose jobs have been outsourced. Others are underemployed,
working only part-time or temporary jobs though they need and want full-time
work. Millions aren’t earning enough to maintain a decent standard of
living for themselves and their families despite the fact that they are working.
The malignant evil of racism and discrimination is pervasive. The nation’s
educational system is deteriorating. The health care system, despite heated debate
for years, still fails to meet the needs of tens of millions. The country’s
infrastructure continues to crumble. Widespread pollution of our environment
worsens. Crime and corruption are widespread at every level of capitalist society.
Many workers suffer from alcohol and drug abuse. Homeless men, women and even
children roam our streets. Thanks to capitalism’s exploitation of workers
poverty continues to grow. The number of people living below the official poverty
line has risen from 24.1 million in 1969 to a 2005 level of over 33 million,
13 million of whom are children.
Even the foregoing fails to give a full picture of the wide-ranging plague of
social and economic problems modern-day capitalism is imposing on society.
A confluence of diminishing oil supplies, rapid industrialization of previously
agricultural societies and the bloated wasteful energy demands of capitalist
society have added to the social malaise enveloping the world. Thus wars for
the domination of oil sources and spheres of influence in Afghanistan and Iraq
are serving to satiate capitalist appetite for profit and survival. Meanwhile,
new emerging threats to U.S. hegemony have arisen in Iran, Korea and China, promising
future chapters of class-rule cataclysms.
A century ago there were no computers, no space exploration and no nuclear
weapons. Nor was there great concern regarding pollution of the land, air and
water on
which all species—humanity included—depend for life. But there
was widespread poverty, racial prejudice and discrimination, spreading urban
chaos,
brazen violations of democratic rights, the material and economic conflicts
that contain the seeds of war, and a host of other economic and social problems.
All of those problems still plague the American working class—but have
grown to even more monumental proportions. These long-standing problems and
the failure of seemingly unending reform efforts to solve or even alleviate
them
to any meaningful degree have imposed decades of misery and suffering on millions
of workers and their families.
Against this insane capitalist system the Socialist Labor Party raises its voice
in emphatic protest and unqualified condemnation. It declares that if our society
is to be rid of the host of economic, political and social ills that for so long
have plagued it, the outmoded capitalist system of private ownership of the socially
operated means of life and production for the profit of a few must be replaced
by a new social order. That new social order must be organized on the same basis
of social ownership and democratic management of all the instruments of social
production, all means of distribution and all of the social services. It must
be one in which production is carried on to satisfy human needs and wants. In
short, it must be genuine socialism.
That is precisely the mission embodied in the Socialist Labor Party’s program—a
program calling for both political and economic organization and action. That
program also is based upon the SLP’s recognition and unqualified acceptance
of the fact that the revolutionary change to socialism must be the classconscious
act of the workers themselves! Accordingly, the SLP calls upon the workers
to rally under its banner for the purpose of advocating this revolutionary
change,
building classconsciousness among workers and projecting a program of organization
that the workers could implement toward this end. That program also calls for
the organization of revolutionary socialist unions. These are essential to
mobilize the economic power of the workers not only to resist the ever-increasing
encroachments
of the capitalists more effectively, but ultimately to provide the essential
power to enforce the revolutionary demand.
Capable of assuming control and continuing to administer and operate the essential
industries and social services, these integral socialist unions can exercise
the power and provide the decisive leverage to “swing” the revolution.
Moreover, they have the structure that provides the necessary foundation and
structural framework for socialist society. It is the workers who will fill out
the new social framework and make the people’s ownership, control and
administration of the new social structure a reality.
Despite the many threats to workers’ lives, liberty and happiness today,
despite the growing poverty and misery that workers are subjected to, a world
of peace, liberty, security, health and abundance for all stands within our
grasp. The potential to create such a society exists, but that potential can
be realized
only if workers act to gain control of their own lives by organizing, politically
and industrially, for socialism.
The Socialist Labor Party calls upon all who realize the critical nature of our
times, and who may be increasingly aware that a basic change in our society is
needed, to place themselves squarely on working-class principles. Join us in
this effort to put an end to the existing class conflict and all its malevolent
results by placing the land and the instruments of social production in the hands
of the people as a collective body in a cooperative socialist society. Help us
build a world in which everyone will enjoy the free exercise and full benefit
of their individual faculties, multiplied by all the technological and other
factors of modern civilization.
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Socialist Labor Party of America, P.O. Box 218, Mountain View, CA 94042-0218 • www.slp.org • socialists@slp.org