What is Socialism?

If you read the mainstream papers, then you’ve probably formed an idea of socialism.

Socialism happened years ago, but, today, only a few old men in cloth caps still believe in it.  Alternatively, socialism is this nice idea about equality that never worked and consisted of terrible one-party dictatorship, like the ones that used to exist in Eastern Europe, where you couldn’t speak your mind and had to line up for ages just to get a few poor-quality products.  Whatever socialism was, it has had its day now, and is a thing of the past, they say.

Not only do the mainstream papers and politicians want us to believe that socialism is irrelevant; they want us to think that only boring old farts talk about the struggles of the working class.

Well we at REVOLUTION know that to fight injustice today, the rich history of the victories and defeats of socialists and workers in their struggle for a better life provides us with the lessons we can use to turn our struggles into victorious ones.

Class struggle

All over the world, there exist working-class movements and parties at the forefront of the fight against oppression, who see the fight for socialism as part of their fight.  Why is this so?

Society is divided into classes.  One class, the working class, lives by selling its labor-power for wages.  Another class, the ruling class, makes its living by owning companies, banks and factories, and receiving huge profits from the work of others.  We call this system, Capitalism.

The conflicting interests of the two classes cause a struggle between them.  The working class struggles for a better life, decent wages, and against oppression.  For as long as classes exist, there will continue to be class struggle and, with it, a working class-led struggle for a classless society, for socialism.

How is Socialism Different?

Under capitalism, all the decisions in the economy are made by a minority, the ruling class, for their own profit: what to make, who to fire, and so on.  The rest of us have no control over the situation.  Millions are unemployed, on low wages, or working and living in terrible conditions, while a minority lives off the fruits of our labor.

Under socialism, the people as a whole will own the economy.  They will plan it for their benefit, and not for the benefit of a rich few.

“Socialism sounds like a nice idea, but it never works in practice.  Just look at Eastern Europe!”

The old Eastern-European states and the ex-Soviet Union were not socialist.  In those states, capitalism had been overthrown and the economy planned by the state, but there was no democracy.  Therefore, an elite arose in those countries which enriched itself and acquired a lot of power and privilege.  They maintained control over society through extreme repression of any forms of dissent.  Under socialism, all leaders would be truly accountable, through elections at every level.  If someone’s not doing their job properly, they’d be replaced by someone else.

Many look at the way people used to line up for poor-quality goods in Eastern Europe and at how life is more comfortable in the United States.  Politicians and the bosses’ papers use this to claim that socialism doesn’t work, and that no matter how bad capitalism is, this is the best we can expect: “You’ve never had it so good.”

This is not so.  The problem is Eastern Europe was not a planned economy run by the people, for the people.  The problem was with how the planned economy was run.  Without the decision makers being accountable to everyone, there was no way mistakes could be spotted and dealt with immediately.  Socialism only exists when there is democracy, when everyone can play a part in running society.

“Socialists Set their Sights too High”

Many young people involved in various campaigns are disillusioned with politics and don’t see why they need to have political ideas to change things for the better.  For them, it’s enough to be struggling against injustices without having grand ideas about the “big picture.”

However, the “think globally – act locally” idea can’t work.  The state is organized on a national basis.  Multinational companies exploiting the Third World don’t just think globally, they act on a global basis.  They have the United Nations and the armies of many countries to defend their interests – any successful struggle for real change means having to think beyond the specific campaign that you are involved in now, and that means having political ideas.

“Why Make Such a Big Deal about Class?”

Of course, other forms of oppression exist that aren’t simply based on class.  Oppression exists under capitalism based on race, sex, sexuality, and age.  Nevertheless, socialists base the struggle for change on the struggle of the working class, because it’s the only class with a real interest and the ability to abolish all forms of oppression.  The working class, because it lives by selling its labor-power, can stop the capitalists like no other group in society dead in their tracks.  By going on strike, for example, goods are not produced and the bosses make no money.  Workers, united under the banner of socialism, have the power to not only hit the capitalists where it really hurts but the power to bring this completely retched capitalist system down.

The choice we face is a stark one: the choice between a world of poverty, exploitation, and war, and a world of democracy, equality, and plenty.