Cut and pasted below is the text of the leaflet that SPGB members will be distributing at May Day events this coming weekend in various places around Britain. I'll be attending the official TUC march in London and falling as it does this year on a Saturday, there is a strong chance that the numbers will be up on previous years on those people attending. It's probably best if I leave any reflections on attending the event until after I've actually been and gone to the event. ;-)
IS PROTEST ENOUGH?
A Socialist Message to the Workers on May DayToday's march has a long history. It is well over a century since the TUC began to organise May Day demonstrations in Hyde Park. The main objective was to advance the interests of all workers through stronger trade unions and in time this achieved some success. But there was more to it than the struggle for higher wages and the removal of legal barriers against union action. There can be no doubt that in the minds of many who first marched was an idea of a new and better society - Socialism!
So what has happened since that time? Those earlier campaigns were against the conditions of the capitalist system and today's repeat event shows that nothing has basically changed. For all the great speeches and fine rhetoric, the countless miles marched and the many times of bitter struggle, to secure a living we still have to sell our labour to employers to make profit for a few. This is our only means of getting a living for ourselves and our families.
What does this hold for the future? World wide, the capitalist system is bigger and stronger than ever. It goes on dragging more and more people into its machinery of exploitation. Does this mean that even at the start of this new century there is only the prospect of world domination by global capitalism?
We in the Socialist Party say – no! It is tragic that the TUC became linked with the Labour Party. This was based on the false idea that socialism meant nationalisation. It was even worse when "socialism" was used to justify the tyrannies of state capitalist regimes in Russia and other places. Socialism means none of these things. Before it was corrupted, "socialism" had a clear meaning that we in the Socialist Party still uphold. It means common ownership where all means of life are held in common by all people. It means running the world through voluntary co operation. It means production directly for needs with free access to goods instead of the market system with its buying and selling for profit. It means workers of all countries uniting to work for their common interests. It means organising for a system of true democracy.
The voice of this demonstration is the voice of labour and wherever we look we still see labour in economic shackles. It suffers the waste of unemployment and the miseries of poverty. Its use is distorted in a world armaments industry. As part of the means of human destruction, hundreds of millions are under arms. The work of providing for needs takes second place to making company profits.
The history of May Day shows that protest is not enough. If the millions of workers throughout the world who, over the past century marched against the conditions of capitalism, had joined the work for socialism the capitalist system would have been consigned to history. We would now be living in a world of co-operation, peace and material security. What this means is that the capitalist system will continue indefinitely until we can build a strong socialist movement based on socialist principles that will not be compromised.
The Socialist Party was founded in 1904. We have never been diverted from presenting a clear choice between Socialism and capitalism. We have never given up. Sadly, since then we have seen the continuous rule of reformist governments which have perpetuated the rule of the owning class. The consequence has been the most destructive century in history.
This need not go on happening! What this demonstration should be demanding is free access to all means of production and all resources based on common ownership. These are the natural inheritance of labour. Everything that is best in this inheritance has only one source which has been useful work in all its variety. Generations of working people have built up immense powers of production. The vital demand should be for their take over by the whole community for the benefit of the whole community. World socialism will operate with one simple and ordinary human ability which is universal – the ability of every person on the planet to co-operate with others in a world wide community of interests. Why not make the first step to help bring this about and contact us using the details below.
