From
the Socialist Standard October 2017
‘Whenever
there is an election, like last year or currently in Germany, the
person in the street — the so-called ordinary voter — suddenly
becomes very popular. Any number of political parties are anxious to
please them and make them all manner of tempting promises, if they in
their turn will agree to vote for their party's candidate. Election
time, in other words, is the time when there is an enormous hunt for
Votes.
The
bait which is used in this hunt is largely made up by promises. All
other parties offer this bait, and the generosity of their promises
is usually in inverse proportion to the likelihood of their getting
power. The Labour and Conservative Parties cannot be too extravagant;
the Liberals can be a little more wild; the Greens and the far Left
can promise almost anything. And so on.
Most
of the promises in an election are about things like modernisation,
housing, education, pensions, wages and prices, war and peace. To
read the literature of these other parties, it seems that all that
has to be done to solve overnight all the problems connected with
these issues is to vote for their candidate. They will all, it seems,
bring British industry up to date, build affordable housing, give
everyone a fair chance of the best education, keep prices stable
while wages increase, protect the environment, banish war from the
earth.
These
promises sound very fine and in one election after another millions
of working people vote for them. And presumably, when they do so,
they think that they are contributing to the solution of our
problems.
But
stop and think about it.
Firstly,
it is obvious that election promises are not a new thing. Political
parties have been making them for as long as anyone can remember –
and always about the same sorts of problems.
Now
what has been the result of all this?
The
housing problem remains with us despite repeated promises to deal
with it. The sort of education we get is governed by the financial
standing of our parents. There are still millions of old age
pensioners living on the tightrope of destitution — and it only
needs something like a severe winter for many of them to loosen their
precarious hold on life.
Prices
are rising. Wages are still stagnating. Whatever the respective level
of prices and wages, we always find that our wage packet only just
covers our food, clothing, entertainment and whatever else goes to
keep us ticking over.
War
is just as much a universal problem as ever. There are always minor
wars going on somewhere, punctuated by more serious clashes such as
North Korea and Syria. Over it all hangs the threat of a war fought
out with nuclear weapons.
It
is not accidental that the politicians make so many promises and that
they have so little effect upon the ailments they are supposed to
cure. The world is full of chronic problems, but this is not because
political parties have notthought up reforms which are supposed to
deal with them nor because their leaders are not clever or
knowledgeable enough.
The
fact is that the problems persist whichever party is in power — and
this suggests that their roots go deep into the very nature of modern
society.
We
live today in a social system which is called capitalism. The basis
of this system is the ownership by a section of the population of the
means of producing and distributing wealth — of factories,
transport, communications and so on. It follows from this that all
the wealth which we produce today is turned out with the intention of
realising a profit for the owning class. It is from this basis that
the problems of modern society spring.
The
class which does not own the means of wealth production – the
working class – are condemned to a life of rationed dependence upon
their wage or salary. This expresses itself in inferior housing,
clothes, education, and the like.
The
basis of capitalism throws up the continual battle over wages and
working conditions with attendant employment disputes. It gives rise,
with its international economic rivalries, to the wars which have
disfigured recent history.
Every
other party stands for capitalism, whatever they may call themselves.
And whatever their protestations, they stand for a world of poverty,
hunger, unrest and war. They stand for a world in which no human
being is secure.
The
way-out is a world in which everything which goes to make and
distribute wealth is owned by the people of the world. Because
socialism is the direct opposite of capitalism, it follows that when
it is established the basic problems of capitalism will disappear.
There will be no more war, no more poverty. People will live a full,
abundant life; we shall be free.
But
socialism cannot be brought about by promises. It needs a
knowledgeable working class who understand and desire it. They alone
can establish the new world system we need.
When
we contest elections our candidates from the Socialist Party do not
make any promises; they do not try to convince voters that they will
do anything for them. What they offer is the case for a new social
system. We are seeking to spread knowledge and understanding of
socialism and to give as many people as possible the opportunity of
voting for a world of abundance, peace and freedom.
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2017/10/reflections-on-elections-2017.html
