[For a PDF of slideshow see here.]
Change the system
We are for radical social change — we want to replace capitalism with socialism.
- We are not talking about simply reforming the system, tighter regulation etc.
- An absolutely basic change in whole system: a new state structure, the economy (or at least most of it, all the main sections) taken into public hands.
- Capitalist class would cease to exist as such. Just be people same as everyone else, could have personal property but would not own means of production.
How can fundamental social change take place?
- No recipes; many variations are possible (electoral victory of the left and struggle to defend it; huge upsurge bypassing discredited parliament, etc)
- Crisis: built into capitalist system. Some small, some enormous etc. People shaken up, jolted out of rut. Lenin’s formula for revolutionary situation: when the ruling class cannot continue in the old way and the oppressed classes will not continue in the old way.
- Crises on this scale don’t happen every day, generally very infrequent but they do happen in the life of every country.
- February-November 1917 in Russia: began will overthrow of tsar and ended in the workers taking power through the soviets.
- May-June 1968 events in France: shook the system but didn’t succeed in toppling it.
How can the people win?
Trotsky’s analogy of steam and piston in preface to his History of the Russian Revolution. Nothing happens without a mass upsurge, an explosion from below.
- But this is not enough. If the masses lack leadership then capitalist class will eventually regain control of situation
- Second key ingredient is a mass, militant socialist party made up of activists deeply embedded in the mass movement and playing a leadership role on the ground.
- Talk of ‘revolution from below’ is ridiculous: what other sort of thoroughgoing revolution is there? But unless the working-class masses succeed in creating their own class party, any revolt is highly unlikely to win.
- Why is this? The capitalist class is organised and prepared. It is permanently waging the struggle 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It has leadership (political, civil, military and business leaders), it has state power, the media, the schools and so on.
- The people (the working class masses and their allies) need to be organised too. TUs are fine but cover less than 20% of workers plus not geared to political struggle (all workers, backward and advanced, can belong to TU). Workers need their own political party (not a faker party like ALP).
Socialist party must be built now!
The socialist party cannot be built overnight, or even in the middle of an upsurge.
- Has to be built in a long struggle beforehand. It will obviously grow in an upsurge but unless it has a certain mass implantation beforehand, it will most likely be swamped
- In Russia in 1917, Lenin’s party had 22,000 members in February when the tsar was toppled plus a great history. By the time of the November 7 revolution it had 300,000-400,000 members.
- In France, revolutionaries of the JCR made tremendous efforts and did grow. (They had introduction to socialism classes in the Sorbonne with 3000 people!) But they were swamped by the upsurge and couldn’t mount an adequate challenge to the huge Stalinist Communist Partry whose leaders were desperately trying to avoid a revolutionary showdown.
How we struggle today
Today we are small and the level of struggle is small. There is growing discontent and alienation but not yet manifested in large actions.
Within the limits of our capacity (numbers, implantation, etc) we strive to work with others to build action committees with an activist approach. Most actions today are small. (Even last year’s WAW at 20,000 plus was small.)
- But they are critically important in getting the message out, educating and radicalising people. The broad masses will learn from experience in struggles (workplace/industrial, protests and rallies).
- They will learn all the faster if the socialists are there alongside them all the time, trying to generalise the lessons and explain that at the end of the day we need to replace this profit-mad system with a people-centred socialist society.
- Most committee and movement work is necessarily united front work, i.e., we have to work with other people from a range of political backgrounds. Conversely, this is the best way to build the biggest, broadest, most effective actions.
- Over time, even small actions, persistently engaged in, can effect people’s consciousness. (e.g. movement in solidarity with East Timor.)
Reforms versus reformism
As we discussed in the first class, while we struggle constantly for reforms (stopping something, improving something, etc) we do not believe that capitalism can be reformed away, one reform at a time. Reformism is a fatal mistake.
- Rather, in fighting for progressive changes, however modest, we teach people how to struggle, to rely on their own class action rather than capitalist fakers to change things. Winning reforms can give people confidence in their ability to change things.
- Reforms can also make life better for people, however limited and provisional a given reform may be.
Our transitional method
If we are serious, if we believe that people learn from their experiences and not fundamentally from abstract propaganda, then our starting point must be people’s present level of consciousness.
- This is called the ‘transitional method’ (see Trotsky). It aims to build a bridge between the present consciousness of the masses and our maximum goal of replacing capitalism with socialism.
- Thus, during the struggle against the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the key militant and unifying demand was ‘US and Australian troops out’. If implemented, this meant the end of the puppet regime in the South and the victory of the liberation forces. On the other hand, it could unite revolutionaries who supported the liberation forces, sincere people who thought we shouldn’t be trying to take over someone else’s country, pacifists, draft resisters opposing conscription and even conservative people who thought the war wasn’t worth it. If the movement had adopted the ‘advanced’ slogan of ‘Victory to the NLF’ it would have massively narrowed its appeal and lessened its effectiveness.
Running in elections
A key tactic in the struggle is to run candidates in elections (federal, state, municipal).
- We understand all the limitations of elections under capitalism, the nature of capitalist parliaments. However, people’s political interest is heightened at election time and we can gain a great hearing for our ideas.
- If we actually win and get an MP or a councillor (Fremantle), we can make even more effective propaganda and use the position to build the struggle (rallies, pickets, etc).
- We are not electoralists. For us the vote, while obviously important, is not the main thing. The main thing is how many people we involve and draw closer to us, how many people we join, and how many people we reach with our propaganda (on all levels).
The struggle for unity
We have to be involved in the struggle. Even if we are small we must constantly strive to show leadership in action.
Socialists must also constantly strive to realise the greatest unity of the left and progressive forces.
- In campaigns.
- Also in building a broad fighting socialist party. Shouldn’t take this to mean that we think we can unite absolutely all socialists in a single party — unrealistic — but we must constantly strive for, look for opportunities for united action and even regroupment in a single organisation.
- We don’t claim that Socialist Alliance is the last word in this process or demand that everyone necessarily join us. But we exist and strive to demonstrate our approach to the rest of the left.
- In Russia in 1917, Lenin’s party reached out to a host of other revolutionary currents and drew them into the Bolshevik Party. Many activists from these groups — such as Trotsky — quickly became leaders of the Bolshevik Party. The sharp differences and disputes of the past were put aside because it was clear they were all united on what to do right now and recognised that unity was critical.
- Similar phenomenon in Cuba before and after January 1959 revolutionary victory over Batista. Process only completed after revolution when new Cuban CP formed by uniting the three main revolutionary groups (J26, Revolutionary Directorate and Popular Socialist Party).