The politics of the Socialist Workers Party

What We Stand For:

We live in strange times with change in the air The current crisis has exposed a madness at the heart of our economic system.

During the Celtic Tiger, a tiny minority enriched themselves without the slightest care for society at large.  Between 1995 and 2007, the top 1 percent of the Irish population increased their wealth by €75 billion.

The boom was squandered for the majority and we continued to put up with one of the worst health services in Europe, astronomical creche charges, and under-funded schools,

But when the recession hit, the government went to the aid of the very people who helped cause it.

Billions are being spent to bail out the banks and over €400 million will be spent protecting Fianna Fail supporters in the notorious ‘golden ten’ who took out shares in Anglo Irish bank.

Instead of taking money from the wealthy, the government attacked the over 70s, public sector workers and further reduced public services. Soon they will press for water charges and university fees.

The aim of the FF-Green government is to cut living standards by about 20%.

The Socialist Workers Party is at the heart of resistance to these attacks. We want to see a movement of ‘people power’ to drive this government from office and to challenge the very system that has caused the problem.

This government never won a mandate to impose wage cuts – and we are not bound to accept them.

In the unions, socialists are working to  promote a  one day national strike  and to support sit-ins like Waterford Crystal to resist redundancies.

In local areas, we work through broader alliances such as People before Profit to mobilise people to resist the cuts.

Our aim is to replace the for-profit system that bolsters the rich with one that serves the needs of the majority.

FROM THE LOCAL TO THE GLOBAL

We liVe in a global capitalist system characterised by huge levels of Inequality. THREE BILLIONAIRES own more than the total population of sub-Saharan Africa. Giant multi-national firms like General Motors, which are worth twice as much as the Irish economy, dominate our lives.

This unjust system has now entered its greatest economic crisis since the 1930s.  50 million people across the world are set to loose their jobs because of a madness that began in the sub-prime markets of the US and spread like a contagion throughout the world.

The roots of this crisis lie in the very nature of the system itself. Capitalism encourages each corporation to sell as many goods as possible to make ever larger profits. But profit levels depend on how much labour can be squeezed from workers while keeping wage costs low.

If corporations are successful at driving down wage costs, there is less consumer demand for the goods they produce. This creates a crisis of ‘over-production’ because, although millions of people are still in need, the market is saturated.

Throughout the nineties, this problem was temporally overcome by encouraging working people to take on huge levels of debt – often based on inflated property prices. That way they could continue to buy the goods produced by the system. Simultaneously, the rich withdrew money from productive investment and speculated with vast sums in the global casino of stock markets, hedge funds and banking. In 2006, for example, 40 percent of all profits in the US came from finance – compared to 16 percent in the mid 1960s.

This temporary solution of the 1990s to the ills of capitalism has now back-fired on a gigantic scale. The old rhetoric about not interfering in the market has been cast aside as huge amounts are spent bailing out the banks. This money ultimately comes from the taxes on the earnings of the majority in society.

We are being bled dry so that nation states can put the capitalist economies on a life support system.

It is time to call a halt and look at other ways of organising our societies.

But before looking at alternatives, let us ask:

How did all this come about? Why did the elected government not look after the people who put them into office?

The reality is that modern capitalism is run by a business class who operate behind the scenes to make sure all policies suit their interests. Revelations at the Irish corruption tribunals give some idea of how it works. Top business people established a secret Ansbacher account to pay Charles Haughey a monthly bribe of £20,000. Haughey in turn looked after their nterests by slashing taxes on profits.

Even when brown envelopes are not handed over, money dictates how important decisions are made behind the scenes.

Wealthy business people blackmail governments by claiming that if they do not get a good enough profit they will move their companies elsewhere. They form close networks with the top politicians so that what is seen as good for business is good for the country. The power of money means that democracy is undermined.

Parliaments no longer hold the real power in this society. Most of the decisions which affect our daily lives are made in the boardrooms of big business.

Real change will not come just by electing people to parliament. Big business can only be challenged when huge numbers of workers take action to challenge its rule.

The Socialist Workers Party always points to the power of workers to bring change from below. Our fundamental belief is that socialism must come from

the self-emancipation of workers. It cannot be handed down from on high - it must be taken by a movement that starts at the bottom.

WHAT IS SOCIALISM?

Socialism means that production is based on human need and is not designed to satisfy the greed of the few. Instead of large factories and offices being run by private individuals whose sole interest is profit, they should be controlled by those who work.

The market should not dictate what is produced but the majority of people should be able to debate and plan what is needed for society as a whole.

Socialism therefore involves a huge extension of democracy. Under capitalism, you get to vote every four years. During elections we are told we have 'a say in running the country''. But the next morning when you go past the factory gate or the office door nothing has changed. The boss is still dictating everything.

Socialists are not content with a fake political democracy. We want economic democracy as well.  We should have a say in how our jobs and colleges are organized. We need workers' control of the factories and offices so that the majority of people make democratic decisions about the issues that directly affect them.

When the majority controls production much of the insanity that comes with capitalism can be eliminated. There would be no need for an arms industry or for nuclear power plants, which produce plutonium as a by-product for nuclear power.

The multi-nationals would not be allowed to dictate what we eat by producing genetically modified food. The debts of underdeveloped countries in Africa and Asia would be cancelled instead of feeding the greed of the bankers.

Socialism also means co-operation rather than endless competition.  Today humanity faces huge problems like the spread of Aids or climate changes that could threaten the planet itself in the future. Instead of different companies hiding their research in the name of 'commercial secrecy' or fighting each other, socialism means that we pool resources to solve problems.

Getting There

We need to be organised to get socialism because those who run this system are highly organised. They use the state machinery to crack down on workers struggle. They control the media and use it to spread ideas, which divide workers.

However their system is anarchic and is subject to booms and slumps.  Our rulers are like a band of hostile brothers  - as Marx called them - who unite to defend their privileges but who can also turn on each other.

All of this means there will always be struggle against the rule of capital. These struggles manifest themselves in all sort of ways. Most directly, it involves workers fighting for better wages and conditions. But it also involves struggles over water charges, or resistance to evictions or students fighting fees.

The aim of the Socialist Workers Party is to link these struggles into a challenge to capitalism itself.

In practice this means that the SWP organises:

* In the People Before Profit Alliance.

Our aim is to create a  broad radical left which replaces Labour and Sinn Fein as the main organisation of workers. The People Before Profit Alliance is the first step in this. It campaigns at local level on a host of issues and contests national and council elections.

* In The Anti-War Movement

Ireland has been dragged into supporting the US wars by allowing US troops to use Shannon. The SWP works to build up a strong anti-war movement that challenges this state of affairs..

*In the Unions:

We argue for solidarity action between workers and oppose the idea of social partnership. We press for the election of all union officials and argue they should be paid no more than the members they represent.

STANDING UP AGAINST OPPRESSION

In all of these activities socialists stand out as opponents of oppression. Capitalism tries to convince one group that they are superior to others. So Northern Ireland was supposed to be 'a Protestant state for a Protestant people'. Refugees and asylum seekers are presented as outsiders who 'sponge' off the 'Irish community'. And people are encouraged to believe in traditional 'family values' where the man rules the house.

Socialists opposes all these forms of oppression because they divide workers and give an impression that one section of workers has a common interest with our rulers.

HOW WE ORGANISE

The SWP is organised innto local branches, which meet regularly. The meetings are practical and pull together activists who want to organise in their area, workplace or college.

We also hold regular public meetings that attempt to bring socialist ideas to a larger audience. We also organise evening classes in some areas on the wider ideas of anti-capitalism.

Becoming a member of the party means joining the fight against exploitation  and oppression. It entails taking a few copies of our paper Socialist Worker, participating in the activities of the local branch and paying dues.

The SWP is open to all no matter how tight their time constraints because of family or work. The main thing is a commitment to advance the cause of socialism in any way one can.

If you wish to join, you can text JOIN to 086 3074060

OR e mail info@swp.ie