Socialist Studies
The Age of Austerity or Socialism? The Continuing War in Afghanistan The Working Class and Exploitation Pt II Socialism: A Realistic & Practical Politics Do Governments Cause Economic Crises? Buried Under Statistics The Labour Party's Anti Socialist Record Cartoon Stereotypes Crass Protest or Class Struggle The Misery of Capitalism Extreme Politics Upsetting the Applecart The Socialist Alternative
Socialist Studies No 78, Winter 2010
The Age of Austerity or Socialism? Introduction The Socialist Party of Great Britain has a unique political position which separates us from the main capitalist parties on the on the one hand and the fringe capitalist parties like the Socialist Workers Party on the other. And the unique political position of the S.P.G.B. is this: The Socialist Party of Great Britain has no interest in government expenditure, budgets and the problems affecting the capitalist class and its politicians. We have no interest in the size and composition of the State; whether it is large, small or medium. And we have no interest in the burden of taxation falling on the employers. It is their social system and their problem to manage its contradictions, anarchy and absurd outcomes.
As Marxists we argue that the State is neither benign nor evil but an institution of class coercion. The primary function of the Capitalist State is to protect the private property ownership of the capitalist class. The existence of the capitalist State allows the Capitalists to exploit the working class, make a profit and prevent the means of production for being used to meet human need. The sole interest of the SPGB is to work for the establishment of Socialism. The Socialist revolution requires the action of workers using the vote to send Socialist Delegates to Parliament with the expressed aim of gaining control of the machinery of government in order to replace capitalism with Socialism. However, Socialism can only be established by the conscious and political action of a working class majority, i.e., those who have to sell their ability to work for a wage and salary. A small number of Socialists cannot start a Socialist Revolution. A majority of workers have to understand and act upon their class interests. The establishment of Socialism has to be by the conscious political action of the immense majority of workers worldwide, male and female. Regrettably, however, the working class currently has a low level of class consciousness. They politically act against their own class interest by voting into power capitalist politicians. They side with the sectional and national interests of the capitalist class. Workers are also divided amongst themselves. 45,000 people, a large number of them workers, recently sent emails to Downing Street to propose where the government should make cuts; many of those