Socialist Comment

This pamphlet consists of a selection of articles that appeared in the Socialist Standard during 1955 and 1956. They have been published because they deal with issues of current interest and give the Socialist Party’s attitude to them in a handy form.

 

CONTENTS

1. The Rich Still Own the Country

2. Are You Satisfied with Your Pay?

3. Planless Booms and Runaway Slumps

4. Housing, Planning and Modern Life

5. Class and Colour in South Africa

6. Why Socialists Oppose the Labour Party

7. The Materialist Conception of History

 

THE RICH STILL OWN THE COUNTRY

LABOUR SPOKESMEN ADMIT OUR CHARGE

The Socialist Party and War

Preface

We published a pamphlet War and the Working Class in 1936 and a more detailed study in 1950, with the title The Socialist Party and War. Both are now out of print. The present publication is a revised edition dealing with more recent events and developments.

Since the formation of the Socialist Party of Great Britain in 1904 many changes have taken place. Armaments have become more costly and vastly more destructive. Old empires have shrunk and been replaced by new ones and new nations have been formed, all prepared to wage war. Two world wars led to the creation of, first, the League of Nations and then the United Nations, both supposed to be dedicated to the preservation of peace, and there have been scores of disarmament conferences and anti-war campaigns, all of them utterly futile as a means of preventing war. Smaller wars have continued and a third world war is an ever present threat.

Is a Third World War Inevitable?

Is a Third World War Inevitable?

Introduction
Each day it becomes more obvious that mankind must choose between the security of a peaceful society, which only conscious action can bring about, and the insecurity of militarism which is an inherent part of today’s society, the ‘civilisation’ of the bomb and the dole queue.

There are many responses to the threat of war, from the’ Apocalypse Now’ hysteria of those who allow emotion to overcome reason, to the view expressed by a politician like Mrs Thatcher who, when opening Britain’s most advanced torpedo factory , said that such weapons of destruction would serve to defend ‘the British way of life’ (Guardian, 11 April 1981). Those who would have us march round in circles pleading with leaders to ‘ban the bomb’ and those who urge us to sit back in our armchairs and have faith in the wisdom of governments have in common an ignorance of the cause of war and social insecurity.

Manifesto of The Socialist Party of Great Britain (June 12th 1905)

Fellow Members of the Working-Class,

In bringing to your notice the aims and methods of The Socialist Party of Great Britain, and in order that the reason for the existence of the Party may be clearly understood, it will be necessary to give a short survey of the position of our class under existing society, and a sketch of the historical development which has resulted in present conditions.

Women and Socialism

Introduction

Sexism is a word that has entered our vocabulary only fairly recently although the concept to which it refers has been around a lot longer. It means discrimination against women for reasons of gender alone. What it means in practice can best be illustrated by an outline of what many women in recent years have seen as the female role in contemporary society.

Racism

Preface

Some people claim that human beings can be divided into races on the basis of physical characteristics like skin colour, and racism is the theory that one group of people, identified in this way as a “race”, is superior to another. Racism results in hostility towards the group thought of as inferior, the practice of discrimination and persecution, and in some cases it has led to genocide.

Despite the fact that there is no evidence to support racism it continues to cause suffering for those who are its victims. Today, as in the past, different ideas and theories have been used to support racism, and different groups have been singled out as the victims of racist oppression.

Marxian Economics

Preface

The Marxian analysis of society and its development – historical, economic, political – will not die, nor go away, nor even lie down. Today, over a hundred years after the publication of the first volume of Capital, the interest in the ideas of Karl Marx is wider than ever.

There can be no reason for this, other than that the Marxian analysis is still relevant. It alone provides a consistent, comprehensive and applicable picture of the origins and development of capitalism and of how it must be replaced by Socialism.

Trade Unions

Foreword

This pamphlet is directed to all workers-unionists and non-unionists alike. Membership of a trade union does not determine whether or not you are a member of the working class. Workers are an economic unit, because they work for a wage or salary. They are compelled to sell their mental and physical energies and in the process are exploited, inasmuch that they produce a greater amount of wealth than they receive. Our analysis of trade unions, and the position of the workers in the capitalist system, is based upon this theory which is dealt with in detail in Chapter Eight.