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Socialists want a world which can lift everyone out of poverty, provide security, healthcare, education and employment to everyone, and do away with the huge inequalities that exist today.
Socialism is system in which the economy and society are governed by the conscious decisions of ordinary people. No longer will the very wealthy dominate society through their influence over politicians and their domination of markets. Instead, working people will govern through collective democratic decisions.
The ideas of socialism grew out of the struggles of working people during the 19th century. Capitalism had produced a class of workers who were badly paid and lived under miserable conditions. Socialism provided a criticism of a system that alienated workers from the fruits of their labor and kept millions unemployed while the wealthy grew wealthier.
Under capitalism, the economy is driven by the profits from corporations and big business. The “free market” is a system that gives power and control to those who own businesses. Their decisions on investments, products and salaries determine what happens in the economy.
Socialism requires that the main drivers of the economy are publicly owned, and that ordinary people exercise democratic control over what gets produced by the economy. It would do away with the gross inequalities between the very wealthy and the large majority of the population.
There have obviously been huge social, political and economic changes since the early days of socialist organization. The world economy has grown immensely, there have been two world wars, capitalism was overthrown in the Russian empire and China, and waves of anti-colonial struggle have led to political defeats for western powers. Workers movements in the US and Europe have grown and then been defeated or tamed.
But despite huge growth of the global economy, capitalism has failed to lift the billions of the world’s poorest people in the ex-colonial countries out of poverty. The starkest inequalities today are now between the countries of the wealthy “north” and the poor “south”. Most of the manufacturing sectors in western economies have moved to Asia, which is now where most of the world’s industrial working class live and work.
Political power in wealthy western countries is now wielded less crudely, and outwardly political systems appear to be democratic. But the essence of capitalism has not changed. Profit remains the driver of the economy and it is the engine of economic growth.
Because of decades of struggle by workers and other oppressed groups, wealthy governments soften the worst excesses of capitalism. The taxes they collect provide basic services, and they attempt to maintain or increase economic growth and control inflation.
But capitalism still goes through periodic crises, during which workers lose their jobs, real incomes are reduced, or both. When crises occur, conditions for ordinary people get worse. Capitalism remains a system in which economies operate not for human needs but to maximize profits.
Economies consist essentially of the production and consumption of goods and services. The owners of the “means of production” (corporations and businesses) decide whether or not to invest in new products, whether to invest in new areas, and whether to close down existing operations. These owners, – the executives and directors of the corporations – make all the major decisions in the economy.
If we want human needs to determine what happens in the economy, the ownership of the big corporations have to be “socialized” or nationalized. There is no other way.
Instead of generating profits for executives and owners, businesses will earn surpluses which will be allocated according to a democratically drawn up plan.
Small businesses
This does not mean that small businesses would be nationalized. And some businesses could be worker owned through cooperatives or similar forms of organization. But the public, through democratically chosen representatives, will need to own almost all major corporations and businesses in order to keep the economy on its chosen course.
Social services such as education, health, transport, electricity and water will also all be publicly owned.
The banking system will also be taken into public ownership. Financial services will no longer be a means for executives and traders to amass huge wealth at the expense of ordinary people. Instead they will either be closed down or redirected to support the real economy.
Socialism does not mean centralized state planning for the whole economy. Planning will take place at various levels – national, state/provincial, local and enterprise. Planning bodies will be democratically elected, and will be accountable to those who elected them.
Workplaces will be managed democratically, with worker representatives collaborating with technical experts where necessary. This is not as far-fetched as it may seem to many. There are many examples of successful worker-managed entities that have operated successfully, even in competitive market environments.
There will be equitable income and wealth. No-one will be entitled to the obscenely high salaries and benefits that executives earn now, and minimum salaries will be enough for everyone to live in comfort. Technology will be managed, not to save as much money as possible, but to enhance the dignity of work.
Healthcare, education and other social services will be owned by the government or publicly accountable bodies for the benefit of all.
Socialism does not deny the necessity for a central government. There will be a need for institutions that undertake legislation, budgeting, planning, etc. at various levels.
Exactly how this will happen cannot be planned or predicted. Different countries may establish very different systems, determined by prior systems and how socialism develops. But the common threads will be democracy, accountability, and the right of citizens to recall their representatives.
In today’s world, countries compete with each other for power, markets and wealth. The huge wealth differences between rich and poor countries is evidence of the inability of capitalism and markets to benefit the billions of poor people in the global “south”. An international redistribution of wealth can only happen with an international socialist program.
As with any blueprint for how a socialist government would work, there can be no blueprint for how socialism will come about. Socialist theory only predicts that any socialist transformation will be borne out of a crisis of the capitalist system. A smooth transition from capitalism to socialism is not possible. And the huge disruption to the existing order will required huge popular support.
The climate crisis will bring on major political and economic crises in the next few decades. How these crises are managed will depend very much on the degree of international support for democratic socialist solutions.
