Today, the old world order, capitalism, is in chaos. It offers us climate change, poverty, and constant instability for working-class and young people.
Karl Marx said of socialists that “in the movement of the present, they also represent and take care of the future.”
The new technologies held back by capitalism are part of that future. A future which could provide plenty for all, not riches for the billionaires, as well as saving our environment.
To help build that movement, we’ve reprinted our excellent pamphlet ‘The Case for Socialism – Why you should join the Socialist Party’, as well as a leaflet on some of our record in struggle. You can order copies at leftbooks.co.uk or through your local Socialist Party organiser.
And if you’re reading this wondering how you can contribute to the struggle against misery and inequality, we say: join the Socialist Party!
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Why I joined the Socialist Party: You’ve got to be red to be green
Tom Gray, Exeter Socialist Party
I’ve been interested in politics for the past few years. Always tending towards the green movements and parties – and I still do, to an extent. I stood locally for the Green Party in the last election, the first time I was eligible to vote.
I ran for them because I genuinely believed they were the party that best represented me. I have many critiques, however.
For a start, I have been completely discouraged by Caroline Lucas’s constant cross-party buddying. Firstly with Nigel Farage, a few years ago, to protest against the ‘first past the post’ electoral system.
Then more recently, it seems she has become best friends with the vile Anna Soubry, purely because they agree on one issue. Anna Soubry may not be a Tory anymore, but she was still part of that wretched government that has brought the working class to its knees with austerity.
Leading Green Party members seem content to live within the capitalist system. The system that leaves the working class to fight for scraps. That has normalised a lower quality of life, especially for my generation. And worst of all, that continues to destroy our environment.
Are they scared of socialism? The answer – for some at least – is no; rather they fear that the voters may be. So they try to fight the things that capitalism causes – while staying within the capitalist system!
It leaves you with the question: why aren’t all working-class people crying out for socialism? Well, one reason is that the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, promises pro-worker policies but doesn’t seem serious about fighting for them. Meanwhile, his own party works to destroy his credibility with their Tom Watson-led, Blair-loving group.
That is why I found it so important to join the Socialist Party. Corbyn isn’t going to last forever, and whatever happens in the next election, Labour could end up with a Blairite leading the party if the socialist movement doesn’t push for bold policies and help re-inspire the working class.
It is important that our movement also reaches out to left-wing Green Party supporters to explain that climate change will not be stopped by carrying on inside the capitalist system. It is a system that is centuries out of date and gets us closer to the world’s boiling point day by day.
I want to live in a world where I can go out and easily find a job that pays a living wage. I want the option to get on a train or bus and not have to think “bloody hell, how much?” I want to think about retirement without having to work well into my 80s.
But most of all, I just want to live in a world where a decent quality life for my generation and the ones after is possible for all, not just an elite.
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Why I joined the Socialist Party: Overworked and underpaid, I wanted better
Daryl Clifford, Grimsby and Scunthorpe Socialist Party
In my twenties I had my fair share of abuse from the capitalist system. Like being treated unfairly in factories with zero-hour contracts, or verbally assaulted by the Department for Work and Pensions.
I was overworked and underpaid. I wanted to focus my energy on something positive that I enjoy, like writing. So I went to university to deliberately get myself into debt in order to better myself.
I know that writing doesn’t pay well, but I think if you don’t chase after your dreams you spend your entire life thinking “what if?”
I began to read Karl Marx and other left writers like Noam Chomsky. The more I read, the more I connected with what they had to say.
One day at a friend’s house I looked through Corbyn’s manifesto and became even more passionate. More recently I went on a Karl Marx tour around London.
I got to see the house he lived in, hear about his life and the things he fought for. I think this is what helped me make my mind up about joining.
To me, socialism is the human spirit. It’s the compassion that’s always attracted me to this ideology.