(This is posted to provoke thought, discussion, etc)
The Program for Global Socialist Transition: Proposal for the Program of a World Socialist Party
Preamble
Considering,
That the international working class can be free only when we seize power from the capitalist class on a world scale;
That the emancipation of the international working class must be the work of the international working class itself, in the struggle to abolish class society;
That the movement of the working class to seize power and establish workers' governments internationally, even if it first breaks out in a single region or continent, can arise only from the revolutionary action of the international working class organized in a World Party, opposed to all nationalist and capitalist parties - the struggle of the working class in the age of globalization therefore being international both in content and form;
And that "without a socialist revolution, in the next historical period at that, a catastrophe threatens the whole culture of mankind. The turn is now to the proletariat, i.e., chiefly to its revolutionary vanguard. The historical crisis of mankind is reduced to the crisis of the revolutionary leadership";
The global workers, in adopting as their aim the struggle to wrest political and economic power from the capitalist class on a world scale, have decided, as a means of organization and struggle, to initiate the process of forming a World Socialist Party, on the basis of Marxist theory and method and rooted in the history of the worldwide struggle for socialism, advancing the following draft program of transitional demands:
A. Democratic demands
We demand the defense of basic democratic rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of association, the right to privacy, the right to vote etc. We fight for the freedom of religion and the separation of church/religion and state. Basic democratic rights are incompatible with the levels of social inequality prevailing in modern society, and their defense poses the need for a fight against the entire capitalist system.
We fight for legal and social equality for all, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, etc.
Workers must defend the rights of immigrants. Nativist poison is used to divide the working class and derail workers' struggles. Fight the hyper-exploitation of immigrant labor!
We call on workers to form defense committees to defend their strikes, meetings, etc. The right of the working class to defend itself collectively must not be infringed. In the interests of the public, funds must be made available for courses on firearms handling and safety. We demand the abolition of the police and their replacement with militias of armed workers. Workers must be organized against the bands of gangsters, thugs and reactionaries.
We demand the seizure under workers’ control of any company or institution that engages in attempts to block workers from organizing and for outlawing the hiring of scabs and thugs. In the workplaces and other institutions, factory committees, councils, armed defense committees, etc. are the basic defensive organizations of the masses. Governments must make no law, directive or policy establishing state control over worker, student, or other committees, councils, clubs, or unions; or abridging the right to the formation by means of free association of such organizations. All anti-strike legislation must be abolished.
We defend the right of nations to "self-determination" as a weapon against colonialism and war and particularly as a key unfinished democratic task in countries of belated development, the essence of which is not positive support for bourgeois nationalist movements and the balkanization of the world, but rather the "negative" recognition of the right of oppressed nations to create a separate state.
We demand the right to inspect the records and accounts of all corporations, businesses, and institutions. The vast webs of corruption permeating all corners of modern society must be uncovered and exposed. All whistleblowers must be protected.
We demand the defense of the principles of due process and the right of juries to judge both the justice and application of laws. Judges should be chosen by direct election.
We demand the defense of the right to safe, prompt and free abortion access and free access to contraceptives and fertility treatments, and for the right to no-fault divorce.
We demand lowering the voting age to fifteen and the abolition of child labor. The youth must make their voices heard! We call on youth to form their own independent organizations to take forward the struggle for democratic and social rights!
We demand the abolition of the death penalty. Governments must not have the power to kill those that they supposedly represent. We oppose the horrific conditions of prison systems and the brutal exploitation of prison laborers. While they exist, prison laborers must receive at least minimum wage. We support the replacement of prisons based on retributive justice with rehabilitation-based facilities. All political prisoners must be released!
B. Social demands
We demand the creation of public jobs agencies tasked with the speedy job placement of all workers who seek on-demand employment. We demand massive public works programs to build badly needed infrastructure and end unemployment.
We demand a universal basic income for every adult sufficient to cover basic necessities such as food, clothing and hygiene and for wages to be indexed to cost of living increases to fully compensate for every rise in the cost of living. Minimum wages must be increased. Wage discrimination against female, minority etc workers must be abolished! Abolish all "tier" systems. Equal pay for equal work! Businesses shown to have engaged in wage discrimination or wage theft should be severely punished, up to the seizure of property under workers’ control.
We demand debt relief and freedom from usurious interest rates, bank fees etc. Debts to imperialist financial institutions and the financial oligarchy must be repudiated.
We demand a 30-hour work week at 40 hours pay with overtime after 6 hours per day. Sufficient paid vacations, sick days, and parental, medical and bereavement leave must be provided. We demand paid daycare for children to relieve the burden on families.
We demand the transformation of multi-unit high-density housing into public property, controlled by tenants committees, to remove profit from the rental market. We demand billions to be devoted to the construction of high-quality public housing. Those who are unable to afford housing must be granted assistance. More areas must be zoned for affordable housing and property taxes for the vast majority of homeowners should be decreased. Seize abandoned and dilapidated properties!
We demand billions to be invested into upgrading and expanding utility infrastructure, rather than paying out dividends to rich shareholders. Utilities must not be shut off for non-payment, interest must not be charged on unpaid utility bills, and those who are unable to afford utilities must be granted assistance.
We demand free, prompt and high-quality healthcare for everyone. Billions must be provided to reverse cuts to existing public health systems and to extend coverage to all of those without adequate healthcare access.
We demand the provision of at least 70% pensions by age 51, with full pensions by age 55. Society must cover 100% of elder care costs.
We demand high-quality, fully funded k-12 education and at least four years of paid higher education for those without a degree. We demand subsidies for on-the-job training and funding for adult education programs and mass literacy programs to eliminate illiteracy worldwide. For class-based affirmative action!
We demand free internet access for all and at least 6 months of paid cultural, athletic etc. education for anyone who wants it.
We demand billions to be provided for repairing the damage that corporations have done to the environment through pollution, climate change, etc. Transform large oil/gas producers who have inflicted billions of dollars of damage via climate change, negligence, etc into public utilities under workers’ control! We oppose gas taxes and other measures that shift the burden of the climate crisis onto the backs of workers.
We demand billions for the improvement of the soil and upgrading the technical basis of agriculture, as well as the redistribution of all landholdings above 5000 acres to smallholders.
We demand a safe and healthy environment, safe and healthy workplaces and safe and healthy sustenance. Preventable deaths due to climatic disasters, diseases, toxins and workplace accidents must not be allowed in the 21st century! Billions must be devoted to infrastructure and measures aimed at preventing foreseeable climatic, public health, etc disasters. There must be mass public health campaigns amongst undeveloped regions of the globe and strict occupational health and safety regulations enforced and controlled by workplace committees.
We call for opposition to imperialist war and militarism! Massive military budgets exist to drain wealth into the pockets of the military-industrial complex and to further capitalist interests abroad by force. We demand the abolition of the mass machinery of war so that the massive amounts of resources it consumes can be used to address the needs of the working class. The threat of a third world war today underlies the importance of opposing capitalist imperialism and its division of the world into nation-states, in which the causes of war are embedded. Insofar as standing armies still exist, we demand the right of soldiers to elect their officers democratically.
To achieve these demands, we suggest the following strategy:
1. Fight for workers’ governments worldwide committed to socialist policies
Achieving these demands requires the creation of governments of, by and for the working class. Such governments can only arise on the basis of new and more radically democratic institutions, such as workplace committees and workers councils, emerging from a mass revolutionary movement of the working class. Through propaganda, agitation and organization the most farsighted elements of the working class must fight to establish such a movement and, ultimately, workers' governments.
2. Make the rich pay for the crisis of capitalism
Increase taxes on corporations and large businesses while decreasing taxes on small businesses. For steeply progressive income and inheritance taxes and lower taxes for the working class majority. The achievement of our demands requires the seizure of the unfathomable wealth accumulated by the capitalist class across the world.
Abolish all indirect taxes, such as sales taxes and "sin taxes" and reduce fees for public services like parking fees, tolls, usage of public transportation, registration fees, etc. Workers should not have to pay for the crisis of capitalism!
Implement a massive wealth tax to be applied to all billionaires.
3. Transform critical economic infrastructure into public property
Transform the 500 largest public corporations and the 500 largest privately owned businesses globally into publicly owned utilities under workers’ control.
Transform critical economic infrastructure into public property under workers’ control, including but not limited to vital utilities such as water, energy and power infrastructure, corporate farms, large hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, transportation systems, communications systems, and natural resources.
We encourage the transformation and centralization of the largest banks into publicly owned utilities under workers’ control to provide cheap credit for personal, auto, home, etc loans and loans to farmers and small businesses.
We encourage the passage of laws on cooperation that will provide a mechanism for the transformation into cooperatives of other large and medium-sized businesses.
4. For World Socialism!
The socialist revolution must become permanent. The policies of a socialist type that we have outlined will have the right to be called socialist in content only when they have been extended to the whole of the world, classes have been abolished, and production is sufficient for the satisfaction of all human wants. This requires a determined fight for the program and perspective of world socialist revolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment