Socialism is not some Utopian scheme. Capitalism has created the economic conditions for socialism in the U.S. Today there is social production but no social ownership. Socialism will bring social ownership of social production. It is the next step in the further development of this country.
Socialism will be won through the revolutionary overthrow of monopoly capitalism and the seizure of political power by the working class. Under socialism, the working people will take over the economic forces developed by capitalism and operate them in the interests of society. This can bring a qualitative improvement in the lives of the working and oppressed peoples of the U.S.
Socialism will be a higher level of social development. Because the working and oppressed peoples of the U.S. will control the great wealth they produce, they will be fundamentally able to determine their own futures. The end of exploitation of one person by another will be an unprecedented liberating and transforming force.
Socialism will not mean more government control. Today we often hear of government control of the railroads or post office as “creeping socialism.” But under capitalism the state serves the interests of the ruling monopoly capitalist class. Government involvement in the economy is mainly a form of state capitalism. When the government intervenes in the present economy, it does so to help, not hurt, capitalism.
What, then, will socialism in the U.S. look like?
The exact features of socialism in the U.S. will emerge as our struggle against monopoly capitalism develops. Our vision of socialism must take into account the historical particularities of the U.S., including its experience with bourgeois democracy, its imperialist status, the deeply entrenched national oppression and racism, and its highly developed economy. Based upon study of American society and the positive and negative experiences of socialism in other countries, we can visualize some features.
The main means of production – the factories, mines, mills, big workshops, offices, agricultural fields, banks, transportation system, media, communications, medical facilities, big retailers, etc., will be transformed into socialist public property. Private ownership of the main means of production will end. The economy will be geared not to the interest of profit, but to serving human needs. This will release the productive capacity of the economy from the limitations of profit maximization. A great expansion of useful production and the wealth of society will become possible.
Rational economic planning will replace the present anarchistic system. Coordination and planning of the broad outlines of production by public agencies will aim at building an economy that will be stable, benefit the people, and steadily advance.
Because capitalism already has a developed and centralized economy, socialism’s main task will be to reorient this structure towards social needs. Socialism in the U.S. will be unlike that of other countries, such as China, which were very underdeveloped. Although there may be a period of economic reconstruction after the revolution, we will not face the problem of building a modern economy.
Redirecting the productive capacity to human needs will require a variety of economic methods and some experiment. There could be a combination of central planning, local coordination, strict price control or use of the market mechanism to set prices. Various policies might be used, depending on what will be appropriate to changing conditions. But no matter what means are chosen, a socialist economy must uphold the basic principles of public ownership, production for the people’s needs, and the elimination of exploitation.
Socialism will open the way for great changes in society.
Resources from strong parts of the economy could be used to help weak, but important, sectors further expand production in vital areas, support social services and pay for basic public expenses. The protection of the environment would be ensured. The elimination of private ownership of the main means of production will permit a more equitable distribution of social wealth. There will be no basis for millionaires or paupers. The right to work will be guaranteed. Workers will be cherished as the builders and masters of society.
Socialism will implement the practice of pay “according to one’s work.” This will eliminate those who live off the labor of others, like the monopolists, landlords and speculators under capitalism. This principle also means that those who work more will receive more income (of course it is a different matter for those who are unable to work, who would be supported from the social fund).
While the main means of production will be the property of society, a number of privately owned small businesses may continue to exist. These shops, farms or services, operated by a family with a few employees, could contribute to socialist society.
Transforming the main productive resources of society into public property will enable the working people to assume administration of the economy. Workers will be able to manage democratically their own work places through workers’ councils and elected administrators. In this way workers will be able to make their work places safe and efficient places that can well serve their own interests as well as society’s.
To protect and govern socialism, the people will establish a socialist people’s democracy, a genuine democracy for the masses of people. The people will elect officials and representatives at all levels of government and the economy. There will be the right of recall and referendum. Officials will be paid a worker’s salary. The media would be under democratic supervision and could be used in a much broader way to involve the people in government.
Socialist democracy would be far broader than what is presently possible since the people’s actual voices will be heard, not simply those of the rich. Socialist democracy will destroy the power of money over politics. Socialism will elevate the working class to be the politically dominant class in society.
The working class, through its own political party, will direct the government, and play a leading role in society through education, persuasion and by its example in the construction of socialism. Political parties which do not belong to the monopoly capitalist class and uphold socialism may function. All revolutionary parties that participated in the struggle for socialism will enjoy all political rights and responsibilities.
Socialism would explicitly outlaw exploitation and national oppression and guarantee a decent livelihood to all working people. All forms of racial, national, sexual or religious discrimination would be banned. There would be a strict separation of church and state – the freedom of religion would be assured as would the right to propagate atheism.
A socialist constitution could incorporate some aspects of the present one, such as guaranteeing all basic civil and individual rights, such as freedom of speech, press and assembly. These civil liberties would be consistently upheld for everyone for the first time because the dominance of capital would be removed. But the socialist constitution will add more extensive and explicit rights for the working class, the oppressed nationalities, women and other social groups. The right to be free of exploitation would be primary over any property rights. The entire conception of rights and freedoms would be based on protecting the emancipation and liberation of the people from monopoly capitalism.
To serve the people’s interests, a socialist government can devote special attention to raising the economic, social and cultural level of people and regions which especially suffered under monopoly capitalism. These places might include urban ghettos, the Appalachian region and the oppressed nations. Socialism can eliminate poverty because the capitalist foundations of unemployment and underemployment will no longer exist.
There will be no overnight miracles under socialism, but the way will be cleared to achieve a decent, meaningful and productive life for all working people.
The future socialist state will also give considerable attention to the minority nationalities. It would work for the equality of all nationalities. It would ensure that the Afro-American, Chicano and Hawaiian nations could fully exercise their rights to self-determination. There would be recognition of the full sovereignty of the Native American Indians and the rights to autonomy of Asian, Puerto Rican and other national minorities in their areas of concentration. National rights such as language and culture would be respected. All forms of white chauvinism and racism would be actively fought.
Socialism will also permit the full emancipation of women by ending obstacles to their equal participation in the life of society. A system of public child care would be established. Measures would be adopted to help protect the family and the welfare of youth. Women would be encouraged to play active and leading roles in the country. All male supremacism and chauvinism would be staunchly opposed.
Other social groups presently ignored or neglected under monopoly capitalism – the elderly, veterans, the disabled – could lead fuller and more complete lives under socialism. People will no longer be viewed as simply dispensable means to the almighty god of profits. The cultural life of society, too, will be enhanced. The arts, sports, education, popular entertainment and other forms of culture would not be governed by the dollar. A socialist society could give a great deal more attention and support to these areas. The sciences and humanities could also develop more fully since more resources would be devoted to expanding the frontiers of human knowledge and culture.
What will not be developed under socialism are the massive government bureaucracy and the repressive state apparatus (police, FBI, CIA, jails, etc.). These are used today mainly to control the people and protect the interests of the monopolists. The future socialist government will have no such needs. The socialist state, however, would take ruthless measures to eliminate thoroughly and completely reactionary groups such as the KKK, Nazis and organized crime. It will also have to guard against attempts by the defeated enemy class to undermine socialism and return to the old order, or attempts by foreign reactionaries to attack socialism in the U.S.
The future socialist government also will have no need for a gigantic military to threaten people around the world. All colonial possessions would be freed from U.S. control. Socialism would work for the thorough and complete destruction of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. The foreign policy of a socialist government in the U.S. will be based on the principles of equality, respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, peace and support for the efforts of others struggling for democracy, socialism and progress. Socialism would oppose the efforts of any imperialist power, like the Soviet Union, to expand at the expense of others.
There will still be struggle, conflict and problems under socialism, since human progress always advances through overcoming obstacles and contradictions. There even may be reactionary attempts to restore capitalism. But the destruction of the power of the dollar over society will open the way forward for the common people of the U.S. They will have unprecedented possibilities for the improvement of their lives.
The socialist people’s democracy will be the form of the political rule of the working class in the U.S., the specific form of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Democracy will be ensured for the vast majority and dictatorship exercised over the minority – the former and would-be oppressors. As such, socialism will be the first stage of the development towards communism, a truly classless society. Communism is a long time off. It will be possible when worldwide economic, ideological and social development will allow the gradual amalgamation of peoples into one, making states themselves unnecessary. Communism will realize the ideal “from each according to one’s ability, to each according to one’s need.” Classes will have largely disappeared, the state will “wither” away, and an exciting new era of human freedom and prosperity will arise.
The immediate step in this direction is the struggle to end the monopoly capitalist system in the United States.