The International Working Class. The Only Alternative to Capitalist Disaster

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Here is an excerpt from this document explaining how the international working class can build a new society. The reader can download the PDF version in its entirety here.

“The international working class, through its own organizations, the democratic workers’ councils, linked together worldwide, and working with the peasants’ councils where they existed, would take owner ship of the dominant forces in the world economy, the major corporations and finance houses and natural resources. In doing so and communicating through its workers and peasants councils network, the working class, the working people of the world, would be able to calculate what resources existed in the world’s collectivized economy. In the same way it would be able to calculate what were the needs of society worldwide. Who better to know this than the working class and peasantry who produce and consume the world’s resources and products?

These councils would link together on a world scale, sharing this knowledge, using the new communications technology it would be possible to work out what resources were available and what needs existed and with this knowledge it would be possible to draw up a democratic, international, socialist, sustainable plan to use the existing resources and to satisfy the existing needs. No more the anarchy of capitalism, of private ownership and the nation state and non-stop wars but the democratic international socialist sustainable plan.

The new methods of communication would make this possible as never before. Different parties would exist which would discuss and debate the priorities for this new international socialist world. No more capitalism, no more private ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, no more falling rate of profit and the continual internal contradictions, wars and slaughters, an end to massive wasteful spending on military and weapons.. We can finally end the destruction of the environment, climate change, and the extinction of the world’s species.

No more nation states, no more a tiny ruling class spewing out divide and rule to divide the majority it is exploiting so it can stay in power. These evils would be ended because they are rooted in private ownership and capitalism and nation states, so when these are ended then the basis for ending the evils that flow from them would be created. The present capitalist system that is destroying the planet would be replaced by an international, democratic, collectively owned, planned and sustainable world economy.

Given the new technology and communications systems, all the people of the world would be able to be involved in the discussions to draw up this international democratic world economy and plan. This plan could then be broken down economic sector by economic sector, industry by industry, workplace by workplace, community by community, worker by worker. Everybody would have a voice in assessing what resources were available, what needs existed and what were the priorities for production and distribution.

Everybody would have a voice in drawing up and implementing a democratic, international, sustainable plan. This is how the threatening catastrophe of climate change would be discussed and decisions made. It would be discussed on a world scale, in the interests of the working class and peasantry internationally, that is in the interests of the majority of the population of the world and the planet and life on the planet. Decisions would no longer be taken by the anarchistic conflicted capitalist minority, no longer be made in the interests of private ownership, profits and control, but in the interests of the population of the planet and of the health of the planet. More than any other problem, climate change and its threatening catastrophe can only be resolved on an international basis by ending the private ownership based and profit motivated capitalist system and its nation states.   Only the working class through the democratic structures of workers’ and peasants councils can build an international collectively owned economy based on the needs of the people and the planet. Capitalism, in spite of appearances to the contrary, the European Union for example, cannot overcome the barriers of the nation state

This network of workers and peasants councils worldwide would be a democratic decision making structure through which everybody would know what was possible, what was needed, what work they themselves had to do every day if the objectives of the democratic plan were to be reached.  They would also know what would be possible once the objectives of the plan were met, such as a shorter working day, better food and water, more and better housing, more resources for health care, education, the arts, the better life for all that would be possible.

Working in this way, consciously discussing and deciding on the day-to- day work and life of society through its democratic workers’ council structure, an international network could be created. What would come into action as the central, conscious entity deciding how the world would work, would be the collective power and the collective brain of the working class. This collective brain working through the network of workers councils and where they existed, peasant councils would decide how society would be run. Not a few billionaires running things, not some bureaucratic apparatus, not some billions of individuals trying to influence things on an individual basis, but the great collective, democratic human brain, the great collective brain of the working class determining how things would work. Like all brains in all creatures the collective brain of the working class would not be some grey uniform entity but would be one living brilliantly colored organism in continual living activity and creative explosive interacting thought and adjustment and decision-making.

This will be the future if there is to be a future for the human species and for life on earth. What a vision, what a step forward, the collective power, the collective human brain of the world’s working people, the collective power of the working class of the world, this is what would run things. And of course in multi-color and in interacting and clashing thought.”

Here is a quote from Bernie Sanders:

 “We must change the current culture of unfettered capitalism in which billionaires have control over our economic and political life. We need to revitalize American democracy and create a government and economy that works for all…… I am calling for a true democracy, one that abides by the principle of one person one vote, and that does not allow billionaires to buy elections. FDR did it. We can do it again”. 

There is no talk of socialism here.  Not only that, but his quoting of  Franklin Roosevelt is revealing. FDR stated that his policies were “to save capitalism from itself”. This is what Sanders wants to do. “Fetter” capitalism a little to save it from itself. FFWP Admin.