Reform
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The issue is that in an election you aren’t voting to a specific policy, but over who is the government (that is the only vote that matters), so voting for a capitalist party, even in return for a specific amelioration is putting a capitalist party in power. Our aim as a party is to make the election question ‘Socialism or capitalism’.
The difference is, if it were a referendum on whether or not to give free school meals (say if we lived in some US states, or in Switzerland), then you can vote on the merit of the issue, just as socialist delegates in parliament would, as instructed by the party.
In the State of California, USA, they have Ballot propositions to accept or reject certain state measures, but peoples are not voting for a particular political party or a president.
In this particular situation socialists can vote for those measures, and there are some socialist parties who asked workers just to vote for certain proposition instead of voting for a pro capitalist president.
The tactic of the lesser is not applicable in this situation, but workers must be careful too because some of them are financed by large corporations, banks or real estate business, and sometimes workers vote against their own interests
https://www.kpbs.org/news/2022/10/10/california-propositions-election-novemeber-2022
So, the party position is we oppose reforms as a means to socialism, but in the meantime we kind of like them?
“So, the party position is we oppose reforms as a means to socialism, but in the meantime we kind of like them?”
Opposition to the idea that you can gradually get to socialism, or ameliorate all the problems of capitalism, through reforms.
Whether or not an individual reform is veiwed favourably, unfavourably, or with indifference, depends on what that specific reform is.
Trying to reform the system is like cutting off heads of the hydra where more appear after every decapitation. This is what leads to political cynicism and despair among many on the left.
In Iran the State tries to impose dress codes on women. I.e. the wearing of hijabs and long, loose fitting clothing. Iranian woman have been fighting back against this for some time. An article in The International Correspondent says that the Iranian State is now resorting to Chinese surveillance technology and putting its morality police back on the streets in its efforts to enforce this.
Would Iranian women, and men, be more likely to look upon socialism favourably if they were aware of our attitude toward religion?
Genuine question: does this fight back constitute a reform that the SPGB could fully support or do we say this is down to religion and we don’t have skin in this game so it’s not an issue for us? Iran is capitalist too.
There are many struggles of one sort or another going on all over the world and mostly it all comes down to capitalism of course.
There’s no argument is there that we support the Iranian working class in the ongoing class struggle but where do the rights of women not to be oppressed fall?I have always said that the Socialist Party is an university on socialism and our main objective is to make socialists, therefore, the best sources to understand a particular issue or question is by reading our literatures, our pamphlets and our articles. We have more than 200 pages dedicated to the concept of Reforms and reformism. Do we think that reforms will gradually take us to socialism, Do you support reforms ? Are we reformists ? Do we think that reforms will produce the emerge of another crisis ? Can capitalism be replaced thru reforms and reformism ? We have hundred of articles explaining those situations. We should read them
Maybe the Clangers have something to say on the subject!
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-vote-for-froglet-1974-onlineWez
Participant
Trying to reform the system is like cutting off heads of the hydra where more appear after every decapitation. This is what leads to political cynicism and despair among many on the left.
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As Matt always used to say: A reform will always brings the following crisis
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