SOCIALIST CENTER launched in India (SUPPORT US)
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WHO WE ARE?
Socialist Center is an effort to solve the problems faced by every Indian. It represents democratic socialist ideology that strives to achieve welfare of all in a peaceful, law abiding and democratic manner. We stand for the rights of each and every Indian – be it workers, farmers, students, professionals, servicemen, housewives, senior citizens, children, unemployed, self-employed, beggars, homeless, and other sections of our society.
WHAT WE STAND AGAINST?
We publically condemn and stand against the neo-liberalist and crony capitalist policies that serve only the richest and exploit every section of the society. These neo-liberalists and crony capitalists have hijacked the policy-making mechanism, looted the resources of our country and left this country with nothing but poverty, hunger, malnourished children, poor public health system, crimes, inflation, unemployment, poor economy, illiteracy, environmental destruction, and other problems.
We also condemn any social order with dictatorial characteristics.
WHAT WE STAND FOR?
1) Free, High Quality Education For All From Pre-School Through University
2) Free, High Quality Public Health Care System
3) Affordable Basic Necessities Of Life : Food and Shelter
4) Equal Opportunities For All
5) Secure Jobs For All (in both Public and Private Sector)
6) Better, Guaranteed Pay, Wages and Salaries
7) Improved Working Conditions
Protection Of Farmers’ Rights9) Effective Social Security System For Each and Every Citizen
10) Rule of Law: Justice for All
11) Safety of Our Citizens (Law and Order)
12) Efficient, Certain, Non-Discriminatory and Time Bound Legal/Judicial System
13) Zero Tolerance Towards Crime and Corruption
14) Innovation
15) Scientific Research and Development
16) Utilization Of The Resources For The Welfare Of Each And Every Citizen
17) Governance and Administration with a Vision
18) Provision of Free Public Utilities and Social Services
19) Cleanliness and Improved Sanitation
20) Sustainable Development with focus on Environment
21) Massive Expansion of low fare, convenient and accessible Public Transport
22) Women Empowerment
What you should do?
We are in the process of transforming this effort into a political movement and join the democratic process.
We exhort you to support us in this endeavour.
Person behind this Initiative:
Paramjeet Singh,
Lawyer, Supreme Court of India
LL.M. (MIPLC), Germany
For Joining Us please email your name and place (city) to: socialistcenter@yahoo.com
Twitter: @SocialistCenter
@LawyerParamjeet
Paramjeet, many of your aims were, for many years in the late 19th early 20th Century, targets and objectives for the "reformist" movements in the UK. What we have seen in the last 10/20 years, is that the gains of over 100 years, (made by workers) have been clawed back in these times of so-called austerity!What you and others in India should do, is not call for reforms of Capitalism, which is what you are in actual fact doing, but work to get rid of the cause of the problems you highlight, The Capitalist System. Rather than piecemeal actions, work for the one single objective, the abolition of the wages system and for a society and world that belongs to us all and is run by and in the interests of us all, call it Socialism, or whatever but that is the only alternative.Capitalism cannot be reformed.Steve Colborn.
Dear Steve, Thank you for your comments. We are not reforming capitalism. In fact, we assert that we need democratic socialism in today's world. Capitalism (more specifically neo-liberalism and crony capitalism) is the root cause of all the problems that we have today. We do agree to and stand for the proposition that the world belongs to all and should be run in the interests of all. However, we also do sincerely believe in the significance of insitutions and the crucial role played by the state and the government.
No, we are not in the favour of free market. We believe that government should intervene in the interest of all.
SocialistCenter wrote:We believe that government should intervene in the interest of all.Then you've come to the wrong place, Paramjeet. The government of the modern state is nothing but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole capitalist class. Socialism will be a system of society without government but with democratic administration by the whole community.Go to the link below and elsewhere on this website for more information about the SPGB and it's policies.http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/more-faqOr visit this discussion forum of our companion party in India.https://www.facebook.com/groups/328364997178353/
Paramjeet, are you sure it is socialism that you seek?Capitalism exists throughout the world today. It is the market system where everything is produced as a commodity to be sold on the market. This includes our abilities to work. Wages and salaries are merely the price and cost of our abilities to work. Do you seek socialism: the abolition of the market and the wages system? Or as others have pointed out, do you seek improvement within this system.It is good to see you on this forum. Please look into the socialist case for the abolition of world capitalism and join us in that struggle
Dear Gnome, Thank you fo your comment. I guess we have different notions of socialism in our minds or may be, the concepts of 'government' are different for us but the underlying goals seem to be same. What the government of modern state is doing might not be the function of goverment in a system we are striving to establish. The present government is responsible for crony capitalism (a form of capitalism). A democratic administration that you talk of is called "goverment" in my eyes. It is a democratic government where the administration is carried on by democratically elected representatives of the people. It is reflect the governance by the majority.It is the characteristics of the government that make it socialistic or capitalistic.
SocialistCenter wrote:No, we are not in the favour of free market. We believe that government should intervene in the interest of all.I'm sure you do, but what do you think the government is intervening in? The tendency "democratic socialism" as is commonly used (in the GDH Cole sense) is generally understood to have some level of market activity in existence.
SocialistCenter wrote:Dear Gnome, Thank you fo your comment. I guess we have different notions of socialism in our minds or may be, the concepts of 'government' are different for us but the underlying goals seem to be same.With respect the underlying goals are not the same. You seek to reform the present system of capitalism whilst we seek to overthrow it.Capitalism is the social system that now exists in all the countries of the world. Under this system, the means of production and distribution are monopolised by a small capitalist class. All wealth is produced by us, the working class, who sell our physical and mental abilities for a wage or salary. The object of wealth production is to create goods and services which can be sold profitably. Not only do capitalists live off the profits they obtain by exploiting us, they re-invest their profits with a view to accumulating more wealth. Because of the logic of their system, if goods cannot be sold at a profit, they are either destroyed or not produced at all. Because of capitalist competition, wars break our fairly regularly, being fought over trade routes, areas of influence, foreign markets and mineral resources – all sources of profit for capitalists.Socialism is yet to exist. When it is established it must be on a global basis, as a real alternative to the present system. In a socialist society there will be common ownership of the Earth by its inhabitants and no minority will dictate to us that production must give priority to profit. There will be no owners. The people of the world will share the world. Production will be for use, not sale. The only questions we will need to ask about production are what do people need and can these needs be met. Science and technology will at last be used to their fullest potential and in the service of humanity. The basic socialist principle will be that people give according to their abilities and take according to their needs. There will be no buying or selling, as money will have been abolished and will not be necessary in a world of free access. Socialism will mean a world without borders or frontiers, social classes or leaders, states or governments, force or coercion.
Dear Vin, Thank you for your comment. Yes, it is the socialism that we seek. We are against free market economy.However, I would like to urge you to understand the basic human psychology and the basic human instincts. In view of my last statement I would submit that: We are in favour of a system where goods are produced not to serve the profit making interests of the capitalists but to satisfy the basic requirements of life and provide basic necessities of life to the citizen. Furthermore, we also firmly believe that every human being has a goal to make his life better and comfortable and therefore, he should be given that much of a scope to strive for it subject to a condition. The pursuit of making one's life better and comfortable should not assume the conventional dimensions of "materialism". Wages for us mean remuneration to every man as per his labour and as per his requirement. It is all about what he deserves and what he needs.
Dear Gnome, we respect your views.Socialist Center's response to your comments: Majority administration vide representative mechanism doesn't mean that "minority is dictating us". We strongly oppose the propositon that "production must give priority to profits". We stand for majority ownership of all resources (of Earth) and their utilization for the welfare of each and every individual. We agree to: "The basic socialist principle will be that people give according to their abilities and take according to their needs." But we add "people will get what they deserve " to this statement of yours.
Can i also second that suggestion that you continue your dialogue either with ourselves or with our Indian comrades in Kolkata.http://www.worldsocialistpartyindia.org/Many of the reforms you seek will only be possible with a socialist society as envidaged by ourselves. Capitalism, either in its 'free enterprise'. 'neo-liberal' form advocated by Modi or the state-owned/interventionalist model of the CPI(M) simply cannot deliver what you ask. Why do your demands such as free education , free health care , free public utilities, abruptly turn to affordable food…sure this basic necessity of life should also be free, as should free housing and everything else that is produced by the collective labour of our class.Your demand #16 could easily be re-phrased as production for use. Many of your demands we could also support as part of the trade union class struggle but the struggle for socialism is not economic but political. We can of course also sympathise with the many weaknesses in the Indian political life that you seek to remedy but the basic democratic rights which can change the political battle field already exists in the vote and elections, for all their failings and flaws.What is always missing is the will of the people who keep on supporting false promises and that requires political education and India is well experienced in mass movements mobilising and reaching out to the masses even to grass-root village level.
I'm discussing very similar things with a socialist on YouTube.Good luck all, in convincing real people that SPGB socialism is better than theirs..
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