The Escape to Freedom
The brave new world so glibly promised by politicians when workers were being urged to slaughter each other to maintain the material interests of their respective masters, is one of the many promises that has not materialised. No one with an ounce of realism, can deny that conditions in the world today are bristling with the possibilities of a war, an atomic, germ war, in the none too distant future. So much for the brave new world.
Instead of facing up to this situation in an attempt to find a solution, it is tragic that workers are seeking a temporary escape in the “entertainment” that Capitalism offers as a safety valve. Football, the “dogs” and “pictures,” all provide a temporary escape from, but no solution to, the many problems with which we are beset. Yet the solution is a simple one, and only requires a little serious thought.
The most formidable class in numbers is the working class. Its power lies not alone in numbers but in the knowledge of its members of their class position in society. If a majority of workers accepted this simple fact alone—that Capitalism runs in the interest of those who own and control industry—they would be better able to look after their class interests. Yet most workers think they have an identity of interest with their masters. “You must have Capital and Labour ” say they, while the world is seething with conflict and unrest.
When we talk and write about Socialism, we mean a classless society in which the means of producing food, clothing, houses, and all the amenities of life, shall be owned in common and democratically controlled by the community. There will be an identity of interests, for no one will covet what his neighbour has if there is an abundance to satisfy his needs. This is the foundation which we claim will solve war and the major evils of the world. Socialism is the only sane way. All other methods have been tried and failed. It does not follow that Socialism will succeed because it has never been tried. It requires thought and inquisitiveness on the part of workers, to understand why Socialism will succeed.
With the basis of Socialist society firmly established, it is not difficult to see that mankind will be free to enjoy life to the full. Man will give of his best to society, for he will know that society’s resources will be there for the taking. He will produce the best and receive the best. He will be free to develop his natural desires and aptitudes. Production will be a task which men will enjoy, for they will be working in the knowledge that goods are actually being produced for the benefit of the community. Man will be free to enjoy the arts of the world.
No longer will man be assessed by his bank balance or his property, for money would serve no function under Socialism. Today, money in the form of wages keeps workers in subjection, and poverty, for they can only buy back a proportion of the wealth they produce. As all means of production would be owned in common for the benefit of mankind, war will be an impossibility, for a socialist society would not fight for something it already possessed.
Workers, do not attempt to escape from the problems thrown up by Capitalism by ignoring the cold facts of reality. Face up to the situation that Capitalism is now decadent, and that mankind can build a new world in which life will be a beautiful experience. The nightmares of yesterday will then gradually recede in the distance. When Socialism is obtained the Escape to Freedom will be complete.
S.W.C.