Where We Stand

International Socialists/Socialist Workers Party

Where We Stand is a statement of the basic principals of the International Socialist grouping of organizations.

  Workers' Power
  Revolution Not Reform
  Internationalism
  Full Equality and Liberation
  The Revolutionary Party

Workers' Power

We stand for the principles of socialism from below – for the direct and democratic control of society by the working class.

Although workers create society's wealth, they have no control over its production and distribution. A socialist society can only be built when workers collectively seize control of that wealth and democratically plan its production and distribution according to human needs instead of profit.

The working class, both blue-collar and white-collar, is the vast majority of society and is the key to the fight for socialism. Liberation can only be won through the struggles of workers themselves, organized independently of all other classes and fighting for real workers' power.

We support trade unions as essential to the fight for workers' economic and political rights. To make the unions fight for workers' interests, rank-and-file workers must organize themselves independent of the union officials.

Revolution Not Reform

Reforms within the capitalist system cannot put an end to oppression and exploitation. Capitalism must be overthrown.

The structures of the present government – parliaments, the army, the police and the judiciary – cannot be taken over and used by the working class. They grew up under capitalism and are designed to protect the ruling class against workers.

We do not support candidates of capitalist parties like the Democrats or the Republicans in the USA, the Liberals or the Tories in Canada, or the Liberals in Australia.

The working class needs an entirely different kind of state – a workers' state based on councils of workers' delegates and a workers' militia. These councils based on elected delegates from the work places and the neighbourhoods will become the ultimate decision-making body in society. As in the Paris Commune and Russian Revolutions of 1905 and 1917, they will be organs of direct democracy whose delegates can be recalled by the electors. Combining political and economic functions, workers' councils will allow direct participation in the running of society by the working masses.

At most parliamentary activity can be used to make propaganda against the present system.

Internationalism

The struggle for socialism is part of a worldwide struggle. We campaign for solidarity with workers in other countries. We oppose everything that turns the workers of one country against those of another country.

We oppose imperialism and support all genuine national liberation movements.

We oppose all immigration controls and policies which divide workers of different countries.

The experience of Russia demonstrates that a socialist revolution cannot survive in one country. China and Cuba, like the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, have nothing to do with socialism. They are state capitalist regimes which oppress and exploit workers. We support the struggle of workers in these countries against the bureaucratic ruling class.

Full Equality and Liberation

Capitalism divides the working class – pitting sections of workers against one another, men against women, race against race, straights against gays and lesbians.

We oppose racism in all its forms. We support the right of aboriginal peoples, blacks and other oppressed groups to organize for their rights and in their own defense.

Black liberation, women's liberation and lesbian and gay liberation are essential to socialist revolution and impossible without it.

We fight for real, social, economic and political equality for women and for an end to discrimination against lesbians and gays, and youth. We support the struggles of all oppressed groups against any form of discrimination.

The Revolutionary Party

To achieve socialism, the most militant workers must be organized into a revolutionary socialist party to provide the political leadership and organization essential to a successful revolution.

The International Socialists/Socialist Workers Party are taking the first steps towards the building of such international revolutionary socialist parties – rooted in the work place and able to provide political direction within the working-class movement. As revolutionaries, we help to build every struggle that strengthens the self-confidence, organization and socialist consciousness of workers and the oppressed. The revolutionary socialist party can only be built through the involvement of socialists in the daily struggles of workers and the oppressed.

We urge all of those who agree with our politics to join us in the struggle to build a revolutionary party.

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