Below are aims and principles I wrote for up for a potential new group. Was trying to avoid old style anarchist/marxist jargon words as much as I could, which aims and principles of existing groups are often heavily laden with. I'd be grateful for any feedback.
Ordinary working people produce all the world’s wealth. So we ought to enjoy the benefits. But a great slice of the benefits are taken from us by capitalists, by landlords, by state governments. It is they who control the world’s wealth, and they who control our places of work. But it is rightfully our wealth, and our places of work.When we are at work we must obey the orders of people appointed over us, who are not accountable to us or elected by us. And the profits we make are taken from us and handed over to wealthy strangers who have done none of the work.
Why do we work for benefit of others? Why do we let them order us around? Because we are no longer free people (just try and refuse the orders of you boss some day at work if you want to find out how free you really are). Two hundred years after the abolition of serfdom and slavery, the institution of equality before the law and of democratic government with human rights, we find that we have now lost our freedom again.
Our situation is truly horrible:
* We go to work for most of our productive waking hours, and for most of our lives;
* At work we obey the orders of others, of people appointed above us without our consent. That is: of tyrants.
* The profits we make at work are taken away by stockholders and senior executives, and not returned to us. That is: are stolen.To speak bluntly, we are slaves. We are slaves by day to capitalists whom we do not control, and whose interests are opposed to ours, and as part of a capitalist system from which we benefit from only indirectly.
We are controlled, during working hours, by corporations, which although creations of our society’s legal system, in fact operate as private tyrannies, accountable to no one but their senior management or (in extreme conditions) stockholders.
As socialists, we seek to replace this system with one where we are free individuals, no longer subject to the tyranny of owners.
A BETTER WORLD
Is a better world possible? What would it look like? What can we do to help advance towards it?Socialism in a past age believed it held the answer to those questions. With state socialism, workplaces were nationalised and placed under central government control. But that proved to be a false path for socialism - all it did was replace capitalist bosses with state tyrants. State socialism managed the impossible - it was even worse than capitalism. Its destruction by popular revolutions twenty years ago was a great achievement.
Unfortunately capitalism remains in place, with lack of freedom in our workplaces, inequality, mass unemployment, and poverty.
But let us not wallow in the valley of despair. Capitalism is not the only option. We can have a world where we have freedom, justice and democracy in our work places and at home. To avoid any danger of the false turn of state socialism, government should be reduced to the tiniest size and power humanly possible. Communities should organise themselves through neighbourhood level assemblies.
We want a world where there will be no bosses, politicians or bureaucrats. A society which will be run in a really democratic way by working people, through councils in the workplaces and community. We want to abolish authoritarian relationships and replace them with control from the bottom up - not the top down.
We want a world where our government is local and accountable and truly 'by the people, for the people'. A world where democracy is direct and real.
We want a world where we do not work for the profit of others, but for our own benefit.
We want a world where we keep whatever profits our work produces, rather than giving it away to absentee owners.
We want a world where the management of our firms is accountable to us, not appointed by strangers.
We want a world where there is full employment - that large numbers of people were not kept semi-permanently unemployed, and wasted to society. We want a world where there is no more poverty.
In such a world, we would live lives as full human beings, not as waged workers under the control of an outside agency, and not as consumers passively consuming from what we are offered by external corporations. Our cities would be communities of neighbours. Our lives would be better balanced between life and work.
FIGHTING TO WIN
Our concept of libertarian socialism is based at a grassroots level, and engages with communities on their terms not ours. Socialists should try and help build their local community into a better place to live in - through whatever means our energies and imaginations can come up with. This is a far cry from seeking to lead or lecture people, or standing outside existing communities as a separate political entity who only appear on stalls or around the doors looking for votes, money or new members.In our concept of libertarian socialism political organisations exist not to take power for or by themselves but exist to facilitate a movement for change, working side by side with individuals, community and workplace organisations, and even other political parties.
We believe in fighting to win. Our short term plans of campaign shall be geared towards achievable goals. We seek to put pragmatism ahead of idealism.
Can comment on articles and discussions
See also: http://libcom.org/forums/scotland/local-group