Socialism, Not Capitalism
War, poverty, exploitation and oppression are products
of the capitalist system, a system in which a minority ruling
class profits from the labor of the majority. The alternative
is socialism, a society based on workers collectively
owning and controlling the wealth their labor creates. We stand in the Marxist tradition, founded by Karl
Marx and Frederick Engels, and cont
inued by V.I. Workers’ Power
Workers create society’s wealth, but have no control
over its production and distribution. A socialist society
can only be built when workers collectively take control
of that wealth and democratically plan its production and
distribution according to human needs instead of profit. The working class is the vast majority of society and is
the key to the fight for socialism. Workers’ central role in
production gives them a social power—by use of the strike
weapon—to paralyze the system like no other social force. Socialism is working-class self-emancipation. Only
mass struggles of the workers themselves can put an end
to the capitalist system of oppression and exploitation. 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
We actively support the struggle of workers and all oppressed
people for economic, political and social reforms,
both as a means to improve their conditions and to advance
their confidence and fighting strength. But reforms
within the capitalist system cannot put an end to oppression
and exploitation. The structures of the present government grew up
under capitalism and are designed to protect capitalist
rule. The working class needs an entirely different kind of
state—a democratic workers’ state based on councils of
workers’ delegates. We do not support candidates of capitalist parties like
the Democrats or the Republicans. We support genuine
left-wing candidates and political action that promotes
independence from the corporate-dominated two-party
system in the U.S. Internationalism
Capitalism is an international system, so the struggle
for socialism must be international, uniting workers of all
countries. Socialists oppose imperialism--the division of
the globe based on the subjugation of weaker nations by
stronger ones—and support the self-determination of oppressed
nations. We oppose all immigration controls. We oppose U.S. intervention in Cuba, the Middle
East, and elsewhere. We are for self-determination for
Puerto Rico. China and Cuba, like the former Soviet Union and
Eastern Bloc, have nothing to do with socialism. They are
state capitalist regimes. We support the struggles of workers
in these countries against the bureaucratic ruling class. Full Equality and Liberation
Capitalism divides the working class, based on s*xual,
gender, racial, national and other distinctions. The specially
oppressed groups within the working class suffer the
most under capitalism. We oppose racism in all its forms. We support the
struggle for immigrant rights. We fight for real social,
economic and political equality for women, and for an
end to discrimination against le***an, gay, bis*xual and
transgender people. We support the fight for Black liberation and all the
struggles of the oppressed. The liberation of the oppressed
is essential to socialist revolution and impossible
without it. The Revolutionary Party
To achieve socialism, the most militant workers must
be organized into a revolutionary socialist party. The ISO
is committed to playing a role in laying the foundations
for such a party. We aim to build an independent socialist
organization, rooted in workplaces, schools and neighborhoods
that, in fighting today’s struggles, also wins
larger numbers to socialism. Read more here: https://www.facebook.com/events/512847785411171/?ref=ts&fref=ts
