Genuine democracy will include all essential social institutions, especially workplaces

Politics for the mainstream media is restricted to the administration of capitalism. Yet there is more than politics at the social level. Economics, the legal system, workplaces and other institutions are all intertwined with politics. Transition to a peaceful, universally prosperous and sustainable planet will require total social revolution.

The Bolshevik experience

For several years following the Russian Revolution in 1917, genuine democracy existed across all aspects of society. The Tzarist state was abolished. The bosses lost control of workplaces. Army and naval officers were subordinated to elected committees of soldiers and sailors. And despite being totally devastated by the First World War, some remarkably successful social reforms were enacted.

What happened next was no surprise. Armed intervention  from both sides in WWI joined the Russian White Army in attempting to crush the new democracy. It failed. But internal subversion and western boycott of Russia led to emergence of the Stalinist dictatorship.

Despite the all-round  brutality of WWI and civil war in Russia, the Revolution offers vital lessons in today’s struggle for a better World.

Stalinism is not socialist

The Western media invariably equates communism (and socialism) with state control. For most of the last century, about 80% of Russian companies were under state control. In the present century, this proportion has fallen. And in the West, this figure is generally around 30%.

Every sophisticated society depends on high workplace productivity, and this requires coordination and cooperation. Productivity is also boosted by rational planning and economies of scale. Nationalisation is the obvious way to achieve this.

Two nationalisation fallacies

During the 1930s, Stalinist Russia made phenomenal advances in engineering and military technology. But this was achieved by brutal control of the workforce. Every country adopts almost total state control during wartime.

After WWII, UK nationalised health, railways, coal and steel. But this had nothing whatever to do with socialism. Healthier workers was supported by all parties. The owners of bankrupt rail and coal were overjoyed at prices they were paid for these industries. The bosses of steel refused to be nationalised because they had a few years profit left in their industry. Fifteen years later, all but one of the steel companies were bankrupt. The state bought their shares at almost double their estimated value.

Conclusions: nationalised enterprises are not socialist. But they are generally more efficient than private enterprises.

This doesn’t prevent the lie, repeated by politicians east and west, that state control of industry equals socialism.

Social revolution

Socialism will require revolution that is social as well as political. The state will have oversight over all institution. But crucially, the state itself will be controlled by genuine democracy based on workplaces.

Enormous benefits will result from election of management by their workforce. Their ruling bodies will coopt relevant external advisors. Workplaces will compete with each other over who can do most for customers and society generally. Absent shareholders will not be invited.

This ideal setup could never exist under capitalism. On the contrary, a central role of capitalist legislatures is to block any discussion of socialism.

What would a fully socialist society be like?

Basic minimum conditions of life and work would be guaranteed globally for everyone at birth. These would include:

• Basic necessities like food, water, clothing, shelter, education, work, social opportunities, dignity and so on.
• Freedom from brutal or inhumane treatment, torture, killing, arbitrary imprisonment, exploitation, discrimination, rule by unelected individuals and so on.
• The opportunity to participate in the governance of any institution they belong to or have an interest in.
• Democratic recall of all elected representatives.
• Membership of a trade union concerned with workplace conditions.
• The right to belong to, believe in or support: any religion, philosophy, political party or sect, so long as the same rights for others are not infringed. Arbitration for sectional disputes would be widely available.

The twenty-first century polycrisis

Only a society as described above, could ensure millions of volunteers for civil defence taskforces that could be deployed instantly to crisis hotspots around the World.

See also

Individual level

Religion

Science

Media

Language

DPS

14 November  2024

692 words