How can socialism become reality?

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P.M. writes: “I like the bulk of your ideals. By what means can they become reality?

FNB Replies: It’s our position that socialism can become reality when a majority of the population (primarily the working class) desires socialism and rejects capitalism.

I understand that sounds a rather simplistic answer. But the capitalist class cannot continue it’s rule - even through violence or bribery - when enough workers decide to break with the capitalists’ legitimacy and their system.

Our effort is to get enough workers to understand that socialism is a rejection of the fundamental structures of capitalism - the market, ownership, wages, production, etc. Not only understand but accept socialism as a positive change.

Workers are forced by their living conditions to question capitalism daily. Working people wish they didn’t have to work as hard and want more time with their families. They worry about the earth and the world their children will be inheriting.These days, they worry about keeping warm, keeping fed and keeping their house. They may even resent the pettiness of the ’stuff’ that capitalism offers for our life’s efforts at work.

Because of these contradictions, socialists are given opportunities everyday to build a new consensus. The more socialists there are, the more ability we will have to take new and different actions to build the new system

But we also need to confront and destroy the capitalist class’ social legitimacy. The WSP believes that the capitalist’s legitimacy comes from their ‘democratic’ rule, thus we believe that the capitalist’s legitimacy can be totally be broken by taking a majority in Congress.

But “capturing” Congress is only a measure of acceptance of socialism and a coup de grace to capitalist rule. The real revolution in social relations will be made in our lives and by ourselves, not congress.

But right now, the movement is quite small and dispersed. So we focus on providing socialist analysis of the issues of the day. We hold meetings and work to break capitalist ideas when we’re involved in social movements (example).

As the movement grows, we’ll be able to be more inventive with our activity and in ways we cannot conceive of today. The WSP does not believe we - the WSP - can create blueprints or maps to the new society, that effort is one that must be left to all the people

Thanks for writing.

You can now ask the WSP questions about our ideas and the case for socialism. We will attempt to answer all sincere questions. Send your questions to:

ask [at} wspus.org

Click on ASK! in the subject cloud 'previous posts' on our site.