A World to Win

The capitalist state is bringing down the curtain on a period of history that began in the 18th century. Transformed by the march of global capitalism, the state is unable and unwilling to uphold or sustain the democratic forms that have allowed it to rule over the majority for this long period. The state has lost its legitimacy and authority by:

merging its identity with corporate interests to rule more directly on their behalf
facilitating the commercialisation of civil society by market forces
undermining the independence of the legal system
trampling all over the rule of law at home and internationally
taking away long-established democratic rights using state violence and war in a bid to enhance its role
devolving more and more power to unelected, unaccountable bodies
allowing the media to fall into the hands of a few corporations
targeting the poor, migrants and the youth for special treatment
declining to meet social need and abolishing the welfare state
undermining the significance of the right to vote rendering parliamentary systems more redundant than ever before.

Our proposals are aimed at creating the conditions where the state as a special body alienated from society begins to disappear, where it becomes unnecessary. The first step along this road is achieving state power, with the purpose of abolishing what is oppressive, secretive and unnecessary, and reordering the remainder so that it serves the interests of the majority. A transitional state, basing itself on an economy producing for need, which can swiftly satisfy needs, both in Britain and internationally, will institute a truly democratic society for the first time. The principles for a transitional state should include:

self-organisation throughout society where possible involving as many people as possible in government and administration
an end to special privileges and incomes for state officials
total accountability and subordination of all officials to elected bodies
elections for all public offices
complete transparency and openness at all levels
a new legal system based on community control and self-policing.

Without parliamentary democracy, capitalism could not have developed; without it capitalism cannot sustain itself. This is the opportunity we must seize to take history in a new direction. We have to extend the right to vote and give it a new significance. This requires us to create new forms of democratic representation. The great advances won in the 19th and 20th centuries must be reclaimed and taken further through a revolutionary development.

New political democracy

Alongside democratic ownership and control of economic and financial, we should build on the formal democratic rights we have achieved and give them real meaning and content through a new political framework. This would replace the House of Commons, the totally unelected House of Lords, the system of monarchy left over from feudal times, the secretive Privy Council and the presidential-type powers of the Prime Minister. A new democratic Britain could involve:

a national system of government built from the bottom up in contrast to today's hierarchical regime imposed from the centre
national, regional and local Assemblies with executive as well as deliberative power
local and regional Assemblies to decide on how best to meet a range of needs in their own areas and to send delegates to a national Assembly
a national Assembly with executive and legislative powers over major issues such as health, housing and education budgets and overall economic objectives
committees, making use of expert advice, to draw up plans to reflect the national Assembly's decisions. The chairs of the committees could form the government
delegates to local, regional and national Assemblies to reflect diversity in our communities
distinct voices, for example, for women, minority ethnic citizens, older people, young people, workplaces, students and small businesses
all matters to be discussed, debated and decided upon with full public access to proceedings, putting an end to secretive methods of existing politics
delegates to be paid no more than the average national income with no special privileges
all delegates subject to recall and removal by local/regional voters at any time
information and communication technology available free to every household to encourage and stimulate mass involvement in the new democratic process
full information on proposed decisions to be made available and extensive consultation with voters before decisions are taken at any level
freedom of political representation and the right to organise politically.

State administration

As far as state administration is concerned, the principles for the future could be:

the subordination of bureaucracy to society through accountability to Assemblies
the replacement of existing structures with those better suited to new purposes
new state bodies as facilitators and supporters of the new society
the elimination of state administration wherever possible
an end to special privileges and making a career out of bureaucracy
payment of staff to reflect general levels of incomes in society
complete public transparency in the work of the bureaucracy
making other public bodies accountable to those who use services and to Assemblies.

The legal system

The rule of law is now undermined by the degeneration of the capitalist state. In future, the rule of law must embrace published laws that apply universally, laws that are never retrospective, freedom from arbitrary arrest and defined limits to the powers of the state.

If law is to serve society as a whole, all links between the legal system and the state must be severed. Judges must be allowed to judge on the basis of the law alone and not some overriding principles set down by the state. The selection of judges at all levels must be a transparent process free from interference by the state and involve judges, lawyers and ordinary people, who would get special training to help them in their task.

Extend democratic rights

Today, individual rights to justice, like the ability to elect for trial by jury, are under constant attack by the state. We need to restate them in a fresh way. Individual rights to liberty and freedom from arbitrary arrest will be reaffirmed in unconditional and positive terms. Social rights established in law, within a framework of the abolition of the capitalist exploitation of labour, should include the legal rights to:

decent housing at affordable cost for everyone
free education for students at all ages
employment for those who can work and average pay for those who cannot
equal pay and job opportunities for women
free child care for single parents
equality for black and minority ethnic citizens
asylum with equal status to those already resident
free health care at all levels and types of treatment
dignity in old age through pension provision at average income, and free care
safe and nutritious food at affordable prices
equal access to cultural and personal development opportunities.

Crime and punishment

With the abolition of the alienated social relations of capitalism, communities will have greater opportunities to explore what defines crime from a totally different standpoint. Instead of naming and shaming, retribution, vengeance and punishment, we should emphasise reparation and community self-control and influence. There are grounds for replacing the body of existing criminal law, with its thousands of offences, with law based on making offenders face up to their responsibilities and their impact on communities. The existing prison system belongs to the Middle Ages. Prison does little to prevent reoffending. It is designed to brutalise and shame and should be scrapped. Where it is unavoidable to detain offenders, a new approach would make rehabilitation its sole priority. Formal court structures that presently deal with crime could be replaced with neighbourhood/community courts that would start from compensation and reconciliation.

The police and state forces

The police force in Britain is incapable of serving communities because of the way it is run and controlled. Society should not have to rely on a professional police force divorced from day-to-day accountability and control to deal with real life problems and issues.

Responsibility for preserving and enhancing collective and personal property and security would fall on the shoulders of the entire community, who would now be in overall social and political charge. A range of mechanisms - from the formal to the informal - would be introduced. Even in Britain today, there are communities that have had to act themselves to drive out drug dealers, for example. Taken together with the new approach to dealing with crime, the reorganisation of the justice system and the scrapping of the existing prison system, these proposals offer a chance for society as a whole to develop a collective cohesion that is patently absent today.

The secret intelligence agencies, MI5 and MI6, together with the police Special Branch would also be abolished. The army, together with the navy and air force, which is used to fight wars on behalf of the capitalist state, would be reorganised as a defensive force. All their weapons of mass destruction will be scrapped.

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