Posted by david searles on January 24, 2008 at 07:03:14:
In Reply to: Re: Democracy and Freedom of Speech posted by LDF on January 23, 2008 at 16:42:20:
Lillia, you had asked about the socialst campaign in the Catskills. This was back in the 80s as I recall. here is the leaflet that we wrote with Nat. Not bad, if I do say so myself.
FOR THE MAJORITY:
THE PLATFORM OF A SOCIALIST IN ELLENVILLE
by Nathan Pressman
Local politics is dominated by a minority. It dominates in
this community and dominates in all communities. Every political body
and institution in this country from the national to the local level
is under its control. While it cannot be identified in the usual
terms, as a racial or ethnic minority, it is a minority nonetheless.
It is, in fact, the capitalist class minority. The people I am
referring to are the representatives of this class in the bourgeois
political state.
What lies in this political control is economic exploitation.
By this I mean that the means of production, and therefore the
livelihood of the vast majority of the population, is owned and
controlled by this capitalist minority. "He who owns the means
whereby I live owns me." The present boom on Wall Street, contrasted
with the 15 million and more workers who are without jobs, is but one
example of the different interests between this capitalist minority
and the vast working class majority.
At the local level there exists a group of small capitalists
that virtually dominate the politics of this area. As an example,
when Mayor Krieger announced his appointments to the local utility
board, among those names were the president of the Bio-Energy
Corporation, the vice-president of Marvin Millworks, Incorporated, the
vice-president of General Sportswear, Incorporated, and a certified
public accountant. Not a single member of the working class. Not a
single Black, Latin, or woman. All either members of, or beholden to,
this group of small capitalists.
At the same time largest capitalists seek to control local
politics in their own interests. The municipal power fight provides a
case in point. Here we had village officials in league with many
local petty bourgeois attempting to escape the tyranny of a monopoly
capitalist utility company. This proposal probably would have
resulted in savings to the business community, the municipal
government, as well as the local residents. But Central Hudson (the local electric utility) barred
no expense, spending somewhere near $100,000 to defeat the issue.
While capitalists, large and small, from time to time may have
their differences, in the main their objectives are identical, to
secure and maintain the system of exploitation that is capitalism.
As a socialist, I advocate the elimination of capitalism. I
advocate a cooperative, industrial society where the democratic
councils of organized workers will become the basis of a planned,
rational economy and society. It would be a society where human
beings could coexist without the mad need for war, imperialism, or
economic rivalry. The industries would produce for human need instead
of for capitalist greed.
The society that I envision will not be brought about simply by
electing me mayor. It cannot exist as long as we are within the
confines of bourgeois society. Ellenville is part of the capitalist
world. It is a branch of the political state. As such, workers
cannot expect that it can be transformed from an instrument of class
rule into the workers' councils that they must form. These councils
must spring from unions of workers. Our power as workers lies in the
industries, all industries. We have power because we produce the
wealth of this society, and it is as producers that we must organize.
The purpose of my campaign is to use the political process to
agitate for socialism and to help advance the overall struggle of
working people. This campaign is an opportunity for the workers of
Ellenville to broadcast to all workers their desire to end class
oppression, and their determination to build a new social order. If
the workers decide to do this, and elect me, there are several things
that I would try to do with Ellenville to give people an idea of how
socialist society would be organized and how it could improve the
quality of their lives.
1) I will call for an organization of all the workers of
Ellenville -- employed, unemployed, disabled, and retired -- to
discuss their common grievances, to serve as a conduit of information
among the workers of the various shops, and to plan strategies for
unionization and control of the industries and government by the
workers themselves.
2) In an industrial society, the only real democracy is
workers' democracy. To illustrate this idea, the village manager
shall be elected by the village employees and serve at their pleasure.
The village manager is in effect the supervisor of the village's
employees. It stands to reason then that the workers are the most
qualified to judge who their manager should be.
3) The municipal power question should be submitted to the
people for a vote. I feel that the issue was defeated because the
working class majority of Ellenville was not made to feel that they
should have any stake in the operation of the utility once it was an
established fact. I therefore propose that any future utility board
that I appoint would include a majority a working people and minority
representatives.
The proposed municipal takeover of the electric business here
is in apparent contradiction with the village board's "give-away" of
our wind power on the ridge. While hydropower, if it had been made
available, could have cut our electric rates in half, wind power
developed by a municipal authority would entirely eliminate our
dependence on outside agencies for electric power. I therefore
propose to do what I can to void the fifty year lease given to Genro,
and investigate alternatives to the development of our wind power by
outside interests.
Finally on this topic, I would ask the village board to enact
an ordinance requiring full financial disclosure by corporations
trying to influence a municipal vote.
4) I intend to raise for discussion another energy related
idea, a municipal heating system. Such a system could produce heat at
a central location in the village and pipe it to the residences and
businesses at less cost than they now spend. The advantages of this
include the possibility that from one central location heat could be
produced cleanly and more efficiently than individuals presently can,
and a single fuel in large quantities can be purchased more
inexpensively.
5) I will propose that a people's commission be formed to save
the Minnewaska property from the Marriott Corporation. This
commission should include representatives of labor, environmental,
business, local government, and all other interested groups and
individuals. Among the alternatives I would propose for the site are
its possible use as a union/environmental conference and seminar
center and/or a public recreational area.
My most important job as mayor will be the promotion of the
ideas of socialists and socialism. In this world today it is a
question of survival. Capitalism has shown that even the probability
of the extinction of the human race will not sway it from its course.
A new social order is required now! It is up to you.