Why Socialism?

We believe capitalism is doing incredible harm to people all over the world. It has caused a global human and ecological crisis. Creating a genuinely democratic, free, ecologically-sustainable society without poverty and war requires the abolition of capitalism. We believe such an alternative – socialism — is possible. Only the mass struggles of workers can abolish capitalism and begin creating socialism. No government, radical elite or party can deliver liberation from above — it must be won by workers and oppressed people themselves, from below.

What is socialism? Socialism is the reconstruction of society towards the needs of everyone, not a select few. It means the construction of an economy that follows the maxim “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need,” and the creation of a society that practices the values of solidarity, compassion, and equality. This would require revoking the power of corporations (or capital) in our society and a total reorganization of work and of how goods and services are produced. Work would be democratically run in a world without bosses.

Socialism is different from social democracy. Social democracy (what the NDP claims to believe in) involves taxing capital to redistribute wealth to the working class as a whole. It does not change the fact that capital ultimately has the power within a capitalist society. Socialism, on the other hand, does not involve taxing capitalists to soften exploitation. It involves eliminating their power.

The WNSG does not have a model for society beyond capitalism. That can only arise out of the mass struggles of the future. But we do have principles.

We hold public events geared around education and action. We also work together with other Winnipeg organizations to strengthen the radical left in this city and beyond.