{"article":{"id":113166,"heading":"The draft platform of the REVOLUTIONARY PARTY, comments encouraged","author":"Steve Argue","created":"2004-06-24 02:20:12","modified":"2013-11-11 00:30:16","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:30:16","article":"

The Revolutionary Party is committed to socialism, democracy, ecology, feminism and racial equality. We represent the working class, those without capital in a capitalist society. We organize toward a world where cooperation replaces competition, a world where all people are well fed, clothed and housed; where all women and men have equal status; where all individuals may freely endeavor to fulfill their own talents and desires; a world of freedom and peace where every community retains its cultural integrity and lives with all others in harmony.

We object to the idea that the Democrat Party represents any form of a lesser evil. We instead point out that this party is our polar opposite as a capitalist party of war, oppression, and exploitation.

Revolution

We support social ownership and democratic management of industry and natural resources. Under capitalism, the proceeds of labor go to the profits of the wealthy few. With socialism, production is planned to meet human needs. We understand that no ruling class ever gives up wealth and power to those they’ve oppressed without a fight. The struggle new society that overturns the ownership of the means of production is what we understand to be the revolution.

In the 21st century a true revolution must be socialist. To us, socialism is workers' democracy, including the principle that all officials are elected, recallable at any time, and none receives more than a worker's wage. Socialism can only be brought about when we, the working class, unite and act as a body in our own interests. Our goals cannot be achieved by electoral means alone. We participate in mass organization and direct action in neighborhoods, workplaces, unions and the armed forces everywhere.

While working for the future, we work in the present, challenging the system with the following immediate and transitional goals:

Labor and Full Employment

·\tWe demand a socially useful job at union pay levels or a guaranteed dignified income for everyone.

·\tWe support the establishment of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to alleviate poverty and homelessness.

·\tWe call for a 30-hour work week for 40 hours' pay and abolition of forced overtime.

·\tWe demand a legally mandated annual paid vacation of at least 4 weeks.

·\tWe demand expansion and enforcement of job health and safety laws. We call for the restoration of all labor rights previously won by women and their extension to men as well. We demand paid parental leaves and time off work for childcare.

·\tNo prison labor for private profit. Living wage and full union rights for any prison labor.

·\tDefend workers' rights to organize, form union caucuses, strike, and boycott.

·\tNo replacement of striking workers.

·\tFederally-funded public works programs to rebuild the nation's infrastructure and restore the environment.

·\tInternational solidarity of workers against international capitalist schemes such as NAFTA and WTO in defense of jobs, wages, working conditions and environmental laws.

·\tInternational trade agreements must guarantee the protection of workers and democratic rights in all participating countries.

·\tA rank and file socialist-oriented labor movement to mobilize working-class people to assume ownership and control of the economy.

Peace and International Justice

The drive for greater profits by multi-national corporations, which direct U.S. foreign policy, is the greatest cause of war in the world today. We stand for peace between nations and the right of all peoples to self-determination. We support an ongoing socialist transformation everywhere. We therefore call for:

·\tNo U.S. intervention anywhere. End all support and aid to repressive regimes and all military and police training aid everywhere. End efforts to destabilize foreign governments. End U.S.-directed economic warfare against other countries.

·\tAbolish the CIA, NSA, AID and other agencies for interference in other countries' internal affairs. Withdraw all U.S. troops and weapons from all other countries.

·\tStop all U.S. arms exports and trade.

·\tDissolve all current military pacts.

·\tConvert from military to peaceful production; reallocate the resulting \"peace dividend\" for social benefit.

·\tAbolish the Selective Service System.

·\tWe reject the idea that UN troops would carry out a more progressive war and occupation of any country.

·\tNo weapons in space.

·\tThe defense of the Cuban, Vietnamese, North Korean, and Chinese revolutions from imperialism and internal counter-revolution, recognizing their gains as well as their deficiencies, but understanding the real step backwards capitalist counter-revolution represents.

Equal Rights and Liberties

The capitalists use every difference in society, including sex, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, age, and physical abilities to divide workers in order to depress wages, maintain a surplus labor pool, and prevent working-class unity. We demand equal treatment of all people by employers, businesses and government. We stand for a world free from all forms of oppression.

Women

We demand full equality for women in all aspects of life. Sexism is a major instrument for teaching relations of domination and inequality and for keeping one-half of the workforce underpaid or unpaid. We work to end oppressive sex roles in society. We must ensure equal rights and responsibilities in child raising. Unions must do more to organize women and promote women's leadership. We demand:

·\tAdoption of an equal rights amendment.

·\tEqual pay for equal work, and for work of comparable worth.

·\tEnforce non-discrimination in hiring and promotion with

affirmative action where necessary.

·\tProvision of free, high quality, community-controlled child-care.

·\tConvenient provision of safe, free birth control information and materials to men and women of any age.

·\tFree abortion on demand.

·\tNo forced abortions or sterilizations.

·\tSafe prenatal care.

·\tEnd violence against women.

Ending Racism and National Oppression

Accompanying the continuing economic crisis, we see a rise in racial discrimination, increased terrorism against racially and nationally oppressed people, and retrenchment in civil rights. Minority families are disproportionately victimized by cutbacks in health care, education, child care, welfare, food stamps and jobs.We demand:

·\tEnd all forms of racial discrimination.

·\tEnforce non-discrimination in hiring and promotion with affirmative action where necessary.

·\tProsecute and punish police and prison officials who brutalize and murder.

·\tFor the right to self-determination for the island of Puerto Rico, currently a direct colony of the U.S. government.

Language Rights

Restore to the State Constitution co-equal status for Spanish as an official language of California in recognition of its cultural, historical, economic and demographic importance to the people of this state.

·\tAbolish all English-only laws and policies, including those of private employers.

Undocumented Workers

Immigrant workers are hounded by government authorities, worked and housed in substandard conditions by unscrupulous bosses, and blamed by Republican and Democratic demagogues for society's problems.

·\tWe call for open borders.

·\tWe demand an end to deportations of immigrants.

·\tWe demand full political, social and economic rights for resident non-citizens.

Native Americans

We support self-determination of indigenous peoples and sovereignty for Native nations. We demand:

·\tRecognize all California tribes.

·\tStop the theft of natural resources located on reservation lands.

·\tHonor Native American water, hunting and fishing rights.

·\tFree the prisoners of the FBI\/BIA war against Native Americans, end all harassment including Leonard Peltier.

Sexual Orientation

·\tEqual treatment and benefits under the law for all families. Guarantee equal child custody, adoption, visitation privileges, and foster parenthood rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

·\tEqual treatment for all people in the military regardless of sexual orientation.

·\tThe right to gay marriage and partners' benefits.

·\tAccurate sex education courses in public schools. Truthful information about sexuality in society and history.

The Disabled

The disabled are entitled to special consideration and planning in education, housing, health, recreation, transportation and attendant care to enable fuller participation in all aspects of society.

·\tPreserve and expand In Home Support Services for the disabled, dying and elderly.

Age Discrimination

Retired workers must be guaranteed a decent living at union wage levels. We demand:

·\tImmediate improvements in economic benefits and social services.

·\tFree, quality, multi-lingual and multi-cultural medical and home health care.

·\tAccessible transportation.

·\tAn end to all forced retirement.

·\tStop the segregation and isolation of senior citizens.

Defense of the Environment

The same corporate forces and economic system that exploit and brutalize the world's working class people are destroying the world's biosphere. These social policies and ecological destruction often overlap. As with most issues, socialism is necessary to end the ecological destruction caused by capitalism. Our goal is a society that is in harmony with nature as it is in harmony with its own people.

We therefore favor:

·\tPlanning for urban and regional environment based on principles of sound ecosystems management.

·\tCreate public open spaces in all communities.

·\tTighter regulation of pesticides, herbicides, industrial wastes and genetically modified foods to protect human food, air and water, employees in the workplace, and species habitat. No release of genetically engineered or transgenic organisms into the wild. No patenting of life forms.

·\tA multi-source energy system, development of solar technology and other renewable, non-polluting energy sources. Eliminate nuclear power plants. End fossil fuel dependence.

·\tPublic ownership of public utilities.

·\tProtect species habitat such as prairie, old-growth forests, wetlands, and other critical habitats to preserve biodiversity.

·\tMassive development of free public transportation.

·\tCurrent international trade agreements such as NAFTA must be scrapped.

·\tEnd environmental racism, including the immediate cessation of nuclear testing and toxic waste dumping on reservation lands, the disproportionate creation of landfills in poor communities of color and eliminate the mass development of maquiladora plants.

·\tFor banning the importation of exotic species for gardening, pets, etc. due to the fact that such species often become naturalized and wipe out native species.

·\tFor the banning of poisonous pesticides for aesthetic purposes.

·\tStrict enforcement of the Endangered Species Act, gutted to large degree under the Clinton administration.

Transportation

·\tMassive development of public transportation systems that are reliable, frequent, free or at nominal fares and environmentally sound.

·\tExpand safe routes for foot and bicycle traffic.



Agriculture

We want an agricultural system that ensures enough food and other farm products to meet human needs, guarantees a high standard of living to farmers and farm workers, protects humans and the ecosystem from environmental degradation and encourages organic farming. To that end, we call for:

·\tAn end to subsidies and tax breaks for corporate farms.

·\tFood distribution by farm and consumer cooperatives.

·\tExtension of all labor rights to farm workers, including wage and hour regulations.

·\tNo use of recombinant bovine growth hormone (RBGH) in meat or dairy cattle.

·\tStrict controls of genetically engineered organisms in food production.

·\tNo export of chemicals banned in the U.S. or import of agricultural products treated with them.

Education

Education is critical to individual survival and civilized human values, but U.S. capitalism is dismantling public education. Inadequate and unequal funding of schools perpetuates racism, crime and inequality. We demand:

·\tIntegrated, democratically-run schools with up-to-date plant and equipment and smaller classes.

·\tTeach the history of workers' struggles and labor's creation of society's wealth and progress.

·\tMulti-lingual and multi-cultural education at all levels.

·\tA federal law requiring and funding equal average per-pupil expenditures by every public school district, with extra funds for students with special needs such as disability or economic deprivation.

·\tTuition-free higher education available to all.

·\tRestore cutbacks in public education and public library services.

·\tNo school voucher schemes.

Housing and Rent Control

We recognize the right of everybody to quality, secure housing. We demand:

·\tProduction and rehabilitation of non-profit, community-controlled housing through public financing with immediate emphasis on housing the homeless.

·\tRent and eviction control laws and collective bargaining for tenants.

·\tResident-controlled community renovation programs to create, not destroy, low- and moderate-income housing.

·\tEnforce local affordable housing quotas.

Freedom, Justice and Crime

We call for the defense and extension of the liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech, press, assembly and association, and the right to keep and bear arms for individual and collective defense. The ultimate guarantee of those rights is the organized strength of the working class.

Capitalism and poverty breed crime and repression. Working class people are the primary victims both of the street crimes the police do not take seriously as well as the retraction of human rights that the system advocates in response. The bosses use laws against victimless activities, \"legal\" and illegal expansion of police powers, military and paramilitary occupation of poor and minority communities, and diversion of resources to police and jails, to keep workers intimidated and dependent. We demand:

·\tStop state-sponsored spying on and violence against progressive organizations.

·\tAn end to all anti-homeless laws such as those that make sleep illegal.

·\tAbolish the racist death penalty.

·\tRepeal the Three Strikes law.

·\tStop trials and imprisonment of juveniles as adults.

·\tTreatment of prisoners as human beings; rehabilitation, not vengeance.

·\tDecriminalize victimless activities including drug use and consensual sex. Legalize marijuana. End the \"war on drugs,\" which is primarily directed against poor and working-class people.

·\tStop unwarranted searches and seizures of persons and property. Restore constitutional rights.

·\tProsecute crimes of the wealthy and powerful against workers and the environment.

·\tFreedom for all innocent and most POW political prisoners.

Voting and Elections

·\tProportional representation to promote legislative representation of the wide variety of political viewpoints.

·\tEnforce and extend voting rights for people of color, non-English speakers, and homeless people.

·\tElection should be by direct vote of the people. Eliminate the Electoral College.

·\tEnforce and extend voting rights for people of color, non-English speakers, and homeless people.

·\tFree and equal access to radio and television for all candidates.

·\tNo to computerized voting, keep a paper trail to make electoral rigging more easily detected.

Health Care

We believe that access to quality medical and dental care is a basic human right. We stand for a democratically-controlled, publicly-funded health care system. We support health practices that emphasize education, prevention and nutrition. We demand:

·\tFree, high-quality health care for everyone.

·\tEliminate for-profit health care.

·\tFree immunization programs.

·\tNo private patents on drugs developed through publicly-funded research.

·\tPrice controls on drugs and medical technology.

·\tSafe pre-natal care, including women's choice of birth alternatives.

·\tMore medical facilities to provide services and education in low-income neighborhoods and rural areas.

·\tMore substance abuse treatment and needle-exchange programs.



·\tMore research into diseases and disorders caused by man-made substances.

·\tMore community health care facilities.

·\tSupport non-standard proven methods.

·\tSpecial attention to preventing epidemics of communicable diseases, such as AIDS.

Taxes

Public services and infrastructure have deteriorated as government has increasingly shifted the tax burden from corporations to workers. Our long-range goal is a socialist society without conventional taxes, with public services to be funded from the proceeds of social production. We demand:

·\tRepeal Proposition 13. Tax property for profit, not property for personal use. Remove property taxes on modest owner-occupied homes.

·\tRepeal the sales tax, replace it with other non-regressive taxes.

·\tInclude aggregate of real property and stocks, bonds, etc. in a steeply-graduated property tax.

·\tRestore the renters' tax credit.

·\tDouble registration fees on luxury vehicles.

·\tTax unearned income at a higher rate than earned income.

·\tEliminate or reverse income tax on low- and moderate-income families.

·\tRe-enact California's unitary tax on multi-national corporations.

·\tTax the business activities of churches on the same basis as other organizations.

·\tTake the cap off social security taxes, make the rates progressive so burden falls on the wealthy.

Mass Media

Ownership of television and radio stations, print media, and other forms of communication has been increasingly concentrated into the irresponsible hands of fewer corporations, and any checks and balances previously available to the people have been eliminated.



·\tWe call for public control of the public airwaves and press.

·\tWe demand restoration of a strengthened Fairness Doctrine and the Equal Time Provision.

·\tWe oppose the legislated extinction of the VHF spectrum, which should be used for public monitoring of legislative bodies and for other civic purposes.

·\tWe defend the Internet from censors and commercial interests.

·\tWe call for enforcement of antitrust laws on media conglomerates.

·\tWe support new media for grassroots communication to enhance freedom of self-expression and information distribution.

Religion

·\tWe demand strict separation of religious and government institutions and activities.

YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO CHANGE YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION TO the REVOLUTIONARY PARTY, CHECKING OTHER AND WRITING IN REVOLUTIONARY PARTY. THIS PLATFORM WILL BE A DRAFT AS IT IS AMMENDED UNTIL IT IS ADOPTED BY THE FIRST CONVENTION OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY.

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