ONE of the aspects of the general election campaign which got little publicity was the 'don't vote campaign run by Class War and other anarchist groups.
; changed anything they'd abolish it', the title of Ken Livingstone's fint book, reflects a common sentiment. After all parliament is part of their sys ticipation of working proppen tem, which reduces the government to putting a cross on a piece of paper every five Lenin in The State and Revolulion called capitalist parliamentary democracy a 'diaphragm between asses and politics.
Different system
socialists argue for a different system of government which would put power in the hands of the working class through elected workers' Cousin delegates instantly recallable. It would bea system involving the active and regular participation of millions.
In addition, revolutionaries argue that the key struggle for the transformation of society is the direct class struggle be tween workers and bosses, and not parliamentary debates. So is parliament an important arena for socialist activity?
Actually there are two questions here. Fint whether who forms the government matters to socialists. and second what socialists should do if they have the possibility of being clected to parliament Both these questions are determined by the fact that Whether or not revolutionary socialists consider parliament to be the key arca of struggle, the masses see it as thesite of official politics.
Who forms the government, whether it is an openly bourgeois party or social democratic reformists, does matter The most advanced workers always strive to elect a government based on the workers, organisations.
Trotsky argued that socialists should 'share the struggle, but not the illusions'. This fighting alongside reformist workers ta democratic government, while warting that they will not carry out socialist policies.
Labour in power enables the workers to test out the reformist misleaders Socialists therefore are always in lavour of a class vote.
Lenin, in his famous Loft wing communion, an irfantile disorder argued strongly against boycotting parliament or elections. He argued that Communists should use all the platforms that Lenin argued in favour of socialists using parliament capitalist society che else sion olives for revoluhonary views.
But this is quite different from playing by the rules of the parliamentary game.
Expose The task of Marxists would be to take the class struggle into parliament, to utilise parliament to expose the capitalists and argue a revoluterry sochis! post tion.
Revolutionary socialists in parliament, Lenin argued, should be 'tribunes of the Red Ken: does voting change anything?
people', utilising their position as MP's to mobilise support for struggles. This is exactly the sort of role which was played by Bernadette McAliskey when those who allow the bosses the monopoly 'official' ( politics who are playing their game. Socialists should utilise parliament, parliamentary il Could we get socialism through a left-wing parmajority? In theory it is possible to get a militant left wing majority and pass sweeping anti-capitalist measures.