Does the system we live under, capitalism, offer enough scope for achieving lasting solutions to all the problems it causes? Of course, some improvements are made and some problems are alleviated. Yet new kinds of problem also arise in a society which is changing rapidly, constantly seeking new ways to make a profit.
Capitalism is based on the concept of a minority having control over the majority, of the boss over the worker. It is driven by a lust for profit rather than a desire to satisfy human needs. It cannot guarantee economic security because the ‘boom and bust’ cycle is integral to it.
That’s why anarchists want to get rid of capitalism. Unless we organise for an alternative, the profit system will continue on its blind, unswerving path. But what is the alternative?
Anarchists stand for:
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Common ownership, which means the resources of the world (such as factories, land, offices, transport firms, oil & gas fields), being owned in common by the entire population. This will mean everybody having the right to take part in decisions about how global resources will be used, and to share the benefits.
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Production for use, and carried on in an environmentally sustainably way. With the vast natural and technical resources of the world held in common and controlled democratically, the sole aim of production would be to meet human needs, and to do so in a manner which leaves our planet in good condition for future generations. The old slogan of “from each according to ability, to each according to needs” would be our goal.
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Direct democracy is essential to anarchism. We are for a society where the only limit on the freedom of the individual is that they do not deny that same freedom to others, and where everyone will have the right to participate in making the decisions that affect them. Workers’ control of the workplace, neighbourhood control of the neighbourhood; and all efficiently organised on a national and international scale.