Program of The Red Party

Adopted at The Red Partys 3. Congress 27. - 30. of may 2010

Chapter 4: Forces that can lead to a change

Chapter 1: Why do we want a new world?

Throughout history, rulers have seen their own social system as the final one, the one that humankind will exist under forever. Today they portray capitalism as the final culmination of human development.

For the Red Party, capitalism is just a particular era in human history. When capitalism swept feudal society aside, it represented a progressive force that brought human society a great leap forward. It has led to an enormous development of mankind's productive capabilities, and it has, especially in some parts of the world, led to great material and social progress. It is now becoming increasingly clear, however, that capitalism as a system has become a threat to human beings and to nature.

We can no longer live with a small minority owning the means of production, exploiting those who create value, and destroying the basis for the livelihood of future generations in order to increase their own wealth and power. There is a glaring contrast between our enormous productive capacity and the fact that more people than ever before are living with hunger and deprivation - that every six seconds a child dies of hunger or malnutrition. Capitalism has outlived itself. It is now urgent to get rid of it. That would be in the interest of the great majority of the world's population.

The working class - women and men - whose work creates the values that capital exploits, must be the driving and decisive force in the rebellion that will lead humanity out of capitalism and into the new society: socialism. It must stand at the head of the organization and management of this new society.

We live in an age where much is changing fast and in surprising ways. We want to contribute in such a way that the great upheavals go in the right direction: that they lead to equality, emancipation of humankind and the conservation of nature’s resources for humanity, so that our descendants can experience a society without suffering and poverty.

Chapter 2: Why Socialism?

Socialism is a society where the working class, the majority of the people, itself takes over the management of society according to its interests. Socialism means democratic control of production and the creation of value. Human needs and nature's limits, not profit, must determine the production of goods and services and the distribution of these.

Another economic system

In a capitalist society goods and services are produced and sold in the market in order to achieve the highest possible profit. The capitalists, those who own or control the capital, acquire the surplus that workers create through the process of production. A commodity has two characteristics: It is useful for the buyer (use value), and, as it is sold in the market, it gives money (exchange value) to the capitalist. A portion of this money goes back into the production process. The purpose for the capitalist is to get capital to grow with each new round.

The competition between capitalists means that capital continually moves to where profits are greatest. The needs that are met through production are guided by whether or not they serve this goal. What most people really need, or what nature can endure, is not an important issue.

This system gives a small minority of the population great power and steadily growing wealth. It is their interests, the profit drive and capitalism’s inherent need for continual growth that governs the development of society.

In its place, the Red Party’s vision for the future is a society where each human being has the possibility of developing herself freely and comprehensively, a society that produces goods and services that people really need, and that nature can sustain, a society where production serves the community in contrast to production for profit and the private appropriation of economic surplus. Profit is no longer serviceable as a driving force and yardstick. The division between socially necessary work, cultural and other activities that challenge and develop people’s capabilities will gradually vanish. In such a society the possibility of people owning other people’s working places will disappear. Thus exploitation, the basis for classes and class contradictions, will disappear and the possibility for equality between all individuals is in reach. This is what Karl Marx called communism, which is The Red Party’s long-term goal.

Communism presupposes that all people have a secure foundation for a good and worthy life, and that society is jointly governed by the people. In order to create such a society, all structures that divide and oppress people must be subjugated and each individual must be given the opportunity to participate directly in governing society and her own life.

To develop into such a community will take a long time, but there is already an embryo present for this community today. The Norwegian right of public access to the wilderness and to different experiences in nature is an example. The same goes for the air we breathe and the water we drink. These are common values and public rights that we now more or less take for granted. The welfare state, which is the result of a century long working class struggle, initially made available a series of public services, such as schools, health care and roads for the benefit of the people.

Today, the abovementioned stand in the way of capitalism’s need to expand the market. The welfare benefits are being privatized and individual contributions are increasing. In contradiction to this, the Red Party’s policy is to remove an increasing amount of goods and services from the capitalistic market and make them free welfare benefits instead. This will include for example public transport, dental services, legal assistance, art and culture. At first this will still be financed by the community through a just system of taxes, where all contribute according to capacity. Through the development of socialist society, such a restructuring of society’s value creation will lead to an end of the exploitation of the earth’s natural resources, and to increased free time and quality of life, liberating peoples’ creative forces.

Revolution is necessary

The working class cannot rule the society in its own interests within the limits of capitalism and the right to private ownership. Therefore, a revolution must take place, where the working class makes the state a tool for basic changes of the system, and takes over the management of the banks, the big companies and society’s central institutions. This may happen as a continuation of a political stride for reforms or during a fundamental capitalistic crisis. Such a radical break with today’s economic and political system requires that the majority of the people want such a change. This presupposes large popular movements that put on the agenda the question of power over society. Historically, the rulers have used all available means to keep their privileges. A socialistic revolution will not be able to succeed without disarming the bourgeoisie and the people taking control of the armed force. The Red Party will strive for the transition of power to be peaceful and democratic.

Governance under socialism

History shows that the former rulers will try to recapture their power using undemocratic means. In order to prevent this, it is crucial to establish a strong organization of the people and representative, democratic organs that have control over the state and the bureaucracy.

The Red Party holds that freedom of speech, freedom of organization, free elections, a free press and independent courts that can guarantee the just exercise of the law for every citizen are fundamental for a socialist society. Any minority must be protected against abuse from the socialist state, and the future of socialism is best served by open discussion from opposing interests and between different political organizations.

There must still be different political parties and free elections to representative bodies. Contrary to today, where the interests of capital decide the framework for society’s development, the task will be to lead the development of the society and the economy in a direction that benefits the environment and the common good, both nationally and world wide.

The Red Party holds that socialism must also develop completely new forms of participation and governance, moving power from the representative system of state to direct governance for the people that are affected by the actual political decisions. This presupposes free and independent trade unions, and that workers organize in order to take control over and manage production. This presupposes also rotation of elected positions both in the working life and in politics, to avoid that a few individuals or an elite monopolize the positions of power. The old power structures will not disappear over night. It will also be necessary under socialism for women to organize in order to fight patriarchal structures.

Socialism means that production will be managed according to plans that are adopted through democratic discussions. This implies direct participation and real influence in all workplaces and in local communities. Information technology makes it easier to decentralize management and to make centrally fixed plans for production through such democratic processes. Thus workers will gain steadily more power and opportunities to make decisions. The same applies for people in large and small local communities.

The purpose of socialism is to break down the division of labour, and the difference in value between manual and intellectual work, and to remove the distinction between the rulers and the ruled. Shorter working hours is necessary in order to achieve this, simultaneously shorter working hours advances women’s liberation, which is critical for the further development of socialism.

The socialist state must be secular and at the same time it must guarantee freedom of religion. Further, it must also work against all forms of discrimination and racism.

The foreign policy of the socialist state is based on respect, reciprocity and equal rights. A socialist government must support other peoples, and nations, that are struggling to break away from imperialism and are attempting to build socialist societies based on their own conditions. But such solidarity should be critical, and not embrace all those who call themselves revolutionaries or socialists without an assessment of the policies that they promote.

The Historical Experiences of Socialism

The previous century's efforts to build socialism happened in societies with much weaker democratic traditions and a much weaker economic base than we have in Norway, and they came in the wake of wars and martial law. These attempts became internationally isolated and were met with military resistance from within or from without, thus making the material basis for a functioning democracy difficult. The revolutions were part of the course of the historical struggle to replace semi-feudal and capitalist relations, even though socialism lost out.

Many of the benefits we in Norway know as part of belonging to the welfare state such as pensions, sick pay, free education, kindergartens for all children, healthcare and self-determined abortion are inspired by similar successes from the earlier history of socialism.

But these efforts were characterized by mistaken ideas about an elite being able to lead society forwards towards socialism on behalf of the people, and that socialism could be spread through military force. They ended up as totalitarian states ruled by party leaders, and a state bureaucracy, who created a society that oppressed the people they were meant to liberate. The Red Party strongly rejects the violation of human rights, political killings and genocide carried out in the name of socialism.

History shows that new ruling classes can grow up, or that the old ruling class can win back power under socialism. The struggle between classes does not end until the classes themselves are abolished.

The revolutionary forces are currently trying to develop a strategy for "socialism for the 21st century", that draws lessons from the mistakes that were made earlier. The Red Party sees itself as part of this movement, but maintains that Norwegian socialism cannot be a copy of someone else's. It must build on the traditions of our own history of class struggle and political struggle that, among other things, led to the idea of cooperation, the cooperatives and the demands for a highly developed welfare state. It must further develop the democratic rights that the working class has attained through struggle over the last hundred years i.e. freedom of organization, the right to vote, freedom of speech and legal protection.

Chapter 3: Capitalism must be abolished

Capitalism is a class society where the economic and political elite controls the state apparatus and owns and manages companies and corporations. This relatively small number of people - the bourgeoisie - has the power and the wealth that lifts them sky high compared to ordinary people. On the opposite side stands the working class. The Red Party believes that the contradiction between the bourgeoisie and the working class is the basic contradiction in Norwegian society.

The capitalism of today is international. Capital’s need for continuous growth leads to the national markets neither being able to digest all the goods produced, nor to provide enough raw materials. The owners of capital must therefore go out in the international market. In addition to trade in goods, come financial transactions which lead to financial capital becoming dominant in the capitalist world system that we call imperialism.

The international bourgeoisie, that owns the large multinational companies, has great influence over both states and international institutions and the rules that they have established, and they use this influence to control most of the trade in the world. They have divided the world among themselves, while they simultaneously compete in order to grow at each other’s expense. The exploitation of those who create value is increasing. The wealth is collected in the hands of a few, while billions of poor people must be content with the crumbs.

This economic system that exploits people and depletes natural resources , implies an incessant pressure towards subsuming all parts of society and all natural resources under the same market logic: health services, education, drinking water and genetic hereditary material - everything must be turned into a commodity that companies can make money out of.

The Future of Mankind is Threatened

The pursuit of profit is now threatening life on earth. We are changing the global climate through the unrestrained use of fossil fuels. We are destroying nature and the environment. This leads to serious crises that threaten the livelihood of many people, especially in the poor countries. We are overfishing in the sea, we are destroying large amounts of topsoil, and the hunt for timber and pasture lands is demolishing the rainforests and diminishing the amount of species, while simultaneously leading to food crises and hunger.

The Red Party's attitude to humanity - that we are a part of nature - implies that we must organize society in accordance with sustainable principles. We must not inflict a greater strain on nature than it can bear, whether this concerns the use of natural resources or encroaching on virgin land. Capitalism must be removed if humanity is to survive. After capitalism is gone, we must work to repair the damage to the environment that it has caused, and create a completely different relationship between people and nature.

The state serves the interests of the owners

The state is often portrayed as a neutral organ, but it is controlled by the bourgeoisie (the upper class) during capitalism and has various forms: parliamentary, corporative cooperation between the state and industrial organizations, or authoritarian dictatorship and fascism. Most of the rich and politically stable capitalist countries have universal suffrage and elections to representative assemblies. Large parts of the economy are, however, exempted from the rule of the bodies elected by the people, and the legislation has been designed on the basis of private ownership.

To prevent insurrection and class struggle, all class societies have established systems for surveillance and control that work both openly and covertly. Today the systems for control are increasing dramatically under the guise of the "war on terror". The aim is to make oppositional work more difficult, and to prepare for action in case major social crises should arise.

In the background, the state has a police and a military apparatus, which can be used against those whom the powers that be consider to be internal enemies.

The Oppression of Women is Woven into the Fabric of Capitalism

The suppression of women found in former societies has been taken over by capitalism; which has woven it into the economy, into the institutions and organizations of society and into the daily relations between women and men. Indeed, the oppression of women is one of the dominating ideas of capitalism. The bourgeoisie benefits from this oppression, but it also gives men several material, social and psychological advantages. At the same time, the gender roles into which we are socialized, also means that men are not able to become complete human beings or to develop their various abilities.

Women’s salaries are lower than men’s, many women work part-time jobs and many live on low social benefits. The basis for women’s low salaries is the provider system of capitalism where the family isn’t only a way of living together, but it is also an economic unit, with personal responsibility for providing and caring . This is how men’s salary is sustained as the provider’s salary. Women are caught in part-time jobs with low salaries, at the same time that the unpaid work of a caring nature saves expenses for the capitalists. Women living alone, with or without children, become the poorest. Furthermore, the provider system strengthens men’s power over women.

Working for the abolishment of the family as an economic unit is thus a condition for women’s liberation. This means, amongst other things, equal pay and economic independence for women, a shorter working day as well as good and free public services for children and the elderly. Developing collective solutions for domestic work and work of a caring nature will give room for new and different ways of organizing committed communities, and through these measures improve the conditions for personal growth and development, different ways of living together and a love life that is free and based on respect and equal status.

Men’s violence against women in today’s society is a result of the oppression of, and contempt for, women. Prostitution, trafficking and pornography are extreme expressions of how women’s bodies are turned into a commodity from which capital owners earn big money. The role of men needs to be developed so that violence is not accepted by society.

Imperialism leads to war and oppression

In the last century, the rivalry of the imperialist nations and their urge to expand their areas of interest led to the two world wars. In the long run, the potential danger of new large wars between imperialistic superpowers is a continual threat to people all over the world.

Since the Second World War, the rivalry between the major powers has usually taken the form of proxy wars in and against less developed countries; either to remain in control of them or to expand the attacking country’s area of influence. This has damaged several societies and caused incredible suffering for their population.

The Red Party supports people and nations that fight against occupation and oppression, and we recognise the right to self-determination for nations. At the same time we reject violence against civilians, the curtailment of democratic rights and suppression, no matter where it happens in the world or by whom.

Imperialism creates racism and chauvinism

Most of today’s refugees migrate within their own country or to neighbouring countries in the poorer parts of the world. They flee from, amongst other things, problems created by capitalism: the climate crisis, poverty, war and oppression.

A small part of the world’s refugees manage to come to the wealthy, western countries. Here, most of them join the labour reserve as cheap labour and are exposed to blatant discrimination and demands that they become assimilated into the new country. Today, racism and chauvinism against different minority groups is a growing trend in the countries of the north. One of the main reasons for this growth in racism is the so called “war on terror”. In order to legitimize imperialistic wars, an attempt is made to dehumanise immigrants from non-western countries in general and Muslims in particular.

Racism divides the working class. With our vision of solidarity across borders followed by a world free from exploitation, we work to create unity and mutual respect amongst workers from all countries. This kind of unity is a precondition for the creation of a classless society based on solidarity.

Capitalistic Norway

The Norwegian welfare state has developed through a protracted political and social struggle. The state has also been responsible for building the infrastructure in Norway. This is an historic tradition which means that our rich natural resources are being used to build the country. The laws concerning reversion of the ownership of waterfalls to the state, the act concerning unprocessed fish, the electrical power contracts for industry, and the politics during the early years of the oil industry, are good examples of this. Also the ideology concerning cooperatives has a strong position, especially among farmers and fishermen.

The emergence of the welfare state in Norway and other countries is a result of a compromise between the working class and the bourgeoisie. The growth in welfare has been traded for industrial peace, despite the fundamental conflicts of interest. The leaders of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions and the Norwegian Labour Party (and later on other organisations as well), have been a guaranty for this. The same leaders have circulated between directorships in large companies and cabinet posts.

The state and the local councils have, all the way up towards the end of the last century, played an important role in developing the economy, both as owners and through political control. Returns from oil investments started to build up profit from the 1980s onwards. This developed rapidly into a situation where capital was centralized and exported, and economic activities were moved to other countries.

Market liberalism has gained an increasingly stronger foothold since the 1980s. Privatization, increased exposure to competition and the splitting up of state owned companies such as the Postal Services, Norwegian State Railways and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration are examples of increased market economy in the public sector. This, however, does not mean that the state plays a lesser role. The state is used in a large degree to secure the expansion of the market economy and the state itself also acts as a market operator. In Norway, the state still controls more economic activity than in most other west-European countries.

A major part of the bourgeoisie holds important positions in the state apparatus. The bourgeoisie dominates the Norwegian media, parts of cultural life and many professional and industrial bodies. A proportion of bosses in the unions and other mass organisations also belong the bourgeoisie.

The leaders of the Norwegian Labour Party and the Socialist Left Party are working to maintain capitalism by virtue of their positions. They share out rescue packages to the capitalists that have speculated themselves into a mess, they invest Norway’s oil and gold on the Stock Exchange, they privatize and attack the position of the unions. They use their parties as a tool to keep the working class passive. The majority of their members and voters want control over the forces of capitalism through regulations, control over the market and a policy of economic redistribution. The belief that people can maintain and improve their living conditions and standards within today’s class society is strong.

The economic crises that are haunting today’s capitalistic system will weaken this belief. Welfare systems and collective arrangements are being put under pressure to dismantle and privatise. Social dumping is creating new layers of poorer working class.

This trust in the social democratic parties is a strong obstacle in the way of the working class, hindering it from seeking political power.

Norwegian imperialism

Imperialism is not only imposed on people and nations through occupation, weapons and colonialism. Imperialism can also be achieved by using economic might and thus gaining control and dominance over weaker nations. Norway’s huge oil and gas resources allow it to act as a large exporter of capital making heavy investments in the international financial market. Statoil and Telenor are important tools of Norwegian imperialism.

It is an important task for revolutionaries to oppose all kinds of Norwegian imperialism. The Red Party doesn’t accept that Norway’s wealth is to be built upon the exploitation and oppression of other people.

The Norwegian military apparatus is tied ever closer to the big imperialistic powers in step with the economical expansion abroad. The defence of Norwegian territory has become a secondary matter. Yet, it is becoming all the more important to secure the bourgeoisie’s investments abroad and to defend imperialism by acting as mercenaries in wars conducted by the USA and NATO.

The Norwegian state is founded on the territory of two nations, the Sami and the Norwegian. Colonization has divided the Sami nation between four states. Norway has systematically robbed Sami territory and oppressed the Sami economy, culture and language. The Red Party’s opinion is that the Sami right to self-determination must be guaranteed according to ILO convention 169 and the UN’s Declaration on the Rights Indigenous Peoples.

Also Norwegian society’s oppression of the Kven People, the Roma (Gipsies), the Romani (Tinkers), the Jews and Forest Finns has long traditions. This oppression has led to an ingrained racism with deep roots in Norwegian society.

Chapter 4: Forces that can lead to a change

The working class

The working class consists of those who do not own or have control over the means of production. They depend on selling their labour power. They do not have positions in the hierarchy of production and society that give them decisive power over other human beings.

The vast majority of the wage labourers, and others that survive though their own work, create and develop the society that we live in and through this they acquire experience and knowledge in many areas. Also, the working class is continually forced to defend itself against attacks from the buyers of labour in the individual workplace and in society as a whole. Therefore, they develop ideas on alternative ways to organize work and society. Hence, the workers not only have an interest in revolution and socialism, they also have the experience, knowledge and ideas that are needed to manage society in accordance with the interests of the majority.

The working class constitutes the majority of the people in Norway, and its numbers are growing. Those that are economically active now number 1.5 million people, with 10-15 % of these being immigrants or children born in Norway to immigrant parents. An increasing part of those that were formerly considered as independent intermediate strata (academics, cultural workers, consultants etc) are acquiring a position in society more like that of the working class. The majority of the workers are women.

Approximately one million workers are employed in the private sector, i.e. industry, construction, transport or in privately controlled services (retail trade, hotels, restaurants, banks, cleaning etc). While the majority of the above mentioned are men, more than 70 % of the employees in the public sector are women, and most of these are employed in health-, caring- and educational institutions.

We must also include all those who depend on various forms of social security, those who depend on what are mostly low public benefits. These include the unemployed, the majority of the pensioners and those living on disability pensions and social welfare benefits.

The working class is complex and many-sided, and needs a common class consciousness that is able to unite different cultures and professions. To attain unity and a common class consciousness, different opinions must be able to be voiced and one must be able to deal openly with various forms of oppressive relationships within the working class.

Men have to fight against their role as the oppressive sex in order for the working class to be victorious in its struggle for liberation. Workers with a Norwegian background have to fight against oppression and the marginalization of workers with a minority background. The union movement has to become a force in the struggle against racism.

Women in the working class can act as a separate force because they have experience both as women and workers. Therefore, women in the working class need both class consciousness and women’s consciousness, and to be organised in both unions and women’s organisations.

Besides the right to vote and the right to be a member of a union and other people’s organizations, the working class has little power over its conditions. Individuals move upwards in the class society, but the prerequisite for this is that the majority stays where it is. Therefore, the working class has the greatest interest in a socialist society where freedom and democracy is extended to embrace everyone.

The working class has to ally itself with all groups and individuals that have an interest in revolution and socialism. In Norwegian history the alliance with the majority of the farmers and fishermen has played an important role in the struggle of the working class. We saw that clearly in the fight against membership in the European Union.

When the working class was on the offensive and class consciousness was strong, working class culture helped bring forward a class identity and a positive attitude to solidarity. Today, this culture is much weaker. It is of strategic importance we make use of the experiences of the working class in this area to develop a working class culture suitable for our era which is an independent and multi-faceted cultural force.

The trade union movement

Today, the trade union movement is the most important form of organization for the struggle of the working class. It is through the trade unions that workers fight for better wages and working conditions and better welfare arrangements. However, the trade union movement is also an arena where the highest leadership in the Labour Party and a hierarchical power apparatus have traditionally exercised their role in keeping the members passive. Apart from the shop stewards, the trade union movement has been characterized by low grassroots activity. The Red Party wishes to work for the increased activity of regular members of trade unions.

Trade unions play an important political role. As the Labour Party has become increasingly more dedicated to market liberalism, the Norwegian Trade Union Council has been forced to follow a more independent line. The Red Party is fighting for an even more politically independent trade union movement that is an important strategic actor in the working class struggle for another society.

The offensive from capital has created great unrest in the working class and increased resistance within the trade union movement. The shop stewards, who still wish to be social democrats and fight for the interests of their members, are forced into a situation where they must turn to the left. This has created a foundation for a new unity action in the trade union movement. This means that The Red Party can cooperate with the grassroots in the social-democratic parties. Simultaneously, while we stand together against the offensive from capital and the rightist forces, The Red Party is working to build up the movement for a socialist society.

A multitude of social forces

There are many forms of oppression that reinforce economic exploitation under capitalism. War, racism, environmental destruction, women's oppression and discrimination of lesbians and gays are examples. The Red Party supports the multitude of movements that are fighting against oppression.

The Red Party regards the women's struggle as a revolutionary force. The complete liberation of women is not possible under capitalism, and the fight against women's oppression must be directed against the capitalist economy, societal institutions and the prevailing ideology in society. At the same time, revolution and socialism are not possible without women organizing themselves to fight women's oppression. Separate, independent women's organizations are critical in order to create a strategy for today’s struggle and the struggle for another society.

All these different forms of oppression and conflicts trigger different movements which can help to play a role in creating another society. The task must be to generate a movement that unites the different forces in a way that allows them to retain their independent character, while standing together in the common struggle.

International solidarity

The struggle for revolution and socialism in Norway is a part of the international struggle for social and national liberation. Today, the peoples of the South are bearing the heaviest burdens and fighting the hardest battles against the imperialist world system, even though most of these struggles are not poised on the threshold of implementing socialist revolutions in their countries.

The Red Party develops contact with the working class and revolutionary forces in other countries and supports their efforts for revolution and socialist construction, based on their local conditions, although we do not uncritically embrace all who call themselves revolutionaries or socialists.

The Red Party’s role

The Red Party rejects the ideas that workers can be liberated from above by a socialist elite. The working class must liberate itself. Socialism is impossible without the majority of the working class struggling for revolutionary changes in society.

The purpose and task of a revolutionary party is that it must function as a tool of the working class struggle. The Red Party’s aim is to become such a party. The reason for our existence is to do away with today’s capitalistic relationship - the exploitation of the working class. In order to muster support the Red Party must make itself heard in the workplaces as a party that creates discussion, develops democracy and initiates struggles against injustice and oppression. We need a party that works throughout Norwegian society - in the elected bodies, in peoples’ movements and in the political arena. Not least, we need a party that works for, and organizes, people for the socialist upheaval that is necessary.

The Red Party bases its understanding of society on Marxist theory. Our ideology and politics must develop based on this understanding and on our own experiences. Like all other theories, Marxism must be proved in practice, so that it becomes a continually better tool in the political struggle. Marxist theory must always be criticized and be developed in line with changes in society. Our knowledge of the world will always be in development. Therefore, studies involving discussions and disagreements will not be a problem, but a source of development and a basis for new understanding, something that we need in the struggle for a better world.

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