By Ben Soltau
Since the French Revolution in 1789, socialism has had a long and storied history, with minds such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels penning the foundational works for the ideology still followed to his day.
The tenants of socialism can vary between individuals, but it generally always involves the rejection of capitalism, the seizure of the means of production by the workers, and understanding the relationship between the owning class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat).
In Australia, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) was the first elected socialist party in the world when it formed government in the Colony of Queensland in 1899, though since then it has drifted to a more centre-left social democrat focus.
Contrary to the belief of some, socialism has always been campaigned for, not by the working class wholly, but mainly by college-educated young people with the drive to change the world.
Here in Australia, this is true as well, with the largest socialist organisation in the country just around the corner. I met UTS students and members of Socialist Alternative, Lauren and Jesse, handing out pamphlets as the group does almost every day.
“We’re getting the word out,” said Lauren. “We’re having a public meeting about capitalism, imperialism, and colonialism. Usually, we just find a room on campus and it’s really interesting. We have time for discussion and debate. It’s not like you just have to sit there listening to something.”
The motives towards the increase in socialist organising around the world can be tied with the continuously decreasing faith in the capitalist system.
“I feel like capitalism is failing,” said Jesse. “I feel especially over the past three years, the mask has come off. We’ve been living and things were going all right. And obviously if you looked into all these problems, you could see what’s happening. But now it’s just completely out there, especially with all these billionaires.”
Socialist Alternative will host the Socialism Conference across Sydney CBD on the weekend of September 4th to 6th.
“It’s a two full-day conference where you can pick and choose from over 30 different sessions about the fundamentals of Marxism, the world today, and history. There’s a bunch of sessions about notable texts like the Communist Manifesto,” said Lauren.
You can learn more about the conference at the website, and tickets can be purchased for varying standard, solidarity, concession, and high school rates.
Featured image: Resistance Centre and Bookshop; Socialist Alliance HQ. Photo: Ben Soltau
