We have a party here called 'The Unity List - The Red Green'. It's basically a quite socialistic party that's popular with young kids longing for a place to belong, radikals and people with a poor understanding of the world.
I want you Americans to read my (rough) translation of their values. I'd like your input. Perhaps it can give you a better understanding of how frustrating life can be when you have a party like this forming a coalition government.
I should say that I'm not to blame for the quirky way they create sentences. It looks odd even in Danish.
Translation starts.
1. SOCIALISM
Increased workload, social inequality and rejection from the jobmarket and society in general and a threatening ecological disaster belongs to the chaos of today. There's a need for an alternativ. The Unity List wants a society in an ecological balance, a society without class divisions and chauvinism, racism, replacement and war. The development of a democratic socialism based on people- and worker power with the right to organize, freedom of speech, diversity and a plane economy is the way to go to reach this goal.
1.1. CAPITALISM IS THE PROBLEM
capitalism is the problem - not a part of the solution. Under capitalism private ownership and rights concerning the means of production dominates, together with the market and paid labour. The people that own the means of production and thereby control the finished prodicts - the capitalists - aren't the same people as the ones that through their work create the riches in society. In capitalism its profit, not human need, that decides what is produced and how. Capitalism will thus ensure a further plundering of third world countries, increased ecological damage and ever increasing differences between rich and poor - including in our part of the world. The struggle for market position and power between the great capitalistic centers will increasingly become harsher. Great resources will be tied up by an arms race. Capitalism can't and has no desire to eliminate unemployment. The ejection from thejob market for the weak will also increase.
Capitalism is an interwoven international system that dominates ever increasing parts of humanity. This system - imperialism - has since the fall of the Soviet Union started a new offensive with economic expansionism into the states that earlier were part of the Soviet Union. it's been an unadulterated pillaging of the people in the third world and a liberal crisis politic towards the people living in the 'rich' countries. The economic ties, the political decision - amongst other things through a long list of international institutions -and the global threats to the environment creates a situation where all humans are interdependent.
A socialist movement must therefore be built on internationalism. This is to be understood in the following way: there is no national socialistic way out of the current crisis. When an isolated country succeeds with carrying through a socialistic reformation with broad public support it will from the get go be necessary to have strong international solidarity so that the revolution can spread to other countries. The struggle for material and social rights, against unemployment, war and environmental damage demands a united front crossing national borders. The capitalist authoritarians have never before had such a big and strong international cooperation and coordination as they have today. One of the United List biggest challenges will be to help establish a strong international socialist movement that can rival this capitalist force.
In Europe, the internationalisation of capitalism means that the rich European businesses try to remove national laws and limits so as to do better on the European market. Here they try to create a new European super state that will be able to roll back all the work done by various workers unions around Europe - welfare, democratic rights, protection of the environment and so on. The alternative to the capitalist authoritarians 'internationalism' is not national self reliance or isolationalism. On the contrary a socialist movement must work together acrosss borders and struggle to find an alternative that is founded on solidarity, equality and international cooperation.
1.2 SOCIALISM IS THE ALTERNATIVE
The monstrosities of capitalism creates the conditions for a socialistic movements to be created. The precodition to socialism being seen as an attractive alternative to capitalism means that one has to recognize that one cannot compare the bureaucratic and antidemocractic society that used to be in the east - or any other society existing today.
In socialism, people will be much more involved in governing society. The fre play of market economy is replaced by deliberate prioritation. A central precondition for creation of socialism is the development of a socialistic democracy, in which there is a radical spreading out of power, responsibility and rights to all individuals in society and collectives. The existing democratic rights must be preserved and extended.
The struggle between the classes will continue under socialism. A list of opposites or contradictions will still exist. It's contradiction between the work of the spirit and the work of the hand, men/women, countryside/city, producer/consumer, centralization/decentralization and so on. Still, there'll be created value. No matter how you put the economic system together, you will still only get salary for part of your work. The rest - the surplus - is given to the collective, the company, society and so on, to be used in investments, education, welfare and so on.
Decisions about the use of the surplus and the solution of other political opposites must be made or come by by open political discussions and struggle - not by bureaucratic methods. This means that all groups must be given the right to organise with regards to participating in this open political battle. Organisation include all sorts of organisation, from grassroot to political parties.
1.3 POLITICAL INNOVATION
There has been and still is a need for all socialists to go over the founding principles of socialism again. but it is also necessary - right here and now - to strengthen the commitment to political innovation, putting the environment, solidarity and democracy in the center. The Unity list wishes for the following in the new society:
A green society where the environment is important, not profit.
A red society built on solidarity and friendship between people.
A democratic society where right of self determination and democracy are the essential elements, both on the job and in society in general.
Such a development can only be ensured through the active engagement of the population. Therefore, The Unity List wants to battle preconceived idea about political and parlamentary work where the decision making is done by a few while the vast majority is left as audicence.
1.4 THE CAPITALIST STATE IN DENMARK
Denmark is a capitalistic society. This means that the Danish states most fundamental task is to preserve and develop capitalism. But this does not mean that the state always maintains a policy that is identical to the policy the capitalists want. The state works as a body that settles internal differences between different classes in society. This is very evident in Denmark where different classes and layers have had their own interests taken care of through the state. The Danish state and the Danish democracys structure today must be classified as a compromise between different classes in the Danish society. A compromise where the overall consideration is to preserve and develop capitalism. But where the concrete structure reflects the political and economical relationship of strength between the classes.
BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH.
Can you believe this nonsense? Here are people who've read Marx on a Sunday afternoon and decided that 'it was probably a good idea to try this'. Of course, *their* attempt cannot be compared to China, Cuba, the Soviet Union, North Korea or other areas of utter misery and human right violations. And of course it's the worker (a class of people that is very small in Denmark, which is a service oriented modern country) who has ensured that we have democracy, despite those evil capitalists. And on and on.
The scary part is I've met several of these 'young reds' as they so proudly calls themselves (that and 'Rebels'). They're thinly disguised communits who, using big words, hides a selfish agenda. They know their propaganda and are quck to point out that South Korea has no unions, that this is bad and that is worse and that only socialism, which is altruistic and giving, can solve the problems of the world today. And no, REAL socialism hasn't been tried yet.
These people support a revolution; overthrowing democracy. Of course they cannot write that, or they'd be banned or something. And our social democrats and others not quite so far to the left form coalition government with these...these.....MORONS and look at the result! Geesh. The price we pay for having a democratic society. Giving idiots the possibility of destroying it.
I don't know what to say to these people. They're rational - to a degree. That is, what they say is rational as long as it is unopposed. But then it stops. They consider themselves the freedom fighter of the poor, guardian of the weak.
Much like Lenin and the other chaps.
Socialism. Hate it, despise it, spit at it, treat it. It's a disease of the mind that just won't go away.
