Our Programme for Power¶
Core Argument¶
This chapter, published in Socialist Appeal in 1943, presents a direct, programmatic challenge to the British Labour Party and trade union leadership, demanding a complete rupture with the wartime coalition government. The core argument is that the war against fascism cannot be won by defending capitalism; it requires a revolutionary socialist transformation at home. The piece insists that the only way to defeat Hitler and secure a lasting peace is for the working class to take power, beginning with the nationalisation of the land, mines, banks, transport, and all large-scale industry without compensation. This is presented not as a distant ideal but as the immediate prerequisite for a planned economy, full employment, and an adequate standard of living, to be operated under the direct control of workers’ committees.
The programme is dense with concrete demands. It calls for the confiscation of war profits, open company books for union inspection, and the distribution of food and housing under elected committees of workers, tenants, and housewives. To absorb the unemployed, it proposes sharing out working hours without wage cuts, alongside a rising wage scale and a guaranteed minimum. The chapter is explicitly polemical, attacking the Labour leadership for its collaboration with the capitalist state. It demands the repeal of anti-strike legislation, including the Essential Works Order and the Emergency Powers Act, and calls for full democratic rights for all over eighteen, including those in uniform.
The international dimension is central. The programme demands immediate and unconditional independence for India, Ireland, and all British colonies, with the withdrawal of armed forces and material aid to maintain that independence against imperialist attack. It calls for the purging of reactionary, pro-fascist officers from the armed forces, the election of officers by the ranks, and the establishment of trade union-run military schools to train worker-officers. The chapter explicitly condemns race hatred, Vansittartism, anti-Semitism, and the colour bar, advocating fraternisation between workers and soldiers of all countries. Crucially, it demands the unconditional defence of the Soviet Union against all imperialist powers, with arms and supplies sent under trade union and factory committee control. The ultimate goal is a socialist appeal to the workers of Germany, Japan, and the world, based on this programme, to fight for a Socialist United States of Europe and a Federation of Asiatic Soviet Republics. The entire thrust is a polemic against the reformist, class-collaborationist strategy of the official Labour movement, counterposing a revolutionary, internationalist, and anti-imperialist path to victory.