The RCN will be debating new amendments to our ‘What We Stand For’ on our annual weekend away being held on November 8th. The first set of amendments proposed by Allan Armstrong were posted at:- http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2014/08/09/proposed-amendments-to-the-rcns-what-we-stand-for/. Eric Chester has proposed another set of amendments, which are posted below.
Add to point 5: We call for the immediate withdrawal from NATO and the European Union. We will work toward the formation of a federation of European states.
New paragraph, perhaps to be a new point 1: Capitalism is in terminal decline. It will either take all of us down with it or the working class will build a new, socialist society arising out of its demise. A new society can not be created through a series of incremental reforms. Furthermore, fundamental change does not occur by electing socialists to a parliament. Only a revolutionary transformation can provide the basis for a radical change in society, a revolution that will emerge from a movement that organizes strikes across industries, workplace occupations and mass demonstrations and occupations.
New paragraph: Secularism is one of our core beliefs. We stand for a secular society in which no one gains an advantage or suffers a disadvantage from being a believer in a specific religion, or none at all. One step toward a secular society would be the dissolution of private schools into a state funded and publicly controlled school system that does not promote any religious belief. We will join with others in promoting a secular society here as we work in solidarity with those in other countries who oppose theocratic states, whether they be based on Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist or any other religious creed.
Replace point 7: The existing business unions are not fit for purpose. They can not be made into effective working class organizations by electing a different set of officials to office. Unions with a very different structure and purpose need to be built, ones that avoid the top-down bureaucracies of the current unions by greatly limiting the pay, number and power of full-time officials while stressing the critical role of activists at the workplace. As a first step, we will work with union militants to create a network of activists that can organise actions independently of the official union structure.
New paragraph: Capitalism is destroying the planet. The complete disregard for the environment that is inherent in an economic system based on personal greed is already producing disastrous consequences. A socialist society will need to devote significant resources to developing technological advances that permit everyone to enjoy a standard of living that meets their needs without destroying the environment. As first steps, we call for a phasing out of fossil fuels, the banning of fracking, closing nuclear power plants, providing free mass transit while discouraging the use of cars, and vastly increasing the production of energy from sustainable sources.
Replace point 9: We do not believe that a political organization can encompass the entire Scottish Left. The differences in fundamental perspectives are too great to make this a viable project. Instead, we will explore the potential for an organisation that can bring together anti-authoritarian socialists in general agreement with our basic principles as put forward in this document. Should such an organisation opt to stand candidates, it would do so not to win elections but to present an explicitly socialist program in complete independence from all of the mainstream parties, including both the SNP and the Labour Party.
Add to point 6: We will continue to work toward a truly independent Scotland, one that is republican, secular and democratic and that does not rely on a currency controlled by either the Bank of England or the European Central Bank. We are not interested in promoting a nominally ‘independent’ Scotland in which little or nothing has changed but merely exchanges the union jack for the saltire.