Spark

The philosophical position of Spark is straightforward. It is in the mainstream of marxism, which now, in the post-communist world, must develop a new breath and flexibility.

No one seeking honestly after the truth can ignore the various critiques of modern society, particularly of capitalism and patriarchy, which have been made by marxism, feminism, and social democracy. The best of these critiques are scientific in their method, holistic in their approach to problems, and historical in their reach. Spark believes that much in these critiques is well justified, and it therefore has a world view which is rooted within the mainstream of these trends of thought. This is not to say that everything in these critiques is equally right, or should be given the same weight; nor does it imply that the critiques are without problems and contradictions. There remain many important questions still without adequate answers. Nevertheless, Spark will maintain that it is within these trends of thought, that a truly humanist and scientific view of the world, is to be found.

The contradictions of modern capitalism are clearly intensifying, despite that system's remarkable ability to adapt itself to new developments. Some of the more serious shortcomings of capitalism are obvious:

• The appalling differences between rich and poor in all countries, in an age with the knowledge and resources to abolish such differences; these differences are not trivial, with ostentatious consumption at one end of the scale, and homelessness and begging at the other,
• The huge disparity between the rich countries of the first world, and the poor countries of the third world,
• The terrifying stockpiles of nuclear weapons still maintained (and nowadays hardly ever mentioned); this is also the most pressing, of many pressing environmental problems,
• The straddling of the world by the United States superpower, and increasingly the European Union, both of which arrogantly proclaim to have vital interests in any other part of the world which, from time to time, they see fit to exploit,
• The struggles and conflicts of interest between all the big (and some not so big) powers, including the USA, Europe, Russia, China, Japan, Iran, Iraq and so on,
• The sharpening intensity of exploitation of labour worldwide, expedited by the re-invigoration of the market as the arbiter of resource allocation all over the globe, regardless of whether that is in the interest of particular peoples or countries, having regard to their degree of economic development,
• The transformation of practically everything into a commodity, which has a monetary value, and which can be bought and sold,
• The increasing social atomisation and alienation of human beings, and
• The breakdown of collective values, resulting in a degradation of of moral sensibility; it is obvious that religion is completely at a loss to understand its waning influence as the supposed repository of morality, and is now irrelevant to moral regeneration.

Marxists are committed to the ending of all exploitation of people by other people. To achieve this worthy, humanist aim, means replacing exploitative, irrational economic and social systems, with rational consciously designed systems at the sevice of human beings. It means placing humanity in control of its own collective destiny, at every level of endeavour, from government down to the household or the workplace.

To replace capitalism and patriarchy with more rational forms of organisation means engaging with the ideologies of exploitation, mystification, and superstition. Nothing can be ruled out in this engagement, which must also address itself to every other existing point of view, and especially to the views of opponents of humanist and left wing ideas. Such views are expressed on the internet, in great profusion. You will therefore find links on these pages, not only to marxist and socialist thought, but to every kind of political and philosophical opinion.

While Spark would disagree profoundly with many of these opinions, it also strongly supports the right of those who espouse them to do so. Spark therefore rejects any attempt at censorship of any kind. A robust democracy can exist only where tolerance for diversity of view is second nature, where the freedom to express any view is the condition for the freedom of expression of all views.

Unwavering support for freedom of expression is especially important in the light of the failure of the first major attempt to build socialism in the USSR and eastern Europe. It must be clear that a factor in the failure of this endeavour was the inability of those states to defend and nurture freedom of expression. Indeed, one might say that a first test of a truly democratic society is whether it is comfortable with the fullest freedom of speech and expression. A second test of course is whether there is an even distribution of economic, social, and cultural power among its citizens.

Socialism, on the evidence so far, has failed in the first of these tests, and it is for modern socialists to ensure that this never happens again. However, while the record of capitalist societies is, to say the least, patchy on the first test, they have not only failed the second test, but have generated concentrations of enormous power among a relatively few individuals and corporations, who are immune to any real social control. This power, vested in so few hands, has nurtured the most extreme forms of anti-social behaviour by individuals, has established organisations whose activity is clearly inimicable to human progress, has instituted economic and social systems which encourage behaviour at variance with the requirements of sustainable development, and has alienated millions and millions of working people, and people from all social classes, all over the globe, from a truly human engagement with life.

For all these reasons, regrettably, some of the material to which these pages are linked (a very small percentage), may be found to be offensive by certain persons. It cannot be otherwise, if users of this resource are to look the world straight in the eye, and know it. Therefore, a serious exploration of all of the links provided may not be for the fainthearted. Some warning is given, where it is known that genuinely exploitative material is lurking, but not all material can be vetted for this purpose. Be warned therefore that these pages are meant for thinking adults, devoted to honest exploration of the political and social material available on the internet, and who will need to examine that material, before they can comment on it.

The objective therefore is still a social revolution, as necessary now as ever it was. But it is not inevitable. It will not come to pass unless socialists rise above the mistakes and defeats of the past, develop new analyses, new policies and programmes, and a new will. The transformation of society will only take place in conditions where the present system fails to meet the needs of society, while at the same time the people understand its failure, see the need for change, and want to change. Socialism must once again place its analyses and solutions before the people.

This means summoning up the courage to begin anew, and it will call for a kind of sophistication which was missing in the past. The task is to engage with the diverse and contradictory elements of capitalist societies, defending all the hard-won gains of the past, learning from and developing what is progressive and human, exposing and defeating what is vile and anti-human, and eventually replacing capitalist social relations entirely.

In taking up this challenge we have several trump cards. Not the least of these is the corpus of marxist thought, still vibrant and developing. We also have a reservoir of vital experience of past struggles, a record triumph as well as of failure. These are our lessons, and if there is one lesson above all, it is that we must look the record in the face, eschew sloganeering sectarianism, and show respect for the views of others, no matter how we disagree with them. If we can do this we can win.

This is the endeavour to which Spark is dedicated. Eventually, as more and more relevant socialist and humanist material is found, it will begin to dominate Spark's resources. Then, hopefully, the full power and sophistication of marxist thought and analysis will radiate throughout these pages.