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Profit is Made in the Factory, Not the Market: Abolish Wage Slavery
SOUTH AFRICA, October 12—A worker in a nearby township complained about working shorter hours while still maintaining the production levels of before, when they worked full time. I told him that I think this was happening even before corona.
We talked about how profit is made, about surplus value— in the factories. They are not getting paid fully for the amount of time they work. The bosses steal the value of their labor to make profit. Profit is not made in the market. It’s made in the factory.
From his expression, it was clear that he was surprised to learn this. Even during normal times, the bosses are still stealing from them. If they work eight hours, they are probably getting paid for five hours—or less. The rest goes straight to the bosses. That’s how they make profit.
We need to educate workers about this, especially now with the impact on the working class of the pandemic. In South Africa, before the pandemic the official unemployment rate for the whole population was about 35%. For the youth it was around 40%. If we can believe government statistics now, about a million jobs have been lost so far in the pandemic. Obviously, the figure could be higher than this.
Now the capitalists are squeezing workers further and further. This shows the need for the working class to fight back for communism—to put an end to exploitation.
This was the essence of our conversation. That even if the ruling party, African National Congress, can bribe workers with 350 R (US$21) a month, it won’t solve the problem. The bosses are even stealing the unemployment funds for themselves that were supposed to go to workers. The workers are seeing all this corruption displayed in the news on a daily basis.
The mining sector, according to our comrades in Marikana, is retrenching thousands of workers. The government is continuing to bail out the same companies who are waging this direct assault on the working class. This shows that the capitalists will always look out for themselves. If we workers are to survive there must be unity within the working class.
Even now the South African president announced a stimulus package of about half a trillion Rands (US$300 million). In that half a trillion Rands, instead of them advocating for bailing out the workers, they are advocating for bailing out the same companies that are attacking the workers.
There is clearly a need for communist revolution and nothing less. Anything less will be detrimental to the workers.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party is proposing their same old plan (which they present as new). That is: nationalize land without compensation, nationalize the mines, the banks, etc. All these policies are just meant to reform capitalism, not eradicate it. In the past, they have created another group of exploiters who enjoy privileges which the working class does not.
The EFF’s proposals are no solution. It is futile and dangerous to follow that path. We need to fight directly for communism.
History has shown that capitalism can’t be reformed to meet the masses’ needs. It has to be smashed. Hence, we as the International Communist Workers’ Party (ICWP) are organizing workers to mobilize for communism. To do this, the working class has to be united.
In communism, we masses will produce to meet the needs of everyone. Everyone will contribute what they can. There won’t be any profits or bosses. There won’t be wages or money. No one will exploit anyone. We call on the workers to join ICWP to mobilize for communism.
Why I took an interest in the ICWP
I first learned about the existence of the International Communist Workers’ Party (ICWP), during 2019, through one of its members. This member’s gritty determination and undoubted commitment to the ideological stances of the ICWP was one of the many factors that sparked my curiosity and interest in the ICWP.
I am a product of ‘working class’ parents and extended family. So, I was no stranger to the ‘shortcomings’ of the modern-day (global and domestic) intrinsic capitalist economic, political, and social orders. I joined various local ‘socialist’ political parties, as a means of expressing my disdain for the current capitalist economic and political systems.
Many of the grievances I had with the existing capitalist state of affairs, however, could not be remedied by the policies put forth by these so-called socialist parties I joined. I did find a viable solution to almost all of my grievances in the concept of communism.
I have been a member of the ICWP for almost two months. I have since concluded that the ICWP is unequivocally the best vehicle, for me, for bringing about a successful comprehension of Communism.
I have also found the ideology and the ICWP’s approach to the study of Communism as a whole to be far more comprehensive compared to other sources I have utilized in the past. It is precisely more ‘comprehensive’, for me, in the sense that it integrates theories, methods, etc of various disciplines. I have also found the study guides of the ICWP to be more detailed than any single discipline’s understanding, as they often transcend each discipline’s insights.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the learning experience the ICWP has presented me thus far. With great expectation and excitement, I look forward to learning so much more!
—Comrade in South Africa
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