Chapter III from The Little Teal Book
Something that is of significant importance for the development of our ideology is the notion of contradiction.
contradiction (n.) — Two ideas, supposedly existing at the same time, that are in direct opposition to each other. These two ideas create conflict within any institution.
The central contradiction that surrounds the development of socialism and social progress is that between the system of capitalism and the material needs of the workers without whom it could not function. In a capitalist system, labor is sold as a good for a wage. If a product is sold for $100 and a laborer has only earned $75 in the time taken to produce it, then that extra $25 of value is taken by the business owner as his profit. Profit is essential to survival in the capitalist system — it is the primary objective of the game of capitalism. The absolute supremacy of profit, and the fact that said profit can only exist as the product of stolen labor, are guarantees for breakdowns in the system.
Under a system wherein a company can only profit if the labor of its workers is stolen, a worker will be unable to purchase the product that they produced in the time it took them to produce it. Over time, the incongruence between wages and the value of goods produced will become so great that the laborer will be unable to feed their family and provide for their own well-being. Under our framework, this crisis is mitigated through the abolition of the profit incentive. Production (in particular "heavy production" — construction, automotive and fuel, machinery, &c.) ought to be organized for the common good of society. The state should cease to exist as a means of protecting capital interests. A reorganization and reconstruction of the state would serve to return the machinery of the system to the people through their democratically operated and constituted institutions. The state has no profit incentive and is designed to fulfill the needs of the masses. In this example society, it is said first and foremost that everybody eats. Following, it is said that if a product sells for $100, then that is what the worker who created that $100 of value will be compensated.
What is also to be noted when focusing on the contradictions between labor and capital is that the current system is wildly undemocratic. Profit is the central motivation behind production, and the instruments of production are controlled privately so as to ensure an "every man for himself" philosophy of production. The Manager, the C.E.O., and the board of directors all have decision-making authority despite being completely unelected and unaccountable to the employees of the aforementioned organization. Holding the truth that all men are created equal to be self-evident, what authority beyond profit has given these business leaders the ability to disregard the will of the people and act unilaterally? Say the society were to be organized democratically. That would appear to include democracy within the workplace. For certain industries, this could take the form of complete state direction, where the representatives of the people (and by proxy the American Nation themselves) are the authority who decide the direction of an organization. In other industries, it could look like a democratically elected board of directors with participatory democracy embedded into the structure of the organization.
As will be seen in the next chapter, serious consideration is given to the idea of "democratic markets." These would be limited areas that feature the reintroduction of the profit motive with the notable features that (a) participation in this situation is not mandatory for survival, and (b) a democratic organization of all businesses that exist within a democratic market system. These markets should only produce non-essential goods.
Overall, the injection of democracy and republicanism into the machinery of the system ought to prevent the concentration of wealth and power into the hands of a small few. It will not be possible to "buy" a seat in government through bribes or advertisements. The will and benefit of the people cannot and should not be decided based on who can afford to convince the largest number of people. Our system will be based on the ideas of democracy and the common good of the people. As such, the economy becomes the business of the state. The instruments of production will be re-appropriated to the American Nation and used for their benefit. Society cannot function as simply the natural consequence of a few men competing for the world; it must exist based on the cooperation of the masses. Democracy, fundamentally, is by, for, and of the people.
