As an election period looms, greater attention is naturally turned to what is going on in the houses of parliament and the doings of politicians. The media picture is that this is where all the real decisions are made, that it is the centre of all politics.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Although elections and what goes on in parliament have to be taken into account, the politics of real every day life that exists outside parliament is far more important. It is here where people strive to exist and carve out a better life for themselves.
The ruling class pays a lot of attention to elections and parliament for two very good reasons. One is that the system can to an extent serve to mediate in conflicts between different sections of the ruling class. The second is that it promotes the illusion that the people hold political power through the right to vote. As a result, elections and parliament serve as a safety valve to water down the class struggle.
From the viewpoint of the working class and the majority of the population, the importance is that it reveals the will of the ruling class and tests the strength of the working class and people’s movement. They can also serve transitory strategic needs of the wider struggle that exists in the workplaces and communities and waged continuously in a whole range of ways.
When we hear or see media reports on the comments and actions of politicians at election time, trivia is promoted. Overall, one can see a definite detachment from the every day concerns of ordinary people. For the most part, parliamentary debates are not carried on the basis of championing the concerns of the people, but on the basis of mud slinging at parliamentary opponents and diversion from awkward issues.
Power in society
Real political power does not reside in parliament. It exists in the economy. Those who own and therefore control the economy have political power, not only because they control the purse strings, but also because they control the manufacture of culture, the body of law and ideas.
They do this because culture, law and ideas belong to the superstructure that emerges out of the capitalist mode of production. That is, the social relations of society are based on production for private profit in conditions of private ownership of the means of production and commodities. The dominant culture, body of law and ideas are stamped with this. Existing institutions needed to maintain society as it is, are also part of the superstructure.
Parliament is painted with the same brush. It too is part of the superstructure, and can do no other than serve the existing system. Any action to do away with capitalism is illegal. This is re-enforced by conscious promotion of its best servants, subtle and more strident corruption, and the general atmosphere of parliament that ensures its members socialise with the rich and powerful, rather than with their supposed constituents.
Working class outlook
The mode of production and superstructure also gives rise to opposing ideology. This is the outlook of the working class, which differs in that it is carries recognition of the importance of its role in the mode of production, a distrust of parliament and politicians, and a focus on practical needs. Its most advanced detachments recognise that the present capitalist order needs to be ended and a new society established.
Working class ideology is based on the contradiction in production between the private ownership of the means of production and the product, and the socialised nature of work. Socialised work means that workers are compelled to act cooperatively. Yet they see the fruits of their common labour expropriated from them. In this there is recognition of opposing class interests.
Parliament
The system of parliamentary representation is presented as the pinnacle of democracy. In an historical sense, parliamentary representation has been a forward step from earlier feudal society. In this sense it did represent a development of democracy. But it was limited. The new democracy was really for that class that had become dominant in society - the capitalist class. Parliament served as an institution to counter reactionary feudal institutions.
In Australia, parliamentary democracy emerged out of the struggle against military colonial rule by Britain and the land based semi-feudal squattocracy that came into being. Parliamentary democracy was also instrumental in uniting the separate colonies into a single nation. However once these tasks were completed and society moved on, the progressive aspects of parliamentary democracy receded and its reactionary features became dominant.
The equating of elections and Parliament to democracy is a fallacy. For the reasons already outlined, this democracy is very limited.
Today’s anti-worker and so-called anti-terrorist laws clearly prove that this kind of democracy can be given and taken away at whim. It all depends on the perceived interests of those who actually exercise political power. Where is the democracy that allows a community a decisive say in running their affairs? Where is the democracy in which the great majority runs the economy and society, not in words, but in action?
When it comes to the real politics of every day life, there is very little democracy. Politicians develop policies and hand them over to the senior public service to implement. The people are left out. Surely democracy should involve a method of mass participation in both policy decisions and their implementation.
Australia’s present conditions are characterised by an economy that is not only capitalist in nature, but which has its commanding heights owned and controlled by US interests. Consequently there exists a subservient political relationship that involves Australia in wars for the interests of US imperialism and the ‘deputy sheriff’ role in our region. This subservience is reflected in parliament. Economic and social policies born in the USA are applied in Australia.
The Coalition parties and the Labor Party stand together on this, despite some differences on the detail. If they do not, they will not be allowed to form government. The real political power would see to it in many ways, from use of their mass media resources to direct military intervention.
As a result, for the parliamentary parties elections become exercises to win the patronage of the real rulers, while at the same time, ensuring that they project an image that provides them with enough of a social base to gather votes and portray the illusion of democracy. Parliament, the parliamentary parties and the vast majority of parliamentarians do nothing and say nothing about extending genuine democracy to the workplace, to the communities.
Towards real democracy
If this reality is accepted, so too must the conclusion that the most important political task is to work towards building a new movement for democracy from below.
To remove obstacles in the way, it is necessary to free Australia from the dominance of US imperialism. To do this requires uniting the great majority to break the hold of US imperialism over the economic base and to develop Australian identity, culture, law and ideas that are necessary for the extension of real democracy.
Doing this is not merely about pressing the need to politicians. Change can only be brought about by extending mass organisation and participation to overthrow the existing order and replace it with a different type of representative system, based on delegates elected through mass organisations. These delegates would elect an executive to constitute the government. Government as a whole (executive plus mass organisations) would not only be a legislative body, but also the implementer of policies.
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