Half an Hour

  What would it take to go from reforms within the capitalist system to a democratic socialist society? That's a much tougher question than it may seem at first glance. The 'capitalist system' is based essentially on the idea that we can earn income through ownership, and not through labour alone. With no effective limits on ownership, and physical limits on labour, it will always be the case that earning through ownership has a structural advantage, which leads inevitably to a concentration of capital and devaluation of labour. So what does it mean to say 'reforms within the capitalist system'? These would acknowledge that capitalism exists, that is, that it is possible to earn income through ownership, and to place limits on this, either by strengthening the position of labour, or taxing or limiting concentrations of capital. That has long been the core of socialist policy, but it has the weakness of always being an approach defined by being 'opposed...