A Founding Statement

About the Class Consciousness Project

Class consciousness amongst the British Working Class is at an all-time low.

This situation is most stark in the contemporary ‘left’ wing of politics. Virtually all self-proclaimed left-wing parties are in thrall to the political bankruptcy and failure that is European-style social democracy.

It is precious little wonder that workers have turned their backs on politics in general, including in particular the only political theory which makes the working class the subject of that theory – socialism. 

The trade unions, who were once at the vanguard of class politics, have abandoned this in favour of class consensus and reformism, accepting modest pay increases via discrete industrial actions or by pledging to push the Labour Party, to which the trade union bureaucracies are in perpetual fealty, into insignificant changes in working conditions or increases of the so-called “living” wage. 

Our project was created after another disappointing foray into party politics.

The founding members of this project were members of the Workers Party of Britain – a party that began its journey as a new political force with a combination of vigour, principle and common sense in a quagmire of middle-class ‘leftist’ liberalism, but unashamedly turned towards opportunism, futile electioneering and, most critically, the discredited political ideology that is Western social democracy. 

This left us battling a system which is rigged against us, whilst at the same time trying to convince workers who had already formed the correct understanding that the establishment would never let us vote away their domination. The Brexit referendum was the most decisive act of working-class democratic action in decades, which the ruling class have been actively working to subvert ever since.

We are non-partisan workers who believe that the first step towards the emancipation of the working class is to reawaken its political consciousness. 

Our commitment to this aim is centred on three key tenets: To educate, to agitate and to organise.

Education – We seek to arm our class with an understanding of political theory and historical knowledge of the movement and to raise working class awareness of the need for constant struggle against capitalism and imperialism.

Agitation – We believe that education alone is not enough – an educated working class must be prepared to apply that education into action and be prepared to constantly appraise that action.

Organisation – We understand that the battle against the ruling class needs a militant, organised and fighting working class. We seek to build working class power by organising in communities and workplaces. We will not be tied to any party or organisation and will work freely as a collective with anyone we believe best serves the interests of the working class. We will propagate and share successful work and eschew work which fails.

Our demands are moderate. We seek only the earth!