About us

  What is SWSS
  What we stand for
  How we organise

What is SWSS?

The Socialist Worker Student Society is the student organisation of the Socialist Workers Party. We have groups in universities and higher education colleges all over England and Wales.

Like the millions of people across the world who are involved the anti-capitalist movement, we believe that "Another World is Possible" - one which is run by ordinary people in the interests of ordinary people.

Under capitalism, everything in society is run for the profit of the few, at the expense of the needs of the vast majority of people. The insane logic of this system is what causes mountains of surplus food to be dumped in the sea while millions starve accross the world. Millions are spent on wars as capitalist powers strive for world domination, as hospitals are privatised, pension funds ransacked and university education becomes a privilege for the rich. Meanwhile the world draws ever closer to environmental destruction.

Capitalism's brutal competition for accumulation ultimately manifests itself in such horrors as poverty, racism and violence. But its most terrible feature must surely be of war, as the competition between big business spills over into conflict between whole states. It is because of the destructive nature of capitalism that we cannot wait passively for things to improve -  the choice between socialism and barbarism is more stark than ever.

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Contact SWSS at

PO Box 42184
London
SW8 2WD
swss@swp.org.uk

020 7819 1178

What we stand for

We don't believe that society will ever be changed by trying to reform the system, patching it up to make it nicer. Nor will it be changed by small numbers of heroic individuals taking over society on everyone else's behalf. To build a socialist society we need a revolution that is made by the millions of ordinary working people who create everything of value in society.

We currently live in an exciting time to be on the Left. The anti-capitalist movement has mobilised many millions of people internationally against the ravages of the IMF and the World Bank. The anti-war movement has been even bigger still, with capital cities everywhere being rocked by some of the largest protests of all time as people took to the streets to stop George Bush's imperialist invasion of Iraq. From Najaf to New York, our generation is being radicalised, the possibilities for really changing the world have not seemed so real since 1968.

SWSS believes that building and strengthening these movements is the key to bringing about real change.

We are active in the Stop the War Coalition that put two million people on the streets of London on February 15 2003 and has continued to hold demonstrations with hundreds of thousands of people since. We are part of RESPECT: the Unity Coalition, the organisation that is challenging New Labour from the left.

We get involved in the anti-capitalist organisation Globalise Resistance to mobilise for protests like those against the G8 (which is coming to Britain in 2005) and also for mass meetings of the movement like the European Social Forum, which in 2004 will be held in London and is set to include thousands of of people from a whole range of movements, Non-governmental organisations and trade unions. 

We also support Unite Against Fascism, the broad organisation that aims to prevent nazi organisations like the BNP from carrying out acts of racist violence and discrimination, and that succeeded in preventing them from winning a seat in the June 2004 euro-elections.

We work with other forces in campaigns and coalitions, but we believe that in order to put a final end to war, poverty, bigotry and the other problems in society we must overhaul the system that breeds them. This can only be done by the activity of millions of ordianry people. 

How we organise

Students have played a crucial role in major political movements throughout history, and today's movement is no different.

SWSS groups on campus get involved in campaigns on like opposing the occupation of Iraq, solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation, fighting the Nazi menace and defending the right to education for all. We believe in mobilising students for mass demonstrations and carrying out direct acts of civil disobedience, including college occupations, to stand up to the system. We hold regular Activist Meetings to coordinate our activities and discuss the latest political developments and how we should respond to them.

On a weekly basis, we also hold Marxist Forums - meetings to politically discuss issues like:

• Iraq: the new Vietnam

• Still not equal: Women's Liberation Today 

• From Hitler to the BNP: Fighting fascism today

• Marx, Capitalism, and the exploitation of the global south 

• Islam, secularism and socialism 

• Che Guevara and the Cuban revolution

• and many more