Stingray Civics - Home



Communist Party

| |The Road to Socialism USA: Unity for Peace, Democracy, Jobs and Equality |

| |Party Program May 16, 2006 |

| |Excerpts from the Introduction |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| |Working people around the world have always sought a future without war, exploitation, inequality, and poverty. They strive to build a|

| |brighter future, one based on democracy, peace, justice, equality, cooperation, and meeting human needs. That future is socialism, a |

| |system in which working people control their own lives and destinies, and together build a better world. The Communist Party USA is |

| |dedicated to the struggle for socialism in this country. This document is our party's program, a statement of our principals and goals|

| |and a guide to action along the road to Socialism USA. |

| | |

| |Socialism will usher in a new era in this county. The great wealth of the United States will for the first time be for the benefit of |

| |all the people. Foreign policy will be based on mutual respect, peace, and solidarity. The peoples democratic rights will be |

| |guaranteed and expanded. Racial, gender, and social equality will be the basis of domestic policies and practices. Socialism is not a |

| |dream, but a necessity to working peoples lives. Only socialism has the solutions to the problems of capitalism in this country. |

| | |

| |We need radical solutions, real democracy, and real unity. We, the workers and our allies, need to take power from the hands of the |

| |wealthy few, their corporations, and their political operatives. We need real solutions to real problems, not the empty promises of |

| |politicians and corporate bosses. We need peace, justice, and equality. We need socialism. |

| | |

| |We believe that the millions of working people have the power, if organized and united, to run this country, to create a government |

| |of, by, and for the people. The people of our country have the right and responsibility, faced with an exploitative, oppressive |

| |economic system, to alter or abolish it. We can eject the fat-cat financial donors from the election process, throw the scavengers out|

| |of the banks, eject the CEOs from their golden parachutes, and elect regular, honest working people to represent us in government |

| |instead of corporate lawyers and multi-millionaires. |

| | |

| |The struggles for the immediate demands and reforms needed by working people today are essential steps toward our ultimate goals of |

| |the revolutionary transformation of society and the economy, toward socialism and then communism. The constant battles over issues |

| |large and small are where workers learn the lesson that more fundamental changes are necessary and that people need socialism to have |

| |a truly humane society. |

| | |

| |We, the working people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, need socialism, a system based on peoples needs, |

| |not on corporate greed. |

| | |

Democratic Party

| |Excerpts from the Party Platform |

| | |

| | |

| |Democrats see a young country continually made stronger by the greatest diversity of talent and ingenuity in the world, and a nation |

| |of people drawn to our shores from every corner of the globe. We believe America can succeed because the American people have never |

| |failed and there is nothing that together we cannot accomplish. |

| | |

| |Reclaiming the economic security of the middle class is the challenge we must overcome today. That begins by restoring the basic |

| |values that made our country great, and restoring for everyone who works hard and plays by the rules the opportunity to find a job |

| |that pays the bills, turn an idea into a profitable business, care for your family, afford a home you call your own and health care |

| |you can count on, retire with dignity and respect, and, most of all, give your children the kind of education that allows them to |

| |dream even bigger and go even further than you ever imagined. |

| | |

| |This has to be our North Star—an economy that's built not from the top down, but from a growing middle class, and that provides |

| |ladders of opportunity for those working hard to join the middle class. |

| | |

| |This is not another trivial political argument. It's the defining issue of our time and at the core of the American Dream. And now we |

| |stand at a make-or-break moment, and are faced with a choice between moving forward and falling back. |

| | |

| |Democrats know that America prospers when we're all in it together. We see an America where everyone has a fair shot, does their fair |

| |share, and plays by the same rules. We see an America that out-educates, out-builds, and out-innovates the rest of the world. |

| | |

| |We see an America with greater economic security and opportunity, driven by education, energy, innovation and infrastructure, and a |

| |tax code that helps to create American jobs and bring down the debt in a balanced way. We believe in deficit reduction not by placing |

| |the burden on the middle class and the poor, but by cutting out programs we can't afford and asking the wealthiest to again contribute|

| |their fair share. |

| | |

| |The problems we're facing right now have been more than a decade in the making. We are the party of inclusion and respect differences |

| |of perspective and belief. And so, even when we disagree, we work together to move this country forward. But what is holding our |

| |nation back is a stalemate in Washington between two fundamentally different views of which direction America should take. |

| | |

| |We must keep moving forward and doing the hard work of rebuilding a strong economy by betting on the American worker and investing in |

| |a growing middle class. We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone|

| |willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their … potential. |

Libertarian Party

| |Excerpts from the Party Platform |

| | |

| | |

| |As adopted in Convention, May 2012, Las Vegas, Nevada |

| | |

| |PREAMBLE |

| |As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced |

| |to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others. |

| | |

| |We believe that respect for individual rights is the essential precondition for a free and prosperous world, that force and fraud must|

| |be banished from human relationships, and that only through freedom can peace and prosperity be realized. |

| | |

| |Consequently, we defend each person's right to engage in any activity that is peaceful and honest, and welcome the diversity that |

| |freedom brings. The world we seek to build is one where individuals are free to follow their own dreams in their own ways, without |

| |interference from government or any authoritarian power. |

| | |

| |The protection of individual rights is the only proper purpose of government. Government is constitutionally limited so as to prevent |

| |the infringement of individual rights by the government itself. The principle of non-initiation of force should guide the |

| |relationships between governments. |

| | |

| |We support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United States against aggression. The United States should both |

| |avoid entangling alliances and abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world. We oppose any form of compulsory national |

| |service. |

Republican Party

| |Platform – Excerpts from the Preamble |

| | |

| | |

| |The 2012 Republican Platform is a statement of who we are and what we believe as a Party and our vision for a stronger and freer |

| |America. |

| |Put simply: The times call for trustworthy leadership and honest talk about the challenges we face. Our nation and our people cannot |

| |afford the status quo. We must begin anew, with profound changes in the way government operates; the way it budgets, taxes, and |

| |regulates. Jefferson’s vision of a “wise and frugal government” must be restored. |

| |Providence has put us at the fork in the road, and we must answer the question: If not us, who? If not now, when? |

| |That is the choice facing the American people this November. Every voter will be asked to choose between the chronic high unemployment|

| |and the unsustainable debt produced by a big government entitlement society, or a positive, optimistic view of an opportunity society,|

| |where any American who works hard, dreams big and follows the rules can achieve anything he or she wants. |

| |The American people possess vast reserves of courage and determination and the capacity to hear the truth and chart a strong course. |

| |They are eager for the opportunity to take on life’s challenges and, through faith and hard work, transform the future for the better.|

| |They are the most generous people on earth, giving sacrificially of their time, talent, and treasure. |

| |This platform affirms that America has always been a place of grand dreams and even grander realities; and so it will be again, if we |

| |return government to its proper role, making it smaller and smarter. If we restructure government’s most important domestic programs |

| |to avoid their fiscal collapse. If we keep taxation, litigation, and regulation to a minimum. If we celebrate success, |

| |entrepreneurship, and innovation. If we lift up the middle class. If we hand over to the next generation a legacy of growth and |

| |prosperity, rather than entitlements and indebtedness. |

| |That same commitment must be present both here at home and abroad. We are a party that knows the difference between international |

| |acclaim and world leadership. We will lift the torch of freedom and democracy to inspire all those who would be free. As President |

| |Reagan issued the clarion call to “tear down this Wall,” so must we always stand against tyranny and oppression. We will always |

| |support and cherish our men and women in uniform who defend our liberties with their lives. |

| |As we embark upon this critical mission, we are not without guidance. We possess an owner’s manual: the Constitution of the United |

| |States, the greatest political document ever written. That sacred document shows us the path forward. Trust the people. Limit |

| |government. Respect federalism. Guarantee opportunity, not outcomes. Adhere to the rule of law. |

| |The principles written in the Constitution are secured by the character of the American people. |

Socialist Party

| |Excerpts from the Socialist Party USA Statement of Principles |

| | |

| | |

| |THE SOCIALIST PARTY strives to establish a radical democracy that places people's lives under their own control -- a non-racist, |

| |classless, feminist, socialist society in which people cooperate at work, at home, and in the community. |

| | |

| |Socialism is not mere government ownership, a welfare state, or a repressive bureaucracy. Socialism is a new social and economic order|

| |in which workers and consumers control production and community residents control their neighborhoods, homes, and schools. |

| |The production of society is used for the benefit of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few. Socialism produces a |

| |constantly renewed future by not plundering the resources of the earth. |

| | |

| |People across the world need to cast off the systems which oppress them, and build a new world fit for all humanity. Democratic |

| |revolutions are needed to dissolve the power now exercised by the few who control great wealth and the government. By revolution we |

| |mean a radical and fundamental change in the structure and quality of economic, political, and personal relations. The building of |

| |socialism requires widespread understanding and participation, and will not be achieved by an elite working "on behalf of" the people.|

| |The working class is in a key and central position to fight back against the ruling capitalist class and its power. The working class |

| |is the major force worldwide that can lead the way to a socialist future – to a real radical democracy from below. |

| | |

| |Freedom & Equality |

| |Democratic socialism is a political and economic system with freedom and equality for all, so that people may develop to their fullest|

| |potential in harmony with others. The Socialist Party is committed to full freedom of speech, assembly, press, and religion, and to a |

| |multi-party system. We are dedicated to the abolition of male supremacy and class society, and to the elimination of all forms of |

| |oppression, including those based on race, national origin, age, sexual preferences, and disabling conditions. |

| | |

| |Production For Use, Not For Profit |

| |In a socialist system the people own and control the means of production and distribution through democratically controlled public |

| |agencies, cooperatives, or other collective groups. The primary goal of economic activity is to provide the necessities of life, |

| |including food, shelter, health care, education, child care, cultural opportunities, and social services. |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download