SNC: Socialist Manifesto Launch

THE GUARDIAN | Earlier today, Socialist party leader Willy Brandt (1) and General Secretary of the Socialist National Committee (SNC) (2), Sigmar Gabriel (3), announced the launch of the 575AER Socialist Manifesto. Brandt addressed a crowd of 3000 people outside the party headquarters in Nonambar, Hastiga, and held a widely publicised speech for the nation:--
===Originally posted by Willy Brandt:===
WORKERS OF FALLEENTIUM, this is your chance to seize power from the corporatist elites and reclaim it for yourself -- the backbone of this nation! OUR PURPOSE is to create, on the firm base of a steadily growing economy, a better society for all the people of Falleentium: a strong, just and compassionate society, one where the handling of complex problems may be a source of pride to ourselves and an example to the world. Our appeal is to those who have faith in the capacity and humanity of their fellow-men, and to those who are not solely moved by the search for profit or the hope of personal gain.
First, we believe that Falleentium's potential for improvement is enormous. Science, technology and the general growth of knowledge present great opportunities for social and economic advance. With foresight, intelligence and effort - with planning - we can harness the new technologies and the powerful economic forces of our time to human ends. But, without planning, with a return to the far right-wing free-for-all, people become the victims of economic forces they cannot control.
Second, we believe that the contribution that ordinary people can make to our present welfare and national future is still largely untapped and undeveloped. People want more responsibility. It is this that makes us wish to extend opportunities for everyone to have a bigger say in making decisions, whether in their local community or in their place of work. It is this, too, that makes us place the highest priority on education and educational reform. These are not the aims of the right. They have always defended the power and privileges of the few.
Third, we believe that society can now afford and must be ready to meet the basic needs of all its members. There should be decent housing for everyone; slums and overcrowding must be dealt with; immigrant ghettoes must not be allowed to develop. There should be work for those who seek it, in the nation as a whole and in every region.
We must make a rising standard of provision for those who, on account of age, sickness or other circumstances, are unable to provide for themselves. A compassionate society is one that does not grudge help for those in need.
We reject the Conservative view that misfortune is a private, not a social, concern, that medical care should depend on what people can pay rather than on what people require and that social expenditure should be ruthlessly pruned.
Fourth, we believe that all people are entitled to be treated as equals: that women should have the same opportunities and rewards as men. We insist, too, that society should not discriminate against minorities on grounds of religion or race or colour: that all should have equal protection under the law and equal opportunity for advancement in and service to the community.
Many of our opponents believe this, too, but today as often in the past the extension of human rights has had to wait for a left-wing Government. Fifth, we believe that we have a duty to the future; to ensure that the Falleentium we leave to the generation that follows is not spoilt by our misuse or neglect of the environment. We are still dealing with the slums, slag-heaps, derelict land and foul rivers of the first industrial revolution. Today we have to manage our own lives in a new industrial society so that we do not spoil our land, our water, our beaches - even the air we breathe - with noise, fumes, filth and waste. 
This will only be done by a Party which is not the creature of private profit, one which does not allow corporate donations by those who wish to strangle our democracy, who believe that their wealth can suppress the will of the people, the only party which fits this criteria is the Socialist Party. 
Sixth, we are proud of the contribution that Falleentium and its people have made and are making to the welfare of mankind. With our resources, our experience and our unique connections, we have a large and continuing part to play in solving world problems. 
The right still see their role primarily in terms of overseas bases and a costly and out-of-date type of military presence in the Far East. We see our role primarily in helping the poorer countries to develop and in the stand we take on basic issues of colour and race, while maintaining a cost-efficient and specialised general defence capability based on the continent but ready and trained for strictly international peace-keeping operations elsewhere. 
We believe our defence effort should now be concentrated inside our nation to stabilise our internal crises, contributing to collective security through established treaties which we shall seek to re-negotiate to the benefit of the Falleen people, and shall play our full part in creating a more secure, prosperous, peaceful and united world. 
The Falleentium we want is one we shall have to build together. It will not be easy to achieve; but our deeply rooted democracy, our tradition of tolerance and fairness, our confidence in ourselves, are enormous assets on which we can draw. But it is a far more attractive society, with a far greater potential for human happiness, than the selfish, cold, ruthlessly competitive model that our opponents want. 
In four years we have achieved many great things, from a wide array of investments into our public services, to the democratisation of the military and the reduction of the deficit and wasteful spending -- a Socialist government will make it possible to finish this great task that the people have entrusted upon us.  
Category:The Imperial Constitution