Capitalism,
both in
Another message is that it has conjured up
resistance, signified by the magnificent mass revolt of the working class and
poor against the juggernaut of 'modern' neo-liberal capitalism.
From the streets of
If the great Italian writer Dante was living
today, he would add more 'circles of hell' to describe the horrors of
The pile of Iraqi corpses - most of them
innocent civilians - has been put at 655,000.
Now 3,000 American troops have been killed
with 20,000 soldiers horribly mutilated because of Bush and Blair's decision to
invade
The waste of US blood and treasure is
brutally spelt out in the Iraq Study Group (ISG) report, the commission of the
'great and good' appointed by Bush to chart a way out of the quagmire. One by
one, the report knocked down like dominoes the reasons given for the invasion.
"Nobody likes foreign
missionaries," said Robespierre, the leader of the 18th century French
Revolution. The report recognises that invading another country inevitably
provokes national resistance. "If there were foreign forces in
The report also dismisses the overblown,
exaggerated claims of al-Qa'ida's role in
The report states the blindingly obvious; the
Bush, however, has initially decided to
ignore the ISG's advice. He is likely to continue the
war, even stepping up the despatch of troops, under the guise of 'trainers' to
the largely mythical Iraqi army. This will reinforce the isolation of Bush and
his cabal. Former
This will set Bush on a further collision
course with the
They could use congressional hearings on the
war to discredit Bush and seek to bring him to heel. And, as the example of
Nixon showed during the Vietnam War, even impeachment hearings cannot be ruled
out - although the Democrats, as another party of big business, would be
reluctant to go down this road.
BUSH AND US capitalism could also be besieged
not just on the war front but on the economy as well. The drop of the almighty
dollar by 10% last year up to October signifies the underlying weakness of the
The twin pillars - more like chicken's legs -
which have propped up the world economy are an investment boom in
This boom has been boosted by the housing
boom which replaced the dotcom boom of a few years ago in the
There is also a bubble in the infrastructure
which capitalist economists fear could collapse. In this casino capitalism, in
the
This house of cards will tumble at some
stage. Will it take place this year? Capitalism is an unplanned, blind system,
with economic processes working out 'behind the backs of society', as Karl Marx
pointed out. There could be a slow accumulation of problems, then a sudden
abrupt change.
All the ingredients for such a development
exist in the
Growth in the
But even
Capitalist economic experts hope for a 'soft
landing' but it is not excluded that the
This will aggravate the already serious
economic difficulties of the majority of the American working class and even
the middle class. Stephen King, managing director of economics at HSBC,
estimates that four-fifths of the US population are worse off, some of them
considerably so, since Bush came to power in 2001.
The reign of Bush and the Republicans has shattered
the claim that 'all boats rise together' through capitalist growth. We have
witnessed the colossal piling up of wealth by the rich - perhaps the greatest
in history - at one pole and crumbs for the working class at the other.
Never before has such wealth been so brazenly
paraded by the rich. City AM, a free sheet circulating in the banking area of
It writes: "How much would you pay for a
mince pie? A few pennies? A couple
of quid, maybe, if it's got a nice star and some nutmeg on top, how does £200
sound? The Dion Bar at
Another item details the obscene practice of
'dwarf-tossing' at City Christmas parties. The US Securities and Exchange
Commission fined a Wall Street firm $9.7 million after it emerged that a senior
vice-president had a $1.5 million entertainment budget. Among the excesses was
a $75,000 stag party for an equity trader, which involved strippers as well as
'dwarf tossing', hurling them between drunken, rich revellers.
All the ingredients are there for the
unwinding of this present unstable economic situation, for which the working
class will be asked to foot the bill. That this present boom will come to an
end is certain, only the timing is in doubt. If the boom staggers on for
another year or two, it will be at the cost of storing up even greater
contradictions, which will ensure the collapse when it comes will be all that
'harder'.
He is the architect, with Blair, of the whole
'New Labour' project, which represented a complete break with the Labour
Party's origins, based on the working class at the bottom, and with any
semblance of a class or socialist approach.
His much-vaunted economic miracle is based on
the worldwide economic upswing of the 1990s and of the mass migration at the
beginning of this century of low-wage labour, particularly from
This resulted in massive profits for the
bosses but an actual rise in unemployment of over a quarter of a million last
year, while employment in general, those in work, appears to have gone up as
well. In other words, this 'boom' is partly fuelled by cheap labour which could
lead, unless countered by the labour movement, to a general lowering of wages
and living standards.
Fortunately, some unions, not before time,
have begun to organise migrant workers, particularly from
Brown, even before he moves house to
Gas and electricity prices have spiralled
much more than the wholesale price of oil. Scandalously, three million
pensioners will die before the link of pensions with average earnings,
abolished by Thatcher, is restored in 2012. One pensioner carried a placard on
a recent demonstration which read: "I'll die before the link."
The mean-spirited denial of a basic income to
British pensioners, with the lowest income in all
Privatisation is likely to continue, even at
an intensified rate. Brown has been one of the most enthusiastic advocates of
privatisation, including the discredited Private Finance Initiative (PFI).
The sell-off of state schools to spivs, car dealers and even hedge funds could result in a
total of £15 billion of state assets handed over lock, stock and barrel
virtually gratis. The speculators, who now hold the fate of
BLAIR AND Brown have been emboldened to carry
through their policies because of the official trade union leadership's
insipid, if not craven, capitulation. A major problem confronting
Reports come from a thousand channels
explaining graphically the realities of British capitalism, the bosses' attacks
on workers. At least one-third of hospital trusts are in deficit and 13 of them
are, according to the guardian, "technically bankrupt, with no chance of
meeting a legal obligation to balance their books".
The response to these attacks on the NHS from
staff and patients has been massive and overwhelming. And yet, the official
trade union leadership, particularly health unions like UNISON, have been
hesitant to lift a finger to use this mood to call into action a movement to
compel the government to retreat.
It has been left to community campaigns, many
with Socialist Party involvement, which have organised demonstrations,
including the march on parliament on the day of the health unions' lobby, to
provide the leadership. It is incredible that a huge campaign is necessary merely
to compel the health unions and the TUC to call a national demonstration, which
could now take place soon - 3 March - to compel the government to retreat.
Initially, the Blair government was tentative
when it introduced secondary school academies. However, once they saw the
feeble response of the tops of the education unions, they decided to go for
broke, with plans now for 400 academies. The maxim 'Weakness invites
aggression' applies as much in the class struggle as it does in war.
Contrast the official trade union
leadership's pusillanimity with the determination of workers once they have
clear leadership to fight to preserve their jobs and conditions. This was
clearly shown in the case of Visteon (see page 2) and
in
This should become an inspiration and example
to British workers in the labour movement in the next year. While refusing to
lead workers in struggle, official union leaders still prop up the
pro-imperialist, pro-rich, anti-pensioner, anti-youth and, above all
anti-working class party, that New Labour is today.
Obscenely, the union leaders gave £100
million in the last ten years to this party. To do what?
To remorselessly attack the living standards of the working
class. Brown claims that 60% of the people of
MOREOVER, PRESIDING over a lopsided, uneven
boom, which is what
That election took place while the
The same situation is observed in
Although the Tories were 1% ahead in the
polls at the end of last year, Cameron is not yet seen as an alternative because
he wants to be a new Blair, while the original model is completely discredited.
Blair himself justified his move to the right
because the Tories under Thatcher and Major won 'four elections in a row'.
Subsequently, he went even further to the right than Thatcher on issues like
privatisation. Now, Cameron points to Blair's three election victories to
justify his political stance which, despite the 'hug-a-hoodie'
floss, underneath contains a brutal anti-working class programme.
Tax cuts for the rich of £21 billion are
promised while the hatchet will be taken to the public sector, particularly
education, the NHS and social services. The consequence of all this is a
progressive shift to the right of all three capitalist parties.
2007, therefore, will be a period of struggle
and resistance to the capitalist parties' further attacks on the British
working class. For the first time in over 100 years,
They tried to justify this on the grounds
that Labour can be 'rescued' for the trade unions and the working class.
However, John Harris, writing in the guardian, said he had rejoined Labour
after leaving in disgust at the war but found the party empty. He concluded
that on the basis of the present trends, "there will be apparently no-one
left" in the Labour party by 2018!
At the end of last year, the guardian said:
"The trade union-dominated Labour party crafted by Arthur Henderson and
wrecked by Arthur Scargill will never return."
In reality, of course, it was the right wing led by Kinnock, Blair and Brown
not Arthur Scargill who destroyed Labour's base
amongst the trade unions and the working class. It is time to create a new mass
political alternative for the British working class.
The shameless behaviour of the rich, brazenly
and openly gorging themselves, would not be possible if they had to look over
their shoulders at a mighty organised political force of the working class. It
is urgent that the foundations of such a force are laid.
Worldwide and in
There will also be resistance to
privatisation and the ruin of the environment. In these looming tumultuous
events will grow the idea of struggle, of socialism as the vision of the future
and also the organised forces of Marxism around the Socialist Party and the
Committee for a Workers' International.