Change is Happening

Capitalism has outlived its usefulness. The only way to socialism is through majority working class understanding and democracy. Left-wing capitalism can no more alleviate the condition of workers than dyed-in-the-wool right-wing capitalism. Workers will have to grow out of expecting a 'nicer' politician will make them happy-clappy wage slaves. Supporting the Labour Party, or any of the other parties of capitalism, is futile. Poverty, actual and relative, is an inevitable and essential part of capitalism, whether we are in work or not, and cannot be reformed away. The Labour Party do not want to end capitalism, they wish to reform it into a nicer capitalism with relatively happy wage-slaves. But..., capitalism requires a work-force sufficiently impoverished, so that they will present themselves to be exploited in return for rations, (food, clothing, shelter etc. expressed in a wage or salary) Exploitation takes place at the point of production, whether by hand or by brain, at the workplace, when the worker sells his or her mental and or physical abilities for a wage or a salary. They produce a 'surplus value' over and above what they receive from wages. This wealth, 'surplus value', after it is sold on the markets at a profit for the capitalist blood-sucking class. All wealth is produced by the working class. The owning class produce nothing. They live of the exploitation of the working class. Capitalism cannot be reformed. It can only be replaced.

Removing class ownership and control of wealth production and distribution, means at last, we can have production for use 'and' be social equals, with free access, to the common product. Only the workers themselves organised to this end, are the sole agency for this change, not the parties of capitalism of which the Labour Party is but one amongst many. There are no 'revolutionaries' inside the Labour Party. Even at his or her most radical, a Labour Party member stands for the retention of capitalism.

Not only al the economists know that there will always be a pool of unemployed but they also want there to be. They don’t want ‘full employment’ as this would exert an upward pressure on wages, cutting into profits. But the truth sometimes slips out, as in an article in the Times (10 June, 2015) by its Economics Editor, Philip Aldrick. He referred to an ‘equilibrium unemployment rate’, defined as ‘the level at which wage inflation pressures build up.’ This used to be called ‘the natural rate of unemployment’ but conceding that unemployment was natural to capitalism was considered too much of a concession to its critics and it is now called in economics textbooks the ‘non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment’ (NAIRU). It’s a bit of a dubious concept (it’s trying to calculate when a boom begins to get out of hand, but even if this could be done it wouldn’t make any difference as nobody could do anything about it). But that’s not the point. The point is that government policy-makers believe it. Michael Saunders of the Citi investment bank, is suggesting that the rate here could now be as low as 4 percent, and comments:

‘In other words, at the economy’s optimum cruising speed, 400,000 fewer people need be unemployed than before the crisis.’

‘Need be unemployed’! That’s a telling phrase, saying that some people need to be unemployed. In the three months to April this year the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent, or 1,810,000. If it had been 4 percent this would still have left 1,316,000 as ‘needing’ to be unemployed. The government may well, from one point of view, want to cut the benefits bill by reducing the number on the dole, but, from another point of view (that of big business whose interests they serve), to reduce the number too far would set off an upward pressure on wages to the detriment of profits. It’s a balancing act. Capitalist firms will have to pay one way or another. Either their profits are taxed to pay unemployment ‘benefit’ to at least 1,316,000 (or on the Bank of England’s figure 1,678,000). Or their profits will be eaten into by rising wages.

So, no matter how many application forms they fill in, however many courses they go on, however many times they report to the DWP, between one and two million people will not get a job because, if a substantial number of them did, it would upset ‘the economy’s optimum cruising speed’ and the government doesn’t want that. In saying that they are practising ‘tough love’ by harassing people as a means of helping them to get a job, Cameron, Osborne and the rest (the leaders of the Labour Party too as they are also into bashing the unemployed) are shameless hypocrites. We need to get rid of capitalism, abolish the wages system. Protest is insufficient, we need to use democracy to replace capitalism. We are not pining away for a mythical future. We are working for a new world. The cruel joke is on you, if you are worker and do not recognise your class interests lie in getting rid of this warring system. How the capitalist class must laugh at you, foolish worker. Laughing all the way to the bank. Workers collectively, produce all of the world’s wealth, they mine resources, they create technological marvels, they produce them, they collectively, effectively, run this system from top to bottom, even though they do not share in the accumulated products, other than a wage. If you are incapable of conceiving this then you have been getting ideologically neutered by capitalism's equivalent of the Rome’s 'Bread and Circuses'.

It would be foolish to expect the capitalist class to voluntarily give up its privileged position in society. Governments exist solely to administer the society as it exists, in the interests of the ruling (capitalist) class, so governments will not end the privilege. Capitalism will continue as long as the working class accepts it. The working class will have to force the capitalist class to give up its position of privilege. Political parties of the left, right and centre, claim to be working for the betterment of society. Because society functions in the interests of the capitalist class, it is clear that these parties are then supporting the interests of the capitalist class. History shows us that no matter what these parties say, when elected they administer capitalism in the only way it can be administered - in the interests of the capitalist class. Each of them has their own idea of how to run capitalism, often stealing the ideas of their supposed political opposites. The reforms that they implement must reflect economic reality. If they do not, they will not get re-elected - until the next party fails to reflect that reality. Taxation difference constitute much of election manifestoes but they have damn all to do with 'most' people though. If you are a worker, your wage is your take-home pay. If the government removed whatever nominal tax your employer pays your wages would be cut accordingly. If you are not a worker, but an employer, tough luck, as your parasitic employer class collectively have the benefits of exploiting educated, qualified workers to produce more wealth for you, (surplus value) in return for their wage-salary (ration) they can collectively, damn well pay for their wage-slaves of the future's education. Tax is a burden upon the capitalist class and it is their interests, business that the clampdown is taking place. It will make no real difference which capitalist party is in power. The employing class pays the piper, calls the tune and if need be have capital flight as a last resort.

Get off your knees and make common cause with your fellow worker to abolish this iniquitous system, instead of spouting slavish 'Uncle Tom' platitudes, applauding the oppression of your class. There is no way that capitalism can meet the needs of the majority, but all of these parties pretend it can if only they find the right plan. None of them have any really new ideas, only rehashed reforms that have failed in the past. Voting for any of these parties is voting for capitalism, forever.