Researchers have identified Clydebank as the perfect case study to demonstrate the impact of globalisation, the shrinking of the welfare state, the decline of manufacturing, unemployment and poor health.
Study author Dr Lisa Garnham, public health research specialist at the Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH), said “We were interested in exploring what had happened for people and their lives - the loss of industry created unemployment and poverty, so you can see as you look through the history that people who had once had really secure well-paid work and fantastic skills found themselves really struggling financially. Over the coming years lots of publicly funded services that could have protected them were withdrawn or removed or reduced. So the worst effects of poverty were pushed down on people who were living in that area. It is not just Clydebank, it is a similar story across other deindustrialised parts of west central Scotland.”
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15197913.The_Scottish_town_that__39_s_become_a_crucible_for_our_modern_social_ills/
I put this reply onto The Herald. (A wee bit wordy.)
ReplyDeleteThe delusion that politicians, of any political hue, can manage the capitalist economy is shared by politicians themselves of course. In fact it manages them.
"The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor." Voltaire
The purpose of politicians is to govern over us in the interests of the economic parasite social class with the minimum of social discontent.
With the extension of the franchise in the early part of last century we did see the beginning of some working-class men and women getting into the decision making chambers of the world. To this end, off achieving power, some politicians may indeed try to persuade us that they are more 'socialistic' with their policy choices and may even believe this themselves.
But it is a nonsense, as capitalism can not be reformed in any lasting way, to reflect the interests of the vast majority whose lot is to, if lucky, find themselves in conditions of wage slavery with rationed access to the wealth which they collectively produce, while the surplus above their immediate consumption needs is torrented up into the bank accounts of the capitalist class.
Poverty, absolute or relative and war, by deed or by proxy, are twin concomitants of capitalism and can not be reformed away.
Capitalist production of commodities is dependant on creating also an impoverished working class for the purpose of waged enslavement.
Politicians however well or badly they appear to handle the capitalist economy, have little to do with the slump in economic activity, which leads to speculation in the money markets, as the class as a whole sought a quick buck when business investment is not profitable.
This is normal speculative capitalist behaviour, when capitalism is in its inevitable crisis. This speculation leads to bubbles in whatever is the opportunity of the day, real estate, etc.
Pretending that they can manage the economy is the politicians conceit, as well as the bourgeios democratic trick to keep you voting for Tweedles dee or dum, in the foolish notion that capitalism can be reformed and waged slavery made palatable.
It is way past time workers helped themselves by getting rid of the capitalist parasite class supporting politicians and the inevitable poverty maintainance of workers ,whether in or out of employment and make the post-capitalist, free access, production for use, moneyless, social revolution where the satisfaction of all necessary human needs is the overriding priority.
Real socialism won't need politicians or elites. We have a world to win.
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/what-socialism