Reading Notes

A recently published book, “Discoveries that Changed the World”, byRodney Castleden, published by Futura yielded a couple of gems. In the chapter on Malaria, Castleden writes,



“At the present time there is no malaria vaccine; there are only preventative drugs which have to be taken continuously to reduce the risk of infection. These are very effective for visitors from the more economically developed countries, but too expensive for most people who live in the affected regions.”

In other words, if you can’t afford it you may die, and this is a disease that infects 55 million people a year with between one and three million deaths, mostly young children.



Concerning radium, he writes, “ Radium is a million times more radioactive than uranium. The luminosity of radium led to its one time use in luminous paints for watches, clocks, aircraft switches and instrument dials. At least a hundred watch dial painters, who used their lips to shape their paintbrushes died as a result of the radiation.Radium was still used in this way until the late 1950s even though twenty years earlier it had been found that workers thus exposed to radium suffered serious health hazards such as sores,anemia, and bone cancer. Marie Curie’s (discoverer of radium) notes are still strongly radioactive one hundred years after she last handled them.

Capitalism only looks atthe profit potential of every new discovery.


In “A Brief History of Globalization”, Alex MacGillivray writes, re Third World debt,

“By 2005, African countries had already repaid $550 billion against original loans of $540 billion.But because of high interest rates, $245 billion was still outstanding.” (page 223) At this rateprofit would easily top 100%. That’s the kind of helping hand we can do without. On page 249 he quotes 19th.century American senator, John M. Thurston on the benefits of war,

“ War with Spain would increase the business and earnings of every American railroad, it would increase the output of every American factory, it would stimulate every branch ofIndustry and domestic commerce.” Obviously, a good deal for the profiteering class. Not so good for those who are expected to fight for this bonanza but derive no benefit from it. John Ayers

THE JOYS OF RELIGION

"The Taliban have ordered the closure of all girl's schools in the war-ravaged Swat district (Islamabad, Pakistan) and warned parents and teachers of dire consequences if the ban is flouted. In an announcement made in mosques and broadcast on radio, the militant group set a deadline of January 15 for its order to be obeyed or it would blow up school buildings and attack schoolgirls. It also told women not to set foot outside their homes without being fully covered." (Times, 26 December) RD

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

"The economic downturn is causing a homelessness crisis in New York, where job losses and repossessions are forcing record numbers of families on to the streets - and British charities are warning that London should also expect a sharp rise in rough-sleepers as recession bites. In the US, the Coalition for the Homeless, a nationwide advocacy group, has revealed that some 9,720 families stayed in New York City's homeless shelters last month, the highest number since records began in 1983. The report also showed that the number of homeless families in New York has risen by a record13% since the beginning of May, when the full effects of the financial crisis began to hit home." (Observer, 28 December) RD

Food for Thought

Top US army officials said, “ A $160 billion future combat systems modernization program managed by Boeing Co. and SAIC Inc. was on budget and on track.” (Socialist Standard, Nov. 2008).Yet $30 billion A year would eliminate world hunger. So much for capitalism’s priorities. John Ayers

A DEADLY TRADE

"Soldiers beheaded as drug cartels step up terror to protect $15bn-a-year trade. The discovery of a dozen decapitated bodies scattered across a city in Mexico has become the latest symbol of the terrifying price this country is paying for drug consumption in America. Nine of the corpses were found on a busy street in Chilpancingo, an hour's drive from the tourist resort of Acapulco, yards from where the Govenor of Guerrero state was later to participate in a religious procession." (Times, 23 December) RD

THATS HOW IT WORKS

Capitalism is a cruel society - millions of children die from lack of food, clean water or basic medical treatment while millionaires live lives of luxury and privilege. The recent economic crisis has got supporters of capitalism even using language similar to socialists. "James Rowlands, the policy officer of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, said: "We would like to see VAT cut across the board to 5 per cent. Thousands of homes should not be allowed to stand empty while people are homeless or suffering from poor living conditions." (Times, 22 December)
Of course Mr Rowlands still supports the system as his reference to tax cuts shows, but for such a supporter to say of capitalism "Thousands of homes should not be allowed to stand empty while people are homeless ..." illustrates the craziness of capitalism. He might use words like "should not be allowed" but that contradiction of “Ownership” and “Social Need” is the very basis of capitalism. RD

The Environment again

Global Warming – no problem! Would you believe The Toronto Star reported (15 Nov 2008) that, “ A rock that is plentiful in Oman can be harnessed to soak up the most prominent greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide at a rate that could slow global warming…” This rock, Peridotite, converts carbon dioxide into solid minerals such as calcite. This may be a reason for celebration, but it has to be excavated, processed, advertised and sold, and, if it can’t be sold at a profit, it won’t be done.Recycling is in trouble because the world commodity prices for metal, glass, plastics etc. has fallen well below the cost of recovery. Local municipalities are having to pay large sums to store their recycling until the price recovers. A great insight to the ‘invisible hand of the Market’. John Ayers

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY?

"I’m referring to the latest over-the-top innovation, the recent introduction of two showers for use by first-class passengers on Emirates A380 super jumbo jets. The showers are obviously not an environmental step forward, given the additional fuel needed to carry enough water to let all 14 first-class passengers have two showers, if they want. In fact, said Andrew J. Parker, an Emirates senior vice president whose duties include the carrier’s environmental affairs, first-class passengers have not been using the showers to the extent Emirates originally anticipated when it allotted 500 kilos (slightly more than half a ton) of weight for the additional water. ...Meanwhile, it isn’t clear whether the first-class A380 passengers have cut back on showers because of environmental concerns, or merely because they don’t want to take themselves out of their private compartments and away from the free Champagne. Nor is it clear whether they might object to showering in the future with recycled water on that long flight to the other side of the world. But hey, everybody has to sacrifice." (New York Times, 22 December) RD

A JOB WITH PROSPECTS

" Scott Hines is a bloodhound who tracks down delinquent debtors. He enforces High Court judgments against defaulters and his caseload is rising as the economy slows. If your business owes money and Mr Hines knocks on your door, you are in for a lousy day. He rarely leaves empty-handed. ...But Mr Hines, 36, is having a lousy day of his own. He was out at 6am on this cold, bright London morning. But by 10.30am he has collected a big, fat zero. One metaphorical and literal cul-de-sac is just off Charlotte Street. The offices of a fashion wholesaler that owes £3,000 are shuttered and empty. “That happens a lot,” Mr Hines says, “By the time the courts have processed the case, the debtors have disappeared.”... An East End boy made good in a sharp suit and raincoat. Mr Hines is evasive on the question of his performance-related pay. Remuneration consultants say a High Court enforcement officer can earn more than £60,000 a year. For the hard-boiled Mr Hines the occupational hazards include being chased out of kebab shops with carving knives. Debt collectors can expect a prosperous new year as banks and suppliers seek repayment from retailers that traded poorly over Christmas. Claire Sandbrook, Mr Hines’s boss, is unapologetic that her debt collection business, Shergroup, is thriving as the downturn deepens. “That is the nature of the beast,” she says, “We deal in people’s misfortune. And the best way through that is to do the job professionally.’’ Shergroup deploys 25 enforcement officers to cover the whole of England and Wales."
(Financial Times, 17 December) RD

Food for Thought

A November 20th. article in the Toronto Star by David Hulchanski, Quotes,
“ It wasn’t too long ago that our language did not include terms like good jobs or bad jobs or the working poor. How could you work and be poor?"
Times have certainly changed. In the early 1970s about two- thirds of the city of Toronto’s neighbourhoods were middle income – within 20% of the average individual income. By 2006 that percentage had declined to just one third. The point is that in the 1970s most people thought that prosperity was here to stay, the fact being, within capitalism prosperity and security are all too fleeting. John Ayers

NO WAR EQUALS NO CAUSALITIES

Flanked by tanks and under the cover of a smoke screen, Scottish guards charge
into action on the Egyptian front at El Alamein during the second world war.
Were the brightest at the front?

"Being dumb has its benefits. Scottish soldiers who survived the second world war were less intelligent than men who gave their lives defeating the Third Reich, a new study of British government records concludes. The 491 Scots who died and had taken IQ tests at age 11 achieved an average IQ score of 100.8. Several thousand survivors who had taken the same test - which was administered to all Scottish children born in 1921 – averaged 97.4. The unprecedented demands of the second world war – fought more with brains than with brawn compared with previous wars - might account for the skew, says Ian Deary, a psychologist at the University of Edinburgh, who led the study. Dozens of other studies have shown that smart people normally live longer than their less intelligent peers. "We wonder whether more skilled men were required at the front line, as warfare became more technical," Dear says." (New Scientist, 20 December)

As they ponder such questions we wonder if the learned psychologists ever considered the case of all the members of the Socialist Party who managed to survive two world wars because we figured they were wars that were not fought in the interest of the working class. They survived these bloodbaths because they knew that wars were fought for markets and trade routes not ideologies. Does that make them dumber or more intelligent? RD

UPPER CLASS ARROGANCE

"Zimbabwe's farms are ruined, its economy has evaporated, and its people have begun to starve and die of cholera. What better time to call a feast? According to reports in Zimbabwe's domestic press on Thursday, President Robert Mugabe and delegates to the annual conference of his ruling Zanu-PF Party will chomp their way through 124 cattle, 81 goats and 18 pigs over the course of their deliberations in the central town of Bindura. "Even if no more beasts are donated," said Geoffrey Nyarota, managing editor of thezimbabwetimes.com, referring to the practice of delegates donating animals to the leadership, "124 head of cattle is an inordinately large quantity of beef." With 5,000 delegates expected to attend, he added, it worked out to "40 delegates per bovine over four days - that is not to mention the pork, the goat, the maize-meal, the rice, among other basic foodstuffs currently in acute shortage throughout Zimbabwe." (Yahoo News, 19 December) RD

C. OF E. SLUMP

"In one of the most holy weeks in the Christian calendar, a report says that in just over a generation the number of people attending Church of England Sunday services will fall to less than a tenth of what they are now. Christian Research, the statistical arm of the Bible Society, claimed that 2050 Sunday attendances will fall below 88,000. Compared with just under a million now." (Observer, 21 December) RD

POLITICAL REALTY

Bianca Jagger participating in a demonstration during the United Nations climate
change conference in Poznan, Poland

"The politicians just don't seem to get the seriousness of the global warming crisis. Scientists attending the recent UN climate conference in Poznan, Poland, complained that the gap between political rhetoric and scientific reality on climate change is growing."It doesn't matter what the politicians promise," said French climate scientist Phillipe Ciasis. "Even if we stop emissions growing today, the world will still warm by 2 °C - a lot more in some places. It is too late to prevent that." Ciais was at Poznan to present the latest findings of the Global Carbon Project, a network of scientists that monitors how humans are influencing the natural carbon cycle. While politicians boast of their progress in cutting CO2 emissions, in the real world the gas is actually accumulating at an accelerating rate. Emissions have risen 28% already this decade, compared with 9% for the whole of the 1990s, said Ciais." (New Scientist, 20 December)
This is another example of politicians making sympathetic noises about the environment but in practice to cut emmissions may put them at a disadvantage against their international competitors. If they put themselves at a disadvantage in the quest for profits you can be sure the environment will not be a factor they will consider. RD

POVERTY AND ABUNDANCE

"Nearly half of the population of the Democratic Republic of Congo may not live to 40 years of age, the UN Development Programme said in a report. It said that 75% lived below the poverty level - less than a dollar a day. More than half (57 per cent) had no access to drinking water or to basic health care (54 per cent) while three out of ten children were poorly nourished. The report highlighted the paradox of a country so rich in mineral resources suffering such poverty. Human rights groups say the battle in the east for control of mineral riches such as tin ore, gold and coltan is part of the problem." (Times, 18 December) RD

ANOTHER EXPERT BITES THE DUST

"Among the most astonishing statements to be made by any policymaker in recent years was Alan Greenspan's admission this autumn that the regime of deregulation he oversaw as chairman of the Federal Reserve was based on a “flaw”: he had overestimated the ability of a free market to self-correct and had missed the self-destructive power of deregulated mortgage lending. The “whole intellectual edifice,” he said, “collapsed in the summer of last year.”
(New York Times, 14 December) RD

PROFITS VERSUS HEALTH

"With America's obesity problem among kids reaching crisis proportions, even junk food makers have started to claim they want to steer children toward more healthful choices. In a study released earlier this year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 32 percent of children were overweight but not obese, 16 percent were obese, and 11 percent were extremely obese. Food giant Pepsi Co. for example, points out on its website that "we can play an important role in helping kids lead healthier lives by offering healthy product choices in schools." The company highlights what it considers its healthier products within various food categories through a "Smart Spot" marketing campaign ... But are wellness initiatives like Smart Spot just marketing ploys? Such moves by the food industry may seem to be a step in the right direction, but ultimately makers of popular junk foods have an obligation to stockholders to encourage kids to eat more--not less--of the foods that fuel their profits, says David Ludwig, a pediatrician and co-author of a commentary published in October in the Journal of the American Medical Association that raises questions about whether big food companies can be trusted to help combat obesity." (newsday.com, 16 December) RD

Abolishing the wages-system

Socialist organising tenet.Needs will be 'self assessed' in a socialist society, in contrast with the rationed access in the capitalist wage-slavery system, where needs can never be met..

"From Each According to their Ability.. To Each According to their Needs"
K.Marx

And so say all of us.

CAPITALISM IS INTERNATIONAL

Workers on a production line at the Kangnai shoe factory

In the early days of capitalism it was said that "Britain was the workshop of the world", but in modern times it was overtaken by the USA and now it seems that workshop is moving again."Wenzhou, the cradle of Chinese capitalism, produced one billion shoes last year, 40 per cent of the world's total. There's a one in three chance your sunglasses were made in this manufacturing city. And that padlock on your bicycle most likely hailed from here, perhaps even the bike itself. And that's not to mention nearly all the cigarette lighters in the world. Ye Jianqi, general manager of the Wenzhou Zhenqing Optical Company, is walking through the workrooms of her factory, where 10 million pairs of sunglasses were made in 2007, pointing out how much time the company has spent coming up with new designs. ..."This year because of the global financial crisis, we've gone from 200 orders last year to 18 orders. The export market has collapsed," she said, passing boxes of frames and lenses lying beside the assembly lines. "We used to have 300 employees, now we have just over 100. And compared to the other optical companies around here, that's better than average." (Independent on Sunday, 14 December) China is now experiencing the realities of modern capitalism, there used to be 300,000 companies in Wenzou, but 8,000 have closed this year. As world capitalism experiences a downturn China is affected like the rest of the system. RD

THE CARING NHS

"Elderly people who suffer broken hips are forced to wait a dangerously long time for operations, according to leading surgeons. Delays in treatment means some older patients fail to regain full mobility, lose their independence and end up in in a nursing home, senior doctors claim. In extreme cases patients suffer an early death. A survey by the British Orthopaedic Association, which represents most of the UK's 2,000 surgeons who repair joints, reveals that senior citizens have to wait too long for the surgery they need to give them the best chance of recovery." (Observer, 21 December) RD