THIS IS PROGRESS?

When the Socialist Party of Great Britain was formed away back in 1904 we were told by reformers in the Liberal Party and later the Labour Party that by a series of reforms capitalism could be made more fair and that the inequalities between the classes could be eradicated by a programme of reformist legislation. More than a hundred years of such legislation has led to what? According to a survey produced by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission set up in 2007 to produce a three yearly report on the "state of the nation", it has led to abject failure. "Today's report How Fair Is Britain?, shows that health inequalities remain stark between rich and poor, with men and women from the highest income groups living seven years longer on average than the lower." (Times, 11 October) All the ingenuity of the reformers has merely led to the continuation of the same stinking inequalities of capitalism. RD

WHAT IS REVOLUTION?

THE WORD REVOLUTION is almost as misused as the word Socialism. If a government is changed, a political leader is replaced, a coup takes place, and the media shout "revolution!" Indeed, if this usage of the word were correct, then revolutions occur every year and sometimes every month!
     What is meant by "revolution" and why is this concept so important to the future of the working class? Revolution means a transformation in the object to which the term is being applied. If it is being used about society, then it means a total change in economic relations. The easiest example to understand is the revolution that took place to transform feudalism to capitalism. In feudal society the majority were tied to their superiors. Over and above what they produced for themselves and their families in order to live, the serfs were compelled to produce for their feudal masters and the Church. That form of society was transformed by a revolution into a society—capitalism--where there is no direct ownership of the lives of people by other people in the same way.
     Capitalist society is organized on the basis that the worker sells his labour-power voluntarily to an employer for a wage or salary. In theory, no one is compelled to work for another. In practice, the majority must do so. They have no other means of living, since legally they do not own sufficient of the means of wealth production to enable them to live without this form of selling known as wage-labour.
     In all forms of society, minorities have owned the means of living, with the result that the other classes have had to submit to the dictates of the minority whilst that particular form of society existed. Feudalism depended on agricultural production and personal subservience by the majority to clearly defined groups. Privilege in capitalism depends not on accidents of birth (though these can be of importance to the individual) but on the ownership of capital. Whilst in feudal society by and large it was birth that determined into which class one fell, in capitalist society it is purely a question of ownership of wealth however obtained.
     The revolution that will change capitalism into socialism will involve the replacement of all the relationships of capitalism. Instead of the primary characteristics of, capitalism--production for profit, the buying and selling of all things including labour-power, and private (or state) ownership of wealth, society will be characterised by common ownership and of free access to that wealth. Production will be for human satisfaction only, hence neither money nor all the paraphernalia that goes with it, and will be based upon voluntary co-operation by all in the interests of all. To get to that form of society involves a transformation---a revolution. It is only in Socialism that man will solve the major problems he now faces. That is why the SPGB is a revolutionary party.
     Because the next revolution must be the work of the majority consciously co-operating in the work that it will entail, a transformation in men's ideas is the pre-requisite to its successful implementation.

RAW

ALL RIGHT FOR SOME

"A rare pink diamond that goes on sale next month could fetch up to $38 million, according to auctioneers Sotheby's. The fancy intense pink 24.78 carat gem is being sold by an unidentified private collector, the auction house said. "We are able to say its been in the possession of the same owner for 60 years, but beyond that, we are not able to reveal more", Sotheby's spokesman Matthew Weigman said Tuesday. The diamond was last sold by New York jeweler Harry Winston and has a classic emerald cut with gently rounded corners, the company said." (Associated Press, 8 October) RD

Failure of Reformism

"Yet despite this significant progress, our ambitions still exceed our achievements and it is clear that we have some distance still to go. Despite all our advances, we have unfinished business and new social and economic faultlines to contend with." Kaliani Lyle, Scotland Commissioner, Equality and Human Rights Commission said

41 per cent of permanent exclusions were among pupils from the 20 per cent of areas in Scotland with the highest levels of deprivation.

Scotland's suicide rate is higher than that for the UK as a whole, with a figure of 12.6 per 100,000 population compared with 9.51 per 100,000 population. Men are more likely to kill themselves than women, with rates particularly high for men aged 25-34 and those aged 35-44. Men and women living in the most deprived areas are twice as likely to take their own life as those in less deprived areas.

KICK 'EM WHEN THEY ARE DOWN

"Disabled people will be hit with more than £9bn in welfare cuts over the next five years, a think tank has warned. Demos suggests the government's plans will see 3.6m disabled people and carers lose about £9.2bn by 2015. It said moving those on incapacity benefit who were reassessed as fit to work to jobseeker's allowance would account for half of the losses." (BBC News, 9 October) RD

Food for thought

In a survey, Working Less and Earning More' the Toronto Star reported (4/Sept/2010) that the average wage is $23.10 per hour ($19.93 in 2005) and average hours are 33.24 per week (down from 34.69 in 2000). The largest job increases came in the service sector where hardly anyone is offered a full week to save on benefit payments, and 82% said they would take a pay cut to work at a job that guaranteed a work-life balance.

Reading Notes
Continuing from above (the prevailing ideas…) Charles C. Mann in "1491" shows how rulers change history to create allegiance to their cause, "Tlacaelel (ruler of the Mexica in ancient Mexico) insisted that in addition to destroying the codices (picture histories) of their former oppressors, the Mexica should set fire to their own codices. His explanation for this idea can only be described as Orwellian: "It is not fitting that our people/ Should know these pictures/ Our people, our subjects will be lost/ And our land destroyed/ For these pictures are full of lies". The lies were the inconvenient fact that the Mexica past was one of poverty and humiliation. To motivate the people properly, Tlacaelel said, the priesthood should rewrite Mexica history by creating new codices, adding in the great deeds whose lack now seemed embarrassing and adorning their ancestry with ties to the Toltecs and Teotihuacan." i.e. the Ministry of Truth is established to tell lies. Sounds familiar!
Further on, Mann describes how loyalty to the ruling class can be achieved, "In their penchant for ceremonial public slaughter, the Alliance (of Mexican tribes) and Europe were much more alike than either side grasped. In both places the public death was accompanied by the reading of ritual scripts. And in both the goal was to create a cathartic paroxysm of loyalty to the government – in the Mexica case, by recalling the spiritual justification for the empire; in the European case, to reassert the sovereign's divine power after it had been injured by a criminal act."

For socialism and meaningful reading, John Ayers

WORKING FOR NOTHING

"Nurses are being asked to work extra shifts for free to save their jobs as health boards across Scotland spend up to £30million hiring agency staff. Almost 4,000 NHS jobs, including more than 1,500 nursing and midwifery posts, will be axed this year due to cutbacks, according to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon. But last night it emerged that the country's 14 health boards have set aside a combined £30million for temporary nurses and theatre staff over the next four years. Grampian hopes to save £385,000 by asking staff at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary's surgical unit to take on one more shift each month for no extra money." (Press and Journal, 6 October) RD

Food for thought

Churchill had freedom of speech and used it to his own ends and those of the capitalist class. In a new book by Richard Toye, "Churchill's Empire", the author reveals a side of Churchill not usually shown but well known to oppressed peoples of the Third World. Toyne details Churchill's part in replacing the democratic government of Iran with the Shah after the
Iranian government had the audacity to demand a fair share of the profits of their oil, "The idea that leaders of poor countries would stand up and claim control of their own resources was something that Churchill could never grasp or sympathize with. The mere fact that some valuable resource was sitting under the soil of another country instead of British soil did
not mean that Britain shouldn't have it." Sounds just like a dozen other imperialist powers! John Ayers

Food for thought

The prevailing ideas of a society are those of the ruling class, Marx stated. Here is one small example of how that happens. The University of Toronto, like all educational institutes, solicits donations from anyone and everyone. Many wealthy businessmen have donated to get their names on plaques, auditoriums, or even whole buildings, depending on the donation.
Those so commemorated are the likes of merchant banker Joseph Rotman, pharmaceutical entrepreneur, Leslie Dan, and businessman, Peter Monk, chairman of Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold mining company. Unfortunately, those without money, even icons such as Tommy Douglas, recently voted the Greatest Canadian of All Time, and considered the
father of Canada's public health care system, do not get their names on walls as a group of professors found out when they proposed naming the Health Studies Program after Douglas. Presumably, being dead, he was unable to contribute hard cash, and didn't meet the requirements for potential fund raising. Peter Monk donated $35 million to help set up the
Monk school of Global Affairs. Linda McQuaig and Neil Brook reveal in their new book, "The Trouble with Billionaires" (reviewed in Toronto Star 12/Sept/2010) that Monk would receive a tax refund of $16 million on the donation, more if he donated the money in the form of shares, reducing his donation to about half. Various levels of government contributed $66million but that didn't count for anything when it came to naming the building. It gets worse. Monk's donation will be spread out over many years and will be subject to his family's approval of the school, i.e. socialist professors need not apply. The school's director will be required to report annually to a board appointed by Munk 'to discuss the programs, activities, and initiatives of the school in greater detail.' Obviously, the school will have to reflect the views of Munk, not those of taxpayer John Ayers, even though I contributed much more (without my consultation, of course.) It is fine to have freedom of speech, but that right to get your ideas and opinions heard depends on how much money you have, as all elections show. John Ayers

THIRSTING FOR A NEW SOCIETY

"About 80% of the world's population lives in areas where the fresh water supply is not secure, according to a new global analysis. Researchers compiled a composite index of "water threats" that includes issues such as scarcity and pollution. The most severe threat category encompasses 3.4 billion people." (BBC News, 29 September) RD

PROFIT AND POLLUTION

In its endless quest for profit capitalism pollutes the rivers, the seas and the atmosphere. A particularly nasty incident has recently occurred that threatens to turn the world-famous Blue Danube into a sludgy red colour. "A state of emergency has been declared in the Hungarian region submerged by toxic sludge because the chemical flood is threatening water supplies by rushing towards the Danube River. The lethal tidal wave of poisonous red mud burst from a reservoir of toxic waste belonging to an alumina plant in the town of Ajka and flooded a 16-square mile area. At least four people were killed, 120 were treated for serious chemical burns and six remain missing after the tsunami of poison surged through several towns around 100 miles southwest of Budapest." (Daily Mail, 6 October) There will be the usual outcry with well-meaning environmentalists calling for "something must be done". Nothing will be done of course because the profit motive is sacrosanct inside capitalism and human considerations are of no account compared with the need for bigger and bigger profits. RD

Food for thought

Talking of poverty, the queen is apparently experiencing difficulties in paying for heating of her drafty old palaces. The Toronto Star reports (25/Sept/2010) that the Queen's staff applied for subsidized heating in 2004 to a program designed to help people in need. Apart from being one of the richest people in the world, the queen receives household funds from the taxpayers to the tune of $60 million per year. Tough life!
After going through a year-long strike with its workers, Brazilian mining giant, Vale Inco, is back in the news. They are preparing to dump 400 000 tons of toxic tailings into a Newfoundland Lake known for its prize-winning trout. Apparently, the federal Fisheries Act says that if a lake is re-classified as a 'tailings impoundment area' a company cannot be sued for dumping. Why is there such a loophole anyway, one might ask? Vale thinks it is doing nothing wrong and is complying with the law. The second part may be quite true but this is where we ask, for whom does your government work? And, it is just these companies and this government on whom we must rely to put our polluted planet right! John Ayers

Food for thought

On the poverty front, both The Toronto Star and Gwynne Dyer (EMC newspaper) review progress of the Millennium Development Goals set out in 2000. Both see progress but too slow, and faltering. The Star reports that the number of hungry people has been reduced (other figures contradict this) from 20% to 16%, yet still children are dying at the rate of one
every six seconds. Dwyer sees progress in key areas such as literacy, access to clean water, and infant mortality, yet sees a rising population as a barrier to bringing everyone up to Northern Hemisphere standards. Pollution, global warming, and resource depletion would put a halt to any rise in living standards of the Third World. Neither, of course, can think outside the capitalist box and promote a complete reorganization of the economic and social systems under which we live today. To them a shared world of the provision of all needs for all to replace the total madness of capitalist production is not a consideration. It's about time that it
was! John Ayers

CAPITALISM STINKS

"Super cool Swedish perfumers Byredo were inspired by the Seventies when they created 'Green', with its notes of sage, honeysuckle and almond. Price: £115 for 100ml. (Independent, 27 September) RD

A SUITABLE CANDIDATE?

"Before running for the US Senate, Christine O'Donnell dabbled in witchcraft. That may account for mounting evidence that her grasp on reality is fading. Ms O'Donnell has little executive experience but an impressive CV that claims that she has studied at the prestigious Claremont Graduate University, California, and at the University of Oxford. She has also indicated in a lawsuit that she once began a master's degree course at Princeton. Not one of these claims is true." (Times, 30 September) RD

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

Financiers, stockbrokers and City wheeler-dealers are fond of portraying themselves as masters of the universe whose expertise and accumen gives them an insight into how modern capitalism works. However one of their numbers, David Tepper has revealed in a recent TV interview some of the tricks of his trade that cast doubt on the master of the universe description. "Last year we learnt that the founder of Appaloosa Management kept a pair of brass testicles on his desk to rub for good luck. Another of his tricks emerged in an interview with CNBC last week. "We keep three little pigs in the office and we shake a pig to see which way to invest. If it lands on its feet we go long, if it lands on its back we go short." (Sunday Times, 26 September) David Tepper as a hedge fund billionaire investor may regard himself as a master of the universe, but to socialists he is more a master of the con-trick! RD

CONTRASTS IN CAPITALISM

The extravagant spending habits of President Robert Mugabe's wife Grace are well-documented. Described as the First Shopper of Zimbabwe, she is usually clad in haute couture and hidden behind designer sunglasses. With a £25,000 diamond-encrusted Rolex watch hanging off her wrist, the 45-year-old thinks nothing of spending millions of pounds during foreign shopping trips each year - while ordinary Zimbabweans can barely find enough food to eat. (Daily Mail, 26 September) RD

THE CREATIONIST MYTH

"Richard Dawkins seemed to be saying last night that he rather envied those teachers who have to drill irregular Latin verbs into the heads of schoolchildren. At least they do not have to teach their discipline against the background noise of well-organised and expensively funded pressure groups who deny that ancient Rome even existed and claim that all languages sprang into existence simultaneously more recently than that. But that, in a sense, is the fate of the scientist who wants to teach evolution. In the USA, 40 per cent of the population believes that every word of the Bible is literally true." (Independent, 16 September) RD

MONEY AND MEDALS

Schoolboys and schoolgirls are taught about the splendour of military valour and yet such medals as the Victoria Cross are often sold by the recipenients or their surviving family in order to get by inside capitalism. Many English schoolboys must dream of reprising the football heroes of 1966 and winning a World Cup medal, but like military heroes the football heroes and their families have got to get by inside capitalism. "Yesterday, more than 40 years on from their great triumph, Nobby Stiles became the latest member of the team to announce that he was selling his winner's medal. When he does, Roger Hunt, Bobby Charlton and Jack Charlton will be the only players to still to own their precious medallions. The other eight players (only the 11 who played the final were initially awarded a medal) have sold theirs to collectors or to museums. Stiles, who since retiring from football has been working on the after-dinner speaking circuit and recently had a stroke, said he wanted to cash in on his medal, along with other items of memorabilia from his playing days, to provide for his family." (Independent, 15 September) So whether you die for their country or just win a game of football capitalism will evaluate your actions in pounds and pence. RD

Glasgow's Shame Games

A useful blog to follow that focusses upon the coming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is the Glasgow Games Monitor 2014. It carries the story of Margaret Jaconelli and her fight for a fair deal rather than accept the risible £30,000 she has been offered for her two-bedroom tenement home.Yet Margaret Jaconelli states that an independent chartered surveyor valued her home (which she owns) at £95,000. A quick search on S1 homes shows that there isn’t a single property in the East End of Glasgow going for less than £72,950. This makes a valuation of £30,000 seem like a sick joke.Imagine if a Compulsory Purchase Order was placed on a homeowner in a wealthy suburb of the West End, and if instead of offering the full value of the house, the Council offered less than a third of that value; or shared ownership; or a Housing Association. There would be an outcry. Certain developers – such as Charles Price - who don’t even live in the area, have been compensated with millons of pounds profit. Mayfair property developer Charles Price and the City Council. Price bought a parcel of land in Dalmarnock for £8 million in the period 2002-2005. The land also lies on a site earmarked for the Commonwealth Games Village and is likewise deemed essential for the Games development. The City Council had it within their powers to perform a Compulsory Purchase Order on Price’s land, but instead negotiated with Price (a process denied to Margaret Jaconelli and the other shopkeepers) resulting in a fantastically generous £17 million sale of the land - with £3 million added VAT. A total cost of £20 million pounds . Price has argued that he didn’t know the site he bought would later be developed for the Games Village. This claim seems remarkably economical with the truth. In fact, Price’s PPD consortium was one of two bidders for the construction of the Games Village site, and it is hugely unlikely that a consortium of that scale including leading architectural firms, and real estate advisors wouldn’t know about such a significant development. More likely, they bought the land knowing that its monopoly value would increase enormously with the pressure of the Games.

“I’m just a wee person from the east end of Glasgow...They said well we’re just going to grass the site over. I said, listen, do not tell me that in the East End of Glasgow, near the city centre, that all this land is going to be grassed over. It all boils down to money. I know the way everything gets sold, the bricks, everything, the land will get sold"

Later, when Glasgow bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, it became clear that the building, like many others around it, stood in the way of the Athlete’s Village. This development of approximately 38 hectares will be adjacent to the new National Indoor Sports Arena and cycling Velodrome. According to the brief to the consortia of companies bidding for the development rights for the Village, the site should ultimately contain around 1,200 homes. The significant majority of these will be sold in the open market after the Games.