IN PRAISE OF CAPITALISM

It comes as no surprise to learn that the Daily Telegraph is a fervent supporter of capitalism, but even by their biased viewpoint the following takes a bit of beating. "There's nothing selfish about capitalism. Like every economic model, it is a matrix within which individual actors can behave morally or immorally. But here's the thing: no one has yet come up with a system that rewards decent behaviour to the same extent. In an open market based on property rights and free contract, you become wealthy by offering an honest service to others." (Daily Telegraph, 19 January) This piece of nonsense was written by Daniel Hannan who has has been Conservative MEP for South East England since 1999. "Nothing selfish about capitalism" - this is a society wherein millions try to survive on less than $2 a day whilst other luxuriate in billionaire paradise. "Decent behaviour" - in a society where racism, sexism, world hunger and the threat of war is a daily experience. RD

CLASS DIVISION

One of the difficulties socialists have experienced when trying to get our fellow workers interested in world socialism is the persistent illusion that there is no such thing as a class division in society. As capitalism develops however this illusion becomes even more indefensible. "Even more than Britain, the United States has experienced the emergence of an arrogant and deracinated overclass of super-rich. Economists say that the super-rich in the United States are now seven times better off than they were 30 years ago. Troublingly, this massive growth of wealth and power has come directly at the expense of ordinary people. Statistics show that the income of the average working male in the United States has flat lined since the 1970s." (Daily Telegraph, 20 January) When even an out and out supporter of capitalism such as the Daily Telegraph exposes this class division our task is made much easier. RD

Buying and selling people

Celtic have the highest player transfer outlay in the last five years, with a spend of just over £35 million, closely followed by Rangers who have spent around £33 million in the same period. Coming in at a poor third is Hearts who spent almost £3 million.

The teams that are making money from selling their players?

Celtic again leading the way with £35,574,000. Rangers have made sales of just over £20 million. Here is where Hibernian really punch above their weight. The Easter Road side have sold just over £16 million of players in five years and Hearts also sold well, £14 million. So the profits for Hibs have been almost £15million and for Hearts £11 million.

Almost every club in the division has turned a modest profit with the wheeling and dealing of player sales. Hibernian's business model is so focused on bringing through youth players and moving them on for healthy fees. It appears that Scottish football is all about the search of young, marketable talent. Celtic’s transfer balance is interesting, given the figures involved, as they seem to spend exactly what they make, reinvesting the money taken from sales into the playing squad. The club transfer policy seems to be to find players with a sell-on value, put them in the metaphorical shop window, sell them on at a profit and then repeat the process with the proceeds.

http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/celtic/295669-what-has-your-team-spent-on-transfers-in-the-last-five-years/

The aristocracy keep control of Scotland

An earl will take over from a duke as president of one of Scotland’s major conservation charities. The 16th Earl of Lindsay will take on the role at the head of the National Trust for Scotland, which owns some of the nation’s top mountain estates. He will succeed the 10th Duke of Buccleuch.

The earl, James Randolph Lindesay-Bethune, educated at Eton and Edinburgh University, is currently chairman of the Scottish Agricultural College, United Kingdom Accreditation Service and the British Polythene Pension Scheme.

He is also a non-executive director at Scottish Resources Group and BPI, an associate director of the National Non-Food Crops Centre and a member of the advisory board of Business and a Sustainable Environment. From 1995 to 1997, he was the Conservative Scottish Minister with responsibility for agriculture, forestry, environmental protection, countryside, sustainable development and culture. He is also a vice-president of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and between 1998 and 2003 was chairman of RSPB Scotland. He is chairman of the Moorland Forum, president of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, vice-president of the International Tree Foundation and the Royal Smithfield Club, and was a recent president of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland.

Jamie Lindsay, as he is known to his friends, "...combines commercial acumen with direct experience of policy-making and governance..." according to Sir Kenneth Calman, chairman of the National Trust for Scotland

class war in India

India factory workers in revolt and kill company president. Workers at the Regency Ceramics factory in India raided the home of their boss, and beat him senseless with lead pipes after a wage dispute turned ugly. The workers were enraged enough to kill Regency’s president K. C. Chandrashekhar after their union leader, M. Murali Mohan, was killed by baton-wielding riot police. Once news of Murali’s death spread, the factory workers destroyed 50 company cars, buses and trucks and lit them on fire. They ransacked the factory.

The workers had been calling for higher pay and reinstatement of previously laid off workers since October. India’s factory workers are the lowest paid within the big four emerging markets. Per capita income in India is under $4,000 a year, making it the poorest country in the BRICs despite its relatively booming economy.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012/01/27/india-factory-workers-revolt-kill-company-president/

THE US CLASS DIVIDE

The recent electoral activities in the USA have enraged Mitt Romney because of the issue of economic justice. "Break the news gently to Mitt Romney, who seems apoplectic that the whole "rich get richer, poor get poorer" thing is being discussed out loud. In front of the children, for goodness sake. "You know I think it's fine to talk about those things in quiet rooms," he told the Today show's Matt Lauer last week. "But the president has made this part of his campaign rally. Everywhere he goes we hear him talking about millionaires and billionaires and executives and Wall Street. It's a very envy-oriented, attack-oriented approach." (Washington Post, 16 January) Despite Komney's distaste the issue of the class divide in the USA won't go away RD

CHILD SLAVES OF CAPITALISM

Everyone loves chocolate. But for thousands of people, chocolate is the reason for their enslavement. The chocolate bar you snack on likely starts at a plant in a West African cocoa plantation, and often the people who harvest it are children. Many are slaves to a system that produces something almost all of us consume and enjoy. "The CNN Freedom Project sent correspondent David McKenzie into the heart of the Ivory Coast - the world's largest cocoa producer - to investigate what's happening to children working in the fields. His work has resulted in a shocking, eye-opening documentary showing that despite all the promises the global chocolate industry made a decade ago, much of the trade remains unchanged. There are still child slaves harvesting cocoa, even though some have never even tasted chocolate and some don't even know what the word "chocolate" means." (CNN, 12 January) RD

A CORRUPT SOCIETY

Capitalism is a corrupt society with contracts and sales often the subject of under the counter deals. The world of medical treatment is not exempt from this all-pervading practice. "To head off medical conflicts of interest, the Obama administration is poised to require drug companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment. Many researchers have found evidence that such payments can influence doctors' treatment decisions and contribute to higher costs by encouraging the use of more expensive drugs and medical devices. ..... Large numbers of doctors receive payments from drug and device companies every year, sometimes into the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars,in exchange for providing advice and giving lectures." (New York Times, 16 January) Workers in the USA who imagine their medical treatment is untouched by the taint of monetary consideration should think again. RD

Who owns th North Pole - part 44

China, Brazil and India want seats on the Arctic Council as global warming creates new opportunities for shipping and resource extraction in the vast Arctic region. Japan and South Korea have indicated they want observer status as well. Non- Arctic countries want to exert economic and political influence in the region. China already has a research station in Norway's high Arctic.

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106455

workers shares - a share in losses

For Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland workers, the chance to buy discounted shares in their employer seemed a no-lose deal. Schemes such as the Sharekicker plan at HBOS, which allowed employees to buy the bank’s shares with their bonuses and get 50 per cent more free shares after three years.

In December 2007, the HBOS share price was 741.5p. A year later, after its takeover by Lloyds, it had plunged by more than 90 per cent to 69p, giving thousands of employees who had taken up the Sharekicker plan not only their jobs to worry about, but their savings.

Many staff were confident of prosperity-laden future of their employer and invested much of their cash back into the very company they worked for. The tragedy is that when things went pear-shaped, many lost both their jobs and their savings.

The Deputy Prime Minister talked of a democratic share ownership culture. A lot of bank workers can be forgiven for feeling cynical towards Nick Clegg’s proposal for employees to have a universal right to ask for company shares.

How much say in the running of HBOS, RBS and Northern Rock did the thousands of employees who owned shares in those firms have? Not even 100 per cent take-up would give a workforce sufficient ownership to earn a voice loud enough to be heard. Groups of individual shareholders can’t come close to the ownership held by pension schemes and other institutional investors, who have been found badly wanting as far as accountability is concerned.

http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/business-opinion/comment/jeff_salway_bank_workers_know_pitfalls_of_share_perks_1_2070693

LAZY WORKERS

A popular piece of nonsense that the press are fond of spreading is that all Britain's economic woes arise out of the laziness of the working class. Recent research would seem to give the lie to that view. "Workers who spend long hours at the office are more than twice as likely to develop depression as those who do a standard day, according to a study. British researchers found those who spend more than 11 hours a day - or 55 hours a week - at their desk faced a higher risk." (Daily Mail, 26 January) An 11 hour day hardly seems like the ideal for the work-shy. RD

A SENSE OF VALUES?

Government ministers have extremely arduous tasks and from time to time they must make harsh decisions. Thus the education minister has set about the task of cutting expenditure on education and introducing higher university fees. However a sense of priorities must be applied to government expenditure. "The Queen should be given a new royal yacht - likely to cost at least £60m as a way to help overturn Britain's mood of austerity, according to Cabinet minister Michael Gove. The Education Secretary suggested that greater efforts should be made to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this year to stop it being overshadowed by the Olympic Games." (Independent, 16 January) Cutting expenditure on working class education is one thing but Her Majesty needs a nice new means of transport. How is my knighthood doing by the way? RD

A DETESTABLE SOCIETY

There are many reasons to detest capitalism. You may detest that millions of children will die from the lack of clean water or your special hatred may be reserved for the millions of preventable deaths caused by malaria, but surely this piece of madness deserves a place in that catalogue of detestations. "For most dogs, a kennel used to comprise a few planks of wood held together with rusty nails to form a rather rudimentary shelter from the wind and rain. But now besotted owners are lavishing up to £3,000 on designer homes for their pets - from a Bauhaus-inspired cube-shaped structure to a pink castle complete with turrets." (Daily Mail, 14 January) A couple of pence for a mosquito net could save a life? Let's spend £3,000 on Rover's kennel. Detestable! RD

a drop o' the hard stuff?

Scotch whisky is now outperforming traditional investments, including the stock market and gold.

Figures from investment firm Whisky Highland show that some portfolios’ value has risen by almost 300 per cent in the last year. Three-year figures reveal that an investment in the 100 best-performing whiskies in 2008 would have risen by 163 per cent in 2011, while gold – which has soared due to the recession – rose 146 per cent. Diamonds rose by just 10 per cent, while shares and crude oil stock values fell.

Arthur Motley, buyer at Royal Mile Whiskies, said: “Collectors used to be interested in whisky as a drink and wanted a good bottle as part of their collection. Increasingly, people are buying as they see prices rising on eBay or at auctions. It is simply seen as an investment.”

David Robertson, Dalmore’s rare whiskies director, said: “People see whisky as an asset and with stocks and shares being so tough and interest from bank accounts so low, investors have been starting to look for other opportunities.”

The most expensive bottle of whisky so far is a bottle of limited-edition Dalmore, bought last year for £135,000

http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/edinburgh-east-fife/whisky_investors_cheered_by_rise_in_values_1_2084366

SCHOOLED FOR FAILURE

It is well known that the very rich take advantage of their wealth to ensure that their children obtain the best possible education. What is not as well known is how those from the poorest families are extremely handicapped by their lack of resources early on in their academic career. "The stark gap between the performance of disadvantaged pupils and their classmates from better off backgrounds is exposed in school league tables for the first time today. Figures show that only 33.9 per cent of disadvantaged pupils achieve the benchmark of five A* to C grade GCSE passes including maths and English compared to a national average of 58.2 per cent." (Independent, 26 January) Just another reason to get rid of the inequalities of capitalism. RD

NO LOG CABINS HERE

One of the illusions fostered by capitalism is that the poorest in the land can rise to a position of prominence by hard work. Thus we have the story of a USA President who came from humble beginnings in a log cabin. Recent figures published about Republican nominees for the highest office would seem to contradict that notion."Mitt Romney -Total net worth: $85 million to $264 million. Jon Huntsman - Total net worth: $16 million to $72 million. Newt Gingrich-Total net worth: $7 million to $31 million." (Yahoo Finance, 13 January) RD

A SLOW LEARNING PROCESS

One of the difficulties experienced by socialists when trying to convince their fellow workers about the importance of class and ownership is that the ideas of nationalism and racism are so prevalent. So it is heartening to see some evidence of social attitudes changing. "Conflict between rich and poor now eclipses racial strain and friction between immigrants and the native-born as the greatest source of tension in American society, according to a survey released Wednesday. About two-thirds of Americans now believe there are strong conflicts between rich and poor in the United States, a survey by the Pew Research Center found, a sign that the message of income inequality brandished by the Occupy Wall Street movement and pressed by Democrats may be seeping into the national consciousness. The share was the largest since 1992, and represented about a 50 percent increase from the 2009 survey, when immigration was seen as the greatest source of tension." (New York Times, 11 January) RD

MORE ELECTION PROMISES

Politicians love nothing better than making promises and the nearer they get to election time the greater the promises. "US President Barack Obama has attacked income inequality as he set the tone for his re-election bid in his third State of the Union speech. Mr Obama emphasised the importance of an economy that works for everyone, in the nationally televised address to Congress. The speech saw a renewed call for higher taxes on the wealthy, something Republicans strongly oppose. The US economy is on the mend, but unemployment remains high at 8.5%." (BBC News, 25 January) After a couple of years of Obama in power we still have 400 Americans with an income equal to that of the total income of half the population, but that does not stop him from going on about "an economy that works for everyone". RD

BEHIND THE GLITZ

We are constantly being told by the mass media that we should admire the enterprise and inventiveness of the great American computer and electronic companies, but behind all that glamorous facade lurks the ugly realities of capitalism. "As American consumers ogle over shiny new gadgets at this week's Consumer Electronic's Show, the workers that make those products are threatening mass suicide for the horrid working conditions at Foxconn. 300 employees who worked making the Xbox 360 stood at the edge of the factory building, about to jump, after their boss reneged on promised compensation, reports English news site Want China Times. It's not like this is the first time working conditions at Foxconn have made news outside China. But iPhone and Xbox sales surely haven't lagged in the wake of those revelations and neither Apple nor Microsoft has done much of anything to fix things." (Yahoo News, 10 January) Instead of the raise they requested, these Chinese workers were given the following ultimatum: quit with compensation, or keep their jobs with no pay increase. Most quit and never got the money. RD

CAPITALIST "PROGRESS"

For thousands of years tribes have lived in isolated parts of the Amazon jungle without contact with the so-called "civilised" world. Sometimes this contact turns out disastrously. "Loggers in Brazil captured an eight-year-old girl from one of the Amazon's last uncontacted tribes and burned her alive as part of a campaign to force the indigenous population from its land, reports claimed on Tuesday night. ... Luis Carlos Guajajaras, a local leader from a separate tribe, told a Brazilian news website that they tied to her a tree and set her alight as a warning to other natives, who live in a protected reserve in the north-eastern state of Maranhao . "She was from another tribe, they live deep in the jungle, and have no contact with the outside world. It would have been the first time she had ever seen white men. We heard that they laughed as they burned her to death," he said." (Daily Telegraph, 10 January) Capitalism, with its ceaseless drive for profits is always catastrophic for tribal society. RD