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The tempo of the struggle



The
events of the past year or so, financial meltdown, political instability,
uncertainty over jobs and the threat that many workers could lose their homes
represents a huge shift in society, both internationally and especially in
Britain where the effects of the “credit crunch” have been particularly acute.
In the context of such a deep crisis the halcyon days of the “feel good factor”
and the “15 years of unbroken economic growth”, seem like ancient history.

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The first defeat of the German Revolution

In November we wrote about how the German Revolution ended
World War I in November 1918. After 4 years of intense warfare, the
German workers and soldiers ended the war that had cost millions of people their lives. The
emperor fell and a Social Democratic government came to power. This was
Germany’s own equivalent of the Russian "February Revolution" of 1917
that overthrew the Tsar.
The workers and soldiers had taken power into their hands but also
handed it over to the very same people who so shamefully supported the war in
1914. Right wing Social Democrats Ebert, Scheidemann and Noske were catapulted
into power and Liebknecht and Luxemburg, who

had opposed the war, were left
with a small group of 3,000 revolutionaries in the Spartacus League.

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Fight job losses. Fight unemployment



Whose fault is it that nearly 30,000 workers have lost their jobs
with the closure of all the Woolworths stores? Not the workers, that’s for
sure. We are due to see an avalanche of job losses after Christmas. Unemployment
is nearly 2 million already, and due to hit 3 million in 12 months’ time. None
of these workers deserve to lose their jobs. They are the victims of a
capitalist system that is just not working. How can we make things better? If
we fight for work or full pay, the bosses would soon find them something to do.

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Crunch gags (courtesy thelondonpaper)

What’s the capital of Iceland? £3.50 What’s the definition of optimism? A banker who irons five shirts on a Sunday. Japan is mired in financial uncertainty. The Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and shares in Kamikaze bank have nose-dived. The Isle of Dogs Building Society has collapsed. They’ve called in the retrievers.

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Remember, Gordon, tax evasion is illegal

The government is desperate to stop effective action against tax evasion. Tax evasion, remember, is illegal. It is a criminal offence. The UK is lobbying to remove paragraph 10 of the Doha Outcome Document. This provides a framework for sharing information, simplifying tax laws and nailing the criminals. John Christensen, director of Tax Justice Network, said: ‘The European Parliament last week made a strong statement demanding the commission support this document. Britain is out on a limb within Europe. It’s the usual suspects of the US, UK, Australia and Canada. These are the countries that created the toxic financial crisis […]

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Does Keynesianism work?



Keynesianism is the only serious economic theory that contends it
can do away with the tendency of capitalism to move from boom to bust by stimulating
the economy. If it could really perform that miracle and eliminate the
contradictions of capitalism, then it could provide a sound platform for
reformism and ever-improving living standards for the mass of workers under
capitalism. If Keynesianism works, then reformism is practical politics.

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The spectre is back



In 1848 The Communist Manifesto opened with the line, "A spectre is
haunting Europe – the spectre of communism. " The spectre of Marx haunts
world capitalism still.The years of steadily rising living standards, of relatively full employment
have gone, never to return. This year, and for years to come, workers look with
trepidation at their future. Will they have a job? Will they still have a roof
over their heads?

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Class warrior?

The Labour Party has selected David Shaw as its candidate for an East Ayrshire council by-election. A Ferrari-driving multi-millionaire with a fortune from the milk trade, he is a former chair of South Ayrshire Conservative party. During the miners’ strike he enjoyed toasting Margaret Thatcher in the area’s pubs, the better to annoy the locals. Where do they dig these people up?

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Drunk in charge?

The two biggest pubcos in the land, Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns, have seen more than 70% wiped off the value of their shares. Dividends have been cancelled and concerns expressed as to their long term viability. So what happens? The chief executives of the two firms have collected long term incentive awards of £1.17m. Incentives for failure, presumably? Both bosses have laden the chains with debt, careless of the future. Nils Pratley (Guardian 10.12.08) comments, “Punch is an extreme example of the pub industry’s love affair with debt and financial complexity in recent years. The biggest six quoted operators […]

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Shed a tear

London residents Lakshmi Mittal and family have lost £21.4bn on their shares in the family firm since June as stock markets have plummeted. Mind you, they’ve still got £12bn left. Vladimir Kim has lost £3.28bn, and Anil Agarwal £2.95bn.

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Who’s in charge?

At Labour Party Conference Malcolm Wicks criticised energy regulator Ofgem on the grounds that they had “not understood fuel poverty”. To a shocked silence, he went on: “They haven’t been a force in social policy when it comes to all of this. When I met some of them, years ago now, some of their technocrats told me about the wonders of switching. They had no idea that many of my constituents are nowhere near a computer and had other priorities than switching from supplier to supplier every month. So I think, sociologically, that there’s been an ignorance there.” For the […]

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