Economy

All the latest figures from the global economy are pointing in the wrong direction. A growing sense of alarm is developing amongst the capitalist class. It is time to put their system out of its misery.

Intended to make houses affordable for first-time buyers, the government’s Help to Buy scheme has ended up just funneling money into the pockets of profiteering construction companies.

Another outsourcing giant has gone bust, following in the footsteps of Carillion last year. Workers must not be made to pay for these failed Ponzi schemes. We must bring an end to the disaster of privatisation.

2018 was a devastating year for British retailers, with the collapse of many household names. The period ahead offers little respite.

A range of factors – from Brexit, to stagnant wages, to technological changes – are combining to create a toxic cocktail for the UK retail sector. Shop closures are another symptom of capitalism’s deep crisis.

For the ruling class, the new year is starting as the old one ended: with great uncertainty surrounding the prospects for the capitalist system. Welcome to the new normal of economic crisis and social upheaval.

Brexit has brought all the contradictions in the UK economy to the surface. British capitalism is facing a special crisis of stagnant productivity and terminal decline. This is taking its toll on the working class.

Cut-throat competition in the airline industry is about to claim another victim. As ever, it is the workers who will bear the brunt of this race to the bottom.

Inequality continues to rise, as the mega-rich get richer and the working class is forced to pay for capitalism’s never-ending crisis.

After a decade of cuts, the Tory Prime Minister and Chancellor have both promised an end to austerity. But the continuing crisis of British – and world – capitalism makes this pledge ring hollow.

Recent events in Turkey and Argentina have highlighted the fragility of the so-called “emerging” economies. But, in reality, the whole world economic system is a house of cards waiting to collapse.

The TUC in Britain has recently called for a four-day working week. But how can we realise the potential of technology and achieve this demand?