The latest news, analysis, and Marxist theory from The Communist, alongside reports of RCP activity.
The mood leading up to this weekend’s G20
summit and the protest
against it became increasingly tense throughout the week. The police
and the state spent plenty of time informing the public of its vast
arsenal, troop numbers, facilities, and readiness to defend the
fence—itself a graphic symbol of the growing class divide not only here
in Canada, but around the world. Rob Lyon reports on the action on the streets.
Over the past few days the labour and trade union movement
in Coventry has begun to move into action to mobilise working people against
the cuts announced by the Lib-Con government. The mass Unite rally last Saturday,
June 19th, already reported on the Socialist Appeal website, was the
first step.
“Open for business.” These were the words spoken by
chancellor George Osborne as he delivered the most vicious anti-working class
budget for generations – a budget for big business indeed!
The economic downturn has placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the
working class who have paid the price for the mistakes of the bosses and
bankers through cuts and redundancies. The youth in particular have been hit
hard with many unable to find work or being forced into education.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico highlights the
real state of US capitalism today. While making a lot of noise, Obama
is not prepared to take on the oil companies in any serious meaningful
way. What he is doing is passing the buck to the US working class.
The huge spillage of oil in the Gulf of Mexico was an accident
waiting to happen, as this brief comment from an ex-oil worker points
out. It shows quite clearly that our environment cannot be left in the
hands of a greedy, money-grabbing coterie of capitalists who own and
control the means of production.
Throughout the four hours of the indoor rally at the Methodist Central
Hall in Coventry on Saturday June 19th, some 140 trade unionists and
members of
Coventry communities came together and participated. The rally had been
convened
by the Unite union to highlight the ongoing dispute between youth
workers
organised in the CYWU section of Unite and Coventry City Council.
The question of housing in Britain
today reveals much about the character of the crisis that permeates our
entire
society. Through the medium of housing we can see almost every problem
our
society faces – from inequality to out of control speculation, health
problems
to overcrowding, groaning infrastructures to gross regional imbalances
and
distortions. Dan Morley, in the first of a three part article, looks at the situation facing the housing market today.
In the first of a regular
column where we look at DVDs which may be of interest to socialists, we pick up
on a DVD reissue of the classic film, Battle of Algiers.
Alan Woods concludes his analysis of the unfolding crisis of capitalism
in Europe and how it is impacting on the organisations of the working
class.
Alan Woods continues his analysis of the crisis facing European capitalism and their institutions.
After months of build up, the World Cup is finally underway. As it
approaches the end of the first week, in what is a month-long bloated
competition, something has become rather clear. Hype is
everything.