This is an updated version of an educational piece on Marxist economics that was produced in October 1974. It is an introduction to what often seems a complicated subject. It includes recommendations for further reading and should be read by all those interested in deepening their knowledge about Marxism.

The annual conference of the bosses' organisation the CBI is usually marked by a series of complaints about wages (too high), regulation (too much) and taxes (too unavoidable) – just like a trade union conference but in reverse. This year's conference is no exception.

Several months ago
there was a report in some British papers of an unusual speech by the Governor
of the Bank of England, Mervyn King. The speech gives a glimpse of a discussion
that must have recently taken place amongst the British capitalists, and which
the Gate Gourmet dispute is a direct consequence of. It is about the use of
cheap immigrant labour to drive down wages and worsen working conditions.