A review of ‘Live working or die
fighting: how the working class went global’ by Paul Mason (Harvill Secker
£12.99)
"The theoretical conclusions of the Communists are in no way based on
ideas or principles that have been invented, or discovered, by this or that
would-be universal reformer.
They merely express, in general terms, actual relations springing from
an existing class struggle, from a historical movement going on under our
eyes."
(Marx and Engels:1848 "Manifesto of the Communist Party")
This is a book that every young activist, trade unionist or socialist
will want to read. Paul Mason, a journalist on BBC2’s Newsnight programme,
takes nine examples from labour history over the past 190 years or so and
compares them to struggles that are taking place today. He demonstrates that
the issues and problems facing workers today are similar to those faced by
workers over the past two centuries. Obviously the world in 2008 is different
to that in the early nineteenth century, and specific tactics and strategy
which applied in the past may not apply to the current situation, but the same
basic problems faced by workers of earning a living under capitalism remain.
This is the view of Paul Mason in this book, and trade unionists in Britain
today would agree with him. The title of the book came from the weavers’ revolt
in Lyons in 1831 which is the subject of the second chapter of the book. The
weavers would rather die fighting than live working.
If this book did no more than be an invaluable guide to some of the
main events in the history of the labour movement then it would be worth
reading. But Mason also believes though that many of the lessons learnt in the
past, particularly about how workers should organise in the workplace, are also
pertinent to struggles today. This aspect makes the book an important addition
to the armoury of trade unionists and socialists everywhere. Mason does this by
telling the stories of how individuals are directly affected by these great
events, for the historical episodes he uses diaries, memoirs and histories, for
today’s events he himself has interviewed the participants.
The main section of the book itself is divided into nine chapters. Each
chapter opens with a brief account of the experiences of workers today gathered
by Mason from all around the world during the past 5 years. Each contemporary
experience is then followed by an account of an episode in labour history where
workers faced similar problems to those of today. Obviously, what worked in the
past cannot be applied mechanically today disregarding huge differences in
time, place and culture, but it is instructive nevertheless to examine both the
similarities and differences. Thus:
Shenzhen, China in 2003 is paired with the Peterloo Massacre, Manchester
1819; Varanasi, India, 2005 with the silk weavers’ revolt, Lyons 1831; Amukoko, Nigeria, 2005 with the Paris
Commune, 1871; Basra, Iraq, 2006 with the American workers inventing May Day,
1886; Canary Wharf, London, 2004 with the rise of unskilled unionism in
1889-1912; Huanuni, Bolivia, 2006 with the German workers’ movement before and
after the First World War; New Delhi,
India, 2005 with the 1927 Shanghai
revolution; El Alto, Bolivia, 2006 with the experience of Jewish workers in the
Bund; and Neuquén, Argentina 2006 & workers control in Italy in the 1920s
& France in the 1930s.
Much to my regret, there is no room in this review to give a flavour of
the richness of the experiences of workers in all the examples given – all of
them are worth reading. In every example rank and file workers
demonstrate their willingness to create a better world for themselves and
demonstrate their capacity for self-sacrifice.
There are many fascinating
stories in this book. The chapter on the Paris Commune is the best brief
account I have read, but this is probably surpassed by the section on the
Chinese workers in Shanghai in the 1920s which should be essential reading for
anyone wishing to understand what happened in China during that time. The
account of how an SPD worker lived his everyday life before the First World War
is an eye-opener. Perhaps the most poignant history is that of the activities
of the Bund, the Jewish workers’ organisation, in the years before the Second
World War. The standout part of the book is the account of the Shenzhen workers
in China in the current day. If you have any doubt that current-day Chinese
workers face some of the most exploitative conditions in the world today you
should read this part of the book.
At the end, Mason also provides a brief history of the labour movement
since the Second World War in both the Western ‘developed’ countries and in the
developing world. Space precludes a detailed analysis, but clearly Mason is no
Marxist – some issues he raises Marxists will agree with and some issues
Marxists will disagree with.
If there is a weakness to the book it is in a rather contradictory
approach to theory. Paul Mason makes a powerful argument that activists today
can and should learn important lessons from the past and apply those lessons to
their current predicament. Unfortunately, in so doing, he is dismissive about
the importance of theory. For example, in the section on the new general
unionism which organised unskilled workers at the end of the 19th century, Mason refers to "the great attraction of syndicalism, as
against the intellectual creeds of socialism and anarchism, was its roots in
the working class". In other words what was important was not theory but
practical organisation. Mason has a point, but how can workers, both in Britain
and around the world, learn lessons from previous struggles without drawing
general conclusions, that is theoretical conclusions, about the nature of class
struggle, capitalism, working-class organisations and so on?
Inevitably, workers can and do arrive at theoretical conclusions. For a
majority this will be as a direct consequence of struggles they themselves
participate in, a very small minority will draw theoretical conclusions as a
result of reading and discussion even in the present day. Ironically Mason
cannot avoid reflect this discussion about theory amongst workers, but is
somewhat dismissive of it. For example, at the start of the chapter about the
German working-class movement, Oskar Hippe is a 14 year old member of the German
SPD who in takes part in an anti-War march days before SPD Deputies vote in
favour of the First World War. By the end of the chapter, in 1933 Oskar is a
member of the Trotskyist opposition in the German Communist Party. Clearly,
even on the individualist basis Mason takes in the book, important theoretical
debates have taken place amongst workers, debates that are of relevance today,
but Mason gives no real indication, even in brief outline, of these debates.
His jaundiced view of intellectuals is a laudable instinct, rooted in basic
class consciousness, but wrong. Intellectuals can, have played and do play an
important part in the labour movement, provided they base themselves on the
working class. Mason himself gives an approving example in the case of Louise
Michel, a schoolmistress in Montmartre, who based herself upon the working
class, played an heroic role during the Paris Commune and ended up an anarchist
in London.
So Marxists will want to supplement this book with the writings of
Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky, and the Marxists since Trotsky’s time in order
to bring out and illustrate the lessons from the history of the labour
movement. Theory is not something alien to the experiences of workers, but as
Marx and Engels explained in the Communist Manifesto, theory is the general
expression of actual class struggle; the class struggle so vividly outlined by
Paul Mason in his book. Despite the its shortcomings, this hugely ambitious
book is well worth reading.
The final word should be given by one of the workers themselves. I
could have chosen the fine words of many workers in this book, but the last
chapter proper deals with the occupation by its workers of a tile factory in
Neuquén in Argentina following the devaluation crisis in 2001 when many factories
were occupied. The workers have reduced the working week and taken on 50% more
employees. Whereas before the occupation there were around 300 accidents a year
now there have been 33 accidents since the occupation. The leader of the
workers at the factory, Raul Godoy, a Marxist, says:
"We feel more free, especially because of our struggle. You start to
feel free when you start fighting, when you can see the problems and identify
the enemy, understand what the bosses do, and the union bureaucracy. We can
show the world what we have done; although we are only a grain of sand on a
huge beach, our experience show what workers can do…."
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