socialist standard january 2010

8/14/2019 Socialist Standard January 2010

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1SocialistStandard January 2010

January 10 Standard bdh.indd 1 4/1/10 14:52:46


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2 SocialistStandard January 2010

SubScription orderSshould be sent to The Socialist Party, 52Clapham High Street, London SW4 7UN.rateSOne year subscription (normal rate) 15One year subscription (low/unwaged) 10Europe rate 20 (Air mail)Rest of world 25 (Air mail)

Voluntary supporters subscription 20 or more.Cheques payable to t Ss p G b.

the SocialiSt party of

Great britain

The next meeting of the Executive Committeewill be on S 5 f at the addressbelow. Correspondence should be sent tothe General Secretary. All articles, lettersand notices should be sent to the editorialcommittee at: The Socialist Party, 52 Clapham

High street, London SW4 7UN.: 020 7622 3811

-m: [email protected]

january 2010

3 e

4 PathfsTop of the pop charts

6 M WXenophobia in Russia

7 cIre of the Irate Itinerant

7 t ts

8 ps tg

8 c ds

9 ckg bks 1State monopoly capitalism

19 ckg bks 2Financial alchemy

20 rvwsThe Frock-CoatedCommunist;The EcologicalRevolution and more

22 Mgs

22 50 ys agLabours Lost Chord

23 Gs pThe Thick of It

24 V m bk

24 f l

contents

website: www.worldsocialism.org

reGularSfeatureS

p cgGiven the competitive nature of capitalism any agreement on trying todeal with climate change was bound to be feeble and inadequate.

cm g: sss, s sWhat should we have expected from such a large gathering of theworlds elites if it wasnt this?

Mss W

You can fool all of the people some of the time . . . and some of thepeople all of the time . . . but . . .

c- sm: sv mIt only takes a cab ride in a city to see which class has the most powerand inuence in capitalist society.

h-S f n-SssSome forecasts which are much more likely to be fullled for non-Socialists.

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The Socialist Party is like no otherpolitical party in Britain. It is made upof people who have joined togetherbecause we want to get rid of the protsystem and establish real socialism. Ouraim is to persuade others to becomesocialist and act for themselves,organising democratically and withoutleaders, to bring about the kind ofsociety that we are advocating in this

journal. We are solely concerned withbuilding a movement of socialists forsocialism. We are not a reformist partywith a programme of policies to patchup capitalism.

We use every possible opportunityto make new socialists. We publishpamphlets and books, as well as CDs,DVDs and various other informativematerial. We also give talks and take partin debates; attend rallies, meetings anddemos; run educational conferences;host internet discussion forums, make

lms presenting our ideas, and contestelections when practical. Socialistliterature is available in Arabic, Bengali,Dutch, Esperanto, French, German,Italian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish andTurkish as well as English.

The more of you who join the SocialistParty the more we will be able to getour ideas across, the more experienceswe will be able to draw on and greaterwill be the new ideas for building themovement which you will be able tobring us.

The Socialist Party is an organisationof equals. There is no leader and there

are no followers. So, if you are goingto join we want you to be sure that youagree fully with what we stand for andthat we are satised that you understandthe case for socialism.

ig

The Socialist Party

Editorial

Capitalism and the New DecadeTwo Thousand yer g Emperrner reptely t te privtetge e bilt i i plce plye mic ile i city brt rim. a t yer lter Cpe-ge Kig Cte trie t cmm tetie t impre i bject. Pl c

cge: lt mt, epite iteive e-rt, te expeively-emble repre-ettive glbl cpitlim pet tweeks in Copenhagen ddling while the

plet rme te e-level re.Bt epite pperce t te c-

trry, cpitlim eter e ece ire elt. Te ecmic irpti tprcti te creit ytem telt t yer my ve bee evere, btit i ecery ceqece te eer te mrket ytem t miti itessential objective, that is protability at

ll ct.agit tt impertive, milli

jobs globally are being sacriced. Thepeig prmie plitici rte rl re beig revie rermbe. scl, ebilig pitl re elve ceqeceof the massive diversion of nancial

rerce it prppig p te e creit cr tt rve cpitlim rmc te lt te yer.Te ece trte it mii-lmp

i mt eter ecmie - reltig tte ig-tec iteret ectr pri-mrily - ee it lmigtycrrecti. Pliticlly te ece ltrte it glbl cpitlim i me

ppret irry prteter cle te wTo tre tlk i settle ite lt y te 20t cetry ite prce gve birt t mvemet rt er te ber ti-glbli-

ti (le cmmly) ti-cpitlim.Tee bck-lppig/bck-tbbigmmit ve bee reglr ccrrecever te lt te yer te pliticl

re erve te iteret teglbl pimp cl bttle it t ver teirrepective pitce.

a te mc-erle Cpe-ge climte cge cerece idecember ll bt cllpe. depiteteir bet ert, r leer, ecii-mker pii-rmer (vridemocrats, dictators, corporate unkies,

ycpt, critie, pptr ter ger- t te ct-til capital) singularly failed to nd a way to

reccile te ierece betee te l(evelpe) cpitlit ti i eclie te evelpig ti te p.It like pickig ie i rgmetbetee te eigbr e ie ly tr teir rbbi t te

i t te treet, te tereigbr i treteig t trtig te me. Cpitlim i 2010 myve eer emperr kig, itbject re becmig rer t impre,bt te e relt i mc te meTe lt te yer te ve ee

an undoubted decline in condence

i leer i cpitlim (lbeitloosely dened). Entering 2010, the task

cilit - ye ymptetict te ce r ricl, emcrtic,prticiptive cge i ciety i trter ermie te ky ielgy cpitlim, t cllege te ie ic

ecrge te mjrity t ctieprppig p ti ytem, t clerlypt rr te ce r meyle,

gele, ttele clle glblciety.



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t p cs

While the Cop15 delegates were largely copping out atCopenhagen recently, one fairly relevant aspect of the worldsdire whether forecast (that is, whether we survive or not)scarcely rated a mention, which was the question of globalpopulation. This oversight was duly noted by the Chinese

delegation (China Daily, 10 December) which, possibly anxiousto offset western criticism of their tactics at Copenhagen, seizedthe opportunity to justify the countrys unpopular and repressiveOne Child Policy as a positive contribution to global emissionsreduction. The news report quotes research by postgraduatestudent Thomas Wire of the London School of Economics:Each $7 spent on basic family planning would reduce CO2emissions by more than one ton whereas it would cost $13for reduced deforestation, $24 to use wind technology, $51 forsolar power, $93 for introducing hybrid cars and $131 electricvehicles. Such research will no doubt bolster Chinas alreadyunparalleled enthusiasm forreducing its, and other countriespopulations, either by birth controlor ring squad.

Theres no question thatpopulation growth is going topass the carrying capacity of theplanet at some point. The world iscurrently pushing 6.8 billion peopleand if you go to the website of theOptimum Population Trust at http://www.optimumpopulation.org/ youcan watch the ticking counter go upat the rate of two per second. DavidAttenborough, a patron of this trustalong with Jane Goodall, JamesLovelock and other notables, takesthe same doomsday view (Horizon

Special, BBC1, repeated 5 January) as that other famouspatron and author of the 1968 book The Population Bomb, PaulEhrlich.

Socialists have often criticised Ehrlichs view in the past, inparticular his claims, written prior to the owering of the GreenRevolution of the 1970s, that population had already outstrippedfood capability and that hundred of millions would starve todeath. But as food yields have gone up, so have populations,and the argument is not going to go away. Global population by2050 is estimated at between 9.2 and 10.6 billion (http://www.un.org/popin/), with most of the growth occurring in the leastdeveloped countries, while in developed countries there is asteady decline in fertility and death rates. Population is likelyto be a factor in the resource wars we can expect to see in thenext century.

Ehrlich, the Trust, and David Attenborough in the Horizonprogramme all argue the same simple view, that the populationgrowth rate can be slowed or reversed by just two factors,contraception and education. This view has the benet of beinguncomplicated by questions of culture, politics or religion andthus palatable to the broadest audience, but is it true? Yes,says John Guillebaud, emeritus professor of family planningand reproductive health at University College, London, whoargues that conventional wisdom, which says that couplesin poorer societies actively plan to have large families tocompensate for high child mortality, to provide labour, and tocare for parents in their old age, is wrong. According to ProfGuillebaud, half of all pregnancies worldwide are accidentalconceptions rather than insurance policies, and demand forcontraception increases when it is available, regardless of a

societys wealth or child survival rates: The evidence is clearwithin a wide variety of settings that - despite no prior increasein per capita wealth or child survival or other presumed

essentials - demand for contraception increases when itbecomes available, accessible, and accompanied by correctinformation about its appropriateness and safety. (http://www.optimumpopulation.org/releases/opt.release26Mar09.htm).

One wonders how the professor knows that fty percent ofall children are accidents, but population growth rates do indeedseem to correlate roughly in inverse ratio to the rate of birthcontrol, if one compares gures (see http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/contraceptive2007/contraceptive_2007_table.pdf).

However, to imply from this that the issue is simply apractical numbers game with no ethical or political dimension isa bit contra-perceptive. The UN estimates that over 200 millionwomen worldwide lack access to effective contraception, butit is not necessarily because it is unobtainable, but becausereligion opposes it or men refuse to use contraceptives. Globallyit is women who take responsibility. The number one methodof contraception worldwide is female sterilisation, IUDs are

second, the pill third, andmale condom use is numberfour, and mostly connedto Europe and Japan.

Meanwhile, as is wellknown, the Pope and hisilk have been going aroundsub-Saharan Africa helpfullytelling locals that condomsspread AIDS (TimesOnline,March 17, 2009). Thus atthe least there are genderand religious issues to beaddressed.

And lets get populationnumbers into perspective.It used to be said you couldt the worlds populationcomfortably onto the Isle

of Wight. Well, times have changed, and one enterprisingcommentator has recalculated this gure to show that, as ofOctober 2007, you would have to add in the Isle of Man, aswell as Jersey and Guernsey (http://www.ampneycrucis.f9.co.uk/PARK/Population.htm). As of 2010 you would need to starton the Scottish islands as well. But the basic point remains thesame humans dont take up that much space by themselves.Its what they do with the rest of the space that counts.

And that is a political issue, because capitalist rich countriesdemand far more space and resources than poor ones, and richpeople far more than poor people even within rich countries.Carbon emission footprints also increase in lock-step withincome, not population. Though population growth is clearlynot sustainable long-term, it is made a much worse problembecause of the disparities in wealth and consumption that

capitalism causes.

Birth rates: grey areas are rising (3 to 4 births per woman), dark

areas are rising fastest (over 4). All other areas are stable or falling.

Source:pregnantpause.org.

Projected world population on

current trends. Source: UN



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Letters

Debt

der EitrTe prpetic r tt cpitliml crete it grveiggerc be iterprete i my y.It my be ert t mett, relt excli rm

te ejymet te rit teir lbr, grig mber te pplti ill rie p,eligtee itellectlie, revltiie it ymic t lterr irecti, im eire; epe tr cilim.

It cl l be iterprete tme tt trg it ilig,inefciencies and uneconomical

y, tt it my el-etrct,tt it becme ppret t ll,impibly illgicl eve, tt it mt

itt bt be rpe i ce y remt ppiti tt my

liger i te k crie it my lleyy.

It my be bit bt tee. Iti prbble tt it i bit r rmte my ter cet lie iticpitlim. n bt.

wt i becmig icreiglyppret i tt it very rle i

e my cll tem tt, re ligte bility t ee prvie

justication for its continuance. One

c tt bee ice tgret legt, pibly mre tt y ter time, i tt ebt. we

re tl tt r ti ebt i c mgite tt e l llprepre r my r yer e.

Tt e ill previl ver ti ebt btly by tkig r cice, tere

ill be ey pti my myer, bt tgeter e ill eetebt.

n, i e c jt r te mmettry t t cjre p te imge ievitble lyi ebt becmig tie lie tig, t rpere ctrl rter brlyi mc te me y tt r rterrrit re te pke

cier teir gr lti t it byeekig t icree it vilbility,

e my elcme it rrivl teimple pprtity tt it prvie.

we c tlk ebt btig ig ilre. all

i e le it. Yet it remi cetrl imprtce t ; e retl te ytem ct ittit, it ct. we c explre teie tt it il, ievitbly repetely, tt ebt c lgerprvie me t prgre. wecl y tt it y cme

it it y. It l pper ey rgmet t i: ebt ib terere t eter it it.

wl ti rgmet be etereinto it would surely prove difcult to

iprve. I ebt, it rely e,repreet i teir lgge lt cpitlim te let explre itrter. I time t ll it lle it cl e c r it eemi teir r r ebt iccere Tere I n altertive.

s t e migt te k i er?Damian McCarthy (by email)

Reply:It i tre tt eeer

cpitlim get temelve it glrig ctricti ver ebt,blmig te crii t mcebt te vctig cretigmre ebt t try t get t it. Bt iticti ee t be rbetee te ntil debt teperl ebt iivil rker.

Te -clle til ebt i tte cpitlit tte e it creitr, re mily ter cpitlitititti e ki r ter.a y pit t, it ize i beigbie bt exce t jtiyeve mre terity r te rkigcl. Bt ti i ly excer t tey ly t t anyway. If it didnt exist, theyd nd

me ter exce. It ize i teirprblem, t r. we c, ever,e it, y gget, t brig tte ctricti cpitlim. Ill cpitlim t er i mre

terity i rl ptetilplety, let get ri it Editors.

State capitalism?

der EitrI re it iteret yr cmmetry te ci-ecmic ytem ttevlve i te rmer ussR i tenvember ie te SocialistStandard(wrker stte Pllte oter oe). abet teici evelpe by te scilit

Lbr Prty americ tt r meer te cleret explti (lbeit mle itti) tppee, tkig it cct te

Trtkyit, Mit, (t metiei yr cmmetry) tt vgrit plgeti. Te sLPty reject te tte cpitlitppellti ccle ttte mt ccrte ecripti ibrecrtic tte eptim. ate pmplet ccle:

Te me prcti Mrxlyze ieret me rmti, ieret l perti

ieret trctre t tee i te sviet ui. Te ertt ecribe te u.s.s.R i term

cpitlit eem t be btitter mkig te me ki trg lyi ti e me prcti tt Mrx me temit e i y. (pge 46)

Ti cmmetry c be lie ere te etire pmplet cbe re r le.Bernard Bortnick (by email from

the US).

Reply:a te rticle revie

bk bt te Trtkyit EretMel it i reble tt itmetie eiter Mit r sLPterie te tre te rmerussR. Ri cl be ecribe vig bee brecrtic tteeptim bt tt pliticlecripti tt tell tigbt te me prctitt exite tere. Te 1978 sLP

pmplet The Nature of Soviet Societyy meti (.lp.rg/p/ter/v_c.p) e g it tii mre etil, rgig tt texite tere eiter cilimr cpitlim r rker ttebt e cl ciety be tte prperty. Bt it i cceett it i pible t ttempt Mrxit lyi te ussR imilr ytem tte cpitlit tt te mt ceret ttecpitlit terie l ttRi c be terme cpitlitbece te bic elemet

te cpitlit me prctisurvive, though in modied form

tt tee terie pit tte exitece i te sviet ui

ge lbr, cmmity prcti(i.e., prcti r excge i mrket), te extrcti rpl it ctrl by te tte er prctive prperty, te perpetti cl ivii ttepprei. Ye, preciely.

I tery Ri migt veevlve it me e explittivecl ciety. Te bic re e

ecribe it till beig cpitlit te ctie exitece tere te ge ytem, te bi cpitlit explitti, t t y cpitlim Editors.



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Xenophobiain

Russia

afTER ThE cllpe te sviet ui epticempire tt i my y preerve te mtrectiry triti trit Ri te melpeme cviim xepbi t ly it ipper, bt becme eve mre eeply etrece.

Tere re le erie re r ti.firt ll, te -clle emcrtic revlti

agt 1991 eiter emcrtic r revlti.Te l tte pprt ctie t exit. Te previ

rlig cl te mekltr r tte brgeiie remie i per ivie p tte prperty mgtemelve, becmig it legl pely privteer. at te me time, te l pe-let, pe-communist demagogy was thrown out as superuous.

It i qite bvi tt te e er ve ee y m rigt, reem r emcrcy. o tectrry, te per tt be t trict rer rm hand to safeguard their own security and that

teir prperty. Te ielgie mt itble r tiprpe re tilim, cviim xepbi.

or crimil be ve bee mre t cceli itillig tee ielgie, epecilly i recet yer.Ofcialdom and the church drum patriotism into

peple e. Cmbie it te grt cilprblem te irty r i Cecy, ll ti

yiel extremely pi rit. accrig t vricilgicl tie, emcrcy i imprtt bicvle r ly 10 15 percet repet. a verylrge prt te pplti, perp mjrity, t icttrip etblie i te ctry. smetiglike 80 percet r ell citize er (t vryigegree) rm rcilit tilit prejice,epecilly git peple rm te Cc Cetrlai ell blck Je. over l r pepleeel itrt, ctempt tre r reig ctrie i prticlr, r te uite stte weter Erpe.

all ti i very lrmig. It i l very rigteig tti recet pll 41 percet ecribe kie

ter member nzi grp ptrit, gri rer, peple tryig t lve rel prblem, r imply ghters for the purity of the race. Only 19 percent had a

ctegriclly egtive ttite t tem.

Cviit, rcilit, xepbic tiemitic litertre i prce mive cle. It i le everyere,eve i kik t te stte dm. C

y imgie nzi litertre beig lty t te Germ prlimet? n? Itr t imgie ere t.

a cple yer g I rgettble cee tie te mipost ofce in Moscow. A stall with three

pile bk, ll lxry eiti. o terigt hitler Mein Kampfi Ri.o te let cllecti te rk te Mrqi e se. I te mile

tiemitic bk by te gretriter te Ri l alexerslzeity etitle Jews in the USSRand in the Russia of the Future ritte,it pper, i 1968 bt til ierm te ier pblic. a mzigpectcle!

sc tig re gig i r ctry everyere.I ve te imprei tt ti rt prpg iccte prpelly ecrge rm bve.Eve epper tt re tritilly ciereemcrtic re becmig ttit cervtive.hever, tere re geiely emcrtic meitlet i Ri.

Literlly ll te prpg t ic e re expe,

iclig tt te ppiti, prtry rectirie,gret per tilit cit let-ig.

Tey l ve believe tt te Cmmit Prty te Ri feerti ll rm tp t bttm peple tlk bt vig Ri by betig teYi lie i cmmit r let cilitprty. accrig t te me m iirmti,te cit blc hmel (Rodina) i l ppe tcit letit me rt.

Tere i c be c iml cilit,cmmit r letit i l tritilit,cviit, xepbe, tiemite, rcilit rtilit. Tee re bltely icmptible tig!Te pplr eekly Arguments and Factsrecetly

etre (ver t ie) erm itervie itte cit Ily Glzv, et btte Mic Cpircy te Gret Ri Empire.witt te tiiet criticl cmmetry, cre.Perp ti exmple t VycelvKtikv (Yelti rmer pre ecretry), i terie te me mgzie, cll te rtil elty Ri tilim tt e ee.

Eve te plitici te liberl Yablokoprty Ive tlke perlly it mber tem rklyecribe temelve Ri tilit. we I cit rm Ri ntil uity itribtigtiemitic litertre t Yablokoevet I ke tergizer y tey lle it. Teir repe t mybjecti t cll me extremit I rce

t leve. sc re r preet-y emcrt.Vladimir Sirotin, Moscow (translated by Stefan)

Informative letter from Russia on the extent of nationalist, xenophobic and even fascist prejudices

Skinheads in Russia



7/24


While the world has been devouringreality television shows, manyArgentines have been opting thisChristmas for reality board games,such as Eternal Debt, involving theInternational Monetary Fund:

://.m/vz3

For seven years, Jennipher wasforced to breastfeed the puppies ofher husbands hunting dogs. Afterdrinking and smoking heavily, NathanAlowoi would appear at the marital bed,

bind his young wifes legs and handstogether and force the mewling animalsto her nipple. He had handed over two

cows to his father-in-law as part of thebride price for his new wife. So, hereasoned, if the cows were no longer

around to provide milk then his newpurchase would have to provide for thepups. I had to feed them all throughthe night; then in the morning he woulduntie me, his wife, now 26, explainsmatter-of-factly:

://.m/9m9w

Israel will begin distributing its entirepopulation with gas masks in twomonths, though no reason has ofciallybeen given by the Israeli government:

://.m/gqkv

Most Britons have little condence inofcial statistics and believe that theyare distorted by politicians, according to

a survey for the Financial Times. Onlyabout 10 per cent of adults believe thatofcial gures are accurate, while a

similar proportion think that gures areproduced without political interference,according to the survey conducted byHarris:

://.m/8sm

That isnt stopping some restaurantsfrom putting together the usual intricateNew Years dinner and in somecases, charging astronomical prices.At New Yorks Aureole, for example,diners will be getting a ve-course mealincluding big-eye tuna sashimi, chestnutravioli, Canadian lobster, and N.Y. striploin. The price: a mind-boggling $650:

://.m/xg



8/24


Uk Branches &contacts

Londoncl Ld b. 2nd Weds.6.30pm. 2nd Wednesday 6.30pm. Coffee

Republic, 7-12 City Road, EC1 (nearestTube and rail stations Old Street andMoorgate).Eneld and Haringey branch.Thurs 14th and 28th. 8pm. AngelCommunity Centre, Raynham Rd, NI8.Corres: 17 Dorset Road, N22 7SL.email:[email protected] Ld b. 1st Tues.7.00pm. Head Ofce. 52 Clapham HighSt, SW4 7UN. Tel: 020 7622 3811W Ld b. 1st & 3rdTues.8pm, Chiswick Town Hall,Heatheld Terrace (Corner Sutton CourtRd), W4. Corres: 51 Gayford Road,London W12 9BYPimlico. C. Trinder, 24 Greenwood Ct,

155 Cambridge Street, SW1 4VQ.Tel: 020 7834 8186

MidLandsWest Midlands branch. Meets everytwo months on a Sunday afternoon(see meetings page for details. Tel:Tony Gluck 01242 235615. [email protected]

northeastn b. Contact: Brian Barry,86 Edgmond Ct, Ryhope, SunderlandSR2 0DY. Tel: 0191 521 0690.Email [email protected]

northwestL b. Meets every Monday

8.00pm. P. Shannon, 10 Green Street,Lancaster LA1 1DZ. Tel: 01524 382380M b. Paul Bennett, 6Burleigh Mews, Hardy Lane, M21 7LB.

Tel: 0161 860 7189Bl. Tel: H. McLaughlin.01204844589Cumbria. Brendan Cummings, 19

Queen St, Millom, Cumbria LA18 4BGCarlisle: Robert Whiteld.Email: [email protected]: 07906 373975rdl. Tel: R. Chadwick. 01706522365su M. Enquiries:Blanche Preston, 68 Fountains Road,M32 9PH

Yorkshire

Skipton. R Cooper, 1 Caxton Garth,Thresheld, Skipton BD23 5EZ.Tel: 01756 752621Todmorden: Keith Scholey, 1 LeeviewCt, Windsor Rd, OL14 5LJ. Tel: 01706814 149

south/southeast/southwest

su W b. Meets everytwo months on a Saturday afternoon(see meetings page for details). ShaneRoberts, 86 High Street, Bristol BS56DN. Tel: 0117 9511199Canterbury. Rob Cox, 4 StanhopeRoad, Deal, Kent, CT14 6ABLu. Nick White, 59 Heywood Drive,LU2 7LPrdu. Harry Sowden, 5 ClarenceVillas, Redruth, Cornwall, TR15 1PB.Tel: 01209 219293

eastangLiaEast Anglia branch. Meets every twomonths on a Saturday afternoon (see

meetings page for details). Pat Deutz, 11The Links, Billericay, CM12 0EXRichard Headicar, 42 Woodcote, Firs Rd,Hethersett, NR9 3JD. Tel: 01603 814343.

Cambridge. Andrew Westley, 10Marksby Close, Duxford, CambridgeCB2 4RS. Tel: 07890343044

northern ireLandNewtownabbey: Nigel McCullough.Tel: 028 90852062

scotLandEdinburgh branch.1st Thur. 8-9pm.The Quaker Hall, Victoria Terrace (aboveVictoria Street), Edinburgh.J. Moir. Tel: 0131 440 0995 JIMMY@

jmoir29.freeserve.co.uk Branch website:http://geocities.com/edinburghbranch/Glasgow branch. 3rd Wednesday ofeach month at 8pm in CommunityCentral Halls, 304 Maryhill Road,Glasgow. Richard Donnelly, 112

Napiershall Street, Glasgow G20 6HT.Tel: 0141 5794109. Email: [email protected]: D. Trainer, 21 Manse Street,Salcoats, KA21 5AA. Tel: 01294469994. Email: [email protected]. Ian Ratcliffe, 16 Birkhall Ave,Wormit, Newport-on-Tay, DD6 8PX. Tel:01328 541643West Lothian. 2nd and 4th Weds inmonth, 7.30-9.30. Lanthorn CommunityCentre, Kennilworth Rise, Dedridge,Livingston. Corres: Matt Culbert, 53Falcon Brae, Ladywell, Livingston, WestLothian, EH5 6UW. Tel: 01506 462359Email: [email protected]

waLessw b. 2nd Mon, 7.30pm,

Unitarian Church, High Street. Corres:Geoffrey Williams, 19 Baptist WellStreet, Waun Wen, Swansea SA1 6FB.Tel: 01792 643624

Cardiff and District. John James, 67Romilly Park Road, Barry CF62 6RR.Tel: 01446 405636

InternatIonaL contacts

africa

Kenya. Patrick Ndege, PO Box 56428,Nairobi.Zambia. Kephas Mulenga, PO Box280168, Kitwe.asia

India. World Socialist Group, VillGobardhanpur. PO Amral, Dist. Bankura,722122Japan. Michael. Email:[email protected]

Denmark. Graham Taylor, Kjaerslund 9,oor 2 (middle), DK-8260 Viby JGermany. Norbert. Email:[email protected]

Norway. Robert Stafford. Email:[email protected]

coMPanIon PartIes

oVerseas

World Socialist Party of Australia.P. O. Box 1266 North Richmond3121, Victoria, Australia.. Email:[email protected] Party of Canada/Parti

Socialiste du Canada. Box 4280,Victoria B.C. V8X 3X8 Canada. Email:[email protected] Socialist Party (New Zealand)P.O. Box 1929, Auckland, NI, NewZealand.World Socialist Party of the Uniteds P.O. Box 440247, Boston, MA

02144 USA. Email: [email protected]

Contact Details

a l

Labours strategy for tackling poverty has reached the end of the roadand Britain risks a return to Victorian levels of inequality, according to amajor two-year study seen by The Independent. With 20 per cent of the

population still stuck in poverty, the report calls for sweeping reform ofthe tax and welfare systems under which higher earners would nancemore generous, universal benets. The 43,888-a-year ceiling onnational insurance contributions (NICs) would be abolished, so peopleearning more would pay NICs at 11 per cent on all their income abovethat level, instead of the current 1 per cent. The study, by the Labour-afliated Fabian Society and Webb Memorial Trust, argues that GordonBrowns quiet redistribution of wealth now lacks public support anddeclares that one of the reasons is Labours tough language aboutbenet fraud and claimants. (Independent, 30 November)

t ws s

Poverty has been rising in the UK since 2004 and is now at the samelevel as the start of the decade, a report by the Joseph RowntreeFoundation says. The group said that issues of unemployment and therepossession of homes had become more acute before the recessionstarted. ... The report, produced by the New Policy Institute, found thattwo million children lived in low-income, working households. This wasthe highest gure since the Foundation started collecting records. (BBCNews, 3 December)

t 1

According to consultants AT Kearney,the richest 1pc in the UK hold some

70pc of the countrys wealth. That thereis this divide between rich and poor isnot exactly new but the scale of it,and the likelihood that it is not beingnarrowed by the nancial crisis, is a bigworry. Indeed, according to the report,in the US the amount of nancial assetsowned by the richest 1pc in the US isfar, far lower at 48pc, and only 34pc inAustralia. This must, to a large degree,be due to the fact that the UK set itselfup in recent years as a haven for thesuper-rich, with its relatively generousrules on capital gains tax, because the

income tax system itself is rather moreredistributive than in the US. But theKearney report is interesting because,unlike the traditional measure ofinequality, the gini coefcient, it focusesnot on income (the ow of money) but onactual substantive wealth (the stack of itthat sits beneath us). (Daily Telegraph,25 November)



9/24


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DAVID CAMERON is on record as attacking markets

without morality and capitalism without a conscience. Its

all part of his attempt to rebrand the Tory party from the

openly nasty party it was under Thatcher to a caring party, inthe hope that this will bring in a enough votes to win the next

election. One of those he has called in to help do this is a

former theology lecturer, Phillip Blond, who the media have

dubbed a Red Tory for his critique of unfettered capitalism.

According to the Times (25 November), Blond argues that

successive governments sought to deregulate for the sake

of market competition, but ended up creating monopolies

that dominate Britains high streets, arguing that this created

state-sanctioned monopoly capitalism.

State monopoly capitalism was a term employed,

indeed coined, by the old Communist Party. For instance,

in the 1968 edition of their programme The British Road to

Socialism they stated that Stage by stage British capitalism

has developed into monopoly capitalism... Monopoly

capitalism, the basis of imperialism, has now developedto state monopoly capitalism where the capitalist state is

intertwined with the great banks and monopolies and called

for a broad popular alliance drawing on all those whose

interests are threatened by state monopoly capitalism.

Although this broad alliance was envisaged as including

non-monopoly capitalists, it has to be admitted that there

was a difference between this and what Blond has in mind.

They wanted to go on to state-monopoly capitalism such

as then existed in Russia, whereas he wants to go back to

a non-monopoly capitalism with lots of small and medium-

sized businesses competing against each other.

Actually, monopoly capitalism is not an accurate

description of present-day capitalism. Certainly, most sectors

of production and distribution are dominated by a smallnumber of large companies, but this is not a monopoly

situation where there is only a single seller. It is rather what

economists call an oligopoly situation, domination by a few

big companies (from oligos, the Greek word for few).

So, a more accurate description of modern capitalism

would be oligopoly capitalism, even though the term sounds

barbarous and is not likely to catch on (but oligarch did).

Marx identied a built-in tendency under capitalism

towards oligopoly, though he called it the concentration and

centralisation of capital, a trend which has been amply borne

out as, through mergers and take-overs, the number of rms

in all sectors of industry has become fewer and fewer. It is

this trend that Blond wants to reverse. As do the Green Party

and the former editor of the Ecologist, Zac Goldsmith, who

will be standing as a Tory candidate in the coming generalelection.

They wont succeed of course because the concentration

and centralisation of industry corresponds to the logic of

capitalism and cannot be overcome by government action.

If the Tories win, the most that would happen is that steps

would be taken or rather would be continued to stop

any one oligopolistic rm becoming too powerful. Other

capitalists dont like this as it allows the rm in question to

hold them to ransom and make them pay over the odds

for some product or service. Which is why there is trust-

busting legislation in the US and a Competition (formerly

Monopolies) Commission in Britain. But no government is

going to try to break up the oligopolies into smaller, more

competitive rms, whatever the small business elementwithin the Tory party might dream about. State-sanctioned

oligopoly capitalism will survive.



10/24


I e erelivig i rti-

lly rgierl, prblem c te tret t rpiglbl rmig re, crite glbl repe

l be rgie mtter cre. I it geer-ally agreed amongst scientists specialising in the eld

tt te prblem bee ce mily by te brig il el, te tep l be tke t ct ti bck t pe i ltertive rce eergy. Te prb-lem ectere i ig ti l ly be teclgi-cl, t pliticl r ecmic, tere l be veteiteret mevrig lbbyig t prevet r ely

t eee t be e rm beig e.Bt cre e re t livig i rtilly rgie

rl. we re livig er cpitlim ere tere revete iteret glre te tte it ic te

world is articially divided, of the capitalist corporations

seeking to make a prot by supplying some market or

ter. Certily, te uite nti exit bt it i lyte re i ic tee vete iteret jckey rpiti vtge, t plily eviet tte un cerece i Cpege lt mt climtecge.Te mei ccetrte te ierece tere

betee te evelpe cpitlit ctrie (mileigly

clle te ric, i everyby tere ric) teevelpig cpitlit ctrie (cyiclly, bt ccrtely,clle emergig mrket). Te repreettive teeer cpitlit ctrie rge tt te lg-etblie cpitlit ctrie bee repible rte pt emii Co2 tt cietit y i cigglbl rmig, tey l py te ct pttig tirigt.

Ti i t te rgmet tere ere ll bt i t ber te bre cttig bck Co2 emii?It t jt nrt-st cl. Ec cpitlit tte

Pitiful Copenhagen

Given the competitive nature of capitalism any agreement on trying to deal

with climate change was bound to be feeble and inadequate.



11/24


it iteret (te it cpitlit) t ee,it te mre epeet r it mre reerve cl r il rggig teir eet. Bece, i te e ilel i t be ct bck r i t be me mre expeiveti l ect tem prprtitely mre. Teirprcti ct l g p mre, pttig tem t cmpetitive ivtge rl mrket. wic i

y Preiet B trily eclre bt te KytTrety:

I me te ecii . . . tt te Kyt trety itit r ee. I ter r, te Kyt trety lve recke r ecmy, i I c be blt . . . I lkey rm Kyt bece it l mge americecmy, y bet. It l ve etrye r ecmy.It ly el r te americ ecmy. (Itervie

it Trevr Mcdl, ITV, 4 Jly 2005).he rigt. Te us l ve ere ecmiclly

i it ige. obm i tkig le crttilpprc, bt e till t bt r us cpitlititry, rgig r te ctie e cl ilbt itrcig e teclgy t try t tp mc te Co2 gettig t it te tmpere.

Cri hrm i i bk Zombie Capitalismqteme relevt ttitic ic y te Eu bee

mre kee t te us t ct bck brig ilel:

Te til trctre iti ic ccmltitke plce epe t very ieret egree p crbenergy. The US was self-sufcient in oil until the early

1970, it trctre ccmlti cmptibecme very igly epeet il tt me ttty it 20.2 t crb emii per per; temi wet Erpe tte lcke metic il rerce,evelpe rter ieret trctre ccmlti cmpti (it petrl, r itce, bt tree timete ct it i i te us), r ve ly 8.8 t emii per per; Ci rpi itriliti rbiti re be mive mt cland its total emissions are close to that of the US gure,

eve tg it emii per e i 2004 ere ly little over a sixth of the US gure and 40 percent of the

West European gure. These enormous differences meantt mere tt erily ct bck emissions would hit rms based in different

ctrie very ieretly. It i ti icexpli y te Erpe ui eememre cmmitte t cti git climtecge i te erly 2000 t te us; ittil tte t t gi rm merett l prprtitely it us-beitrie mre t teir (pp. 316-7).Te oPEC ctrie, le by si arbi

(ere tey till relly believe tt te

Earth is at), are, for obvious reasons,ppe t recig il cmpti.I te mevrig bere te peig te cerece, teir repreettive

reprte yig i y ct yril e e t cmpeti (Times, 2december). s tey ll.

It i te ierig ecmic iteret te vri cpitlit ctrie tt rk tmke y itertil cti t el itti rl prblem eeble ieqte.It te me it ter rl prblem,eve prely cpitlit e. Br (teimple Mr Peter) Mel, e e te Eu Cmmiier i crge tryig

t egtite recti i tri rltre, remrke (bere te d Ree i ilre):

I, ter eve yer, y ct cmplete trer, t e tt y r yr prpect recig el climte cge? (Times, 21 Jly 2008).

wt iee?sme re ell re t te btcle re. T

pieer glbl rmig cietit Jme he i jtbere te cerece trte:

Te metl prblem i tt il el re tecepet rm eergy. a lg tey re, tey re

gig t be e (Times, 3 december).hever, ively, e ee te lti impig

crb tx t rie te price il el, mkigte price te e ltertive el c reeble cler prprtitely mre cmpetitive.Bt tt eier i t e i gig t mkete us Ci py ti tx tt l ermieteir cmpetitivee? I ct, Cpege e,by c impe ytig tee t per, ten1 n2 Co2 emitter.

Lr oxbrg, te cirm sell uK, pekigt te Greepece Bie Lectre i Jry 2005,pite t:

weter y like it r t, e live i cpitlitsociety. If we at Shell ceased to nd and extract and

mrket il el prct ile tere em rtem, e l il cmpy. sell l ipper y ki ecmic rce (Independent, 26 Jry2005).Tee re te r ct crret ecmic lie ic

te cmpigig git climte cge re p git.a lg tey re ceper, cl il ill be e.a cpitlit crprti i tt lie bie igig t cmmit ecmic icie by t eekig t mkeprots from supplying this paying demand for coal and

il.I te ccere bt te tret t rpi

climte cge l tik te mtter trg teyl be cmpigig t r cpitlit gvermet crprti t cge teir pt bt r te e cpitlim.ADAM BUICK

World Carbon Dioxide Emissions, 2006 (Million Metric Tons CO2)

Source: Energy Emission Administration



12/24


Authorities against protesters seeking to have theirviews heard. Police in force wrecking the long-madeplans of people to shut down the port of Copenhagen

for a day to draw attention to their agenda. Police employedby authorities to silence the voice of a mass of individuals

trying to express the views of millions worldwide whorecognise that their chosen so-called representatives dolittle, if anything, to represent those views.

The voice of protesters had to be kept within certainbounds. There were no invitations to send in their electedrepresentatives to address any part of the summit and whatdid the former Danish minister and president (of the greaterpart) of the climate summit, Connie Hedegaard, mean whenshe said that the minority of protesterswho were using violence were still toomany and that they should have actedusing their democratic channels? Surelyif the democratic channels brought forthdemocratic results then all those folk on the

streets around the world would have stayedat home? Property owners may have beenafraid of damage to buildings and vehiclesbut how does that compare with the fearof the tens of thousands outside the venueand the other multitudes in demonstrationsaround the world the fear that thoseinside would continue their damage to theworld and all its inhabitants through lackof appropriate action? A fear compoundedby a document leaked on the second day which revealed thatDenmark, US and UK proposed to transfer oversight of anyfuture treaty from the UN to the World Bank, the very institutionalready loathed by the majority of protestors for its dire anddamaging policies.

css vs osFor any who hold on to hopes of capitalism discovering

a new method of delivery, a kinder, more equitable, betterregulated version of itself, lets look at a few examples of whatCopenhagen and the climate change debate is all about. If youthought it might be about reducing those nasty emissions thinkagain. Its about markets carbon markets, and specicallyabout the buying and selling of the right to pollute. Carbontrading lies at the heart of global climate policy and is projectedto become one of the worlds largest commodity markets, anapproach which attempts to tackle climate change via the routeof business as usual (see Oscar Reyes at Carbon Trade Watchand Transnational Institute).

Early on at Copenhagen US State envoy Todd Stern said

that Obama had no plans to sign up to Kyoto, except possiblyfor offsets and a market-based trading system, Were not goingto do Kyoto, and were not going to do something thats Kyoto

with another name. (www.livingonearth.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=09-P13-00050&segmentID=1)

Later there was some commentary on BBC World Radioto the effect that US would cut emissions by 17 percent, whichto some sounded like a move forward. However cutting theiremissions from 2005 levels (which was the proposal) by 17percent would return them only to their 1990 levels, the yearthat was to be the benchmark from which we were all to reduceaccording to Kyoto. Further BBC commentary said that the USwas grappling with domestic difculties and cant offer more.

A 19-page UK Draft Options Paper on Renewable Targetsreveals much about the aims of the UK delegation. The costsof increasing renewable technology use to reduce greenhousegas emissions is around three times higher than allowing

exibility in reduction options through emissions trading. (Note dont reduce your own emissions but pay for other emissionselsewhere where its cheaper).

Full exibility to invest in renewable energy in other partsof the EU and, even more helpfully,(my emphasis) in thedeveloping world would deliver us the least cost outcome tomeet the 2020 target (e.g. invest in solar energy projects inNorth Africa rather than transferring to renewable energy at

home). From this and plenty more in thedocument, exible options, maximumexibility, exibility-based options etc., itis clear that the priority is about costs tobusiness not to the environment and helpingdeveloping nations is just a way of keepingcosts down.

c msss s mmFriends of the Earth, in a document,

A dangerous obsession , offer detailedexplanations of all aspects of the climatechange debate. According to them offsettinginstitutionalises the idea that cuts can bemade in the developing world in place of cutsin the developed world when the science

demands cuts in both. And, At the current rate taking a percapita basis an 80% reduction in developed country emissionsby 2050 with no offsetting would still not ensure the levelling offof per capita emissions by 2050. Offsetting only exacerbatesthe situation increasing inequalities in the production of carbon

emissions further. (www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/dangerous_obsession.pdf)As to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which

is an integral part of offsetting, it is supposed to reward new,previously unplanned projects but a number of studies haveshown it to be virtually impossible to know when a projectreally is additional and to prove it. According to Larry Lohmann,carbon trading specialist, of www.cornerhouse.org.uk, Thismakes impossible any distinction between fraud and non-fraudrendering any attempt at offset regulation ultimately pointless.He has also written about carbon being a magnet for hedgefunds, energy traders, private equity funds and large globalinvestment banks Barclays, Citi-Group, Goldman Sachs,Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas and Merrill Lynch.....

Friends of the Earth report that carbon trading had reached

$126 billion by 2008 of which $92 billion was made up oftransactions of allowances and derivatives under the EU ETS(emissions trading scheme), UK being one of the leading

What should we have expected

from such a large gathering

of the worlds elites if it wasnt

this?

is mss

mk s

w

- g m s

g m

ss.



13/24


proponents of such trading. In 2007 Gordon Brown aimed togive global carbon trading a central role in delivering emissionsreductions and foresaw an opportunity for huge growth on theworld market. Larry Lohmann reports that Wall Street hasprojected carbon markets to be around $2 trillion or more by2020, and that they could become thedominant commodity, displacing oil,which begins to reveal the scale ofthe carbon derivatives market being

created. Compare these gures withthose promised on the last day of theCopenhagen meetings with Obamaas the mouthpiece $10 billion by2012 and $100 billion by 2020 from thedeveloped to the developing nationsto help them mitigate their emissions(as long as they meet the requirementsof course no free lunches here).Oscar Reyes, in an article, Takingcare of business, says that the rapidgrowth has already spawned morecomplex markets where carbon creditsare bundled together, then sliced up and resold, the samestructures that caused the recent nancial crisis.

First there has to be a commodity, in this case the somewhatintangible carbon emissions. A security, whose value is derivedfrom the value of an underlying commodity, is one step removedfrom the commodity; a derivative is one step removed fromthe security which makes derivatives two steps from thecommodity. For most of us carbon emissions as a commodityare several steps removed from reality. These aspects of tradingcarbon reinforce the primacy of the market and governmentswillingness to allow the market to dictate the rules. The historyof sub-prime and corporate lobbying point to the likelihood ofanother bubble and collapse this time involving a pseudo-commodity.

t uq SggOn a very simplistic level the question could be asked

what is it we want to achieve, do we take seriously the needto reduce emissions overall worldwide or do we choose to

create another money-making business bygambling, guessing, playing with the idea ofcarbon as commodity? It may be guessing,gambling and playing with money but with

our habitat? Larry Lohmann again: CarbonTrading as it exists now is damaging,ineffective and fundamentally awed andseeking to reform it is a waste of precioustime and energy in the face of the urgentthreat of climate change.

What stood in the way of an agreementat Copenhagen was not the worldspopulation or the demonstrators, whoare to be applauded for keeping manyof the rest of us focussed on the events.It was capitalism with its big businessinterests, lobbyists, banking and nancial

corporations all with revolving doors to their lackey governmentsstanding shoulder to shoulder against the people. Perhaps the

biggest tragedy of Copenhagen is the fact that, although totallydissatised and disillusioned, many people still cling to the hopeof the leaders coming to their senses and taking control beforeits too late. So, in this forum meant to save the world and itsinhabitants from the ravages of global warming and climatechange but where business as usual has been seen to be theoverriding concern, we must recognize the unequal strugglefor what it is them against us; power against the people and,unless collectively we abandon hopes triumph over experience,it will ever be thus.j Sm

c tg s

xss w s mg-

g, v -damentally awed and

skg m s

ws s m

g

g

m g.



14/24


te us ccpti rce iagit ve lere prticlr le rm te

iter tt i Irq, tey velearned it big time. In the rst,

lrgely ctrcte t r i itry,us ter reig civili erebrgt i t crry t jt btevery tk, rm te me tte viee rt-lie. a irect

ceqece ti trtegy milli emplye veryigrtle Irqi, lrge percetge m becme ctive r pivepprter te rce irge-cy/reitce git te perceiveijtice te ccpti. I tecrprte brrm us wrMcie Ic. te lrm bell ererigig; ct (e bie bie it bit miig) ere etigit pblic pii pprt rte crprti prct (perpetl

r r mteril/ervice)

ecliig , ptetilly, cleverely impct teir bttm lie. aligt it i trtegy clle r.

agit, i recet time, ever relly bee ti tte; it i re te rl tt i ptc-

work of tribal efdoms that shift in

t lcl llice t te im

cieti r blce perictte. I rer r us naTorce t cti, i t tey liket cll te Bttlepce, tey ve tctr tee tribl leer teiritig llice it teir plig.

Te lgitic r y iver/cc-pier ti l re tig i teextreme. It i il, rgivigplce peple by pr, lrgely

cqere tribe it very lgmemrie t tke kily tivite reiger tryig t lr itver tem. amelirtig me tttility l eble mre c the agged-up enemy, al-Qaida and

teir Tlib cite.As the conict dragged on and soon

t be preiet us wr McieIc. setr obm ce tt,i i pii, it r eceity, te trtegic plercme p it igei ply tt

l give gil emplymet t

ag, pt mey it teirpcket jt migt peretem t vie te ccpier teirlands in a sufciently different light

tt tey l tp tig t rblig p crprte et perel. Te me ti etrtegy ht nti Trckig,

it rk metig like ti . .Tke gggle ell cecte,

perl -t-crplbie me r tem ixtrckig ctrct crretly rt$2.2 billi. Peple like te Pplbrter, er te ge wtGrp, bt cvicte ilt i teus elig i eri ci ag preiet hmi Krzi. or

hme wrek, er nCLhlig crret ageece miiter, Geerl ablwrek. nCL icle c lmir-ie legery rmer CIa ceofcer and clear-headed thinker and

riter (y setr J Kerry,sete freig Relti Cmmittee,octber 2009) Milt Ber itviry br. or ai secrityGrp, e by hmt Krzi,ter reltive te preiet.(arm Rt, h te us fte Tlib, The Nation, 30 nvem-

ber) Tee cmpie lrey ve ell ile mel r ig bielg te ciet trig rte in the mineeld that is present day

agit ec rmeprivate security division and eld

get by- ttck byrcti rlr lg y rte. I

Mastersof

You can fool all of the people

some of the time . . . and someof the people all of the time . . .but . . .

War

A Host Nation Truckingvehicle in Afghanistan




15/24


ti y us naTo trp lget everytig rm mmiti ttilet pper pplie t eve te teirfurthest-ung outposts with fewer

icveiet irpti.Tt te tery bei te pl i relity it mtly rk pretty

ell. Te us deee dept. trge qtitie llr t te

ctrctr, i tr by terlr ctrl te rtett p trg teir territrie.My tee rlr re ci-te it te Tlib r re te lcl

Tlib cmmer, exteivefunding nds its way into Taliban

cer. Eve te Tlib, rete preme rlr i ctrl te t te ctry, re timme rm gettig i te ctiirectly. Py te premim r teirinsurance and it is sufcient for just

t teir ecrtig tecicl t

ere te e pge ycvy trg y tretc tileterritry, ic i relity i every-

ere. fil t py p te ce-qece re grtee t be ev-ttig ely. driver c bepicke by iper rcketprpelle gree ill bl teveicle t piece. oe us erm, Four Horsemen International,

r ree t py trie t tke te Tlib it it ecrity tem; teir cvy rettcke lmt every mii te price i live bee ig. at

me tge, bt, tey ill veto follow other security rms and do

t tey mt i rer t rvive.a iicti premim rte cbe glee rm te llig: pertrck, per ecti territry er prticlr rlr = pprx. $800,ltg it epe t i beigcrrie. higy 1 rm Kbl tKr i bt 300 km, te lcl

rlr, Cmmer Rll,levie r $1,500 per trck r militry pplie ti i te lyrte t te t, t helm

te Tlib ertl. Te nCLcmpy le i bille $500,000 permt r ervice reere e-rte trg Rll tr, iicti te cle bie.Trig mey t prblem t

mke it g y bee elevte tte level ctrie iti te usmilitry, ic ge er te title Mey wep sytem. Tgive me perpective, te $2.2billi, t-yer ert t ire agitrck trcker repreetr 10 percet tt ctryGDP and although rm gures are

r t cme by it i etimte ttbetween 10-20 percent is nding its

y t te Tlib. Te regime i

Kbl recetly icree tege it plice rmy by $45t r $125 per mt, r lethan the Taliban pays its ghters, so

why work for that lot when the rm

te r i erig betterel? n rprie te tt teeective tregt tee trgiti i r l te

clime 90,000 r te plice 95,000 r te rmy, r tt tepower and inuence of the Taliban

ctie t gr. Tey ve teirvery milc c it eemigever-eig trem greebck.us pi l ve believe tt iti rg mey tt te

Tlib i irect ppiti t teircti e i per. uer

Tlib rle pppy/pim prc-ti lmt elimite; byctrt, ice te us ivi te re-etblimet te rlr,prcti i t itric ig.ne te le, ti i te lie e t teus pblic rter t revelig te

trt ic cl ell ig pblicpii trgly t imperil tevery protable merry-go-round that

is the conict in Afghanistan. Better

t keep te mrm i te rkt let tem ee te ligt trt!

step bck r mmet lk tit ti y; te us militry, piblyte rl ltimte ervice prvier,i gigtic cmer g ervice. It tp peple re iglypi exective re grteelcrtive piti i pplyigcrprti e te time cme tmve . wrkig it teir ci-

ates in government they benet fromcontinuing conicts/wars that use

p exitig tckpile/ervice ic

te ee re-tckig rm teirpprecitive pplier. Prlgig teprcti r y prticlrprct r mel i ell-prveplicy r qeezig te lt rp prot from any venture. So it follows

tt i te ctext mer,ctrcte-t rre y trtegythat strings out a conict will mean

more prots in the pockets of thosecrprti, rgiti teirtck-ler gree t ply it byte rle te cpitlit ytem, tt icle Mer. Tlibacite Ic. I ti letl cpitl-it gme, it i mtly te rker, tec-er ec ie yconict who pay the supreme price;

te elite, eter tey er tepi-trippe it crprtebrrm r te blck trb

Tlib leer, lrgely ecpe teextreme ceqece tee

plicie.

Te verge us citize tik tt iti teir mey tt pyig rtheir military to ght a war in

agit tt ill prtect teirmel rm ter 9/11 r mecrze mll it icie tmicbmb er i jcket. figt temover there so we dont have to ght

tem ver ere. Te mei cvice tem tt it i price

rt pyig, yy, rettere te t g usel tt, irectly r iirect-

ly, epe eece cmpylrie t py te mrtgge? I teyever ke p t te ct tt it i lteir mey tt i pyig r temiti tt kill teir gter i prviig te

Tlib it mc t it eeto carry on its campaign indenitely,

to the benet and enrichment of all

te tkeler i te bie war and conict, might they not get

very gry? Migt tey t rie pgit te Mter wr teircrrpt ytem? dt l yr

bret!

Y c l me te peple . . .w ti yig cccte by meus preiet r ter t cvice ipeple tt tey re relly t mrtt ve te l plle ver teireye by ytem evie t ericte e ilt keepig te mjrity ibge? h ele t expli tepretry ecmic y te rl te iepre pty trtem i te -clle rl lyperper it r-mgerigllie?

. . . you cant fool all of the people allof the time.

o, ye!

Above: Taliban ghters. Below: Afghan

tribesmen



16/24


everyy txicb rie mypper t be lckltre experi-ece tt re qickly rgt-

te. hever, ti migt t lybe te ce. smetime r vie evet my becme cle ect ee tig r t tey re-

lly re. hever, ter tkig mycb-rie i rb city, I beg tee tig i ieret y. o e my jt i txicb I eciet ivetigte t it i tt mepeple cme t evelpe cpitlitctrierm le evelpe prt te rl.

I pekig t cb river, let Etipi t cme t C, I my er. I ke, peplete t be mre ppy i wetercietie t i Etipi? heere tt, Etipi prctry. I i r I cl ee teinuence capitalism now had on hislie: e eqte mc meye t ppy tey re ilie. Ti i remiicet e tetremrk iim cpitlim ttmoney can buy happiness. Ti i ipte eve by me reterie pprter cpitlim,bt i it ere lly rete te ticl ermie te etire cpitlitytem. urttely, mypeple believe tt mey cby ppie i te ig cl rce te t mke

mc mey it te erviceitry, ic i it very treeek t erve te ig cl.

Your life is influenced bywhere you are born

Yr lie i prtly etermie byere y re br. fr exmple, iy re br i Etipi te yrlie ill be etermie by Etipitr cltre. I te uite

stte, C r te uK yr liei etermie by mre evelpecpitlit ytem. smee mycme rm Etipi t experiecete reem ctrie like teeemply, bt tere i ter ctrt rk ere: cl. It i ey t tt te ytem bt le prmie: slly ie t gt iverity, bt slly pretct r t py r it becei te cpitlit ytem e mtpy r everytig. slly lie pthas now been inuenced by what

cl e br it. Terere,t te Etipi ill tice itt reem ve price relrgely etermie by t cl ei br it.

alg te me lie, immigrtte receive l pyig rk i teervice itry ce tey eter teevelpe cpitlit ytem teyc ever r te ecti tgi iger pyig jb. a relttey ty i te ervice itry teiretire live, beig me te mtlly-pi member te rkigcl ge lry erer. It

i ecti mey tt lle t mve p i cpitlit cietybt eve i e i t mve p te

cil ler, it i ly lly t le bly pi ecti te meberviet cl.

fiig mitiig jb idifcult enough for people in poor

ctrie terere receivig ecti i bt lxry. I ct,

te cb river I pke t i tte rkig t mke re tti gter l be ble t gt iverity. he t pe i

yer rivig cr ll y lg tt i gter ill t ve t te me jb ill ve bettertre. I mee ct imprveteir tti i lie bece teyve mey t begi it, teyl ct r t imprve teirtti trg iger ecti.

Ti me tt tey re let rkr te cl tt ctrlciety. Ti i bece cpitlim

i t relly be merit, bt mc mey e . Ti iirrtil merit l ever ve price, it l be ree epe tig bt itel.Te cpitlit ytem i mrkete

it prmie eqlity reem trg prcig per.Prpective immigrt re giveretric bt cpitlim mkeytig pible i e mey.hever, tig pper pible,let le ree eql bt teig cl beig erve ily by

explite rkig cl, rectlly te mjrity ereem i rtie limite

Cab-ride to capitalism:servitude by the majority

It only takes a cab ride in a city to seewhich class has the most power andinuence in capitalist society



17/24


by teir py pcket lryceqe.

Mrever, ccel y illbe i lie i lrgely etermie by

t cl y re br it, it yr ctrl. Te cb riverrm Etipi relie tt e, ri gter, l t be ble tinuence society in a poor country

bece ll te ric cpitlitctrie c te i te G8are the most inuential and have the

iget tr livig. hever,eve tg e cme t e teeevelpe cpitlit ctrie, e

ill lmt ievitbly remi i teervice itry r te ret ilie. Ti i bece cpitlim it be tlet r merit like trly eql ytem l be c cilim ere everye l ve eql pprtity t pre teirtre iteret i lie. I cpitlim,

yr cce typiclly till epe ric mily r re yre br it t ki reptti it . I y re lcky re br it te mjrity, te

rkig cl, it i likely tt y illremi tere t erve te pper clr te rti yr lie.

Capitalism PromisesFreedoms, But for Who?

It i tgt i cl tt cpitlitctrie re mic ctrie,mll it vri cltreexitig iti lrger cem

r gvermet. Ti vie imrkete tt ptetilimmigrt ill t ve tleve teir ctm bei till be ble t repte -clle rer cpitlit ciety. I relity,

t exit i meltigpt ere tee cltre reevetlly imilte. Teppite mic, meltigpt, term it egtivectti, i te et ecribe cietie

experiecig lrge-cleimmigrti rm myieret ctrie tteem t melt it teexitig ciety. frexmple, Mlim rebeig imilte itweter cltre by y evelpe cpitlim. olyte imilte itte cpitlit ytem re blet experiece te reemit prmie, bt t te ctt teir cltre. It ll ttpeple cme t evelpe

cpitlit ctrie rk t ervete ee te mjrity, re ieret cltre, te by rgig

their own so that they might t in the

previlig mrket-rive rm.T te mt prmiet

exmple te meltig-pt teryre te aric americ ereelve by ite peple trgtre te ntive americ

ere ipe t, elve r iplcerig Erpe clizti.

Tg tee cltre, milyte aric americ, regiemet teir igity my yerlter, tey till lt te cectit teir mel, lt teir cltre ere rce t melt it tecpitlit ytem.Te tive nrt americ re

exmple t ly imiltito benet the capitalist class but

te ecepti c ytem.Te tive i t ve mey r e r mey til te Erpeettler rrive. Tee iitite

tre te tive l rkr t gter r. Tey l elltheir furs, specically beaver pelts,

ic ere very expeive itemi Erpe ciety t te time. Iretr tey l receive triketc rk ell etrimetlitems like rearms and liquor.

frter, te ecmy tt rrig clizti e ttte Erpe implemete perte temelve, i.e. cpitlim.Also, when the natives nally

becme ry te itti,tey lt teir l.

Tretie r lexcge ere

eceitllycretei

lgge reig t tem tttey cl t ve pibly ktt tey ere igig y teirl. Tey ere tke vtge mt imprttly, lt teirtmy reem. aitilly,te tive cl tt remi inrt americ re beig imilte,r itig t be imilte, it

ciety. oe y ere ti c beee i trg te mei impct

yger geerti re lreit weter ciety it it mrket-rive impertive y rmteir cltrl eritge.

ServitudeIt eem lmt believble t

tik tt ervite exit tyi ciety tt i ppe t bemeritcrtic. Ti i bece it iecery tt tere l evebe ervt cl i ciety t ll,

eve i te mer rm lvery ige lvery.Tere i bt tt i e ere

t k te Etipi cb river ie l rive cb ll y i eit ve t, e l y . Temjrity peple rk tiyig cllegig jb i te erviceitry ti i t ecery.It i cilly emeig it i

ervite, pli imple.Cpitlim rgt itnegative inuences on the

aric americ nrtameric tive. Tee

peple ere explite britecle til teymelte it tecpitlit ciety

cig cillieti l cltrlietity. frter,

te tt rk ite ervice itry

ty re t r rm tee te. Teirlive my be better

tt tey c prcereem bt it i t gret ct t teir igity

tey pe teir livei ervite be temt mey tey( t) ve ite

t tlet tey pe.Mrever, it ly tke cb

rie i city t ee ic clhas the most power and inuence

i cpitlit ciety ccere it it te cl te Etipibei te eel.JESSICA FORDHAM (Socialist

Party of Canada)



18/24


JanuaryY ill ctribte t

the prots of the company

rig te ntilLttery, ice y vet

rke t tt te git y gettig bigprize re bt 14,000,000t e. I ct y vemre cce gettigric i y tk pe trte iggig rbrie trere the nearest eld

i y c qrete ler.

FebruaryY ill believe tt

te preet recei ce imply by ebker tikig mreof their own prots than

t g r te ret . Y ill rget ()tt ll cpitlit rk te lg st y,

Jck, Im ll rigt, (b) cpitlim ly bm lmp, ill g vig temeve i bker give pteir be.

MarchY ill be pplle

t re bt terrrit elibertely exple bmb i weter city kill icet peple.Y ill t be pplleby weter gvermetexplig my bmbi ai ctrie, killigvt mber eqllyicet. Y ill tikit rt lgterig l milli reiger t brigi e grp t explit le ctry.

Aprilhvig re bt

glbl rmig, y illtry t recycle mt yrrbbi, e eerpltic bg, eveitll lr pel yrr igrig te ct ttmy cpitlit cmpiemake large prots running

perti ic elp tri te evirmet,

ill g ig til cilit ciety pt te

iteret ll tepeople rst.

horror-Scope for non-SocialiStS Even the newspapers which consider themselves to be posh run horoscopes.

They are always extremely vague when did you see a horoscope that got down

to details, and said that if you go to your local shopping centre, and go into the third

shop past Tesco on the right, theyll give you a big bag of gold? So here are some

forecasts which are much more likely to be fullled for non-Socialists.

If your birthday is in

MayY ill tr

t riyigt vter prty ic climit ill r cpitlim r

your benet, and when

you nd (unsurprisingly)it ctie t rcapitalism for the benet

te cpitlit y illvte r ieret prty

ic clim it ill rcapitalism for your benet.

Te y ill g bck tsupporting the rst party, elely.

Junea y ere ll,

brig jb, ic tillleve y rt mey,

y ill ccetrte yrilike yr ell-

rker jt bee

me rem, r gt me ter mirprmti, ile tte me time y illctie t igre ll temember te igcl, live ell itty rk t ll t

y elp t prce.

Julysme cpitlit

pprt te E.u. (biggerre perti,bigger prots), some

cpitlit pprtitrig rm te E.u.

(mller re, mre cce ctrllig evet); y

ill get ivlve i etergmet t prp pe grp cpitlitr te ter. wy tleve cpitlit t pprttemelve (tey ly), ite pprt

yrel yr iteret?

AugustY ill get ye

bt te reig rigi me te terrker brgt i byte cpitlit t rk rtem; epite te ct tt

rker ivie mgtemelve by tig ttt mtter, like ki-clr ill t eve beble t ee teir ge citi iti tepreet ytem, mc lecrete better ciety.

SeptemberY ill ever ee

the signicance of the fact

tt everyere, teverte rm gvermet,e peple ly cme tper erig t cgetig Brck obmi jt te ltet exmple;bt i ti i lrey c mrvell ytem, te pre, T.V. llte ret te mei rely yig, y lcge be ttrctive?

Octoberhvig

vte r tectiti cpitlim, ytem i

ic trie r re ievitble, yill be te eBriti lier, gig t

r vere, re kille ijre, y illg mrce icem: brig r byme. Te y illctie vtig r prtie

pprtig cpitlim terere pprtigvilece.

NovemberY ill ctribte

ll yr le cge t crity ic give tier Critm yt e mele peple.Y t give y mey,r ert, t yr ell-

rker trgglell teir live tryig tbrig bt ciety i

ic tere t be ymele peple, r yee r egrig crity.

Decembernext Critm y

ill lite t rgmetrm religi peple

y eclrit vetle teir ly y, rm eclrit yreligi peple ve tlete ge-l miiteretivl, itt relizigtt te er te bigtre p, teirc regiter merrilyrigig, ve tle it rmbt tem.

ALWYN EDGAR



19/24


f m

WHEN THE Bank of England introduced quantitative easing last year

is was popularly described as the government having recourse to the

printing press. This was not meant to be taken literally the Bank of

England did not arrange for more notes to be printed as it was done

electronically. Nor, as Charles Bean, a deputy governor of the Bank

of England explained in a speech to the London Society of Chartered

Accountants on 13 October (www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/

speeches/2009/speech405.pdf), was it the same process that leads to

more currency (notes and coins) getting into circulation (through banks

being put in a position to have to convert some of their reserves with the

Bank of England into cash).

Bean described it as a programme of large scale asset purchases

nanced by the issuance of extra reserves. A new fund called the Asset

Purchase Facility was set up to which the Bank of England has so far

lent 200 billion. This did not come out of the Banks existing assets but

was literally created out of nothing:

Technically what happens is the following. The Asset Purchase

Facility buys assets funded by a loan from the Bank. In turn, the Bank

funds that loan through additional reserve creation. If that sounds likenancial alchemy, consider how the money ows through the system.

When the Asset Purchase Facility buys a gilt from a pension fund,

say, it can be thought of as paying with a cheque drawn on the Bank

of England. The pension fund will then bank the cheque with its own

commercial bank, so the latter now has a claim on the Bank of England

that is what reserves are. In reality, these payments are not made by

cheque, but rather are carried out electronically. But the principle is the

same, though one key difference is that we pay the Bank Rate to the

commercial bank on its claim on us, as well as charging the Bank Rate

on the loan we make to the Asset Purchase Facility.

So, what is involved is a circulating IOU from the Bank which can

be used to buy nancial assets and which, from an accounting point

of view, takes the form of a notional increase in the reserves which the

commercial banks keep with the Bank of England, except that it is the

Bank not the commercial banks that has increased these reserves.

Will this cause ination? After all, what the Asset Purchase Facility

spends does represent an increase in purchasing power. However, the

immediate aim is not to cause a rise in the general price level but a rise

only in the price of government bonds and stocks and shares:

If the Asset Purchase Facility buys gilts from pension funds or

asset managers, they will then have to look for another home for their

money. As it is not very rewarding just to hold it on deposit, they are

likely to look to put their money into other assets, including equities

and corporate bonds. Thus not only does the price of gilts rise as a

consequence of the Asset Purchase Facilitys initial purchases, but also

the prices of a whole spectrum of other assets.

This limited aim seems to have been achieved as prices of bonds and

shares on the stock exchange have risen, helping to repair some black

holes on nancial company balance sheets. But there is supposed tobe a wider aim: to boost spending and activity as Bean put it. Which

hasnt been achieved. Bean, in fact, honestly admitted that if and when

economic activity revives there will be no way of telling whether or not

this was due to quantitative easing for the simple reason that we can

never know with precision what would have happened in its absence.

The intention is that, as the real economy recovers, the process

will be reversed. The Asset Purchase Facility will sell the bonds it

purchased and repay its loan from the Bank of England. The Bank will

then liquidate the corresponding commercial banks reserves with it.

If this happens there will be no general inationary effect as the extra

purchasing power pumped into nancial markets will be taken out again.

But this could be years away. In the meantime the extra purchasing

power will continue to go towards nancing a stock exchange revival,

even perhaps a speculative bubble while the real economy goes

its own way, recovering in due course for real economic reasons not

through nancial alchemy.

Real life monopolywhEn wE ere cilre r bt te timett e ere tirig L ske Ler

e icvere te br gme Mply. I ctremember te etil r te rle - metig btcr tt i c tig P G, cllect200, G t jil, Get t jil. I rel lie it i

lly tt gig t jil met te ly peplet cllect mey ere te lyer, bt tever terle ere it g bilig tel i PrkLe ile yr ppet tck i vel i teEt E meere r t jil t cllectig200.

we e gre p cre e qickly lere ttte Grver htel mi i Prk Le eret r te like . or te t be member te rkig cl t rk r ge r lry le xi lie betee eeklyr mtly py ceqe. hever tere re peple

eel el i c prpertie recetepper rticle gve me etil tee el.

T eprte prpertie i Prk Le vle t5m-6m, e i Grver street r 10m ei Reeve Me t 25m. Te tiig tig bttee eirble reiece i tt tey ve beevacant for between ve and ten years. According to the

empty properties ofcer for Westminster council Paul

Plmer te er ite t keep tem empty r tepreet.

Tere re etimte 1m empty me i teUK, and as empty properties ofcer for Westminster

ccil, Plmer i repible r bt 3,000 tem. Every y e viit me te ritzietree i te cpitl e i bet t get temlive i gi. wt mke i jb iqe i tetggerig vle te prpertie i bk; me

i Myir mi re rt mc 50m,eve i teir ilpite tte. ... Te prpertielly ret be r re ic migtprmpt ympty. Plmer believe my eliveer t ve te ligtet iteti brigigtem bck t lie. s te re er velittle r iteret i te prperty bilig it imerely an asset to be traded as they see t, he says

adding that offshore rms are tricky to track down.

(Guardian, 17 octber)Te rticle pit t tt i me ce ere

prperty i e by re cmpie, uKcpitl gi tx i pyble, tere re ce erete eeler eler ell 1m prperty ter yer r

2m vi te 18 percet tx. Tee trer t lk p tee prpertie plce t live bt cip i teir gr-p gme Mply. all tinancial skulduggery goes on against a background

milli rker livig i b-tr ig,t mele re eve leepigi te treet r bt tee empty lxrimi.

Cmpre t te cmplexitie cpitlimcilim i imple cil ytem. he ill bebilt r peple t live i, t cter i rrrveri te ki br gme like e ve ty.at 21 upper Grver street tere i e vlet 25m, it bee empty r mre t te yer.oce e etbli rl cilim it ill be ccpieimmeitely by mily t preetly mele. aimple cilit lti t prblem tt cpitlimnds insoluble.



20/24


Book Reviews

Engels defrocked

The Frock-Coated Communist: the

Revolutionary Life of Friedrich

Engels. By Tristram Hunt: AllenLane 25.

I febrry ltyer e revieeJ Greebigrpy Egel, lg cmeter. Ti e

lceit r mreype, cmig it e rm ell-k

pblier beig ritte by p--cmig cemic TVitri. Bt cti revltiry

lie i teir b-title, eveetre teir rt cver veri te me prtrit Egel t tege tety.

a cre bt bk telleetilly te me try. Egel

br t cpitlit mily iGermy i 1820, rebellegit i pbrigig bt rce t pe tety yer rkigr te Mceter brc tefamily rm. He supported Marx

nancially, till in 1869 he was able

t retire, te ext yer e mve

t L. Beie elpig Mrxreerc it cpitlim, e rteclic rk c The Origin ofthe Family, Private Property and the

State.were Gree Egel

metig prt-Blevik,ht mre blce vie iti repect. Ctrry t Leilter erti, e y, Egel

vgrit. he pprecite,t, tt rker cl cme tper ig te bllt bx. nr

e fbi r pprter te rermim pre by te

Germ scil demcrt. depiteme clim t te ctrry, e t repible r te rrr stliim, i t crrpt Mrxie i y y.

Bt Egel t perect, byy me. he me ti-Iri prejice, bt e lter pttee ie. he e t eem,though, to have modied his anti-

slv vie, ic le im t cllr te ipperce etirerectiry peple. he git mexlity,

t ymptetic t te memvemet. I te 1840 eppretly lept it te ie

Me he, rmer cite itm e Mrx lle t, te bte tt e ilve it im. Yet te miigEgel ee p trig teti text cilit emiim(i.e. Origin).

a frci wee i e ritigbt Mrx, ht ccle by

tig ctemprry Egel eem, e re i te ctext ecmic recei glbliti.PB

Global finance

The No-Nonsense Guide to Global

Finance. By Peter Stalker. NewInternationalist. 150 pages. 7.99.

By lrge tibk, e

erie pblieby te NewInternationalist,i t it titley. Bt tqite. stlker,imel rmerc-eitr te

mgzie, rite crrectly ttcmmercil bk mke mt teir mey by crgig brrer iger rte iteret t tey givet te epitr tt ittbiee prepre t pt mey t

rk, bk l be ble t er

iteret l, bt te:sppe, r exmple, 20 peple

ve ec epite e rep ilver i te bk vlt.

Te ttl mt mey i tt t p ilver. Tete 21t per cme lg. he re t t brr e rep. Certily, ir r mm,plee tep ti y. we c pe cct r y rite it it ere p ilver. n 21peple tik tey ve 100 p c pe it. Te ttl mt

mey mgiclly icree t2,100 p ilver.n it t. h cl it? I

bk cl tr 2000 lb ilverit 2100 lb by mere trke te pe tt relly l be mgic,lcemy eve. wt it ctllyme i tt e te 100 lbepite bee let t meeele t pe. Tere re till ly2000 lb i exitece, 100 i te te brrer 1900 ite vlt te bk. Te me

l pply eter te rigilepit ere me i tke mey

r by electric trer, btig metllic cmmity meyt illtrte te clim tt bk

mgiclly crete mey i gy t it p ee.

Tere ll cpter (mt te bk) ere stlker expli iey-t-ert term, re,hedge funds, derivates, decit swaps

te like ell itertilcrrecy trcti l. Itis only in the nal chapter where he

tlie te rerm e like t eett e ge te ril gi.

I becti etitle Revkelicee t prit mey e y tt95 percet mey mterilie i by mgic, e cmmercil bkmke l t teir ctmer. heet eem t relie tt ti ibece, cigly, e lg itmt mer ecmit iclebank loans in the denition of

money. On this denition, revoking

te bk ppe licee t pritmey gt, lgiclly, t me t

llig tem t mke l. Yet te ext pge:Bk l ctie t er

l, bt tey l i mc impler i. aytig teyle l ve t cme rm meyepite it tem by ver, rbrre rm ter bk, r rmteir till, r rm teir cctel t te cetrl bk.

Bt ti, eetilly, i tppe ty! al, e i tcitlycceptig ere tt bk l ticree te mey pply re t relly prt it. Bk ty

mre ve te per t cremoff extra prots by creating money

t tey l ve i i rermecpitlim.ALB

Capitalism againstecology

The Ecological Revolution

making peace with the planet.

By John Bellamy Foster. MonthlyReview Press N.Y. 2009. $17.95

Recllig te gl te 1992Ert smmit i Ri, te priciplcmet age 21 itee t lc e ge tible evelpmet r te 21tcetry. Bt ece lter t teec mmit i Jebrg,it tre t t be bttiig cpitl ccmlti tvirtlly y eclgicl ct.Te bk i cmpilti

erlier rticle, mtly rmMonthly Review ic fter i

te eitr, r rm tlk give tvri vee r te rl,e.g. te Mrxim Cerece 2002



21/24


i L, te Climte Cge,scil Cge Cerece 2008 isyey, pte r ti eiti.a ceqece tere i merecrrece teme, ever terepetiti key pit i ieretctext te t reirce teirsignicance overall.

orgie i tree ecti, The

Planetary Crisis, Marxs EcologyEcology and Revolution, fter lyt te mt p t te irmti ttitic climte cge pek il, etc rm creible rce.oe recrrig teme i tt cietyee t be rergie, y rmte impertive ccmlti,explitti egrti te trl evirmet ttte ecery cge mt berevltiry i tre. a reerecei cpter 7, A Planetary Defeat, it Te Johannesburg Memo, ritte

by 16 evirmetlit pitet te bject ilre gvermetic, ter cmmittig t crbevirmetl eclie etc., ctiepprtig plicie ic regrlly mkig ll tig re.agi, te Johannesburg Memo, lg crprti lg rt term iteret iverge rm tepblic iteret tikerig, rerm,reglti, r wrl smmit illcge te tt q.Te cpter prt e cver te

rkig cpitlim, te rete blme lie tere fter

explti y tig tcge itt ytem cge.Prt t i lyi vriiterpretti Mrx cectit r icecti rm eclgy ieret iterprettive tee t be ppermt tieret peri time. I telget cpter, Marxs Theory ofMetabolic Rift, Fosterice te ee reee empi Mrx Liebig tretmet ilertility eclgicl implictirm grmit eclgit,

epecilly regrig il ciece te trggle ver gribie v.rgic gricltre. he l pitt Mrx Egel empi te ee r te mvemet tre te lieti tre ite ttempt t crete tibleciety. accrig t fter teeetil trtig pit r trlyrevltiry cil eclgy lbe Mrx G acetr lgy.Mre t ever te rl ee

t Mrx ter clle r te rtil rgiti mmetblim it tre by reely

cite prcer.Prt tree cti fter

rgmet tt ly cilit

revolution will sufce to generate

citi eqlity, tibility m reem lecerily r it mjr impetrm te trggle te rkigpplti cmmitie tte bttm te glbl ierrcy.Bic m ee mt be e ll ter ee t. Tere

i te ee r revlt rm beli pprt cil eclgicltrrmti, pitig bey teexitig ytem. Te triti tcilim te triti t eclgicl ciety re e.JS

Basic concepts

Unravelling Capitalism. A Guide

to Marxist Political Economy. ByJoseph Choonara. Bookmarks.

2009. 150 pages. 6.99Zombie Capitalism. Global Crisisand the Relevance of Marx. ByChris Harman. Bookmarks. 400pages. 16.99

Cr rt bk i gimple-t-ll itrcti t tebic ccept Mrxi ecmic

rm cmmity, vle, lbr,lbr per, rpl vle trate of prot, organic composition of

cpitl price prcti.Tere te ccil reerece

t Trtky t te Rirevlti (Blevik cp) g tig bt, ter ll, tetr i member te swP te icerig reer ill beble t ict tee. Eve , iti rpriig t ee Mike Kirpermet rm ecmy (ttcpitlim bme ter ww2bece tel expeitre arms prevented the rate of prot from

llig by lig te rte cpitl ccmlti) give teririg ice it eciively

rete by te ct (te ctriett pet le rm bmemre). Bt ti ly tke p epge terie el bk.

aprt rm te peig tcpter ic cver te megr Cr bk i te me ey-t-ll y,hrm bk (pblie ly emt bere e ie i nvember)i by ctrt mite by Kirtery. I ct, hrm (te n 2 ite swP er Ty Cli) ppliete tery mc mre iely tKir ever i, ig it t ttempt

t expli te cre cpitlitevelpmet ice Mrx y. Tte Gret deprei te 1880

ly ee bece te vlrm rce tt beg tr tee te 1890; te lmp ttlle te 1929 wll street Cr

e t te ct tt tere t eg tel rm peigi te 1920 t l te rte ccmlti; ww2 ee tilmp pt-r rm peig

vie ter e till te 1970.Te? well, te permet rmecmy prve t be eiterpermet r eg: Tepermet rm ecmy t bepplemete by te ebt ecmy(p. 289).

depite ti tictrylyi hrm e mke mevli pit. fr itce, t te

blme te bk bker:fice i prite te bck prite, t prblem ttc be elt it i ilti rm

cpitlim le.ALB

Indian railways

Engines of Change. By Ian J Kerr.Praeger Publishers

altg crriet i rteryigcemic tyle,Engines of Change

i etele excellet vervie te itry te rily Ii rm

ecmic cil perpective.oe te teme rig trgte bk i te icreig tteivlvemet i te rig te rily i Ii prtilgvermet erip begiig erly 1870, le t tety

years after the opening of the rst

lie. Mrx get pig meti r

i cmmet tt te ctrcti rily er Briti rle lte itriliti. By tee Briti rle i Ii, p t95 percet te rily ytem

lrey tilie. By teRaj another nail in the cofn of

te ntiliti = scilimeqti! o te me teme, it iiteretig t te tt ticketletrvel, previly viee tilit ti-Briti prtet,rge ter iepeece ter ll te peple e te tri.Crretly me 6 milli reger

every year nd out just how farteir erip Ii Rilyexte.



22/24


This declaration is the basis ofour organisation and, becauseit is also an important historicaldocument dating from theformation of the party in 1904,

its original language has beenretained.

ot ssm ssm s s mm ws m ms sms g sgw s w mm.

d psThe Socialist Party of GreatBritain holds

1.That society as at present

constituted is based upon theownership of the means of living(i.e., land, factories, railways, etc.)

by the capitalist or master class,and the consequent enslavementof the working class, by whoselabour alone wealth is produced.

2.That in society, therefore, thereis an antagonism of interests,manifesting itself as a classstruggle between those whopossess but do not produce andthose who produce but do notpossess.

3.That this antagonism canbe abolished only by theemancipation of the working classfrom the domination of the masterclass, by the conversion into thecommon property of society ofthe means of production anddistribution, and their democraticcontrol by the whole people.

4.That as in the order of socialevolution the working class is thelast class to achieve its freedom,

the emancipation of the workingclass wil involve the emancipationof all mankind, without distinctionof race or sex.

5. That this emancipation mustbe the work of the working classitself.

6.That as the machinery ofgovernment, including the armedforces of the nation, exists onlyto conserve the monopoly by thecapitalist class of the wealth takenfrom the workers, the workingclass must organize consciouslyand politically for the conquestof the powers of government,national and local, in order thatthis machinery, including theseforces, may be converted from aninstrument of oppression into theagent of emancipation and the

overthrow of privilege, aristocraticand plutocratic.

7.That as all political partiesare but the expression of classinterests, and as the interest ofthe working class is diametricallyopposed to the interests of all

sections of the master class,the party seeking working classemancipation must be hostile toevery other party.

8.The Socialist Party of GreatBritain, therefore, enters the eldof political action determinedto wage war against all otherpolitical parties, whether allegedlabour or avowedly capitalist,and calls upon the members ofthe working class of this countryto muster under its banner to theend that a speedy terminationmay be wrought to the systemwhich deprives them of the fruitsof their labour, and that poverty

may give place to comfort,privilege to equality, and slaveryto freedom.

Declaration of Principles

Labours Lost Chord

AGAINST ALL the precedents, and to the surprise of many Laboursupporters, the Tories have won their third election in succession;and have even managed to increase their majority. The mostinteresting aspect of this was not Supermacs victory, but thechanged attitudes and moods of the electorate, that were revealedmore clearly than before. These changes affect the Labour Partyfar more than the To

socialist standard january 2010

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