Paul Watson's contribution to Mayday forum.

HAS CAPITALISM HAD IT”S DAY
Intro

Paul Maunder asked me recently if I’d like to contribute to the renowned Blackball Working Men’s club May Day debates. I happily accepted.

Since then some family circumstances have intervened which prevent me from participating personally today but here’s my brief contribution which I should state at the outset are my personal views and not those necessarily held by the NDU. They are views that I hope motivate discussion.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Paul

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Core Comment:


MAY DAY – as we all know is a day to celebrate the historic and current struggle of the working class.

It is also a poignant time to reflect upon the current global economic crisis and workers relationship with the capitalist system.

Workers were not the architects of the current crisis but there’s no doubt they are it’s first victims to feel the effects of it.

The current rate of job losses globally is staggering as workers across the developing and developed nations are being hurled out of work leaving bewildered families and communities struggling to cope.

In the US about half a million workers a month are loosing jobs.
The cumulative impacts defy belief at times. For instance this year just on one day corporations across Europe, Asia and the US announced 80,000 jobs would be axed. On that particular day some 20,000 workers from one firm got the bad news. The unaccounted impacts in developing nations will be of course be worse.

Underpinning every axed job is personal social and economic loss which for workers and their families often goes unheard but is nevertheless hugely devastating.



Many workers are struggling with why the global financial crisis has so brutally and unexpectedly affected their lives.

How can we pay the bills, what about the kids needs?
How does the mortgage get paid? – Well for many the mortgage simply can’t be paid and the house keys get handed over to banks and families get evicted into the streets.

Relationships get tested as financial pressures escalate. Children become very vulnerable and the sense of security and well being becomes eroded.

Domestic violence and crime intensifies as societal violence and crime intensifies.
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So what should be our response to all this ?

Do we simply leave it all to the politician to sort out – I don’t think so!

It is fair to say many governments are struggling to find solutions to the current crisis. – and it is worrying that very little debate is being held among governments or within mainstream media questioning deregulation and the free market principles underpinning the capitalist economic system.

Government responses internationally have been to primarily inject stimulus packages that hope to re energise financial institutions that bought them down in the first place.


In the US and Europe extraordinary amounts of money have been printed as bail outs to banks , financial institutions and in some cases corporations.

When the T word (Trillion) starts to be used in the context of economic stimulus packages eyes roll comprehending these figures. A Trillion is a thousand Billion or put another way (to do your head in completely) a Trillion amounts to a Million Million.

So as my son quaintly said to me the other day why don’t governments just keep on printing money and everything would be OK.

Well that’s one strategy which Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe has tried. The only problem with it was the value of a million dollar note could only buy you half a bus ride.

This is not the same of course in the case of the US and UK trillions stimulus packages. That has a real value and its all debt – and someone along the way has to pay for it.

So guess who will be bearing the greatest brunt paying this off this debt in the years to come !.

The workers of course.

The very workers who are victims of the current financial crisis are destined to experience a future economic climate where state and private sector workers will increasingly be confronted with demands for wage restraint and potential concessions of current employment conditions.


The horror stories of the 90’s welfare cuts, concessionary bargaining and unscrupulous employer behaviour are on the horizon as the competition for jobs grow as the effects of the recession deepens.

Why then should workers be strapped to the back seat in this economic debate ? They shouldn’t - We need to demand a place in the front seat with a firm grip on the steering wheel;

For instance We Need to Demand that;

 Politicians accept that the current international financial system has failed and engage in a “real” debate about alternatives at a global , national and local level.

 Organise Regional community based “New Economy “ forums where alternative economic models are discussed and recommended and broad based community representatives are elected to participate in a National Hui whose purpose is input regional views into forming a new genuine political and economic change. This should occur irrespective whether the current government opposes it.

 Some principles underpinning future economic models need good debate but could include ;

- People to have a real voice in their future

- The future has to be sustainable for people

- State ownership and control of strategic assets and our productive capacity should be given priority.

- Economic activity should be orientated towards redistributing more wealth staying in this country and not siphoned off shore.

- Monetary institutions to have much greater regulation and accountability over financial transaction activity.
- Disbursement around economic recovery packages to sustain welfare provisions, employment, families and communities.


Put simply people need to demand a better system – the current system is a failure and even if we claw our way back to where we were under the current model – predicted by some to be ten years or more away – what would have changed in real terms to prevent it happening all over again for future generations and at what cost will it have all been to those most vulnerable in this world. !

There has arguably never been such an urgent need to turn the tide against a capitalist system that has failed so many people so quickly and so brutally.

Most people actually want a future world where corporate greed, corruption, excessive consumerism, high household indebtedness, and social disharmony become mere distant, albeit painful, memories that form no part of their lives any more.

If that is really what we want then its up to all of us to get involved, get active, work out what we do want and get our hands on that steering wheel in the front seat.

E ND