An idea whose time has come

Certainly times are changing; very quickly indeed it feels like years go by in a day at the moment. SO it is no surprise to me that ideas such as workers in struggle once again is coming back to the foreground. It’s been a while since the terms socialism and capitalism were being openly discussed and an idea that we cannot go on like we are. System change or at least the early signs of people discussing things need to change are on the agenda. I was at the NSSN lobby of the TUC yesterday and there was certainly a mood of defiance and determination to take the struggles forward. Whilst I say all this I do not think socialism or socialist ideas are popular in the mass’s of workers minds yet only by being drawn into struggle be that attending demonstrations against the cuts this autumn, taking strike action or coming into contact with a party like the socialist party of which I’m a member of. Consciousness as we know always lags behind but in periods of heightened class struggle which we are certainly in today consciousness can make big leaps and I do think the occupy movement while we have many reservations with the structures and slogans it did show a change or a shift in peoples thinking slogans like capitalism is crisis and the ideas of the 99% and the 1% was a first attempt of drawing conclusions of what is going on in society and the wider global economy. Workers are facing the biggest attack on their living standards possibly ever. What was won since the Second World War the welfare state, NHS, public services including many local services are disappearing under our very noses. Do you think workers will just stand by and watch this happen? No, they won’t and will by their class instincts be drawn into battle with the boss’s. The Tories are in disarray with arguments and splits a plenty in the coalition too we cannot predict what will topple this government or which split could open up as a huge split but increased strikes and industrial action on a mass scale including public and private sector workers which the NSSN supports could be the start of changing things out there. It is a slow process but ideas and people’s ideas are slowly starting to understand the reality of their children’s future being worse than their own. Socialism as we have always said as Marxists will come roaring back on to the scene as an alternative but it won’t just fall into our laps we must fight for the ideas of genuine Marxism of the teachings of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky. As revolutionaries we will fight for every reform for workers but know that ultimately the system, the system of capitalism must be overthrown no amount of tinkering or reforming the state will do. I’ve drawn these conclusions through being in the socialist party and I am sure in the coming months and years many more will do to. Its no longer enough to say what you are against, we can all say a million and one things we are against but where we differ we put forward an alternative. Things do not have to be this way, Workers can take control of society to run for need of the many not just the few.

Bob diamond gone but this is about more than one bad apple

As Bob Diamonds resignation news still filters through and the cheering from liberal quarters continues I am acutely aware that this is just one man, yes one man who was powerful don’t get me wrong and a very wealthy one at that but he was by no means the sole problem from our banking crisis or the global financial crisis in capitalism. Bob Diamond was just one apple in a rotten apple cart the whole system is corrupt and systemically bankrupt.

It’s the system of capitalism today which should be under the spot light not Bob Diamond. By focusing on one individual we miss the picture.

As Marxists we don’t just look at one still photo we look at the motion picture of the coming in to being and fading away and the causes behind these changes.

The pressure from other shareholders on Bob Diamond was very telling this had a quantitative change when their share price plummeted on Monday something had to happen to stem this decline. Bob our good friend was the one to be sacrificed. But those liberal types and some very naive characters in our movement think this is it a reason to celebrate. I don’t. I think Bob is the symptom not the cause. Bankers are just one part of this crisis no doubt it was their wreck less gambling which got us into this position but it wouldn’t have been possible without deregulation of the banking sector over decades by Tory and labour governments alike.

An enquire which many bourgeois commentators are calling for even Ed Milibland is calling for one jumping on the popularise opportunist band wagon only a guy like Ed can even Ed can’t miss this open goal to score political points. But his so called enquire would not look too favourably on his labour party either they were in power for many of these deals and over saw the biggest economic crash since the late 20’s.

What we need is a large scale nationalisation of all of the banks. Bringing into full proper public ownership under workers democratic control. With measures to see about compensating those who the banks have faded and paying compensation to investors on basis of need. Which at present looks like very few. Some very rich individuals have made a quick buck out of the financial sector in this country and around the world. It’s time that wealth was in the hands of the many not just the few.

Capitalism is rotten here Bob Diamond too but do not let one man deter us from tackling the bigger beast and removing this corrupt system from our lives and freeing millions of people from the grip of the millionaires.

Global youth unemployment a damning indictment of capitalism

With the shocking statistics of youth unemployment hitting new highs around the world I at its worse in Europe.
EU youth unemployment: 22.7%, Spain 52.1%, Greece 52.1%, Portugal 36.4%, Italy 36.2%, Ireland 28.5%, France 22.7%, UK 21.7%, Germany 7.9%

This for me is one of the most damning features of global capitalism. The way young people especially not exclusively mind you but I’m picking these out as being hit extremely hard since 2008. Youth unemployment has always been an issue but these numbers make bad reading for any pro market thinker. I am not and think this is one of the worst aspects of capitalism it’s not just the waste of young people’s talents it’s the hardship and the demoralisation it leaves young people with.

Young people are statistically more likely to end up unemployed again in later life if they have been unemployed in their younger life.
For capitalism which is a system based on producing things only if there is a way of making a profit out of something not for human need young people being thrown on the scrap heap seem like a price worth paying to the super rich out there.
The long term affects on health, well being, confidence, future prospects of a long term unemployed person can be devastating. I know many people who have left university well qualified and looking for a good job and having to fight for a part time job just to get by. The jobs most graduates take now are not what they trained for and their talents are going to waste quite frankly.

Those graduates who are coming out of university today will be worse off than their parents who came before. This is the first generation who cannot expect a good well paid job and a stable living. Their life will be blighted by short term work, casual part time work. Low pay and little to no pension at the end of it. This is austerity Britain and the world capitalism has given us. Meanwhile the richest 1% has increased its wealth over and over by pushing wages of ordinary workers down to extreme levels in pursuit of even greater profits for themselves.

When the governments tell us there is work out there we should be saying clearly where? There are 6 people worse in many areas across the country chasing every 1 job. I was never very good at maths at school but even I can work out that doesn’t work and will result in mass unemployment.

Although these are the official statistics this masks the true picture of a lot more in part time jobs on low pay poverty pay some might say and those who are not even registered as unemployed but are still. The situation is bad but going to get a hell of a lot worse yet as we’ve only seen an estimated 15% of the planned austerity cuts.

It’s time we fought back. Youth fight for jobs campaigns for decent paid socially useful jobs the reintroduction of EMA so young people can afford to go to college or university and the cancelling of all tuition fees. The money has been shown to be out there with 120 + billion being evaded by big rich corporations every year. With big business also sitting on a estimated 750 billion pounds a 50% initial levee on this and to force big business to start creating jobs if they do not we should nationalise the banks, the biggest business’s out there and run them for need not profit. Providing the jobs we need and the skills we need to with plenty of work needing to be done.

I would start with a mass social housing programme of a million houses being built a year there is currently 5 million people on the council housing waiting list. Why not build for need instead of only building new homes if a profit is realisable. Lets kick the market out as its failed us let’s bring housing, jobs and our NHS back into public ownership and let the workers of this world run society for the many not the few.

Why Greek people should back Syriza this Sunday reports from Paul Murphy MEP

This Sunday will see a major turn in the euro crisis book of developments. The good people of Greece who have been through so so much and are living in almost povety status go to the polls again this Sunday for the second time in under a month to vote who should govern them. The question is very clear austerity in the EU or austerity outside the EU. Either way the Greek people are locked into austerity unless Syriza the beacon of hope on the left and who’s eye’s many on the left all over Europe and the world will be on. This could be a explosive situation as our socialist party MEP Paul Murphy explains below.

the run-up to Sunday's election. He'll be writing daily reports of his experiences; the first of these is below.
The eyes of Europe's left and many working class people suffering under austerity are now on Greece. This was brought home to me when I arrived yesterday in Greece and found myself amongst many international visitors who were also present to support Syriza in the final days of the election campaign. Those present included Francisco Louca, the leader of the Left Bloc in Portugal, together with many of his Portugeuese comrades; Willy Meyer; a Spanish MEP of Izquierda Unida; a left MP from Argentina, and people from Occupy Wall Street. Many more are coming, including the Marxist academic, David Harvey, and Gabi Zimmer MEP, the President of the GUE/NGL left group in the European Parliament.
Is this simply 'revolutionary tourism' that we are all engaged in? Not at all. A war has been waged across Europe since the economic crisis began. This is not a war between the peoples of Europe, rather it is a war waged by the bankers, bondholders, speculators and rich capitalist elite against working class and poor people. Austerity has been imposed, not because it 'works', from the point of view of working people or the economy as a whole, but because it is a means for those forces to make the rest of us pay for their crisis. Concretely, in Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Spain this takes the form of the repayment of unsustainable and odious debt that is paid by the destruction of people's living standards and society.
Greece is at the very frontline of this war. The Greek people have suffered the most vicious austerity, with Greece having been turned into a laboratory for extremely harsh neoliberal measures. The human costs are seen in the 22% rise in suicide, meaning Greece has the highest suicide rate in all of Europe; the soup kitchens of the orthodox church which feed over 200,000 people daily, and the mass unemployment, with an official rate of 21% (50% for young people). When we look at Greece, we see the future that menaces working class people in the other countries that have also been the victims of austerity programmes. It is therefore a basic duty of solidarity to support the struggles of workers in Greece against these policies.
However, the working class people of Greece are not simply the victims of this war, they now have a unique opportunity to strike a blow against the austerity agenda and demand alternative socialist policies. If they strike that blow by electing Syiza in first place on Sunday and laying the basis for a left government, it will have enormous ramifications for people all across Europe. It will open up a new chapter of explosive struggle within Europe and potentially expose the mantra of 'there is no alternative' for the neoliberal propaganda that it is. It can also turn a new page on the development of left parties elsewhere in Europe.
So I have come to Greece to express the solidarity of the Socialist Party in Ireland and the Committee for a Workers' International (www.socialistworld.net) with the Greek people suffering under austerity, and also to show our support for Syriza in these vital elections. Together with the sister party of the Socialist Party in Greece, Xekinima, I will do whatever I can to enable Syriza to achieve a victor,y and I am also here to learn from the struggles of the Greek working class.
It is only slightly over a month since the last general election in Greece, and we are now two days away from another one. May's election produced a resounding defeat for all of the bailout parties and a massive rise of support for Syriza, the 'Radical Coalition of the Left', which finished in second place. A government could not be formed and so another election was called. In the opinion polls, the main right-wing party New Democracy and Syriza now vie for first place. Whichever finishes in first place will get a 50 seat bonus in the 300 seat parliament as a result of an undemocratic system constructed to try to ensure stable rule by establishment parties. If Syriza wins, it may be in a position to form a left government.
It is this possibility that has raised the stakes and tensions in this election campaign. The political and economic establishment in Greece and throughout Europe have waged a massive campaign of fear against the Greek people to terrorise them into voting for New Democracy. Like in Ireland, there is a large majority which wishes to stay in the euro, and this group is preyed upon by right-wing forces who declare that if people elect Syriza, Greece will be ejected from euro, will have to return to the drachma, and will see its crisis will deepen dramatically. In contrast, the hopes of many who have suffered terribly under two so-called 'bailout' programmes have been raised by the real possibility of a left government committed to ending austerity.
This hope was in clear display at the major outdoor election rally I attended last night, where an estimated 6,000 plus people attended. Flags and banners of Syriza and its component parts flew throughout the crowd as music such as 'People have the power' and 'Bandero Rossa' blared out of huge speakers. Eventually the first Syriza MP to address the crowd strode onto the stage, a female former PASOK MP who broke early with PASOK to join Syriza. She was warmly welcomed as was her internationalist speech. She emphasised that “it is finally the time of the people” and said that on Sunday, Greek people had the opportunity to “send a message of struggle and solidarity across Europe”. Tackling the scaremongering tactics of the right, she denounced the leaders of Europe who have been terrorising people for years and are now using “the final terror – memorandum [of understanding – what the 'bailout' deal is popularly referred to in Greece] or drachma”.
After a relatively short speech, the leader of Syriza, Alexis Tsipras walked onto stage to loud and sustained applause. His speech was one of hope, tapping into the expectations of change after this election. He repeatedly declared that Monday would see a new era open up, one of “sustainable and just development.” In detailing the “historic opportunity” that people face on Sunday, he rejected the scare tactics and declared that the vote is “a referendum on memorandum or hope”. Despite the length of his speech, around 45 minutes, neither he nor the crowd flagged at the end of what must be an extremely gruelling campaign. The message was one of confidence of victory on Sunday and that real change would flow from that.
Within Tsipras's speech however, the pressures of the struggle to finish first in the elections were also clear. In the course of the election campaign, the demands of Syriza have somewhat moderated – moving from outright rejection of the memorandum of understanding to a demand for its renegotiation – for example. In the speech, there were also concessions to nationalism, portraying Syriza as the true upholders of the 'Greek flag' in contrast to those who support the Troika, while the word socialism was notably absent (although not from the crowd, who interrupted Tsipras at one stage with a chant demanding the end of capitalism and socialist change!)
The danger with these concessions is that Syriza seems to me not to be preparing people fully for the scale of the struggle that will be unleashed on a European scale if a left government is formed in Greece. Ending austerity in today's Europe means a revolutionary break with the logic of capitalism and the implementation of socialist polcies. On a European scale, it also means not just a national battle, but a Europe-wide war.
In particular, this danger finds its highest expression in Tsipras's promise last night that Greece will not be kicked out of the euro if Syriza is elected. This may well prove to be a hostage to fortune.
The dynamic of the Eurozone crisis, with or without Syriza being elected, points to Greece being kicked out of the Eurozone. If Syriza comes to power and keeps to its promise not to implement austerity, a major clash with Angela Merkel and the leaders Europe's governments together with the European Commission and Central Bank will ensue. While no country can be legally expelled from the Eurozone, the political leaders of Europe could achieve expulsion by cutting off funding to the state and Greek banks and provoking a major crisis.
Regardless of the possibility of being forced out of the euro, Greek people are still correct to vote against austerity and for a change of policy. The savage austerity in Europe is deepening the Eurozone crisis and creating massive instability. Continuing with that policy will not secure Greece's place in the Eurozone or guarantee any stability. So people should not vote on Sunday on the basis of false promises that Greece will stay in the euro if austerity is implemented, but rather take the opportunity to vote for radical anti-austerity and socialist policies.
In Syriza's five point programme at the the time of the first election, and in many of their statements since, they have opened the discussion on many of the key questions to be tackled by a left government. Like in Ireland, the first issue has to be a refusal to pay the debt, because the effort to repay it is destroying the economy and society. Syriza has also rightly highlighted the importance of taking the banking system into public control - this can only be done through nationalisation and democratic control and management. With such a banking system, capital controls could be imposed to stop the flood of rich people's money out of the country and to provide credit for small businesses and farmers.
Regenerating economic growth will require a break from the past policy of relying on the rich to invest their wealth, which they have proved unwilling to do. Instead, the key sections of the economy need to be taken into democratic public ownership and a plan developed to redevelop the economy, including a strong and sustainable manufacturing and industrial base.
If Syriza is elected on Sunday, it will be a big step forward towards this fundamental and necessary change. But it would be mistaken to think that it will represent the final chapter of the struggle against capitalist austerity. The people of Greece should prepare for the continuation and intensification of the attack of European leaders against them. However, they should also know, as demonstrated by the many international visitors here, that they will not be alone. Tens of millions of people across Europe will welcome a clear rejection of austerity and the election of a left government. It would assist massively in developing the Europe-wide struggle necessary to defeat the capitalist establishments and their austerity.
There is the distinct feeling amongst all of the international guests of being privileged to be in the eye of the storm here on the eve of the what may be an extremely important development for working people across Europe. I intend to take full advantage by learning lessons from the Greek struggle that can be applied in Ireland and across Europe.
Paul Murphy is Socialist Party MEP for Dublin West in Ireland.

Ireland votes yes for fiscal treaty but no mandate for austerity fight continues

With the result of the euro fiscal treaty in Ireland and its results all now in I thought I’d look at the results and what this means to the fight back against austerity and the battle for a better fairer, socialist future .
It is clear to me examine the results closer that many working people where effected by austerity badly voted a strong no. Where the yes vote won was in the middle class’s and those who are on that borderline who still are just getting by, just and just it is as they too will be swallowed up in this crisis in capitalism now due to voting yes and effectively handing over economic powers to the EU to institutionalise austerity on Ireland and limiting their options of a way out. We still do believe as the socialist party and the CWI that there is and can not be any quick fix’s or easy solutions to this crisis on the basis of capitalism as has been shown already with their refusal to look at anything apart from austerity.

We put forward our programme to link to workers in struggle to help workers draw the conclusion that tinkering with the system is not enough and ultimately we must fight for wide scale system change and the defeat of capitalism for the benefit of all people.

This below was the statement from the United Left alliance which the socialist party CWI in Ireland our sister organisation out there in the republic of Ireland are party of and have sitting TD’s and a MEP too in the European Parliament and were part of the No campaign for this recent referendum.

In a statement today the ULA said the people were bullied into voting yes. The Government did not put up any good arguments in support of this treaty. They agreed a blackmail clause with the EU and then used it to bully the people. They said we had no choice even though they took an active part in agreeing to link the treaty with access to funding in the future. Many of those who voted yes did so reluctantly.
Despite the campaign of fear, huge numbers voted against the treaty. Across the country those most affected by austerity have said no and sent a message, particularly to Labour, that they have had enough of austerity. It is now clear that Labour’s way is Frankfurt’s way. Labour will continue to put the boot into ordinary people to pay for the debts of bankers and developers. Labour has no mandate from its supporters to implement austerity.

The ULA is confident that the resistance to austerity in Ireland and Europe will deepen in the next few months. The promise of government that the treaty will bring stability is false. There will be no stability. The treaty does not offer a way out of the economic crises. It will make it worse by institutionalizing austerity across Europe.
We will continue to campaign and mobilize against austerity. We will continue to demand the scrapping of the Household Tax and other policies which impose the burden of bank debt on working people. The ULA will continue to offer a real alternative to the failed policies of austerity.

How the financial crash of 2008 unfolded

The neo-liberal capitalist model which was embraced and glorified by the bourgeoisie and their supporters in parliaments and the capitalist media over the last twenty years in 2008 spectacularly collapsed. The very idea that governments should intervene to regulate, let alone nationalise, banks, financial institutions and industry was up to now ridiculed as being outdated, primitive and discredited.
After the collapse of the Stalinist dictatorships in Russia and Eastern Europe, one of the most outspoken exponents of neo-liberalism, Francis Fukuyama, argued that the progression of human history as a struggle between ideologies had come to an end. His conclusion, that the fall of Stalinism represented the end of history and that liberal "free" market economics was the final stage of economic evolution, was accepted by the political establishment across the world, including the tops of the former workers' parties, such as the Labour Party in Britain and Australia, and the Social Democrats in Germany. The propaganda which followed was used to attack genuine socialist ideas and used ideologically to justify to workers that neo-liberal policies of privatisation, de-regulation, and attacks on workers and public services were needed. Even the majority of trade union leaders went along with these reactionary ideas.
This opened the way for a massive offensive against workers internationally. Intensification of exploitation of workers, shifting production and industry from the advanced capitalist countries to low wage economies and removing barriers to exploit foreign markets, led to a huge shift in wealth from workers to the super-rich.

The ideological impact of the current collapse of the global financial sector and the expected world recession is only beginning to be felt. However, it is already leading to a questioning of capitalism and a revival in socialist ideas, including from some surprising quarters. Even the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams has had to admit that Karl Marx, the founder of modern socialism was correct in his analysis of capitalism. Writing in the British right-wing journal, The Spectator, he says "Marx long ago observed the way in which unbridled capitalism became a kind of mythology, ascribing reality, power and agency to things that had no life in themselves; he was right about that, if about little else."
He was joined by the Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu, who labeled those involved in "short-selling" as "bank robbers and asset strippers". It must have slipped the archbishop's mind that the Church of England itself was profiteering from their £5 billion investment portfolio though!
Even in the belly of the beast of US imperialism, socialism is once again being discussed, albeit by figures such as rightwing Republican Congressman Jeb Hensarling who voted against the original bail-out package claiming it would put the nation on "the slippery slope to socialism". It is a bitter pill to swallow for the neo-conservatives who have worshiped at the altar of the free market for so long. Announcing the $250 billion part nationalisation of the US banking sector, Bush was at pains to explain it was "not intended to take over the free market but to preserve it." US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson added "We regret having to take these actions. Today's actions are not what we ever wanted to do – but today's actions are what we must do to restore confidence to our financial system" and "Government owning a stake in any private US company is objectionable to most Americans — me included, yet the alternative of leaving businesses and consumers without access to financing is totally unacceptable." The howls of horror at "socialist" measures from the Hensarlings of the world are therefore unfounded. The moves to nationalise and part-nationalise the banks are not socialist, but a desperate attempt to save the system. It was necessary for the capitalist state to intervene to shore up capitalism and avoid a complete collapse of the economy, leading to a 1930s-type depression. This however does not mean they will be succeed in avoiding such a devastating slump.

Socialists do not support the bailing out of the banks. It does not represent genuine nationalisation as socialists stand for. It is a case of "socialism for the rich", where the risks and debt are socialised, but the profits and assets are privatised. These steps are also designed to be temporary. As soon as conditions permit, it is intended to hand back these financial institutions to the private sector. But the depth of the crisis means the state may be left with no choice in propping up the banks for far longer than expected. Even if they are forced to keep the banks partly or wholly in public hands for an extended period, they will continue to be run in the interests of the rich as they always have been. They will be not be used to maximise returns for the working class.
While different governments may bring their own representatives on to the executive boards of the banks, this will be to assist the transition back to private ownership and to steer the banking system towards boosting the profitability of big business. The financial wizards or "masters of the universe", who appeared to magically accumulate huge sums of money apparently from thin air will continue to live in luxury. Working class people (the actual creators of wealth) will be told they must pay the price.
A socialist government would bring all the banks and financial institutions fully into public ownership and co-ordinate a central plan to provide cheap credit and zero-interest loans to people struggling to buy a home. Any compensation would only be paid to individuals on the basis of proven need. Instead of the banks being run by completely unaccountable wealthy bankers, enriching themselves with huge bonuses and salaries, a socialist banking system would be run democratically by elected committees representing bank workers, trade unions, customers and government representatives, all living on a workers' wage and subject to recall.
This does not mean disposing of every economist and financial specialist. Their talents and expertise would be used to provide a banking service for the needs of all. The motivation to make as much profit as quickly as possible, regardless of the consequences, would be removed. Instead of paying dividends to private shareholders, revenue from a socialist banking system would be used to invest in quality public services to cater for people's needs.

As a result of the mass impoverishment and horrific conditions which neo-liberalism created in many countries, mass movements have developed against the excesses of capitalism. Across Latin America, movements of workers, youth and indigenous peoples have shaken the continent and the corrupt political elites who had opened the door for major multi-nationals to take over public services and rob countries of natural resources and wealth.
Companies such as Bechtel Corporation were allowed to take over the water service in Bolivia, leading to massive hikes in water charges. Hundreds of thousands of Bolivians were left with no water supply. A massive movement developed from below which eventually forced the Bolivian political elite to re-nationalise the water service.
However, even though there is mass support from the populations of these countries for the nationalisation of the major sectors of the economy, these regimes have refused to take such steps. They are still trapped in the belief that there is no alternative to capitalism. They wish to make compromises with their national capitalist class in the vain hope that they will accept reforms which benefit the working class and poor.
However, capitalism will do everything in its power to protect their profits and power. Any attempts to give a bigger slice of the cake to workers will be met with fierce opposition by big business, who will move to remove these regimes from power. Such measures have already been attempted in Venezuela. The right-wing has repeatedly tried to overthrow the government of Hugo Chavez in different ways, from attempted military coups to bosses' lock-outs and food shortages. In Bolivia, the right-wing with the involvement and support of US imperialism is attempting to split the country, threatening to drag it into civil war, in order to keep ownership of the country's valuable energy resources and topple Evo Morales from power.
In order to prevent such a scenario, it is urgent that the working class develop its own independent organisations which fight for the overthrow of capitalism and for the establishment of a workers' government which takes the commanding heights of the economy out of the hands of the multi-nationals and the super-rich minority and runs it democratically for the benefit of all. Such a step would receive huge support from workers and the poor across Latin America and the world. It is important for socialists to study developments in Latin America as the revolutionary processes underway on that continent are not down to people in Latin America having some exclusive socialist gene. The crisis which capitalism has caused in Latin America is now spreading worldwide and will result in a similar revolutionary process in the rest of the world.

The fact that capitalism has been forced to use the state to intervene into the finance sector and nationalise banks is a living example of the inability of private ownership and the market to develop an economy which can cater for people's needs. This is not exclusive to the finance sector. The same straitjacket of the market applies to all industry and every aspect of the capitalist economy.
The scandal of starvation and malnutrition across the world is another illustration of the inability of the profit-driven market to cater for the needs of all. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, more than 25,000 people died of starvation every day in 2003. As a result of the panic on stock markets, speculation on crops and foods saw an explosion in food prices. Between 2006 and 2008, the average global price for rice rose by 217%, wheat by 136%, maize by 125% and soybeans by 107%. For people living in the neo-colonial world, the increases were far higher. The numbers dying of starvation today are without doubt higher than 2003. Capitalist governments continue to ignore this reality. While trillions of dollars are being handed to the rich across the world in the form of "rescue packages" and bail-outs, the amount invested to prevent mass starvation is miniscule in comparison. The budget of the UN World Food Programme in 2008 was $2.9billion, a drop in the ocean! There is more than enough resources in the world to provide every single person with a decent standard of living. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, more than $1204 billion was spent on arms in 2006 alone. The problem is this wealth is concentrated in the hands of a tiny elite. The top 500 multinationals in the world account for 70% of world trade. These giant companies, which dominate the lives of billions, should be taken into public ownership and run democratically as part of an international plan to raise people out of poverty.
This would also enable all the talents of individuals to flourish and be put to use for socially productive causes, based on co-operation, not the laws of the capitalist jungle, where greed is promoted above solidarity. Planning is essential within the structure of any business. In every factory, production is fine-tuned and run according to a plan. But in the capitalist market, where there is no planning, chaos reigns. A socialist plan of production would be far more efficient in delivering goods and services, allowing people to work fewer hours and able to freely participate fully in the running of society.

It is widely acknowledged that there is no national solution to the world economic crisis. Yet each country has moved to defend the interests of its own ruling class before thinking about the "greater good" of the world economy. The decision of the Irish government to guarantee the savings of accounts in Irish banks led to panic as banks across Europe feared people would abandon their bank and open accounts in Irish banks. Soon other countries in the EU were forced to take similar measures. This episode of disunity is a warning of the coming major problems which will threaten the very institutions of the EU itself which we are now starting to see in Greecefor example. This crisis of global capitalism will also seriously test the euro. Some countries may be forced to break from the currency. The very existence of the euro altogether has been put into question as the different economic and political interests of each country run into conflict with each other.
While capitalism has internationalised trade, most companies still base themselves in a home country. In this respect, capitalism has proved incapable of moving beyond the confines of the nation state. Globally, tensions between countries, especially between US imperialism and the emerging super-powers of China and Russia, will lead to global instability and even the outbreak of regional wars, which can dwarf recent conflicts like that between Russia and Georgia.
Again, it will be working class people and the poor of all countries who will be made to pay. As more workers and youth in the US are discovering, the imperialist wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not in their interests. They are being fought, ultimately, to defend the interests of US big business. Due to capitalist globalisation, the struggles of workers will tend to have a greater international aspect than ever before. The traditions of international solidarity, such as seen in the massive movement against the war on Iraq, will re-emerge in the struggles of workers, demonstrating the potential for a socialist world.
Writing in their joint work, The German Ideology, Marx and Engels stressed how the struggle for socialism has to be international, explaining "everyone will be freed from … particular local and national limitations, brought into a practical relationship with the products (including intellectual products) of the whole world, and enabled to gain the capacity to delight in all the fruits of world-wide human creativity."

The opportunities for building a mass socialist movement internationally will open up in the coming period. Capitalism will never collapse out of existence. After the 1929 Wall St. crash, economies collapsed but capitalism survived, resulting in the horror of the second World War. Throughout the 21st century in dozens of countries, there were many times when the working class was within a hair's breadth of taking power and transforming society along socialist lines. Tragically, despite great sacrifice and heroism, those opportunities were missed because of the betrayal of the leaders of the workers' movement. What was missing was a mass revolutionary party, soaked in a Marxist understanding and method and rooted in the working class, which could have provided essential leadership in the struggle for socialism. Today, capitalism promises only economic hardship, war and untold damage to our environment. The need to build a socialist alternative has never been greater.

A Greek exit from the euro looking more like when than if now

With the euro financial crisis deepening by the day and sometimes it f eels by the hour as the markets continue to tumble it looks increasingly likely that Greece will be forced to leave the Euro sooner rather than later now. With senior European bankers discussing the idea over the weekend it looks to me as though they are preparing the ground for a controlled Greek default and to allow them to leave the Euro. As i’ve said on this blog before the Germany economy is very strong but is not without its troubles of course and as a result is already reprinting the German mark currency and is all ready to go if a sudden collapse means it necessary to reintroduce.

I imagine we will see the Greek drachma reintroduced this year too before too long. As Marxists we are always approached as being out of touch but we were the only ones to have predicted the global financial crisis with the Euro zone especially venerable once an economic crisis hit which is always likely under capitalism due to its very nature of periodic crises ingrained in its make up every 10 or so years.

The capitalist state is based on the nation state trying to force 27 odd countries with different economies, cultures, traditions working patterns was just simply never going to work. We don’t oppose the EU on nationalist lines as that divides the working class we oppose it as a boss’s club and was only created to benefit the ruling classes only now it is all falling apart around their ears. In theory the EU could have worked if they’d transformed into a federal body like the United States of America although getting 27 different nations to agree on everything looks very unlikely.

With the markets this morning falling into panic mode due to the uncertainty of the Greek political scene with no government being able to be formed and further elections looking likely the markets don’t like it and well Greece has been running on empty for sometime bumping along the ground and stumbling by getting injections to a dying corpse not being allowed to die just yet due to the fears of others in the EU but I think now the ruling class are starting to consider letting them go. Which would not solve the Greek’s problems one little bit if anything it’ll only make things worse for them as the country is still pretty much bankrupt with huge debts even still? I imagine they will have part of their debt written off but will still endure years if not decades of austerity now with the working class and the poor feeling it most. Leaving the Euro won’t solve things for Greece but it may give the rest of the euro zone a temporary boost but it will be short lived when the crisis shifts to Spain, Italy or Portugal and Ireland which looks its next victims.

A European fight back on a mass scale is needed now the crisis is becoming clearer and workers who are fighting back can see now that they are fighting similar battles to their co-workers in the other parts of the Euro now if they join up the dots and realise they areal fighting the same enemy the system the movement created could be electric.