Socialist Standard March 2010

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1SocialistStandard March 2010

March 2010 Std bdh.indd 1 22/2/10 10:45:57


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2 SocialistStandard March 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 6 M at the address below.Correspondence should be sent to the GeneralSecretary. All articles, letters and noticesshould be sent to the editorial committee at:The Socialist Party, 52 Clapham High street,

London SW4 7UN.: 020 7622 3811

-m: [email protected]

March 2010

3 e

4 Paths

Brave New Epsilons

6 M WCARE International

7 cIre of the Irate Itinerant

8 ps tg

8 c ds

9 ckg bks 1Empty Hope

19 ckg bks 2Living without money

20 rvwsTrotsky. A Biography; Money;

People First Economics.

22 Mgs

22 50 ys agIntermingling

23 Gs p...Less Equal Than Others...

24 V m bk

24 f l

website: www.worldsocialism.org

reGularSfeatureS

t b c qDoes it matter whether the Iraq War was legal or illegal?

tg wms w jPete Seeger is now in his 90th year. His songs have always beenbetter than his politics.

W s r dm hw d W Gi?In a month or so the people of Britain will be asked once again to decidewhich representatives of the ruling class will rule over them for the nextfour or ve years.

csm s qA recent report shows that the reformist actions of the Labourgovernment have not been able to reverse the inequalities that capitalismgenerates.

socialist standard

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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 prot

system 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 understand

the case for socialism.

ig

The Socialist Party

Editorial

It wIll have come o he aenion ofsome orkers, ha he UK franchisefor adminisraing he marke sysemon behaf of he oners of his parof he pane (he capiais cass) ishory be up for grabs. there is, inoher ords, an eecion on. tenders

are invied from poiica paries devoidof principes and eager o represenhe ineress of he UK capiais cass,

heher in baes ih capiaiss fromoher regions, or ih he demands ofis oca orking cass. the ony probem in his cosy ar-

rangemen is ha a fe cenuries back,in order for he capiaiss o riumphover he arisocracy ho hed poerpreviousy, he orking cass had o bebrough on-side.

As and gave ay o indusry as heeconomic poerhouse of he sae, hene boss cass (capiais cass) sough

iberaion from he resricions hasuied he od ruers (andords). A hesame ime he ne orking cass hoacuay orked in facories producinghe eah ha he upper casses foughover ere no ying don. Freed fromserfdom hey ere abe o demand and in poiica freedom: he voe.

So he sysem has a eak ink, anAchies hee: he poiica auhoriy ofcapiaism requires o be reguary re-inforced by suppor a he bao box.Once every four or ve years therefore,

e a ge our 15 seconds of heady po-er at our ngertips in the form of a stub

of penci and a scrap of paper.The rst shots in the battle between

the main parties have been red. This

campaign ooks ike being he mos vac-

uous ye, subsiuing personaiies forpoicies, and making he X-Facor andBriains Go taen ook ike princi-ped mechanisms for decision-making.

For mos of is ifeime labour a easpretended to have some sort of afnity to

orking cass ineress hie expery

shafing us year afer year. thankfuy,no preence a any sor of ideoogicadifference beeen he paries is main-ained by anyone in he kno. I usedo be said ha you coudn sip a ciga-ree paper beeen he poicies of herespecive paries. Our preferred ana-ogy noadays oud of course refer oa credi card.the Sociais Pary here and our com-

panion paries in he word SociaisMovemen do no feishise pariamen.Bu neiher do e see any conradicionin incuding i here i exiss as anessenia par of he ooki for making

a democraic revouion. the voe in hehands of he orking cass has ony onerea use as a means o unambiguous-y express majoriy suppor (hen hahappens) for he revouionary changefrom production for prot to production

for need.we don see he voe as he ony par

of he sor of peacefu and democra-ic revouion e seek. Far from i, bu

hie i is here e hink i shoud beused. Sociaism i ony ork ih heacive, informed paricipaion of hemany in sark conras o he side-sho in peopes ives ha his eecion

i be.

X-Factor



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bv nw ess

Imagine going o a job inervie in eny yearsime. Chances are, you have o ake aong your ID, your CV, and your personagenomic prole. One of the gene variants an employer might be looking for isEpsilon 4, which is thought to signicantly increase your likelihood of developing

Azheimers disease. Some noabe genome sef-pubishers ike Harvardpsychoogis Seven Pinker are choosing no o pubish he Epsion 4 par ofheir genome, perhaps undersandaby. As one researcher remarks, I oudn

an o kno heher Ive go one and I cerainy oudn an oher peope okno (New Scientist, 13 February).The problem for workers is, genome-sequencing is already in the 3-gure

doar range and i on be ong before e i be expeced o provide a genomesurvey in order o ge ork, jus ike house seers i no be required oprovide he buyer ih a house survey. the more privieged members of hisbrave ne capiaism i no doub do a Pinker, bu orkers in a probabiiy

i no be aoed o keep quie abou Epsion 4, or anyhing ese for hamaer, and i be enirey a he mercy of ha he bosses decide hey donike. Uness more orkers sar insering copies of his magazine ino heir jeans,

e coud a end up as Epsion-cass orkers.

Js vg mw t ps. tx. c s.

Possibly last months best SMS joke.In the midst of the fuss over the

large-scale recall of the accursedvehicle, some engineers are doingthe predictable thing and, witha knowing stroke of the greyingwhiskers, remarking that Ocourse,they be too damn complicated thesedays, too much to go wrong. Thatstheir problem right there, I tell ee.Although the Prius problem wasentirely and mundanely mechanical,speculation also centres roundanother of Toyotas products, theLexus. The more that modern cardesigns move from mechanical toelectronic systems the greater the

risk of electromagnetic interference(EMI), and designs like the Lexus withelectronically-controlled accelerationor drive by wire are now thought tobe at risk of EMI-induced suddenunintended acceleration (NewScientist, 13 February).

Meanwhile, reports that increasingsunspot activity is likely to interferewith sat-nav systems provide adouble-whammy (Sat-nav devicesface big errors as solar activity rises,

BBC Online, 10 Feb). Onecan envisage whole

convoys of ashy cardrivers all roaringoff down arbitraryhighways like bats

into hell, the blindleading the blindingly

fast. Still, it could be worse. At leastdodgy cars are being recalled thesedays. If the free-market capitalistsgot their way we might return to theunregulated days of the notoriousFord Pinto, whose manufacturersallegedly decided to pay off accidentfatalities families rather than stop

selling the dangerous car. All in all

it makes you think about oilingthat pushbike.

n s

Lastly and a proposnone of the above, a

quick word from ourBBC economicsadvisor RobertPeston: Itsplainly better forbanks to make

prots, than not

(unless you are actively working for

the destruction of capitalism) (BBCblog entry, 16th February). Ok Bob,you may have given us an idea...

Public no longer believes poll ndings, poll ndsTwo recent polls commissioned by the Times newspaper and the BBC suggest thatthe UK public are becoming more climate sceptical, no doubt because they imaginethe unusually heavy snow on their front lawn has blanketed the entire world andheralds a ten thousand year ice age. As the snow piled up, so did the column inches,with journalists speculating about why climate catastrophe has fallen so out of favour(see for instance Climate scepticism on the rise, BBC poll shows, BBC Online, 7February).

Favourite theories are the East Anglia email scandal, the hopeless effort atCopenhagen, and most recently the raw wet omelette served on the face of theInternational Panel on Climate Change by their careless and spectacularly erroneousclaim that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035, rather than the original andmore accurate date of 2350. Interestingly this error has been traced back to an articlein New Scientist, which observed that the panel has been severely criticised forciting a non-peer-reviewed magazine (see New Scientist, 23 January, p5 in a very small box).

But wait a moment, isnt everyone getting a bit carried away?Scientists can make mistakes, cant they? In fact the ability to makeand identify mistakes forms the basis of all science. There may besome buffoons out there bonkers enough to think that if scientistsget one thing wrong then they must have everything else wrongtoo, but that surely cant apply to the whole population.

In all the journalistic hoo-ha about rising climate scepticismthere didnt seem to be a whole lot of poll scepticism, yet are thepolls really signicant or just a blip? As most people no doubt

realise, polls are the journalists best buddy but make for unreliablereal-world guides, especially in areas other than elections wherethey are unlikely to be corroborated later by hard facts. In the rst

place, they can be designed to produce the ndings the poll-fundersare looking for (or else, if they dont, the funders dont publish thendings). Even supposing the funder is genuinely disinterested in

the ndings (the BBC and Murdoch-owned Times are not climatesceptics so presumably werent hoping for this result, unless theidea was to manufacture some controversial headlines) there isno peer-review or general oversight of the polling methodologyemployed. What suggests the polls are a blip is the timing. One would, forinstance, have to question the wisdom of asking people standing in twofeet of snow whether they were especially concerned about global warmingat the present time. One further wonders whether the BBC and the Timeswill be doing follow-up polls in aming June or blue-sky July. Finally there is

the question, admittedly a cynics recourse: do people tell pollsters the truthanyway, or merely make a little devilment out of the business? Why would theylie, you might ask? But equally, why shouldnt they? Anyone who doesnt believe this is

possible has clearly never lled in a market survey report on branded products. In viewof all this, does anyone apart from material-hungry journalists actually believe in polls?Maybe we should have a poll and nd out.



5/24


Letters

Inflation and

Quantitative Easing

Dear EdiorsI have read many of your

economics pubicaions and noe hayour explanation of ination may be

summarised as - he excess issue of

an inconveribe paper currency.No, I hough ha his is exacy

ha is being done (21s cenurysye) ih quaniaive easing.Hoever, in he Socialist Standard

January 2010 in he arice FinanciaAchemy you appear o be sayingha his is no happening and haquaniaive easing i no resu inination. Please could you clarify this

poin for me and for oher readers.GRAHAM WILDRIDGE (by email)

Reply:we do indeed argue ha he cause

of ination is the excess issue of aninconveribe paper currency, ha is,currency ha is freey prined andno converibe ino an underyingcommodiy ike god. Currency canbe said o be issued in excess heni is above and beyond he amounneeded o carry ou producionand rade, injecing purchasingpoer ino he economy ha is noreaed o rea eah generaion.

this effecivey means a boaing ofmoneary demand in he economynot sufciently matched by increased

producion, hich hen serves opu up prices as a hoe. wherevercurrency has been issued in excesshis ay, prices have risen and hishas been far and aay he mainreason hy he price eve no is eover hiry imes ha i as beforehe sar of he Second word war.

the amoun of currency in issuehas risen far faser han has been

arraned by increases in producionand rade, ih he amoun ofcurrency in circuaion being 450min 1938 hereas i is no around54,000m and si rising.

Quaniaive easing (QE) is anineresing phenomenon in ha henit was rst mooted no-one seemed to

be cear on ha, precisey, oud beinvoved. Our vie has been ha if iexacerbaes he ongoing excess noeissue then it would be inationary.

the ay QE has orked in pracice,ih he Bank of Engand seing upa separae Asse Purchase Faciiy(APF), means his does no seem ohave happened. Noes and coins aresi increasing a he same sor ofannua rae hey have been he asfe years, and here has been no

noiceabe change o his. wha hashappened insead is more unusua.

In pracice, a massive oan has

been graned by he cenra bank.this has been oaned by he Bankof Engand o he Asse PurchaseFaciiy and i has been used o buynancial assets. The vast majority

of he APFs purchases appear ohave been governmen gis ih asmaer amoun of corporae bondsbeing bough in buying hese up,

heir prices have risen, heir inerespaymens (yieds) have faen forinvesors and so in urn equiies havebecome a more aracive invesmen(hich is ha has argey fueed herecen sock-marke recovery).the effec of a his on he overa

price eve has been minima a moshough, as i has been a processconcentrated specically on thesetypes of nancial assets. In some

ays i is a massive, deb-fueedversion of ha used o be caedopen-marke operaions by hecenra bank.

As Chares Bean, he DepuyGovernor for Moneary Poicy ahe Bank of Engand has saed

ih regard o QE and is effec onnancial assets: not only does the

price of gis rise as a consequence ofhe Asse Purchase Faciiys iniiapurchases, bu aso he prices of a

hoe specrum of oher asses . . .Aso he rise in asse prices increases

eah and improves baance shees.In his ay, Quaniaive Easingheps o ork around he bockagecreaed by a banking sysem ha issi undergoing a process of baanceshee repair. I can be added ha

hen he prices of gis rise and heiryieds fa, his heps o keep ineresraes o oo as here is a coseconnecion beeen governmen gi

yieds and he ineres raes chargedby he commercia banks.to make a his happen he

iniia oan o he APF has beengenerated by a metaphoric ick of

an eecronic sich in he ony ayhis can ever occur hrough heacions of he cenra bank isef,he ender of as resor. As e have

expained previousy privae banksare compeey unabe o expandheir baance shees ih a sroke ofthe pen or ick of a switch, only the

cenra bank can iniiay do his,just as it can inate the currency it

issues.the key poin is ha his oan by

he Bank of Engand o he APF,effecivey a massive IOU or seriesof IOUs, has o be paid back. whenhe APF ses hese asses back inohe markes i i have preciseyhe opposie effec o hen i asbuying hem up, draining aay he

emporary addiiona purchasingpoer ha had been creaed andpumped into the nancial system.

So, a in a, his is a cenra banknancial stimulus aimed at loweringineres raes, increasing economicaciviy and pushing up he priceof nancial assets. But it has to be

emporary because if he treasuryis not to create another big nancialback hoe for isef i i a somepoin have o se back he asses i

has bough hrough he APF (ideaya he prices i bough hem a, orhigher), as oherise i i jus haveumbered isef ih ens of biionsof pounds orh of gis i had issuedearlier to nance its own government

deb! So hie i is a ransiorynancial alchemy of a sort, with any

prots that accrue from this buyingand seing process going o HM

treasury, so he treasury aso has oindemnify any osses incurred.

QE is not inationary in the

radiiona sense in ha hie i canfue asse price bubbes in cerain

secors of he economy i does nocause genera price rises and isonly temporary. Currency ination

causes more genera price risesacross he economy as he excesscurrency circuaes hroughoui, and of course can and indeed

i coninue for decades if nodeiberaey haed.Editors.

Party News

esThe Socialist Party will be standing a

candidate in Vauxhall, in London, in the

coming general election. More details

next month.

Whatever the date of the general

election there will be local elections on

Thursday 6 May. The Socialist Party will

be standing candidates in these too, in

Lambeth and in Camden, in London.

Leaeting in Lambeth has been going on

since the European Parliament elections

last June and is continuing. Offers of

help to: 52 Clapham High St, LondonSW4 7UN or [email protected].

Thanks.



6/24


Dedicated to serving the rich:

the reality of aid

CARE: DEDICAtED o serving he poores of hepoor. So reads a wall poster at the Haiti ofces of the

humanitarian agency CARE International. The ofces

are housed in a mansion in a eahy disric up in hehis above Por-au-Prince, a a hygienic disance fromhe poor peope hey are dedicaed o serve.

we, you can expec he respecabe adies andgenemen ho adminiser aid o ive and ork don inthe lth and stench of the shantytowns. Of course, you

can bame he poor for he ack of seers, bu si...the aid adminisraors reaise ha hey need he

assisance of peope ho do kno somehing abou hepoor and are capabe of ineracing ih hem. So heyhire speciaiss caed anhropoogiss, ho acquire herequisie knoedge and ski as rainees by iving fora ime among poor peope (formay in order o gahermaeria for heir Ph.D. heses).

Bu some rainees go naive. they come o sympahiseih heir emporary neighbours and fee he urgeo ak abou inconvenien reaiies ha hey havediscovered. this annoys he adminisraors, ho abehem ideaiss and say hey have a negaive aiude.I oud be quie unsuiabe o appoinhem o responsibe posiions in aidagencies.

An eye-opening book has jusappeared, rien by jus such achaerbox: timohy t. Scharz,Travesty in Haiti. No pubisher oudouch i, so he pubished i himsef.

Charity for the rich

Very ie aid ever reaches he poor,e aone he poores of he poor. this is pary due o hepractical difculty that the poorest areas also have thepoores infrasrucure (roads, sorage faciiies, ec.). Bumainy i is because hose ho are supposed o disribuehe aid se mos of i and pocke he proceeds.

In some cases, aid goes direcy o he rich. Scharzdescribes an orphanage run by an American reverend

here he orphans have parens ho coud easiyafford o provide for hem. the pace is reay an eieboarding schoo. Meanhie, nave churchgoers back inhe Saes, mos of hem ordinary orking peope, forkou o suppor he poor orphans hey have adoped,send hem gifs, and even pay for heir coege educaion.

the poor in rich counries give chariy o he rich in poor

counries.

The more aid, the more miserySchwartz most important nding is this. When the

ow of food aid into Haiti increases, the overall result

is ha malnutrition becomes more widespread, not less.why? the grea majoriy of Haiians are sma farmers,dependen on seing food o mee heir non-food needs.

typicay, naura disaser promps he decision o sendfood aid, bu by he ime i arrives he emergency isover and he counry may e be righ in he middeof a bumper harves. the effec is o drive prices donfurher, causing enormous misery hroughou he ruraareas.

I seems commonsense. If you see hungry peope

on tV, so you give money o buy and send hem food.Bu capiaism has a perverse ogic of is on ha hasnohing o do ih commonsense. Reacions ha ignore

ha ogic are iabe o do more harm han good.Some expers and chariies noaby, Oxfam

advocae aid in he form of cash ransfers. then food for

disribuion can be bough ocay insead of impored,srenghening raher han undermining he oca peasaneconomy. loca suppy oud aso be quicker and easiero organise.

Neverheess, mos aid agencies, and especiay hoseike CARE ha are dependen on wesern governmens,keep on shipping in food. they even require heir naionaafliates to cover operating expenses by selling part of the

food received ocay (moneised food).

Expanding export marketsUS overseas food aid began in 1954. Uni receny i

was openly justied as a foreign policy tool and means

of promoing American business ineress. In paricuar,i has expanded expor markes for US agricuure.Dumping surpuses abroad has heped he US andthe EU maintain prices and prots on their domestic

markes.According o he ebsie of he US Agency for

Inernaiona Deveopmen, aid asused o ransform Egyp from a foodexporer in compeiion ih he USino a ne imporer of food ih a o-

age indusria secor. Since he 1980sWestern governments and nancialinsiuions pursued he same sraegy

in Haii. the counry as urned from anexporer ino an imporer of rice, sugar, and oher

crops, hie 100,000 peasans abandoned he and o

ork for $2 a day in assemby pans, mosy US-oned,making t-shirs, jeans, and he ike for he Americanmarke. this ne indusria secor has no aso argeycoapsed, eaving Haii o depend increasingy on heCoumbian drugs rade.

A sriking iusraion of he commercia ineressunderying aid is he fae of he Haiian pig. Farmers usedo rey on a sma back pig e adaped o condiions inrura Haii. USAID had hese pigs exerminaed under hepretext of ghting a swine fever epidemic. The Haitian pig

as repaced ih a arge hie pig from Ioa ha had obe fed arge quaniies of impored US corn.

Do they know?Do he aid adminisraors undersand ha hey are

doing? I is cear from Scharz ha hey undersandvery well. When he reveals his sensational ndings,hey do no argue ha he is rong. they jus advise himha if he ans a job he shoud sop saying hings hahe US governmen does no an o hear. they kno

ho hey reay serve.StEFAN

In Material WorldFebruary issue we didnt mean to write that thepoll showed that people with high incomes were more likely tobe favourable to the word socialism than those with low but theopposite, so:

Women are slightly more likely than men to prefer socialism;people with low incomes (under $40,000 per year) more than twice

as likely as people with high incomes (over $75,000); and blacksalmost twice as likely as whites, with equal proportions favouringcapitalism and socialism (31 percent each).



7/24


Paris police say the mayor of Kievsdaughter was robbed of euro4 million($5.5 million) worth of jewelry as shetravelled to Paris Charles de GaulleAirport. An ofcial with the Paris police

says a man broke into the luxury carthat Kristina Chernovetska was in asit stopped on a highway north of Parisand then stole her purse:

://.m/85x

As trade in the region grows morelucrative, China has been developingport facilities in Pakistan, Bangladeshand Myanmar, and it is planning to

build railroad lines in Nepal. Theseprojects, analysts say, are part of aconcerted effort by Chinese leaders

and companies to open and expandmarkets for their goods and servicesin a part of Asia that has laggedbehind the rest of the continent intrade and economic development.But these initiatives are irking India,whose government worries that Chinais expanding its sphere of regionalinuence by surrounding India with a

string of pearls that could eventuallyundermine Indias pre-eminence andpotentially rise to an economic andsecurity threat:

://.m/8

Dear Comrade Kim Jong Il,This meeting, organised by the Friendsof Korea in Britain, would like to conveyto you our warmest congratulations

on the important occasion of the 68thanniversary of your birth on February16, and wish you all good health and

a long, long life. We send you our verybest wishes for the continued successof your great work...We stand shoulderto shoulder with you and the Koreanpeople under your great leadership,and express our common convictionthat humanity will achieve a better worldwhere the people are the masters oftheir own destiny...Signed by participating organisations:* Communist Party of Great Britain(Marxist-Leninist)* European Regional Society for theStudy of the Juche Idea* UK Korean Friendship Association* New Communist Party of Britain* Revolutionary Communist Party ofBritain (Marxist-Leninist)* Socialist Labour Party

://.m/



8/24


Uk Branches &contacts

Londoncl Ld b. 2nd Weds.6.30pm. 2nd Wednesday 6.30pm. CoffeeRepublic, 7-12 City Road, EC1 (nearestTube and rail stations Old Street andMoorgate).Eneld and Haringey branch. Thurs26th. 8pm. Angel Community Centre,Raynham Rd, NI8. Corres: 17 DorsetRoad, 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 9BY

MidLands

West Midlands branch. Meets everytwo months on a Sunday afternoon (seemeetings page for details).Tel: Tony Gluck 01242 235615.Email: [email protected]

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

northwestL b. Meets everyMonday 8.30pm. P. Shannon, 10 GreenStreet, Lancaster LA1 1DZ.Tel: 01524 382380M b. Paul Bennett, 6

Burleigh Mews, Hardy Lane, M21 7LB.Tel: 0161 860 7189Bl. Tel: H. McLaughlin.01204 844589

Cumbria. Brendan Cummings, 19Queen St, Millom, Cumbria LA18 4BGCarlisle: Robert Whiteld.Email: [email protected]: 07906 373975rdl. Tel: R. Chadwick.01706 522365su M. Enquiries:Blanche Preston, 68 Fountains Road,M32 9PH

Yorkshire

Skipton. R Cooper, 1 Caxton Garth,Thresheld, Skipton BD23 5EZ.Tel: 01756 752621tdmd: Keith Scholey, 1 LeeviewCt, Windsor Rd, OL14 5LJ.Tel: 01706 814 149

south/southeast/southwest

South West Regional branch. Meetsevery two months on a Saturday

afternoon (see meetings page for details).

Shane Roberts, 86 High Street, BristolBS5 6DN. 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 Anglian Regional branch.Meets every two months on a Saturdayafternoon (see meetings page for details).Pat Deutz, 11 The Links, Billericay,CM12 0EX. [email protected] Porter, Eastholme, Bush Drive,

Eccles-on-Sea, NR12 0SF.Tel: 01692 582533.Richard Headicar, 42 Woodcote, Firs Rd,Hethersett, NR9 3JD.

Tel: 01603 814343.Cambridge. Andrew Westley, 10Marksby Close, Duxford, CambridgeCB2 4RS. Tel: 07890343044

ireLandc: Kevin Cronin, 5 Curragh Woods,Frankeld, Cork. Tel: 021 4896427.Email: [email protected]

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]

waLes

Swansea branch. 2nd Mon, 7.30pm,Unitarian Church, High Street. Corres:Geoffrey Williams, 19 Baptist WellStreet, Waun Wen, Swansea SA1 6FB.

Tel: 01792 643624Cardiff and District. John James, 67Romilly Park Road, Barry CF62 6RR.Tel: 01446 405636

InternatIonaL contacts

africa

Kenya. Patrick Ndege, PO Box 78105,Nairobi.Swaziland. Mandla Ntshakala, PO Box981, Manzini.Zambia. Kephas Mulenga, PO Box280168, Kitwe.asia

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

Dm. Graham Taylor, Kjaerslund9, oor 2 (middle), DK-8260 Viby J

Germany. Norbert. E-mail:[email protected]. 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, MA02144 USA.Email: [email protected]

Contact Details

peace priZe ?President Obama is planning to increase spending on Americasnuclear weapons stockpile just days after pledging to try to ridthe world of them. In his budget to be announced on Monday, MrObama has allocated 4.3billion to maintain the U.S. arsenal -370million more than George Bush spent on nuclear weaponsin his nal year.The Obama administration also plans to spend a

further 3.1billion over the next ve years on nuclear security. Theannouncement comes despite the American President declaringnuclear weapons were the greatest danger to U.S. people duringin his State of the Union address on Wednesday. And it ies in the

face of Obamas Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to him in Octoberfor his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacyand cooperation between peoples. (Daily Mail, 29 January)

the Gap WidenSThe richest 10% of the UK

population are now more than 100 timesas wealthy as the poorest 10%, accordingto the Anatomy of Economic Inequality.The study shows that by 2008 Britainhad reached the highest level of incomeinequality since soon after the secondworld war. Household wealth (includingcars and other possessions of the top10% amounts to 853,000 or more, whilethe poorest 10% amass 8,800 or less.

(Observer, 31 January)

carinG capitaliSMLt. Gov. Andre Bauer has compared giving people government

assistance to feeding stray animals. Bauer, who is running for theRepublican nomination for governor (of South Carolina), made his remarks

during a town hall meeting in Fountain Inn that included state lawmakersand about 115 residents. My grandmother was not a highly educatedwoman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. Youknow why? Because they breed. Youre facilitating the problem if you givean animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especiallyones that dont think too much further than that. And so what youve got todo is youve got to curtail that type of behavior. They dont know any better,Bauer said. (Greenville News, 23 January)

debt ridden britainThere has been a huge rise in the amount of

money that banks are writing off as bad debts on theircredit cards. Bank of England gures show that the

total value of the write-offs doubled to 1.6bn in thethird quarter of 2009. In each of the two precedingquarters, the gure had been about 800m. It totalled

3.2bn during 2008. The gures reect the impact

of the recession and are an acknowledgementby the banks that the money will never be repaidby defaulting borrowers. By contrast, the value ofmortgages written off in 2008 was just 408m, andhas averaged 260m in each of the rst three quarters

of 2009. (BBC News, 19 January)



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em

Fresh bo o hopes of consumer-ed recoveryas squeeze ighens on pay ran he headine of

an arice in he Times(21 January) by GrinneGilmore, reporting on ofcial gures for wagegroh in he hree monhs o November:

Average pay excuding bonuses rose a an annuarae of 1.1 per cen for he period . . . Privae secorsaff sa no pay rise a a in November. . . Anaysssaid ha companies ere cuing orkers hoursand pay o ry o imi redundancies . . . Coin Eis,European economis a Daia Securiies, said: theack of any pay increase in he privae secor i

eigh on consumpion during 2010, much as eakages have in Germany.

She didn say ho as hoping for a consumer-ed recovery bu his as aays an impossibedream. As shoud be cear from her repor,

consumer demand depends argey on ha peopeare paid. In oher ords, i is argey made upof ha age and saary orkers have o spend.which depends on he eve of empoymen; hichin urn depends on ha hose ho on andconro producive enerprises (or ho ac for hem)decide o produce according o ha hey hink arethe prospects of selling it protably.the economy, and is ups and dons, is no

driven by consumer demand, bu by capiaaccumulation, i.e. by prots being invested in

expanding producion. the ups and dons ofconsumer demand in fact reect, not cause, the ups

and dons of he economy. Pau Maick pu i ein his Marx and Keynes: the business cyce is nocaused by variaions in socia consuming poer,paricuary no ha of he orkers; raher he cycedeermines hese variaions.

when producion is expanding so is empoymenand income from empoymen. workers have moreo spend and, on he basis of he assumpion haheir empoymen is secure, are abe o borroagains fuure expeced income and so can spendeven more. Some economic observers, perhapsinuenced by what they were mistaught in college

abou capiaism being a sysem of producion forconsumpion, jump o he concusion ha i is hisincreased consumer spending ha is causing heeconomy o gro. Bu his is an iusion. Consumer

spending is booming because he economy isbooming, no vice versa. this becomes cearhen he economy sops expanding, as i did inhe second quarer of 2008 and in fac began oconrac. when his happened consumer spendingfe oo.

Consumer demand i never recover of ison accord. Ho coud i? workers can simpysponaneousy increase heir income. I i onyrevive hen producion and empoymen do.And that depends on the prospects of protableproducion reviving. which he squeeze on payGimore repored on i in fac be conribuingoards.

Capitalism is a system geared to prot-making,

no o meeing needs, no even o resriced, payingneeds.



10/24


Sociaiss are opposed o ar because undercapiaism ars are aays abou capiaisaccess o sources of ra maerias, markes,

rade roues, invesmen oues or sraegic poinsand paces o conro hese. the Iraq war as cearyabou oi, mainy abou he hrea ha he regime hereposed o oi suppies o wesern capiaism from henearby Guf Saes bu aso abou esabishing miiarybases here o conro access o Caspian Sea as e as

Guf oi.So i as a capiais ar bu as i an iega ar?the concep of an iega ar ony came in fooing hedefea of Germany and Japan in he Second word war

hen i as appied rerospecivey o he eaders ofhe osing side and incorporaed ino he UN Charer.Before ha, saes simpy en o ar henever somevia capiais ineres as deemed o be a sake.the UN Charer ouas a ars uness auhorised

by is Securiy Counci excep ars of sef-defenceincuding coming o he defence of an aacked sae.

thus he Korean war as a ega ar because decidedby he Securiy Counci. America decared he Vienamwar ega under he sef-defence cause. In fac, he USdoesn reay care ha he UN Charer says and, as

no by far he sronges miiary poer in he ord,doesn need o.

On Iraq, he US governmen had decided o invade

and oppe Saddam haever he oher members ofhe UN Securiy migh hink, puing is aies underpressure o decide heher or no o join in his. theevidence o he Chico inquiry has reveaed haBair said in effec o Bush Briain i go aong ih

haever America decides.As he Prime Miniser of a labour governmen

Bair coudn ake he same cavaier aiude o heUN as he Bush adminisraion. Afer a, he labour

Pary had ong posed as he champion of he UN. So,once he decision o age ar on Iraq ogeher ihAmerica had been aken, he search for a ega basisin inernaiona a had o go on aongside he miiarypreparaions.the governmens ayers advised ha regime

change oud no be ega as he UN Charer didnao his as a reason o go o ar (no surprisingyas here are so many unsavoury regimes represenedhere). tha ef Iraqs apparen refusa o abide bya previous UN Resouion insrucing i o dismaneis eapons of mass desrucion. the governmensspin-docors payed his for a i as orh the media

en aong ih his, pubishing a map of he EasernMedierranean shoing he Briish miiary base in

Cyprus ihin range of he wMDs Iraq as supposedo possess (jus in case he sef-defence cause mighhave o be invoked). I aer urned ou of course ha

Tony Blair

and the Chilcot inquiryDoes it matter whether the Iraq War was legal or illegal?



11/24


no such eapons exised.Faced ih Bairs deerminaion and he ongoing

miiary preparaions for invasion, he poor AorneyGenera had no aernaive bu o come up ih somelegal basis, however imsy. And he duly did (apparentlya previous UN Securiy Counci Resouion aoed anySae ha fancied i o invade Iraq). Bair hen used hiso ge agreemen o he ar hrough his Cabine (onyformer Foreign Secreary Robin Cook resigned) and

Pariamen (ony 149 voed agains, ih 412, tories ase as labouries, ih bood on heir hands) in ime ot in with the US militarys timetable.. And the war wason.The whole business of nding a legal basis was a

charade. the UN Charer is jus a scrap of paper hichhas never sopped, and never i sop, any ar. Is onyeffec has been o make governmens ha an o go o

war nd some loophole somewhere to wage a war they

had decided on anyay.Anoher ineresing, and perhaps surprising,

reveaion of he Chico inquiry has been ha hedemand for ega cover came no jus from hose hobeieved in he iusion of an ehica foreign poicy, bu

aso from he chiefs of he armed forces. I as unikeyha hey ere afraid of ending up before a ar crimesribuna as he ar as on before i even sared.wha i shoed as ha hey had quams abou seingthe killing machine in motion illegally, so conrmingha in Briain he miiary is subordinae o he civiiangovernmen.

Bairs miscacuaion as o ead Briain ino a arha had very ie popuar suppor. He is on record asjusifying his on he grounds ha eaders mus ead bysomeimes aking unpopuar decisions. I is quie rueha governmens mus do his. this is because heyare governing a cass-divided sociey on behaf of one ofhe casses he capiais cass hich ofen requireshem o ake acion agains he ineres of he ohercass he majoriy age and saary orking cass.wage resrain is one. Going o ar is anoher.

Peope ere righ o oppose he ar, bu he soundbasis on hich o oppose i is ha i as a capiais

ar raher han ha i as an iega ar. Even ifhe UN had provided a ega cover for i, i oud sihave been a capiais ar and shoud si have been

opposed. No ar for capiais ends can jusify heshedding of a singe drop of orking cass bood.ADAM BUICK

Capitalismand Michael MooreLIKE MICHAEL Moores other lms, Capitalism: A Love Storyisbrilliant in its way, hard-hitting and funny. He strips away the lies

and hypocrisy of public relations propaganda to expose theruthless predators who dominate our society and prot from themisery of working people. And at the same time he makes uslaugh. So far so good.

Its fairly clear what Michael Moore is against. But what he isfor? He doesnt seem to know himself, as he admits in a recentnewspaper interview:

What Im asking for is a new economic order. I dont knowhow to construct that. Im not an economist. All I ask is that ithave two organising principles. Number one, that the economyis run democratically. In other words, the people have a say inhow its run, not just the [wealthiest] 1 percent. And number two,that it has an ethical and moral core to it. That nothing is donewithout considering the ethical nature, no business decision ismade without rst asking the question, is this for the common

good? (Guardian, 30 January).We too want democracy to extend to all spheres of social life.

For us thats whatsocialism is thecommon ownershipand democraticcontrol of the meansof life by the wholecommunity. Butgenuine democracywill not be achievedby relying oneconomists or othersupposed experts todesign it. By its very

nature, democracymust be created by aconscious majority.

Michael Mooreseems to be sayingthat in his new economic order the wealthiest 1 percent will stillexist, even though they will no longer have all the say. He alsoassumes that there are still going to be business decisions.But business decisions are about making money, not servingthe common good. Any rm run by managers who care too

much about ethics and morality will soon go bust unless themanagers got sacked rst!

He is right. If the situation he exposes so well is to change, itreally does require a new economic order. An end to productionfor prot. A society in which the means for producing what we

need are owned in common and run democratically. A societyin which productive activity is no longer business but simplycooperation to satisfy human needs.

This is much more than he offers on his website (www.michaelmoore.com). He says nothing there about any kindof new order. Its all about campaigning for various reformsthat could be of benet to working people but would still leave

capitalism in place. Worst of all, and despite Michael Mooresevident disillusionment with Obama, he urges readers to workfor change through the Democratic Party a recipe for endlessfailure and frustration.

One last point. Michael Moore talks only about changingthings in the United States. This national focus makes itimpossible even to conceive of a fundamentally new society.

Thats because nowadays capitalism is a highly integratedworld system and can only be replaced at the global level.- leaet for handing out to those going to see the lm.



12/24


It was strangely moving: a frail lanky gure complete

ih banjo, urching up on sage proceeded o gasp hisvaian ay hrough severa of he bes-knon songs

in he American fok panheon. Pee Seeger a niney,demonsraing ha he can si enhra an audience. thecasual onlooker would have difculty believing that this

unhreaening personage came hoever, ready-sampedih his on unique Governmen Heah warning.

the mos boycoed, pickeed, backised performer inAmerican hisory, he had endured a ifeime of hreas,

assaus, been abeed raior, Khrushchevs Songbirdand suffered ria and convicion a he insidious handsof he House Un-American Aciviies Commiee.

Ohers vieed him differeny, observing his enormousconribuion o he coecion and preservaion ofradiiona music and ho amos singe-handedyhe had rescued the ve-string banjo from oblivion.

A devou Humaniarian, absemious, monogamous,unimpeachaby principed, he is he rus of his parios.

Born of e-heeed, musica Ne Engand sock in1919, Seegers ife compass as prey much se for hima an eary age. His faher, in company ih fokoriss

John and Aan lomax beonged o ha 1930s PopuarFron ineecua coerie ho, combining Radicaismand Parioism, embraced he Fok genre as Americasrue music and a vehice for aareness-raising and socia change. Communism in

tenieh Cenury Americanism ran isslogan, boldly if bafingly.

Seizing he baon, Seegercommenced his on musica andpoiica odyssey preseny, in1940, forming he AmanacSingers, an amorphous,moey, lefis cre hoseprocaimed aim as,neverheess o changehe word. Performingsuch numbers as

Talking Union,hey supporedabour raiesand, he Hier/Sain PeacePac beingcurren,opposed hewar ihheir Songsfor John Doe.

when, hoever,Germany aackedRussia he fooing

year, the horried

group found hebuk of is reperoirerendered insany

obsoee. A massive rehink and rerie ensued.where once i had been confronaion, srike andFranklin D. listen to me, You aint gonna send me acrossthe sea, empoyee and empoyer aike ere no urgedo unie behind he Miiary o Deliver the Goods and

hen skip merriy Round and round Hitlers Grave.Remaining a card-carrying Communis, Seeger as

nonetheless sufciently chastened by this experience

o never again idenify quie so cosey ih he Parysfron- ine acics, insead ending his voice o

more genera issues.the pos-ar years eredifcult ones for an American

lef srugging o radicaisean increasingly afuent,

and hosie, working Cass.the Amanacs disbanded andin he prevaiing ani-Red

cimae, Seeger encouneredno ony he FBIs cosescruiny bu aso frequenexcusion from union evens

and marginaisaionihin he Communis

Pary isef. Feeingcommercia

success iha ne

tg wms w

j

Pete Seeger is now in his 90th year. His songs have always been better than his politics.

SocialistStandard March 2010



13/24


group, he weavers, faied o savage hisnances and he found himself obliged to

scour he coninen paying sma venuesand universiies, uniingy in he process,founding ha oud evenuay becomeknon as he Coege Circui.

Ineviaby subpoenaed by McCarhysHUAC, he escheed he usua FifhAmendmen roue; ha no ciizen

under he Consiuion need incriminaehemseves, oping insead for a head-onFirs Amendmen pea; ha he Commieeisef as unconsiuiona. For his painshe received a 10-year senence hichahough never impemened and evenuayoverurned, neverheess seriousy bighedhis ife for severa years.The 1960s saw Seeger afliating with

he curren good causes, pucking hisbanjo a Civi Righs raies (an unforunaeinsrumen given Negro memories ofsereoypic minsre shos) and supporinghe ani-Vienam war movemen. He ashoever becoming perceived as Midde

Aged, Od lef raher han Hippie,Suden Poer and his acousic musicupstaged by the strident, electried

offerings of he rising Dyanie generaion.Remarkaby oo, he coninued o adhere

o he broad Sovie word Vie. Havingremained sien over he momenous evensof 1956 he denouncemen of Sain andRussias brua inervenion in Hungary

he no dispayed simiar reicence overis inrusions ino Czechosovakia and heobvious ribuaions of orking-cass ife inCasros Cuba. Bu knavish, dupicious,surey no? Myopic, nave, more probaby.Increasingy disiusioned, he embracedEnvironmenaism, focusing paricuary,and coninuingy, on he campaign o ceanup his Dirty Stream, he Hudson River.

Seeger has persiseny oversaedhe poer and vaue of song in poiicasrugge, ciing no ess an auhoriy haPao: Ruers shoud be carefu abou hasongs are aoed o be sung. Pursuinghe raher Hegeian noion ha he ideaprecedes and informs he action, he mainains ha herigh song a he righ ime can change hisory and

his, for sure, songs have a cerain raying funcion, noay can his asserion ha hey riggered he Civi RighsMovemen and shorened he Vienam war be uphed.

Feo-Amanacers Bess and Buch Haes ere muchcoser o he ruh in poining ou ha songs; ideas canony appear hen evens provide he maeria. Perhapsheyd been aking a peek a Marx.

Unabe o fuy comprehend he naure of he capiaissysem he professes o despise, is impersona, apervading imperative for prot and the root cause of

he muiudinous socio-economic and environmenaproblems aficting humanity; lumbered also with a

lefis/Boshevis mindse he has never managed oranscend, Seeger has sough souion hrough a hoerange of singe-issue campaigns and suppor for assoredpseudo-sociais, sae capiais regimes. A successfuasui, for insance, by residens agains GeneraEecrics for pouing he Hudson, audabe in isef, as

haied as a grea vicory for ocaism and communiyraher han an opporuniy o ponder he compeiive,cos-cuing forces ha had brough abou he pouion

in the rst place. And all the while, the authentic socialist

mode of a democraic, cassess ord sociey of commononership and free access has aaied his perusa.Painfu as i is o criicise a ceary e-inenionedif Quixotic gure, Seegers political life does serve asvindicaion of our founding principe of campaigning

soey for he overhro of capiaism and is repacemenby sociaism.

So ha is ef? we, aying aside more han a fepoiica somach-urners, here is a raher onderfubody of song. we can, for exampe, each subversiveie numbers, Cindy, Froggie Went A-Courtin, oour offspring and (in our cups) decaim he arnings,dangers, ove ed ring ou incessany a over he boodypace if ony e possessed he requisie hammers.Perhaps aso, in more sombre (and sober) mood, equiey croon he hauningy-beauifu Where Have Allthe Flowers Gone?, even if, of necessiy e hink of Peehimsef and his ik a he mournfu refrain:

When will they ever learn,When will they ever learn?

ANDREW ARMITAGE



14/24


i is e knon ha he orddemocracy originaes fromAncien Greece and means

poer of he peope. Such an idea,in is iera sense, encompassingeconomic, poiica and sociademocracy does no exis anyherein he ord. this is primariybecause he panes resources,many of hich human beings needin order o ive, do no beong o hepeope as a hoe. Insead, hey arein he hands of a sma, privieged,rich minoriy. Such exremey imiedpoiica democracy as does exis inpars of he modern ord, is scarceyeven a shado of ha genuinedemocracy i be ike hen i is

nally put into practice.For rea democracy: imagine a

sociey here a he peope oud

be of equa saus, ih equa, freeaccess o resources oned by hecommuniy, as a hoe (e.g. food,sheer, heahcare, educaion,ransporaion, ec.). Imagine a ord

ih no eaders and no eie o ordi over he res of he popuaion. Asociey here everyone can have anequa say in he issues ha concernhem. Above a, a ord, in hich ahe peope on and share he eahha e need in order o ive.

People and Politics

No jus sociaiss, bu argenumbers of peope sense he ack ofdemocracy in presen sociey. Hugeand ever increasing secions of heeecorae, no ony in Briain, bugobay, fee, and by no kno, ha

ih he prevaiing poiica ideas, heoucome of eecions is no going omake any rea difference o heir ayof ife.

Peope have no aays fe hisay. those ho srugged o gain hefranchise in he 19h and eary 20hcenuries, earnesy beieved ha

this would empower them sufcientlyo provide a means of soving manyof he socia, poiica and economicproblems around them. Even fty

years or so ago, many hough haheir voe coud bring abou genuine,signicant change.

No, experience has ed peopeo hink oherise and, ahoughmos of hem i si be casingheir voes, fe i have any greaexpecaions, heher hey voefor teededum (Conservaive)or teededee (labour) or, for

teededum-dee-dum (libera-Democra). In mainsream poiics,apahy has gron. Ahough his isdisconcering for he aciviss of he

dominan paries, he genera forcesof capiaism are no overorried byi.those ho adminiser capiaism

an he eecorae o voe forhe main paries, hich are ahoroughy commied o hecapiais saus quo. Hoever,capiaisms eaders have noineres in pubic invovemen inpoiics, ouside of eecion ime.Of course, here are radio phone-ins, programmes such as Quesion

time, Any Quesions, ec., bu

hese are ighy conroed andhe paricipaion of individuamembers of he audience in sudiodiscussion is very imied, o say

In a month or so the peopleof Britain will be askedonce again to decide whichrepresentatives of the ruling

class will rule over them for thenext four or ve years.

What is Real Democracyand How Do We Get It?

Ancient Greece:the birthplace of

democracy



15/24


he eas. Forums on he Inernehave aoed more expression ofdissen, bu generay in pracice osmaer, e-scaered audiences,in spie of he huge poenia ofhis medium. Capiaisms ideoogyand indocrinaion dominaes hehinking of he vas majoriy ofparicipans. If arge secions of

he eecorae, hrough apahy, donot vote, capitalism remains rmly

enrenched, by defau.

Why people are powerlessAmos everyone oud ike a eas

some degree of conro over hashapes heir ives. Many kno heyhave no go ha no, and probabymos of hose, if hey hough aboui, oud reaise ha in he pas,hey didn have ha degree ofconro eiher. Simpisic, miseadingexpanaions are concoced as o hypeope are poeress. these incude:

greedy bankers, corrup poiiciansho don isen o he peope, facas, he nanny sae ec.

Capiaism, on he one hand, andgenuine democracy, on he oher,are compeey incompaibe ihone anoher. the reason for hisis ha under capiaism, eah isconcenraed in he hands of a verysma minoriy of he popuaion. this

eah brings is oners huge poer,inuence and lifestyle opportunities,

compeey unavaiabe o hemajoriy.

According o he Unied NaionsDeveopmen Programme, more han1.2 biion peope neary one inevery ve people on Earth surviveon ess han $1 a day. More han onebiion peope in deveoping counriesack access o cean, safe drinking

aer. Conras ha ih he facha he ne eah of he 10 richesbiionaires is $133biion, more han1.5 imes he oa naiona income ofhe eas deveoped counries.

A sudy by he word Insiue forDeveopmen Economics Research ahe Unied Naions Universiy repors

ha he riches 1 percen of adusoned 40 percen of goba asses inhe year 2000, and ha he riches10 percen of adus accouned for85 percen of he ords asses. Inconras o his, he boom haf ofhe ord adu popuaion onedbarey 1 percen of goba eah.

If e ook a he U.K., i is eknon ha since labour has beenin poer, inequaiy has groneven greaer han i as under heConservaives. In fac, in January2010 a governmen commissionedrepor by he Naiona Equaiy

Pane reveaed ha he gap beeenhe rich and he poor as greaerhan i as 40 years earier.

In 2004, he op 1,000 peope onhe Sunday TimesRich lis ere

orh a oa of 202.4 biion. thasan average of abou 200 miioneach. On he average UK age in2004 of 21,000 a year, i oudake neary en housand years oearn ha much. I shoud by nobe crysa cear ha such enormous

dispariies in eah onership hichcapiaism generaes, make anymeaningfu democracy unaainabe,

ihin he presen seup. the onyeffecive souion is o ge rid ofcapiaism, he roo cause of hisprobem and repace i by a sociey,in hich he ords resources areshared by he ords popuaion.

Boardroom dictatorshipwe are od by he apoogiss for

he saus quo ha e ive in a freesociey. Hoever, jus ask peopeho free hey reay fee on heir

daiy commue (sog) o heir pacesof empoymen (expoiaion), ashey are crammed ogeher in busesor rains, or face he predicabemonotony of the trafc jam.

Empoymen is accuraey describedas being expoiaion since he vaueof ha he orkers produce inhe form of goods and services ismuch greaer han he vaue of he

ages/saaries hich hey receive.the surpus vaue is pockeed byhe capiais cass and is a veryimporan source of he eah of heruing cass.

Ho free do he orking cass(vas majoriy of he popuaion) fee

hen hey arrive a ork, here heyspend a signicant amount of their

aking hours. Fe dare o criiciseheir ine-managers or condiions

of empoymen. they are ony ooe aare of he consequences ofdoing so: oss of promoion prospecsand/or, quie ikey, he sack.

trade unions do no and cannogive he proecion hich ef-ingreformers once hoped hey coud.

the rade cyce of booms and sumpsis a naura par of capiaism.

Paricuary in a sump, mos orkershave o keep heir mouhs shu abouheir grievances and, even hen heeconomy is sronger, orkers sihave o be very ary abou ha heysay openy.the basic reason hy he orking

cass majoriy fee poeress and noreay free is because hey do noown any signicant amount of themeans for producing and disribuing

eah, hich peope need in order oive. According o Social Trends 2003published by the Ofce of National

Saisics in he UK, he op 5 percen

of popuaion on 58 percen of hiseah, hie he boom 95 percenons ony 42 percen. this is a veryimporan saisic since i meansha ou of every 20 peope in Briain,he eahies one ons more hana he oher 19 pu ogeher.

Such enormous inequaiy,ahough variabe in degree indifferen pars of he ord, is veryypica of he goba siuaion. Imeans ha he vas majoriy areforced by heir circumsances, obecome economic saves o he richminoriy. the erm age saveryis si very apposie. when peopehink of savery, a picure of AncienRome and Greece ih heir savedrivers bearing hips, usuay comeso mind. Modern age savery isvery obviousy quie differen from

The Tweedledum and

Tweedledee of politics



16/24


his. the hip is no onger required.Capiaism has somehing far moresube and far more produciveyeffecive a is disposa. In heAncien word, saves ere quieofen bruay reaed by heirmasers. Hoever, because he save

as he propery of he oner, i asin he ineress of he oner o keep

him or her in a reasonabe condiion,in order o ork.

In conras o his, hen capiaismbegan o deveop furher, in Europein he 18h, 19h and 20h cenuriesand, spread o oher pars of he

ord, he indusria orking cass(age saves) hemseves ereceary no he propery of hecapiais cass. this mean ha hecapiaiss had no economic ineresin mainaining hose, ho orked forhem. Afer a, hese orkers coudaays be repaced by ohers in hequeue, ooking for ork. this as

he hinking of he empoyers in heearier period of capiaism and, siis oday in he ess deveoped parsof he pane. Hence, he grindingpovery of eary indusria capiaismin Europe and, si oday, in manyundeveoped counries.

Modern capiaism, in he moreeconomicay advanced counries hasbeen adaped suby o sui he sef-ineres of he ruing cass. wefaresysems have removed he orsexcesses of povery in such counriesand, mos imporany from he poinof vie of he capiaiss, have o aconsiderabe exen, removed hehreas of insabiiy for he onersof indusry, caused by any organiseddisconen amongs orkers. Suchis he sophisicaion of modern

age savery ha, orkers canofen be persuaded (indocrinaed)ino exercising sef-discipine a he

orkpace, hich means ha inemanagers (more highy paid orkers)ofen need o spend ess ime insupervising heir subordinaes.

Revolution from below

In vie of he overa siuaionof povery, ars, inequaiy,pouion ec., ho do e ge fromhe dicaorship of capia and heboardroom, o he sysem of reademocracy described earier? themeans o reach such a sociey mussurely reect the composition of thene sociey isef.

Since he emergence of agricuure,abou 10,000 years ago, privaeonership of he means of producionhas deveoped, ih a ruing cass aeach sage. Many changes have akenpace since hen bu he key eemen

has been privae onership ofresources, by a sma minoriy, righfrom save oning socieies hrough

o feudaism and hen, o capiaism.Signicant political changes have

been ed by minoriies, ho havesuccessfuy imposed heir i andrue on a popuaion, very ofen bymeans of vioence.

Capiaism, ih is ruing cassas esabished and deveoped by aminoriy, ha is o say by eaders.

In compee conras o his, genuinedemocracy or rea sociaism, he oare synonymous, i be a socieyrun by he hoe of he peope.Since i i be ihou eaders,his democracy i be se up by amajoriy of he peope, consciousyand poiicay organising hemsevesfor a change, hich hey bohundersand and desire.

Even no, many peope reaiseha here is somehing seriousy

rong ih he presen sysem (ars,povery, pouion, inequaiy ec.).Hoever, i is he aareness of an

aernaive o his hich is missing.the ask of sociaiss is o ge peopeo hink for hemseves, ihouhe need for eaders. when morepeope consider he genuine sociais,democraic aernaive o capiaism,hose ho give i suppor, i sehe size of he aready exising ordsociais movemen. As he numberof sociaiss gros, he ideas ispread among he peope hey comeino conac ih, paricuary ina ord here hose ideas can becommunicaed so much more quickyhan in he pas. A series of poiica,democraic acs i be needed oesabish he ruy democraic sociey

of sociaism. Peope ih a sociaisconsciousness i unie and uponachieving a majoriy, measuredby voing, i be in a posiion oesabish he ne sociey.

World SocialismA as, democracy i have rea

meaning: a sociey of producionof goods and services for humanneed, ih onership and conroof he means of producion anddisribuion by a he peope. Sincehe division ino rich and poor ihave been aboished, i i be a

cassess sociey. the precise, day-o-day deais of he running ofhis fuure sociey i be up o he

peope a he ime, bu ha e canbe sure of is ha jus as here ibe free access o goods and servicesfor everyone, ihou any need formoney, so here i be open accesso he adminisraion of sociey forhose ineresed in paricuar issues,such as food producion, heah,educaion, buiding of houses, he

environmen and oca maers.Probaby, here i be oca

adminisraions, perhaps in he formof councils, which will be reected

a ider eves, such as regiona andgoba. the ne democraic sociey

i mos ikey invove paricipaionof deegaes in hese councis. theconsequence of his is ha ceraindeegaes coud be subjec o reca, ifthe electorate were dissatised with

heir aciviies. these facors oudemphasise he genuine democracyand choice avaiabe o everyone.

Such a sociey i ceary face

chaenges in he need o cean uphe mess creaed by capiaism. Sifmeasures i be required o undoas much as possibe of he damage

hich has aready been done ohe environmen by he previousyexisting prot system. Adequatefood suppies, housing, heahservices and educaion i need obe expanded o areas of he panepreviousy deprived of hem undercapiaism. the asks invoved iobviousy be considerabe. Hoever,he numbers of peope avaiabe o dosuch ork i be much greaer hancoud ever be he case in a markeeconomy since unempoymen andhe vagaries of he rade cyce ihave been aboished. there ibe increased auomaion of someasks, and furher echnoogicadeveopmen, ih consideraion forhe environmen. the scae of humanenergy avaiabe, accompanied by asocia concern for creaing he bespossibe orking condiions, imake ork a far more individuayand sociay saisfying affair hancoud ever be he case under

capiais age savery.these i be enormousy exciingimes because a ong as, humansociey i have evoved o heposiion of being abe o ackeeffecivey he chaenges facing hemodern ord. Immense saisfacion

i be experienced by huge numbersof individuas as, on he one handhey i be abe o conribue heirmena and physica energies inoincreasing he commony hed eahof sociey, his on he oher hand,they will satisfy their own self dened

needs from he common sore.

the ne era for humaniy i havebegun.VINCENT OTTER

m s w

v vv

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17/24


Minister for Women and EqualityHarriet Harman, who won theLabour Party deputy leadership

by talking up left wing and egalitariancredentials, set up a National EqualityPanel to look into inequality in UK society,and report back. That the report,An

Anatomy of Economic Equality in the UK(summary at www.equalities.gov.uk/pdf/NEP%20Summary.pdf), has come outin the period of the run up to a generalelection, at which Labour are desperately

trying to cling onto their heartland supportand produce clear red water betweenthemselves and the Tories, is surelypurely coincidental.Some of the information this panel hasproduced is extremelyuseful and well worthreading. Although itmostly contains datathat has been madeavailable elsewhere,its focus on equalityis thoroughly

worthwhile andit does draw allof the currentknowledge on thestate of equalityin the UK intoone place. Graph1for example,tells a sorry tale.Not only, as theheadline writers allnoticed, has the gapbetween the topand bottom earnerswidened over thelast forty years(quite radically) butalso it has risen

quite markedly as compared to medianearnings. What is most startling of all isthat the lowest paid workers have barelygained any substantial increased overall that period. So much for the ideapropounded by Tories of the trickle downeffect of gains for the rich becominggains for the poor. Likewise, so much forthe social democrat notion that growth ofthe economy overall will abolish poverty.Through most of that period, the Britisheconomy has grown, and clearly only

grown to the benet of those at the top.

To be fair to Labour and this hasbeen noted for much of their time in ofce

what they have achieved is a slight slowdown in the growth in the gap between

rich and poor. Much of the reason theycan do no more than that is down to thechanges in the economy since the 1970s,with the transfer of productive industry tothe power houses of east Asia. Further,structural unemployment has persistentlyremained since the late 1970s effectivelypreventing any remedy through thelabour market. As the BBCs Mark Eastonnotes: The problem for the politicians isthat measures to reduce social or incomeinequality will always be controversialbecause they mean neutralising theadvantages of wealth a prospect thatthose with money and inuence will

ght hard against. (www.bbc.co.uk/

blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2010/01/is_inequality_iniquitous.html)Labour has struggled to try and

create conditions of social equality, butcannot and will not act against the verystructures and systems that create it. It islike someone campaigning to mitigate theeffects of slavery without trying to abolishslavery itself.

What the report shows, but does notforeground, is that the top 1 percentof earners earn over 2,000 per week.Indeed, it is notable on the graph ofincomes (Graph 2), that there is asudden and noticeable spike at the top

end of the graph, reecting the smallnumber of people who have astronomicalincomes.

Graph 3demonstrates this further the top 1 percent have more than doublethe

csm s qA recent report shows that the reformist actions of the Labour government have not been able toreverse the inequalities that capitalism generates.

Graph 1: Full-time weekly earnings at 2008 prices, 1968 to 2008, men

10th percentile

90th percentile

Source: NEP, based on 1968-1996 New Earnings Survey (NES) (GB),1997-2008 ASHE (UK).

M

perweek

Graph 2: Half of the population has income below and half above 393 per week

Equivalent net income (10 per week bands)

3.3 million individuals with incomeabove 1,000 per week

Mean income = 487 per week

Poverty line: 60percent of themedian - 236



18/24


income of those at the start of the top 10 percent of earners.This of course is income; the statistics on total wealth are

worth noting as well:Median total wealth (including personal possessions,

net nancial assets, housing and private pension rights) is

205,000. The 90:10 ratio is almost 100, with the top tenth ofhouseholds having wealth above 853,000, and the bottomtenth having less than 8,800. The 90:10 ratio is so highbecause the poorest households have such little wealth.

However, even looking more narrowly at the top half of thewealth distribution, those in the top tenth have more than4.2 times as much wealth as those in the middle, twice thecorresponding ratios for earnings or household income. 1 percent of households has total wealth of more than 2.6 million.

The authors of the report clearly advocate reducing inequality.They address the various philosophies that claim that socialinequality is necessary or even just. They maintain, though, thatinternational comparisons of economic output do not correlateto great inequality, and that some much more equal societiesthan Britain are more productive and succesful.

Further, its clear that the inequalities they discover do notrelate to life choices, but in fact reect the cumulative effects

of various advantages and disadvantages produced bybackground, and yes, class. Although most of the differences

they highlight are between different parts of what we wouldunderstand as the working class (anyone whose main economicasset is their ability to work) the conclusion that inequality atbirth stays through life remains a stark and signicant fact.

Most tellingly of all is their revelation that the share ofwealth for the top two thousandth of the population (thevery, very, very, rich) is back to where it was in the 1930s.Thos gap narrowed towards the 1960s, but since 1969 theirshare of post tax income has trebled from 0.5 percent to 2.5

percent. For the top 1 percent they have gone from 4.7 percentin 1979 to 10 percent by 2000. Put another way, a century ofLabour and Labour governments has not dented the powerand wealth of those at the top of society. That, as opposed toany specic failure of the current Labour administration, is the

lesson that socialists need to draw from this reports ndings.

For those who would deny that inequality is a problem, itmust be sufcient to show that inequality in wealth and social

u m tsks ?

londoners and visiors o london may have noicedas year a big poser of Enges on he Undergroundnex o a quoe, aegedy from him, ha An ounce

of acion is orh a on of heory. No source is given.which is no surprising since his is no a quoe fromEnges bu a ong-sanding Engish-anguage proverb hahas been misakeny aribued o him. I has aso beenaribued o Raph wado Emerson, lenin and Gandhi.

Its rst recorded use dates from 1748 when Jared

Eio, a Ne Engand cergyman, roe in Essays uponField Husbandryha I used o be he Saying of an od

Man, tha an Ounce ofExperience is beer hana Pound of Science.(. ansers. com/opic/an-ounce-of-

pracice-is-orh-a-pound-of-precep)Bu i is a over heinerne as somehingEnges said, usuay

ihou a source. themore serious coecionsof quoes give he sourceas a book pubishedin 1975 by Reg Grovesenied The StrangeCase of Victor Grayson,

hich presumaby ishe earies aribuionheir researchershave found. Groves

as a pioneer Briishtroskyis, expeed fromhe Communis Pary for

troskyism in 1932.In fac Groves does

no acuay say ha Enges said his bu is even sighyinerrogaive and rheorica. wha he roe as anddid no ise od Frederick Enges once say: An ounce ofacion is orh a on of heory ? (chaper II, p, 115). Hegave no source for his supposiion.Anoher troskyis, terry Fieds, ho managed o becomea labour MP, aso used his proverb, ony he aribued io lenin.

the Red Russian eader, Vadimir Hich [sic!] lenin,said ha an ounce of experience is orh a on of heory.(Hansard House of Commons Debates, 29 April 1987 vol

G 3: p - those at the cut-off for the bottom tenth. Thems m.

Source: DWP, based on HBAI dataset. Incomes are ano children. For a single person, divide actual net inc1.2; for a couple with 2 children under 14, by 1.4 etc (and 0.33 for children aged 14 or over, or additional ad



19/24


status translates into a shorter, iller life, with less knowledgeand personal development. The ndings of this report must not

be allowed to lie gathering dust on political correspondents andprofessional politicians book cases, but must be made a spurto show the rotten truth of our present system of society, andbecome a weapon in the arsenal of overturning it in its entirety.

PIK SMEET

lvg w m

The on-line Guardian (25 January) put up a video TheNo Money Man about Mark Boyle who has chosen to live

without money. Last year the Times (24 November) in anarticle Living without Money featured former teacherHeidemarie Schwermer who has l ived without money inGermany for 13 years. Both Boyle and Schwermer areassociated with schemes which want people to help eachother without using money. Boyle calls his FreeconomyCommunity; Schwermers is called Gib und Nimm (Giveand Take).

Such groups are one way of surviving under capitalism,but they are not the solution to the social problems ofpoverty and environmental degradation which they are setup to mitigate. Although socialists want a moneyless society,living without money now, under capitalism, is not what weadvocate.

Actually, socialists dont want to abolish money. What we

want is to see established a system of society where moneywould become redundant, as it would in a society basedon the common ownership and democratic control of themeans for producing wealth. In such a society the principlefrom each according to their ability, to each according totheir needs could apply. People would cooperate to producewhat was needed to live and enjoy life and then have freeaccess to this.

Life without money under capitalism, where mostthings have to be bought, is pretty austere. Heres how asympathiser describes Boyles lifestyle:

He lives in a small camper, makes or scavengeseverything he uses on a day-to-day basis . . . He takes solarshowers . . . To eat he practices the ne art of Dumpster

diving and cooks on a hyper-efcient rocket stove.

Schwermer lives a week at a time in the spare roomsof members of the Tauschring [the Give and Take scheme],cleaning or working in return for accommodation.

Very few people (in fact, to tell the truth, only a few,eccentric individuals) would be prepared to live like this.In any event, the whole of society could not. However, thisis not the only way to live without money and be part ofgenuine cooperating community where the links betweenpeople would be human not commercial. Socialism offersthis possibility without involving giving up such amenities ashot and cold running water in a warm, permanent home. Butits a society-wide change not an individual li festyle choice.

With the elimination of the waste of capitalism, not justin arms production, wars and preparations for war but also

in the whole superstructure of buying and selling, socialistsociety will be able, using modern technology and sociallycooperative labour on a world scale, to provide theseamenities and comforts for everybody everywhere withoutover-burdening the environment.

We dont want to be churlish but we must point out thatboth Boyle and Schwermer, and Boyle in particular, rely onwhat the cooperative labour of the rest of society is ableto provide using modern technology. For instance, Boylescamper and solar panels (bought before giving up money)and what he scavenges from skips, and the heated and lithouses where Schwermer lodges.

Living without money doesnt have to involve wearing ahair shirt and using old newspapers for toilet paper. Andwont in socialism.

v ms m mshe top 1 percent has incomes more than ve

re adjusted to be equivalent to those for a couple withncome by 0.67; for a couple with child under 14 bytc (allowing 0.2 for each additional child under 14,l adults).

115 cos 314-8)An ounce of experience is orh a on of heory, asVadimir Iyich lenin once said.(Hansard 27 November 1989 col 489)

I probaby asn said by lenin eiher bu i does

appear in an arice in he Weekly Worker, he paper ofhe Communis Pary of Grea Briain, on 13 February1925 by t. A, Jackson as

An ounce of pracice is orh a on of heory (.marx.org/archive/jackson-a/1925/02/13.hm)Jackson (incidenay an SPGB renegade) didn

aribue i o anyone. He as e read and as probabyjus using an od proverb he fe appropriae o hisargumen (summed up in he nex fooing senence: Asuccessfu sand of he orkers in any given facory iprepare hem more for a unied sand of a he facoriesin an indusry han years of heoreica preaching.)

Groves joined the Communist Party in 1927, so this

oud be here he oud have picked up he phrase.Aribuing i o Enges oud be his on misake jus asaribuing i o lenin as Fieds.

I is no surprising ha troskyiss ike his sayingas i e expresses heir heory and acic ha i is no

orh rying o pu he sraigh sociais case beforehe orking cass (as e do) as his is oo heoreicafor hem; orkers, according o he troskyis heory ofransiiona demands, can ony earn by experience, heexperience of ghting for reforms within capitalism and

earning ha capiaism canno gran hese reforms; ahich poin hey are supposed o urn o he troskyisvanguard pary and foo i in an armed uprisingagains he capiais sae. Hence heir concusion ha

ha sociaiss shoud be doing is no puing he casefor sociaism, bu proposing aracive reforms for he

orking cass o foo. I is an argumen for a reformispracice.



20/24


Book Reviews

The prophet debunked

Trotsky. A Biography. By Robert

Service. Macmillan. 624pp. 25.

were trosky aiveoday, he oudhave he ediorsof his book sho.I is ridded ihirriaing errors.Round brackescose square; nameschange speing;eird senences ike

he idea ha Russian radicas ookhe bis of Marxism hey disiked anddiscarded he res sip hrough; andappareny Oso and S. Peersburgie on he same ongiude, 59 degreesNorh. Macmian shoud be ashamedo have aoed his sapdash produc

ino prin.this oud no maer excep hahe represenaives of trosky onEarth have launched a urry of chaff

o aack his biography of heir ido.Forensic hair spiing has been heirmethod, and nding faults, such

as ha Naaya Sederova (troskysparner) died in 1962 raher han1960 as he book caims. this is, ofcourse, a disracion acic. Hardyany of heir revies dea ih hemea of he book.

Peer taaffe, eader of he SociaisPary (formery Miian) performs

he usua troskyis mirace ofsimuaneousy denying and jusifyinghe repressive acics and error ofhe Bosheviks. David Norh of heword Sociais (sic) ebsie cavisover riviaiies, and even manageso accuse Service of ani-Semiism.Norh aso has he ack of originaiyo describe Services ex as par ofthe School of historical falsication

echoing his heros ripose o Sain.they don address troskys

ordering he decimaion of a baaionfor coardice. Or lenin signing anorder for 100-1000 eading ciizens

of a ciy o be hanged. the booknoes troskys iingness o useauhoriarian mehods, and suggessthat prior to 1917 he never spelled

ou ha he mean by dicaorship,bu ha during he crisis eading ohe Boshevik coup dEa, he oudspeak in praise of he guioine hamade opponens of he revouionshorer by a head.

Service depics, ih accounsfrom inesses, trosky as an aoofand sef-cenred man, ho ackedpoiica judgemen o hep him keepfriends cose. He aienaed many byhis manner. He as never, conraryo he received isdom and dogmaof he secs, an organised Marxis.

He as a non-aigned member of heRussian Socia Democraic Pary, hospen he years up o he Grea warrying o unify he facions bu neverjoining any. Even hen he joinedhe Bosheviks, i as as a oosecannon, and ha oud be par of hisundoing.

Service aribues troskys faiure

o become he eader of he revouionafer lenin o a ack of i on hispar and caims ha any obsacesere surmounabe. He suggess hatrosky as no panning, nor mighhave been abe, o use his posiion ofhead of he Red Army o seize poer:bu ha he fear of his moivaed hisopponens.

wha sicks in he cra of hetros, and hreaens he enireideological edice of their movement,

is Services conenion ha troskydid no in poicy erms differ fromSain, and ha he had indeed

consciousy presided over heinroducion of a series of sho riasof opponens ike he ones usedby Sain agains troskys aies.Furher, he examines troskysae caim ha he backardnessof Russian deveopmen as obame for he degeneraion of herevouion. In ha case, enquiresService, as no he hoe enerprise,incuding a is shed bood, a forornase of ime?

Despie he caims of he acoyes,his is no an enire hache job,Service freey acknoedges ha

trosky as a grea rier andoraor, and a brave man in hison persona righ. I is, hough, abiography, as much a ierary formas an hisorica one, and judgemenpays an imporan par. Service giveshis opinion, and is openy criica ofBoshevism and he reader can makeup heir on mind.PS

The Philosophy ofMoney

Moneyby Eric Lonergan. Acumen,2009. 9.99

this is an unusuabook, rien by ahedge fund manager.I verges beeenconvenionaorhodoxy and hehighy unorhodox.In many respecs iis as much a bookabou phiosophy,

hinking and percepion as i isabou economics, and no unikerecen orks by George Soros in ha

respec.lonergan has read Marx, Hayek

and many of the key nancialanayss of he conemporary era,from Markoiz o Shier. Hehas provided a synhesis of heirvies abou markes and money,underpinned by his phiosophicareadings from his earier academic

sudies. these a imes border on heinsighfu bu uimaey disappoin.His discussion of ination is an

obvious case in poin. As eary as herst chapter he writes:

Many peope beieve ha heirmoney is sored in a safe a hebank, if hey hink abou i a a.Ignorany, e hink of a deposi iha bank as money; indeed, in mos ofeconomics deposis are referred oas money, and are caegorized assuch in ofcial statistics, which is

miseading. Deposis are no money:hey are oans e make tobanks

(pp.11-12).this is quie rue and one of he

reasons credi creaion ideas sipedded by some economiss areerroneous, aong ih heories hichry o expain rising prices ihreference o he expansion of bankdeposis. Hoever, he aso says:

he souion o a banking panicis efforess and disconcering: acenra bank merey needs o sayha i i creae as much moneyas is needed, and provide his o hebanks, and everyone shoud camdon(p.12).

laer, he ries of an irraiona fearof ination (p.133), but these fears

are no necessariy irraiona. thismagazine has chroniced for decadesho an excess issue of inconveribepaper currency (beyond ha neededfor producion and rade) eads oan articial bloating of monetarydemand known as ination. This has

been a consisen phenomenon sincehe ae 1930s/eary 1940s and insome periods, such as a imes in he1970s, has been quite signicant.

A presen, he exen o hich a

acic ike quaniaive easing canead o cos price bubbes and canead o an excess noe issue ibe he exen o hich underyinginationary pressures will re-

emerge ih a vengeance ihin hecapiais economy. lonergan cearymissed he reevan chapers inMarxs Capitalwhere the inationaryprocess and he expanaion fori is discussed, or has a easfaied o appy i o he conemporarysiuaion. I oud cerainy hepexplain to him why ination is a

moneary phenomenon c

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Socialist Standard March 2010

Documents