The Socialist Party of Canada

Secretary’s Report for July 1, 2012

Email Report

–           The Bullet – The Threat of Quebec’s Good Example.

–           The Bullet – Political Crisis: The Left and the Possibility of a New Historical Bloc.

–           The Bullet – Soccer: Imperialism and Resistance in Honduras.

–           The Bullet – Where Next for the Quebec Mobilization?

–           The Bullet – Making War on Quebec Children.

–           The Bullet – The Economic Program of Syriza – EKM.

–           The Bullet – One Divided into Two: Nepal’s Maoists in Crisis.

–           The Bullet – The Rio + 20 UN Conference: An Ecosocialist Assessment.

–           Left Streamed – The Challenges of the Greek Left after the Election.

–           Note that the above are not based on scientific socialism but are available on request for information and interest purposes.

Good of the Movement

–           Meetings and activities held in Toronto – Library Video and street book sale. Both were not very successful so we seek better ways to promote socialism. July’s activity will be advertised on the web site and sent to Southern Ontario members.

–           We are planning for the Fall issue of Imagine. Any contributions, suggestions etc. are welcome. One GAC member is looking into doing the make-up of the issue for us.

–           The June GAC meeting was completed and the report sent out.

Finances

–           Secretarial expenses for June, $19.04.

Karl’s Quotes

–           On discussing economy in the use of constant capital, necessary for a greater production of surplus-value, Marx comments, “This economy (of constant capital) extends to crowding workers into confined and unhealthy premises, a practice which in capitalist parlance is called saving on buildings; squeezing dangerous machines into the same premises and dispensing with means of protection against these dangers; neglect of precautionary measures in those production processes whose very nature is harmful to health or involves risk, as in mining, etc. Not to speak of the absence of all provisions that would make the production process humane, comfortable or simply bearable for the worker. From the standpoint of the capitalist this would be a senseless and purposeless waste. Yet for all its stinginess, capitalist production is thoroughly wasteful with human material, just as its way of distributing products through trade, and its manner of competition, make it very wasteful of material resources, so that it loses for society what it gains for the individual capitalist.” (Capital, Vol. III, p. 180, Penguin Classics Edition). Nothing escaped the inquisitive eye of Marx, but, sad to say, one hundred and fifty years later, the capitalist has been able to circumvent attempts to rectify the situation in part in the first world and pretty well wholly in the third world.

Food For Thought

–           In “Rich-Poor Divide in Toronto Hospitals”, (Toronto Star, June 13) reporter, Carol Goar, highlights the findings of a recent survey. There are two – “The first is that very low income people are using the parts of the health care system that are in its greatest crisis; the second is that to reduce hospital use, people need the ability to pay for healthy food, buy medicine, and live in a healthy place where they can receive home care.” In other words, if you do not have the money you will not get the health care you need. Another example of capitalism’s sickness!

–           Actress Halle Berry has been ordered to pay ex-husband, Gabriel Aubrey $240 000 a year to support their four-year old daughter…”in the comfortable surroundings she has become accustomed to.” How many starving children would that feed. It makes one wonder if there isn’t something wrong with the system under which we live!

–           A snippet in The Toronto Star recently focused on the United States of Anger. In 2011 there were one thousand and eighteen hate groups operating there, an increase of four hundred and eleven in that year. There was a thirty-five per cent increase in prosecutions of hate crimes during the first three years of Obama’s administration, according to the justice department. That’s what we like about capitalism – it brings people together in peace and harmony!

–           In Britain, thieves are ripping up railway and telephone cables, stealing lead of church roofs, prying off manhole covers, blatantly carting away ramps for the disabled, and causing children to shiver in schools by stealing heating pipes. This is in response to a soaring demand for copper and lead as developing countries race to build skyscrapers, factories and other infrastructure. It’s pointless to blame greed when it’s endemic to the capitalist system.

–           Well, Egypt finally got its democracy – you can choose who you like for President as long as we, the army aristocracy, get to vet all the candidates and reject whoever we don’t like, and as long as, when you have chosen a president, we get to suspend the elected assembly and make up our own constitution. That’s what will happen until the working class realizes that only a socialist revolution will do the trick.

–           The development of drones is making war too easy to wage. David Kepes writing in the Toronto Star reports that drones are appealing because they save the lives that would otherwise be committed to action, it’s easier to expend dollars than human lives and easier to get funding, and because if we can go to war for less, we will. Bright prospect to look forward to in the future!

–           On that topic, the American ‘War from Above’ touted to be so clean and accurate that it’s almost anti-septic, was taken to task in The Toronto Star, June 23, 2012. According to the drone database compiled by the New American Foundation, the non-military fatality rate for Pakistan is seventeen per cent, not counting missile attacks such as the Majalah tragedy. The true count of civilian bodies will never be reported or known but it is heavy, even under Peace Nobelist Obama!

–           The Ontario budget finally passed. The ruling Liberals are in a minority position and so have had to rely on the support of the NDP to get it passed. One sticking point for the Liberals was the NDP proposal of a wealth 2% surtax on those earning more than $500 000. Big deal! And some believe this is a socialist party!

–           Information keeps popping up re the Harper governments massive omnibus bill. Environmental amendments account for 170 pages of the total 425. For example, the Tories are no longer required to report on their green (?) progress (nothing to report anyway!), less protection for fish, cut Parks Canada employees, reduce or eliminate the number of monitoring programs for water (not important, eh?). The Tories see environmental protection as a hindrance to economic growth. The only part of environmental that applies to this government is the “mental” part.

–           Noticeably absent in the Greek financial tragedy is any action on the part of  the wealthy class. Shipping magnates have their tax-free status enshrined in the constitution and oil, gas, media, and banking magnates are showing their patriotism by NOT buying government bonds to help the country. (New York Times, June 10).

–           The Toronto and District School Board is looking to close school cafeterias that take in less than $35 a day in an effort to save $600 000 a day. Apparently, serving up nutritious food for their students doesn’t seem to be a consideration. Not too surprising in a money driven world but disappointing that those charged to look after our children are oriented in such a way. And, of course, we all know about the 9 year-old girl in Scotland who posted pictures of the crap food served in her school on the internet only to be banned from doing so. Again, good food was not a consideration. Saving face was.

–           We all know that India is the latest capitalist economic miracle/poster boy. The economy is booming and ‘all boats get lifted by the rising tide’, right? Well, not exactly. The New York Times June 17) reports, “Despite India’s Plenty, Poor Still Go Hungry”. Apparently, infrastructure to get food to the needy does not take priority over infrastructure that is necessary to make a profit. This, we know, will never change in this system.

–           The Rio + 20 summit has been and gone and little or no progress is still the watchword, only serving to remind us, if we needed it, that nothing is happening. World leaders attended the first one but were conspicuous by their absence at the latest one. No problem, it’s of little importance anyway. It does also let us know how far we have slipped. Little was reported in the leading newspapers but in 1992, every paper had an environmental reporter covering the event. Canada’s environment minister, Peter Kent, commented, “There is a lack of familiarity with the good news that Canada has to report.” Well, we are waiting!

Reading Notes

–           The theme of the July issue of Popular Science is all about building a better world. One article examines four futures – Market forces (or business as usual); Policy Reform (governments take action to meet UN climate targets); Fortress World (overwhelmed by environmental and social problems, governments become authoritarian and the rich retreat behind walls); Great Transition (Society’s values change radically to prioritize environmental preservation, social equality, and cooperation). Looking at seven broad topics – land use, purchasing power, water shortage, hunger incidence, income disparity, environmental impact, and the year when oil and natural gas will run out, the article has Great transition in front in every category except purchasing power. Great Transition is obviously a reasonable description of socialism although, of course, that word never comes up. What is certain is that we will never survive with Market Forces or Fortress World. Cooperative action is necessary now but impossible with the scramble and competition for the world’s resources that we have today.

For socialism, John