The Socialist Party of Canada

Secretary’s Report for December 1, 2012

Communication

–           WSPNZ GAC meeting notes for October received with thanks.

–           Letter from a socialist in Tunisia requesting information and communication.

Good of the Movement

–           For this month’s activity, we attended an Occupy Free School lecture on economics. Good discussion and the possibility to give a lecture next term.

–           Three free introductory packages sent out.

–           December is the General Administrative Committee meeting. Please send in any topics you would like to be discussed.

Finances

–           Secretary’s expenses for November, $18.42

Karl’s Quotes

–           In the chapter “The Equalization of the General Rate of Profit”, Marx writes, “ From what has been said so far, we can see that each individual capitalist, just like the totality of all capitalists in each sphere of production, participates in the exploitation of the entire working class by capital as a whole, and in the level of this exploitation; not just in terms of general class sympathy, but in a direct economic sense, since, taking all other circumstances as given, including the value of the total constant capital (i.e. that capital expended on means of production) advanced, the average rate of profit depends on the level of exploitation of labour as a whole by capital as a whole.” (Capital, Vol. III, pp298/299). So a) profit is averaged out (by competition) and b) commodities are social products in which all of society takes part and thus all of the working class is exploited by the whole of the capitalist class. No one is exempt from exploitation although, speaking to other workers, many like to think that they are not exploited.

Food For Thought

–           Recently released data shows that white people in the US without much schooling are dying faster than they did twenty years ago. The trends were five years of lost life for white men and three years for men without a high school diploma between 1990 and 2008. Life expectancy for them was 67.5 years compared to 80.4 years for white men with a college degree. In the UN international life expectancy rankings, US women ranked 41^st. in 2010, down from 14^th in 1985. Even so, the white people in the US ranked higher than the black people, possibly due to higher drug and smoking rates for blacks according to demographics expert, John Haaga. The conclusions are that neo liberal policies have been applied more in the US than elsewhere, and poverty is a huge factor in health, especially where there is no universal health coverage.

–           So now that everyone agrees on global warming, how is the response going? As one would expect in a profit driven economy, not very well. For example, The New York Times (Nov.25, 2012) reported that coal demand in China is so great that in 2010 a traffic jam of coal trucks coming out of Mongolia was 120 kilometres long and involved 10 000 trucks. India relies on coal for 55% of its electric power and, of course, the US is a big user (although, according to industry advert on TV, they only use ‘clean’ coal! Having used coal in the 1940s in England, I can personally vouch for the fact that there is nothing clean about coal!). World demand for this cheap source of energy is growing fast and is expected to reach 8.1 billion metric tons by 2016, increase fifty per cent by 2035, and coal will surpass oil as the leading source of energy in the world in the next two years. So much for working on a looming major catastrophe. Money and profit trump all.

–           Will this coal or any other resource bonanza, mean a better life for the the workers of that region? For the answer to that we go to Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world, torn by war and failed ‘Marxist’ economic policies (this is the New York Times reporting). Now, however, due to the discovery of large coal and gas reserves it has become an African Lion. World Bank estimates run to $70 billion for the gas alone. Far from the expected ‘good’ jobs in mining, the local workers were moved 40 kilometres away, housed in leaky buildings, and given barren plots from which to eke out a living. Just a bump on the road to prosperity you say? The rising tide will raise all boats? In Gabon and Angola, two more countries experiencing the curse of high growth, poverty has spiked. Probably the worst thing for an underdeveloped country is the discovery of something valuable to capitalism. Primitive accumulation – moving people out of the way, by force if necessary and with government compliance, and the theft of those resources – is a precondition of capitalism.

–           Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, has given himself sweeping powers that, in effect, make him a dictator. The people are calling him ‘the pharaoh’ and are taking to the streets again to demand the democracy that they supposedly won last year. That it can all be lost so quickly emphasizes the need for class consciousness and a knowledge of socialism in order to carry out the revolution. Otherwise the people simply hand power to the next dictator, as has happened here.

–           Scandinavia is often cited as the shining example of good capitalism where the safety net protects everybody and capitalists and their corporations look after workers and the environment. But recently furniture giant, Ikea, was forced to apologize for using political prisoners in East Germany as forced labour to produce some of their furniture. Must have been a good profit margin that couldn’t be turned down. Scratch the surface and they are all the same!

–           On television’s “Pawn Stars”, a guy sold the Stars! – a colt 45 revolver of Western movie fame. The authenticator said, “Two hundred thousand were produced for use during the Civil War. Afterwards, they maintained production because so many people were moving out West and everybody had to have one.” A real indictment of a private property based society.

–           The famous photographer, Fran Leibowitz, was asked to comment on some of America’s leading political figures. As for New York Mayor, Blumberg, he said, “ He was the only one who could end New York’s financial woes. Well, maybe if he signed over all if his wealth.”. On Mitt Romney, “ He seems very eager to go to war in every place where we are not already at war.” On Sarah Palin, “ She was a cartoon character and the fact that people treated her seriously shows how sick America’s political system is.”

–           The Toronto Star of October 27 reported that the Chinese government blocked the web site of the New York Times because an article focused on the 2.7 billion wealth of the family of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. This shows two things – that through the control of the media the capitalist class can decide what news we do and don’t hear, and where there is great disparity of wealth, capitalism prevails whatever a government calls itself. Some may remember that in Stalin’s heyday a British communist called Reg Bishop wrote a book called “Soviet Millionaires”.

–           The Vancouver Sun recently reported that four new coal mines in British Columbia are bringing in two thousand Chinese migrant workers to do most of the work. A spokesman for Canadian Dehua International Mines Group Inc. said that not enough Canadians are skilled enough to do the work. You can bet that unemployed miners are glad to know that. You can also bet the mine owners know that the Chinese will work for less money than the local lads so profits will be greater. There is nothing new in this. In the early nineteenth century, when British capitalists were making roads smoother so they could more easily move their products to market, they brought in Irish workers who would work for less – hence the racist expression, ‘an Irish penny’. This type of tactic alienates workers from each other. The capitalists can’t lose, they get more profits and keep the workers divided. Class-consciousness and a knowledge of socialism is the only antidote to capitalism’s tricks.

–           It used to be that if a job applicant had young children, it was a plus because an employer knew if someone had young mouths to feed they wouldn’t make waves. But not any more – a recent program on TV’s 20/20 focused on how that is now a drawback. In job interviews the applicant is asked if they have children at home. Some times the interviewer will have photographs of children on his/her desk to lure the applicant into admitting that they do. Once they answer in the affirmative, it’s a matter of ‘we’ll call you’. The thinking is that if the children are sick or involved in any trouble, the parent won’t be at work. This is just another example of the insecurity under the capitalist mode of production.

–           On Remembrance Day, Thomas Walkom’s article In the Toronto Star was on how much the government appreciates the soldiers who have fought for its capitalist class. His thesis is that the government lauds its soldiers in the abstract while giving them a boot in the side when it comes to benefits. This squares well with our view that the ceremonies, monuments etc. are all about propaganda, jingoism and much less about caring. For example, the Canadian government has spent millions promoting the War of 1812 in which the British and a few Canadian troops prevented the Americans from invading Canada. The same week, veterans and their widows demonstrated on Parliament Hill to protest the clawback of their pensions. Another group is taking the government to court on its decision to give veterans a one-time payment in lieu of a pension. It works out much cheaper for the government, of course. How long will the working class be duped into going to war?

–           Stop the Press! Last month we reported how China must be communist because it believes that the resources of the Arctic are the common property of mankind. This month, unfortunately, China falls back into the ranks of all the other countries, i.e. capitalist. The New York Times reports (November 4, 2012) that billions have been hidden for Premier Wen Jiabao and his family. Wen says his family was extremely poor when he was young but records indicate that just one of his mother’s investments is worth $120 million. How this widow from poverty acquired this wealth is not known, but that she appears to have become wealthy after her son’s elevation to China’s ruling elite. Other records indicate that Wen’s wife, son, daughter, brother and brother-in-law have similarly made spectacular advances in wealth and influence in the Chinese system. Gee, sounds just like the Western countries (he says, tongue-in-cheek).

Have a great holiday season,

For socialism, John