Socialist Party Head Office
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I forgot to include this item which is the last item under 7. Any other business -(f) It was noted that copies of the the new Questions and Answers about Socialism leaflet had arrived at Head Office on Friday 2nd December. Copies of the Identity leaflet are scheduled to arrive at Head Office on Monday 5th December.
From the December Socialist Party of Canada Newsletter on this forum here (under World Socialist Movement):
Quote:The November meeting took place at Occupy Toronto. The experience was really good. The camp was extremely well organized along socialist type lines – no leaders, elected committees to run everything, discussions and education all over the place, a speakers corner every night where anyone can get up and speak and voluntary labour. I urge anyone in a community with an Occupy movement to make contact and put forward our socialist ideas and show an alternative to the reformist ideas that some hold.Scroll down the December Newsletter for more on Occupy Toronto and its fate.
Copy of letter sent to the Belfast Telegraph on the strike and the comment of that unfunny clown Clarkson posted here.
The Socialist Party of CanadaSecretary’s Report for December 1, 2011Email Report- The Bullet – Organized Labour and the Occupy Movement.- The Bullet – Corporations Occupy Fair Trade.- WSPNZ – EC minutes for October received with thanks.- The Bullet – The Regressive Politics of the Iranian-Canadian Khavri Petition.- The Bullet – Italy and Greece; Rule by the Bankers.- The Bullet – You Can’t Evict a Revolution.- The Bullet – Crisis in Italy and Greece: Marx on Technical Government.- The Bullet – Resisting Expropriation of the Occupy Movement.- Left Streamed – Understanding and Fighting Austerity.- The Bullet – Unraveling Carbon Markets.- The Bullet – Resistance Takes Root in Barcelona.- Note that he Bullet and Left Streamed are not based on scientific Socialism but are available for information purposes only.Good of the Movement- The November meeting took place at Occupy Toronto. The experience was really good. The camp was extremely well organized along socialist type lines – no leaders, elected committees to run everything, discussions and education all over the place, a speakers corner every night where anyone can get up and speak and voluntary labour. I urge anyone in a community with an Occupy movement to make contact and put forward our socialist ideas and show an alternative to the reformist ideas that some hold.- Next meeting – coffee and discussion on Wednesday, December 14th, atThe Second Cup, north side of Bloor Street, 4 stores east of Spadina Avenue, Toronto, 6:30 – 8:30pm. Feel free to bring a friend.- One introductory package requested.- One member questionnaire successfully completed. We welcome Zachary Lohnes of Nova Scotia.- Tom Coles has set up a facebook group for political discussion. Go to Facebook, type in Clearwater Forum and make a friend request to join the group. Many thanks for your efforts, Tom.- There will be a General Administrative meeting in December. Please send in any comments, suggestions, proposals to spc@iname.com- We are preparing for the Spring edition of Imagine. If you have articles, pieces, suggestions, comments, please start sending them in to us. Thanks.Finances- Secretarial expenses for November, $26.88. Donation of $20 received with thanks.Karl’s Quotes- On surplus-value coming free to the capitalist, “The circulation mechanism, however, has shown if the capitalist class casts money into circulation to be spent as revenue, it withdraws this same money again from circulation, and so the same process can always begin anew; considered as a capitalist class, therefore, it remains now as before in possession of this sum of money needed for the realization of its surplus-value. If the capitalist not only withdraws surplus-value from the commodity market in the form of commodities for his consumption fund, but at the same time the money with which he buys these commodities flows back to him, he has evidently withdrawn the commodities from circulation without an equivalent. They cost him nothing, even though he pays for them with money. If I buy commodities for one pound sterling, and the seller of these commodities gives me back my one pound in exchange for a surplus product that costs me nothing, then I have obviously received the commodities for nothing. The constant repetition of this operation in no way alters the fact that I constantly withdraw commodities and constantly remain in possession of the one pound, even though I part with it temporarily in order to obtain these commodities. The capitalist constantly receives this money back as the realization of surplus-value that cost him nothing.” (Capital, Volume II, pp550/551, Penguin Classics edition).Food For Thought- Top international climate scientists, meeting in Africa had somesharp warnings for the world’s governments – “Get ready for unprecedented extreme weather.’ They point out that since the 1970s, 95% of fatalities from storms have been in developing countries. Making preparations, they say, will save lives and money. Perhaps the latter might have some effect on the worlds’ governments!- Meanwhile, scientists say that the Arctic sea ice has declined more in the last half century than it has in the last 1 450 years.- However, The New York Times points out that the environment is no where to be seen in the US and has disappeared from the political agenda, “ …now that nearly every other nation accepts climate change as a pressing problem, America has turned agnostic on the issue.”- The Arab Spring continues as the Egyptians once again take to the streets because they see that the old rulers, the army, will become the new rulers. The brutal crackdown by the military seems to confirm their worst fears.Meanwhile, Tunisians interviewed by The Toronto Star (Tunisia: The Jobless Revolution, 26/Nov/2011) are mainly saying that nothing has changed for them. Unemployment remains high, life remains a struggle, and they have put their trust in new untried and largely unknown leaders. The future looks very uncertain. Taking a page from the Occupy Movement (see below) would be a large step forward.- The Toronto Occupy Movement has now been evicted by court order and by the actions of the police and the city, but, as we like to say, you can’t evict a conversation or an idea. So I expect the movement to carry on in some yet to be determined form. Some of the more important aspects are tenets such as anyone affected by decisions should be at the table making them, no one gets left behind, and the organization of the camp, i.e. no leaders, everyone speaks and listens, democratic decisions, volunteer labour. Hopefully this will be carried on in the future. Also remarkable was the speed and cohesion of the movement in setting up camp and the rapid spread throughout the world. If this movement can shed its reformism and adopt the socialist case, it could be a major step forward. The press mainly continues its establishment stance – The Washington Post wrote, “For those of us who don’t live near one of the protest sites, Occupy Wall Street supplied some comic relief, but they were never meant to survive the onset of inclement weather. Good riddance.” However, David Olive of The Toronto Star points out that it was mainly the courts, the city, and the police that did the evicting. He also notes that 1.3 million Canadians and 26 million Americans are unemployed or have given up looking for a job. Also, since 1959, wages, as a percentage of the GDP have fallen from 51% to 44%, worth one trillion dollars that have been diverted into profit. The Star editorial also comments that the occupation is a 40 day wake-up call to put right the ills that afflict our system. Let’s hope the movement comes back to bite the establishment!- The Toronto Star has been running a series on the BRIC countries (those emerging countries that have attracted the avaricious eyes of the countries in the northern hemisphere and who have invested heavily to make big profits, i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, Brazil etc.). Economic indicators are shooting up and a little is trickling down to a few workers but mainly it’s business as usual for the average Joe. For example, the Star reports, one in two Indian children are malnourished, 74% under three years are anaemic, and 400 million Indians live in poverty – i.e. $1.25 a day! In South Africa, large investment in Mining has pushed up the GDP and unemployment has improved from 37% (2001) to 23% today. However, amid the new wealth, 67% of Africans, 41% of coloured, 14% of Asian/Indian, and just 4% of whites are considered below the poverty line. Life expectancy for the nation is 49.3 years. As always, wealth goes back to the investors and the rest share a few crumbs.- In Canada, we have failed to live up to the 1980s promise to eliminate poverty by 2000, just as the provincial governments much trumpeted 25% reduction in poverty in 5 years has failed. The recession was cited as an excuse, of course. Now, 10% of children live in poverty and they make up 40% of the nearly one million food bank clients, Canada’s main growth industry.- Canadian business likes to point out that, although not recession proof, we are better positioned to cope and our banks are better regulated .Last month, though, Canada lost 54 000 jobs, most in manufacturing and construction, the unionized and better paying jobs. Socialists know that no one can escape the world economy.- Meanwhile, mobile infrastructure company Nokia Siemens has announced that it will be cutting 17 000 jobs over the next few years. In a burst of loyalty to his employees, the CEO said, “As we look toward the prospect of an independent future, we need to take action now to improve our profitability and cash generation.”- The futility of reform – the auto industry agreed to a two-tier wage system with new hires paid as low as $14 per hour. Chrysler chairman, Sergio Marchionne disagrees with the two tier system and wants every worker on the same scale – the lower one!- Recession does not to hit some very hard though. The Globe and Mail Reported (Nov 2, 2011) that Prince Charles had to scrape by with just 133 staff to look after him and Camilla, more than 60 of them domestics such as chefs, cooks, footmen, housemaids, gardeners, chauffeurs, cleaners, and his three personal valets, who look after his wardrobe plus the important task of ironing the laces when Charles takes off his shoes.Just a Thought- Watching a European soccer game recently, I noticed the Italian team wore the sponsor, Arab Emirates, on their sweaters. The Spanish team did likewise with its sponsor, Bahrain Union. Do the capitalist enterprises put away their differences if money is offered? Just wondering.Reading Notes- Explaining how in emerging organized societies and later, the powerful came to their position, Philippe Gigantes, in his Book, “Power and Greed”, writes, “For centuries, the Brahmins in alliance with the next caste, the warriors, grand acquisitors all, lorded it over the rest of the population. This is the oldest political alliance of all time: very early in human history, the autocrat with the big club and the witchdoctor with his potions and maledictions, became natural allies. The one with the big club organized the hunt and the defence of territory. The sorcerers took care of the uncontrollable, the unpredictable, and the inexplicable – he took care of god in other words. The two, king and priest, in modern parlance, ran the tribe through the fear of violence and the fear of ‘God’. In that tribal system, they each took a much bigger share of everything.”Sound familiar?For socialism, John
Reply received from LEW who wrote the book review:The review noted that The Political Economy of Development provided detailed evidence of the failures of the World Bank and the neo-liberal assumptions which still guide its activities. But we ask again: What of the alternative? ln a chapter co-authored by Fine, it is argued that “lt is insufficient simply to inform of more appropriate analytical frameworks and content” and that progress crucially depends upon “‘activism’ against the Bank’s roles in advocacy, scholarship and policy” (p.45; original emphasis). In the book’s Concluding Remarks, also co-authored by Fine, a number of recommendations are made with regard to the Bank’s roles, particularly in the way it carries out its research (p.281-282).Leaving to one side the nature of those recommendations, it is clear that the contributors to this book see a continuing role for banks in general and the World Bank in particular. In that case it is inevitable that they will follow one monetary policy or another. When it comes to monetary policy there is only either the neo-liberal ideology of “sound money” (what used to be called “monetarism”) or broadly defined keynesianism which according to the original review is governments spending their way out of trouble. (This probably does an injustice to Keynes but it is how Keynesiansim is generally understood.) In other words, either the currency is issued sufficient for capitalism to operate or the currency issue is inflated for political ends.The contributors to the book reject neo-liberalism; Fine now says the book does not propose Keynesian approaches or solutions, though that is not stated or implied anywhere in the book. Perhaps Ben Fine can explain what monetary policy he does favour?
A comrade from the US has drawn our attention to this article on the Reform or Revolution question in relation to the Occupy movement.
Leaflets arrived from the printers today and have been sent out.It won’t just be rallies in Kingston, Maidstone and Hertford that will be leafletted but also Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Cambridge, Canterbury, Norwich, Manchester, Lancaster, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, central London and Brixton. List not complete yet.
Here’s the wording of the leaflet that Socialist Party members, including those who will be on strike themselves, will be handing out on 30 November:
Quote:Beyond CapitalismIt’s simple really.Your pension is a part of your wage or salary that is deferred until you retire. Political concerns over increasing life expectancy – described sometimes as a ‘burden’ on society – are smoke screens designed to obscure this fact. In reality, lowering pension levels and raising the retirement age are pay cuts.Pensions are money returned to us from the wealth that we ourselves have collectively created. Yet public sector workers are being told that they must pay more, work longer and get less, that there is a ‘problem’, pensions must be curbed, a claim which demonstrates that the market economy cannot provide for the needs of the people who produce and distribute all of society’s wealth.Fight back is necessary – the gains made by wage and salary workers on pay, pensions and other related issues have not, after all, been granted by benevolent governments or employers – they had to be fought for. And the only way for working people to defend those gains is through democratic and unified action. If governments and employers win on pensions and wages they will try it again with something else. As important and necessary as trade union actions are, they do not go to the heart of the matter. We strike because we are forced as workers to sell our lives by the week or by the month to our employers. No matter how many workplace battles we fight, we will always have to fight more. So, trade union action like this, even at their best, cannot bring us permanent security or end poverty. Trade unions are necessary but they can’t work miracles. They cannot defeat the underlying logic of capitalism. Austerity and insecurity in a world of potential plenty will always exist for members of the working class while capitalism continues. For a solution, we have to look beyond our immediate situation. Besides trade union action, political action is needed founded on a clear understanding and awareness of our class interests. Without that understanding, militancy can mean little.It is down to us. Only we, the working class as a whole, can remove, through democratic political action, the system that constantly requires us to fight off attacks upon our livelihood.We do not, like conventional political parties, ask for your blind support. Nor do we put ourselves forward as leaders. Instead, we ask you to consider the realities of our lives as workers and take action with us not to reform the capitalist system but to remove it entirely. Over the past century we have seen reform movements rise and fall; we have seen slogans fade; we have encountered scores of “solutions” acclaimed by governments and campaigning groups only to be discarded once they have been seen to fail. We have seen them fail, time and time again.Reforming capitalism is not an answerThe single fact we urge working people to consider is that capitalism generates problems it is incapable of solving. And the remedy – the only remedy – is to consciously put an end to the property system that divides and oppresses us.If you are interested in discussing the alternative society, get in touch with us.Thanks. Noted. The two new shops have been added to the list of those sent each month some Standards to sell.
A comrade from the Midlands reports:Myself and a fellow party member visited the Occupy Birningham protest today. To be quite frank they nearly drove me mad with boredom. ‘Underwhelmed’ does not even get off the mark as a description of how I felt upon bidding them goodbye. There were three very nice prim and proper youngsters from the ‘Food not Bombs’ campaign who were dishing out ‘reclaimed food’ and a few confused types who seem to be groping at some solutions to the vagaries of capitalism. One guy quite earnestly told me in no uncertain terms we should all strive to be capitalist when I suggested a moneyless, stateless, leaderless world in common. He said – “Look Man, I am a capitalist, we should all have the chance to be capitalists.” Another woman told me she was simply ‘against everything’ and while we gave a free copy of Ron Cook’s Yes Utopia to another chap he said – “hey, I don’t dig politics, it’s the environment I care about!”
ALB wrote:Pity you couldn’t make it since it seems to have been a bit of currency cranks convention, with only one person saying anything sensible:Quote:Question: Banks’ money is balanced because each deposit is balanced by a debt?Confirmation of why we need to be there to take part in these discussions.
A member has emailed to say that he was the person who posed that question, adding
Quote:along with talking about the social relations that exist in capitalism which seem to have been conveniently ignored in his summing up.So, we were there after all.
A US comrade has sent in the declaration adopted by Occupy Atlanta:
Quote:We have envisioned a new world. One without foreclosures, bank bailouts, war, corporate personhood, and the state-mandated murder of human beings. A world where the many thousands of homeless men and women in Atlanta do not have to sleep on the cold sidewalks of locked, empty buildings. A world where 15 million children do not die from hunger each year while every plant, grocery store and bakery throw away countless tons of food every single night. We have envisioned a world where the profit incentive is not only void, it is taboo – and the compassion for fellow being and for planet is paramount. A world where everyone shares so that everyone has enough.
