If socialism is a dream, capitalism is a nightmare
Present-day society is accurately labelled as capitalism because the production of its wealth is a process of the accumulation of capital. Investment in production is as capital; it is wealth which is applied to produce more of it, for disposal for profit. Thus capitalism is a society in which wealth takes the form of commodities—although…
Let’s make a revolution
The plot of a thousand sci-fi novels and movies is that the end of the world comes with a comet or asteroid colliding with the Earth, or perhaps a solar flare burning up our planet. The likelihood is, of course, that the world will be destroyed by an “internal’’ agency such as a nuclear war…
Trade Unions (3/3)
An injury to one is an injury to all Since their origin, employers, governments and the media have been obsessed with trade unions. The Government, to please and placate the die-hard ideologues in the Conservative Party and the more unthinking of its voters generally, has chosen to propose legislation containing very drastic amendments to the law as it affects trade unions to take effective strike action. It…
Trade Unions (2/3)
The Socialist Attitude Toward Trade Unions. The aim of trade unions is not socialism and, therefore, the principles and policy of The World Socialist Movement are quite distinct from those of trade unions. Trade unions are organised within capitalism to “collectively bargain” with employers in terms of wage slavery. The World Socialist Movement’s aim is…
Trade Unions (1/3)
The Bitter Truth It has always been popular in the media to denounce totalitarian regimes under which trade unions are regulated appendages of the State and strikes are forbidden. The Tories persistently present their assault upon unions, with all its contradictions, as being in defence of the rights of the individual and customers.The process is one of…
La controversia del “Cálculo Económico”. Deshaciendo un Mito
El argumento del cálculo económico (ACE) tiene que ver con la afirmación de que, en la ausencia de precios de mercado, una economía socialista sería incapaz de tomar decisiones racionales sobre la asignación de recursos, y de que esto haría del socialismo una proposición impracticable. Trazando primero el desarrollo histórico de este argumento se prosigue…