The National Question

There has been some (very isolated) criticism of those on the left who take an anti EU position. Much of it rests on the opinion that to stand against the European project results in some sort of petty nationalist attitude. But to ignore the "national question" is a dangerous and immature position to take.

The following article appeared in the September/October 2011 edition of Challenge - the magazine of the YCL. You can read more about the CPB's position on Europe in this article.

Britishness – An Impossible Concept?

Britishness, like any concept of nation, is contested, socially and politically constructed, historically variable and both personal and public.

N30 - Why unions HAD to strike for ALL

Why were the strikes important? Why are the trade unions so vital to the fight against the coalition government? How did the strikes help those not in unions or not on strike?

Lets make one thing clear - these strikes have to be about far more than public sector pensions. Yes, because of the anti-union laws in Britain, the unions need to have a specific reason to strike. The public sector pension reforms were that reason.

But while striking over unjustified pension reforms is perfectly valid, this struggle needs to be seen in the wider context of the anti-cuts movement. To not see the strikes in this context lends ammunition to the anti-strike, right wing attacks on the trade unions.

Anti-Capitalist, Pro. . . ?

For all the diversity of the Occupy movements around the world, about the only thing they (broadly) agree on, is that they are anti-capitalist.

I say broadly, because some people involved may not be completely "anti-capitalist" but are certainly anti-status-quo-capitalist. And I suppose that puts them in something of a New Labour position. They are the new Third Way sort of ditherers.

And I don't think ditherers is too harsh. They would call themselves "anti-greed", which is fair enough, but being anti-greed means they've swallowed the right wing lie that the 2008 financial crash was caused by greed. That sort of analysis completely ignores the fact that capitalism is an unsustainable system with inherent contradictions and exploitation at its core. To blame the greed of a few people, but believing in the system, is just sticking your head in the sand.

Occupy Plymouth

Taken from http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Protest-group-sets-camp/story-13778063-detail/story.html

THE FIRST of what are expected to be many tents were erected in Plymouth city centre, as protesters highlighted the nation's growing discontent with the financial crisis.
The Occupy Plymouth activists chose the Jigsaw Garden, opposite the Roland Levinsky building at Drake Circus, to build the encampment, and shortly after noon on Saturday, the first three tents were pegged down.
By nightfall they were joined by several more tents, with others expected to follow over the next few days.
The Occupy Movement said it hopes to bring together hundreds more like-minded people in the coming days, claiming they will "stay for as long as possible", mirroring protests across the globe.
Some of the early arrivals wore Guy Fawkes masks made famous by the V for Vendetta graphic novel and film, and now used as the symbol for Anonymous – considered the world's most famous group of hacker-anarchists.
Tim Gulliver, media spokesman for the Occupy Plymouth group, said the plan was "to stay for as long as possible."
Tim, from Peverell, said the group – started on Facebook – had held two planning meetings and has the support of Plymouth Trades Union Council and various political organisations.
He said the aim was to "draw attention to the inequalities in society" and speak for 'the 99 per cent'.
He said: "Figures from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs show that the richest one per cent of the population owns 23 per cent of the total UK wealth.
"The Times Rich List shows how the rich are getting richer every year. We clearly aren't all in this together.
"We come from different political backgrounds and from none. We come from across Plymouth and the surrounding area.
"We are old and young, in work, out of work and in education. What unites us is the knowledge that the system we live under is wrong, unsustainable and economically and ethically bankrupt.
"We have come together to stand against the greed of corporate Britain and the belief that the 'free market' can solve all of our problems.
"We are part of a global movement because the system we stand against is global in its exploitation.
"We live in a country of vast inequality and have a government that is more concerned about business profits than people.
"We are the 99 per cent."
Tony Staunton, secretary of Plymouth Trades Union Council, said he believed the protest offered hope and inspiration to workers facing cuts and unemployment.
He said: "This is the start of the English revolution. We have applauded the revolts across southern Europe and the Middle East against the plunder of the super-rich, now we are fighting back here at home.
"The demand is simple – the super-rich corporate executives and bankers have taken all the taxpayers' money, and we want it all back!"
A lone Police Community Support Officer was on hand as the first activists arrived.
PCSO Tyrst Fentem spoke briefly with them, as the first tents were placed on the private land. He said he merely warned them to keep safe, particularly at night, and to contact police if they felt threatened by anyone.

Euroscepticism is not just for the Tories

It's not often that the Morning Star will find itself allied with the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and Daily Express. It is even less likely to see Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary and John Foster, International Secretary of the Communist Party share a platform with Zac Goldsmith, Conservative MP and most of the membership of UKIP.

On Monday the House of Commons will debate on whether to hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU. Much of the media coverage has focussed on the likely splits within the Conservative Party. This is hardly surprising as Euroscepticism has often been seen as the preserve of the right, while the left have been characterised as willing to “give up our nationality” to the EU.

It is time to correct that fallacy. Brian Denny of the RMT and NO2EU campaign sets out the case of the left at the launch of the People's Pledge campaign in the following video:

John Foster, in a recent letter published in the Morning Star sets out the left's case for withdrawal from the EU:

The primacy of market competition and the free movement of capital lie at the heart of the EU's founding treaties.

These principles are not likely to be removed.

Nor, therefore, are the legal judgements that place them before the collective rights of labour.

They also take precedence over the economic powers of national parliaments.

The left in Britain calls for Parliament to nationalise endangered industrial plants, renationalise utilities such as transport and energy and impose controls over the movement of capital.

It isn't likely that EU treaties will be amended to permit such intervention.

On the contrary - the big business interests at the heart of the EU are seeking to end any remaining freedom for national parliaments to allocate funding to welfare, pensions, education and health, probably as early as this autumn's EU summit.

The current EU crisis is systemic.

It derives from its combination of the legal fiction of free markets with the real existence of monopoly power.

The EU unites the developing economies of eastern and southern Europe with the advanced monopolies of Germany, France and Britain.

British and British-based US banks have seized control of finance, German monopolies of industrial production and the French giants have mopped up utilities.

This is the real origin of the financial imbalances which now threaten the EU.

The right often talk about wanting a trading union, but not a political union. The naivety of this argument should be plain for all to see during the current economic crisis.

Simply put, the EU is a playground for big business. It is not the European Parliament that takes away the national sovereignty of member states, it is the free trade element that allows monopoly capital to run rough-shod over the rights of working people within those member states.

Quantitative what? Inflation and monetary policy

Capitalism is an inherently unstable system. It is cyclical in nature. Precariously balanced between inflation and deflation, boom and bust, growth and depression.

Inflation

Inflation is commonly portrayed as a “rise in the cost of living”. It is measured by the government in two ways: the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Retail Price Index (RPI). These measures track the prices of commodities.

On one level, inflation is the result of supply and demand. Recent fires in Russia have led the Russian government to stop exporting grain. This shortage of grain will increase the value of grain in world markets, causing the price, and that of other products such as bread, to be inflated. Conversely, were there to be an increase in the supply of grain, its value would fall, and the price would be deflated.

But this supply and demand can only partially account for inflation and deflation. Were grain to be as common as grains of sand, it would not become worthless. There is still labour invested in the sowing and harvesting of grain, still labour invested in the grinding of grain into flour, and the baking of flour into bread. The absolute value of an item is determined by the labour power invested in its production.

However, with industrialisation, the amount of labour needed to make bread has fallen. Whereas in the past, bakers would spend ten minutes kneading dough to make a single loaf of bread, now vast machines can knead hundreds of loaves of bread at once. Bread can be made without being touched by a human hand. This increase in the supply of bread will at first make the capitalist more money – he has more bread to sell. But as the market becomes flooded with mechanical bread its value will fall, its price is deflated. We then have very cheap bread, but less people employed to make it, and less people employed means a reduction in the ability of our workers to buy the commodities!

So what else can determine the changing price of a commodity?

The People's Charter - Not just an anti-cuts campaign

Recently the People's Charter was described to me as "the CPB's anti-cuts campaign".

The People's Charter is not an anti-cuts movement. Yes, if adopted, it would mean that none of the government's cuts would be enacted. But more than that, it is a document for the future. It is a set of policies and demands that lay the groundwork for the building of socialism in this country.

As for the CPB reference, I hand over to John Hendy QC

Taken from the Morning Star 17/05/2011