Socialist Standard August 2008

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SocialistStandard August 2008

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SubScription orderSshould be sent to The Socialist Party, 5Clapham High Street, London SW4 7UN.rateSOne year subscription (normal rate) 5One year subscription (low/unwaged) 0Europe rate 0 (Air mail)Rest of world 5 (Air mail)

Voluntary supporters subscription 0 or more.Cheques payable to t Ss p G b.

the SocialiSt party of

Great britain

The next meeting of the Executive Committeewill be on S 2 ags at the addressbelow. Correspondence should be sent tothe General Secretary. All articles, lettersand notices should be sent to the editorialcommittee at: The Socialist Party, 5 Clapham

High street, London SW4 7UN.: 020 7622 3811

-m: [email protected]

auGuSt 2008

3 eIs it The Big One?

4 PathsModel Behaviour

5 ps tg

6 M WHumanitarian Intervention

8 c ds

11 ckg bks 1Sinned against not sinners

19 ckg bks 2The world could produce morefood

20 rvwsSick Planet: Corporate Food

and Medicine; Economics for

Everyone; Reclaiming Marxs

Capital.

22 50 ys agDepression

23 Gs pDavid Davis

24 V m bkLearning About Capitalism; The

Mad House Of Capitalism; How

Capitalism Operates, and more.

24 f l

contents

website: www.worldsocialism.org

reGularSfeatureS

9 W s ?This year is the 60th anniversary of the National Health Service. Workers like

it, but capitalists dont, at least not any more. Why?

12 The Selsh Capitalism hypothesisOliver James doesnt like Selsh Capitalism and wants to return to the Un-

selsh Capitalism he imagines once existed.

14 t mkIs there an alternative to the market and what is it?

16 b sm mkg v Under capitalism most people dont get the chance to develop their capacities.

18 c vw m smmLast months G8 Summit in Japan

socialist standard

23

12

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The Socialist Party is like no otherpolitical party in Britain. It is made upof people who have joined togetherbecause we want to get rid of the prot

system and establish real socialism. Ouraim is to persuade others to becomesocialist and act for themselves,organising democratically and withoutleaders, to bring about the kind ofsociety that we are advocating in this

journal. We are solely concerned withbuilding a movement of socialists forsocialism. We are not a reformist partywith a programme of policies to patchup capitalism.

We use every possible opportunityto make new socialists. We publishpamphlets and books, as well as CDs,DVDs and various other informativematerial. We also give talks and take partin debates; attend rallies, meetings anddemos; run educational conferences;host internet discussion forums, make

lms presenting our ideas, and contestelections when practical. Socialistliterature is available in Arabic, Bengali,Dutch, Esperanto, French, German,Italian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish andTurkish as well as English.

The more of you who join the SocialistParty the more we will be able to getour ideas across, the more experienceswe will be able to draw on and greaterwill be the new ideas for building themovement which you will be able tobring us.

The Socialist Party is an organisationof equals. There is no leader and there

are no followers. So, if you are goingto join we want you to be sure that youagree fully with what we stand for andthat we are satised that you understand

the case for socialism.

IntroducingThe Socialist Party

Editorial

Is it the Big One?Theres a joke mngt tc x-cng gmbl but t nlyt wpdictd nin f t lt t bmt. T m culd b id butm citic f cpitlim w vbn pdicting t nxt Gt Dp-in inc 1945.

Cpitlim i n uncntllbl y-tm nd nt 1930 lump cnntb uld ut. But ity nv ptitlf xctly, nt vn fc (nttt pt f t ndu 1930culd b viwd fc). evy lump cin i diffnt bcu cpitl-im i ncic nd unpdictbl. Infct, if it wnt tn cpitlit gvn-mnt migt v btt cnc fdvlping m plici t vid tm.

T cilit c gint cpitlimi nt dpndnt n cpitlim bingin lump.evn in tim f pp-ity cpitlim d nt, nd cnntv t intt f t mity w bligd t ll tmlv f wg ly t gt living. Unmply-mnt my b lw nd l wg myb iing lwly, but t bic fct fprots being derived from the unpaidlbu f t w w min.And prot-seeking dominates decisionsbut wt, w nd w t pduc.Priorities are distorted as prots alwayscm bf mting nd.

obviuly m ppl di-cntntd in lump tn t ttim but ity d nt pvid nyvidnc tt lump cnditin cnitntly btt f gtting c

t cilit mg. T piityf n unmplyd pn i b t t mny ndd t buy tingtt g wit b. scilim culd

indd immditly lv ti pblmby nuing tt vyn mtilnd w mt, but cilim cn-nt b tblid until nd unl mity wnt it nd ppd tt t ncy pliticl ctin t gtit. scilit, wv, cnnt pduc

ti immditly by wving wnd. Int mntim unmplyd ppl wnt b nd v bn nwn t fllw llt f dmggu w pmi tmti.

scilit d nt ubcib t tviw t w, t btt. evn ,lump cnditin d xp t i-tinlity f cpitlim. Cld fct-i lngid unmplymnt quu.Ppl in bd uing lngid tc-pil f bic. Ppl in nd f fdlngid fd muntin nd, w,food bonres. In short, poverty amidstptntil plnty.

But w ding f ntbig lump? Nbdy nw. Cpitlitpinin i dividd. antl klty,

witing in t Times(17 july), ptdtt ccding t t vwlmingmajority of nancial analysts in the Cityf Lndn nd Wll stt, t wld inw in t wt cnmic cii inct 1930. h dig. h gdti mly pnic ctin mngtbn w ing ti xpctdprots disappear.

scilit dnt nw it but tvy fct tt nt big lump cn-not be ruled out conrms in itself thatcpitlim i n itinl nd uncn-

tllbl cnmic ytm. T nit i gt id f nd plcd by ytmund umn cntl nd gd tving umn nd t btt.

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4 SocialistStandard August 2008

CapitalismsModel BehaviourThe business of science, it might be said, is to distinguishwhat is knowable from what is not knowable. The rst

great owering of modern scientic thinking, in the days of

Newton, Leibniz and Descartes, established a revolutionaryperspective of certainty and predictability on a world previouslydominated by a largely religious or superstitious belief innatures untameable randomness. Instead of being at themercy of fate, humanity through science could be its master.Everything, in theory, was knowable. If the position, mass,velocity and direction of every particle could be known,so it was thought, then in principle the entire future of thecosmos could be extrapolated from this knowledge.

This faith in the power of science to unlock any secretseems touchingly nave today, after the cold showers of

quantum physics and chaos theory. But the war continues,between the certainty and uncertainty principles, between whatscience can do and what it cant. And inevitably, with possiblythe biggest nancial crash since the 1930s on the worlds

doorstep, some scientists are looking at the economy andasking the same big questions.

Do nancial booms and busts have causes, and are those

causes identiable, and more crucially, predictable? Or is

the economy essentially a chaos system, whose workings acomputer the size of Jupiter could still not reliably forecast?

Sumit Paul-Choudhury argues (New Scientist, June) thatnancial bubbles are not only unpredictable and unstoppable,

but even useful and desirable. According to this theory, bubblesgenerate an enormous incentive to take reckless risks indeveloping new technologies or systems with important socialbenets but low nancial returns. When the bust comes, the

reckless lose their shirts, but the social benets remain for the

rest of us. Thus, for example, the dot-com bubble and bustruined investors but laid the foundations of the modern internet.The recent housing bubble stimulated the building of lots ofhouses, which will still be there when prices have crashed, andmuch more affordable in the future.

There is a lot one could say to this. Firstly, a nancial bubble

is by denition an ination in credit out of all proportion to any

parallel increase in production, and is in consequence the mostinefcient and wasteful method of stimulating development. To

say that some good comes out of such catastrophic events isnot to say anything at all. Developmentwould have happened anyway, and

regularly does, without any inationarycycle to push it along. Secondly, it is anivory-tower argument which takes noaccount of the terrible toll such bustshave, not on fatcat investors who canafford it, but on millions of workers whoalready live on the breadline and haveno resources with which to withstandthe depredations of global recession.Third, it is an example of spin, wherean admission of lack of control ispackaged with a sales-pitch, to makea virtue out of a necessity. It is likearguing that bubonic plague serves auseful purpose, because it stimulateschange in society.

When divorced fromthis preposterous spin, the

admission that humans cannot control the economy walks avery dangerous edge. It is only a short step to the Marxianconclusion that the economy capitalism is an irrationalsystem and should be abolished in favour of a more rationalone. Aware of this, some scientists pursue the neo-Newtonianideal of being able to predict the market. To this end, they offerus computer models.

What one has to say about computer models from theoutset is that they can be a very powerful tool for understandingcomplex systems, provided that the parameters fed into themodels are correct in the rst place. The more complex the

system, the more complex the parameters, and the lesscertainty over the initial algorithms. Climate modelling is a casein point. The best computers in the world can only predict theweather with any condence up to three days in advance, after

which the variables spiral exponentially out of control. Thus,attempts to predict the consequences of global warming varywidely.

The established way to test a model is to see how well itspredictions accord with past documented events, in this caseeconomic crises. Older models, which presupposed standard

economic theories of rational trading and the law of value,that is, prices tending to gravitate towards their proper values,have had no success in predicting inationary bubbles. Some

success is now being claimed for models which recogniseirrational elements such as trader fear and the herd instinct,and which are designed around articially intelligent buyers

and sellers who interact among themselves, just like realtraders (New Scientist, 19 July). But these new models onlydeal in probabilities. They estimate that the probability of abubble and bust event is a good deal more likely than olderequilibrium economics models suggested. But of course theycant say when. Worse, while the weakness of xed parameter

models is that the parameters may be wrong, the weaknessof articially intelligent models, computer models which can

learn and modify their own parameters, is that they may rapidlybecome as complex and opaque as the system they are tryingto emulate. One may end up with a computer model whichbecomes as incomprehensible as its real life counterpart.

The observation has been made in this column before thata computer model of socialist production and distribution, whilecomplex, could be a useful contribution to socialist thinkingand would not have to factor in such unquantiable elements

as trader fear or speculator frenzy. Indeed the strength ofthe socialist model would be in its relative simplicity. Oncetotal demand and total supply are known, a small standarddeviation would sufce because in the real world, based not

on oating prices but on xed use-values and known energy

costs, production would proceedin a steady state. Only large scale

catastrophic natural events, such asdroughts, earthquakes, tsunamis orsevere storms would cause any blipin the production process, but unlessan event was so catastrophic that itaffected global production, such asan unstoppable plague or an asteroidimpact, the essentially steady andpredictable production of socialistsociety would be able to absorb it.Theres a Nobel prize waiting forthe computer scientist who comesup with the rst working model of

socialist non-market economics.

But of course, theyd only get theirprize in socialism. And, one needhardly add, there wouldnt beany money attached.

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5SocialistStandard August 2008

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t

i nting nw ingvnmnt climing t bmtivtd by umnitin

cncn wn ty g t w.T t cupl f ld xmpl:tit rui uppdly fugt tottmn empi in d t cuamnin fm mc by t

Tu, wil Biti intvntinfllwing t Gmn invin fBelgium in 1914 was justied by

luid dwing f hun wingbbi n ti bynt (www.ptcu.clnt.c.u/FWWtciti.tm). T nmytciti migt b l, in trst example, or imaginary, as in the

cnd, but in bt c t climf umnitin mtivtin wfudulnt. Gvnmnt dciddf gint w n t bi f(mtim nu) clcultinf cnmic nd ttgic intt.

Tt min tu tdy. Nv,wv, it bn m imptntf gvnmnt t win public up-pt f w by climing umnit-in mtiv. a in t pt, m ft fct undlying t clim fbictd. Tu, Tny Bli pt-dly climd tt 400,000 bdid bn fund in Iqi m gv,ltug t numb f cp un-cvd w nly 5,000.

But gin, t claims flvn wn t fct tu. oftnti i bviu bcu t tcityccud lng bf fign gvn-mnt xpd ny utg v it.Wy bing t mtt up ut now?Bitin nd t Us d n bc-tin wn sddm ud pin gn kudi villg in 1988 bcut tt tim w ti lly. T

w pcding t diptc fBiti tp t afgnitn w

md by mdi cmpign gintt ppin f wmn in ttcunty, wit vn Ci Bli pdin. T iu w tn dppd uddnly it w id.

A public movement for humani-

tarian intervention

Wt isnw i t mgnc,witin t bd umn igtmvmnt, f lly gnizdntw tt cmpign f milityintvntin wv tt m tb t nly ffctiv mn f lt-ing pvnting gncidl tcitigint m tnic gup. Cunt-ly, f xmpl, t i n intn-tinl cmpign f intvntin in

Dfu (sudn).Duing my nn-cilit pid,

I w invlvd f wil in n ft gniztin tt m up tintw: t Intitut f t studyf Gncid (IsG). My c,publicizd tug t IsG, lpd tbing t mc f Bnin M-lm by sb militi t t ttn-tin f t Us mdi nd pliticin

including, ntbly, Bill Clintn,w t tt tim w cmpigning fpidnt. Lt Clintn did intvnmilitily in Yuglvi, tug vkv t tn Bni.

Unli gvnmnt, nti-gn-cid ctivit li t IsG v quit

gnuin umnitin mtiv. Tycll w t wld t by nd l-lwd t amnin gncid nd thlcut t pcd. (Tug t w

wit Nzi Gmny, t allid cm-mnd tund dwn pl t bmb tilwy lin lding t aucwitz.)

Ty dtmind t tbliumnitin cnidtin nintgl pt f plicy ming, ttw will nt lt uc tibl tingppn gin.

any dcnt pn will ymptizwit ti lin f tugt. But ti pblm wit it. Lt u ift ufcu fm t ml imptiv fffctiv ctin t t pliticl fccpbl f uc ctin. W i t

wld? W i w? T nly wcpbl f intvning i gvn-mnt wit ti md fc. Butgvnmnt d nt xit f umni-tin pup. Ty tflt t intvn f umnitinn, nd it i cl t impiblt cmpl tm t d .

Pros and cons

Fm t pint f viw f gv-

nmnt, t xitnc f publicmvmnt f umnitin int-vntin bt p nd cn. Iti iitting nd mbing tv t fc dwn mtinl publicdmnd t intvn in plc wn imptnt ntinl intt t t in rwnd, f intnc, Dfu. on t t nd, wn yu inclind t intvn nywy fother, m imptnt n it ixtmly cnvnint t v publicmvmnt ping f intvntin.

Tt m it muc i t dumup public uppt f w, nd tt m tim yu cn nnc yudmctic cdntil by pnd-ing t public pinin.

In t c f Yuglvi, tdmnd t intvn ffctivly vBni w itd, but t cm-pign in wic I pticiptd p-pd t gund f intvntinv kv. T vidnc nw vil-bl uggt tt in kv, in cn-tt t Bni, t w nv nyl dng f gncid ( ppdt t uul tnic clning). Inkv, wv, nd gin in cn-trast to Bosnia, signicant interests

w t t, uc m ilpiplin nd mtl-mining cmplx( apil 2008 Socialist Standard).

Illusory success

It my pp t cmpignf umnitin intvntin ttty v ctin limitd ucc.

Ty win m nd l m. Butif w l m dply int t lintt invlvd w tt tiucc i lgly illuy. It i by nmn cl tt ti fft vt nt ffct f ducing t muntf uffing in t wld. In fct, byuppting nd lping t lgitimizbutl nd dvtting w tymy wll inc t ttl f uff-ing.

T pitt uful idit (uful fl) w ud t pillyWestern pacists who supposedly

vd t intt f t svitUnin, tug witut intnding td nd f t bt f ll piblmtiv. jn Bicmnt bw txpin f diffnt pup,clling cmpign f umnit-in intvntin t uful idit fWtn militim nd impilim(Humanitarian Imperialism: Using Hu-man Rights to Sell War, NY: Mntlyrviw P, 2006). agin, ti int mnt t ct ny pin n

ti mtiv.a cilit w wuld nly qu-

tin t t n Wtn. In pin-cipl uc ppl culd qully wllv uful idit f nn-Wt-n (ruin, Cin, Indin, tc.)militim nd impilim, tugin pctic ty ctiv mtly inWtn cunti.

Cll f umnitin intvn-tin nly m n in tm f fl cncptin f t ntu ndfunctin f gvnmnt. Ty fd dluin tt bcu t lity fu cpitlit wld, tby mingit d t vcm tt lity.STEFAN

Campaigners for humanitarian intervention:useful idiots of militarism

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Uk Branches &contacts

London

cl Ld b. 2nd Weds.

6.30pm. The Shakespeares Head, 64-68Kingsway, Holborn. (Nearest tube:

Holborn.) Tel: Tristan 0207 6223811Eneld and Haringey branch. 2nd &4th Monday. 8pm. Angel Community

Centre, Raynham Rd, NI8. Corres:

17 Dorset Road, N22 7SL. email:

[email protected] Ld b. 1st Tues.

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St, SW4 7UN. Tel: 020 7622 3811W Ld b. 1st & 3rd

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Pimlico. C. Trinder, 24 Greenwood Ct,155 Cambridge Street, SW1 4VQ.

Tel: 020 7834 8186

MidLands

West Midlands branch. Meets every

two months on a Sunday afternoon (seemeetings page for details. Tel: Tony

Gluck 01242 235615

northeast

n b. Contact: Brian Barry,

86 Edgmond Ct, Ryhope, SunderlandSR2 0DY. Tel: 0191 521 0690.

E-mail [email protected]

northwest

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Green Street, Lancaster LA1 1DZ. Tel:01524 382380

M b. Paul Bennett, 6

Burleigh Mews, Hardy Lane, M21 7LB.Tel: 0161 860 7189

Bl. Tel: H. McLaughlin.01204

844589

Cumbria. Brendan Cummings, 19

Queen St, Millom, Cumbria LA18 4BG

Carlisle: Robert Whiteld.

E-mail: [email protected]

tel: 07906 373975

rdl. Tel: R. Chadwick. 01706522365

su M. Enquiries:Blanche Preston, 68 Fountains Road,

M32 9PH

Yorkshire

Skipton. R Cooper, 1 Caxton Garth,

Thresheld, Skipton BD23 5EZ.Tel: 01756 752621

south/southeast/southwest

su W b. Meets every two

months on a Saturday afternoon (see

meetings page for details). Ray Carr,Flat 1, 99 Princess Road, Branksome,

Poole BH12 1BQ. Tel: 01202 257556.

Bristol. Shane Roberts, 86 High Street,Bristol BS5 6DN. Tel: 0117 9511199

Canterbury. Rob Cox, 4 Stanhope

Road, Deal, Kent, CT14 6ABLu. Nick White, 59 Heywood Drive,

LU2 7LP

rdu. Harry Sowden, 5 ClarenceVillas, Redruth, Cornwall, TR15 1PB.

Tel: 01209 219293

eastangLia

East Anglia branch meets every two

months on a Saturday afternoon (seemeetings page for details).David Porter,

Eastholme, Bush Drive, Eccles-on-Sea,

NR12 0SF. Tel: 01692 582533.Richard Headicar, 42 Woodcote, Firs

Rd, Hethersett, NR9 3JD. Tel: 01603

814343.Richard Layton, 23 Nottingham Rd,Clacton, CO15 5PG. Tel: 01255 814047.

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Marksby Close, Duxford, Cambridge

CB2 4RS. Tel: 07890343044

northern ireLandNewtownabbey: Nigel NcCullough. Tel:

028 90852062

scotLand

Edinburgh branch.1st Thur. 8-9pm.

The Quaker Hall, Victoria Terrace (above

Victoria Street), Edinburgh.J. Moir. Tel: 0131 440 0995 JIMMY@

jmoir29.freeserve.co.uk Branch website:

http://geocities.com/edinburghbranch/

Glasgow branch. 3rd Wednesday of

each month at 8pm in Community

Central Halls, 304 Maryhill Road,Glasgow. Richard Donnelly, 112

Napiershall Street, Glasgow G20 6HT.

Tel: 0141 5794109. E-mail: [email protected]

Ayrshire: D. Trainer, 21 Manse Street,

Salcoats, KA21 5AA. Tel: 01294469994. E-mail: derricktrainer@freeuk.

com

Dud. Ian Ratcliffe, 16 Birkhall Ave,Wormit, Newport-on-Tay, DD6 8PX.

Tel: 01328 541643

West Lothian. 2nd and 4th Weds inmonth, 7.30-9.30. Lanthorn Community

Centre, Kennilworth Rise, Dedridge,

Livingston. Corres: Matt Culbert, 53Falcon Brae, Ladywell, Livingston, West

Lothian, EH5 6UW. Tel: 01506 462359

E-mail: [email protected]

waLes

sw b. 2nd Mon, 7.30pm,Unitarian Church, High Street. Corres:

Geoffrey Williams, 19 Baptist Well

Street, Waun Wen, Swansea SA1 6FB.Tel: 01792 643624

Cardiff and District. John James, 67

Romilly Park Road, Barry CF62 6RR.

Tel: 01446 405636

InternatIonaL contacts

africa

Kenya. Patrick Ndege, PO Box 56428,

Nairobi.Swaziland. Mandla Ntshakala, PO Box981, Manzini.

Zambia. Marxian Education Group, PO

Box 22265, Kitwe.asia

India. World Socialist Group, Vill

Gobardhanpur. PO Amral, Dist.Bankura, 722122

Japan. Michael. Email:

[email protected]

Denmark. Graham Taylor, Kjaerslund 9,

oor 2 (middle), DK-8260 Viby J

Germany. Norbert. E-mail:

[email protected]

Norway. Robert Stafford. E-mail:[email protected]

coMPanIon PartIes

oVerseas

World Socialist Party of Australia.

P. O. Box 1266 North Richmond3121, Victoria, Australia.. Email:

[email protected]

Socialist Party of Canada/PartiSocialiste du Canada. Box 4280,

Victoria B.C. V8X 3X8 Canada. E-mail:

[email protected]

World Socialist Party (New Zealand)

P.O. Box 1929, Auckland, NI, New

Zealand.

World Socialist Party of the Uniteds P.O. Box 440247, Boston, MA

02144 USA. E-mail: wspboston@

covad.net

Contact Details

another labourparty SucceSS

Britain was the worlds biggestarms seller last year, accountingfor a third of global arms exports,

the Governments trade promotionorganisation said. UK Trade andInvestment (UKTI) said that arms

exporters had added 9.7 billion

in new business last year, givingthem a larger share of global arms

exports than the United States. As

demonstrated by this outstandingexport performance, the UK has arst-class defence industry, with some

of the worlds most technologically

sophisticated companies, Digby

Jones, the Minister for Trade and

Investment, said. (Times, 8 June)

oil and War

A group of American advisers led bya small State Department team playedan integral part in drawing up contractsbetween the Iraqi government and

another capitaliStniGhtMareBritish forces in Afghanistan have

used one of the worlds most deadlyand controversial missiles to ght the

Taliban. Apache attack helicoptershave red the thermobaric weapons

against ghters in buildings and

caves, to create a pressure wavewhich sucks the air out of victims,shreds their internal organs andcrushes their bodies. The Ministry ofDefence (MoD) has admitted to theuse of the weapons, condemned byhuman rights groups as brutal, on

several occasions, including against acave complex. The use of the Hellre

AGM-4N weapons has beendeemed so successful they will nowbe red from RAF Reaper unmanned

drones controlled by pilots at Creech

air force base in Nevada, an MoDspokesman added. (Sunday Times, June)

ve major Western oil companies to

develop some of the largest elds

in Iraq, American ofcials say. The

disclosure, coming on the eve of thecontracts announcement, is the rst

conrmation of direct involvement

by the Bush administration in dealsto open Iraqs oil to commercial

development and is likely to stokecriticism. In their role as advisersto the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Americangovernment lawyers and private-sector consultants provided templatecontracts and detailed suggestions ondrafting the contracts, advisers and asenior State Department ofcial said.

(New York Times, 0 June)

August 08 bdh.indd 8 24/7/08 15:30:16


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tt t Nhs bcm ld

nug t clim it bu plt mnt will b ucf pid t mmb f t LbuPty mting t ld in tit t glm gt undti fding gncy v Bitin.60 y f pviding lt cf t t pint f u i mtingtt cilit cn cnwldg,albeit with qualication. Likewise,

t cntinud xitnc f uc vic tic in t cw f tpuit idlgu f cpitl, ndv cntnt iitnt t tpciu dmnd f cpitlimfor prots. That accounts for why

t lt vic min t theart of the political battleeld.

F xmpl, wn t DailyTelegraphcelebrated the ftieth

nnivy f t nd f fdtining in 2004 ty ud it n xcu t v pp t tlt vic. aft ll, if tining wic ty climd w, in ffct, Ntinl Fd svic, w ntndd, tn wy v Ntinlhlt svic? (www.tlgp.c.u/mny/min.tml?xml=/

mny/2004/07/03/cmin03.xml). scilit wuld, f cu,gu t xct ppit nd tti wt t Tygp c wxctly fid f, t tt f tgd xmpl.

s fid, tt ty ty t tunit int t bd xmpl. Fllwingt mt ngtic ppnnt fcpitlim, ty mintin tt ttrun services cannot be efcient.

Ti i lin tt ultimtly tmfm t autin cnmit LudwigVn Mi, w gud tt witut

mt in cpitl (i.. pductivgd) tinl uc llctinculd nt b md. hi ltt-dy

fllw wuld gu tt t Nhs

cn nly functin bcu it cnppximt t pic f it gdfm gnl city; but, tt intt ppximtin it till cnntachieve due efciency.

ot fllw t t au-tin cnmit Fidic hyin ting tt witut ntp-nuip, t mng f ttbuuccy lc incntiv nddiv, nd tu d nt v tcutm (i.. ptint) wllty migt. T fl wuld largue that information does not ow

fly witin t Nhs, nd cnntffctivly d , f muc t mn. Ty pint t mnipul-tion of statistics and ddling to

mt cntl gvnmnt tgt pf f ti.

It bn tditinl t uwiting lit pf f tt inf-ciency, and Labour has spent the

lt tn y dptly tyingt pv t witing lit cn blimintd. T, tug, nly x-it bcu t Nhs i gvn-mnt buuccy tt im ttt vyn w it mt ld

ytm, t lit wuld bcminviibl, t w culdnt f-fd t py wuld c t pnttmlv, nd t ddd tin-ing wuld ccu unn. Indd,tt w t itutin t t fun-dtin f t Nhs, w t wd n t tt dicv ut wunlty t ppultin w wnty w ngid int bttl.

ant fvud tic bnt cmp, y, t numb fxpniv cnn in t Unitdstt t t in t Uk. altug

t Us d v ig numb,muc f tt i divn by diff-nt mdicl piiti, nd, m

imptntly, diffnt dn pii-

ti. a muc mdicin in t Usli n city (itlf ign ttmt cnnt pvid t vicquid) ti funding i ubct tptltcing pctcul dntinn-upmnip in wic big, inypct will b pivilgd v mmundn ttmnt.

of cu, t Nhs d i-u funding/llctin pblm.In it ly dy dmnd w mucig tn nticiptd, nd cn-quntly it ct m. (n.wiip-di.g/wii/hity_f_t_Ntin-l_hlt_svic) sinc t 1980ucciv gvnmnt v tidt ctify it pcivd tcmingtug cting pudmt.T pblm i, wv, f tdi-d gnt f cpitl, pudmt will nv b gd nug.

Ti cn b n fm t mcnt ppgnd. Fllwing of-ce of National Statistics report in

apil ti y t Telegraphp-climd Nhs gt m mny butpductivity fll. Ty llgd ttbillin f pund f xt invt-mnt in t lt vic ld t

10 p cnt dp in pductivity,bcu:

altug m ptint b-ing ttd n t Nhs wit mptin bing cid ut, mdug bing pcibd nd t pp-ultin nying btt lt, ti fild t mtc t incin invtmnt, pt fm t of-ce of National Statistics shows.

Tt i, ltug ll f tmnift impvmnt w c-cuing, t Telegraphpun it dclin in pductivity wic mnt

tt unl Nhs pductivitycn b impvd t pincipl f lt vic fundd ut f gnl

Who pays for

health care?This year is the 60th anniversary of theNational Health Service. Workers like it, butcapitalists dont, at least not any more. Why?

August 08 bdh.indd 9 24/7/08 15:30:16


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txtin my bcm unffd-bl, xpt wn.(www.tlgp.c.u/nw/nwtpic/plitic/lt/1576999/Nhs-gt-m-mny-but-pductivity-fll.tml)all ti bcu t ti f mnypnt t t utput civd d-clind ( t, t utput didnt i ft t incdxpnditu).

T cld, cld lgic f cpitl: ift tun nt gd nug, ifthe money could be more protably

pnt lw, tn it uld b

. T ctul cnct utcmbcm cndy cnidtinbind t mgnitud f t cpitlinvlvd. ant cnt gvn-mnt pt indict w timigt wig n t cpitlit mind.T pt, t nnul Vluddd cbd (www.innv-tin.gv.u/vlu_ddd/dfult.p?pg=76) l t cmpny c-cunt in t Uk nd c eupto show which rms have added the

mt vlu t t cnmy. It d-nes value added as: Value Added =

sl l Ct f bugt-in gdnd vic:Vlu addd cn b clcultd

fm cmpny ccunt byadding together operating prot,

mply ct, dpcitin ndmtitin/impimnt cg.

Tt i, it d nt muvlu ti f ttl cpitl in-vtd, but fctin f y ny xpnditu. F t gvn-mnt nd f cpitlit, it m-sure of how well rms are meeting

ppl di (ppntly). Fcilit, ti i vy gd tingt mu, inc, ft ll, tiw ptty ccutly w mucw xplitd f ll ttvlu ddd i u unpid lbubing lid mting li 646billin in t tp 800 cmpni.of tt, 3.5 billin i ccuntdf by lt c quipmnt ndvic. Givn tt t Nhs ctn nnul 89.7 billin it cltt w it vic t b mdcmmcilly vilbl, tn theadline value added gure for the

Uk wuld i, nd lt c

ct wuld lp up in tm f tntinl lgu tbl.

Cpitl wit it incnt div

ccumult, ccumult l up-n ll tt cpitl, ll t ptn-tial prots, all that money pouring

int t Nhs nd dm f tingit f itlf, f ting ut it ttivl nd binging t ic nd lltt ptntil uplu vlu int itwn cld viciu m. It wuldl mn nt ving t py tddd tx tt t gvnmntntc.

altug cilit cgni tbenets the NHS brings to work- w twi wuld nt v

cc t ltc, ty ffm t dnt unciticl up-pt tt t mmbip f tLbu Pty tnd t b. Ty tt ltug t Nhs uggtpibiliti f w vic f tt pint f u nd bd n ndculd b gnid, fundmntlly,it i nt f fm t mt ytmnd lng wy fm bing t funtf y Lbu uppt pclim itt b.

altug t Nhs t imu-lt mt intnlly (muc

mny big cmpni d) it ctullyxit witin mt cnmy. Itcmpt t buy dug, mtilnd vn tff. Wn t Telegraphbwil tt muc f t mnypud int t Nhs v t lttn y wnt int wg ndli, it i cmmiting vit wn bic pincipl: tt ppluld ty t nic tmlvnd gt t mt f ti ill ndbiliti tt ty cn. Nhs w- cmplld by t tt ppct f pvty t ply t m-t gm bt ty cn.

Liwi, it mut buy pitlnd pmi fm cmmcilbuild nd lndwn. It t py t fm f nt nwn ptnt t t dug mnufctu-. and it t v t pyllcl, t ccuntnt, t p-curement ofcers, the lawyers and

the whole array of staff specically

t mng ll f ti mt ctiv-ity, dding gtly t it ct.

Fut, tcnicl innvtincm wit mt div. a tBBC pint ut in pcil pt

f t nnivy, ll t nw m-cin nd bt tt bcm-ing vilbl f lt c ct

ftun, cn t Nhs ffd t pup wit innvtin? (nw.bbc.c.u/1/i/lt/7477627.tm).a wit ny t induty, cpitl-im i cntntly vlutiniing tpc f ltc. M ndbtt ult cn b civd witm nd btt mciny tt iwit v gt cpitl invtmnt.Pnl ltc lwybn ltivly lbu intniv, ndit wuld b pliticlly incnvnintt ty nd tinli tff ct tway that an ordinary capitalist rm

wuld - wit wg cut nd dun-dnci.

Ti intwving wit t m-ket system also nullies some of

t wild clim tt t Nhs i massive benet to the working class

- mny cpitlit tt mng txit witut uc ytm. hltct , f t mt pt, nt p-tinl, yu it nd ttmnt yu dnt (tug t p lngdpt t putting up wit ilmntit t d f tm t py tliv). By by c, if t

mply wnt t v wfct to perform their role, its goingt v t py f lt c. Ticn it b dn tug wgdirectly, or as a workplace benet

tug t tt. If pvidd a state or private benet, it simply

t ffct f lning t up-wd pu f wg by ww nd t py f ti nd tilvd n ttmnt. If it w piddictly tug wg, mply- wuld v t i pying tum t w w migt nvnd lt ttmnt: i.. tyd bpying tm (in t mply y)t muc.

Lt b cl, ti i n utmt-ic ffct f t wg ytm. Tppnnt f t Nhs inc(f t mt pt) in bliving ttit brings a massive benet to soci-ty. Ctinly, it lp t LbuPty by bing ttnd c-id itm t lly ti upptund nd wit wic t bt tTi. T wg ytm, tug,wic will nly tun t t w- t pic t mt will b

f utining ti bility t wcn ntc wit n nd wt ttt giv wit nt. ou lt

nhS wks m

s v mk gm

s s .

August 08 bdh.indd 10 24/7/08 15:30:16


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nd wll bing nly mtt f it nbl mply-ers to use us for prot, as can be seen in those parts of

t wld w uplu ppultin i lft t t.T lt vic, l fil t dd tt t

feature of the market system: inequality. The gures

quit tly cl. F xmpl, in t Lndn B-ug f Cmdn - m t m f t mt dpivdpt f t cunty - t diffnc in lif xpctncycn b dcd. a mn living in Bliz wd cn x-

pct t liv t b 80.2 y ld, wil l tn milwy in kilbun t lif xpctncy i 69.9 y.(www.cmdnpct.n.u/pg/g.p?PgID=621). jut mil tw m wy in sm Twn (t wd wicinclud king C ttin, nd st. Pnc Intn-tinl - wit t lngt Cmpgn b in t wld)dt t 35 pcnt ig tn t ntinlvg.(www.tcn.c.u/cmdn/2008/010308/lt010308.tml)

Ti i pt f wning tnd:Duing t pid 1972-6, t gp in lif xpctncy

btwn cil cl I nd V w 5.4 y f mnnd 4.8 y f wmn. By t tim Nw Lbu uc-cdd t Ti in gvnmnt, t gp d in

t 9.4 y nd 6.3 y pctivly. (s tbl 1nd 3 in: Lif xpctncy by cil cl, Uk Gvn-mnt sttitic. (www.uwtc.nt/ticl/m_li_bity_xcutin_0)

kill, ill, ill, illing t p, t Dd kn-ndi ng. It i cl tt t ffct f pvty, ndt citd liftyl dltiu t lt, ndtt imply ving t vic vilbl f t Nhsisnt sufcient to stop the theft of years from the work-ing nd unmplyd p.PIK SMEET

S gs ssPaY rIses DoNT CaUse INFLa-

TIoN aN INCoNVeNIeNT TrUThFor DarLING w t dlinin t Daily Telegraphf cntticl by t unpbl simnhff (25 jun, www.tlgp.c.u/pinin/min.tml?xml=/pinin/2008/06/25/d2503.xml). h w citiciing t incinglytidnt cll by t Cncll ft excqu f py tintso as not to fuel ination. Heffers

gumnt w tt iing pic v bn cud

by t gvnmnt llwing t muc mny t gt intcicultin ty cnt b tppd by lding bc wg.

W v t dmit tt i biclly igt. Inf iing pic in Bitin nt du t t fctuc iing wld il nd fd pic (inc iingprices and ination are not the same), if the government

viu t cuncy, i.. put m int cicultintn nug t m pymnt, py tx, ttl dbt,tc, tn ll pic will tnd t i. a wg pic

t pic f pn bility t w, wt Mxclld ti lbu pw ty t will i. s t blmination on wage increases is wrong.

s, mtim nty pn cn b igt. hffmind u tt nt bnxiu cct, enc

Powell, was saying this about ination in the 1960s. Hequt mting Pwll id but t wg tintplicy f t Wiln Lbu gvnmnt. Pwll w

vn cl in pc md n 20 Nvmb 1970but t imil plicy f t ht Ty gvnmnt:

Wage claims, wage awards, strikes, do not cause ris-

ing prices, ination, for one simple but sufcient reason

they cannot. There never was a strike yet which caused

ination, and there never will be. The most powerful

unions, or groups of unions, which was ever invented is

powerless to cause prices generally to rise ... in the mat-

ter of ination, the unions and their members are sinned

against, not sinning. In the matter of ination, the unions

and their members are as innocent as lambs, pure white

as the driven snow.

W culdnt g m nd id t t tim.T i, wv, pint f diffnc. hff (nd Pw-ll imlf mtim) uggt tt it i gvnmnt

spending as such that causes ination (Heffer is a madmt w wnt t duc gvnmnt pndingnd intfnc t lt t mt ip). But tiis not necessarily the case. If it is nanced by overissu-ing t cuncy, gvnmnt pnding will v tieffect, but ination is not due to the particular way the

xc mny i pnt (in ti c by t gvnmntto nance its spending) but to the fact that it has been

iud in xc.Dling my b clv tn hff giv im cdit

f. T b f ll gvnmnt i t pid v toperation of the prot system and to try to ensure that

prots are protected and maximised. So they are always

gint py inc, ipctiv f wt ntpic incing. Dling my ut b uing tcunt put in pic ptxt t itt wt i pmnnt plicy f ll gvnmnt.

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August 08 bdh.indd 11 24/7/08 15:30:17


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actcy p i lwy uful wy t dw td t b, nd oliv jm, wll nwnmdi pyclgit (t n wit t cuny

wt nd cf) cind cupl in i lttb The Selsh Capitalist(Vmillin, 2008, 14.99).

In 1976 ricd Dwin gv u The Selsh Gene,nd t tw b nt unltd. T ntin fselsh gene seemed to capture the ethos of the rise of the

Nw rigt idlgu, fllwing t nd f t pt-wButillit cnnu.

Wlf cpitlim w n t tt nd t yunggun f t nigt-wtcmn tt nd libtincpitlim w t idlgicl vngud f ttuctuing f t ltinip btwn cpitlimnd t wing cl. It i ti p f ugntcapitalism that James examines calls Selsh Capitalism.

It i t pyclgicl cnqunc f t tityyears of Selsh capitalism that

jm xmin in ti b. It i n nybl d,

nd it bing tgt m uful mtil, but itcnmic nd pliticl fundtin upct.

T c f jm pitin i tt in t engli-ping ntin t bn m pid incin t pvlnc f mtinl dit inc t 1970cmpd wit t 1945-1980 pid nd wn cmpd

with the relatively Unselsh Capitalist nations of

minlnd eup nd jpn.In tting ut ti ypti, jm pnd t

rst chapter on The Fundamental Causes of Emotional

Dit. Dimiing bt vlutiny nd tbiological factors as the only or the most signicant factor

in t pductin f mtinl dit, jm, quitigtly I bliv, tt tt:

Wn yu uvy t littu n t cu fmtinl dit, it i bundntly cl tt mt c,pp t vt mity f tm, pn t

nvinmntl fct.F jm, t mt imptnt f t nvinmntl

fct ly cildd xpinc, pcillyt invlving xul nd pyicl bu, nglct,divorce, nancial difculties, late adoption and insecure

ttcmnt. hwv, d nt g f t ytt xpinc ubqunt t u ixt bitdy not inuential, but that they combine with these earlier

xpinc.T lt xpinc tid in wit cmbintin

f n individul cil cl, gnd, g, tnicitynd w ty liv. Tu, t f dpin, nxity,lcl nd t ubtnc bu, nd cizpniare signicantly higher for someone who is poor, female

yung, immignt nd liv in city.jm bif utlin f t pint i pmbl t

i m imptnt dicuin f diffnc in mtinldit btwn ntin. Bing i intpttin nn nging Wld hlt ogniztin (Who) uvy f

15 ntin, w tt in t Usa 26.4 pcnt f tppultin uffd pid f mntl dit in tpviu 12 mnt, cmpd wit 14.9 pcnt f tNtlnd nd 4.3 pcnt f sngi (t w ngures available for the UK).

T nxt tp in i gumnt i t cmp lvlf mtinl dit btwn indutilly dvlpdnations; it is at this point that his notions of Selsh

and Unselsh Capitalism come into play. Whilst these

ntin v cmpbl lvl f indutilitin ndubnitin, t lvl f dit ig in ngup cmpd wit nt. F xmpl, fm tWho uvy, t Usa nd Nw Zlnd v n vgf 23 pcnt f t ppultin xpincing mtinl

dit, cmpd wit n vg f 11.5 pcntf ix wtn eupn ntin nd jpn. jmxplntin f ti diffnc i tt t engli-

The Selfsh Capitalism hypothesisOliver James doesnt like Selfsh Capitalism and wants toreturn to the Unselfsh Capitalism he imagines once existed.

Oliver James

August 08 bdh.indd 12 24/7/08 15:30:17


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ping ntin v undgn ift, inc t1970, in ti cnmic nd pliticl plici fm nUnselsh capitalism to a Selsh one, whereas western

Europe and Japan have persisted with the Unselsh

Cpitlit mdl.In dditin t t fundmntl cu f dit,

jm pp tt m cu f dit in tdvlpd ntin i wt f t mtilim.

This he denes as placing a high value on money,

pin, ppnc nd fm. accding t jm,t i ditinctin t b md btwn uvivl ndltiv mtilim. In cnditin f blut pvty,

w n individul bic nd nt mt, unctin, tn uvivl mtilim cn cntibut tti wll-bing. hwv, nc t bic nd vbn mt, tn ny inc in n individul lvl fmtilim, t ltiv mtilim, d nt ld t nimpvmnt f ti wll-bing.

Bing i viw n wid ng f c, tt tt t wit ltiv mtilim signicantly more likely to be emotionally distressed

tn n w unmtilitic (p.45). suc viwn t ppnt pdx tt inc in mtil

wlt nd pin d nt ult in inc inwll-bing lw t f dit v bn cntlyt ubct f numb f b uc T Paradoxof Choice: Why More is Less(scwtz, 2004), nd ummd up in t titl f n ticl by t pyclgitMily Cizntmili If W a s ric, Wy ant Whppy? (American Psychologist, 1999).

rcgniing t li w f eic Fmm (ltugti i limitd t i viw n cnumim), jmpint ut tt uc cultu f clbity, bling, TnYears Younger, It Could Be You, youre red! etc. is

bd n cting ig lvl f incuity, lw lf-tm nd ditifctin but t lf in d tnt ll t cmmditi tt will t fling.suc nd tuctu i pducd fm vy ly n,

nd viguly mintind nd xpndd nt nly byt intitutin f dvtiing nd t m mdi, butl by t fmily nd cling. It i ti cntinuuult n t lf nd t impibl ntu f tidl t, tt ult in t inc in mtinldit. ovll, ti dicuin f ltiv mtilimpvid m uful mmunitin f n ttc n tvcuu cnumim wic ccti pnt-dycpitlim.

Up t ti pint, jm gumnt bncmptibl wit cilit citiqu f cpitlit cultu,

wit it lntl di t ct fcil nd nd tcommodities to full themalthough not quite, as a

satised individual is a customer lost. However, from now

n jm gumnt tt t b l undly bdfm t cilit pint f viw. It i tt mhis crucial distinction between Selsh and Unselsh

Cpitlim, nd bgin i dfnc f t ltt. T lypmi f n ttc n cpitlim uc tun int f fm nvl, indd gitic, dfnc f fmitcpitlim, lbit wit tputic twit.

jm gumnt i tt in t engli-pingntin v t lt tity y uc mtilitculture has been produced by the adoption of Selsh

Cpitlit plici. Minlnd eup nd jpn, wv,maintained their post-war Unselsh Capitalist regimes.

In Jamess view Selsh Capitalism has four dening

ftu:(1)t ucc f cmpny i udgd lgly by

it cunt pic, t tn by it undlyingtngt it cntibutin t t cnmy;

(2) tng div t pivti cllctiv gd uc

wt, g nd lcticl utiliti;(3) minimal regulation of nancial services and labour

mt, including t intductin f wing pctictt tngly fvu mply nd difvu tdunions, making it easier to hire and re. Alongside this,

tx nt cncnd wit t ditibutin f wlt,ming it i f cptin nd t ic t vidtm, nd t u tx vn witin t lw;

(4) t cnvictin tt cnumptin nd mt

fc cn mt umn nd f lmt ny ind.In contrast to this, he denes Unselsh Capitalism

as a capitalism which limits personal prots and fosters

pnl wll-bing. T illutt t diffnc btwnthe two, he states that the USA is the epitome of Selsh

Capitalism and Denmark that of Unselsh Capitalism.

How you dene things often sets the limits of what

follows. James has limited his basic denitions to

t mt lvl, t tn t t fundtin f tltin f pductin. h i cncnd m wit wt pil f t xplittin pc dividd ttn wit t cnditin f ti pc. h d ntbt t igligt t ntil ftu f cpitlim,but intd fcu n t mngmnt f ti pc

by it kynin nn-intvntinit mn. Ti iwy i min mpi n t pliticl lvl t tnf t cnmic n. T i n dicuin f cpitlim city f gnlid cmmdity pductingnid und pivt wnip f t mn fpductin nd t xplittin f t wing cl,of production for prot and other essential features of

cpitlim.rt, pivt wnip (by pivt cpitlit

cmpni t tt) nd wing f wg nunqutind givn, nd mpi i n pticulcic btwn t mny diffnt fm wic cpitlcn t. N dubt t viu fm v imptntdiffnc fm c t, nd t ffct t von the working class are worth discussingand James

does provide some useful materialbut to restrictn viin t viti f cpitlim (und t guif bing litic) i t b cptud by t ftiimf cmmditi. Cpitlim i nt n tnl, ntulytm, but mtil umn ctin: w ct it, wb it.

I m u tt jm cnid imlf m t fcilit; ft ll d g gint Ttc, Bli,rgn, tid-wyim nd t nmi f t lft ndold Lbu. But, li tm, i nlyi min nt ufc f cpitlim nd d nt pntt t tntmy f cpitlim. a imlf put it:

T lutin i impl. Intd f cntinuing witSelsh Capitalism, our politicians must start the work of

persuading us to adopt the Unselsh variety.jm gumnt i nt muc wng nt utdicl nug. It i nt mtt f wic fm f wg-lvy i pfbl, but f tuggling f t blitin f

wg-lvy in itlf.There is no Unselsh Capitalism. By its very nature,

cpitlim i vciu, ling f vy cnc it cnt din wt it cn ut f t wing cl, but lwyw tt it mutnt ill it uc f unpid upluvlu. Indd, it mut mtim m it t fttin d t li it wn vlu. It pp if t

w i lti, but it i lt in t intt f tpit nd nt t t. a Mx wt: Cpitl i ddlbu wic, vmpi li, liv by ucing living lbu,nd liv t m, t m lbu it uc (Capital,

Vl 1, c. 10, ctin 1).ED BLEWITT

August 08 bdh.indd 13 24/7/08 15:30:17


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Is there an alternative to the market and

what is it?

t mt my b tn gnic tmt includ mt f ll ind: plc (ntncily pyicl) in wic gd, vic

nd ppl bugt nd ld, ffd f l,ctd bgind v. Mt imply mdiumf xcng, uully mny in m fm, ltugbt i fm f xcng witut mny.

T mt ytm i n wy f gulting ltinbtwn pduc nd cnum nd btwn wnf cpitl nd lbu. T in fct t wy fgulting ltin btwn pduc nd cnum:by t f mt, by t unf cntlld mtnd by n mt. T pnt mt cpitlim,

tt-cntlld cmmnd cnmycpitlim, nd cilim pctivly.

N city bn i 100 pcntf-mt cpitlit. evy umn ctivitynd itm f wlt wuld v t b mtdt m it . N city bn i 100pcnt tt-cntlld cpitlim. smpivt ntpi f mting wlwy llwd vn ncugd in -clld cmmunit cunti. T pincipl fn mt mn impl giving nd tingbd n undtnding, nbln ndtut. It i pnt in m ctiviti nd mgd nd vic in ll citi, in dmticnd vlunty w, f xmpl. But nw

(xcpt in mll cmmuniti) v pductivnd cil ltin bn dmintd by tnn-mt pincipl f cmmn wnip nd faccess. In other words, since the rst form or property

w intducd in ncint civilitin, m fm fcl city bd n m fm f pin ndmt tnctin lwy bn dminnt.

T ity f t mt wuld m fcinting

ubct f c, but t i n pc t g int it. hwv, fw wd but t ltiv tngt ff-mt cpitlim nd tt cpitlim duing t

20t cntuy my b uful.stt cpitlim pbbly cd it ig pint

wit t tblimnt f t svit Unin in 1917.Fudulntly uing t lbl f cilim ndcmmunim, t ld f t Cmmunit Pty put muc cnmic ctivity pibl, including mt,und t cntl f t tt. evntully, t cntlld,cntlly gnid, cmmnd cnmy fm fcapitalism proved less efcient than the mixed economyfm, nd nw t fm svit Unin cunti f-mt cpitlit mt t pt f t wld.

In pt-w Bitin t w imil ctingint f-mt cpitlim. Bvidg gnidpvty in t wlf tt. T iginl Ntinl hltsvic nbld ppl t gt gl nd fl tt f

t t pint f cnumptin. Ti w ild cilim, but gin it w fud. Tbt tt cn b id f uc mu itt ty w t ult f fling mnguppt f cpitlim tt it culd inm pct b btt un by t ttintvning n blf f ll cpitlit ttn ltting uncntlld mt fcpduc t muc inqulity nd dicntnt.

Tdy f-mt cpitlim i in tcndncy und t wld, dpitll it ci. Nt vyting i pivtlywnd nd bugt nd ld in mt,but m nd m induti nd vic bing pivtid. a cmpd wit

cntuy, vn dcd, g, wt migtb clld t mt f mt gwn

nmuly. T t ut fw xmpl, lbu mtf plimnty lbbyit, pin dct nd cptdunt v dvlpd. Bnuptcy pcilit ndleisure consultancies are ourishing. Sperm is marketedn t intnt. In t infmtin mt, buinill vid pvid ub uld wit cmput dting

t

mk

s s

ss,

ms

v

wk.

August 08 bdh.indd 14 24/7/08 15:30:17


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gnci nd wt fcting buux. Gntictting t fty pic will tll cutm w i t lft f ti cild. In jpn if yu cild i t f gndpnt yu cn g int t mt nd i n.

of cu, mt pnttin, it i clld, inv cmplt. Muc umn ctivity i till utidt mt. hwv, it i nt t cynicl t y tt if wy culd b fund t bttl t i w bt, uc mt wuld b ctd. Dmtic w, vlunty

w, nd iu liu lgly, but nt wlly,utid t mt. W till v t buy uldclning itm, but w dnt uully cg f ding t

wing up. abut n in ix ppl in Bitin min amic giv up m f ti p tim t lpt vluntily (tug m mply d pid wf vlunty gnitin). siu liu gullygtting tgt wit t t puu cmmn inttf plu i mtly nn-mt ctivity (tugm pticipnt v t buy ting fm t mt tpuu ti iu liu).

Wt t gd ting nd t bd ting butt mt ytm? T gd ting id t cntund bing bl t xcng ting, timultcmptitin, nd pduc nw gd nd vic. It i

climd tt witut mn f xcng, xpingt pic t wic gd nd vic bugt ndld, n n wuld b bl t xcng wt ty df mting ty ndd. obviuly, witin cpitlimti i tu: witut lbu mt (f cntlld)n n wuld b bl t ll ti lbu pw nd m living. But ti i nly bcu bt cpitlit nd

w ccpt tt lbu i cmmdity t b bugtby t cpitlit cl t tt nd ld by t w.If, intd f bing in t nd f mll minity, tmn f wlt pductin w cmmn ppty, tntt dvntg f ving mt wuld dipp.W wuldnt nd t ll u lbu pw t liv, nd it

wuldnt b pibl f cpitlit t buy it nd liv nt uplu vlu it ct.

a cnd uppd dvntg f t mt ytmi tt it timult cmptitin, pcilly if it i fmt. Ti mn tt buy p und f wtty wnt ( pudd t wnt) t t cptpic, wil ll ld ut f t igt pic.

Ti my und gd id if yu dciding wicupmt t p t f t bt bgin, but it nt gd if yu cmpting t ll yulf n t lbumt. Yu my gt ligtly btt wg ly if

yu in unin, but t i n gunt yu wntb picd ut f t mt, i.., cd nd unbl tcmpt uccfully f nt b.

a tid ttd dvntg f t mt ytm i tt mt cn b ctd f lmt nyting - in tyf vyting. I ti uc n dvntg? a cmpd

wit fudlim nd ly cpitlim, lt cpitlim fft wit mny myid ting t buy unncyting, ludicu ting nd mtim mful ting.a fut tlviin t f t btm, fin icutf t dg, tt-f-t-t cuity ytm wpnt ptct yulf gint bb. T wt bcnityi t indiffnc t l pvty nd uffing tt tmt-mditd puuit f tivi bing: ppl wyif ty mi n pid f ti fvuit p wilmillin in t wld tv.

Nw f t bd ting but t mt ytm. Iv ldy tucd n m f t wn qutiningt gd ting. T lbu mt i unli ll tmt in tw pct. T wn f lbu pwv t ll mting tt i cpbl f pducing m

tn it wn ct. and, by ving t ll tmlvt tn mting ty p, ty t tmcy f t buy, w cn dictt, wit t lp f t

tt, nt nly t tm f t tnctin but wt itt plc t ll.

Cmptitin i n ntil ftu f t mtytm. It wd winn nd pnli l.scilit my dig but wt ll cmptitin

will dipp in cilit wld (I wuld pnllygu tt plying gm nd pt w t incnquntil winn nd l cn dvlp illnd b gd fun). But t ind f cut-tt cmptitin

engendered by capitalism cannot be justied. Makingxcu f t xc f t cmptitiv mt ytmi ind f Numbg dfnc: I w nly cying utd givn by my cutm. T inviibl nd f tmt cn b cul nd, dtying nd dmgingit victim l, wil nbling it tp winn t livselsh, pointless and distorted lives.

T wt invlvd in t mt ytm itmndu. Tin f ll t ul nd mful b(often dignied by the title of profession or career) that ctd. Ppl wing in bning, inuncand nancial services produce nothing of real value,nting tt city bd n pductin f nd ndf cc culdnt ppily d witut. Cmmcildvtiing u up f m umn nd mtil

uc tn quid t infm ppl f wti vilbl. T wt xmpl f wt i w ndpptin f w. a mind-bggling $1,000,000,000,000i pnt c y n ti und t wld. Cuntldt nd inui v bn cud by wpn udt dfnd nd cqui mt nd citd p finuence in which the workers of the world have no realintt.

T tun nw t t mtl, mnyl wldtt will plc t cpitlit mt ytm. Fit, tbnc f mny, tug it i ctinly ftu fsocialist society, is not a dening characteristic of thatcity. T bnc f mny i ngtiv id. Mny

will nt b ndd mn f ning living giting t wnip f cpitl (incidntlly, mny

my wll uviv but nly in incnquntil mnygm iticl -nctmnt).

The positive denition of socialism is a society inwic t mn f wlt pductin nd ditibutinwill b cmmnly wnd nd dmcticlly cntlldin t intt f t wl cmmunity. It will nly bpibl wn mity f ppl (w) undtnd,

wnt nd w f uc vlutiny cng. Ty willw, nt in lbu mt, but t pduc gd ndvic tt ty nd ti fllw umn bing nd.

Mx nc id tt didnt wnt t wit cipf futu cp. W cn g wit im tt wuldnt ty t dw up blupint f t dtil fw t un cilit wld f t futu. T pplt t tim will dcid t dtil. But w ugt t b

inttd in pincipl, in t ingdint t b ud ndt cil ltin t b ntd int in futu cpnd t plc.

a cilit wld will nly b pibl by pplbving in p-cil wy. W d nt f fundmntl cng in umn ntu. Nn i ndd.evn tdy, wit t mt ytm dminnt nd pplencouraged to look after themselves rst, most men and

wmn bv p-cilly wn ty mn innd f lp. Mt fc fc lin t t btin umn ntu (umn bviu wuld b btttm). T building f t wld cilit mvmnt i t f t nt pivly ubmitting t t diciplin ft mt but bl nd willing t lp ct mtingbtt f tmlv nd ti fllw umn.

STAN PARKER

August 08 bdh.indd 15 24/7/08 15:30:17


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the current organisation of the world, capitalism, is suchthat exclusivity governs all areas of life. Inherent in

the system is the principle that there shall be winnersand losers, employed and unemployed, rich and poor, haves

and have-nots. The polarities of capitalism drive a minorityto the top, the vast majority to the bottom with a swirlingmass somewhere in the middle endeavouring to stay as near

the top of that mass as they are able. Life like this is a non-stop competition to hold place or to progress and denitely to

prevent regression. The individuals working to maintain their

own and their families existence are not responsible for thispolarity but they very likely either accept it, buy into it or feel

that they have no inuence over it and so remain passive

about it.To take education in a reasonably prosperous country

as one example: the system may stipulate universal, freeeducation for eleven years with additional options for thosewho judged to merit them. Whilst initially appearing to be a fair

and impartial situation with equal opportunities for all, in realitythe parents economic situation has an enormous impact onthe quality and level of education their children will receive.

Income determines the areas in which families can afford tolive.

Low income families tend to live in more run-down areas

with fewer facilities available in the schools and communities.Generally students of schools in these areas dont perform

well according to published league tables of levels ofattainment and examination results. As a consequence theexpectations of students at these schools tend to be reduced,

it may be more difcult to recruit quality staff and so the cycle

continues.Higher income families tend to live in more spacious

accommodation, tend to be more participatory in activities thatsupport the schools and the community and tend to involvetheir children in a variety of extra-curricular activities. These

more afuent areas produce schools which perform better

in the league tables, have more students gaining places for

higher education and are comprised of families which have

sufcient income and motivation to support those who could

be seen as potential wage-earners for an additional four ormore years.

Those with signicant income often choose the option of

private, fee-paying education with the expectation of smallerclasses and better examination results giving better and widerchoices of higher education. Its likely that at all demographic

levels parents will espouse their wish for their children to dowell, even if the expectations of outcome at the opposite endsof the divide are as different as their incomes. Expectations

and aspirations are mostly adapted to what are seen as

realistic according to the circumstances. These articial

restrictions which have people believing that there can only beso many winners, and therefore many losers, are divisive tosociety.

This means that by default many students are receivingless than the best education. Many students who would thriveand do very well in a different, more favourable environment

have a much reduced chance of achieving their potential.If the options and opportunities arent available to all at asimilar level then society can be seen to be restricting the

individual growth of its members, denying them reachingtheir full potential. And by doing this it is potentially restricting

the growth in all areas of human endeavour, restricting theachievements of humanity collectively.

As each individual becomes more valuable to themself

through self-development so, too, are they capable ofbeing more valuable to others and to society in general. Todeny anyone the opportunity to achieve may deny all the

opportunities that their achievement may have presentedthem. A society which encourages all its members to achievetheir full potential, with self-determined goals, is a society

b sm

mkg v Under capitalism most people dont get the chance to

develop their capacities.

August 08 bdh.indd 16 24/7/08 15:30:17


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7SocialistStandard August 2008 7

mature enough to celebrate allits individual and combinedtalents.

Communities, societies are collections of individuals;the world itself is an agglomeration of societies which havemore in common with each other than they have differences.

Fundamental values, social values are generally shared withinlocalities, values of family and community which bind peopletogether. Economic and political considerations in the current

world set-up are aspects which people necessarily seek to

utilize to benet themselves and their own within their own

codes of morality. Community values can be more important tomembers of those communities than are the values espousedby political parties which are perceived as being handed

down, prescriptive and distant from reality. Community valuesare their own. Individual communities knowthey understandtheir own needs, requirements and agenda better than do the

planners in faraway ofces. In so many situations the interests

of governments, whose policies are removed from the realitieson the ground, do not coincide with the interests of citizens.

One very apparent phenomenon in this age ofglobalisation is the growing homogeneity of groups or sections

of people as they become more and more assimilated into the

world order. With increasing frequency more and more peopleare doing, reading, hearing and listening to the same things,

having their hopes and fears directed to the same objects.Although this could be useful in terms of raising awarenessof the whole world and its affairs questions abound regarding

the value to individuals in being subsumed by the powerof the capitalist market and its trans-national corporationsbrands. Reducing all (all who can pay) to the same pattern

of mediocrity is a long way from offering allthe opportunity ofself-realization. Dumbing down of citizens by whatever meansis the antithesis of self-realization. In no way will dumbing

down help to realize parents aspirations for their children orany individuals aspirations for themself. A dumbed down

citizenry may be more pliable and easy to control but will not

further the development of humanity.

a s

In many areas affecting their lives people realize thatthere is no real choice, only an illusion of choice, a choice

between unwanted, unwelcome options presented as the onlyalternatives. Throughout the ages humanity has sought andachieved advancement motivated by desire, passion and a will

to produce something better, to succeed in their aspirations.If not to succumb to the tendency of appearing to be stamped

out of a series of similar moulds humans will continue toendeavour to claim more involvement and more choice inincreasing numbers of spheres.

Lack of meaningful choice in national elections and the

realization that politicians of all persuasions are failing torepresent voters has resulted in steadily declining numbers

presenting themselves at polling booths. The last generalelection in the UK saw a very low turn-out and recorded thelowest percentage of the electorates votes for the winning

party in many a long year. It is the system itself, not just aparticular party, that is out of favour with the electorate. In the

present electoral system not voting is both making a choiceand not making a choice. If the alternatives on offer areunacceptable then no valid choice has been offered and the

process can only be perceived as a sham. Voters, non-votersand reluctant voters all require different alternatives from thoseon offer.

When the majority does not recognize the authenticity

of the government and what it stands for in supposedlyrepresenting them (which they dont, as revealed by election

statistics, i.e. more people dont vote for the winning party

than do vote for it), when they dont hold the same opinionsand sets of values, it is quite clear that the system is not of

the people. Many voters feel a fundamental compulsion toexercise their democratic right but even a mandatory votingsystem wouldnt ameliorate the problems of the electorate

having little they can positively support. The system goesagainst the majority of its electorate and cannot be saidto be representative. The interests of governments dont

coincide with the interests of citizens. Policies are removedfrom the realities on the ground. In the world at large there is

an increasing tendency of governments to strengthen theirpowers over the individual thus weakening the power of theindividual voice and collectively weakening the electorate. This

situation is directly opposed to that of individuals being freeto seek self-determination and places them rmly outside the

bounds of participatory democracy.

One of the greatest challenges presented by a majoritywho agree that the system is not serving their interests isthat the general public is overly complacent and has become

accustomed to following diktats with rumblings and grumblingsin place of searching questioning and although they agree

on this fundamental aspect they have difculty in coming to

terms with the idea of a totally new paradigm (socialism) andare reluctant to investigate or even contemplate the unknown,

preferring to live with the devil they know, even thoughtheir perception of socialism is probably based on negativemisconceptions and prejudice. The arguments against doing

something radical about a system that is doubtless failing thevast majority are seldom based on considered evidence butmore likely on conventional wisdom, a.k.a. received opinion

or on prejudice which is simply opinion without foundation. Itis normal to feel challenged when ones opinion is put underscrutiny especially if it is apparent that the opinion has no

substance.Received opinion may have some validity, it may have its

foundations in truth but as often as not it is part truth and part

fabrication or exaggeration. Sometimes it is accepted as truthbecause it has been handed down by others considered to be

more knowledgeable, experts or those who work in a particular

eld, in which case their credentials, their evidence and their

agenda (he who pays the piper calls the tune) need to be

scrutinized before accepting their word. Credentials can be

granted (and accepted) mistakenly. A well-known gure may

be knowledgeable in their particular eld or a celebrity may

be very popular in the entertainment sphere or sports arena,however this doesnt validate their opinions per se. What

needs to be scrutinized are the motivating factors behind theiropinions and the sources of their information.

To create more opportunities, options and advantages for

ourselves and our children the general populace has to be

actively involved in all processes, not compelled to be passiveonlookers. People will only get more of what they want by

being more involved. This entails all individuals having totalaccess to and involvement in all areas which impact upon theirlives including the freedom to participate, in the knowledge

that their voices will be heard. For that we need to go beyondcapitalism.

The highest human achievements can only be realizedwhen, rst, all basic needs have been met and, second, the

individual has the freedom to pursue their objectives without

hindrance or restriction from any source. As for the rst,

basic needs such as sufcient food, uncontaminated water,

adequate shelter and access to education and health care

services are an option denied at the moment to the majority of

humanity and the dignity of the second is the prerogative of atiny minority.

Janet SurMan

August 08 bdh.indd 17 24/7/08 15:30:18


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Cloudy view from the summit

lt mnt G8 summit in tf nt f jpn w typiclf mting f t d f

tt t dy. hld in mtlctin, wll ut f igt nd undf ptt mc, nd ptctdby n my f plic, t mting

w cfully cgpd tcnvy n impin f cmptncand condencebut in the end

nly xpd t imptnc fgvnmnt ld in t fcf gv pblm iing fmti blvd cil ytm.

T tw pblm tt wt fcu f ttntin t ti y

ummit w climt cng ndpic i. Nwpp dlinqutd t vw f t d f ttt tcl bt f t pblm, ytt ticl undnt dmittd ttti i muc i id tn dn.

on bviu n wy tvarious leaders are nding it

difcult to solve such problems is

tt t i n cl cnnumng tm gding t ctinto take, which reects the different

nd ftn dictly ppd inttnd tndpint f ti pctivntin.

F intnc, nt nly tdiffnc btwn ic nd pntin gding w t cunt

glbl wming, nd t l ttc ntin mut ply, t t diffnc in t tndpintf t G8 ntin gding tiiu, nt t mntin t pliticldiviin withinc ntin.

T m t f ntinl nddmtic diffnc cm t tufc wit gd t t iingfd nd ful pic. Nt upiingly,c gvnmnt ugt t fmt pblm in mnn tt lyt mximum blm n t. Tt cu f t pic i tubeen identied, respectively, as the

ult f iing cnumptin in Cin

and India, insufcient productionby OPEC nations, or the ood of

pcultin n t cmmditimt nd dclining dll.

Tt i nt t uggt, wv,tt uc pblm culd b lvdif nly t w cl cnnuamong the leaders and sufcient

pliticl will. T dp iu i ttt d f tt (wit t bcing,wv tpid, f ti lctt)v t ut t lv pblm tttm dictly fm t cil ytm(= cpitlim) tt ty pid tv nd ptct. (and it i wtmpizing tt ti l i indd servants, t tn mt,f ti ytm.) In t wd, t

n tt u lf-tyld ld unbl t iv t lutin inot that they are shortsighted, selsh

and stupidalthough more than a

few t that descriptionbut that they

ntully luctnt t puu tt cu f pblm if it cll intqutin t cpitlit ytm.

It d nt t muc digging,incidntlly, t unt tdict ltin btwn ytmof production for prot and a

wl ng f pblm. Ti ipticully cl in t c fnvinmntl pblm. Cpitlimi ll but cpitl ccumultin

nd t intibl puuit fprot is naturally accompanied by

tmndu wt nd dtuctin.If there are prots to be gained,

cpitlit nt t btd byt lng-tm, vn t-tm,cnqunc f t ppl futu gntin. Pliticl ldlctu but t nd t ddnvinmntl pblm, wiltuning blind y t t l plydby this rapacious system of prot

cing.In t c f iing pic wll,

it i t bud f pliticint bmn t pblm witutfundmntlly clling int qutin ytm tt vlv und

August 08 bdh.indd 18 24/7/08 15:30:18


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t w

m

oF CoUrse We CaN FeeDThe WorLD jUsT Look aTaLL The UNUseD sPaCe wt dlin f cnt pinin

ticl by r Cl in t Times(26 jun, www.timnlin.c.u/tl/cmmnt/clumnit/gut_cntibut/ticl4214797.c).

Cl, uppt f t mt(w tin tt ny ppnnt f t f mt i Mxit), gu tt fd pductin flln, cuing t pnt tg, bcu in pviudcd it d bn vpducd. It i f cu bcnt tl f t muc fd bing pducd wn t millin in t wld w tving, but mnt muc in ltin t pying dmnd. evn , ixplntin xp t itinl wy in wic tcpitlit ytm w.

accding t im:T n f t fll in cl pductin v 15

y nt bn il dgdtin climt cng:wil cp yild nt incing ft ty wding in t 1960, ty v till in by 1-2 p cntp nnum v t pt 15 y. rt, t dcin pductin bn tigtfwd pnt vpductin. rmmb t gin muntin ft 1980? Ty ultd in cllp in pic ttin tun pudd gin pduc t cntct tiptin. Nw tt pic iing gin t ppit ppnd: t Fao timt tt ti y wtvt will i by 13 p cnt ult f xtplnting, putting dwnwd pu n pic nxt

y.h pint ut tt tdy:t bcgund t iing fd pic i t ing

f glbl gicultu v t pt dcd nd lf.

Glblly, l fd i bing pducd n vn l lndtn w t c in t ly 1990. T t Us, wicccding t t Fao w pducing 1,210g f cl

p pn p y btwn 1990 nd 1992 nd 1,104g btwn 2001 nd 2003. o Cnd, t n tim twld bd bt, w cl pductin fll fm1,905 g p pn p y in 1990-92 t 1,384 g in2001-03.

Givn t cunt tng pying dmnd f fd, t1990 lvl my wll b cd gin but ti wuldtify nly pying dmnd. Wt but t w cnt

py?Tug it i f fm i intntin, Cl pvidinfmtin wic w tt nug fd culd bpducd t tify ti fd nd t. of cu itwnt b, nd nv will b, und t cpitlit mtytm wic uppt. But it culd b in cilitwld w pductin wuld n lng b limitd twt cn b ld.

Cl wit:t ttl lndm cultivtd f bl cp in

2006, ccding Fd nd agicultu ognitin ft Unitd Ntin (Fao), w 1.402 billin ct - 14 millin q m. In t wd, ll t wld clnd vgtbl gwn n n quivlnt t tUsa nd lf f Cnd. a fut 34 millin q m- quivlnt t t t f Nt amic, sut amic

nd tw tid f autli - i givn v t gzing,muc f it xtniv, unimpvd glnd. T tf t wld - quivlnt t t wl f eup, ai,afic, Indni plu tid f autli - i nt ud ffd pductin in ny wy. sm f ti lnd, f cu,i dt, muntin inft, wic it cnntb ud f gicultu t ll wuld qui iigtin,ngining clnc. But vt munt f it culdquit ily b cnvtd int gicultu, but untilnw nt bn ndd.

Wt d mn nt bn ndd? of cuits been needed! What Clark means again is that it hasnt bn ndd t mt pying dmnd. scilit ytt it i ndd t nd wld ung but will nly b blt b ud f ti wn nc t uc f t etv bcm t cmmn itg f ll umnity. Tt

t nly bi n wic t cuntly unud uccn b ud t mt t fd nd f vyn, nt utf t w cn ffd t py.

ckgbks 2

pic nd mny. Gntd, lng t pic nbl,many people nd this social system

unbctinbl, vn ntul.But quic l t cnmichistory reveals that ination is a not

uncmmn id-ffct f t mny-cntd cpitlit ytm nd ttgvnmnt v d littl ucc

in bringing ination under controlnc it pic up pd.

It is not surprising that ination

cn b impibl t cntl, bcucmmdity pic nt undu cnciu umn cntl tbgin wit. simply put, pic dtmind by t mt. It i tutt buin cn t pic t

wtv lvl it wnt, but if ttlvl i t f bv blw ttf ti cmptit t buinruns the risk of losing sales or prot.

Ultimtly, tf, buin

will tnd t t t pic f tipduct ccding t t ct fpductin plu t vg tof prot. And, on a more essential

lvl, t pductin pic tmlv ultimtly dtmind

by t munt f lbu (cilly ncy btct umnlbu) xpndd t pduc tcmmditi.

In t, t vy xitnc fprices reects the fact, pointed out

by Mx, tt w liv in ttf city, in wic t pc fpductin t mty v

mn, intd f bing cntlld byim (Capitalvl. 1). Wn pic ig, t budity f ti nciccil ytm cm int clviw, but vn in nml tim uliv min py t fc utidf u cntl. T lutin t tpblm, t lt f w cncnd, i nt t bingpic bc t m ccptbl lvl(uming tt w indd pibl),but t pg bynd ti cilytm w pductin i uta means of generating prot and

ditibutin i mditd by mny.If t buin tt cy utpductin nt f t ignmt fc nd bitily tpic, tn it i fli t imgintt ntinl gvnmnt mw

p t mgicl pw t bingpic und cntl. T minin pw, d f tt nd tcnvinc t public tt ty incntl f t cnmic itutin, cn t lt cub t wt xcf cpitlim. In fct, ti cntlv t dictin f t cpitlitcnmy mbl tt xcid

by d id v n ngy bullduing t fu cnd bf i td fm t ddl int tdit.

T pwln f wldld w igligtd by cmmnt md duing t G8summit by jpn gvnmntuc w tld rut tt ti limit t wt gvnmnt cn dnw t tm t iing pic. Tfct tt ti blnd nd xcdinglybviu ttmnt w md ncnditin f nnymity p t

t incuity f wld ld w dpt t p tmlv ff up.MICHAEL SCHAUERTE

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Book Reviews

Sick Society

Stan Cox: Sick Planet: Corporate

Food and Medicine. Pluto Press

14.99.

Ti b xmin t impct nw, cnum nd t wlplnt f t pductin f mdi-cin, fd nd viu cmicl.Coxs scientic expertise makes it

m tn ut nt vlum butt dtuctin f t nvinmnt.(F m infmtin, ttp://

www.icplntb.cm/.)Indi i m mnufctu f

bul dug (w mtil f viupill nd tblt), minly f xpt.on cnqunc i tt fctipducing t bul dug pllutti lcl nvinmnt, lding tgt ill-lt mng idnt.

on tudy fund tt cnc tw lvn tim ig in villgn uc fcti tn t fu-t wy. Pp ti i glblvin f tndncy tt Cx ntf t Us: t mt vily pllut-ing fcti fund in t pt, w inbitnt nd lclgvnmnt will b m cncnd

with supposed economic benets

tn wit nvinmntl dmg.T dminnc f fcty-tyl

mtd in niml ing mit f m lily tt fd will bpind in m wy. F intnc,mt i ftn cntmintd witfc wn it lv t lug-tu. T ing f pulty bcm vt lbu-intnivmcin, wit ptitiv tin inuybing pvlnt mng w wpfm t m mll i f c-tin u ft u. Cx qut nuugn w ttmpt t pim f t dmg dn t tmply: Ty bcm wd utf ti umnity. Liv nd fmili dvttd. If t cmpny cndmliz, dgd n

inud w, ty will d it.In dditin t pllutin ulting

fm t pductin f mdicinnd fd, t plnty f t

wy in wic u nvinmnt ipoisoned. For instance, Teon makes

ucpn i t cln, but wnheated it can give off peruorochemi-cl (PFC). T v ntd tbldtm f umn nd nimlin mny pt f t wld, nd lily t ty und f vy lngtim, yt ti fty i t t vylt cntvil.

In his nal chapter, Cox looks atwy pductin f itm tt mt b uful i ftn bd f u.

rfing t Mx Capital, gutt cpitlim witut gwt i im-pibl, it t cpitlit nd fprot that is responsible for the poi-ning f t plnt nd it ppl. Iti d t muc mit in i p-pl tt w uld dvlp mllgnitin tt will fm pt fan unspecied system that will suc-

cd cpitlim. But it d tdig wit i cncluin tt wcnnt v bt cpitlim nd livbl plnt.PB

Gray Matter

John Gray: Black Mass: Apoca-

lyptic Religion and the Death of

Utopia. Penguin 8.99.

Gy min gumnt i tt unl-itic pliticl im uld b bn-dnd nd plcd by gl wic tuly civbl. It i pbblydifcult to disagree with this as a

gnl pincipl, but f cu it lldpnd n wt i gdd l-itic nd unlitic.

Quit bit f Gy dicuin iimd t t impibility f tb-liing scilit city. Wil Mx

w n univlld nlyt f cpitl-im, y, i viw f t futucity w impcticl. Cntl pln-ning i bund t fil, inc nbdy

cn nw nug t pln mdncnmy; but ti will b bd nt micncptin tt t i nofce somewhere that decides how

mny widgt will b pducd ndw. ot clim f n btt:it ut nt tu tt Lnin Stateand Revolutioni td in Mx

witing n t dicttip f tpltit. Lnin twitd Mx idf tnitinl fm f tt int viciu piv gim tt uldv w. Gy viw tt Mxnd engl w t pt f t

vlutin i bd n m mdin tl in 1850, t tn n nyf ti mtu w. In ny c,it dl wit w w uldct if bugi dmct cmto power (specically in Germany)

t tn wit t ftmt f scilit vlutin (t txt i tttp://www.mxit.g/civ/mx/w/1847/cmmunit-lgu/1850-d1.tm).

Futm, Gy clim tt ntc v bn fund f pimi-tiv cmmunim (wic i nt tueither see the Socialist Standard

f Dcmb 2006, n lif bf tNlitic rvlutin). a scilit ci-ty i llgdly impibl bcu it

wuld puu mny nd clwit t divity f umn vlu,inc ppntly mnyl ci-ty wuld b viin f ll t mppl. T wic w cn nly ytt cpitlit w yn f wld

w ty billini will utv t lump it in scilim.

and wt f t lim tt

ugt t plc ll ti uppdutpinim? accding t Gy, Tt f lit tining i Mcivl-li inigt tt gvnmnt xit,nd mut civ ll f ti glin a world of ceaseless conict that

i nv f fm tt f w. Tt f lim i it tin ft innt dfct f umn bing.In t wd, w uld ccptcpitlim wit it vilnc nd pv-erty, since people are too erce and

unnbl t liv in mny. Butt tu litic ppc i t

tug t ptnin f cpitlimnd it uppt nd t t viwtt city bd n cptin i pcticl pibility.PB

Descriptive economics

Economics for Everyone. By Jim

Stanford. Pluto Press.

Ti i vy dbl dciptin(t tn nlyi) f w cpitl-

im w, t lt in t fm wknow it at the moment. At rst sight,

Stanfords denition of capitalism

m ligt:T tw y ftu tt

m n cnmy cpitlit.1. Mt pductin f gd nd

vic i undtn by pivtly-wnd cmpni, wic pducnd ll ti utput in p fmaking a prot. This is calledproduc-

tion for prot.2. Mt w in t cnmy i

pfmd by ppl w d nt wn

ti cmpny ti utput, but id by mn l in tunf mny wg ly. Ti iclld wage labour.

Production for prot and wage

labour are indeed dening features

f cpitlim, but lw stn-fd m it cl tt tinthat it is not production for prot as

such that denes capitalism but only

pductin fprivateprot. Onedening feature of capitalism, he

wit lt, i tt mt pductini undtn t gnt pivtprot.

But ti i t ign t xpi-nc f t fm Ussr nd fntinlid induti in t Wt,

August 08 bdh.indd 20 24/7/08 15:30:18


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w t cnmy w till bdn wg lbu but w t wcntlld t stt w n ttt-wnd induti till und-took production to generate a prot

xtctd fm t lbu f t wgnd ly w. h md tm mit t ld LbuParty thinkers who identied capi-

tlim nly wit pivt ntpicpitlim, cmpltly igning ttcpitlim (wic in fct t win ffct dvcting).

Bcu i ppc i pulydciptiv, stnfd dimiMx lbu ty f vlu n tgund tt it cnt b bvddictly. It i tu tt t mtprice of goods is not a direct reec-tin f t munt f wt Mxclld cilly ncy lbu-tim incptd in tm, but ixed by enterprises adding the going

rate of prot to the costs of producingthem. But the going rate of prot can

nly b dqutly xplind n tbi f t lbu ty f vlu (n vging mngt cpitl f tttl uplu vlu pducd).

stnfd ccpt bcu itbviu tt wlt cn b p-ducd nly by w n ntu-givnmtil, but bcu i ppc ipuly dciptiv t xplinprots as a sort of ransom extracted

fm w by pivt cpitlitrms by virtue of them having private

ppty igt v mn f p-

ductin. Ti i n wy f puttingit but, witut ty f vlu

wll ty f pic, t i nwy f tbliing t munt ndlimit of prots. In fact, Stanford says

tt if t pfct cmptitin f tcnmic txtb xitd it wuldreduce prots to zero as goods would

ll ut t ti ct pic. Mxlbu ty f vlu xplin wyti wuldnt ppn nd wy tpic f gd wuld till cntinm uplu vlu.

stnfd i l wng but

bn. h m t tin tt tyimply ct cdit ty wi, tlnd t pivt induty nd t indi-vidul. Bn d indd lnd mnynd ty d v cic f w tlnd t nd wn nd ti d vcnmic cnqunc, but ty cnnly lnd wt bn dpitd

wit tm wt ty v b-rowed from other banks and nancial

intitutin. Ty d ut cyclp mny.

stnfd, n cnmit w-ing f t Cndin aut Wunin, wit n pn fm-

it w wuld li t cpitlimfmd t b wt it i li int scndinvin cunti. altug

ti i dippinting, it i tningt citicim f cpitlim ufc-ing gin nd bing givn iucnidtin.ALB

Reclaiming Marxs Capital.By

Andrew Kliman. Lexington Books,

2007

aft kl Mx Capitalw pub-lid it cm in f citicimfm pticul dictin. In Vlumon fCapital(1867), Mx gudtt t vlu f cmmditi (gdnd vic pducd f l ndprot) are determined by socially nec-essary labour-time. Prot comes from

unpid uplu lbu pppitd uplu vlu. In Vlum T fCapital(1894), Mx xplind tt

cmmditi tnd t ll t picf pductin, wic i t picsufcient to yield the average rate

of prot on capital advanced, and

cmmditi ctully ll t mtprices which uctuate around prices

f pductin (uming n mnp-li). Mx indictd in Vlum ontt in lt b wuld wt diffnc btwn vlu ndpic, i nlyi mvd fm tbtct t t dtmint. and wnw nw, tug klimn d ntmntin ti, tt t nt wiccmpi Vlum T nd ditd

f publictin by engl ft Mxdt w wittn bf t mnu-cipt f Vlum on.

hwv, mny cnmit(including m w clim t bMxit) mintin tt pic cn-nt b divd fm vlu in t

wy Mx dcibd. In cnmicti i nwn t tnfm-tin pblm, but it implictinf t pct f Mx ty fvlu. Wt t bctin? Tcitic tt by ming cupl fumptin but Mx ty.

Fitly, it i umd tt vlu ndpic mustb tw pt ytm.scndly, it i umd tt inputint pductin nd t utput ttubquntly mg mustb vludimultnuly, nd t input ndutput pic mustb qul. Wnt umptin md, tcitic clim, Mx ty f vlubcm intnlly incnitnt ndb dwn.

hwv, t umptin mitn. In Mx ty, vluand price are interdependent; prot

xit wn, but nly wn, uplu

lbu bn pfmd. T -umptin tt vlu nd pic mutb tw pt ytm impli tt

there can be prot without surplus

lbu, wic i m miint-pttin f Mx ty. and tumptin cncning imultn-u vlutin nd t qul picof inputs and outputs atly contra-dict t min pincipl upn wicMx vlu ty i fundd, ttvlu i dtmind by lbu-time.

It i bcu vlutin nc-ily invlv lbu-timett inputnd utput pic cn diff. klimnw tt t intnl incnit-nci pp wn t ty iviwd imultnu vlutinnd dipp wn nt viwd imultnu vlutin. In t,t citic v bdly miundtdMx ty f vlu.LEW

Socialist StandardBound volumes (005-007) for

5 plus postage, each, order

from HO, cheques payable to

The Socialist Party

of Great Britain

August 08 bdh.indd 21 24/7/08 15:30:19


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This declaration is the basis ofour organisation and, becauseit is also an important historicaldocument dating from theformation of the party in 1904,

its original language has beenretained.

ojt ssm ssm s s mm ws m ms sms g sgw s w mm.

d psThe Socialist Party of GreatBritain holds

.That society as at present

constituted is based upon theownership of the means of living(i.e., land, factories, railways, etc.)

by the capitalist or master class,and the consequent enslavementof the working class, by whoselabour alone wealth is produced.

.That in society, therefore, thereis an antagonism of interests,manifesting itself as a classstruggle between those whopossess but do not produce andthose who produce but do notpossess.

.That this antagonism canbe abolished only by theemancipation of the working classfrom the domination of the masterclass, by the conversion into thecommon property of society ofthe means of production anddistribution, and their democraticcontrol by the whole people.

4.That as in the order of socialevolution the working class is thelast class to achieve its freedom,

the emancipation of the workingclass wil involve the emancipationof all mankind, without distinctionof race or sex.

5. That this emancipation mustbe the work of the working classitself.

6.That as the machinery ofgovernment, including the armedforces of the nation, exists onlyto conserve the monopoly by thecapitalist class of the wealth takenfrom the workers, the workingclass must organize consciouslyand politically for the conquestof the powers of government,national and local, in order thatthis machinery, including theseforces, may be converted from aninstrument of oppression into theagent of emancipation and the

overthrow of privilege, aristocraticand plutocratic.

7.That as all political partiesare but the expression of classinterests, and as the interest ofthe working class is diametricallyopposed to the interests of all

sections of the master class,the party seeking working classemancipation must be hostile toevery other party.

8.The Socialist Party of GreatBritain, therefore, enters the eldof political action determinedto wage war against all otherpolitical parties, whether allegedlabour or avowedly capitalist,and calls upon the members ofthe working class of this countryto muster under its banner to theend that a speedy terminationmay be wrought to the systemwhich deprives them of the fruitsof their labour, and that poverty

may give place to comfort,privilege to equality, and slaveryto freedom.

Declaration of Principles

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It is a long time since the last greattrade depression. Younger peoplewill have little or no clear recol-lection of it. It occurred between1929 and 1939, coming to anend after the outbreak of the Sec-ond World War. The

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Socialist Standard August 2008