SPC Newsletter dated 1st December 2011

[Socialist Party Head Office]

The Socialist Party of Canada

 

Secretary’s Report for December 1, 2011

 

Email 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 14^th, at

The 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 some

sharp 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

[Author]

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