{"id":247987,"date":"2023-10-28T14:37:15","date_gmt":"2023-10-28T13:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/?page_id=247987"},"modified":"2023-10-31T22:09:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T22:09:04","slug":"november-2023","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/november-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"November 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/div>\n
\n\t\t

Today\u2019s take-away<\/h3>April 15, 2026<\/small>

Most crude oil (88%) refined in the US<\/a> comes from fields in the US, Canada and Mexico, all a long way from the chaos currently being wreaked by the latest Middle East war. Yet average retail petrol prices in the US have risen by over 30%<\/a> since January.<\/p>\n

The reason?<\/strong> Along with every other major raw material, crude oil is subject to a world market price, so a major disruption to supplies, be it caused by war or an economic bottleneck, will have a global effect.<\/p>\n

The lesson?<\/strong> National governments (however big the country!) have little influence over the world market. In particular, any politician who promises to control prices is lying through their teeth.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Poverty grows<\/h3>April 8, 2026<\/small>

There are over 13 million people in the UK living in relative poverty<\/a> (which means in a household with income below 60% of the average income). This includes four million children and nearly 1.7 million pensioners. The figures are for the year to March last year, during which the total rose by half a million.<\/p>\n

The Work and Pensions Minister described the situation as \u2018wholly unacceptable\u2019. This is right of course, but, like all politicians, she has no understanding of the causes. It\u2019s due to capitalism, a system which, in the midst of potential abundance, relies on poverty and inequality as a means of coercing people into wage labour and hence exploitation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Are we slaves?<\/h3>April 1, 2026<\/small>

Referring to employment as wage slavery is sometimes seen as an exaggeration. After all people who work for a wage or salary are not owned by other individuals and their labour is not enforced by law and violence. <\/p>\n

Capitalism is seen as providing freedom. But is it anything more than an appearance of freedom? While you are free to walk away from your job, you can\u2019t walk away from the need to survive, the need for food and shelter. That\u2019s what makes you a wage slave. The system holds you in place not with chains of iron as in the past but with chains of necessity. Only the cooperative, moneyless, free access society that socialists advocate will remove those chains.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Stealing the common from off the goose \u2026<\/h3>March 25, 2026<\/small>

The UK government has just published the first ever Land Use Framework for England<\/a>, in which joined-up thinking, better mapping tools, and free access to ownership data will supposedly rationalise legacy chaos so that “land can support house building and infrastructure, a resilient food system, climate mitigation and thriving nature.”<\/p>\n

The framework enthuses about community consultation and partnerships but never, of course, questions the very idea of ownership. 10 percent of land is held in secret and just 8 percent of England is public access. Capitalists got their start by stealing the land off the people, worldwide, forcing generations to live as landless wage-slaves. We will never be free until we take the land and other resources back and abolish capitalist ownership laws.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

If only …<\/h3>March 18, 2026<\/small>

… there existed an international organisation that could protect the world against the scourge of war, that acted in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, that settled international disputes by peaceful means.<\/p>\n

Wait … there\u2019s been one around since 1945, called the UN. But its solemn Charter<\/a>, from which we nicked the verbiage above, is just fantasy. The real world under capitalism<\/a> is better described by a nasty piece of work, Stephen Miller, who seems to have a big say in US policy at present:<\/p>\n

\u201ctalk all you want about international niceties and everything else, but we live in a world … governed by strength … by force …by power.”<\/p>\n

Yep, under capitalism. might is right.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\tNext<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"First time? START HERE \u27a4<\/strong><\/a>
\nSocialism – it may not be what you think…<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
NOVEMBER LIVE \u27a4<\/strong><\/a>
\nMeeting on now? Zoom link here<\/a>
\nLoads of talks, debates, other audio stuff here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"\"FORUMS, BLOGS, CHATS \u27a4<\/strong><\/a>
\nWant to chat, discuss, ask a question, disagree? Yes, this is<\/em> the right room for an argument…<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Book Reviews<\/a><\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\n

Go here for annual subscriptions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n \n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n \"spgbCard\"\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n
\n\tSee full catalogue<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First time? START HERE \u27a4 Socialism – it may not be what you think… NOVEMBER LIVE \u27a4 Meeting on now? Zoom link here Loads of talks, debates, other audio stuff here FORUMS, BLOGS, CHATS \u27a4 Want to chat, discuss, ask a question, disagree? Yes, this is the right room for an argument… Book Reviews   … <\/p>\n

Read more “If only …”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2680,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-fullwidth.php","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-247987","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/247987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247987"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/247987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248019,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/247987\/revisions\/248019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/spgb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}