{"id":1930,"date":"2019-05-05T13:56:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-05T12:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsm.prolerat.org\/?page_id=1930"},"modified":"2019-05-05T13:56:57","modified_gmt":"2019-05-05T12:56:57","slug":"socialist-review-no-03-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/socialist-review-no-03-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Socialist Review No. 03"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Population\n and food supply<\/strong>

\n The hysteria over the so called population explosion have\n caught up\n with us here in Jamaica. The posters are all over the place\n telling\n young women “you don’t have to get pregnant”. On a different\n level we\n are told by scientist that population growth is so\n outstripping food\n supply, and living space, that we will all starve to death if\n we dont\n reduce our birth rate in a hurry. The present world population\n is\n estimated at 4 Billion, with a 2% annual increase.

\n Against the background of this increased population, and the\n millions\n of people without enough to eat, observe these two\n occurrences. The\n Canadian Government will pay fanners C$100 million not to grow\n any\n wheat this year 1970. The reason for this action in a hungry\n world, is\n that the major wheat producing countries grew more than they\n could sell\n profitable. They met and agreed that there should be a cut\n back in\n world wheat production. Farmers within the Common Market are\n now being\n paid to destroy some cows. As one official explained “Europe\n is\n drowning in a sea of milk, and a morass of butter”. The reason\n again is\n the same, production exceed profitable sale.

\n When scientist speak of the population trend, and food supply,\n they\n usually quote some figure, like the production of grain in\n India last\n year. They rarely touch on the problem of getting this grain\n into\n hungry stomachs. The problem of hunger today is not our\n inability to\n produce enough. The problem is, without money you cant partake\n of\n anything. The fact that people are in need is of no\n importance. Things\n in a Capitalist society are produced for sale not to satisfy\n the need\n of people. It is the inability of this system to distribute\n the wealth\n it can create that cause a hunger problem throughout the\n world. Waste\n in the midst of want is one by product of Capitalism, this is\n the only\n way it can operate.

\n There really exists a population problem, but only for the\n present\n Capitalist system. Socialism, a system based on production\n solely to\n satisfy need, would have no trouble feeding twice our present\n population. We suffer from the effects of congestion, on the\n one hand,\n while there are large land areas with few inhabitants, on the\n other.\n All because people must seek work in order to share in the\n wealth they\n create. The degree of hunger, and starvation in the world is a\n glaring\n example of the obsolete nature of our social system, to serve\n the need\n of the majority. How many realise this?

\n Efforts to curb population growth is more likely to meet with\n failure,\n especially in countries like Jamaica. To many, their final\n revenge on\n society will be to have as many children as possible, because\n this is\n what the establishment does not want. An act designed in some\n way to\n disrupt a society that have robbed them of any worth while\n life. Only a\n world where a man’s life wont be taken up completely in the\n process of\n making ends meet, can effectively control its population. The\n world is\n as ready as it can be for socialism, it is only the lack of\n Socialist\n understanding by the victims of Capitalism the working class,\n that\n prevent this. Why not take steps to understand Socialism, and\n realise\n that the way we live, need not remain so forever. Conditions\n won’t just\n change, by themselves, it is up to you to make the change.

Mason <\/strong>



Listen to this Jamaica<\/strong>

\n Heath has finally admitted that apartheid in South Africa\n would break\n down for economic reasons.

\n At the meeting with President Kaunda and his O.A.U.\n (organisation of\n african unity) delegate on the question of Britain selling\n arms to\n South Africa the British “Prime Minister refuted the African\n idea that\n a racial showdown was inevitable by saying that apartheid\n would break\n down for economic reasons” -The (Manchester)Guardian Oct.\n 17.1970. This\n is what the S.P.G.B. and companion Socialist Parties have been\n saying\n for a long time now. Capitalism just cannot work if it keeps\n black and\n white workers separate. It is economically undesirable. Labour\n is\n needed to keep capitalism alive, whatever the colour of the\n workers\n skin.

\n Heath comes up with the idea that apartheid is economically\n (note, he\n doesn\u2019t take it from a moral point of view but from a\n capitalist\n economical view) insufficient and then thinks he’s the pioneer\n of the\n view. How wrong he is – if he’d only take time off to read the\n Socialist Standard he’d soon see how “late” he was with that\n “new” idea\n of his.

\n What’s Britain going to do? Export arms to South Africa for\n supposedly\n external use at the risk of being exiled by most of Black\n Africa and\n the “pure hearted moralists” of the commonwealth and other\n countries\n who think “its awful”. But what can Britain do? That country’s\n capitalist have got to protect their capitalism’s trade route\n around\n South Africa. Heath main argument is that Russia is trying to\n block\n Britain’s trade route around South Africa. Mind you all Russia\n has done\n so far is drop anchor in the Indian Ocean. What could this\n really mean?\n I think that Russia is playing that old cat and mouse game.\n Perhaps\n they want Britain to think what she’s thinking now, so that\n she will\n export arms to South Africa. Or maybe Heath’s just making a\n mountain\n out of a mole hill, at the appearance of the Russian Navy.\n Anyway\n Britain’s capitalists are scared to death that Russia is going\n to pinch\n “her” trade route. Another interesting point is that Heath is\n trying to\n get support from the people by saying that we should export\n arms to\n South Africa because the Russians are after our trade routes;\n what\n propaganda! Thank goodness we know better than to believe\n that.

\n Capitalist are always fighting capitalist (yes, including\n Russia and\n China so called “communist”. They dont know the meaning of the\n word)\n and workers are fighting workers. Now you can understand\n capitalists\n fighting because capitalism couldn’t work any other way but\n workers\n against workers is not so easily understood. Their common\n enemy is\n capitalism, whatever country, or so-called “race” that they\n come from.\n Workers can unite instead of bickering, and bargaining with\n capitalism.\n Why should we be a part of capitalism and the dirty tricks it\n carries\n out. We can so easily unite and join together for Socialism.\n Its no\n good fighting only for more money, and petty reforms because\n whatever\n we get in our pay packets wont be enough to cover the ever\n rising bills.

\n This world could be united, with no frontiers, no wars, no\n famine, and\n resources available to cure every ill. Money would be no\n object,\n because there would be no money. Money is the root of all evil\n and\n capitalism is the maker of money. Money, evil and capitalism\n go hand in\n hand, and you can’t abolish one without abolishing the other\n two as\n well. Lets work for this world of abundance together.

S. Ellis.<\/strong> Member of\n the S.P..B.




No nuggets for us<\/strong>

\n The Nuggets for the needy drive is well on its way. The\n expected target\n this year is $l00,000. This organisation have now become the\n chief\n collector, and distributor for charity throughout the island.\n Certainly\n their task is not an enviable one, as the army of beggars in\n Kingston\n alone, increase almost daily. There are hundreds more whose\n lives are\n very dependent on charity.

\n We do not doubt the good intentions of those who seek to help\n their\n fellow men through charity. We would like to ask them however;\n Is this\n the best way to do it? Purely on the basis of results, charity\n should\n incite some examination as to its function in society. Since,\n the more\n you give, the need for more seem to increase. The condition it\n set out\n to improve, actually get worse. The need for charity is an\n admission\n that something is very wrong with society, we should try to\n correct\n this wrong. People generally, are made to feel guilty about\n these\n things, they usually give without really wanting to. This\n feeling of\n guilt is the result of a lack of a philosophical base to voice\n an\n objection. People feel it is all wrong, but it would seen\n inhuman to\n say so. Charity humiliates those who receive it and stifles\n protest.\n Socialists are just as concerned about people, and in fact\n more so as\n anybody else, that is why we say, create a world where there\n would be\n no need for charity. Let us change from production for sale to\n production for use.

\n Those who are really interested in the poor and handicapped,\n surely\n would prefer to live in a world where everyman’s material need\n is\n guaranteed, and therefore free from the need to be pitied. The\n knowledge of production are so advanced that production for\n use has\n been a practical thing for many years now. Against the\n background of\n how we could live, charity, regarded as a social virtue, is\n really a\n crime against mankind.

\n The organisation controlling “Nuggets For The Needy” have come\n in for\n some criticism, but for the wrong reason. There have been\n whispers of\n mismanagement of the funds collected, and others have been\n demanding that they show how\n the money is spent. People should not concern themselves with\n side\n issues, it is the reason why we need such an organisation that\n they\n should question. They should ask themselves, why should the\n noblest\n form of brotherhood be charity? No we shan’t buy any nugget,\n and by so\n doing we are really helping the needy.

\n Please quote me:
\n Life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by\n life.
\n Karl Marx.

\n Capitalism generates war because it is organised in such a way\n that its\n wealth can only be produced, and distributed by a process of\n competition.
\n Socialist Standard.




Violence in society<\/strong>

\n The rapid increase in crime is causing headache for the ruling\n class\n throughout the world. In Britain, and America, for instance it\n has\n become an important political issue. Here in Jamaica we are\n witnessing\n a dramatic increase in violent crime, many of them ending in\n murder.\n For the first time in memory people are really scared of\n walking the\n streets. Small business people are even more worried, as they\n are a\n constant temptation to the hold up man.

\n The Police are blamed in some quarters for lack of zeal, while\n others\n accuse the courts for being too lenient. The idea is that the\n certainty\n of punishment for wrongdoers, no longer exist. Important\n witness have\n suddenly changed their statement, others have even\n disappeared. The\n feeling exist that criminals have been getting away with\n murder! One\n thing is certain however, about 90% of all crimes are against\n property.\n The belief that poverty caused crime wont be around much\n longer, you\n need only look at the crime statistics in America to realise\n why. In\n fact the reverse would be more true. The more Capitalism\n develop and\n increases the living standard for some, it make many more\n conscious of\n material things, but frustrated in their efforts to get them.\n Criminals\n are as much in favour of Capitalism as any industrialist; they\n are only\n interested in adjusting the balance of possession in their\n favour, and\n are prepared to do so with a gun.

\n Regardless of the measures adopted, violent crime seem to have\n come to\n stay as a permanent part of modern life. In fact many of the\n legitimate, and in fact essential business enterprises, incite\n people\n to crime. Take advertising. How can you escape from hearing,\n or seeing\n something or other that is essential for you to have, if you\n want to be\n on the “in crowd”. The pressure to get new things, and replace\n old ones\n have distorted any sense of value. Since getting is the thing,\n how one\n gets hardly seem to matter.

\n A society based on private property, is bound to have crime\n against\n property. It really is one more example, that our social\n system is not\n even capable of making us achieve social harmony. Socialists\n say that\n the only way to eliminate crime, is to end the present\n capitalist\n system throughout the world. The conflict between those who\n possess,\n and those who do not, would end. The motive behind crime would\n be\n removed, it would therefore cease. To end the present system\n however,\n demand your understanding of how society is as it is operated,\n what\n socialism is, and your conscious effort to convince others to\n your\n belief. We have made the first move, its up to you now.

DEXTER.<\/strong>



News and views<\/strong>

\n There are whispers that the government might call a snap\n election.\n Since the opposition leader is fairly new to his post the\n Labour Party\n might consider this to their advantage. Whether this is true\n or not there\n is a definite increase in political activity among the two\n parties\n lately. Recent show of strength by supporters of both parties,\n outside\n Gordon House, show how little the general public have learned\n from\n their experiences. It seem that regardless of how frustrating\n life\n became their love and loyalty for a particular leader\n increases. The\n extent of hero worship on these occasions is quite sickening.\n It is\n almost as if political affiliation is divorced from personal\n interest.\n People are still far from realising that politicans are not\n elected to\n serve their interest, but to run capitalism which is not the\n concern with\n them at all. This is not the politicans doing it, is the\n system that\n control his actions. Another aspect of political life that is\n very\n disturbing specially at election times, is the regular violent\n clashes\n among workers of opposing parties. This perhaps more than\n anything else\n show the degree of ignorance that exists. It is exactly like\n slaves\n fighting among themselves, to have a particular master. It is\n sad to\n think of the many people who have, and those who will waste\n their lives\n fighting for something that only regard them as tools. It is\n sadder\n still when one realises that it need not happen.

\n Gambling, the giver of substance to men daydreams, has really\n caught on\n in a big way. With nearly a thousand betting shops, and the\n figure\n still rising, things are looking quite rosey for the bookie.\n Workers\n gamble daily on English races with the hope that they will get\n and\n escape their poverty. The fact that this habit sink them more\n into\n poverty, cant really destroy their vision of escape. The\n consequence to\n home life can be imagined. As Capitalism becomes more complex,\n it\n brutalises, and destroys more people, we come to live the way\n it\n function, wrong priorities, wrong goal.

\n The sugar industry is really at a crossroad. With low world\n prices,\n high cost of production, and the uncertainty of the\n preferential\n agreement with Britain if that country enters the Common\n Market. The\n Government is doing all it can to persuade Britain to consider\n their\n interest in the negotiations. The fact that Britain needs the\n Common\n Market, more than they need Britain is apparently ignored. The\n U.K. is\n just not in the economic position to get any major concession.\n Our\n rulers appear to be more interested in keeping the\n commonwealth idea\n alive than the British Government! They continue to talk of\n their 300\n years as a colony. This should qualify them for something they\n hint.\n Our politicans talk as if they would like the British ruling\n class to\n give their problems equal status with their own, in Britain’s\n effort to\n get into Europe. If this is so, something quite unexpected is\n in store\n for them. Each country is forced by our social system to seek\n the best\n for itself, and disregard any other consideration. This is a\n law of\n Capitalism. If nothing else, independence has helped to expose\n our\n economic dependence, such is the nature of our world.

CREMO FORD.
\n (Kingston, 1970)
\n
\n <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Population and food supply The hysteria over the so called population explosion have caught up with us here in Jamaica. The posters are all over the place telling young women “you don’t have to get pregnant”. On a different level we are told by scientist that population growth is so outstripping food supply, and living…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"magazine_newspaper_sidebar_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1930","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1930\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}