{"id":1900,"date":"2019-05-05T12:21:31","date_gmt":"2019-05-05T11:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsm.prolerat.org\/?p=1900"},"modified":"2019-05-05T12:21:31","modified_gmt":"2019-05-05T11:21:31","slug":"boeing-the-fatal-price-of-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/boeing-the-fatal-price-of-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Boeing: the fatal price of competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Boeing Boing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capitalism\u2019s supporters are always telling us that competition brings\n out the best in human beings. It is supposed to encourage efficiency \nand creativity and promote innovation. We are also informed that \ncapitalism\u2019s drive for profit creates high quality goods that most \npeople desire at a competitive price. However, as we have shown time and\n time again, the reality is rather different, and as in the two recent \nair crashes, the consequences can be fatal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 10 March, an Ethiopians Airline flight bound for Nairobi from \nAddis Abba crashed shortly after take-off, killing all 157 on board. \nThis was eerily similar to the Lion Air crash that took place five \nmonths earlier in Indonesia where 189 passengers lost their lives. In \nboth cases the pilots were unable to prevent their planes from taking a \nsteep nosedive and both planes were of the new Boeing 737 Max 8 design. \nPreliminary investigations in the Ethiopian Airlines crash absolved the \npilots of any blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Competitive pressures<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around ten years ago, Airbus developed a new range of aircraft with \nenhanced fuel efficiency and lower operating costs. They were able to \npick up a lot of orders from airlines keen to lower their running costs.\n Boeing feared that they might lose out on market share to their \nEuropean rival and were spurred to action when American Airlines, a \nlongstanding customer of Boeing, purchased a large consignment of the \nnew Airbus model. Boeing set to work to design an aircraft to compete \nwith Airbus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a plane to fly successfully without stalling, that is avoiding a \nsituation in which the angle of the plane points so far upwards it stops\n flying and is at risk of falling and crashing, the weight and power of \nthe engines needs to be in balance with the wings, the cargo areas and \nother component parts of the plane. Therefore, if you are going to build\n a plane with heavier, more fuel-efficient engines you normally need to \ndesign an entirely new aircraft. Indeed, Boeing did investigate this \noption, but they ruled this out as it was deemed to be too expensive and\n just as importantly the development timescale of up to ten years was \nconsidered to be too long, as Boeing needed to deliver the new planes \nmore quickly in order to maintain its share price. So they made the \nfateful decision to fit the new heavier engines onto the existing 737 \ndesign. The 737 Max 8 aircraft was introduced in 2017. The aerodynamics \nof the new plane were altered with the heavier engines, in certain \nflying conditions, potentially forcing the plane to thrust upwards \nraising the likelihood of stalling. To counteract this, Boeing installed\n anti-stalling software, known as the \u2018Manoeuvring Characteristics \nAugmentation System\u2019 (MCAS). When the angle of the plane is too high, \nsensors on the nose would transmit signals to MCAS, which would then \nforce the nose down. An advantage from the point of view of the \nmanufacturer and the airlines was that this automated software obviated \nthe need to retrain the pilots, thus saving Boeing and the airlines \nmoney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This set up depends on the software working correctly at all times. \nHowever, It is now generally believed that in both fights incorrect \nsignals were being transmitted from the sensors to MCAS indicating that \nthe angle of the plane was too high when in fact it was flying normally,\n thus forcing it to point downwards. The only thing that the pilots knew\n about MCAS is that they could deactivate it and use manual controls. \nUnfortunately, as the sensors continued to supply incorrect signals, \nMCAS was reactivated after a few minutes, forcing the planes to nosedive\n until they crashed. Two safety measures, a so-called \u2018angle of attack \nindicator\u2019 and a \u2018disagree light\u2019 indicator which warn that the sensors \nare malfunctioning, were not installed on the planes as Boeing sold them\n as optional extras. Evidently, Neither Lion Air nor Ethiopian Airlines \nhad decided to purchase them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Largely due to budget cuts over the last ten years, the Federal \nAviation Authority (FAA) has found itself short of the qualified staff \nthat is required to oversee the airworthiness of new aircraft and have \neffectively delegated regulation to airlines and manufacturers. One \nthousand Boeing employees had been seconded to the FAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of the crashes, the US flight attendants\u2019 trade unions \ncalled for the 737 Max 8 planes to be grounded and pledged that they \nwould support any member who refused to fly in them. Airlines around the\n world grounded their 737 Max 8 planes. The FAA in the United States \nreluctantly agreed to ground the planes a few days after the crash in \nEthiopia. Boeing shares plummeted and their image has been tarnished. \nThey are facing expensive lawsuits from victims\u2019 families. They are \ndesperate to restore their reputation and get their 737 Max 8 planes \nflying again, and are working on a fix for their MCAS software and have \npledged an improved safety manual and training for pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some do see that the market has played a role in these tragedies, but\n do not arrive at the conclusion that capitalism should be abolished. \nThey argue that corporate power should be reined in with tougher \nregulations. Will Hutton, in an article published in the Observer <\/em>(7\n April), says \u2018The Boeing scandal is an indictment of Trump\u2019s corporate \nAmerica\u2019, citing \u2018America First nationalism, indulgent free market \neconomics, Republican libertarianism and a political system in hock to \ncorporate lobbying\u2019 as the villains. It is true that Trump\u2019s government \npursues a free market capitalist agenda which is hostile to regulation, \nand Trump is in favour of privatising the FAA. He has representatives \nfrom the major banks and corporations in his government. Indeed, former \nBoeing executive Patrick Shanahan is Trump\u2019s acting secretary of defence\n and it is alleged that he has tried to enhance Boeing\u2019s contracts with \nthe government. Boeing has spent billions on lobbyists to obtain \nlucrative defence contracts and has given donations to both Republican \nand Democrat lawmakers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a government is said to embrace free market ideology, what this \nreally means is that it is committed to pursuing the interests of its \ncapitalist class ruthlessly without the impediments of workers\u2019 rights, \nhuman safety and human welfare. This is not just the case with Trump, \nbut also with Republican and Democrat presidents before him. Indeed it \nis the function of governments within capitalist society to defend and \npromote the profits of their capitalist class. Over recent years, \ngovernments have come under global competitive pressures to cut their \ncosts and therefore implement more \u2018free market\u2019 policies of \nderegulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheating the regulations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there are manufacturers who try to cheat the regulations. In \nSeptember 2015, the US Environment Protection Agency discovered that \nVolkswagen installed software in the engines of their diesel cars that \nwas able to detect when they were being tested and give out false \nemission readings to enable them to pass emission tests. These cars \nwould be pumping out more pollution into the atmosphere compromising \npeople\u2019s health. As with Boeing, Volkswagen shares fell and its \nreputation was badly damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the era before Trump and \u2018indulgent free market economics\u2019, some \ncompanies would dangerously cut corners to maintain their market share. \nOne notable case in the 1970s was the Ford Pinto car, in which the fuel \ntank was placed dangerously in the rear. This meant that if another car \nhit it from behind, the tank was in danger of exploding. In fact this \nhappened in one instance and the driver was killed. An investigation by \nthe victim\u2019s lawyers found that Ford cynically calculated that it would \nbe more cost effective to pay out damages than remedy the design flaw. \nFord was forced to pay out substantial damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ex-Militant Tendency Trotskyists claim, in an article, \u2018Corporate capitalism jeopardises air safety\u2019 (Socialist<\/em>,\n 3 April) that \u2018public ownership of the aviation industry under \ndemocratic workers\u2019 control and management\u2019 is the solution. However, \ncompanies under public or state ownership also have to compete in \nmarkets and keep their costs down. In 1966, disaster befell a small \nWelsh mining village called Aberfan when a colliery spoil tip collapsed \nand engulfed the village, including schools, killing 116 children and 28\n adults. A period of heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the \ntip which caused it to slide downhill as a slurry, The National Coal \nBoard, a state-owned company, decided it was cheaper to dump the \ncolliery waste on the mountain slope above the town. In 1987, a fire \nravaged Kings Cross station killing 31 people. A shortage of staff and \nlack of maintenance due to budget cutbacks resulted in more people \nlosing their lives. More recently there has been the tragedy of the \nGrenfell fire where the local council had the block of flats covered \nwith cheaper but highly flammable cladding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only does capitalism exploit us, it is gambling with our lives. \nState ownership, tighter regulations and software fixes cannot change \nthis. We need to stop being chips on capitalism\u2019s roulette table and \norganise to get rid of this pernicious economic system once and for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OLIVER BOND<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Boeing Boing Capitalism\u2019s supporters are always telling us that competition brings out the best in human beings. It is supposed to encourage efficiency and creativity and promote innovation. We are also informed that capitalism\u2019s drive for profit creates high quality goods that most people desire at a competitive price. However, as we have shown time…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"magazine_newspaper_sidebar_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"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=1900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}