Capitalism is the problem

February 2, 2011

Now we are experiencing yet another recession in the endless cycle of boom and bust that is a characteristic of capitalism, some are now saying ‘capitalism isn’t working’. They are wrong! The aim of capitalism is to maximize profits and in turn make a tiny minority of people stinking rich. That minority we suggest are now wealthier than ever and the gap between rich and poor is now bigger than ever. So capitalism is working better than ever – for the rich elite.

True democracy is government of the people by the people, but we have, a government of businessmen and millionaires run in the interests of businessmen and millionaires. We believe that the Tory approach to economics is one of free and unfettered capitalism as advocated by the economist Milton Friedman back in the 1950s. Naomi Klein outlines his vision in her excellent book Shock Doctrine. He taught that the economic forces of supply, demand, inflation and unemployment were like the forces of nature, and that in the truly free market these forces would exist in pure equilibrium. He believed, that just like the ecosystem regulates itself, the market, left to its own devices would create just the right number of products at just the right prices, produced by workers at just the right wages who in turn would buy those products. He reasoned that if there is something wrong with a free-market economy such as high unemployment or high inflation it is simply because the market is not truly free.

Friedman wrote a book called Capitalism and Freedom, which Naomi Klein states became the rulebook for economic policy in the United States and in Great Britain under Margaret Thatcher, and we believe is continuing under our current government.
These are the rules:
1. Government must remove all rules and regulations standing in the way of the accumulation of profits
2. Government should sell off any assets they own that corporations could be running at a profit
3. Government should dramatically cut back funding of social programs
4. Taxes, when they must exist, should be low and rich and poor should be taxed at the same flat rate
5. Corporations should be free to sell their products anywhere in the world
6. Government should make no effort to protect local industries
7. All prices, including the price of labor should be determined by the market

Clearly this is the agenda of the Con-Dem government. They are trying to sell everything – even our forests! Providing a free service such as a library goes completely against what they believe in. Royal Mail is to be sold off, the NHS is being privatised by stealth and our schools over time will become privately owned academies, with an end to free college and university education. This is where Britain is heading if this government is allowed to get away with its agenda.

This agenda is actually pretty much the same as that advocated by Tony Blair. This government however, has been able to accelerate the agenda, blaming the previous government for leaving them with a huge debt and leaving them ‘no choice’ but to make cuts and privatise everything. This is a LIE – one that is repeated over and over by the corporate media. The Coalition of Resistance, PCS union and others are counteracting this lie, pointing out that there is a £120 billion tax gap – money that corporations like Vodafone and Top Shop and wealthy individuals like George Osborne himself have not paid. Furthermore, the UK debt is less than other major economies and less than the £850 billion in banking assets that the UK now holds. The economic ‘crisis’ is not as bad as they would have us believe. It is also important to remember that that after World War 2 the deficit was 250% of GDP and the government of the time spent its way out of recession by creating the NHS, the welfare state and building social housing creating jobs

We believe that capitalism is at the root of all societies problems. Capitalism is driven by competition for profits, not by what people need, which in turn leads to wars and environmental damage. It is a system that denies people work when there’s work to be done and lets people starve when they could be fed. Under capitalism there has always been and always will be a significant section of society that is unemployed. Capitalism does not provide employment for everyone – that is not its goal.

Capitalism = chaos. Fuel and food prices, the value of your house, the interest on your savings are continually fluctuating. Just a rumour on the stock market can send share prices crashing or worse still bring down a company and throw hundreds of people out of work. Many people fear losing their jobs or their home. We are in a crazy situation where people are working very long hours to make ends meet, many of them suffering from stress and depression through overwork, while the government axes thousands of jobs in the public sector leaving those left in work trying to provide the same level of service. They are doing this at a time when there are already 2.5 million unemployed. Cutting jobs will damage the economy and increase the deficit, creating jobs will boost the economy and cut the deficit.

Milton Keynes council is being forced to make a 34% cut to its budget. We would argue that the council should refuse to accept that as an undemocratic mandate. We need to put pressure on the council to refuse to accept any cuts. We like to think they wouldn’t accept a 90% cut, or even a 50% cut, so why is 34% acceptable? A line needs to be drawn in the sand. . We all need to stand together united and say enough is enough and fight for every penny and every job.

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This entry was posted on February 2, 2011 at 13:52 and is filed under Local Feeds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

2 Responses to Capitalism is the problem

michael on June 28, 2011 at 22:51

great article. yes capitalism leaves disabled people out of work because employers want perfect people in work created by capitalist ideas despite most wanting to work and people to overproduce and waste food and other things despite the fact we dont need it while others starve. yet share the work out and people would be less stressed and could do other important things. stop producing so much and people would concentrate on other important things and more free time. we are living long apparently but why cannot people like in other countries look after their own relatives because we have no time and working too much. cheers

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Leon on June 30, 2011 at 00:22

Great stuff. I asked an odd ‘fairweather’ scab at work yesterday what he thought would happen if our society suddenly had nil unemployment. Christ, he was so brainwashed into the ‘Have’s and have not’s’ on the back of his bloody breakfast cereal packet, he could not grasp the question. Still chomping the idea that ‘Ready Brek’ for all is what our political masters also want to eat.

Austerity, particularly unemployment, is a political weapon. Thatcher found it big time. Imagine it, no unemployment. Bloody hell, employers might actually themselves have to start competing with each other again. God forbid, the Monte Carlo school of employers may, just may, have to start paying a living wage again to attract employees. Now imagine that.

Paying a living wage without the gross Govt subsidy of tax credits and the rest. (As you say Thatcher, Govt is the taxpayer. You evil manipulative bitch). Benefit cheat? Which are we talking about exactly? The many who resort to it through sheer desperation. Or the thousands of right wing employers who scrounge off the Govt (you and me) every day. What’s more they now own the fucking Govt.

Unemployment and austerity is an essential ‘wheeze’, a weapon, that keeps the buggers in power. Bloody wake up. Any vote in the UK now supports unemployment as a political weapon. Any Govt would be lost without it.

If you think any of the major parties really want full employment in the UK, may I suggest you question your choice of breakfast cereal.

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