2 responses to “Environmentalists and the British Airways strike”

1. 

   Anthony Brain

   March 25, 2010 at 9:52 pm

   What does the fact that 90 Industrial Relations academics writing in the Guardian supporting the BA workers strike represent? by Anthony Brain

   The economic depression from 2007 and Capital’s attempts to make workers combined with middle class elements pay for this economic crisis is deepening a radicalisation in Britain started in 1997. This blog and my earlier blog called “Brain on Trotskyism” has analysec all these trends towards radicalisation and reaction since writing from 2007 onwards. There have been reactionary trends until recently with the Tories having a big poll lead. Deep periods of economic crisis sharpen up class conflicts. Cameron has been exposed despite his slick manouvres as an un-reconstructed Monetarist and ant-working class.

   It is a very positive development that workers are resisting at the beginning of major attacks on their standard of living. Duing the 1929-39 depression it took the workers years to recover from similar attacks. There is a different balance of forces now since the 2003 Iraq war which has strengthend tendencies strengthening revolutionary upheavals worldwide. Before the October 1929 American Stock Market crash there were three defeats of the world revolution (1923 German revolution never came to fruitition; the second Chinese revolution between 1925 and 1927 was crushed; and the British workers lost the 1926 General Strike). Stalinism’s rise in the Soviet Union assisted these defeats which in turn strenggthened their political counter-revolution within the USSR. It was all these setbacks which played into German’s Fascism’s hands.

   Ernest Mandel a Belgium Trotskysist correctly analysed there was a radicalisation within Western Europe against Fascism outraged at what German Fascism did to the organised working class there. This process culminated with the 1936 sit-down strikes by millions of French workers. There was also a pre-revolutionary crisis broke out in Spain which forced Capital to wage a civil war against it through Spanish Fascism. Mandel argued this 1934-37 upsurge in workers struggles meant even if German Imperialism had invaded other European countries there would have been such an upheaval provokd as a result it might have provoked a pre-revoltionary crisis in Germany. If you read the American Trotskyist Magazine called New International wrote articles during the late 1930s showing how the workers in Germany wanting a 35-hour week which they had won in France which the Nazi leadership were not prepared to concede. The revoluionary feeling was so strong by workers that the German Nazis had to make limited concessions by allowing German workers to have holidays. Also appearing in New International was a report from Czechoslavkia showing massive strikes there a year or two before German Imperialism invaded that country which included even German Sudaten workers. The Czech Communist Party it stated even had a mass base among those Sudaten workers. Due to failure to make a Socialist revolution in Czechoslavakia the Sudaten masses went in behind German Imperialism in 1938 due to counter-revolutionary forces growing.

   There was a period of reaction in Western Europe after 1937 due to the Popular Fronts in Spain and France playing into Spanish Fascism’s hand. The French Bourgeoisie by 1938 went on the offensive against the workers, reversing in particular the 35 hour week won in 1936. All these defeats allowed German Imperialism to expand eastwards which eventually led to World War 2 breaking out in September 1939. The Neo-Conservatives (Neo-Cons) due to their mistakes in launching two wars and using brutal methods such as torture has weakened the creditability of Capitalism and reversed some of the gains won by Imperialism in 1989. This tendency emerging in American Imperialism was not a sign of American Imperialism’s strength but came out of a need for them to expand or lose their super-profits. Despite the fact that the Neo-Cons did not destroy Bourgeois democracy there was a similar tendency for Imperialist expansionism by Germany due to similar crises accumulating. One major reason for the international resistance to Bushism and a radicalisation it eventually led to in America was that they had not defeated their own working class and had not overcome the obstacles to them dominating the world. This is why Fidel Castro made a major strategic error to call Bush a Fascist.

   There are severe limitations to the health bill based by the House of Representatives last sunday. Despite that qualification it represents a move towards 95% of the population recieving health care. Trotskyists oppose it being based on private insurance and that is not universial enough, We would also oppose the capitulation to the right wing on Federal abortion spending. Some on the left have had an ultra-left line of not recognising what the Liberal Bourgeoisie in making this limited reform is trying to make conessions to the masses who hate the bankers. They have used this health bill in order to incorporate them into Bougeois politics to stop a Labour Party forming and stop any radicalisation deepening into a revoluionary upheaval. David Ellis is correct that Trotskyists have to support any move towards recieving health care however inadquate because unless you do play into the hands of Liberal Bourgeois elements isolating ourselves from millions of workers and middle class elements who see it as a step forward. Within this framework Trotskyists call on the workers to fight for an improved health service. Out of these struggles Trotskyists fight for workers to break from the Bourgeois parties and estabish their own party which we fight to become revolutionary. The only reason I commented on this health bill in America is that it is going to have a hugh impact in Britain and Western Europe. When the Tories call for massive cutbacks and with Darling annoucing 4.5 Billion pounds of health service cuts, we should point out that mass struggle has forced Amercian Capitalism to spend over the next ten years 970 billion dollars on health care.

   There have been strikes breaking out in Western Europe during the last year against the impact of a growing economic depression. In Holland; Austria; and France a polarisation is beginning to occur between Social Democracy and Fascism. This could be very explosive for Capitalism. Social Democracy’s rise represents a growing radicalisation against Capital’s attacks. It is a political expression of workers beginning to use their traditional organisation to fightback against Capitalism. Mandel argued that it was the historic role of Fascism to implement the kind of cutbacks which are being suggested in Western Europe. After World War 2 Capitalism is less likely to experiment with Fascism. If Fascism’s growth gets out of control with the workers being more militant it could cause massive revolutionry upheavals which could threaten Capitalism’s existence. There would only be a pre-revolutionary crisis in one Western European country it would spread like wildfire. The deepening radicalisation within Western Europe and Britain could influence the middle class to move leftwards. Trotskyists have to break tens of millions Western European workers from Social Democracy towards revolution which could begin Socialist Revolutions led by workers, supported by the lower middle classes. There have been enormous opportunities for Trotskyism since the 2003 Iraq War which have been missed. This is why the ex-Trotskyists are in crisis and breaking up. Authentic Trotskyism could re-emerge out of this radicalisation.

   The strikes by BA workers; the RMT strike against cutbacks in safety; and civil servants strike represents a turning point in workers’ radicalisation. There have been middle class elements hit by the economic crisis since 2007 with tens of thousands of them made redundant by their tens of thousands in banking. Both millions of workers and sizeable middle class layers are threatend by the cuts in public services. This is why there have been massive political changes in support for different parties in opinion polls. Blairism and Brownism played into the Tories hands until they nationalised Northern Rock, and one or two other banks in October 2008. Until then Cameron tried to win the election by coning millions pledging to 2009 that the Tories would match Labour spending on public services. Since then he has called for massive cutbacks in public services.

   Cameron’s call for crossing picket lines has played into the Labour Party’s hands. Another tactical error he made in linking UNITE with the Labour Party is that he has told millions of workers and lower middle classes that they will have more influence with Labour being in power due to it being harder for them to take on the unions. It is interesting on tonight’s six o’clock news that the BBC were trying to reduce Labour’s majority by pointing that there are those in the government would want to cut more than Thatcher did on public services. There are some financial Capitalists reported in today’s Telegraph who think the Labour Party may stay in power.

   The Ultra-Lefts in not seeing that Labour remains a Social Democratic party (with the Bourgeois elements weakened in that party,and be possibly destroyed after the next general election) and that millions of workers and even middle class elements will vote Labour to stop the drastic Tory cuts. In my opinion like 1997 the growing working class and elements of the middle class radicalising by voting Labour with no illusions in the Blarites this time because of them looking to the Trade Unions and their politcal representivies in the Labour Party to solutions for their problems. A landsldie like 1997 is very unlikely. This middle class radicalisation is very important. The letter in today’s Guardian by 90 Industrial Relations professors from Universities throughout Britain supporting the BA workers against attempts by that management to smash UNITE in order to implement massive wage reducations. Trotskyists do not agree with them supporting the UNITE’s Bureaucrats concessions to BA which this letter calls to be implemented. Despite that difference this letter represents a radicalisation by sizeable middle class elements. This radicalisation could deepen as the workers increase their struggles. The new Trotskyist cades could come out of this growing working and midde class radicalisation.

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2. 

   àngel

   June 4, 2010 at 9:21 am

   salut & revolution
   from catalonia!

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