Thomas:
I do apoligize for harping on the subject of slavery and the posting of
quotes from the book, The Servile State by Hilaire Belloc, but reality just
keeps supplying me with proof of his thesis. The lengthy article posted
below by Ian Ritchie is just such a proof.
>From The Servile State Page 122
There are but three social arrangements which can replace capitalism;
slavery, socialism, and property.
I may imagine a mixture of any two of these three or of all the three, but
each is a dominant type, and from the very nature of the problem, no fourth
arrngement can be devised.
The problem turns, remember, upon the control of the means of production.
Capitalism means that this control is vested in the hands of few, while
political freedom is the appanage of all. It this anomaly cannot endure,
from its insecurity and from its own contradiction with its presumed moral
basis, you must either have a transformation of one or of the other of the
two elements which combined have been found unworkable. These two factors
are (1) The ownership of the means of production by a few; (2) The freedom
of all. To solve capitalism you must get rid of restricted ownership, or of
freedom, or of both.
Now there is only one alternative to freedom, which is the negation of it.
Either a man is free to work and not to work as he pleases, or he may be
liable to a legal compulsion to work, backed by the forces of the state. In
the first he is a free man; in the second he is by definition a slave. We
have, therefore, so far as this factor of freedom is concerned, no choice
between a number of changes, but only the opportunity of one, to wit, the
establishment of slavery in place of freedom. Such a solution, the direct,
immediate, and conscious reestalishment of slavery, would provide a true
soltuioh of the problems which capitalism offers. It would guarantee, under
workable regulations, sufficiency and security for the dispossessed. Such a
solution, as I shall show, is the probable goal which our society will in
fact approach. To its immediate and conscious acceptance, however, there is
an obstacle.
Thomas:
The following article is an example of a State moving slowly towards
slavery. And as the article mentions, it is the very business class, those
who, as Belloc identifies as the small minority who control the means of
production, who find the concepts of Socialism or Welfare state so abhorrent
to their goals of personal wealth creation who are supporting the political
moves that are leading the poor into slavery. First, we can see that the
plight of the poor has to increase in misery and finally as a sop, the
authorities will bring forth as a panacea to the cruelty they have created,
"under workable regulations, sufficiency and security for the dispossessed."
Convince me that I am wrong?
Respectfully,
Thomas Lunde
----------
>From: Ian Ritchie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: "'futurework'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: FW: Irish Workfare
>Date: Wed, Jul 7, 1999, 4:13 AM
>
>
>
>> ----------
>> From: B Sandford[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>> FYI
>>
>> ICQ: 20816964
>> Fax: USA(707)215-6524
>>
>> ***********************************************************
>> News via ainriail the Irish Anarchist Bulletin list
>> see http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/inter/email_lists.html
>> ***********************************************************
>>
>> Social Welfare Bill 1999
>> Hassling people into very low paid jobs
>>
>>
>> The Scheme Workers Alliance organises people on
>> employment schemes to combat cutbacks and win the
>> extension of part-time workers rights. Uisce from
>> 'Workers Solidarity' spoke to Leo Duffy and Seamas
>> Carrehan of the SWA about the upcoming Social Welfare
>> bill.
>>
>> The Government is continuing its campaign against
>> working class people. Workfare was introduced last year
>> by Mary Harney, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade &
>> Employment. It forces people into shit low paid jobs by
>> cutting their social welfare completely. The next phase
>> in this assault is the proposed Social Welfare Bill
>> 1999.
>>
>> Contained in it are provisions for increasing welfare
>> benefits for the unemployed, pensioners and other people
>> on welfare. However, the increase would not even buy a
>> packet of cigarettes, the price of which was raised in
>> the last budget. Hidden among these titbits from the
>> Tiger's table is Article 26, a draconian piece of
>> legislation directed at further oppressing the working
>> class.
>>
>> "This Welfare Bill, and particularly the section dealing
>> with vehicle checkpoints, comes at the end of a three
>> year sustained and covert campaign by the state against
>> the most vulnerable people in our society" said Seamas
>> Carrahen. It allows for Social Welfare inspectors to
>> mount checkpoints to (in theory) catch social welfare
>> recipients who are also working in the black economy.
>>
>> Welfare inspectors, when accompanied by a cop can stop a
>> vehicle suspected of "being used in the course of
>> employment or self-employment." Dermot Ahern, Minister
>> for Welfare has assured us "that the powers will
>> continue to be used responsibly. This programme is not
>> aimed at the ordinary citizen going about their
>> business."
>>
>> But as Leo Duffy put it "it reinforces the sense of
>> threat that people in vulnerable positions, on social
>> welfare (will be) hassled under the new welfare
>> arrangement". It will be used where unemployment is
>> endemic and it will infringe on the lives of working
>> class people. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties
>> described it as "another inroad into peoples liberty to
>> come and go in the course of legitimate activity."
>>
>> Even though the powers for social welfare inspectors are
>> only now being legislated for, these multi-agency check-
>> points have been in operation over the past year. When
>> criticised by other TDs who had never heard of these
>> checkpoints 'till they saw the Bill, Dermot Ahern
>> apologised saying "in retrospect it, perhaps, should
>> have been mentioned."
>>
>> Ahern "has done all of this without negotiating with any
>> of the people involved" said Seamas Carrehan, pointing
>> to the lack of consultation between Ahern's Department
>> and trade unions and unemployed groups. A reason that
>> Ahern is legislating for the checkpoints now may be that
>> "by formalising it in legislation it does give it a
>> status where it could be more easily manipulated against
>> vulnerable people" said Leo Duffy.
>>
>> Dermot Ahern, in defence of the checkpoints, said that
>> in February that 10% of vehicles stopped at certain
>> checkpoints revealed fraud cases. What he didn't say was
>> whether these particular cars had been deliberately
>> targeted.
>>
>> Perhaps he is implying that 10% of working class people
>> are criminals. According to Leo Duffy "anybody who is
>> carrying a plastic social welfare card is automatically
>> going to come under suspicion or threat".
>>
>> Seamas Carrahen described the Bill as primarily
>> representing "the interests of business. But the people
>> it represents and the people who are saying that we need
>> cutbacks and we cannot afford the welfare state are
>> actually the people, at this point, who are becoming
>> phenomonally wealthy". He added that the continuing
>> campaign against unemployment by the government is not
>> designed to help the unemployed. It is actually to drive
>> the unemployed into low wage jobs, and again that's a
>> business persons agenda that's being promoted by the
>> government.
>>
>> There has been minimal protest against the new bill. Leo
>> Duffy said that "protests have come from other agencies.
>> They haven't necessarily coalesced in that, but on their
>> own initiative they have sent protests to the Department
>> of Social Welfare". Seamas added "there has been a
>> fragmented response to the bill from isolated quarters.
>> There has been no co-ordinated or adequate attack on it,
>> it has been accepted as a fait accompli".
>>
>> Welfare Inspectors will be coming to a neighbourhood
>> near you, soon!
>>
>> This article is from Workers Solidarity No 57 - May 1999
>> More articles from this issue at
>> http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/wsm.html
>> If forwarding this mail or putting it on the web
>> please include this footer
>> Email the author at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> *************************************************
>> >From ainriail see http://flag.blackened.net/revolt
>> To join send the message subscribe ainriail
>> to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> ***********************************************
>>
>> This article is from Workers Solidarity No 56
>> published in March 1999
>> More articles from this issue at
>> http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws99.html
>>
>> >From Irelands's Workers Solidarity Movement
>> http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/wsm.html
>> Email us at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
>
