Workers of the world unite. You have only your chains to loose and a world to win!
On Oct 15, 4:39 pm, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Socialism vs. the government bailout of capitalism > By Tom Eley > 15 October 2008 > Use this version to print | Send this link by email | Email the author > > The breakdown of the US financial system and the government bailout of > Wall Street have seriously discredited the ideological justifications > of capitalism. > > Worship of the “free market” has long been something of a secular > religion in the US. Capitalist ideology has proclaimed that the > market’s “invisible hand” will best advance the interests of > historical progress, that taxes on the rich and regulations on big > businesses must be reduced because only the “risk-takers” know where > resources can best be allocated, that any sort of government > intervention to improve the living conditions of workers, the poor, > the elderly and jobless youth creates a “climate of dependency,” that > government cannot simply “throw money” at problems, etc., etc. > > All these shibboleths now stand exposed as rank hypocrisy, as the > biggest financial institutions belly up to the public trough. Yet > amidst this historic crisis of the capitalist system, some of those > opposed to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s Wall Street bailout have > claimed that the measures employed are “socialist.” > > Suddenly—17 years after the Soviet Union’s collapse and the supposed > “death of socialism”—the “S” word is being bandied about by American > politicians and media pundits. > > Charges that the Wall Street bailout is socialism have come most > frequently from the far right wing of the Republican Party. To note a > few examples, Congressman Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, claimed > that Paulson’s plan may put the US on, “the slippery slope to > socialism.” Representative Sam Johnson, also of Texas, warned, “As a > relentless supporter of free enterprise, I fear we are rushing > headlong into socialism.” Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky called > Paulson’s measures, “financial socialism” and “un-American.” > Congressman Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan even compared the bailout to > the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. > > The claim that the Wall Street bailout is a socialist measure is > absurd on its face. Paulson, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, who has > an estimated personal fortune of $700 million and is a member of the > most right-wing administration in US history, has authored a bill that > will ultimately divert trillions of dollars to the coffers of the > biggest banks in the land. This is socialist? > > Such claims display a combination of stupidity and deceit. Those who > make them rely on the low level of historical knowledge and political > understanding among the American people, for which the population is > not to blame. It is the product of the decades-long promotion of > political reaction and celebration of the most backward ideologies and > conceptions—including hostility toward science—along with the gutting > of public education. > > A central component of this debasement of political and intellectual > life has been the promotion of anti-communism, based largely on the > false identification of socialism and Marxism with their political > opposite, Stalinism. > > The Socialist Equality Party, at its recent founding congress, > explained concisely what socialism is in its Statement of Principles. > > “Socialism portends the greatest and most progressive transformation > of the form of man’s social organization in world history—the ending > of society based on classes and, therefore, of the exploitation of > human beings by other human beings.” > > “The key industrial, financial, technological and natural resources > must be taken out of the sphere of the capitalist market and private > ownership, transferred to society and placed under the democratic > supervision and control of the working class. The organization of > economic life, on the basis of the capitalist law of value, must be > replaced with its socialist reorganization on the basis of democratic > economic planning, whose purpose is the fulfillment of social needs. > > “New forms and structures of genuine participatory democracy—arising > in the course of revolutionary mass struggles and representative of > the working class majority of the population- must be developed as the > foundations of a workers’ government; that is, a government of the > workers, for the workers, and by the workers. The policy of such a > government, as it introduces those measures essential for the > socialist transformation of economic life, would be to encourage and > actively promote a vast expansion of the democratic working class’ > participation in, and control over, decision-making processes.” > > The bailout measures are being enacted not by the working people, but > are being imposed behind the backs of the people by the most powerful > bankers, through their political representatives in both parties. > Ownership and control of the financial levers of economic life remain > entirely in the private hands of the richest people in the country. > Those who have presided over the failure of private firms are > dictating the terms of their own rescue at the expense of the people. > > The social interests that are being defended are determined by the > class nature of the state power that is formulating and enacting the > measures. The events of the past month have demonstrated as never > before that the American government and the US two-party system are > political instruments not of the people, but rather of a financial > oligarchy. > > For their part, the right-wing Republicans initially opposed the > bailout from the standpoint of “free market” capitalism. They are not > against government intervention into the market per se. Rather, they > oppose government action that in any way constrains the activities of > the most powerful sections of finance capital. > > They label as “socialism” any government measure that limits the > ability of the major banks and corporations to maximize their profits, > including such things as the minimum wage, restrictions on hours of > work, health and safety regulations, environmental regulations, etc. > They oppose tax increases for the wealthy and denounce as “big > government” any and all government-run social programs. > > Because the Democrats, along with their presidential candidate, > Barrack Obama, served as the bailout’s most enthusiastic supporters > and its principal legislative midwives, Republicans were able to make > a demagogic pretense of opposing Wall Street. What this shows is not > that the Republicans have converted themselves into the unlikely > defenders of the common man, but how far to the right the US political > establishment as a whole has moved. The Democratic Party, having long > since repudiated any policy of social reform, has openly identified > itself with the financial aristocracy. > > What would a socialist approach to the financial crisis look like? > Emergency measures would be taken to transform the great banks, hedge > funds, insurance companies and financial houses into public utilities. > They would be placed under the democratic control of the working > class, with safeguards for the savings of small depositors. Their > resources would be used for productive and socially useful purposes > and to alleviate the suffering of the population. > > Trillions of dollars would be allocated to rebuild the infrastructure, > provide new and high-quality housing, improve education, provide > universal health care and access to higher education, and clean up the > environment. Everyone would be guaranteed a job and a decent wage. The > workweek would be reduced, with no loss in pay, and wages would be > fully indexed to account for inflation. > > The tax burden would be shifted from the working class to the richest > 10 percent of the population. > > There would be a full and public investigation into the activities of > the banks and financial firms and the books of all major corporations > would be opened to public inspection. > > The wealth of financial industry executives and large stockholders > would be appropriated, and they, along with their servants among the > political elite, would face criminal investigation for the plundering > of the economy that has led to the current crisis. > > In order to fight for this socialist perspective, working people must > break with the two parties of big business and build an independent > political party that has, as its primary aim, the reorganization of > the economy to meet social needs, rather than the profit interests of > the financial elite. In the November election, only the Socialist > Equality Party and its presidential and vice presidential candidates, > Jerry White and Bill Van Auken, are advancing this socialist > alternative. We urge readers of the World Socialist Web Site to > support our campaign, vote for Jerry White and Bill Van Auken, and > join the SEP. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
