What time is it ?

[Adam Rose <adam@xxxxxxxx>]

Louis writes:
>
> We must not make the same mistake. We are not living in a period of
> capitalist crisis. The period we are in has much more of an analogy to
> the gilded age of the late 1800s. The 1950s and 1960s were an exceptional
> time for the working-class. They enjoyed upward mobility.

No, this isn't the 20's and 30's.

I think one difference between then + now is that the crisis in unfolding
more slowly. I think this is basically due to the increased ability of
states to intervene in the economy.

So, compare the difference between the 1929 and the 1987 stock market crashes.
In 1987, there were no immediate bankruptcies, and governments across the world
loosened financial policy.

This put off the cyclical crisis for a couple of years, but meant that the
ensuing boom was far weaker than it would have otherwise been, because the
high level of debt means investment never really gets going.

A possible exception to this is the former USSR, where there has been a Wiemar
style economic collapse.

This long drawn out, but more insoluble crisis, has had its effect on the way
the Nazi parties have tried to build, especially in Europe. It has meant
that they have gone for a less paramilitary, more respectable way of building.
Where they have been successful eg France + Italy ( and Austria and . . . )
they have not so far built mass street fighting armies ( This is also true
of Zhirinovsky ). [ Of course, the specific history of Europe means it is
not easy to strut around in Blackshirts doing siegheils, although they
do do this from time to time ].

The role of the Anti Nazi League in Britain has been firstly to expose these
parties as Nazis, and secondly by using massive and where neccessary physical
confrontations, it has brought the street fighters to the fore. Politically,
this is a defeat for the Nazis.

Because this has not been done in France + Italy, the Nazis there can still pose
as respectable right wingers.

>
> That period is no longer with us. We are living in a period of rising
> class tensions. That has led some radicals to view things
> apocalyptically. They view the militias and Louis Farrakhan through the
> prism of Mussolini and Hitler. This is a mistake.
>
> This does not mean that major apocalyptic battles are not coming at some
> future time. They will. But we will screw up if we don't know what time
> it is on the class-struggle clock.
>

What are the characteristics of the class struggle today ?

Broadly, I would say that the working class is in a state of recovery
from defeats. We have not completely shaken off the shadow of these
defeats, nor are we completely dominated by them.

There have been a series of massive upsurges, particularly in Europe.
In 1992, there was the outcry over the pit closures in Britain.
There have been big strikes in Engineering in Germany. There have
been massive strike waves in Italy, and of course the recent French events.

Partly, the reason these upsurges have been so powerful, "spontaneous"
looking, is the weakness of reformism. Where CP's, Socialist or
Labour Parties would once have dampened them down sooner, they are
now to distant from workers lives to realise what was going on early enough
to play that role.

But there is also political weakness - this is the other side to the weakness
of reformism. There is a vacuum on the left. In all of these upsurges, there
has been no force on the left capable of winning control away from the Trade
Union leaders. So the outburst of struggle can die away quite quickly.

This happens everyday when the Trade Union Bureaucrats throw away a "yes"
vote in a strike ballot for some tiny crumb from the bosses.

This vacuum on the left is the underlying explanation for the strength of
the NOI. Where have all the Martin Luther Kings gone ? The answer is, on
the back of the struggles of the 60's, they have become mayors, police
chiefs, lawyers etc. In the UK, they've joined the Labour Party and are
implementing cuts in local councils.

But we have to remember that the LA riots were not so long ago : Black, White
+ Latino fighting together against the racist cops. There is also a rise
in union militancy and therefore democracy in the US.

Is capitalism in deep crisis ? Yes.
What time is it ? About five to eleven.

Adam.


Adam Rose
SWP
Manchester
UK


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