So& Wloirkdersa’ Lirbeirtty y No 238 14 March 2012 30p/80p www.workersliberty.org For a workers’ government

Greece: potato Kony 2012 Working-class movement page 3 education page 2 pages 9-10 NHS Bill could be law within the week, but TUC sleep-walks Unite to save the

NHS! See centre pages Mobilise the rank and file INTERNATIONAL What is the Alliance Greece: potatoes and the Stalinists

for Workers’ Liberty? By Theodora Polenta not-so-publicised “alterna - tive networks of product Today one class, the working class, lives by selling Since the start of March, its labour power to another, the capitalist class, exchange” in which people pictures of farmers in are swapping possessions, which owns the means of production. Society vans distributing pota - and the “social kitchens” is shaped by the capitalists’ relentless drive to toes to queues of people where people are sharing increase their wealth. Capitalism causes have dominated the resources in cooking and poverty, unemployment, the blighting of lives by Greek media. offering food to the desti - overwork, imperialism, the destruction of the tute and unemployed. Producers of potatoes in environment and much else. Other unpredictable forms the Pieria region decided to Against the accumulated wealth and power of the and ways of dealing with get rid of the middleman capitalists, the working class has one weapon: solidarity. basic needs for foods and and distribute their pota - The Alliance for Workers’ Liberty aims to build solidarity shelter will be developed toes at €0.25 per kilo in - through struggle so that the working class can overthrow by the movement. stead of €0.60. capitalism. We want socialist revolution: collective ownership will not solve food high and protests during the The left should not un - Almost everybody across of industry and services, workers’ control and a democracy prices overall, or meets all general strikes. derestimate the danger of the political spectrum, in - of society's food needs. It is in line with KKE's at - these movements being in - much fuller than the present system, with elected cluding the government Last week the KKE paper tempts to build separate corporated by the estab - representatives recallable at any time and an end to and the mainstream media, Rizospastis declared: neighbourhood move - lishment, as a peaceful bureaucrats’ and managers’ privileges. has endorsed this “potato “Pushed by the main - ments, and its hostile charity appendix of the We fight for the labour movement to break with “social movement”, though for dif - stream media and encour - stance towards any move - government's cuts, or chan - partnership” and assert working-class interests militantly ferent reasons. aged by the government, a ment that is not politically nelled into reformist ideas against the bosses. The strident and signifi - propaganda campaign is and ideologically under the and illusions about build - Our priority is to work in the workplaces and trade unions, cant exception is the strong developing that has as its wing of the party. Deploy - ing oases of freedoms supporting workers’ struggles, producing workplace bulletins, though diehard-Stalinist aim to deceive working- ing Stalinism and mecha - within the capitalist sys - helping organise rank-and-file groups. Greek Communist Party class people and the small nistic conspiracy theory in tem. We are also active among students and in many campaigns (KKE). peasants… This propa - classic form, the KKE de - and alliances. The far-left coalition An - ganda is referred to as the clares that the potato POTENTIAL tarsya, for example, has de - potato movement movement is “directed by But these movements, We stand for: clared: “These movements “The aim of the cheap- big capital, like the city with their massive ap - G Independent working-class representation in politics. show that the fat cat mid - potatoes movement is iden - squares movement”. peal, also carry potential G A workers’ government, based on and accountable to the dlemen and capitalist tical to that of the Recently KKE has back - to be a first step towards labour movement. bosses are not invincible... 'indignant citizens' in the tracked a bit. Its secretary, a concentration of forces Getting rid of the middle - G A workers’ charter of trade union rights — to organise, to city squares. It is to try to Aleka Paparyga, has made and the building of a strike, to picket effectively, and to take solidarity action. men is an important step so mislead the poor peasants a statement saying that massive working-class that the producers and the Taxation of the rich to fund decent public services, homes, away from the agricultural there had been exaggera - movement with radical G consumers can cope with education and jobs for all. unions, away from the fight tions in KKE's response, characteristics. the attacks of the [EU/ against EU's Common but the main points had G A workers’ movement that fights all forms of oppression. For that, they need to be ECB/ IMF] Troika and the Agricultural Policy, away been right. Full equality for women and social provision to free women linked with the trade union national unity govern - from the fight against the from the burden of housework. Free abortion on request. Full movement and the work - ment”. monopolies... MOMENTUM equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. place struggles, and with “The feeding of the peo - The movement initiated Black and white workers’ unity against racism. PATRONISING the neighbourhood com - ple, the production of in Pieria has now spread Open borders. “It is patronising to de - munity movements, and G cheap and good quality all over Greece, gaining scribe it as the potato given clear political direc - G Global solidarity against global capital — workers agricultural products, is a momentum every day, movement. It is directly tion by the left. everywhere have more in common with each other than with very serious problem that with councillors and connected with the • Redistribute the land their capitalist or Stalinist rulers. cannot be solved via ac - mayors being involved to needs of both the pro - owned by the church and G Democracy at every level of society, from the smallest tivism, voluntarism and facilitate it. In some areas ducers and the people the big farmers to the peas - workplace or community to global social organisation. sporadic internet orders it has been extended to who are on the brink of ants G Working-class solidarity in international politics: equal [the farmers involved take other products such as starvation and social honey and oil. • Create agricultural co - rights for all nations, against imperialists and predators big deprivation and destitu - orders over the internet]... and small. operatives under peasant tion. It is connected with There is now talk of and social control, with Maximum left unity in action, and openness in debate. GAP G the future. farmers directly distribut - representatives elected, ac - If you agree with us, please take some copies of Solidarity “There is indeed a big G ing rice, flour, olive oil, countable to, and recallable “It carries images from gap between the price at to sell — and join us! beans, and lamb for Easter. by general meetings the future. It reveals the which producers sell The oil will be distributed • Nationalise the fer - 020 7394 8923 [email protected] tremendous potential products to the middle - at €3 per litre (€6 per litre tiliser and farm machine in - opened up when the pro - men and the price at 20e Tower Workshops, Riley Road, which these products are in supermarkets), flour at dustries under workers' ducers and creators of soci - €0.50 per kilo (€1 in super - sold to the consumer. so•ci aClo coorndtrinoal te food pol - London, SE1 3DG. ety's wealth take control markets), rice at €0.70 per icy and agricultural pro - over their products. All “But as long as the laws kilo (€3 in supermarkets), duction on the basis of working class people can of the markets and the beans at €3 per kilo (€8 in Greek society's needs benefit by having access to profits prevail the above supermarkets), lamb at €7 and respect for the envi - cheap and good quality problem cannot be solved... per kilo (€13 in the butch - GET SOLIDARITY ronment. food”. “As long as capitalist re - ers). As Antarsya notes, the lationships are present, ex - It all started a couple of EVERY WEEK! potato movement is con - ploitation will operate at months ago, when the pro - nected and interlinked with every level against the peo - ducers of milk and fruit A sweat-free Special offers the versatile, imaginative, ple, independent of their were protesting against the and multiple forms of Olympics? G Trial sub, 6 issues £5 status, pensioners, workers, EU's Common Agricultural  struggle developed during unemployed, producers, Policy outside parliament. 22 issues (six months). £18 waged £9 unwaged the last two years of Greek consumers... Instead of throwing their No Sweat London G   working-class struggle. “Under a planned econ - products at the parliament dayschool, Saturday G 44 issues (year). £35 waged  £17 unwaged  It is connected with the omy, the process of produc - and ministry buildings, as neighbourhood non-pay - tion and distribution of customary in previous 31 March G European rate: 28 euros (22 issues)  or 50 euros (44 issues)  ment movement, first agricultural products will protests, they decided to against road tariffs and bus guarantee a satisfactory in - distribute them free in Syn - 11am-5pm, Unite HQ, 128 Theobalds Road, London Tick as appropriate above and send your money to: fares, and lately against the come for all producers, to tagma Square. new regressive property WC1X 8TN (nearest tube 20e Tower Workshops, Riley Road, London, SE1 3DG cover their needs, as well Their move gained over - tax. It is connected with the as cheap and healthy food whelming support, and all Holborn) Cheques (£) to “AWL”. movement of “indignant for all people, as well as the products were distrib - Anti-sweatshop campaign citizens” in the city No Sweat discusses the Or make £ and euro payments at workersliberty.org/sub. new jobs. But that can only uted to the people within a squares. It is connected be achieved within the con - space of a few hours. Olympics and what it with all the small and big text of a workers' and peo - With the economically means for workers Sharon Sukhram from the Name ...... struggles in workplaces ple's government and active population earning across Greece. economy”. monthly wages of €500 TUC's “Playfair” campaign Yet the KKE has printed will speak on their Address ...... KKE's hostile stance and €600, over one million virtually an article a day against the potato move - unemployed, and 20,000 achievements so far, and denouncing the potato ment is in line with its homeless people in Athens other more overtly “anti- ...... movement. stances against the students alone, of course distribu - games” campaigns are KKE explains the obvi - and youth rebellion move - tion of free or cheap agri - invited...... ous — that the potato ment of 2008 and against cultural products results in Free entry, lunch provided. movement is not socialist last summer's movement in massive responses from the For more information I enclose £ ...... collective farming; it oper - the city squares. It is in line people. please email ates within the framework with KKE's sectarian policy Alongside the potato [email protected]. of the capitalist society; it of separate demonstrations movement there are the 2 SOLIDARITY INTERNATIONAL What’s wrong with Kony 2012?

By Patrick Smith The charity has been paying CEO Ben Keesey, An internet and street art and co-founders Jason Rus - campaign, Kony 2012, sell and Laren Poole launched by the charity $90,000 a year salaries on Invisible Children on 7 top of their expenses. The March, instantly gathered charity has a net worth of enormous support across almost $6,500,000 accord - the world, with its denun - ing to their accounts on the ciation of Joseph Kony, Charity Navigator website. leader of the Lord’s Re - Over $1.4 million a year sistance Army. of the money donated to That the campaign has the charity goes into “man - alerted millions to the agement and administra - crimes of militias like tion”, on top of the money Kony’s (sadly, there are spent producing films and others like it) is good. But so on. Compared to other less well publicised ways to charities which focus on di - build the social forces that rect aid, Invisible Children can defeat these people are puts a relatively small better than Invisible Chil - amount of the net cash- dren’s fundraising, which flow from its publicity ac - has problems. tivities into helping people We can solidarise with on the ground. the still weak but real Kony 2012 also includes trade-union movements lobbying for direct Ameri - Still from Kony 2012 film and other movements for can military intervention in social justice in the region. Uganda. phobic bile on Ugandan na - the Tutsi RPF agitated the $10,000,000 a year to the experience of when Hutu UNWITTINGLY tional television that the remaining Tutsi and anti- Museveni government for and Tutsi workers and ABDUCTED west threatened to with - Kabila forces in the country “justice initiatives”. farmers came together Kony’s militia has com - The socially-conscious people who want to do draw aid from Uganda in order to defeat the Hutu The US government, for briefing in the 1980s, be - mitted many atrocities in over the bill. RDR which was still con - its own reasons, wants sta - cause they realised that something about Kony central Africa. The LRA is shaped by a ducting raids on Rwanda bility in Africa, especially they shared more in com - are being nudged into un - history of sectional conflict from Congo. The uprising in mineral-rich Congo. We mon with each other than LRA has operated in the wittingly taking sides in the region, shaped partly started the Second Con - would not mourn if US they did with the sectarian Central African Republic, with Uganda’s President, by divide-and-rule policies golese War, lasting until troops had found Kony militias. Democratic Republic of who is little better than and artificial borders from until 2003. and arrested or killed him; In that brief moment, the Congo, southern Sudan, Joseph Kony. and Uganda since the late the colonial era. The latest Congo is still plagued by but equally we should not sectarian conflict was for - phase opened with the militia conflict. Kony’s congratulate the US gov - gotten to defend working 1980s. It is probably much And into taking sides in genocide (of Tutsi by Hutu) LRA is one of a number of ernment for pursuing its people against the devasta - weaker today, though still a wider, regional sectarian in Rwanda in 1993. A Tutsi militias in the area, and own narrow interests, in its tion and barbarism of a destructive.. conflict rooted in the legacy movement, the RPF, backed often the official armies act own way, when big-power capitalist crisis. Kony’s militia was origi - of colonialism. by the Ugandan govern - not very differently from intervention has so often Uganda does have a nally founded with the aim Uganda’s president Yow - ment, eventually inter - militias. worsened rather than labour movement, al - of overthrowing the gov - eri Museveni involved his vened and halted the Invisible Children are mended affairs. though a very imperfect ernment of Yoweri Musev - country in the Second Con - genocide. Millions of Hutu right in wanting to stop one. eni in Uganda and golese War in which an es - fled into Congo. Joseph Kony. But they pro - WORKERS As we saw recently with replacing it with a Chris - timated four to eight The RPF, led by Tutsi pose to do that by taking And if the USA is reluc - a general strike in Nigeria tian theocracy. million people were killed Paul Kagame, supported sides with Museveni in a tant to intervene militarily it is possible to mobilise Until 2002, the Sudanese (as direct or indirect conse - the Ugandan Army and the highly toxic situation. The on a larger scale — real - workers in the most precar - government funded the quence of war). During the Alliance of Democratic evidence is that those with istically fearing another ious working conditions LRA as a counterweight to conflict Museveni recruited Afghanistan in Africa, or child soldiers himself. He Forces for the Liberation of the best interests of the and against the odds of an the Ugandan government, Congo-Zaire (AFDL), led local people at heart would another Somalia — we economic crisis. also aided the Tutsi against It is only though soli - which supported the south- by Laurent-Desire Kabila, do best to avoid taking should be glad of that, the Hutu in the brutal darity with the workers of Sudanese movement for in - to overthrow the corrupt, sides and instead to seek to rather than sorry. Rwandan civil war that central Africa, and the dependence. brutal, nationalist dictator help the building of peace killed almost a million peo - The Kony2012 campaign world, that we will About 80% of LRA’s sol - of Zaire (Congo), Mobutu and a workable civil soci - ple. assumes that change can change the conditions of diers are children abducted Sese Seko. Kabila became ety. More recently Museveni only come from above — poverty, ruthless ex - from schools, villages and President of Zaire/Congo Pushed by and sup - orphanages. They have supported an anti-homo - by US military interven - ploitation by multina - in 1997, and appointing ported by Invisible Chil - tion, or US military aid to tional corporations, and killed, maimed and en - sexuality bill in Uganda some of his Rwandan-Tutsi dren, in 2010 the US slaved non-Christian that would see members of the Ugandan government looting by local crony- allies as ministers in his government sent troops to — and ignores the possibil - capitalists, which create Acholi in Northern the LGBT community im - government. Uganda to help Museveni Uganda. prisoned for life for the ities of social change and the basis for militias like When Kabila replaced track down Kony. Obama justice driven by move - Kony’s. Invisible Children was crime of “homosexuality” Rwandans with native has also signed off the set up by Ben Keesey, Jason and killed for “aggravated ments from people in the Congolese and expelled the Northern Uganda Recov - region. • More: bit.ly/ycKYGG Russell, and Laren Poole in homosexuality”. He Ugandans and Rwandans ery Act, which pledges visiblechildren.tumblr.com 2005. spouted so much homo - We need to look to the

for the Kenya Health Pro - university lecturers and dustries around a range of over $10 billion. Many fessionals Society, said: workers at the state broad - demands focusing on pay, commentators and analysts Workers “We are ignoring the sack - casting service have also re - hours, terms and condi - expect him to soon join the of the World ing threat. These are cat- cenTthlye thaekaelnth s twriokerk aecrtsion. tions. Four of the disputes Chinese Communist and-mouse games, you have now been on strike centres on management Party’s central committee. By Clarke Benitez cannot sack an entire work - for over a week. plans to relocate work - 5,000 workers at the force. It is a ploy to get us places or unreasonable em - Hanzhong Steel Company to rush back to work, but ployee deployment. One staged a three-day strike Kenyan health ing unemployed and re - our strike continues until Chinese strike took place when demanding pay increases. tired health workers to re - our demands are met.” workers previously em - Some of them are paid as workers face port to their nearest The sacked workers in - workers fight ployed by German manu - little as ¥1,000 (slightly hospital or clinic to partici - clude members of the facturer Putzmeister ovAerc c£1o0r0d)i npge rt om ConLtBh,. pate in interviews for the down mass Union of Kenyan Civil Ser - on demanded a higher com - dozens of workers were vacant posts. vants, whose leaders bro - pensation package after the detained in each strike. sackings The workers are on strike kered a deal with the February saw nearly 30 company was sold to Sany for higher pay; health government and ordered industrial disputes across Heavy Industries (the • More: China Labour The Kenyan government workers in Kenya currently its members back to work. China, according to largest Sino-German busi - Bulletin — clb.org.hk has sacked 25,000 health earn around 25,000 The nurses, however, re - labour-movement NGO ness transaction in history). • CLB’s strike map — workers in a desperate shillings (less than £200) China Labour Bulletin fused and continued with Sany is run by Liang Wen - •b iAt.lyso/ soPn6lYinthe: Quebec attempt to break a mass per month, and are fighting (CLB). their strike action. gen, one of the China’s students strike — strike over pay. for an increase that would Other public sector richest men with an esti - bit.ly/zh1Yud double this amount. The strikes took place The government is ask - workers including teachers, mated personal wealth of Alex Orina, spokesman across a wide range of in - SOLIDARITY 3 REGULARS Fight the SNP from the left

pact on the Scottish economy arising from uncertainty about its future constitutional status. The real reason is that they reckon that an early referendum is more likely to produce an anti-independence outcome. Scotland Also subject to consultation is the question of who should By Dale Street be entitled to vote in the referendum. The SNP is proposing that the franchise be extended to 16- and 17-year-olds, who are more likely than not to vote for independence. The deadline for submissions to the Westminster gov - Despite the self-serving motivation of the SNP, making ernment’s consultation on the conduct of the referen - the referendum as democratic as possible does require giv - dum on Scotland’s constitutional future passed on ing the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds. Friday 9 March. In fact, if the major Westminster parties had not shown a total lack of interest in extending the franchise for all elec - The Holyrood government’s consultation on the referen - tions to 16- and 17-year-olds, this would not even be an dum has a later submissions deadline of 11 May. issue. Their failure to do so is now catching up with them — The “model response” to the consultations drawn up by as the SNP can now posture as the champion of rights for the Scottish Labour Party argues in favour of a single-ques - young people. tion referendum: “... in order to give a definitive answer on The SNP/Alex Salmond has stated that it will not launch whether or not Scotland remains part of the UK.” its pro-independence campaign until May, because it is “so There is a democratic basis for that position. The referen - confident about winning the referendum”. dum is being held because the SNP’s 2011 election mani - No doubt Salmond’s confidence was boosted by press festo included a commitment to hold a referendum baron Rupert Murdoch’s recently announced support for for/against independence. independence. (Just another nail in the coffin of the Scottish Calls for the inclusion of a further question — on “devo left’s claim that independence for Scotland would be a blow max”, which has now morphed into “devo plus” — would against British imperialism and the beginning of the social - do nothing to clarify the basic issue at stake in the referen - ist revolution!) dum. Even so, the proposal that there should be a third option CUT is gaining traction, from sections of “civic Scotland”, some Rupert Murdoch has come out for Scottish independence The labour movement should cut through all the non - trade unions, and, in a characteristically mealy-mouthed sense now surfacing around the issue of the referen - fashion, from the Scottish TUC. dum. The SNP — or at least its leader Alex Salmond, who now Support for the referendum being overseen by the Elec - appears to be empowered to make SNP policy on the hoof toral Commission is rooted in the belief that the SNP is not It should back a straightforward yes/no referendum, with — has stated that it will support a third question if the con - to be trusted with setting up a body to oversee the referen - the franchise extended to 16- and 17-year-olds. It should sultation process demonstrates support for it. dum. also counterpose an “all-round” democratic restructuring The SNP wants the ballot paper to ask the leading ques - The SNP is, after all, the organisation that argues that if a of the UK state — in the form of a federal republic — to the tion: “Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent majority in the referendum votes for independence (say, SNP’s advocacy of a capitalist, neo-liberal and monarchist country?” Some opponents of independence want the ques - 51%) but an even bigger majority votes for “devo max” (say, independent Scotland. tion to be along the lines of “Do you support the break-up 80%), then this would be a mandate for independence. Labour movement activists should also be demanding of the United Kingdom?” Why? Because as independence incorporates “devo max” that the Scottish Labour Party scrap the unrepresentative the bigger majority would still get what they voted for commission which it has set up to decide “the party line” BREAK (“devo max” plus a bit more!) on the referendum. The SNP’s argument on that is they are not proposing to Another issue addressed by the consultations is the tim - The party’s policy should be democratically decided by a break up the United Kingdom. The independent Scot - ing of the referendum. The SNP wants it to be held in the specially convened conference. As a recent press release land they want would still retain the monarchy. They autumn of 2014. Most opponents of independence want it to from the Labour-left Campaign for Socialism puts it: are proposing to annul only the Treaty of Union of 1707, be held next year (the soonest it could realistically be “The terms of the referendum debate must not be dictated not the earlier Union of the Crowns. staged). by narrow nationalist interests. The Scottish Labour Party The SNP calculates an October 2014 date will increase needs a full debate, ranging from full independence through Linked to these issues is the question of which body their chances of securing a majority for independence. to devo-max, indy-lite, devo-plus, federalism, home rule, should oversee the referendum. This question is addressed It is already clear that the SNP will try to run its campaign etc., concluding with a special conference in the autumn. by both the Westminster and Holyrood consultations. “We want a full discussion, and one which exposes as a vote of “no confidence” in the Tory Westminster gov - the empty nationalist rhetoric of the SNP, which is no The Scottish Labour Party — and just about everyone op - ernment, rather than around the democratic and national is - posed to independence — wants the referendum overseen more than a cloak for a tartan neo-liberalism. The way sues posed by the nature of the United Kingdom as it is to defeat the SNP is from the left, and the way to de - by the existing Electoral Commission. The SNP wants to cre - currently constituted. ate a new, Scottish, electoral commission specifically for the velop the left ideas necessary to do that is through di - The “good” reason why some opponents of independence alogue and democracy.” purpose of the referendum. want the referendum held earlier is an alleged negative im -

ing aside the specific character of the Iranian regime — no less racist than any other nation that inhabits this earth. seems to me just perverse. You rightly state that the majority of Jews are Zionists — [Contribution to debate on the AWL website, “Iran: danc - and should not be deemed racists based on their nationalist ing towards war” http://alturl.com/mkubm] movement being singled out over any other nationalist Letters Clive Bradley, north London movement. To so do is certainly construable as anti-semitic. Our perpetual experience of persecution down the ages (culminating in the Shoah [Holocaust]) puts us naturally radar-like vis-à-vis perceived threats that most other peo - Sunderland Poly ples probably would neither perceive nor fear. Iran, the left and One specific point from your article which I believe re - quires contest is: Jewish Society “The Sunderland student union ban was not the work of nuclear weapons It is by pure fluke that I googled Sunderland Poly Stu - an unrepresentative minority. Over 1,000 students attended dents Union and got directed to the AWL site and di - its General Meeting which endorsed the ban.” There are two arguments, I think, usually put forward gested your “As we were saying: ‘Anti-Zionism’” Indeed it was a very well attended meeting — however, regarding Iran’s putative possession of nuclear arms on (Solidarity 234). not all one-thousand-plus students voted in favour of the the left. One is that it isn’t true — that this is a re-run of ban. By my recollection, the majority of those in favour over the WMD argument over Iraq. I’ve got to say it’s been a fascinating read for me. those against the ban was only in the magnitude of several I was the former Chairperson of the Sunderland Poly Jew - But the other is that, even if it is true, Iran is — in effect — tens. ish Student Society that was at first banned and then even - There were approximately 20-30 Jewish students study - entitled to have nukes if imperialist countries, and of course tually re-ratified by the Sunderland Students Rep Council. Israel, has them. One version of this is that it’s hypocritical ing and eligible to vote at the poly at that time. By contrast, By comparison to the “firewall” that we as Jewish stu - there were probably in the region of 500-600 mostly over - to worry about Iran having them and to make less of a fuss dents faced at that time by the SPSU and its outside sup - seas Arab/Islamic students, attending mostly engineering about, especially, Israel. The stronger version is as I put it porters, with inflammatory arguments relating to the UN courses. Many attended the EGM. There was a significant before: if Israel has nukes, Iran is entitled to them. “Zionism=Racism” policy, it has been like a real breath of Either way — isn’t there an implicit acceptance of the old new air to see the progress in understanding based upon block vote in favour of banning the Jewish Society. I believe Cold War argument that nukes act as a deterrent? That is, your article. Back then I could only have dreamt of such a that this considerably dilutes your “not the work of an un - somewhere in there, there’s the suggestion that all Iran rational viewpoint you express. representative minority” claim, in as much that the block could possibly want nukes for is to maintain the balance of Certainly there is much work to be done to achieve what vote against the JSoc was generated more by natural bias power — to be able to threaten, say, Israel, if Israel was you correctly conclude is the only viable democratic policy rather than by specific democratic reasoning. threatening it? That said — great article. If we’re against nuclear weapons, surely we’re — a two state solution where neither Israel nor Palestine feel against new countries getting them. To say “other peo - threatened in any way by any neighbour, regional state, or [Contribution to debate on the AWL website, “As we were ple have them so why is this a problem?” — even leav - organisation. saying: ‘Anti-Zionism’”, http://alturl.com/4d6w2] Jews, be they in the diaspora or in Israel, are no more and Brian Plainer 4 SOLIDARITY WHAT WE SAY

Pensions fight: build for sustained action after 28 March!

By Patrick Murphy, National Union of Teachers raise the issue of pay again - and just as the government’s The existence of three separate TUC-affiliated unions for Executive (pc) next assault, regionalised pay, arrives. Public sector unions classroom teachers is a crippling weakness. We have a need to develop plans for a national fight on pay. workforce that is very highly unionised and skilled; factors Based on the responses I've had from workplaces Another issue for teachers is workload. The main reason which ought to lead to substantial industrial strength. On meetings, I think members of the National Union of teachers in particular think it is ludicrous to propose that issue after issue, however, each union takes a different Teachers will overwhelmingly endorse the union's re - we work to 68 is that the job is so demanding physically and stance. Attempts to co-ordinate take up huge amounts of jection of the Government’s terms on pensions, and will mentally. time and effort and then often don’t come off. vote yes to further strike action. We should argue that one “industrial union”, organising INDIVIDUAL all workers in schools (not just teachers), would be a huge The survey in the NUT, concluding on 14 March, asks for Quite a few people have relied on the individual strategy step forward. support for further action starting with 28 March. of holding on as long as they can, maybe going part- That’s something to aim for, but we also need an approach Just one further strike day can't be enough, and neither time toward the end of their careers and then grabbing to organise effectively in the meantime. That has to be based can more of the same (i.e. disconnected one-day strikes). their pension. on much better workplace organisation, confident well-in - We need to develop a strategy which maintains the pres - In many cases this means going early and taking a re - formed reps and unity from below on concrete industrial is - sure in a more constant and sustained way. That has to duced pension. Those options are much less viable when sues. mean selective and rolling action alongside (not instead of) the retirement age rises to 65 and then 68. Any dispute I’ve organised in my area has included as a national strike action – bringing out workers on a branch by We should use that fact to argue that tackling excessive matter of course attempts to co-ordinate with the other branch or region by region basis, or coordinating regional workload, bullying managers and the insane target culture unions. At the level of the workplace this is easier because or citywide strike action with PCS, UCU and possibly the we work under is now an urgent priority. the problems are more or less the same for all of us, and the Fire Brigades Union. The dispute is not over. We should demand the reopening buTrehaeu fcuratucirees iws hfo rt eancdt itvois btlso cink jaoliln tth aec tsiocnh ofionld u int ihoanrsd etro . Pension contribution increases will be imposed by the of talks, and fight around demands for specific concessions. focus on more effective fighting workplace organisa - Government from April, and come after two years of pay But there are already lessons which every teacher and tion, as part of a wider strategy for building industrial freeze and more years of below-inflation rises. When mem - school worker can learn from the course of this dispute. unionism in schools. bers feel the pinch in their pay packets from April that will Help us raise £20,000 Standing order authority Ever wondered what do the stinking rich do with all improve our website and organise events such as our their money? Ideas for Freedom summer school. To: ...... (your bank) One indicator is the “cost of living extremely well PGlease consider: index” — an annual survey of price trends for the stuff Taking out a monthly standing order to the AWL...... (its address ) that only rich people can afford — produced by US busi - There is a form at www.workersliberty.org/resources ness magazine Forbes . and on this page. (Even a few pounds a month really ...... Items include: Hospital VIP treatment, a Russian sable doGes help.) coat, thoroughbred racehorse, a Sikorski helicopter, a Making a donation. You can send it to us at the ad - Account name: ...... concert grand piano, a Rolls Royce Phantom, one kilo of dress below (cheques payable to “AWL”) or do it online Account no...... top-notch caviar, a box at the opera, a year’s tuition at at Gwww.workersliberty.org/donate. Organising a fundraising event. Harvard University. G Sort code: ...... Feeling green with envy? Or just feeling sick? Taking copies of Solidarity to sell at your workplace, According to Forbes the global number of billionaires unGiversity/college or campaign group. Please make payments to the debit of my account: Getting in touch to discuss joining the AWL. rose to 1,226 in 2011, and their combined wealth went up Payee: Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, account no. to a record $4.6 trillion (£2.9 trillion), despite the impact For more information on any of the above, contact us: of the economic crisis. tel. 07796 690 874 / [email protected] / AWL, 20E 20047674 at the Unity Trust Bank, 9 Brindley Place, Despite the 50% tax bracket for top earners there are Tower Workshops, 58 Riley Birmingham B1 2HB (08-60-01) more of these people in the UK than there used to be. Road, SE1 3DG. Why? Because all of them are “non-doms”. Unlike most Amount: £ ...... to be paid on the ...... other places in the world, such people don’t pay taxes on day of ...... (month) 20 ...... Total raised so far: £9,973 their overseas income. (year) and thereafter monthly until this order is can - The argument goes if they come here, spend their We raised £186 celled by me in writing. This order cancels any previ - money… who cares? Except there no evidence that their this week from ous orders to the same payee. spending “trickles” down income to the rest of us. Quite donations, new the contrary, inequality is getting worse. standing orders Date ...... We need to ditch the system which puts the making 973 9, and a fundraising and selling of ephemeral stuff just for rich people above £ event. Thanks to the daily life and untapped potential of all human beings. Signature ...... Sheffield AWL, It is time to invest a little in a socialist project. Rosie, Martin, Return to 20e Tower Workshops, 59 Riley Road, London, SE1 3DG If you do have some money to give to us — however James and Beth. little — we can continue publishing Solidarity as a weekly, SOLIDARITY 5 SAVE THE NHS This is the fight of our lives

By Jill Mountford all said that the NHS is ours and we should fight to save it; but none of them offered one word, not one single word, on You get sick, you will be cared for regardless of your in - how we should fight to save it. come. When you need healthcare, the National Health None of them mentioned a national demonstration in de - Service is there — for free. That is the founding princi - fence of the NHS (some people will remember the 50,000 ple of the NHS. All of that is now under threat. strong demonstration to save the NHS in the 1980s when Thatcher began her programme of restructuring that laid The principles embodied in the NHS are a high point, per - the foundations for the privatisation of healthcare in haps the high point, of attempts to civilise and tame capital - Britain). ism. As profit reigned supreme above all else, establishing Neither did any of them utter a single syllable about in - the NHS was a major victory for the working class. What dustrial action to defend “health care free at the point of went before it was misery, suffering and premature death need”. There was no mention making the bosses pay for the for workers and their families. NHS through taxing the rich and big business. There was Yet the Coalition government is being allowed to snatch Above: June Hautot confronts Andrew Lansley no mention of mobilising the might of our class to take what the NHS away with little more than a whimper and a moan is rightfully ours. from the labour and trade-union movement. The logic of capitalism always dictates that the working COURAGE class pay for the crises caused by the bosses. It is our job is More than half of all the platform speakers quoted Nye “Disrupt their to organise as a class to resist their attacks, to set our own Bevan: “The NHS will last as long as there are folk with agenda, to make demands and fight for them so that work - faith to fight for it.” ers and their families can live with as much dignity as this brutalising, profit-worshipping system will afford us. Nye Bevan, not a revolutionary socialist by any means but lives like they at least an honest and dedicated reformist, would have BOSS CLASS known how to fight for it. He’d have had the courage to ag - The leaders of the boss class know instinctively what itate for a fight and he would have dared to lead a fight. In - to do in a crisis. They make us pay. stead we have leaders, taking leadership wages, wearing leadership suits, driving leadership cars, but resolutely re - intend to On the other hand, the leaders of the working class have fusing to lead. lost any instinct they might have had. Coupled with this is If the NHS is to be saved, if our class is to retain the right their lack of theory and ideas independent of the dominant to “healthcare free at the point of need”, then we have to or - ideas of capitalism. They have no ballast to keep them disrupt ours.” ganise to win. We cannot rely on the unaccountable officials grounded in the working class. and bureaucrats whose wages we pay from our monthly Instead they aspire to being nothing more than third-rate union subscriptions. We have to rely on ourselves to organ - By June Hautot plasterers smoothing over the cracks in the system. And this ise a bottom-up campaign of rank-and-file activists. is how, in the midst of this historic world economic crisis, We need to get people on to the streets in support of The Health and Social Care Bill looks set to be passed as when the injurious brutality of capitalism is laid bare for all the NHS. We need people treating this issue like they law within the next few weeks. If we cannot prevent that, to see, the government of the bosses’ class can get away with treated Thatcher's poll tax. we have to organise and mobilise to make it impossible for robbing us of the National Health Service. the law to be applied and put into action. We have to build We need to make the Health and Social Care Bill, when The uselessness of our “leaders” was made abundantly a campaign that can apply pressure to stop the law in its it becomes law, unworkable. We should make every Tory clear at last week’s TUC rally (March 7) in central London tracks. and every Lib-Dem who voted for this Bill suffer as they against the Health and Social Care Bill. Brendan Barber We have to take up the campaign in the unions, in the intend we should suffer when they privatise our NHS. (General Secretary of the TUC), Len McCluskey (General Labour Party, and on the streets and in communities. We should find out where they live and we should dis - Secretary of Unite), and Dave Prentis (General Secretary of We need to bring together the many different NHS cam - rupt their lives like they intend to disrupt ours with their Unison), were amongst the 16 speakers to address a paigns around the country and unite them in action, co - cuts and their privatisation. We have to find out where crowded hall of protesters. ordinating the fightback to save the NHS. the likes of Lansley lives and where the big private bosses These three powerful men, between them leaders of sev - live who just want to make a profit out of people's ill eral million workers, failed to show any leadership. They health and we should make life difficult for them. Andy Burnham, Shadow Health Secretary, spoke at last week's TUC rally to save the NHS and he vowed to re - “The real implications of the peal the Coalition government's Health and Social Care Tories’ foundations Act (as it soon will be). Well, good for him. This is what Coalition’s NHS Bill will now be we want from a Labour government. I feel sure Labour know they made some big mistakes with the NHS, but played out in every community laid by New Labour Andy Burnham's promise to repeal what the Coalition are forcing on to us is a good start. From that we can re - across the country as health The Health and Social Care Bill is the biggest attack on build the NHS. the core values of the NHS since its inception and it runs We're expected to pay for the mess the bankers have facilities are privatised, in tandem with £20 billion of cuts to local healthcare maWdee osfh tohuel decno'nt osmtayn, dth ifso irs iut.n fWaier amnuds utn orergasaonniasbel et.h e services. biggest fight back possible to save the NHS. We have hospitals close, waiting lists to educate people about the issue. We have to urge Once the Bill is law, the NHS will be turned into a host of them to take one day off work (except emergency rise, and treatment are rationed private companies that either commission or provide serv - workers) or, better still, the TUC should organise a ices or both and NHS will be reduced to a logo. It is widely strike to save the NHS. and withdrawn. The battle to believed by professional bodies in the health service, by NHS workers and trade unions that complete privatisation of the save the NHS is only just health service is at the heart of Lansley's agenda. Successive governments have made cuts since the late Mike Bailey, Chair of “Better Services, beginning. We need a national seventies, though it was not until the Thatcher government Better Value” (a review of health in the 1980s that the challenge to the core value of 'health demonstration to show the scale care free at the point of need' began. services in south west London), says of resistance to the Coalition’s Both the Blair and Brown Labour governments continued that once the Bill goes through “…there Thatcher's work with the introduction of market structures, foundation trusts, GP consortia, the introduction of private will be a ‘save our hospital’ campaign at attack on the NHS and to kick off coIrtp iosr aotnio nths oinsteo fcooumnmdaistsioionn itnhga ts eLravnicselse. y and the Coali - every hospital”. We need a united fight- the next phase of this struggle.” tion government are now able to lay the Health and So - cial Care Bill. back in defence of the NHS — John McDonnell MP

6 SOLIDARITY SAVE THE NHS This is the fight of our lives Make Labour fight! Andy Burnham, Shadow Health Secretary, has pledged to repeal the Health and Social Care legisla - tion if he becomes Health Secretary in the next Labour government. Whilst this is a step in the right direction we believe it does not go far enough. We are asking all Labour MPs to sign our pledge to: 1. Actively support the repeal of the Coalition govern - ment’s Health and Social Care legislation. 2. Actively support the rebuilding of the NHS to pre- Thatcher government levels. 3. Actively support taxing the rich and big business to pay for this. Lobby your Labour MP to sign! WHAT ELSE CAN I DO? 1. Organise lobbies, pickets and protests outside pri - vate health companies offices; hold street meetings raising awareness of the coalition’s plans to priva - tise the NHS; petition people; invite anyone who signs to take part in your next protest. 2. Make contact with local doctors, fin out who op - Health Alarm at protests in London on 7 March poses the Bill and who will get involved in campaign - ing. Start a discussion with healthcare professionals about how the Bill can be made unworkable when it becomes law. 3. Call meetings to plan campaigning, but also call Demonstrate on 17 March! meetings to discuss what kind of health service we want and need. We should go beyond defending the status quo. There’s plenty of room for improvement. G “Kick the market out of the NHS” Richard Branson’s company Assura Medical plans to bid for contracts in the To contact Health Alarm call Rosie Woods on: 07734 088 243 or email [email protected]. new NHS. Demonstrate 11am-2pm at Virgin Health Club, Plaza Shopping Visit healthalarm1159.wordpress.com and facebook.com/HealthAlarm. Postal address — BM Box Centre, 120 Oxford Street, London W1D 1LT. Called by Health Alarm 4628, London, WC1N 3XX

Please support these initiatives: G Picket the Department of Health - from 2:30pm at Richmond House, 79 • dropthebill.org • dropthebill.net Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS. Called by Hackney Keep Our NHS Public • 38degrees.org.uk/page/s/ProtectourNHSPetition • keepournhspublic.com “This will create chaos Unite the fight in the NHS” By Dr. Ron Singer, President, Medical Practitioners’ Union — Unite (pc)

to save the NHS! In light of the Health and Social Care Bill passing into law, there will to be a huge tension in the system and it An invitation to all NHS campaigns will be further compounded by massive cuts. to come together to establish a It will create chaos in the NHS. What we will see over the coming years is a simple reduction of what the NHS pro - national coordinating committee On 10 March, with the slogan of “Clegg off”, 250 anti-cuts vides, on a big scale. Routine procedures will, in effect, be campaigners, students and community activists marched axed, and more and people will have to go private for oper - Wednesday 21 March 7pm at Unite HQ, from Byker — hard hit by the present cuts — through ations such as hip replacement and cataracts. Newcastle to demonstrate outside the Lib Dem conference GPs commissioning services will have to act in a ruthless 128 Theobald’s Road (corner of Boswell on Gateshead's Quayside. The march met up with a TUC way that PCTs never had to. GPs will get the blame when Street), London WC1X 8TN static rally which was just finishing. Other protests patients can’t get the care they need through the NHS. The included: a large “CONDEM Capitalism” banner-drop on national fight against the Health and Social Care Bill will Speakers include: John McDonnell MP, one of the bridges, Keep Our NHS Public actions and fringe turn into a wave of local fights over the next five years as meeting at the conference. The “Clegg Off” protest has local hospitals and services are cut, and campaigns are set Ron Singer (MPU-Unite), Rosie Woods given local activists the confidence to realise that if we upS tooc diaelf ednedm thoecmra. cy is so discredited it is now saying (Unison Health). Plenty of time for cannot get the local TUC to organise protests in the city we can’t afford a welfare state, instead it will be each centre, we can do it ourselves. discussion/planning person for themselves. This is a backward step for Ed Whitby. [Picture: Emma Conway] civilised society.

SOLIDARITY 7 REVIEW Cutting out political punch

French Molly Thomas reviews Bel Ami French occupation of Algeria, is invited by Charles Forestier, colonial an old army friend. Clothilde quickly starts an affair with I wanted to like this film. I really did. But Bel Ami , de - troops, spite all its potential, is just unlikeable. which him, for reasons entirely unclear to the viewer. had been Duroy in the film has none of the scoundrelly charm of Based on Guy de Maupassant’s novel published in 1885, in Algeria Duroy in the book. One simply cannot understand why it is the first film directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick since these women like him. Ormerod, the co-founders of theatre company Cheek by 1830, He glowers and glares his way into women’s beds, barely Jowl. took uttering a word. Even the formidable Madeleine, who first Bel Ami boasts an impressive cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Tunisia in responds to him by saying that she will not become his mis - Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci, and Colm Meaney all play 1881. The supporting roles. The production values are impressive con - tress (as if it were automatic that she should, absent some book’s sidering the film’s small budget. But it is undone by a weak special reason otherwise), eventually marries him follow - sharp and script and an abysmal leading man. ing her husband’s death. critical The story follows its protagonist Georges Duroy (por - slant on BORES trayed incompetently by the charmless Robert Pattinson) as the But her informed and intelligent conversation bores him he rises to power with the help of three women: Madeleine colonial Forestier (Thurman), Clothilde de Marelle (Ricci), and Vir - and he is already sleeping with the young, beautiful and conquest ginie Rousset (Scott Thomas). loving Clothilde. He later takes up with Virginie, osten - is His social climb is set against the backdrop of France’s sibly to punish Rousset for some slight despite the fact sidelined conquest of Tunisia in 1881 (lightly fictionalised as a con - that the only reason Rousset is unkind to him is that in the quest of Morocco, which actually came after Maupassant’s Duroy is lazy and makes Madeleine write his articles for film. death) and the rise of the mass-circulation press and its close him. connections with financial speculation. The film ends with Duroy marrying the Roussets’ daugh - ANTI-IMPERIALIST ter Suzanne (Holliday Grainger), having exposed The original text has some radical anti-imperialist edge, Madeleine’s infidelities and divorced her. He’s ruined many all but excised from the screenplay (which inexplicably lives but there is no sense of poignancy. re-dates the story to 1890). This may be because Pattinson as Duroy never changes In the film, Madeleine and Georges uncover that the invades after all, with the ministers and their his expression. Despite a busy plot, he only ever frowns or French government is planning to invade Tunisia (alias Mo - friends having first set up financial deals so that they will sneers, even when things begin to go his way. profit hugely from the invasion. The film drags, yet cuts out much of the political rocco) and they use that to topple the government through punch of Maupassant’s book, and many of its grace Duroy’s column in the newspaper La Vie Française , run by But this interesting thread is overshadowed by Duroy’s sexual escapades. He first meets the women at a party to notes, such as Duroy and Madeleine visiting Duroy’s Rousset (Meaney). parents. Then the new government, with which Rousset has links, which he, as yet just a poor ex-soldier, a veteran of the Educating for capitalism’s needs

Joe Flynn reviews School Wars by Melissa Benn within a few years, unless the labour movement fights back. The overview provided by a book such as School Wars is In School Wars Melissa Benn lays out in details the in - One section of the book dealing with Manchester Enter - useful as a way of awakening, and potentially using, an un - creasing privatisation of Britain’s schools, the scale of prise Academy was particularly terrifying. dercurrent of dissent which must be present among teach - an impending disaster. Here is a brand new school in a fabulous building with ers, students and parents across the country. class sizes of 15-20 on average — something teachers can And yet the labour movement, certainly the socialist Benn begins by highlighting a 2011 Guardian article which usually only dream of. movement, will need its own materials apart from those revealed that “civil servants privately advised ministers that This is a “New Labour Academy” — a school set up in a provided by social democrats like Melissa Benn to win the schools should be allowed to fail, if government was serious predominantly deprived area with the smug Victorian-era “war” over education, because, of course, it is a class war, about reform”. The Tories’ vision rests on an ideological be - idea that a philanthropist with a head for business is best part of the wider class struggle. lief in a market system which will allow thousands of stu - placed to shape the future lives of Britain’s youth. (As op - This book is too kind to New Labour, and Blair in partic - dents in unfashionable schools, the ones with difficult pupil posed to a “Tory Academy” of mostly middle-class schools, ular, particularly on pedagogical issues. For example, Benn intakes, bolshie staff not keen on pay-and–conditions- rated “outstanding” by Ofsted, in wealthy areas with few supports the creativity-stifling “literacy and numeracy smashing privatisation, or parents not willing to allow a difficult kids, who think that by opting out of their local au - hours” in primary schools. local “philanthropist” to have complete control over their thority they’ll save a few bob on paying for general council She ends the otherwise excellent chapter on selection and child’s education, to be left to rot. services which mainly benefit students with special educa - ability issues in schools by supporting a bizarre proposal Underfunded, run down and then targeted by a politi - tional needs.) endorsed by Conservative Future for a “banding” type so - cally-motivated Ofsted, they will be forced to close or priva - PACKAGE lution, which I think most socialists would find it hard to tised (become academies). agree with. Since the book’s publication late last year the “war” has The main sponsor of Manchester Enterprise Academy been escalated by the struggle over four Haringey primary is Manchester Airport. COMPREHENSIVE schools being forced to become academies against the The Year 9 students do projects on Leisure and Tourism Her history of the movement for comprehensive educa - wishes of heads, staff and parents. (I’ve used capital letters because that’s a bona fide subject in tion in Britain is very unsatisfying. EXCLUDE schools now, in case you didn’t know); in the sixth form stu - She admits it wasn’t centrally driven by a Labour govern - dents are offered work experience and placements. Benn demolishes the idea that academies or private ment, and praises the odd head of a local council here, rad - The students are encouraged to think about the “pack - “freedoms” empower schools or improve results, and ical educationalist there, but the role of a fired-up, post-war age” of qualifications they need to get a job when they leave proves time and again that the way schools show “im - working class, fed up with inadequate and unequal social school — and of course the set of qualifications on offer is provement” is by manipulating their pupil intake. The provision in education and other public services, is under - figures on exclusion rates are particularly telling — developed in partnership with the school’s sponsor. This is the future of “education” — training working class played. She also strongly denies any link between the move - academies exclude 82% more pupils than non-acad - ment for comprehensive education and progressive emy state schools. people in the basic minimum skills required to do certain jobs; and to make it easier for companies to train particular pedagogy, insisting that they are completely separate issues. Benn later coolly documents the flagrant corruption of the workers in the basic skills required for their jobs. Why not Even on the socialist left there is plenty of debate about fat cat scumbags behind the biggest academy chains. allow companies to run schools? It all makes sense — if the validity and limits of some of the “progressive” educa - Quoting from an ATL-researched document which re - you’re a capitalist. tional ideas implemented in some schools during the hey - ceived scant attention in the bourgeois press, Benn explains: Teachers know this sort of ideology is creeping into even day of comprehensive education — but that debate needs “In April 2010, E-ACT [a leading education sponsor] relatively normal schools, through the introduction of “sub - to be tackled head on, and we shouldn’t pretend that there whistleblowers revealed how the company’s directors had jects” such as Workskills, where students study entire units isn’t a link between the comprehensive ideal and the cre - claimed thousands of pounds of public money for luxury on why working for free is great for developing your CV — ation of space to experiment with different forms of educa - hotel rooms and long-distance taxi journeys; they also used softening up a generation of young people to the exploita - tion. chauffeur driven limousines to visit academies around the tion of the workfare schemes. Though School Wars has some of the flaws of a text writ - country.” Unfortunately, teacher unions have little to say about it, ten by a single-issue-obsessed social democrat, it is essen - E-ACT got £250 million from Labour government grants. and the wider labour movement even less so, meaning most tial reading for socialists interested in the frightening future Their director general, who has since resigned, paid himself teachers — and indeed most public sector workers who see facWineg nBereitdai nto’s reedaurcmat itohne slyasbtoemur. movement to organise £280,000 a year and once claimed £1,436 for two nights in the same erosion of basic social (let alone socialist!) values in for an alternative, based on comprehensive educational hotel suites for him and a colleague. These will be the kind their own workplace — simply adapt to the new madness as provision for all young people. of people with total control of our children’s education best they can.

8 SOLIDARITY FEATURE Refounding working-class education

Colin Waugh, further education activist and author of Plebs: The Lost Legacy of Independent Working-Class Ed - ucation , spoke to Solidarity Q: What sort of deal do working-class people get from further and higher education? A: Further education was transformed by the Thatcherite “de-industrialisation”of the economy. This undermined the clear-cut rationale that existed for further education (FE) prior to the middle 1980s. It’s never really recovered from that. It now consists mainly of vocational courses related to service sector employment in such fields as IT, health and social care, automotive, building crafts, etc. The other big element in FE now is ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). And this has become important because of the globalisation of the labour force. The previous model of FE was based on apprentices on day- or block-release from industry — for example, mechan - ical engineering, mining, shipbuilding, etc — into technical Ruskin College strikers, 1909 colleges. They were normally in unionised employment. The lecturers were drawn from the same fields. Students being pushed either into vocational subjects or out of HE al - alised that I did not have a satisfactory answer to this ques - generally could be certain of continued employment at the together. The university sector is likely to shrink, and parts tion. (I found out later that Shanley had been a student at end of their course and apprenticeship. That is no longer the of it will become more like further education, claiming to the Central Labour College in the 1920s. And much more case, except in a few niche areas. offer preparation for — or progression in — service sector recently I found out that when the TUC suppressed the Na - The majority of 16-19-year-olds in FE are on nominally jobs. At the same time, the 20 or so largest, richest and most tional Council of Labour Colleges in 1964, he had been one full time courses, although some will be trying to sustain exclusive universities, which attract the overwhelming bulk of the tutor organisers who tried to rebuild it.) themselves by working in precarious, casual employment. of research funding, will market themselves as global On these old-style technical courses there was a small, The point is that I hadn’t connected what we were doing brands. However, the same decision may also both contrasting element of “liberal studies”. It was mainly be - — defending Liberal Studies — to the history of independ - reawaken a demand for independent working-class educa - ent working-class education, the Plebs League and so on. I cause of this that people like myself — i.e. arts or social sci - tion and create opportunities for socialists to rebuild it. ence graduates — were able to get jobs as lecturers. did think in a general way that Liberal Studies had been The creaming-off process blunted the edge of working- under-theorised, but I hadn’t made this specific connection. Further education also traditionally provided a “second class demands for access to higher education by appearing chance” route for people who hadn’t been successful at so- Nor did I fully understand the class basis of our struggle to to make it available. It is arguable that this is the single most defend it — for instance that the existence of apprentice - called academic subjects in school to redo these subjects important reason why upsurges of working-class activism and/or progress to A-levels. But because of the competition ships, day-release FE, etc, was dependent on the strength of since World War Two have not been accompanied by from- union organisation, built up over years, in industry. with sixth form colleges and school sixth forms, many FE below education movements of the Plebs League type. But colleges have stopped providing this. I also didn’t really understand that the shape of Liberal it is becoming increasingly clear that much of what was of - Studies and liberal education as it existed then in FE owed FLEXIBLE fered was bogus. a lot to the WEA (Workers’ Education Association) i.e. to the These changes to FE reflect a ruling class drive to re - While there is always a struggle in HE in which some lec - organisation that the Ruskin strikers were fighting most di - structure production, create a more flexible labour turers try against the grain to design good courses and teach rectly against. force, and weaken unions. in ways that are valid from a working-class standpoint, the For example, it was modelled at least partly on the educa - overall thrust has always been, as the Ruskin strikers recog - tion for soldiers organised by the army during World War Unions had a large degree of say in the old apprentice nised, to miseducate. Two, which consisted largely of discussions about current training/education, but that came to an end. Lecturers’ con - The state has offered humanities and social science HE to affairs, topics supposedly intended to “broaden the mind”. ditions were also undermined. Relatively good conditions some sections of workers, but more often than not in a lim - This was under the control of the Army Bureau of Current for lecturers had been related to the fact that colleges needed iting and/or distorted form. But the need for valid educa - Affairs (ABCA), which in turn was shaped by people from to draw skilled craftspeople from industry into these jobs. tion — i.e. education which tends to reverse rather than to the WEA . However, the development of higher education may offer reinforce the “division of labour” between those who take Within the industrial release courses for apprentices in FE a better key than FE does to thinking about the “deal” work - strategic decisions and those who can only implement those from the 1950s to the 1980s, liberal education took the form ing-class people get and the possible relation of independ - decisions — is stronger than ever, especially in those fields. of General Studies, i.e. an hour once a day, or a couple of ent working-class education to this. Socialists need to recognise this and organise themselves hours per week. There were guidelines for content, but At the time of the Ruskin strike (1909) a section of the rul - to fight in a sustained fashion for valid provision and for in - nothing strict was laid down. It could be very free-flowing. ing class were interested in picking out and “sandpapering” creased control both by working-class students and by those Often it developed as discussion of social issues, something lecturers who want to provide them with worthwhile teach - working-class activists in order to produce compliance. in the media, or a philosophical discussion. I also did activ - ing and learning. Some of the expansion of higher education (HE), especially ities aimed at developing students’ capacity for logical We also need to press for valid education to be available in the humanities and social sciences, has arguably been thinking or reasoning, because they seemed to want and for people who are at work, including in routine and sup - driven by a similar desire. enjoy this. Despite many problems, General Studies was posedly unskilled jobs. One way in which we can do this is Between the late 1950s and the election of the Cameron often reasonably successful, and serious discussion did take to struggle for valid general education at all levels — includ - government there was a drive by the ruling class to “cream place, especially if you as a lecturer came from a back - ing in vocational courses. This would involve rebuilding off” from working-class backgrounds people who otherwise ground which enabled you to connect with the students. might have become thinkers and organisers for the work - something akin to the Liberal Studies that used to exist in technical colleges, but this time thinking it through more Liberal Studies was pushed out, but some lecturers like ers’ movement, and give them a route through higher edu - myself have continued to devise ways to introduce what we cation into professional or para-professional jobs. In short, rigorously and organising ourselves more systematically to provide it. would see as valid material into the curricular elements a strategy similar to the one tried out at Ruskin College in which have succeeded it. The most recent such element is 1909 was reproduced on a larger and larger scale. However, called Functional Skills. Of course this is very much more the Cameron Government’s decision to cut all the funding STARTED restricted than Liberal Studies, and most of the people for teaching humanities and social sciences in HE suggests Q: When/how did you start thinking about independent teaching it have had little or no chance to become aware of that decision-makers judge that this method of producing working-class education? the history which lies behind it, and therefore do not con - compliance is no longer needed — at least in the UK. sciously contest the basic skills ethos which dominates it. This decision must lead to many working-class people A: It started for me soon after I became employed as a Lib - eral Studies lecturer with industrial release students from 1969 onwards, first at Brixton (now Lambeth) College, then PLEBS from 1970 at Tottenham College (now CHENEL). Q: What historical experiences should we look to in re - Ruskin College At Tottenham between 1972 and 1974 a colleague called lation to independent working-class education? Lauri Say showed the Liberal Studies lecturers there — about 14 of us — how the job could be worth doing. Lauri A: For me the Plebs League was unique, and the most Ruskin College was established by American philan - valid model of practice that we have. thropists in 1899 for working-class men who lacked had in his childhood been to a Socialist Sunday School, i.e. There have been other examples which anyone trying to formal education. to an institution that was part of the tradition of independ - ent working-class education. Later, when attempts to nar - rebuild that tradition can learn from. One was the Scottish In 1909 a group of students committed to Marxism row and crush Liberal Studies, along with FE more Labour College. Another was the SPD set-up in Germany, and/or a better education at Ruskin, went on strike for generally, occurred (from about 1977 to the mid 1980s), be - which included a trade union school, a WEA-style pro - their own educational goals and in defence of their Prin - cause I had been inspired by Lauri, I tried, with others, to or - gramme — with singing clubs, cycling clubs, etc — and the cipal who had been sacked. ganise a struggle to defend it, in that college, across London party school founded in 1906 in which Rosa Luxemburg Students and ex-students at Ruskin had already estab - and nationally. While that was going on and a movement taught. Another example was Brookwood College in New lished the Plebs League, which stood for independent had been created amongst those lecturers, a discussion took York State — where people around A. J. Muste tried to take working-class education. place amongst us at Tottenham that had a big effect on me. on AFL domination and were eventually shut down by Ruskin strikers set up the Central Labour College, A part-time Liberal Studies lecturer called Jock Shanley them. whAi clho nwgo aurltdic wleo rbky cCloosleinly W waituhg thh eo nP ltehbes sLee aegvueen. ts can — I didn’t know him well except that he had been a leading But to my knowledge the Ruskin strike and Plebs League be found at www.post16educator.org.uk. trade unionist in the furniture trade — posed an extremely are the only example of workers themselves opposing the searching question about what we were trying to do. He just educational arm of the ruling class — in their case, Oxford said “Yes, but what is it [i.e. Liberal Studies etc] for?” I re - Continues on page 10 SOLIDARITY 9 FEATURE

From page 9

University in alliance with the WEA — directly in the way that they did. Some of the initiatives which people tend to connect with The trap of “left- working-class self-education were probably not much good. For instance, on the basis of the one in Turin, Gramsci criti - cised the Popular Universities, which existed in many parts of Europe including pre-revolutionary Russia, essentially on the grounds that they offered workers a substandard cur - riculum made up of dumbed-down fragments. He main - tained that workers entered them with a genuine appetite wing” relativism for education but, because big-name philosophers like Benedetto Croce refused to become involved, they were, in his view, dominated and rendered worthless by a positivist ideology. To assess such initiatives we need an independent con - ception of what education aimed at activists is for, and a model of how it can be conducted. For me such a conception would focus on workers trying to inform themselves about what really happened on occasions in the past when “the instrumental classes” — i.e. industrial workers but also pre- industrial artisans, peasants, etc — have taken action collec - tively for themselves, including about the strategies that they created and the ideas that went with this. And this model needs to be centred on “reciprocal” or “mutual” education between, on the one hand, people who have undergone mainstream higher education and have at - tached themselves seriously to the socialist and working- class movement, and, on the other, working-class activists, who have often been autodidacts. This kind of educational exchange is something Gramsci wrote about. Eventually he arrived at the idea that those two groups of people could come together and work on a project of educating wider layers of people both within and beyond the core industrial working-class. They would be si - multaneously educating one another, and connecting with peasants, artisans and impoverished intellectuals who, in the Italy of his day, would otherwise by mobilised by the Saddam Hussein’s “Victory Arch”. For the politically-correct, there are no objective standards, either in aesthetics or in politics. fascists. I think that, like the activities of the Ruskin strik - ers, this model has a lot to tell us about what we should try (and Einstein) is rejected in favour of “ethno-mathematics” to do now and in the future. and “feminist science”. Now, it is certainly not my intention here to deny that REBEL mainstream education and culture has always downplayed Q: Do you think there is any scope for students in higher the contributions of women and black people. In particular, education today to “rebel” against the kind of educa - the superiority of early Asian civilisation over European tion they get? As We Were Saying ones has been consistently ignored by most Western histo - A: When I was at Sussex University in the early 1960s the rians. And who knows what unrecorded contributions to education I received looked superficially quite innovatory, This article from Solidarity ’s forerunner , Socialist Organ - culture and science were made in Africa over the centuries? but the more I reflect on it, the more conservative I think it iser (11 June 1991), criticises “political correctness”, focus - But that cannot detract from the fact (sorry to have to in - was. I did rebel against it at the time, and I did come from a ing on art and culture, from the point of view of the sist on prosaic old “facts”) that the highest achievements of background that should have equipped me to do that effec - Marxist left, (as opposed to right-wing prejudice). Jim art, literature, science, history and philosophy that we have tively, in that both my parents were autodidacts, and my fa - Denham argues here in favour of free speech and objec - on record tend to be the work of “DWEM”s. They are (or ther became a socialist by conviction while serving in World tive standards in aesthetics, in a still-pertinent debate. should be) everyone’s birthright. To reject mainstream European culture because of racist, War One. A number of colleges and universities in the US have sexist societies that produced it, is to deny the working class But, as with Liberal Studies, I think I would have been begun adopting PC codes, supposedly intended to curb and the oppressed their opportunity to arm themselves ide - much better able to formulate a coherent critique of the cur - behaviour and/or language that might give offence to ologically for the battle for a new, better society. riculum at Sussex if I had known about the tradition of racial minorities, women, gays and lesbians. working-class self-education. So I think that rebuilding the VICTIMS Some of this is quite reasonable and no-one but a bigot IWCE tradition could play a big part in helping present-day Ironically, the chief victims of the PC movement are could object. But quite a bit is downright silly, and some of university students who are questioning the value of their black students. According to the Marxist historian of it is an affront to any conception of free speech. courses to think their way through to valid alternatives. slavery, Eugene Genovese, “we have transformed our The University of Connecticut, for instance, has prohib - Q: What else do we need to think about when talking colleges from places of higher learning into places for ited “inappropriately directed laughter”. The New York about IWCE today? the technical training of poorly prepared young men Times has adopted a “style book” that requires the use of the and women who need a degree to get a job in a college- term “adult male” in place of “man”. The word “burly” is A: I think it’s not catastrophist to say that all three sectors crazy society”. of state-provided post-compulsory education — FE, HE and also on the PC banned list. adult education — are undergoing a crisis in which they are I tried the “burly” on my boss, a committed feminist and Meanwhile, young black people are ghettoised into Afro- very close to becoming dysfunctional. But every attempt to anti-racist. What images and implications did the word con - American studies and their educational achievements de - resist this from below is hampered by the lack of a positive, jure up? “Male”, “big”, maybe (but not necessarily) “stu - valued accordingly. concrete alternative. pid”. The PC movement has banned “burly” because it The PC relativists no doubt disdain such formal cate - With regard to FE, for example, the attempt to propose al - supposedly gives a negative image of black men. gories as “left” and “right” but my guess is that they would ternatives often starts from a crudified anti-vocationalism. As my boss pointed out (when I explained the point of not object too strongly to being called “left wing”. In fact But you can’t talk to young working-class people if you the exercise to her), that argument only makes sense if you they are profoundly reactionary. don’t relate to their need or desire to work and earn a wage are pre-disposed to the assumption that all black men (sorry, The exiled Iraqi architect Samir al-Khalil recently pub - and therefore to get on a course which they think might help males) are big and stupid. lished a book ( The Monument ) which examines the role of them do that — especially at a time when life has been made But linguistic Stalinism is only one manifestation of the art and architecture in Saddam’s military dictatorship. so difficult for young people. If we had a vibrant IWCE sys - PC: it comes as part of a package deal that involves extend - Khalil is especially scathing about Robert Venturi, the “post- tem, or at least a reasonably high profile attempt to build ing (or rather, reducing) multi-culturalism to an absolute modern” architect presently in the news because of his Na - one, a model for such an alternative would be much more “relativism”. According to this view, there is no such thing tional Gallery extension . readily available than it is now. But at the same time, any as objective “knowledge”, “facts” do not exist; philosophi - Venturi was one of many Western architects who tried to attempt to rebuild IWCE in isolation from struggles to de - cally “reality” is a complete illusion. One culture, philoso - make money from Saddam’s huge programme of grotesque fend and rebuild the state-provided system is also likely to phy, scientific theory, concept of history, or whatever, is as public works, climaxing in the infamous “Victory Arch” fail. So there needs to be a constant and dialectical exchange good as another. It’s all subjective, a matter of opinion. based on giant replicas of Saddam’s own arms holding between these two areas of activity. But here we come to the central contradiction of sabres. Khalil accuses Venturi of something more than sim - PC/relativism: instead of applying their own laissez-faire Q: And what kind of projects now? ple greed and opportunism: his artistic prostitution is the approach to themselves (as well as everyone else) they pro - direct result of his relativism. A: The project which we have developed from the unex - claim it to be the only acceptable point of view, and set I didn’t follow this line of argument at first, but then it fell pected level of interest generated by the pamphlet on the about purging reading lists, limiting free speech and hound - into place. For the likes of Venturi, Saddam’s regime and the Ruskin strike which I put out in 2009 has had some success ing “incorrect” academics. requirements it places upon arts and culture is just as ac - in drawing together a constituency of people who are inter - A special target are “DWEMs” — Dead White European ceptable as any other commission. You want grotesque, mil - ested in these concepts and historical experiences. It has Males. These include Plato, Shakespeare, Voltaire, Newton itaristic kitsch? You’ve got it! For Venturi there are no held meetings in Sheffield, at the Working Class Movement and (presumably) Marx. The object seems to be the com - objective standards, either in aesthetics or in politics. plete repudiation of the entire Western cultural tradition Library in Salford, at Northern College and in London, and This is a particularly extreme example of “relativism”, (tainted as it is with racism, sexism, etc) in favour of more I have spoken about the Plebs League to a range of audi - and it would obviously be unfair to bracket all the PC move - “Politically Correct” alternatives. ences. ment adherents together with this particular charlatan. Just explaining the background to the strike and giv - In particular, mighty efforts are being made to “prove” But they are linked by a common philosophical ap - ing a narrative of what the Ruskin students did seems that Western civilisation has its origin not in the Greeks but proach, and it’s one that Marxists should fight tooth and to inspire people. in black African sources. Similarly the science of Newton nail. 10 SOLIDARITY REPORTS Jobs massacre at Remploy

By Darren Bedford should invest more into tiatives into the unac - Remploy factories across supporting individuals countable charity sector the country is one of the Remploy workers face a rather than subsidising (which is also seeing its worst decision that this further wave of attacks protected employment. public funding slashed) is discredited coalition gov - as bosses plan to close The report recommends the really “Victorian” as - ernment has taken since an initial 36 factories and redirecting money to the pect in the picture. It re - coming to office.” privatise a further 18, Access to Work fund, duced disabled workers to Leading union activist with a view to closure. whose average spend per victims who must rely on Les Woodward said: Nearly 2,000 workers person is less than £3,000 philanthropy for support “Angry is too small a face compulsory redun - and which has itself seen rather than social provi - word. It’s all part of the dancy. significant cuts. Sayce sion to support them in government cuts agenda. claims she wants to see leading independent lives. It’s got nothing to do with The closures include the loss-making factories Remploy was founded looking after disabled peo - effective abolition of all turned round, but is clear by the post-war Labour ple, there’s no rhyme or Remploy employment in that business and profit – government in 1945 to reason to it. There are 54 Wales, with just two of not disabled workers’ offer protected employ - Remploy factories employ - nine factories escaping the needs – are the key start - ment for disabled workers. ing 2,000 disabled people. chop. ing point: “I think it is re - Remploy workers have All that is going to come The move comes after ally important that those faced a number of attacks, out of this is that 2,000 dis - the publication of a gov - factories should be given a most focusing on factory abled people are going to ernment-commissioned re - chance to show if they can around and make a suc - Smith has called protected closures, over the past pe - be added to the unemploy - view into disabled be viable. I really think cess of it, really go for it, employment “Victorian- riod. ment figures.” workers’ employment con - Remploy shop stew - there should be good busi - good luck, and I really era segregation”, the gov - Phil Davies, GMB na - ducted by Liz Sayce, the ards will meet on 26 and ness support, and if some - hope that works.” ernment’s plan for hiving tional secretary for Rem - director of Disability 27 March to discuss their body has got a good idea Although Tory welfare off of welfare provision ploy, said “This decision to Rights UK, which argued fightback. for how to turn something minister Iain Duncan from government-run ini - sack 1,752 people in 36 that the government London Troublemakers’ Group Packaging Sheffield Unison: How can we organise to win power in our workplaces and our unions? Come and meet other rank-and-file trade union activists to discuss strategies for fighting back at work – and workers winning. We’ll be using Labor Notes ’ Troublemaker’s Handbook and will be joined by Labor Notes co-founder locked out Kim Moody. This is our first meeting, and we hope to almost unleashed develop an ongoing programme of workshops and By Stewart Ward training. Anyone interested in worker organising, from any trade union, is welcome to attend. Bosses at the Trans - foods food packaging By a Unison activist run by Unison’s regional Wednesday 28 March, 7-9:30pm, upstairs at the plant in Birkenhead, office due to the local bu - near Liverpool, have The “Unison Unleashed” reaucracy’s incompetence. Exmouth Arms (Starcross Street, nr. Euston) joined employers at rank-and-file caucus in It has not held an AGM, For more information, contact [email protected] or the Mayr-Melnhof the Sheffield local gov - or elections, since 2010. ring 07961040618 Packaging plant in ernment branch of the Unison Unleashed was Bootle in locking out public sector union Uni - formed to fight for greater hundreds of workers son has narrowly democracy and rank-and- after employees’ missed out on unseating file control in the branch, protests against redun - the existing bureau - as well as to provide a Attacks ahead in lecturers’ union dancies. cratic leadership of the strategy for fight savage By a UCU activist the candidate of the Social - Her post-election address Just 38 days after new branch in the branch’s local government cuts first election in two ist Workers’ Party-led to members, Hunt an - management took over (which the existing branch years. Sally Hunt, the right-wing “UCU Left”. nounced plans for a “re - the factory, workers were leadership had so spectac - incumbent, has been re- Hunt’s leadership so far view” into the union’s told that work would be ularly failed to do, and in - elected general secre - The existing branch has been characterised by strAu crteuvrieesw. conducted by moving to a site in Bod - deed had blocked). tary of the University and chair, John Mordecai, was witch-hunts against the left a conservative bureau - min, Cornwall. The plant The members clearly re - College Union. re-elected, but by only 410 and an eagerness to roll cracy can only end was summarily closed votes to Unleashed’s 378 sponded to this. over on industrial issues and workers found Unleashed will con - She won 73% of the vote badly; rank-and-file UCU for that position. Similarly, such as pensions and pay. themselves locked out. tinue to campaign, and against Mark Campbell, activists should fight it. for the Branch Communi - this positive result will Unite, the workers’ cations Officer position inevitably unsettle the union, had agreed a re - there were just 100 votes right-wing leadership WHAT IS CAPITALISM? CAN IT LAST? T&Cs not for dundancy package but it in it, though Unleashed and provide more av - Ideas for Freedom 2012 — a weekend of socialist now looks as if bosses ran a brand new activist. enues for movement. discussion and debate hosted by Workers’ Liberty sale! will renege on that The branch has been agreement and pay the Friday 29 June-Sunday 1 July By Darren Bedford 218 workers likely to Highgate Newtown Community Centre, Archway, North lose their jobs only the Support Thomson Reuters cleaners: London Members of the tube statutory minimum. union RMT will consider Locked-out workers demonstrate on 16 March! an offer from London demonstrated at the Ideas for Freedom combines a serious approach to Underground Limited on plant on Tuesday 13 Marxist ideas with a commitment to activism in the Olympics working, March. workers’, student, feminist and other movements, em - which includes a £350 Unite officer Franny phasising accessibility, mutual education and free de - lump-sum bonus. Joyce said: “The workers bate. This year’s event will focus on how to understand have been treated with However, it also in - what capitalism is and what kind of anti-capitalist poli - contempt by Tulip, volves some changes to tics are necessary to overthrow it. Sessions include: which is the UK arm of working agreements Danish Crown and took • How do we make socialism a force again? which could, for example, over the plant last De - • Understanding the new anti-capitalism see some workers de - cember. • What's wrong with conspiracy theories? ployed to any station on “After just 38 days of • The NHS we had, the one we have and the one we want the network at next to no ownership, they an - Cleaning workers working for Thomson Reuters will • Why and how to read Marx’s Capital notice. nounced the closure of demonstrate to demand living wages at their City of London • The economics of the Eurozone crisis Workers’ Liberty mem - this site and last Monday offices on Friday 16 March, and at their Canary Wharf • In the Diamond Jubilee year: 1649, when British bers working on the tube they locked out the em - building on Tuesday 20 March. revolutionaries established a republic will be arguing that work - ployees and boarded up • Friday night: celebrating the class struggles of 1972, with ing conditions and agree - the plant.” The first protest will take place at 5pm at the Thomson film footage and speakers who took part ments are not for sale at If 2011 was the year Reuters building, 33 Aldgate High Street, London EC3N 1DL. any price. Meanwhile, the of the use of mass union is balloting mem - sackings to undermine The workers, who are members of the Industrial Workers of Weekend tickets bought before the end of April are £22 waged, bers at TfL and TubeLines workers’ organisation, the World, also accuse Thomson Reuters bosses of bullying, £14 low-waged/HE students, £6 unwaged/FE and school stu - 2012 may be seeing ovMero Orely: mpics working. harassment and refusing to negotiate over pay and dents. Day tickets also available. Send a cheque to AWL, 20E the return of the lock- Tower Workshops, 58 Riley Road, SE1 3DG or pay online at workersliberty.org/twblog conditions. www.workersliberty.org/ideas out. SOLIDARITY 11 Turkey’s S&o Wloirkdersa’ Lirbeirtty y role in Syria

By Rhodri Evans Sunni rulers of Iraqi Kur - distan. The biggest influence in Turkey’s alliances in the outcome in Syria, if Iran put it in conflict with the Assad tyranny falls, Iran, which has openly is likely to be Turkey. supported the ruling Turkey has a 910-kilo - Shi’a Dawa party of Nuri metre common border al-Maliki. And Turkey has with Syria, and an esti - also maintain its long- mated 11,000 Syrian standing ties with the refugees from the recent USA. repression, including In September 2011 armed groups of the Turkey finalised terms for “Free Syrian Army”. It is the siting of a US-de - also the biggest economic signed NATO radar sys - power in the region, with tem on its territory. US a GDP (2011) of $798 bil - officials were jubilant: lion, way ahead of Saudi “This is probably the Arabia ($561 billion), Iran biggest strategic decision ($451 billion), Israel ($249 between the United States billion), Egypt ($231 bil - and Turkey in the past 15 lion), or Iraq ($108 bil - or 20 years”. They ex - Pensions fight: build lion). plained that data from the Its 510,000-strong army radar system will be is one of the big military shared with Israel. powers in the region, though slightly smaller STRAINED than Iran’s armed forces Turkey’s traditional for sustained action (523,000). close ties with Israel With its application to have been strained. join the European Union Recently (26 February) blocked for the foresee - Turkey began banning Is - able future, the Turkish raeli flights carrying government seems to “dangerous materials” after 28 March! have turned to establish - (with “dangerous” de - ing itself as the interlocu - fined so that this includes tor of the region, The unions consulting their Members of the Public with Welsh teachers’ union which includes rolling, most Israeli cargo planes) balancing one connection members on further action and Commercial Services UCAC and Scottish teachers’ selective and targeted from using its airspace. against another. over public sector pensions union (PCS), the National union EIS. strikes – supported by Yet the ties have not been will receive the results of Union of Teachers (NUT), The fight in those unions strike levies – as well as broken. Israel-Turkey their surveys, and take and the University and now is to make 28 March all-out one-day strikes. PIVOT trade has continued to in - decisions, between 14 and College Union (UCU) could the start of a programme of It has projected itself as crease (about $4 billion a 16 March. strike on 28 March, along sustained industrial action • For more, see page 5. the pivot both for secu - year). larists and for Sunni Is - Turkey also, despite lamists; kept links both conflicts, keeps up its with the USA and Israel, links with Iran. In Febru - on one hand, and Iran ary 2011 Turkey’s presi - on the other. dent Abdullah Gul led a large delegation of 135 In September 2011 government officials and The Afghan spiral Turkish prime minister 100 businessmen on a Erdogan toured the North visit to Iran, and declared, African countries of the jointly with Iranian presi - By Gerry Bates two-thirds of the civilian of Islamic codes, and they were working with) “Arab spring”. Despite dent Ahmedinejad, that killings are the work of the where broadly Islamist which followed Afghan re - the Islamist roots of his According to the United he expected Iranian-Turk - Taliban. Although the ideas had wide support. fuse workers, on 22 Febru - party, he pointedly dis - Nations, 3,120 civilians ish trade to rise soon to UN’s bias, and in a situa - Many people who dis - ary, discovering burned tanced himself from local were killed by US, $30 billion a year (it is tion where hard facts are like and fear the Taliban copies of the Quran at the Islamists like the Muslim British, other NATO, and often difficult to pin down, will be even more hostile US’s Bagram base. Brotherhood in Egypt or currently $10 billion). Karzai government is likely to be to minimise to what they see as rule by US government policy is Ennahda in Tunisia. Turkish prime minister forces in Aghanistan be - the responsibility of the US an alien power or by the to withdraw US troops “Turkey is a demo - Erdogan will visit Iran tween 2006 and the end and its allies, and to max - corrupt and incompetent from combat operations in next month (April 2012). of 2011. cratic, secular, and social imise blame on the Tal - local allies of that alien 2014 (though the US will state of law”, he declared, Turkey’s official state - iban, the Taliban is known power. almost certainly try to ments on Syria have been A large chunk of those presenting it as a model. to be a clerical-fascistic keep some military deaths are caused by aerial “A secular state takes guarded, limited to calls force and to have ruled DECADE foothold), and the UK gov - bombings — 187 in 2011. equal distance to all reli - such as for access for hu - brutally in 1996-2001, so it The nett effect of the ernment is looking to dis - Despite constant and in - gious groups, including manitarian aid. Turkey’s is likely enough that the decade of military inter - entangle itself too. creasingly hollow claims Muslims, Christians, Jews regional policy indicates a Taliban has killed most of vention by the US and its Given the reality of the by US and NATO com - and atheists”. He added: policy in Syria of trying the civilians. allies has thus been not Taliban and the Karzai manders that there is “This is not secularism in to build a broad coalition, to finish off the Taliban, regime, US and UK with - progress towards peace, the Anglo-Saxon or West - including but not con - RALLYING but to some degree to drawal is unlikely to lead the civilian deaths are not ern sense; a person is not trolled by the (Sunni- The people of rebuild its support. to peace, and may well decreasing. secular, the state is secu - based Islamist) Muslim Afghanistan have not re - trigger many horrors. All these trends have lar”; but that did not sat - Brotherhood. acted by rallying to the Only strong intervention KILLINGS been highlighted by recent isfy the local Islamists. Independence from the US and its allies. by the labour movement in The UN figure for civilian events: In Iraq, Turkey has Turkish government and Pakistan, to undermine the killings by pro-US forces In 2001, Taliban rule in • The killing of 16 openly backed the oppo - its regional ambitions will base of the Taliban, can has increased some Kabul collapsed quickly. Afghan civilians on 11 sition Iraqqiya party led be vital for any working- change that calculus deci - years and decreased On the evidence, the Tal - March, by a US soldier by Iyad Allawi, which is class or radical-demo - others, but in 2011 was sively. iban was very unpopular gone berserk; But the foreign troops also backed by the USA. cratic force hoping to almost twice what it was in Kabul. However, even • The killing of six UK are doing more harm Iraqqiya is heavily based make headway in Syria in 2006. then the Taliban was prob - soldiers by a Taliban bomb than good, and making on Sunni Arab votes, amidst the revolt against ably not so unpopular in on 6 March; the probable sequels The figure for civilian though Allawi is a secular the dictatorship. the countryside, where it • The uproar (including worse. The sooner But to present that re - deaths overall shows a steady Shia. Turkey has culti - was less aggressive in im - the killing of two US sol - they’re gone the better , volt as just a catspaw of increase. vated good and lucrative posing its special version diers by Afghan troops or at least the less-bad. “imperialism” is false. The UN says that about relations with the secular-