So& Wloirkdersa’ Lirbeirtty y No 281 10 April 2013 30p/80p www.workersliberty.org For a workers’ government Thatcher is dead. Marxism and Debate on Kill Thatcherism! the oppressed Syria page 5 pages 6-7 pages 9-10 STOP “BEDROOM See article on page 3 TAX” EVICTIONS! 2 NEWS What is the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty? Who are FEMEN? Today one class, the working class, lives by selling its labour power to another, the capitalist class, which owns the means of production. Society is shaped by the capitalists’ By Elizabeth relentless drive to increase their wealth. Capitalism causes poverty, unemployment, the blighting of lives Butterworth by overwork, imperialism, the destruction of the environment and much else. When Tunisian feminist Against the accumulated wealth and power of the Amina Tyler posted top - capitalists, the working class has one weapon: solidarity. less pictures of herself The Alliance for Workers’ Liberty aims to build solidarity through online with “Fuck Your struggle so that the working class can overthrow capitalism. We want Morals” and “My body be - socialist revolution: collective ownership of industry and services, longs to me and is not a workers’ control and a democracy much fuller than the present system, source of anyone’s hon - with elected representatives recallable at any time and an end to our” written across her bureaucrats’ and managers’ privileges. chest, she received death We fight for the labour movement to break with “social partnership” threats and was put in a and assert working-class interests militantly against the bosses. psychiatric hospital. “Top - Our priority is to work in the workplaces and trade unions, less Jihad Day” was the supporting workers’ struggles, producing workplace bulletins, helping Ukrainian feminist group organise rank-and-file groups. FEMEN’s response. We are also active among students and in many campaigns and alliances. In various cities, topless activists’ slogans were “Free We stand for: Amina”, “Fuck Your Showing solidarity only when it suits G Independent working-class representation in politics. Morals”, “Bare Breasts A workers’ government, based on and accountable to the labour G Against Islamism” and are not good. They do not grounds that it brought sex pose Morsi. They objected movement. “Viva Topless Jihad”. A few properly differentiate be - tourism with it, in contrast to Ikea’s erasing of women G A workers’ charter of trade union rights — to organise, to strike, to FEMEN supporters also tween Islam and Islamism. to the self-organised sex from its catalogues in Saudi picket effectively, and to take solidarity action. wore fake beards to dress as Taxation of the rich to fund decent public services, homes, education They protest against not workers at the 2012 Arabia, with one Muslim G stereotypes of Arab men. and jobs for all. only the Muslim Brother - Olympics which called for activist holding a sign say - Some Muslim women re - G A workers’ movement that fights all forms of oppression. Full hood but also outside regu - no arrests and no deporta - ing “Allah created me visi - equality for women and social provision to free women from the burden acted against this, saying lar mosques. tions. ble”. And, of course, Amina of housework. Free abortion on request. Full equality for lesbian, gay, FEMEN are Islamophobes Their politics are incoher - They are not interested in Tyler’s actions were coura - bisexual and transgender people. Black and white workers’ unity and imperialists, posting ent and do not account for solidarity with sex workers geous and inspiring. against racism. pictures online with slogans cultural, societal and indi - or sex workers’ rights. They But it appears that to be G Open borders. such as “Nudity does not vidual interpretations of say that sex workers “sat - FEMEN one just has to be G Global solidarity against global capital — workers everywhere have liberate me and I do not Islam. Their ignorance and isfy the lusty beast of patri - topless and daubed with more in common with each other than with their capitalist or Stalinist need saving”, “Do I look lack of interest in the global archy” and compare slogans. That’s limiting. rulers. like I need imperialists to women’s movement has led prostitution to fascism. Pol - White women dressing G Democracy at every level of society, from the smallest workplace or free me from oppression!” to this outpouring of anger ish sex workers have up as caricatures of Arab community to global social organisation. and “Islam Gave Me Free - from Muslim women. They protested against FEMEN, men is much worse. It is ab - G Working-class solidarity in international politics: equal rights for all dom”. show solidarity only when saying “FEMEN! Get the solutely racist and demon - nations, against imperialists and predators big and small. FEMEN’s response was it suits their message. fuck out of our business!” strates an attitude to G Maximum left unity in action, and openness in debate. an incoherent article by They demand people to non-white women that is at If you agree with us, please take some copies of Solidarity to sell — G their leader Inna get totally on-board with BIZARRE best patronising. and join us! Shevchenko accusing Mus - them, for example saying Their version of feminism Our problem with lim women who are against “Muslim women: Let’s get is also bizarrely national - FEMEN is not that they are Contact us: FEMEN of not standing up naked!” rather than looking istic. One of their core “skinny white feminists” for themselves and saying into different women’s aims on their website is who get their tits out, but 020 7394 8923 [email protected] G G she would like to see a movements and supporting promoting the Ukraine as that they talk a load of The editor (Cathy Nugent), 20e Tower Workshops, Riley world free of various “trou - and working with existing “the country with great garbage, attack sex workers, Road, London, SE1 3DG. bles”. secularist and women’s opportunities for women”. patronise other women and The leaders of FEMEN G Printed by Trinity Mirror groups or even trying to Despite their usual anti- have no real analysis of convince people about their church stance they lobby for feminism outside of Europe. “Incompetent” still message. independence for the They say, “We have worked running the show A bit like internet hackers Ukrainian Orthodox out our own unique form of Get Solidarity every week! “Anonymous”, to some ex - Church. self-expression based upon tent it is a loose network. courage, creativity, effi - G Trial sub, 6 issues £5 o They have a strange atti - “This bank failed be - Women might support tude to womanhood as ciePnucbylaicndnusdhiotcyki”s. aRifgahir t. G 22 issues (six months). £18 waged o cause the management them without realising their well. They have said “we tactic. But what little sub - £9 unwaged o got it completely full range of aims and be - build up a national image of stance there is behind the wrong”, according to a liefs. Their leaders are quite G 44 issues (year). £35 waged o femininity, maternity and slogans and bare breasts Tory-chaired parliamen - vague. Yet it does have of - beauty based on the Euro- is troubling. £17 unwaged o tary committee investi - fices, leaders and stated be - Atlantic women’s move - G European rate: 28 euros (22 issues) o gating the collapse of liefs. What are those beliefs? ments’ experience”. or 50 euros (44 issues) o HBOS, which collapsed FEMEN attack sex work - They train their activists and was taken over by ers. They support the at a camp in Paris, promot - “C2” women Tick as appropriate above and send your money to: Lloyds, which in turn Ukrainian state’s prohibi - ing “hot boobs, a cool head against the Tories 20e Tower Workshops, Riley Road, London, SE1 3DG had to be rescued by tion of sex work, and advo - and clean hands”. Cheques (£) to “AWL”. semi-nationalisation. cate the criminalisation of There are positive aspects The top boss was prostitution in other coun - “C2” (skilled manual Or make £ and euro payments at workersliberty.org/sub. to FEMEN. They are gener - “delusional”. Hundreds tries. They say they are ally secularists. They are worker) women have of billions of public waging a “war on the sex pro-choice. They are anti- swung away from the Name . money were pumped industry”. dictatorships, and have ac - Tories more than any into saving the banks. In a protest in Paris at a costed Putin shouting “Go other social group. Pro- Address . Now the Tories are try - porn industry event, they to hell Dictator”. They have Tory sentiment among ing to make the working physically attacked two per - them has declined by . protested against the Pope class pay the price, while formers, and invaded the for the Catholic Church’s 12% since the 2010 elec - I enclose £ . the “incompetent” still stage with “Go Rape Your - stance on contraception and tion, according to an run the banks and get self” written across their abortion. They worked with Ipsos Mori poll. huge pay-outs. bodies. They protested Egyptian feminists to op - against Euro 2012 on the 3 NEWS Stop “bedroom tax” evictions! By David Kirk and Hove councils have 1 April was the start date will other rich people. said they will refuse to for the “Bedroom Tax”. It is For worse-off people, Across the country evict people who fall into a cut in housing benefit for there is a pitiful supply of demonstrations and arrears on rent payments social housing tenants of council and housing associ - meetings have been held due to the “Bedroom Tax”. working age who are ation properties available against the “Bedroom Nottingham’s right-wing deemed to have one or at any size because little Tax”.