Socialist Fight No. 15 October/November 2013 Price: Waged £2 (€3) Concessions: 50p (€1) Austerity Britain: Starving school kids and obscene privilege Not One Nation but two irreconcilably opposed social classes Mirror Teacher Poll Results: Have you seen an increase of any of the following happen- ing in your schools in the last two academic years? Children coming to school hungry YES: 85.51% Increase in uptake of free school meals YES: 79.8% Children unable to afford school trips YES: 83.45% Parents seeking advice from the school on education grants/allowances YES: 74.87% Parents unable to afford school uniforms YES: 76.98% Children with unexplained absences from school YES: 83.28% Children unable to concentrate in class Disraeli’s and Miliband’s One Nation come from noblesse oblige, a feudal obligation on the aristocracy to be pater- YES: 88.21% nalistic and pity the poor in the interests of maintaining Children leaving school because they can no longer privilege and social stability lest revolution break out. afford to live in the area YES: 61.81% Children travelling long distances to school because they have moved away from the area YES: 74.77% What impact do you think the benefit cuts will have on your school? * A large negative impact: 43.83% * Some negative impact: 47.9% * No impact: 2.44% * Some positive impact: 0.68% * A large positive impact: 0.27% Bullingdon Club Tory millionaire class of ‘87: Buller aris- tos Cameron (back, second left) and Johnson (front right). * Don’t know: 4.88% ,đoàn kết là sức mạnh, Jedność jest siła اتحاد قدرت است ., ,Unity is strength, L’union fait la force, Es la unidad fuerza, Η ενότητα είναι δύναμη ykseys on kesto, યુનિટિ થ્રૂ .િા, Midnimo iyo waa awood, hundeb ydy chryfder, Einheit ist Stärke, एकता शक्ति, है единстве наша сила, vienybės jėga, الوحدة هو ,unità è la resistenza, 団結は力だ, A união faz a força, eining er styrkur, De eenheid is de sterkte ,אחדות היא כוח ,bashkimi ben fuqine !Ní neart go chur le céile, pagkakaisa ay kalakasan, jednota is síla, 일성은 이다 힘 힘, Workers of the World Unite ,القوة Socialist Fight Where We Stand Socialist Fight is a member of 1. WE STAND WITH KARL to the political agenda of the petty- the Liaison Committee for the MARX: ‘The emancipation of the bourgeois reformist leaders of the La- Fourth International with the working classes must be conquered by bour party and trade unions Liga Comunista of Brazil and the working classes themselves. The 5. We support the fight of all the spe- the Tendencia Militante Bol- struggle for the emancipation of the cially oppressed; Black and Asian, chevique of Argentina. working class means not a struggle for women, lesbians and gay men, bisexu- The Editorial Board is: class privileges and monopolies but als and transgender people against Gerry Downing, Laurence for equal rights and duties and the discrimination in all its forms and their Humphries, Carl Zacharia, Ail- abolition of all class rule’ (The Inter- right to organise separately in that ish Dease, Chris Williams, Clara national Workingmen’s Association fight in society as a whole. In particu- Rosen and Aggie McCallum. 1864, General Rules). lar we defend their right to caucus 2. The capitalist state consists, in the inside trade unions and in working Contact: last analysis, of ruling-class laws within class political parties. Socialist Fight: PO Box 59188, a judicial system and detention centres 6. We recognise that class society, and London, NW2 9LJ, overseen by the armed bodies of po- capitalism as the last form of class [email protected]. lice/army who are under the direction society, is by its nature patriarchal. In Liga Comunista, Brazil: http:// and are controlled in acts of defence that sense the oppression of women is lcligacomuni- of capitalist property rights against the different from all other forms of op- sta.blogspot.co.uk/ interests of the majority of civil soci- pression and discrimination. Because Voice of Anti-capitalism in Guildford: ety. The working class must over- this social oppression is inextricably http://suacs.wordpress.com/ throw the capitalist state and replace it tied to private property, and its inheri- with a workers’ state based on democ- tance, to achieve full sexual, social and Signed articles do not necessar- ratic soviets/workers’ councils to sup- economic freedom and equality for all ily represent the views of the press the inevitable counter-revolution we need to overthrow class society SF EB of private capitalist profit against itself. planned production for the satisfac- 7. We fight racism and fascism. We Subscribe to Socialist tion of socialised human need. support the right of people to fight Fight and In Defence of 3. We recognise the necessity for revo- back against racist and fascist attacks Trotskyism lutionaries to carry out serious ideo- by any means necessary. Self-defence logical and political struggle as direct is no offence! We support ‘No Plat- Four Issues: UK: £12.00, EU: participants in the trade unions form’ for all fascists but never call on £14.00 (always) and in the mass reformist the capitalist state to ban fascist Rest of the World: £18.00 social democratic bourgeois workers’ marches or parties; these laws would parties despite their pro-capitalist lead- inevitably primarily be used against Send donations to help in erships when conditions are favour- workers’ organisations, as history has their production able. Because we see the trade union shown. bureaucracy and their allies in the La- 8. We oppose all immigration con- bour party leadership as the most fun- trols. International finance capital Join Socialist Fight damental obstacle to the struggle for roams the planet in search of profit power of the working class, outside of and Imperialist governments disrupts Would you like to join Social- the state forces and their direct agen- the lives of workers and cause the col- ist Fight or learn more about cies themselves, we must fight and lapse of whole nations with their di- our work and revolutionary defeat and replace them with a revolu- rect intervention in the Balkans, Iraq politics? tionary leadership by mobilising the and Afghanistan and their proxy wars Contact us at the above email base against the pro-capitalist bureau- in Somalia and the Democratic Re- cratic misleaders to open the way for- public of the Congo, etc. Workers ward for the struggle for workers’ have the right to sell their labour inter- The following are just 8 of power. nationally wherever they get the best the 26 points of the political 4. We are fully in support of all mass price. Only union membership and programme of the Socialist mobilisations against the onslaught of pay rates can counter employers who Fight Group which can be this reactionary Con-Lib Dem coali- seek to exploit immigrant workers as found at our blog here: tion. However, whilst participating in cheap labour to undermine the gains http://socialistfight.com/ this struggle we will oppose all policies of past struggles. which subordinate the working class Page 2 Leon Trotsky: I am confident of the victory of the Fourth International; Go Forward! Contents Editorial: One Nation paternalism……..Page 4 The Past and Marikana ………………...Page 17 LRC: After Miliband is forced left……....Page 5 Gerrard Winstanley: Life and Legacy…..Page 18 Zero hour contracts………….……..…….Page 6 The Mitchell Principles……………...….Page 13 London construction rank and file………Page 8 List of Irish Republican Prisoners…...…Page 24 2013 TUC congress……..…………....…...Page 9 Address by Michael Holden to the 1913 Dublin lock-out…………………………………..Page 24 Motion on Syria to the LRC……………..Page 10 IRPSG motion on Irish Republican POWs for AFN statement on EDL demo…....…....Page 11 the LRC AGM…………...………………Page 25 Golden Dawn and Savas Michael....……Page 12 On horses who live on the wind………..Page 26 Greek Trotskyism and the state………...Page 13 For the military victory of Syria ....……..Page 27 Cosatu under attack.................................Page 14 The Veil and the rise of Islamophobia...Page 32 London Chapter of the Free Leonard Unite the Resistance conference 19 Peltier Campaign formed A meeting in the Cock Tavern, Euston on 5 October set up October: Organising to win the London Chapter of the Free Leonard Peltier Campaign. Officers elected were Convenor, Cinead D, Secretary Speakers include: Billy Emma L, Treasurer Carol Hayes (general secre- F and Committee Gerry D and Austin H. Various tary CWU), Liz Law- activities were agreed, the rence (vice-president production of a banner UCU), Ronnie Draper planned and a showing of (general secretary the film: Incident at Oglala. BFAWU bakers’ un- This is a 1992 documentary ion), Jeremy Corbyn by Michael Apted, narrated MP, Jane Aitchison by Robert Redford. The PCS, Phil Jackson (EIS film documents the murder Scottish teachers’ and of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, Jack lecturers’ union na- R. Coler and Ronald A. tional president), Williams, on the Pine Frank Morris Ridge Indian Reservation (Crossrail dispute) in the summer of 1975. It Sean Vernell (Unite the examines the legal case surrounding the subsequent trials of Resistance), and speak- Robert Robideau and Darrell Butler, and later the separate ers from Hovis, One trial of Leonard Peltier, who had to be extradited from Housing, Glasgow Canada. Robideau and Butler were acquitted at their trial, social workers- but Peltier was convicted of murder in 1976. Many sup- porters, including the International Indian Treaty Council, unofficial walk out, believe Peltier is innocent of the crimes Barclays Bike, Whipps CONTACT Cross health worker [email protected],PO and Lewisham hospi- Box 59188, London, NW2 9LJ tal campaign, ISS East QUICK FACTS CASE OF LEONARD PELTIER Coast Mainline cleaners http://www.freeleonard.org/case/ and many, more… Leon Trotsky: I am confident of the victory of the Fourth International; Go Forward! Page 3 Editorial: One Nation paternalism is no opposition to aristocratic Tory privilege enjamin Disraeli published Sybil, or The Two Nations in banner.