Solidarity 140, 16 October 2008

For a workers' government!

Freedom of competition changes into its very opposite — into monopoly… The official representative of capitalist society — the state — will ultimately have to undertake the direction of production. This necessity for conversion into state property is felt first in the great institutions for intercourse and communication — the post office, the telegraphs, the railways… The transformation — either into joint-stock companies and trusts, or into state-ownership — does not do away with the capitalistic nature of the productive forces… The modern state, no matter what its form, is essentially a...

Israel-Iran debate: the real issues become clearer

On one level, the debate between Sean Matgamna of Workers’ Liberty and Moshe Machover in London on 12 October was a re-run of an old argument within the left. Sean Matgamna argued that socialists should fight for a “two-states” settlement in Israel-Palestine – a really independent Palestinian state, in contiguous territory, alongside Israel. Moshe Machover insisted that the “overthrow” of Israel (or, as he put it in the prior written debate, “anything like” present-day Israel) is a precondition for peace. As Dave Ball noted from the floor, this is perhaps the most emotionally-charged debate on...

Unions and immigration officials

It is obviously welcome as Robin Sivapalan reports (Solidarity 3/139) that the campaign against immigration controls is being taken into the trade union movement, given the way these laws are used against the struggles of migrant workers on the Tube and elsewhere. However the fact that the campaign will be meeting with PCS members in the Borders Agency needs expanding on. The Socialist Party-led group executive in the Department for Work and Pensions should be calling on members to refuse to check the national insurance numbers of migrant workers on behalf of the bosses. But what about PCS...

William Morris, a Marxist for our time

For many more articles on William Morris, see here . For a longer pamphlet on Morris, see here . William Morris is probably best known to most people these days as the creator of kitsch Victorian wallpaper designs. Morris was certainly a prominent nineteenth century artist, poet and all-round polymath, and it is impossible to do justice to the force of his personality. However the Morris that should matter most to us, and the Morris that has most contemporary relevance is the man who shortly before his 50th birthday became an active revolutionary socialist and remained so to the end of his...

Let the peoples of Iraq decide on Iraq's oil

On 13 October the Iraqi government, at a meeting in London with bosses of 34 international oil companies, opened an auction for 20-year contracts to develop big swathes of Iraqi oil and gas fields. Bids will be submitted over the coming months, and the Iraqi government plans to award contracts in mid 2009. It will also open a second bidding round, on further oil and gas fields, in December 2008. We don’t know the terms of the contracts. More to the point, neither do the peoples of Iraq. The deep-rooted opposition in Iraq to oil privatisation, spearheaded by the oil workers’ unions, has had an...

Solidarity defeats victimisation on London Underground

In the last issue of Solidarity, we reported how London Underground infrastructure contractor Metronet was attempting to victimise RMT rep Andy Littlechild. Following the threat of strikes, the union has won the dispute, with Andy keeping his job and his grade. This is doubtless due to the strong response from his workmates, who immediately balloted for strike action and made their support for Andy clear. Metronet knew they were facing the prospect of a massive Yes vote and effective strike action that could have coincided with the bus workers’ strike on 22 October. RMT balloted the whole of...

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.