Carnival of Socialism 47: Resurgence, Renewal, Rebirth

Welcome to the 47th Carnival of Socialism,

The theme of this carnival is rebirth, renewal, renaissance: the encouragement that socialists are gaining from the collapse of all the certainties about capitalism, now revealed as a system wracked by crisis and incredible contradictions, the confidence that socialists are gaining from the discrediting of the 3 establishment parties and their greedy MPs, the confidence that socialists are gaining from the ‘red shoots’ of workers struggle, surfacing here and there after a long cold winter where it seemed militant struggle was a thing of the past. With the onset of a programme of cuts and privatisations, the like of which has never been seen before, whichever party gets into power, there will be no choice but to grimly resist for working class people, to repopulate our organisations, to forge new links, new forms of struggle, new political formations, and a new consciousness of our collective interests and our collective power.

As such it could be a pretty short carnival, because much of the socialist blogosphere doesn’t yet seem to ‘do optimism‘, despite the deep changes that are already happening in the consciousness of our class, nationally and internationally.

United States Worker's Consciousness

Sam Webb, of ‘Peoples World’ does not share the pessimism however, he is heartened that despite the long years of propaganda against socialism in the USA, ordinary citizens are expressing favourable attitudes toward socialism:

In fact, the ideologues of capitalism thought they had buried the socialist idea once and for all, but to their chagrin the genie is once again out of the bottle, thanks in large measure to the conditions buffeting the domestic and world economy. It is not economic determinism to say that force of economic circumstance and the crisis of everyday living for tens of millions is shaping and reshaping mass thinking, although in contradictory ways.

Communists and socialists should welcome the rebirth of this dialogue on socialism and eagerly participate in it.

Facts for Working People continues on this theme - the resurgence of the acceptability of ‘socialism’ in the USA:

The crucial thing to see here is that this will will change consciousness. Yes there will be many confusions and cross currents but the main general process will be an understanding that the rich are holding onto everything they can and making the working class pay. This will polarize the classes and increase class consciousness. It will force the working class into action and struggle. In the course of this the socialist ideas will increasingly come to the surface in a mass form and find a way to organize themselves.

The other factor that will change consciousness will be the crisis of US capitalism in its foreign policy and its wars and occupations abroad. These are crucial to its looting of the rest of the world and to its gaining more wealth abroad which it can use to make concessions to its own working class at home and this in turn can help keep the US working class more supportive of the existing system. But success abroad depends on economic health at home. As Summers, the economic adviser to Obama says: "How long can the world's biggest borrower remain the world's biggest power.

Tula Connell on the AFL CIO blog analyses Obama’s setback in Massachussets:

Massachusetts voters sent a strong signal to Washington lawmakers Tuesday that they want results—and aren’t seeing any. Not on health care reform, not on job creation and not on fixing the nation’s economy.

Voters also sent another powerful message for Democrats: Ignore the working class at your peril.

International Worker's Struggles:

Ensaios Imperfeitos gives us a graphic description of Greek workers struggle against government austerity measures: The economic crisis in Greece even has the potential (still remote, but getting nearer) of bringing down the Euro and tearing apart the preparations for a capitalist EU superstate.

Workers struggle in Turkey is also on the up, Chris White writes:

After at least a decade and a half of stagnation, the working class movement of Turkey is making a great stride forward, thanks to the militant action of the workers of a now privatised former state economic enterprise,Tekel, the state monopoly of tobacco and alcoholic beverages.

The resolute and tenacious fight put up by the 12,000 Tekel workers and their families has made an electrifying impact on major sections of the working class.

One event that inspired me to blog on River's Edge was the sheer Hutzpah of the Belgian firefighters, turning the centre of Brussels into a massive foam party, while the police looked on helpless in the face of this 'firepower'.

UK Worker's Struggles:

Eleanor Davies at Permanent Revolution calls for more focus on the militant struggles of the working class:

This year we have seen sporadic but militant trade union struggles at Lindsey, Visteon, Vestas, Prisme Packaging and Tower Hamlets College. Parents in Glasgow, Barrow, Lewisham and Greenwich have led militant campaigns against the closure or privatisation of their schools.

The CWU Royal Mail dispute saw several days of militant action but the possibility of an all-out strike to defend jobs, pensions and working conditions was put on hold by the bureaucracy.

These sparks of resistance show the real alternative to New Labour and the Tories. Victories at Lindsey, Linamar and Lewisham showed what a mass socialist led movement could do if it supported and based itself on such struggles.

Workers Climate Action takes up this theme, putting forward a briefing for rank and file activists: 

When workers are fighting as part of a clearly identifiable movement, rather than for their own short-term gains, then they raise the broadest and most universal demands. The force of working-class solidarity has an explosive potential.

In this struggle, ideas and action cannot be separated. As the movement grows, as workers start to fight back against the bosses’ rule, working-class organisations will present themselves as a viable alternative to capitalist rule and attract more people to them. As working-class power grows then the movement will have to address itself to the problem posed by the ecological crisis. If environmental activists solidarise with the movement, spurring on struggle with solidarity action, then the lessons will be learnt all the quicker.

Lenin’s Tomb is pleased by the recent ‘Right To Work’ conference in Manchester, believing it represents “a real turning point for the Labour Movement”

Brighton and Hove Socialist Party are also organising among workers:

A demonstration has been organised by trade union activists and campaigners as a call to action to fight back against the unjustified job losses taking place across the city and the country.

Delegates and organisers, including local Socialist Party members, put together plans for the demonstration at a meeting held by Brighton, Hove and District Trades Council and are urging trade union branches, students, the unemployed, workers and their families to take part in this important march which will take place on Saturday 6 March.

Political Regroupment

Heart of A Nation analyses the crisis in the UK Labour Party:

in contrast to Mandelson and his puppets, the unions have got no say in Labour’s policies whatsoever. Unite has policies to protect jobs, support council housing, oppose the war, and much more besides. Union members should ask what we get for our money when it’s handed over to Brown – and the unions should stop signing blank cheques to Labour. Having spent the past decade attacking its own supporters, the Labour Party is now in deep crisis. Elected on a wave of revulsion with the Tories in 1997, New Labour today is in crisis. The party faces wipeout at the next election. Opinion polls predict it could lose 17 of its 44 MPs in London alone. Millions who hoped that Labour would be different are now asking questions – about why the party attacks ordinary people, what that shows about the nature of Labour, and whether the party has a future

Bermuda Radical explores President Chavez of Venezuela's call for a Fifth International:

The first step has been taken. It has extraordinary strategic implications. It will shake up the left and right, the West and the East. It will blow in like a whirlwind through every political organisation, trade union or social, in every corner of the planet. On the evening of November 20, 2009, the day before the opening of the first extraordinary PSUV [United Socialist Party of Venezuela] congress, a feeling of vertigo swept over tens of thousands of people who heard Hugo Chávez, either on TV or on the internet, speak before delegates of parties from 30 or so countries, and launch a proposal that was as long desired as it was unexpected: to set to work to build the Fifth Socialist International.

Anti- Fascism:

Lancaster Unity blogs on the success in preventing the BNP speaking at a Durham Union Society debate:

NUS president Wes Streeting said the NUS believed there was no place on university campuses for the BNP; and that the idea the NUS, rather than the BNP, had caused a welfare and public order issue was preposterous.

University registrar Carolyn Fowler said the university was not prepared to provide an occasion for extremist groups to engage in provocative and intimidating demonstrations, and that it supported the DUS decision. The debate was due to take place this Friday. Speakers were to be Kulveer Ranger, an advisor to Boris Johnson, Conservative MP Edward Leigh, BNP MEP Andrew Brons and Chris Beverley, a BNP councillor in Leeds.

Students:

Everyone’s Favourite Comrade gives us this account of resistance by students to cuts and closures in education:

young people who are twice as likely to be out of work and bear the brunt of the education cut backs which have led to a reduction in university places. Despite unemployment figures going down there has not been an increase in employment and can only be attributed to people simply giving up on looking for work and who can blame their when there are 5 times more unemployed workers than there are job vacancies and that is according to the official stats which are not an accurate reflection.

This is why Youth Fight for Jobs has organised a demonstration outside the Welsh Assembly, to protest for Jobs, training and education for young people. The demonstration will take place on Wednesday the 17th of February at 2pm. Meet on the Senedd steps, outside the Welsh Assembly Cardiff Bay.

Optimism in socialist circles is growing. Much of what we have to do is brand new, as new formations and new methods of struggle emerge. A whole new generation is entering into struggle, a generation that will have to relearn many of the bitter lessons of history, but which will take the struggle forward in it's own way, with renewed confidence and with immense possiblities.