Friday, February 07, 2025

Mr Underwood continues to profit


Further proof that capitalism sees wars and military conflicts as a profit generating bonanza and cares not for the human suffering it engenders.

‘Washington is sending obsolete weapons to Kiev and replacing them with new systems ordered from private contractors, the Ukrainian leader has claimed

The Ukraine conflict has been a bonanza for the US defence-industrial complex, which has benefited from massive contracts for weapons meant to supply Kiev and replenish domestic stockpiles, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said.

In an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan Zelensky argued that a significant portion of the billions the US has allocated to Ukraine has in fact circulated back to boost US domestic arms production.

“Part of the money that people in the US talk about was actually financing production in the US,” the Ukrainian leader said. “The companies that were producing weapons [for Kiev] received this money… American companies now have contracts for these arms at the highest prices in the last 50 years because there is such huge demand due to the Russian offensive.”

A significant part of the funding went to “specific companies, specific plants, making profits for specific people. It went toward the salaries of US citizens working in those companies,” he added.

According to Zelensky, the campaign to support Ukraine has also helped the US renew its arsenal, as Washington has in many cases supplied Kiev with relatively obsolete weapons produced in the 1970s and 1980s. He added, however, that Ukraine is grateful for the help, despite earlier criticizing the West for delays and the amount of weaponry being sent.

On top of this, Zelensky argued, “the US received from Ukraine the experience of modern, large-scale land warfare. Americans and Europeans – but Americans in the first place – have all the information… on what in American weapons works and what does not.”

Thursday, February 06, 2025

Up our game?

 

'Chris Philp MP reckons that ‘we have got [to] be competitive and it means we have got to work hard. As a country we need to up our game’. What he meant was ‘we have to get you plebs to work even harder’ so that the owning class can up their game on the international market.

Nine million working-age adults are currently not working, he said. You might think this has something to do with unemployment and the state of the job market. But politicians naturally lay the blame on those who are suffering and have no say in the economy.

Our advice to you: tell the owners that the game’s up and help us to abolish the wages system!'


https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/

Wednesday, February 05, 2025

Wages

 

As Marx once said, I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have somebody like me as a member. Not Karl, but Groucho who said that.

In the Marx Brothers 1929 film, The Cocoanuts, Groucho as the proprietor of a failing hotel is challenged by the bellhops, who haven’t been paid for two weeks. They want to be paid. Do you want to be wage slaves, asks Groucho. No, they reply. What makes wage slaves asks Groucho. Wages!

We don't want to belong to the club that is capitalism. Who, after all, wants to continue to be a wage slave all of their lives? There's only one answer, socialism. To quote Del Boy, you know it makes sense!

The below is from the Socialist Standard January 1963

‘The value of the commodity human labour power is determined by the cost of reproducing the worker's expended skill and energy and, also, of reproducing future wage workers. On the average, wages equal this value.


However, in different countries, according to circumstances, the value of labour power varies. In the lesser developed countries we find, as a rule, a lower standard of living and therefore a lower value than in more advanced industrialised areas. Important factors in the more developed areas are a greater consciousness in workers, and organised arrangements for the protection and advancement of their interests.


Wages are not, as some people think, the workers' share of the wealth they produce. Capitalism is not a national share-holding concern. Let it be clear —Capital is wealth used in the reproduction of wealth in order to realise profit. Variable capital, the wages fund, together with constant capital, are both in existence before the act of production takes place. The workers’ labour power is bought by the capitalists and is used to create wealth. The worker, having worked, has a legal claim to the agreed wage. A sale and purchase have taken place and no question of shares arises. Shares are exclusively for the owners and shareholders, and they come from the surplus value wrung from workers.


Wages must be considered from three aspects. The first, nominal wages, or the actual amount of money paid: second, relative wages, i.e., the proportion of wages paid to the total wealth produced: third is the actual purchasing power of wages—real wages.


The basic conflict between the two classes, capitalists and workers, shows mainly in the first two aspects (wages and profits). Provided that other factors remain constant, an increase in one must cause a decrease in the other. In this, the productive sphere, the social relations are direct between owners and producers (employers and workers) regarding rates of pay and conditions of labour. The amounts of nominal and relative wages are determined here.


We can now consider briefly the conflict between wages and profits. To begin with, let us assume a weekly wage of £10 for a 40 hours week and a rate of exploitation of 100 per cent. An increase of five per cent. in wages would enable the workers, other factors remaining constant, to get 10s. p.w. more for the same quantity of labour. His standard of living is improved and the necessary labour time increased, while surplus labour time is reduced. The rate of exploitation is reduced from 100 to 93 per cent, and the relative wage now represents 55 per cent. of the total product as against the former 50 per cent. A reduction in the working week may also be beneficial for workers; they may obtain the same pay for less work.


The above situation is a most unpleasant one for the capitalist. In the first instance it means an increase of 5 per cent. in his variable capital. It reduces his surplus labour time and his surplus value. The rates of exploitation and profit have also fallen. But although temporarily defeated, the capitalist is undaunted and adamant. He is well aware of his excellent facilities for recovery.


It is quite possible, and it frequently happens, that increased wages or reduced working hours can be offset by a fall in relative wages. This can be brought about, for example, by increased production as a result of better organisation and supervision, etc. The introduction of more efficient machinery and the displacement of labour is another way. An increase in output of 6 per cent. would in some ways offset the five per cent, increase in pay or the reduction of hours. In such conditions, although the nominal wage is higher, the relative wage is lower. More wealth is being produced for slightly less pay.


Other means by which earnings may be increased as distinct from increased rates of pay are, overtime, piece work, or bonus on output systems. These methods entail longer hours of labour, or more intensive labour, or both. Increased earnings in such cases are at the expense of extra sweat and toil and in these conditions workers cannot increase their earnings without increasing the profit of their masters. The working classes' only gain, if such it can be called, is in having the rates of pay increased or the hours of labour reduced. The struggle between wages and profits is unending and the employers are as a rule better placed.


Social evolution has produced three distinct forms of exploiting societies. In chattel slavery men were owned bodily. In feudalism, the serf, semi-free, was compelled to provide a certain proportion of his labour for the overlord. In both cases the surplus was easy to see. But modern wage labour, unlike the other two, appears to be fully-paid. In all three systems men were, and are, deprived of the fruits of their toil by an owning class. Private ownership of the means of production and control of the ability of men to work has enabled the ruling classes, in all cases, to own the wealth produced.


Slaves, serfs and proletarians all had to obtain food, clothing and shelter. This subsistence differed in amount, quality and kind in the different periods. Today the wage worker is legally “free." Socially he is compelled to sell his ability to work in order to live. But he may select where and to whom he will sell it—in theory only!


Capitalism is the highest and most efficient form of exploiting society and its wages system conceals to a great extent the legalised robbery of its wealth producers. The separation of labour power from labour is responsible for the appearance that workers' wages are the full value of their labour. The fact that the value of the embodied labour may be £20 or more, and wages £10 or less, is not so evident.


High wages and low prices, security, and a happy, prosperous and carefree working class, are illusory. A fair day's wage for a fair day's work is a fallacy. The abolition of capitalism with its wages system is an indispensable task for the workers. Working men and women can only attain their freedom, independence. and control of the wealth they produce. in a Socialist system of society. Production to satisfy human needs as distinct from privileged greed, is the Socialist object.’

John Higgins

https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2020/01/what-are-wages-1963.html



Tuesday, February 04, 2025

Socialist Sonnet No. 180

Barriers

 

Close the borders of the land of the free,

Throw up interlocked fences, build a wall

Or, better still, both, thereby keeping all

Clamouring criminal migrants at bay.

Call out the National Guard, a show of strength

By bristling patriotic warriors.

Next, time to erect tariff barriers

And be prepared to go to any length

To make this a country of succeeders.

 Promise the people they’ll be securer,

Even when everyone’s so much poorer,

Everyone, that is, except the leaders.

It seems the question of security

Is finally solved through ethnic purity.

 

D. A.

Sunday, February 02, 2025

How to avoid queues


Poem for Roger McGough

by Adrian Henri

‘A nun in a supermarket
Standing in the queue
Wondering what its like
To buy groceries for two.’

Most folk waiting in a checkout queue at a supermarket, or anywhere else, are probably think, 'kin hell, how much is all this going to cost along with, why don't they open more checkouts, this queue is ridiculous.

When socialists are in a queue the thought that runs through their mind is, why aren't the working class working toward socialism because then there would be no queueing up to pay because in socialism there is no money, goods are produced for free access..

Before the shilling for capitalism brigade respond with, oh, so socialists condone theft! Yes we do, but the theft we condone on the measures implemented by the minority capitalist class to exploit the majority class.

‘Retail crime in the UK has reached unprecedented levels, with soaring losses from theft and rising violence against workers, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has reported.

According to its latest annual crime survey, shoplifting in the country has reached an all-time high, with more than 20 million incidents committed last year as of August 31, which equates to 55,000 a day. This cost retailers a total £2.2 billion ($2.7 billion), adding further pressure to the mounting costs retailers already face.

Violence and abuse against retail staff also spiked, with daily incidents exceeding 2,000, up from 1,300 reported the previous year. This marks a more than threefold increase from 2020, when the daily average was just 455. Weapon-related incidents doubled, reaching 70 per day.

Retail crime is spiraling out of control,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson. “People in retail have been spat on, racially abused, and threatened with machetes.”

The BRC report suggested that many of the incidents were linked to organized crime, with gangs systematically targeting stores across the country, often stealing tens of thousands of pounds’ worth of goods and moving around multiple stores.

Every day this continues, criminals are getting bolder and more aggressive,” Dickinson warned.

According to the survey, satisfaction with the police response to incidents remains low, with 61% of respondents describing it as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor.’

With little faith in police attendance, it is no wonder criminals feel they have a license to steal, threaten, assault and abuse,” Dickinson argued.

Responding to the report, police have claimed they have made “significant strides” in tackling retail crime over the past year.

The country’s new Labour government has pledged to address the rise in retail crime through stronger measures.

Latest data by S&P Global shows that retail sales in the UK continued to fall in January after a disappointing Christmas, and consumer confidence has dropped to its lowest level since late 2023.

Employers also slashed jobs at the fastest pace since the height of the Covid pandemic in 2021. Excluding the health emergency, the rate of job-cutting was the highest since the global financial crisis in 2009.

The UK is facing a “stagflationary environment,” where sluggish economic growth coincides with high inflation, said S&P chief business economist Chris Williamson, as quoted by The Guardian.

A separate report issued by the BRC this week showed that British food prices have recorded their sharpest monthly rise since last April, marking an “early sign of what’s ahead” for the economy. Year-on-year, the cost of food in January jumped 1.6% from the previous year.

Dickinson has also warned that retailers would soon face the full impact of £7 billion (nearly $9 billion) in new costs introduced in the last budget by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves. Reeves has announced an overhaul to Britain’s benefits system, to “kickstart economic growth.”’

The Proper Gander column from the September 2020 issue of the Socialist Standard

‘The High Street was already on the financial skids before the pandemic, which has sped up the shift to online shopping. And these days, going to the shops has the added considerations of facemasks, social distancing, arrows on the floor and sanitisers by the doors, making it more of an ordeal than before. Despite all this, slick, brightly-lit shopping malls are still there to tempt those looking for either retail therapy or a five-finger discount. The latter were the focus of Channel 5’s recent Shoplifters: At War With The Law. This fly-on-the-wall documentary series follows the security guards and their quarries at two interchangeable shopping centres: West Orchards in Coventry and Weston Favell in Northampton. It was filmed pre-Covid 19, so since the cameras left, the guards are presumably on the hunt for people not wearing masks as well as people not paying.

According to the programme’s voiceover, last year, there were 400,000 shoplifting incidents reported nationwide, with the number of those that go undetected estimated to be 20 times higher. Of course, we don’t see any of these, and the shopping centres understandably want the programme to emphasise the chances of getting nabbed. Regardless of this, the show has plenty of tips for would-be pilferers, such as going with a group of friends to distract the guards while items are slipped into pockets elsewhere. And higher-end goods with electronic tags attached can be dealt with by snipping them off with pliers or hiding them in a bag lined with foil so they don’t set off the door alarms.

Watching out for all this are hundreds of HD CCTV cameras, whose footage is relayed back to each shopping centre’s control room. When the guard on duty there sees someone acting shiftily or gets a tip-off from one of the shops, they can radio down to their colleagues to find their target. It’s all quite sad to watch this game of cat-and-mouse, although a couple of the guards get a kick out of their work. ‘I always catch my prey,’ boasts one, ‘that’s why I do my job. I love it’. The guards can only apprehend someone once they’ve left a store, although they cynically assume ‘anybody that’s in the shop is a shoplifter until they go to the till’. Those who are caught are led to a bleak holding room to be questioned and have their bags searched. The police will be called if the person has ‘gone equipped’ with a foil-lined bag or pliers, or if what they have stolen is valued at over £200. If the goods are worth less than this the police won’t usually be involved and instead, a year-long ban from the shopping centre is issued. If the accused says they have no ID, they’re asked to bring up their social media profile instead. Their name, address and date of birth are taken, as is a mug shot for the database. If they are seen to return to the centre, they will be trespassing and the police will be called. The guards have had plenty of practice with the procedure: the West Orchards team ‘take down’ up to ten shoplifters a day, as they put it.

The programme-makers blur out the faces of the people caught, which also has the effect of emphasising how dehumanising the need to shoplift is, and the rituals around it. Some of the people featured have been recruited by gangs, and probably have very little choice in the matter. They tend to be from Eastern Europe, not able to claim benefits and without much chance of securing better paid work, which makes them vulnerable to exploitation from organised gangs. Most of the value of any successfully shoplifted goods is likely to go to the gangmasters, with those who take the risks receiving little back; a more extreme version of mainstream employment. These gangs tend to move between areas once they become too well-known in one place. Nearly three quarters of shoplifting in West Orchards is carried out by a small group of local repeat visitors. Many of these are homeless, with or without a benefit claim, either stealing to get enough food or to fund a drug habit. One man speaks to the camera crew after he’s thrown out for the umpteenth time: ‘I’ve got nothing. I ain’t got no-one. But … I’ve got the shops.’ The guards tend to treat those who are pushed into shoplifting by poverty with some sensitivity, as long as they don’t get lairy.

But Shoplifters: At War With The Law doesn’t want us to feel too sympathetic towards people who steal. Its voiceover makes the point that shoplifting ‘takes more than £2 million out of tills every day’, and that to make up for these losses shops have been ‘ramping up prices for millions of honest shoppers’. It’s easy to claim that theft raises prices, but this falsely implies that retailers would lower prices below the market rate if people stopped stealing, which of course no retailer would ever do, so it just scapegoats people who shoplift and provides an alibi for inflated prices. The costs of security measures and stolen items do impact on the profitability of goods to some extent, so the chain store owners will be keen to clamp down on shoplifting. But a few pinched bottles of perfume or boxes of chocolates are nothing compared to the billions of pounds creamed off by owners and shareholders.’

Mike Foster

https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2020/09/ive-got-nothing-i-aint-got-no-one-but.html


Friday, January 31, 2025

SPGB Meeting TONIGHT 31 January 1930 GMT ZOOM

 

COMMUNISM: AN IDEA THAT IS REVIVING (Zoom)


Event Details

  • Date:  – 

Speaker: Adam Buick

To connect to a Zoom meeting, click https://zoom.us/j/7421974305