Author Archives: malpagaia

CAPITALISM – a Great Reset or a Great Replacement.

Posted on by malpagaia

A Great Reset of capitalism from the top down.

Capitalism, our present socio-economic form of governance and productivity has long since become global, imperialist and dangerous, it now places too much emphasis on the accumulation of privately owned wealth, with far too little emphasis on meeting the social and cultural needs of humanity.

In our preparation for world socialist revolution and thereby the replacement of capitalism with socialism, the international working class will need to carefully consider some of the counter revolutionary forces working against us. For example, the World Economic Forum (WEF) should be seen as a very formidable counter revolutionary force that will need to be reckoned with. The WEF has a great deal of money, power and influence available for achieving its capitalist objectives. Take for example part of an introduction to a recent (2020) WEF project named ‘The Great Reset’ –

‘To achieve a better outcome, the world must act jointly and swiftly to revamp all aspects of our societies and economies, from education to social contracts and working conditions. Every country, from the United States to China, must participate, and every industry, from oil and gas to tech, must be transformed. In short, we need a “Great Reset” of capitalism..’ (weforum.org)

It can and probably should be assumed that in order ‘To achieve a better outcome’ within a ‘Great Reset’ of capitalism, the working class would inevitably continue to be exploited. Given the extent to which capitalism depends on the exploitation of the working class to generate profit and thereby the privately owned wealth that underpins the WEF and its members, we can safely assume that any proposed ‘revamp’ of ‘societies and economies’ would not be done on behalf of the international working class.

While capitalism in its current form – from an international socialist perspective, might well be regarded as being in an advanced state of decay, it is clear from the above WEF statement that the ruling class is determined to keep capitalism alive and well in one form or another. It now appears most likely that capitalism is to be either ‘reset’ from the top down with more or worse of the same damage it now inflicts on our planetary Biosphere in general and the international working class in particular, or it is to be replaced with an international socialism via a political program and party of world socialist revolution, from the bottom up. The WEF is clearly a counter revolutionary capitalist forum that has little or nothing in common with the ICFI/SEP/IYSSE program and party of world socialist revolution. In promoting their ‘Great Reset of capitalism’ project the WEF goes on to say –

‘Clearly, the will to build a better society does exist. We must use it to secure the Great Reset that we so badly need. That will require stronger and more effective governments, though this does not imply an ideological push for bigger ones. And it will demand private-sector engagement every step of the way..’ (weforum.org)

Knowing in advance that the ‘Great Reset.. will demand private-sector engagement every step of the way’, should be more than enough to alert the international working class that this WEF project cannot be trusted to bring about any meaningful improvement to their working conditions and livelihood. On the contrary, it would appear that the WEF’s ‘Great Reset’ project is designed to ensure that smaller ‘stronger and more effective governments’ will be subordinate to the ‘private sector’.

Be this as it may, from an international socialist perspective the WEF is indeed a capitalist force to be reckoned with and strongly opposed. The only force capable of doing so is the same productive force that produces the profit and thereby the privately owned wealth of the capitalist members of the WEF, namely the international working class. To overcome such a formidable opponent and thereby replace international capitalism with international socialism will require a critical mass of the international working class to join the ICFI/SEP/IYSSE program and party of world socialist revolution. Only then can one prepare for and participate in the program of world socialist revolution.

A Great Replacement of capitalism from the bottom up.

From the perspective of the international working class, capitalism is a powerful global force that must be reckoned with and replaced by an even stronger global force. Replacing international capitalism with international socialism can only happen from the bottom up via the productive force of the international working class. Capitalism depends entirely on the productive force of the international working class to design, produce, operate, maintain and defend all of its territory, property, goods and services. By virtue of its productive role, it is the much exploited human productive force that can and must unite to overthrow its capitalist owners and state power.

The capitalist ruling class has no respect for planet Earth other than it being a so called ‘god given’ resource for the  accumulation of their privately owned material wealth. Capitalist ruling classes have long since colonised planet Earth into seperate, competitive, antagonistic nation states, the most powerful of which now jealously threaten each other with more than enough nuclear weapons to transform planet Earth into a lifeless desert. Climate change, wars, poverty, pandemics and tens of millions of displaced refugees having to flee from all of the above negative impacts are a direct result of a fundamentally flawed and mostly corrupt capitalism.

The replacement of capitalist socio-economic forms of governance and productivity that place so much emphasis on the accumulation of privately owned wealth with socialist socio-economic forms that place an emphasis on meeting the social and cultural needs of society, is long overdue. The political program and party of world socialist revolution namely the ICFI/SEP/IYSSE is well advanced and prepared to provide the international working class with the necessary revolutionary political leadership. Rank and file committees of workers, students and others are being well informed and encouraged to develop throughout the entire planet on a daily basis via the pages of WSWS.org .

Meeting the social and cultural needs of society first and foremost would be a great step in the right direction for the human race in particular and our Biosphere in general. The establishment and development of federations of united socialist states throughout the entire planet would enable far more of our natural resources – including and especially that of human labour, to be put to better use. It would do away with the need for nation states to aggressively compete with each other, material wealth could be far more equitably distributed throughout the entire planet, wars, poverty, refugees and environmental degradation could become things of the past.

From a working class perspective, international socialism must be our next logical socio-economic form of governance and productivity, it would be one great step for humankind – from the bottom up.

Taffy,

Southern Winter 2020.

Preparing for THE revolution.

Posted on by malpagaia

While the ‘Extinction Rebellion’ movement is moving in the right direction and may well be a significant international source of hope and inspiration to many, like almost all such movements to date it too will fail, because of adopting a flawed strategy. Any resistance cum revolutionary movement that aims to take over and disrupt the day to day workings of the state by taking to the streets simply serve to empower the state to use its military and or police forces to eventually crush such movements.

Such a flawed strategy also serves to pit international waged workers against each other. The universal soldier and police are working class waged workers, albeit that they offer the strictest of obedience to their ruling class owners. Any resistance cum revolutionary movement that fails to unite the working class as a whole – including the universal soldier and police, prior to making its first public move, is thereby doomed to fail.

Uniting the working class as a whole in readiness for worldwide revolutionary change requires an international political program and party that clearly demonstrates long term political integrity, discipline, rigour and patient revolutionary leadership, all of which is essential criteria for the preparation and delivery of a successful world socialist revolution. Democratic rank and file working class committees need to be formed and developed within their respective work places, barracks, university campus, and neighbourhood centres with links to party national and branch centres.

While it may seem a bit like wishful thinking that the universal soldier and police would participate in preparation for a world revolution, it has happened on a national scale (ie Russia 1917) and could again happen on an international scale. Depending on the extent to which climate change and or war – particularly war between nuclear armed states, increases human suffering and destruction, the global social dynamic could become repressive enough to result in even the universal soldier and police starting to question their obedience to such failed and damaging ruling class laws and commands.

Only when a critical mass of the international working class has become sufficiently well prepared via their rank and file formations, should the first revolutionary move be made, that of simply downing tools and downing weapons ie not reporting for work or duty. At such a massive and well earned revolutionary point in time, there would be no need to go out marching onto the streets en-mass, it will suffice to just gather peacefully as and where and just wait out the days – not even weeks, that it will take for the state and its few remaining faithful public servants to say ‘please take us to your leaders’.

At such a point in time it will be game over for capitalism and its profit crazed forms of governance and productivity. The transition to more sophisticated and sustainable socio-economic forms of governance and productivity by way of federations of united socialist states could be relatively swift – ie a matter of months not years. As far as I know, there is only one such political program and leadership that meets the above criteria namely that of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) and the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) anyone can find it at WSWS.org.

 

 

A most pernicious threat.

Posted on by malpagaia

Humanity now faces the potentially devastating three pronged threat of – nuclear war(s), catastrophic climate change and technological disruption – better thought of as the pernicious abuse of AI (Artificial Intelligence). Albeit to varying degrees, the whole of humanity is at risk from the twin threats of nuclear war(s) and or catastrophic climate change. However, it is the international working class that is most at risk from the pernicious abuse of AI. It should be noted that the twin threats of catastrophic climate change and technological disruption are already underway and well advanced.

The owners of the ‘working class’, also known as the ‘ruling class’ are – albeit to a lesser extent, also threatened by nuclear war(s) and catastrophic climate change, both of which pose a serious threat to the continued accumulation of their privately owned wealth and well being. The ruling class is now also having to deal with the threat of an increasingly impoverished working class waged worker who is desperately wanting to increase their wages and hence, the possibility that they could unite internationally to revolt against and replace the existing socio-economic forms of governance and productivity with something more to their working class liking, such as a form of international socialism.

Because the ruling class are also threatened by nuclear war(s) and or catastrophic climate change, the working class should not be too surprised if the ruling class attempt to reduce if not eventually eliminate one or both of these twin threats. Meanwhile and in any event, the threat of a restless and potential revolutionary working class is already being urgently responded to by the ruling class through increasing authoritarian, dictatorial and military rule, with the pernicious disruption of AI rapidly being developed into what might well become their future weapon of choice.

The waged worker is most seriously at risk from the threat of a ruling class using AI to replace and eventually eliminate most if not all waged workers. As if the present 21st century level of worker exploitation, impoverishment, redundancy and replacement by AI enabled automation is not bad enough, the possibility of a future in which the working class becomes completely replaced and hence irrelevant is even worse. We can already see the beginning of this with the rapidly increasing production of gulag like incarceration and rehabilitation centres throughout the US and internationally. This is how a profit crazed ruling class is responding to increasing unemployment, drug abuse, petty crime and the mass movement of refugees seeking political asylum.

Having produced it all in the first place – for better and for worse, it is evident that we humans have the wherewithal to also eliminate the threat of nuclear war(s) and at least reduce the threat of catastrophic climate change. The threat of a profit crazed pernicious disruption of AI is not only avoidable, but it should be reversed. AI can and should be used to eliminate all and any threats to the safety and wellbeing of humanity throughout the entire planet, it should only ever be used for our mutual benefit.

The very thought of a future in which hundreds of gulag type internment centres containing millions of working class men and women made redundant and irrelevant by a rampant, profit crazed, data owning ruling class, being guarded by cyborgs until rehabilitated or dead, should be enough to scare the rest of humanity into ensuring that this doesn’t happen. The underlying problem here is the ruling class and their rampant, profit crazed capitalism. Unless the rest of us – working class, rid the planet of this problem, it is most likely that one or more of the above three pronged threat will bring life as we know it to an abrupt end.

The Productive Force – for better.

Posted on by malpagaia

In the class war now being fought between the working class and the ruling class, it is only the working class in its role as the global ‘productive force’ that can chose between being a force for better or for worse. At present it is a force for both better and for worse, albeit that the ‘worse’ has long since become dominant, unsustainable and life threatening on a global scale.

If we are to avoid the three pronged ruling class capitalist induced threats of nuclear war(s), catastrophic climate change and the militarization of artificial intelligence (AI), the global productive force must act sooner rather than later, because later will be too late to avoid a new level of barbarism. Nothing less than the international program of world socialist revolution will suffice in our effort to survive as a species and for life as we know it to continue here on planet Earth.

Human survival is now of the essence, social equality, cultural diversity, international trade and movement are secondary – albeit important considerations.

A world socialist revolution will need to organically grow out of the global working class productive force. It has already begun with the formation of independent democratic rank and file committees associated via their workplaces with the ICFI /SEP [i] program of world socialist revolution. This foundational component of a world socialist revolution will need to grow and develop throughout the entire planet as soon as possible. Independent democratic rank and file committees will need to be associated with work places, university campuses, regional centres and their nearest political branch head quarters of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP).[ii]

The working class productive force must now prepare itself for a world socialist revolution if it is to have any chance of winning the war between itself and a dominant militarized ruling class.

For a world socialist revolution to succeed in overthrowing a dominant militarized ruling class a critical mass of the global productive force will need to be united and well enough prepared physically and psychologically to withdraw its collective labour and intellect form the ruling class owners of production; long enough for their profit driven forms of governance and productivity to be closed down once and for all.

Then the work may begin whereby the working class productive force slowly but surely replaces the old capitalist system with a new and more sophisticated and sustainable socio-economic forms of governance and productivity. Socio-economic forms of governance and productivity that will do away with artificial barriers and the need for standing armies with their obscenely expensive military industrial complex, achieve a more sustainable level of social equality, more cooperative international trade and far greater freedom for cultural diversity and the movement of people throughout the entire planet.

[i] Information about which is made available on a daily basis via the pages of the World Socialist Website WSWS.org

[ii] ibid