Review: How can the Working Class Transform the ‘economy’ in its Own
Interests?
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Author : Anarchist Federation

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This thought-provoking pamphlet emanates from the Liverpool Discussion
Group, appears since to have been disbanded. This group was made up of
people from a left communist, Bordigist, and autonomist background. In a
lot of ways they appear to have reached the same conclusions as us on key
questions like the Left, nationalization, changes within the structure of
capitalism, etc. (See our forthcoming Manifesto for the Millenium). Like us
they see that, contrary to Mrs. Thatcher’s cry that: ”There Is No
Alternative”, in fact there is! As they themselves say:
 

 
”Everyone today who is ‘oppositional’- from ‘new age’ travelers
to anti-roads protesters, to those taking part in the miners strike and the
anti-poll tax campaign, to those who oppose the new changes in ‘Public
Order’ legislation, is expressing, in a fragmentary way, our need to
create a picture of the world, different from and in opposition to the one
we get fed every day. Since ‘economics’ is no more than the ideology of
our rulers, we need to construct an ‘economics’ of our own”.
 

 
The pamphlet argues that the changes that happened in capitalism in the
80s, not just under ‘Thatcherism’ but worldwide were the direct result
of our (working class) resistance to exploitation, culminating in the 70s
with some factories having a labor turnover of 20% per month, shortage of
labor, lack of ‘skilled labor’, poor motivation, absenteeism, sabotage
and a widespread alienation, as well as go-slows, strikes, work-to-rule.
This ability to use ‘full employment’ for our own ends, meant that
workforces became difficult to govern and the boss class had to retaliate.

The pamphlet quite correctly notes that the ‘old movement’ of the Left
and the unions, nationalization and state control of the economy, need to
be left behind. Indeed in the post-World War II period, capitalism used the
program of the ‘old movement’ to restructure and restabilise- the Labor
Party introduced this in Britain, elsewhere it was managed by De Gaulle for
example, hardly a ‘socialist’ even in the Laborist concept. Again the
pamphlet argues against a lengthy transition period to a new society,
pointing out that capitalism is developed enough for a short change-over.

It is admitted that the break in the old movement provoked by the Russian
Revolution between social democracy and the ‘Left’ was not as great or
as deep as might be supposed. However, they fail to break with the
Bolshevik concepts that because of ‘war communism’ no real advance to a
new form of social organization was possible. They say that to their credit
anarchists had the merit of advancing the slogan ‘Abolish the Wages
System’ but that a slogan was all it was. On the contrary, we argue that
advance to real communism was possible, and that a Third Revolution was
developing that was physically crushed by the Bolsheviks. (More on this
Third Revolution in future issues).

It is argued that it is not important who manages capital — what is
important is the ending of the relations of capitalism themselves, not as
an ultimate goal but as immediate politics. An immense productive capacity
has been created by capitalism, and it is now perfectly possible to
modify/destroy the wage labor relationship.

The defeat of State power is discussed and in those areas where it has been
achieved, the abolition of wage labor, all forms of trading, hiring and
firing etc. Unfortunately, again Leninist notions of State power- to
describe the power of workers’ councils- are raised and in the next
section the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ is specifically referred
to, as being as good a description of the workers’ councils! Now we would
argue that not only is this concept tied not only to Stalinism, but to
Leninism in general, but that it is a dangerous and ambiguous concept. The
dictatorship of the proletariat may mean the surpression of the boss class
to the pamphlet writers, but historically it is identified with the
dictatorship not of the mass of the population- which when you think about
it is an impossible idea!- but of a party, and then the central leadership
of that party, and the suppression of the working class and of
revolutionary groupings, as well as mass terror, secret police, prison
camps, and the militarization of labor.

On the positive side, what a revolutionary society could achievein the
first stage is looked into. there are suggestions of what could be
possible, such as a cencus to find out what needs cannot be satisfied from
its ‘own’ resources, the immediate cutting of work hours by at least
50%. This could be achieve through the ending of ‘socially
unproductive’ tasks, resulting in the increase of ‘free time’
allowing greater participation in the extension of the revolution,
especially in those areas as yet untouched by the new economy — such as
education, health, ‘domestic life’, consumption etc.

What the pamphlet sketches out is thought-provoking, and the Liverpool
Discussion Group in its short life was one of the areas where revolutionary
theory was beginning to be renewed. This renewal is continuing — and we
include our own organization as one of those areas for theoretical renewal.
The pamphlet should be read by all those genuinely concerned with a vision
of the new society. Unfortunately, one of the headings — ‘Abandon old
conceptions’ still applied to some of the ways of thinking of the
Liverpool Discussion Group. The dead weight of Bolshevik practices still
bear down on many of those frantically looking for a way forward. A great
new effort is needed to acquire new ways of thinking. For many this may be
impossible, while others like the authors of this pamphlet, may have enough
flexibility to go beyond old formulas.

(We understand that before the collapse of the Group that there was a
modification of some of the problem areas discussed above.)

(Source: Retrieved on May 13, 2013 from web.archive.org.)


     From : TheAnarchistLibrary.org

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     Review: How can the Working Class Transform the ‘economy’ in its
Own Interests? -- Added : January 16, 2022

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