Jeremy
Corbyn's speech at the end of the recent Labor Party conference was
on the right direction. Corbyn mentioned all the necessary steps that
need to be taken so that one of the motherlands of ruthless
neoliberalism change course, away from the destructive policies
dictated by the neoliberal doctrine.
Leo
Panitch, scholar and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at York
University spoke to Sharmini Peries and The
Real News, pointing that Corbyn's speech was "full
of confidence":
It
was a great speech. full of confidence. When he was first
surprisingly elected leader just over two years ago, he wasn't used
to being in the limelight in that way, and his speech was often
halting. But he's a conviction politician and now that he has the
wind behind him and he has strong evidence that his message is in
fact shifting the ground of British politics, he is full of
confidence. It was a brilliant speech. He made a number of speeches
like that, which were televised, at the beginning of the election
campaign and that had an electrifying effect on the campaign.
He
only mentioned in passing what had been stressed earlier in the week
by other shadow ministers. But the most important of which is a
public investment bank, a national one, supplemented by regional
investment banks where the public sector, the government, would take
the lead in investment. Addressing the fact that everywhere since the
2008 crisis, there's been a recovery of profits but not a recovery of
investment. He says that a Labor government will take the lead in
that. He also says that they will re-nationalize some key industries:
railway, water. energy. Moreover, that many public services that were
expanded through the public sector, through what is known as Private
Finance Initiatives, the equivalent of PPPs in North America, will be
clawed back. They've been inefficiently developed. This is hospitals,
this is the NHS, this is schools, etc.
Yet, Panitch warned:
That's
the centerpiece of it, it's not socialism. Those of us who wish
Corbyn the best should not put ourselves in the position of imagining
it's going to be easy. The reaction, even though it's not socialism,
from the Confederation of British Industry, from the City, from the
banks, have already been, "Oh my god. This is going to undermine
private enterprise," It's far from that, but they will face
enormous opposition. We shouldn't put the kind of emphasis on what
they can immediately achieve that would lead us to then be
disappointed in a way we were when SYRIZA was elected in Greece. We
need to realize their limitations, and when he says, "We're
ready", you just had him quoted as saying, "We're ready for
government", they're not ready. Who could be ready to take on
the kind of powers that be? They haven't built yet, although they, as
he said, massively shifted the center ground of British politics.
That was the most important element of his speech. He isn't yet
ready. They haven't built the base in the labor party, branches in
the trade unions, to win the kind of support from people when, if I
can use the expression, the crap will hit the fan, when all of
the opposition to even these relatively moderate attempts to increase
the state's public sector role in the economy, will be opposed by
both foreign and domestic capital.
Indeed, Corbyn should take a
lesson of what happened in Greece with Tsipras and SYRIZA. They went
with good will to the negotiations with Greece's creditors and
suffered a heavy defeat. Greece paid a huge price as became a debt
colony in the hands of the corporate neo-colonialists.
For four decades, the neoliberal
regime has taken over governments, institutions, minds. It is a
powerful establishment that seeks to drive Europe into the new
Feudalism. To overthrow such a powerful regime one needs a good
strategy and determination.
Angela Merkel is now the main
carrier of the neoliberal mission in Europe. Although she lost
significant power in the latest elections, she has the opportunity to
build the necessary coalitions in order to finish the job in her last
term in power.
Corbyn should take advantage of
Brexit to drive the UK to the opposite direction. While the
Brussels-Berlin axis will seek to implement all the conditions of the
Greek experiment inside the EU, the Labour party under Corbyn could
become an example against this dark future. While Tsipras suffered a
heavy defeat as went unprepared in the battle with the ruthless
neoliberal priesthood, Corbyn should go to the battle with the
neoliberal regime after a good preparation and a well-constructed
plan.
This means that the Labour Party
should build strong alliances inside the UK, especially with workers'
unions and small-medium businesses. The Party should start a
well-organized campaign across the country to make all the workers
unite against the neoliberal agenda of the Tories. Corbyn should
speak to the small-medium business owners to make them realize that
the neoliberal model is their enemy as it only benefits the big
multinational monsters against the small-medium sector.
However, one of the first and most
important moves that Corbyn should do after his election is to
nationalize central bank. The global financial mafia inside and
outside the UK will find very difficult to fight any government that
fully controls the central bank, and therefore, the money supply and
circulation. A public investment bank that would lead public
investments, as Corbyn mentioned, is very important, but not enough.
Of course, you never announce
openly that you are planning to make such a crucial move because the
criminal financial syndicate will finish you before you even start.
In any case, Jeremy Corbyn should prepare the Labour Party for a
fierce battle with the neoliberal regime.
Read
also:
If Jeremy Corbyn is elected as UK Prime Minister, will the last person to leave the country please turn off the lights?
ReplyDeleteI doubt the lights will be on by then, no one would have any money to pay for their electricity bill, or anything else for that matter.
DeleteAs we see from the above comment, too many have already bought into the rightwing view of the world.
ReplyDeleteThey see clearly the inequity, but are persuaded, by the very same beneficiaries of those inequities who own the press, that their is no other option.
For decades the press has pushed the electorate further and further right. Our only real hope are youngsters, who see Labour's ideas as exciting and possible. Not the tired and weary older generation who are afraid for what they have worked hard to acquire and have been convinced will be at risk if we move to the left.
Our generation made this mess and we seem very reluctant to let it go, time to get out of the way and let the next generation apply a little hope to the situation or face a future of perpetual austerity and inequality...
The belief that everyone is is equal and should have the same amount of money is reminiscent of "animal farm", and they found out it didn't work either.
DeleteTaxing the rich was tried in the 60's and 70's and led to a flight of capital and the rich.
In short, if you are rich enough, tax is optional and voluntary, you only have to look at Jensen Button and Lewis Hamilton amongst others that live in Monaco mainly for tax reasons.
Companies (large corporations) have the same choice, and many relocate to Ireland (CT rate 12.5%) and Luxembourg (CT rate 11%)
To believe you van simply tax the rich and corporations to death is pure fantasy economics.
If McDonnell has admitted his policies will cause a run on the £, the flight of capital and companies and yet people such as yourself won't accept that more state spending requires taxes to be raised on lower and middle income people, the sad fact is they are for the most part stuck here.
Nice try, but no cigar.
Those policies were all tried in the 1970s and all failed. Its why we became the sick man of Europe. There may be a good argument for tighter control over natural monopolies such as Water, power etc. But state investment in a mature economy is unlikely to work. Better to put more into basic science and especially education and training so people can take part in the future world.
ReplyDeleteThey talked of taxing robots, but that is taxing innovation. encourage robot and A development and deal with any consequences later when we really know what they will be. Otherwise we will just be a backwater where even more peopel end up in dead end low paid jobs or begging in the streets.
"Those policies were all tried in the 1970s". No. 70s mark the start of the neoliberal doctrine domination that brought us into this situation today: financial crises, fraud, growing inequality, unemployment, bubble economies, poverty, etc.
Delete