On the Fuel Tax Protest and the OPEC Red Herring
G W F H | 13.09.2000 18:43
"Something" is happening, beyond doubt, because I saw it, (honest), but what is it ? It seems presumptive to form a set opinion before ascertaining the cause, and possible direction of this "something".
Farmers and truckers are not, generally, open to left wing ideas, and for the most part cannot be considered workers.
One thing that surprised me, something i did not expect to see, was an element of racial solidarity among the truckers,
and it was pleasant indeed to see some progress in this line of thinking. Ideas can change with experience - I recall the time in 1985 when striking coal miners took part in the Gay Pride march that year.
On the negative side, it must be remembered that the democ ratic socialist regime of Allende in Chile was brought down in 1973 partly as the result of precisely a truckers and housewives wave of protest (apart from the actual coup by Pinochet, of course). Of course, the comparison is tenuous, for neither side quite fits: Blair is not a socialist, and it would be rash to condemn the protesters of too sinister a motive. As I said previously, when have the left attempt ed to put the case to these people ? Today I did not see one socialist or anarchist trying to give these guys a new perspective, so what will they do except take the cue from the large conglomerates or the aristocracy ? I have never heard of a left wing group contacting agricultural workers, and they will, therefore take their lead from their employ er.
One thing that is of great concern is the attack on OPEC (Oil produc ing nations grouping) coming from Labour; if OPEC nations are being a bit obstructive in setting prices, then remember its THEIR oil, not the wests ! What would the Labour cabinet, or Livingstone (who would dearly love to be in it) like to do ? Try a new onslaught against Iraq, Iran,
or somewhere ("whats the difference?", as "South Park" sati rically suggested ) to bring the price down a bit ? Truth is, Labour could reduce the duty on fuel if it wanted to. Then again, it could reintroduce the right to student grants, decent levels of wages, benefits, housing, union rights and so on, if it wanted to... Fact is, the farmers and truckers, if not fighting for a better world, are at least pushing their case with vigor, something we could all take a tip by way of. I thought it was quite interesting that the catalyst came from the example set by the French farmers, although i dont know much about their politics (probably no better than here, one imagines).
One thing that surprised me, something i did not expect to see, was an element of racial solidarity among the truckers,
and it was pleasant indeed to see some progress in this line of thinking. Ideas can change with experience - I recall the time in 1985 when striking coal miners took part in the Gay Pride march that year.
On the negative side, it must be remembered that the democ ratic socialist regime of Allende in Chile was brought down in 1973 partly as the result of precisely a truckers and housewives wave of protest (apart from the actual coup by Pinochet, of course). Of course, the comparison is tenuous, for neither side quite fits: Blair is not a socialist, and it would be rash to condemn the protesters of too sinister a motive. As I said previously, when have the left attempt ed to put the case to these people ? Today I did not see one socialist or anarchist trying to give these guys a new perspective, so what will they do except take the cue from the large conglomerates or the aristocracy ? I have never heard of a left wing group contacting agricultural workers, and they will, therefore take their lead from their employ er.
One thing that is of great concern is the attack on OPEC (Oil produc ing nations grouping) coming from Labour; if OPEC nations are being a bit obstructive in setting prices, then remember its THEIR oil, not the wests ! What would the Labour cabinet, or Livingstone (who would dearly love to be in it) like to do ? Try a new onslaught against Iraq, Iran,
or somewhere ("whats the difference?", as "South Park" sati rically suggested ) to bring the price down a bit ? Truth is, Labour could reduce the duty on fuel if it wanted to. Then again, it could reintroduce the right to student grants, decent levels of wages, benefits, housing, union rights and so on, if it wanted to... Fact is, the farmers and truckers, if not fighting for a better world, are at least pushing their case with vigor, something we could all take a tip by way of. I thought it was quite interesting that the catalyst came from the example set by the French farmers, although i dont know much about their politics (probably no better than here, one imagines).
G W F H
Comments
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The politics of French farmers
13.09.2000 22:45
For more information:
An observer
This article was utterly meaningless
14.09.2000 19:41
I came to this article hoping for information, only to read a meandering quasi-op-ed piece that offers nothing but confused and ill-considered generalisations about people who work for a living. The opening sentence states that farmers and truckers are not open to left wing ideas and "cannot be considered workers". This ludicrous notion denotes not onlya sad lack of historical perspective, but also a lack of understanding of the definition of the word "work". Left wing movements are based on a class perspective and truckers and farmers are known as the "working class" (THE pivotal force in any proposed revolution in any leftist text). The idea that workers are just backwards hicks while the true revolutionaries are those who can afford the luxury of sitting around discussing identity politics and socialist ideology instead of working for a living is ridiculous. While it may be nice to see coal miners joining a gay pride march, true progress would be seeing the gay community organize to support a coal miner's strike or some other such class uprising. I can only assume this article was written by some twenty year old college student who never comes in contact with anyone who could actually be considered a proletariate. I wouldn't consider it cencorship if the IMC neglected to allow postings, such as this, that were completely lacking in quality.
Big Mouth
e-mail:
kovacks@speakeasy.org
Homepage:
http://www.speakeasy.net/bigmouth
Well, get out and join them.
14.09.2000 23:18
Sure, this probably won't end up being a revolution, but it's still good for us all to get some practice and make some friends.
- Calgarian, not expecting any major protests against oil prices in this neck of the woods!
Also, the media is trying to turn this into some sort of mere tax protest (but remember - that's all the American revolution was at first) while others are scapegaoting OPEC. I think we should focus on the absurd profits oil companies are making from this, as well as the other nastiness involved with them. We did some research on this when we protested the World Petroleum Congress here -
Arthur Sankey
e-mail:
artsankey@hotmail.com
Homepage:
http://www.geocities.com/mallwart/wpc.html
GWFH replies to 'Big Mouth'
16.09.2000 14:35
Secondly 'Farmers and Truckers are not workers'. No, they,re small self employed businessmen, not organized proletarians. This must be understood to realize the complication; they have a different socio-economic outlook, and this is why the trades unions failed to support them. They are a 'squeezed' class, and you'll find a lot of writings by Tortsky on this matter: more to follow.
G W F H
Too big a mouth and too little to say !
16.09.2000 16:00
" Self employed farmers and hauliers can only come to socialist ideas if they see their needs are being considered by the left> There's no guarantee of course, but a successful class struggle entails many allies and tactics, Unconditional trades union loyalty to a false regime such as Labour's is not the way"
See full article on IMC Rocky Mountain
Corvus
The higher the petrol price, the less cars..
23.09.2000 04:47
Everyone knows the higher the petrol price, the less cars will be used. Isn't this good? The response to high petrol prices is unbelievable to me! Why do not they just pass the increased costs to the consumers? But then many would perfer to use trains instead ...? Well isn't this what is always demanded? So what is the problem? High petrol prices are good for the environment and for the people who have to live with this noise and pollution. Truck transporters and mass-production famers still do not pay for the destruction the are responsible for!
Let's find solutions for real peoblems instead of demanding a revolution. The world would not be better just because it has another system. People have to change themselves! But this is a much harder job than just demostrating. Most people do not follow those demonstrations anyway.
Mario
e-mail:
mariobehling@web.de
Oil prices
07.10.2000 02:40
I think I agree with big mouth but also we should try not to alienate each other, rather stick to the point,which is:the free market requires constant intervention,therby denying its own existence;the fuel tax helps compensate for lower top tax brackets by spreading the burden across the population,instead of going into alternative technology.
Most people have no spare money while others have obscene amounts.The extreme capitalism we live under today is offensive to most people and if we keep sniping at each other they will win by default.As a self employed plasterer I consider myself a worker.
Phil Toms
e-mail:
philtomsnz@yahoo.com
Homepage:
http//www.rebelmusic.co.nz