tire
a a ee ee a a ae Vol. 1. No. 30. Price Threepence July 18th 1962 TORY CRISIS IS THE CRISIS OF BRITISH CAPITALISM
The sweeping changes in Ministers and wholsale sackings by Macmillan are the political expression of a deep and thoroughgoing crisis which faces British capitalism. Briefly, the dilemma which faces the Government is as a result of a policy of attempting to carry on as a 'great power' long after the matorial conditions for such a posture have disappeared. To play her role in the world today, capitalist Britain needs to maintain forces all over the world, give ‘aid! to the underdeveloped countries and maintain a level of armaments far beyond her capacity. In addition keeping the pound as one of the major trading currencies involves a financial stability which is upset every time therc is production boom (the latest example is the almost neck and neck race between inflation and indus-~trial production as expressed by the Government's figures for June). Keeping forces stationed all the way round the world involves (as the U.S.A. is finding out too) vast expenditure in foreign currency, which mst be balanced by extra exports, A huge armaments programme puts a tremendous inflationary pressure on the whole economy, Armaments expenditure is entirely unproductive from the point of view of the economy as a whole and the price of raw materials, machine tools, etc. is inflated owing to 'artifical' competition. Technical capacity has to be maintained on a par with the ‘other side of the iron curtain' regardless of nsed. \Ihilst these and many other features of a 'cold war' economy may for a period be instrumental in keeping down unemployment they provide m permanent solution ta the contradictions of capitalism.
The Tory political crisis is a reflection of the crisis of policy which is affecting the British capitalist class when confronted by this impossible situation. Internationally, capitalism is faced with the same kind of problems, all of which stem from one basic process — the advance of world revolution, whether expressed by the colonial revolution, the advance of the workers states (politically and economically) or the now steadily growing movement in the advanced Capitalist countries. To grasp this fact is essential to understand the process and put forward a solution.
One of the greatest crimes of the Labour leadership is that they present the Tory crisis as arising from 'Tory mismanagement', the left must counter this by pointing out that the crisis arises from basic capitalist policies, and generally speaking the Tory Government is probably carrying these out as efficiently as anyone could. In fact the policies of the Labour Government would most likely make the crisis much worse with disastrous effects for the working class and the Labour Party. ‘hat is needed is a complete reorientation, a policy of making structural changes in the economy, of making thoroughgoing inroads into the power of capitalist interests in this country and internationally a policy of a complete reversal of 'cold war' politics. Such a transitional programme would on the one hand inspire and mobilise the working class, and on the other provoke powerful resistance from the capitalist class, thus tie stage would be set for a revolutionary transformation of British society.
The elaboration of such a transitional programme, together with the building of an alternative left leadership with the Labour Party form the major political tasks of }1arxists in Britain taday. The transtional programme must be one which will bridge the gap between the consciousness of the mass of the Labcur supporters, and the tasks which face us in a social transformation of Britain; the alternative left leadership mist be one which accepts(even if in stages) such a programme and yet at the same time providesan alternative to Gaitzskell and co. in the eyes of the mass of Labour supporters. Thos who think all this is Utopian should remember that thousands of miners, railwaymen, aircraft workers, etc. will learn capitalism just can't deliver the goods in a most convincing way. Moreover in the face of the chronic crisis of British capitalism, with a background and interpenetration of the ending of the relative stabilty of western capitalism, the alternative is increasingly authoritarian capitalist Governments.
siditor — July 17.