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The frustrating thing about this debate is how polarised the left in Britain has become. Of course the left is going to be split on this issue. The working class is split on this issue. You know why? Because the referendum gave them a choice between two different versions of capitalism. Only a mad or bad capitalist government would call a referendum asking you if you wanted a) Capitalism, or b) Socialism. If they call a referendum, you can be damn sure neither result will bring about the collapse of the capitalist world order. I voted Remain, but I accept that there are many good reasons for a socialist to oppose the E.U. The least intelligent argument is that the E.U., as a capitalist neoliberal bloc, would somehow impede the development of socialism in the U.K. That’s not exactly on the cards at this moment, but even if it were, it’s essentially a socialism in one country perspective, and really just a hangover from the 1970s, where democratic socialists and Stalinists feared that inclusion in the EEC would stop them from being able to nationalise things. A more interesting anti-E.U. argument actually came from the third worldists – that the E.U. was essentially an imperialist bloc, that “freedom of movement” only applied to Europeans, and the E.U. was set up to ensure that European countries could continue to exploit the third world after the collapse of Empire. That’s entirely accurate. However, none of the above arguments were driving Brexit. The Brexit faction of the ruling class (the right wing of the Conservatives), were motivated by Atlantacism. They saw the E.U. as a block to trade with the United States. Their ideology is anti-regulation “free market” capitalism, which appeals to what remains of small capitalists here (who resent having to do things like pay minimum wage and not being able to victimise their staff staff). The E.U serves the interests of big capital, not small capital (generally speaking), and therefore small capitalists tend to resent it, feeling trampled. The alliance between a handful of Atlantacist big capitalists in the Conservative Party, and what remains of the British petty bourgeoisie could not, of course, have delivered the Leave vote. So naturally, they fell back on nationalism. There are in Britain, just like in America and throughout Europe, many, many working class people who have been dispossessed by neoliberalism. They are people who used to constitute the “working class aristocracy” – meaning they (or their parents or grandparents) had safe jobs, a strong union, better than average pay, etc. That’s now gone. It had been eroding for years, but the 2008 crash demonstrated that starkly. They’re angry, they’re very angry, and they’re being told that the reason for the collapse of their living standards is immigration, the E.U. (and blacks, gays, women, Muslims). The E.U. is essentially a liberal capitalist project. The post-1945 liberal theory of international relations is one of multilateralism and globalisation. They believe that the WTO, IMF NATO, the E.U., the G7, etc. are essential to their vision of world order and stability. In their version of history, it was the failure to create such international NGOs that led to the two world wars. Therefore, the liberal bourgeoisie is in full panic at Brexit, and Trump’s attacks on these institutions. The so-called “right wing populists” who drove Brexit and drive Trumpism, are basically nationalist free marketeers, who are working for the roll back of the liberal agenda both internationally and internally, and use cheap racism and general reactionary ideas to drive it. Both the liberal capitalists and the reactionary right are of course damaging to the working class. The difference is that the reactionary right are aiming to roll back even the limited gains that have been achieved under liberal democracy. Basic things such as abortion rights, gay rights, trade union rights and intolerance of overt racism. In my opinion, Brexit should be viewed in the light of this growing (and powerful) international trend towards extreme reaction. Not everybody who voted Brexit is a member of this movement, or would agree with every one of its aims; but it was most definitely used as a vehicle by the reactionary right to launch themselves into a stronger position in the British state. The hard right of the Conservative Party used to be considered the lunatic fringe – they’re very close to capturing the leadership of that party (which is for all intents and purposes the ruling party of the British state). The solution? The British left needs to stop arguing about how they did/should have voted in the referendum. It doesn’t matter. What we need to do is come up with a strategy of how to build a real working class alternative to the liberal capitalists - who are, and always will be, hostile to the working class movement; and right wing populism – which is not only a mortal threat to the working class, but is a dual danger because it’s also enticing working class support and propagating reactionary ideas within it. That’s why Corbynism is of central importance. What we are seeing in the Labour Party is not its transformation into a socialist party (which I would argue is virtually impossible), but the revival of social democracy. The Labour Party was controlled by the liberal capitalists (always a strong faction, particularly in the PLP and the party bureaucracy), for decades. There’s now a fight going on between the liberal capitalists (currently using the Brexit debate as a proxy) and the social democrats for control. It’s that we should be concentrating on. On Thu, Jul 12, 2018 at 9:24 AM, RKOB via Marxism < marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote: > ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** > #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. > #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. > ***************************************************************** > > I fully agree with John! > > The British national state as well as the EU proto-state formation are > BOTH instruments for the imperialist ruling class (or different factions of > the ruling class) in order to impose their interests on the working class. > To side with one against the other is the same reactionary nonsense as > siding in > imperialist countries between Globalization vs Protectionism (or, to give > another analogy, between the Republicans vs the Democrats in the U.S.). > > Engels quote is absolutely correct. It seems that, according to John, not > only Marx and Engels but also Hilferding and Lenin (who repeated Engels > statement quoted by John) didn't "understand" the nature of imperialist > protectionism! Bold statement! > > No, John, austerity against workers takes place inside the European Union > AS WELL AS outside of it. > > As this is a decade-long debate (most of the British left - from the > Stalinists to most "Trotskyists" - adapts to British chauvinism and > supports Brexit) there exists a vast literature on this issue. > > Here are two pamphlets which deal in detail with the British left and > their position on Brexit. > > https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/british-left-and-eu-referendum/ > > https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/eu-and-brexit/ > > -- > Revolutionär-Kommunistische Organisation BEFREIUNG > (Österreichische Sektion der RCIT, www.thecommunists.net) > www.rkob.net > ak...@rkob.net > Tel./SMS/WhatsApp/Telegram: +43-650-4068314 > > > > --- > Diese E-Mail wurde von Avast Antivirus-Software auf Viren geprüft. > https://www.avast.com/antivirus > _________________________________________________________ > Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm > Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/opt > ions/marxism/nelsontim86%40gmail.com > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
