Friday 13 February 2009

Strikes and ideological emphasis

I have been disappointed by the strikes that have taken place across the country. Nothing wrong with a bit of militantism, of course, but as we slip into the "worst recession in one hundred years" (Education minister Ed Balls, ex-treasury spokesperson) I have been disappointed by the tone. "British Jobs for British workers" to me seems a vacuous complaint- as it implies that foreign labour is to blame for the current crisis. This is not the case. Banks are to blame. The neo-liberal capitalist model is to blame, markets are at fault. Workers from Poland, Portugal, Italy, or anywhere else for that matter have nothing to do with this crisis.

This does not mean the strikers don't have some valid points. Labour being sourced as close to home as possible makes sense for communities and economy alike in the long run. Flexible labour markets are essential to protect the interests of any worker who for want or necessity needs to look beyond their immediate horizon but corporations should not be permitted to abuse this flexibility to control labour costs at the expense of communities. Generally a much greater degree of homogenity regards the commodity costs of labour need to be in place, internationally, so as to avoid exploitation, and statal instruments being manipulated at the hands of supra-national employers. It comes down to Marx at the end of it, the basics of his historical analyis are as sound now as they ever were. "Workers of the world unite" innit. The savage caprice of capitalism should be chided and resisted- not the principle of employing foreign labour.

It also raises the question of what exactly is British?

My understanding of Plaid's position on Welshness is clear. Wales is for those 'who live in Wales'. Culture can be portable but citizenship is activated by residence, making the ideal definition of Wales an inclusive expression. Whatever Britishness is it is unclear and exclusive. I have never been comfortable with the imperial and colonial baggage that comes with this peculiar sense of nationality, expressed without reference to written constitution.

Britain is in crisis however. For Ed Balls to say we are in the worst economic state for over a hundred years is to talk of the collapse of modern Western economics. Bascially, Britain was in a better financial state when the empire collapsed, than it is now. The great depression, that led to the great observational novels of Orwell in the UK, for example, is of lesser magnitude than the current capital crisis and knock on recession. If Ball's analysis is even remotely accurate then where we go from here is crucial. We cannot afford to pursue the agenda of either politicians or the business community that brought us to this precipice.

In Wales Plaid is by far offer the best opportunity to make the kind of social democratic reforms necessary given the dire extent of the current situation. The responsibility for wider change does not lie with any particular politicians or with party political dogma however. The forces and reaction that led to the 'wild cat strikes' need better chanelling.

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