This evening’s meeting (19.30)

*DID YOU SEE THE NEWS?* *(Zoom)*

Friday 23 February 19.30

 From 2023: https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/audio-index/audio-index-2023/

‘German Political Culture and Socialism’ – commentary on Rammstein’s music video ‘Deutschland‘, by Andrew Westley 15th December 2023

‘Is a Moneyless Society Possible?’ – Richard Field, 8th December 2023

‘Discussion on Gaza’ – hosted by Adam Buick and Paddy Shannon, 17th November 2023

‘Is there such a thing as ethical investment?’ – Hosted by Adam Buick, 20th October 2023

2024: https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/audio-index/audio-index-2024/

‘Has the Internet Enhanced or Inhibited Workers Understanding of the World’ – John Cumming, 19th January 2024

‘State Constitutions – Paper and Reality’ – by Uther Naysmith, 12th January 2024

‘Roundup of 2023’ – hosted by Paddy Shannon, 5th January 2024 

As we navigate the complex landscape of the global economy in 2024, parallels to a novel set forty years ago in what was then the future are unceasingly alluring for many. However, while George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four will forever reverberate through the passage of time as a quintessential critique of authoritarianism, his Animal Farm offers us a far more compelling critique of the power dynamics, manipulation, and pitfalls of unchecked authority associated with the ultimate authority – the one in which all fascist and ‘communist’ systems have hitherto existed: capitalism.

The story of Animal Farm unfolds as a group of farm animals revolt against their human oppressors, led by the idealistic pigs Snowball and Napoleon. The revolution promises equality and prosperity for all, yet as time progresses, the pigs, who initially championed the cause of the oppressed, succumb to the allure of power and wealth. Over time, the pigs consolidate power, betraying their initial ideals and creating a hierarchy that mirrors the oppressive regime they replaced.

Sound familiar? Naturally one can chart these porcine similarities in the development of capitalism – particularly in the transformation of the ‘“start-up’” into the multinational corporation. In the spirit of Animal Farm’s pigs, these entities, once heralded as champions of economic freedom and innovation, have come to wield disproportionate influence over global and human affairs. One need only read a tweet from Elon Musk to understand why billions were wiped off a particular company on the New York Stock Exchange on a particular day or read the latest struggles of Amazon workers to wrest back control of their bladders from Jeff Bezos to understand the severity of this influence. Sadly, these latter-day Napoleons have since emerged as today’s elite, having manipulated capitalist conceptualisations of progress and innovation to the extreme.

In Animal Farm, Napoleon and Snowball are at first portrayed as comrades, sharing a vision of a utopian society. However, Napoleon’s lust for power becomes evident when he orchestrates the expulsion of Snowball, eliminating dissent and consolidating authority. One would also do well to recall the condescending hero-worshipping stage rallies of other capitalist exploiters like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates – seemingly once essential ingredients in the faux revolution of the nineties tech boom – and see in them the earlier manifestations of this elitist cunning. There, they extolled the cutting-edge popular utility of their technologies, encouraging perceptions that new tech would lead to a more transparent, equitable, and empowered society. To the contrary, tech giants like Apple and Microsoft have since amassed colossal wealth, buying out competitors, exploiting tax loopholes, and engaging in questionable labour practices. As Orwell wrote, ‘”All animals are equal’” but as the pigs consolidate power, this commandment undergoes subtle modifications, ultimately becoming ‘”All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others’.”

Here, Orwell’s work highlighted the manipulation of language to control perception, with the pigs modifying the commandments to justify their actions. Similarly, in the global economy, terms like ‘“free trade’”, ‘“globalisation’”, ‘“innovation’”, ‘“aspiration’”, and ‘“growth’” are employed to cloak a system that often perpetuates inequalities. At the global level, both developed and developing nations find themselves in positions of vulnerability, exploited by powerful economies and multinational corporations in a manner akin to how the pigs exploit the other animals on Animal Farm. Meanwhile, individuals are oppressed in every conceivable manner, from the chiming of the alarm clock signalling the commencement of the day’s shift to the incessant blaze of propaganda, emanating from every screen or frequency, affixed to every block or bus. We are told at every turn that we must have something to be someone – an exercise in the all-consuming tawdry display of capitalist accumulation.  

If one should take anything from Orwell’s tale, it is that complacency and conformity breed danger. The animals on Animal Farm gradually accept the pigs’ changing principles, rationalising their own subjugation. In the contemporary global economy, there’s a parallel in how the masses often accept economic policies that favour the wealthy, believing in the illusion of trickle-down prosperity. Reaganomics sadly remains the chief allure of our acquiescence. A totem under which we willingly swallow the erosion of workers’ rights, precarious labour conditions, and the widening income gap between rich and poor, if only for the chance to receive an extra portion of the workhouse gruel. Capitalism’s greatest achievement is our complicity. The Musks, Bezos’s, Jobs’s, and Gates’s of this world fully intend to feed us with the automatic updates necessary to ensure our continued function as the best software version of capitalism (indeed, helpfully Mr Musk has now developed and tested a brain chip, possibly with the idea capable of absolving us of the last vestiges of self-awareness!).

 In conclusion, as we assess the global economy in 2024, the parallels to George Orwell’s Animal Farm offer a sobering reflection on the persistence of economic inequity and the concentration of power. The pigs’ gradual descent into corruption, the betrayal of revolutionary ideals, the consolidation of corporate influence to the manipulation of language and the erosion of democratic principles, Orwell’s cautionary tale resonates in the dynamics shaping our contemporary economic landscape. It is a timeless critique, every bit as vital as Nineteen Eighty-Four, that prompts us to critically examine the principles guiding our societies and question whether they truly uphold the values of equality, justice, and genuine progress. The challenge remains to achieve a global working-class consciousness which strives for a more equitable and just global economy. World Socialism, in which we eradicate hierarchy, participate in decision-making, and produce according to need is the only viable alternative.

JOHN ELLISTON

 It is reported that, ‘Guinea’s military rulers have dissolved the West African nation’s government, which had been in power since July 2022. The presidency’s spokesman, General Amara Camara, announced the decision on 19 February without providing any specific reasons.

The presidential decree, read by General Camara in a pre-recorded video published on social media, said a new government would be installed but did not specify when that would happen. 

“The government is dissolved… The management of current affairs will be ensured by the directors of cabinet, the secretaries general, and the deputy secretaries general until the establishment of a new government,” he said in the presence of around 20 uniformed soldiers.

Guinea has been under military rule since September 2021, when soldiers overthrew President Alpha Conde, who had ruled for more than a decade. Conde’s election in 2010 marked the country’s first democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1958.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has demanded that the coup leaders in Conakry, as well as those in power in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, hold elections within a reasonable timeframe and restore democratic order.

Colonel Mady Doumbouya, the interim president of the former French colony, agreed to return Conakry to civilian rule by the end of 2024 after facing sanctions over an initial three-year transfer of power. The military leadership has claimed that the transition period would allow it to implement major reforms in the poor but mineral-rich country.

In a separate statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, the presidency ordered members of the dissolved government to return state property, including vehicles and travel documents “without delay.”

“The High Commander of the Gendarmerie and the Director General of the Police are responsible for taking all measures to put buffers in all departments until the temporary workers are fully taken over,” announced Ibrahima Sory Bangoura, chief of staff and general of the Armed Forces of the Guinean Transitional Government.

ECOWAS, which has been embroiled in disputes with military rulers in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, has yet to issue an official statement on Guinea’s unexpected government dissolution. The three former French colonies have served notices to withdraw from the bloc, citing harsh sanctions imposed in response to coups in their respective countries. They accuse the 15-nation regional authority of being a tool for foreign powers. The bloc is also dealing with political unrest in Senegal, where a surprise postponement of presidential elections has sparked deadly protests in recent weeks.’

This evening’s meeting will be:start at 19.30ut:

 This evening’s meeting  at 19 30ut is

This evening’s meeting  on Zoom:

One hundred years ago the Labour Party formed its first (minority) government.

Posted below are a selection of articles from the Socialist Standard from that period covering both the 1923 General Election and the duration (and aftermath) of that first Labour administration: 

January 1924 After The Poll

February 1924  Editorial – A “Socialist” Government

March 1924 Editorial – Peace At Any Price!

April 1924 Fake Labour Government. The puppet show.

June 1924 The Fraud of Reform.

July 1924 The Capitalist Housing Bill.

July 1924 The Labour Party Votes for Strike-Smashing Bill.

August 1924 Editorial – Labour Rules The Empire With Bombs and Bullets. *

September 1924  Editorial – Reparations or Revolution.

November 1924 Editorial – The Great Sham Fight at the Polls

December 1924 How Labour Ruled Mespot.

April 1925  A review of “The Diplomacy of Mr. Ramsay MacDonald”.

August 1929 Mr. Wheatley’s Lapse.

*Particularly relevant  and perhaps worth underlining at the moment is the bombing of tribesmen in Iraq showing that Starmer is respecting Labour’s ignoble record in supporting actions like the bombing of the Houthi’s today.

Socialist Standard Past & Present: A False Dawn (socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com)

 Far-right mob hunts woman for defacing Stalin icon in Georgian church.   Georgia-born Stalin, who infamously suppressed religion in the Soviet Union, was featured on an icon in the country’s main cathedral.

The state uses religion or tries to replace it. Napoleon explained :

“How can one have order in the state without religion? Society cannot exist without inequality of fortunes and inequalities of fortunes cannot exist without religion. How can a man dying from hunger sit next to a man who is belching from overeating, unless there is an authority that says ‘God wills it so.’” And added: “It is necessary that there be rich and poor in this world. We need religion to say that in eternity it will be different. I see in religion not the mystery of the incarnation but the mystery of the social order. It relegates to the heavens the idea of inequality so that the rich are not massacred here on earth.”

In the 1930s Stalin outlawed abortion and homosexuality and  pursued state capitalist industrialisation, at the cost of millions of lives, and in 1936 announced that Russia was ‘socialist’.   That very year, Pravda (28 August) proclaimed him divine:

‘O Great Stalin, O Leader of the Peoples,

Thou who didst give birth to man,

Thou who didst make fertile the earth,

Thou who dost rejuvenate the Centuries,

Thou who givest blossom to the spring… ‘

Little wonder Bakunin: said “A jealous lover of human liberty, and deeming it the absolute condition of all that we admire and respect in humanity, I reverse the phrase of Voltaire, and say that, if God really existed, it would be necessary to abolish him.”