International anarchist communist statement on the global economic crisis and G20 meeting, endorsed by Alternative Libertaire (France), Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (Italy), Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group (Australia), Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (South Africa), Federação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Common Cause (Ontario, Canada) and Unión Socialista Libertaria (Peru). [Français] [Castellano] [Italiano] [Ελληνικά] [Polska] [Deutsch] [中文]

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Anarchist Communist Statement On The Global Economic Crisis And G20 Meeting

[Français] [Castellano] [Italiano] [Ελληνικά] [Polska] [Deutsch] [中文]

1.The current crisis is typical of the crises that regularly appear in the capitalist economy. "Overproduction", speculation and subsequent collapse are inherent to the system. (As Alexander Berkman and others have pointed out, what capitalist economists call overproduction is actually underconsumption: capitalism prevents large numbers of people from fulfilling their needs, and so undermines its own markets.)

2.Any solution to the crisis prepared by capitalists and governments will remain a solution within capitalism. It will not be a solution for the popular classes. Indeed, as in every crisis, the workers and the poor are paying – while financial capital is being bailed out with huge sums. This is likely to continue. No change within capitalism can resolve the problems of the popular classes; still less can such a solution be expected from individual politicians, such as Barack Obama. The most such politicians can do is play a part in offering the capitalists a way out, and perhaps in throwing the working class some crumbs.

3.The bank bailouts show not only whose interests the state serves, but the hollowness of capitalist commitment to free markets. Throughout history, capitalists have stood for markets when it suits them, and state regulation and subsidies when they need it. Capitalism could never have existed without state support.

4.In the US, the UK and elsewhere, the bailouts have taken the form of nationalisation of troubled financial institutions – with the full support of capital. This shows that capitalists have no fundamental problem with state ownership, and that nationalisation has nothing to do with socialism. It can also be a method of screwing the working class. We ourselves, not the state, need to take control of the economy.

5.Owing to the globalisation of capital under neo-liberalism, the ruling class recognises that the solution must be global. The G20 is meeting from 15 November to discuss the crisis. This is significant. The rulers of the US, Europe and Japan are coming to realise that they cannot handle the crisis on their own; that they need, not only one another, but other powers, notably China (which is emerging as a top industrial producer, and is on its way to becoming the world's third-biggest economy). India, Brazil and other "emerging" economies will have seats at the table. This may mark a recognition – under discussion for some years – that the G8 alone are no longer the world's economic decision makers. It is likely to signal a shift in the running of the global economic system.

6.We place no hopes in the inclusion of new capitalist powers. China's rulers may claim to be socialist; others, such as Lula of Brazil and Motlanthe of South Africa, may present themselves at times as champions of the poor. But in fact, all are defenders of capitalism, exploiters and oppressors of the people of their own countries, and, increasingly, imperialist or sub-imperialist exploiters of the people of other countries.

7.If the crisis is to lead to anything other than complete defeat for the global popular classes, poverty, exploitation and war, the popular classes must mobilise. We must demand bailouts, not for the capitalists, but for us. We anarchist communists will fight for those who got homes on subprime mortgages to be bailed out and keep their homes. We will continue to engage in and support struggles for jobs with better wages and shorter hours, housing, services, health services, welfare and education, protection of the environment. We fight for an end to imperialist wars and to repression of our class and its struggles.

8.We present these demands in response to the G20 meeting, and will continue to present them in the future. Through such demands, and through direct action to bring them about, we will work towards building a global movement of the popular classes that can put an end to capitalism, the state and the crises they create.

Signed:

Alternative Libertaire (France)
Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (Italy)
Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group (Australia)
Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (South Africa)
Federação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Common Cause (Ontario, Canada)
Unión Socialista Libertaria (Peru)

We are constantly being told that the only economy that works is the capitalist market economy. However, events over the last few weeks have shown this to be a lie. Capitalism is a crazy way in which to run a society. But are there any alternatives? And if so, what are they and how would they work?

In this debate (originally hosted on Znet), two leading thinkers outline other economic systems. Michael Albert and Wayne Price put forward their respective positions and reply to each other in a series of 10 short articles.

Wayne Price, a member of the North American anarchist organization NEFAC and a regular contributor to Anarkismo, argues the case for Anarchist Communism, while Michael Albert, co-author of Parecon and founder of Znet, speaks on behalf of Participatory Economics. Each article is then commented upon by the other author, who then each have an opportunity to respond before making a final conclusion.

With financial giants toppling at rates that shock even seasoned financial commenter, many of us are left wondering, how did this state of affairs come to pass. What is becoming obvious is that the financial markets have become increasingly complex. In this article, Paul Bowman looks the nuts and bolts behind the economic headlines, explaining what is it that is being sold and why nobody seems to be able to stop the chaos from unfolding.

This is the first part of a series of articles investigating the capitalist financial markets from a critical perspective. With such a large topic it is tricky finding a route into the subject and a plan of enquiry. The chosen road is to start with a look at the financial markets, particularly focusing on the mechanics of some of the instruments that have led to a momentous transformation of the workings of global financial markets in the most recent decades.

At first sight, this approach may seem odd, perverse even, like examining the internal workings of a clock as a prelude to discussion the social relations of time. However this "inside-out" approach is justified by the fact that as well as a system of social relations, capitalism is also a system with internal mechanics. Those mechanics evolve in response to the historical development of struggles over exploitation, but what new directions the new mechanics make possible in terms of capitalist strategies, in turn, shape the new struggles of today and tomorrow. The next article in the series will place these market mechanics in their fuller historical context. But for now let's start by investigating the mechanics of capitalist financial markets.

Desde una buena parte hasta ahora, se ha iniciado un nuevo período de lucha entre las clases sociales en Chile y en el resto del continente. Esta situación ha posibilitado que algunas expresiones políticas parciales del proletariado vayan madurando en términos programáticos distintas iniciativas y diseños políticos en los espacios de lucha social. A pesar de esto, creemos que este largo camino de agrupamiento de pequeñas prácticas subversivas, por organizar y dar coherencia a las dispersas luchas del proletariado, hasta ahora, muchas veces ha carecido de la humildad necesaria que pueda iluminar las prácticas cotidianas de lucha.

Pero aun así, más allá de la historia que cargan las distintas organizaciones políticas en Chile, creemos sinceramente y sin caer en el clásico vicio de la “política de jefes”, que es necesario un mayor diálogo entre éstas, que permita compartir visiones y diagnósticos y perfilar ejes comunes que orienten nuestras acciones, teniendo en consideración distintos elementos, que revisamos a continuación.

En este escrito, pretendemos aportar al necesario debate y reflexión sobre el actual contexto, marcado por la desaceleración económica y la crisis política, y sobre el estado actual de las fuerzas de la clase trabajadora. Nos interesa especialmente contribuir en la reflexión sobre varios puntos cruciales, en términos estratégicos y tácticos, que son necesarios resolver dentro de una perspectiva revolucionaria.

Frente al conflicto entre los empresarios agropecuarios, hoy en una inestable tregua, planteamos que este conflicto no es más que una puja entre burgueses dentro del modelo comenzado por Duhalde y continuado por los Kirchner y señalamos que los trabajadores seguiremos siendo los verdaderos perjudicados gane quien gane en tanto no nos organicemos y pongamos en pie de lucha por nuestras propias reivindicaciones y conquistas.

Red Libertaria de Buenos Aires (Argentina)

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