Then you see the German economy in a hell of a mess. They've dismantled ast Germany, closed down the factories, they've got mass unemployment, fuelling racism. You've got the collapse of social democracy - if you can even call it that - in France, producing the rise of Le "You've got the US, the biggest debtor country in the world, dependent on Japanese money to prop it up. Now the lapanese are withdrawing their money back to Tokyo, because there's a big col. lapse in their economy.
So, if ever there was a moment when socialism was back on the agenda objectively, then this is it. I think Maastricht is a dead duck. The Tories are nationalists, they began by seeing the Common Market as restricting and restraining the British electorate's capacity to produce Now they see the EC commission as a Ministry of Technology reborn, suddenty Thatcher's seen it in a new light. But their's is a nationalist opposition, mine I would never appear on a plat with a Tory on the uropean ques but tneyre a ponacal force unat can't be disregarded.
As far as the Labour Party's concerned they've never liked the EC, but they were told by Kinnock they've got to live in the real world - I don't know what he would've said if he'd been in South Africa, would he have told Nelson Mandela 'now come on, you've got to live in the real world of apartheid?
Kinnock bull-dozed the party into ac cepting the EC, but they don't really ac cept a reactansed capitaust curope Now we're out for another five years, and the pressures on all our trade umon members to resist all these cuts restrictions and restraints coming from membership of the ERM.
My fear is that if you go along this road, it'll either lead to people copping out completely or going nationalist. the italians or anvone else retum to neofascism, they certainly shouldn't be able to control legislation governing Britain Of course we would haveto work with the Italian working class movement, so underpinning this has got to be the closest association between the different socialist movements in Europe. SO: Jacques Delors has argued for Increased powers to the Eurepean Commission. Some socialists support this, and It is certainly a debate within the left, Indeed within the Socialist Movement. How would you respond te this? IB: I don't think that progress eve omes from above. I th that a Good King or a Kind Commissioner will give you your rights, runs contrary to the whole history of working class struggle.
This is all about changing the balance of power in the British constitution, let alone the European one. It is about the and destruction democracy. The people in the City of London and so on, have been so worried since the onrush of democracy, since the rictory of the Suffragettes, universal sul age and the welfare state, they ar saying we'll pass power back to the Crown, through the Prime Minister, so that the Crown can make the laws of Brussels. SO: With capital organising on an ever greater internatienal level, and seeing the huge power the multinatienals kave ever the warld Penal workers' organisatiens te fight this? TB: The future of socialism has to be thought through very carefully now. Sweatshop labour-already the plight of miltons - could grow in post-Manstricht Europe end. ing of labour. and SO: You say the 'ebjective' to be totally untrue? shant to strnd cy haal ink this idea doesn't correspond. struggles, having a base for socialism. Bill Jordan and the rest. lass, and just look to the EC est the European, fined intellectual thin oed te promote new forms Broad to go down. The collapse of the centralised Stalinistsystem showed that without the vital ingredient of democracy that project was an absolute dead What the Common Market is about is he liberation of capital and the enslav programme for the control of capital and liberation of labour - and that must be done on an international basis. conditions for socialism have never been riper, but that of course begs the question of the subjective mood. Given the last years have been a time of defeat, some sections of the left are drifting over to the idea that the class struggle is dead. Don't the recent events in Germany and Les Angeles show this TB: The intellectuals who say all this, the professional pessimists, are themselves doing quite well out of the tax cuts that the Tories have made for the rich-and then they say se hical but all these leftists who write articles in papers nd appear on TV to say this, there's something quite funny about it, i Decrol.
Until we can root socialism back into and articulate their views, support their we can't really talk about If you're not on a picket line, if you of the didn't support the miners' strike and you don't support struggles now, then your credentials as a representative of workng people might be legitimately ques ioned. The same thing, of course, can be said of most of the trade union leaders, There is an element among these pes future, who see Britain condemned forever to being some sort of slum. And because it's difficult to mobilise is point in time to concede att they don't want to mobilise anyone to But it's a complete il usion that you can bypass the workin You see socialism has become a rather ave to do is rot the debate on Euro in peoples' real experiences. That's the road!
THE PLANS DECIDED at the Maastricht summit, for a single Europoan currency and economic integration, anect the vilal Labour movement across lace of it, one might con the most Sacid benelle A Estope domiled by Is economic heartland around Gormary would wipe out huge swathes of captal on the perply. destroying jobs and worsoning living stand.
It is an aution to imagine that deeper European unity is going lo level up ling dandards to German Inks. Such Bursions have been rampant in social democritic par is because of to EC's occial policy.
Dead duck
But the image of Jacques Delore forcing European capialists to givu their workers decent wage cales and has boon shown lo be a dead duck in recent wooks. The EC wil not even compel Britain to axipt a 48 hour minium work - mome than a hundred years afor workers won the B hour day in muny countriesl There is nothing whatever democratic about the EC, nor will there be as economic armonlution progrecoes. The read power in he EC in the Council of Ministers, in other The Tortress Eurape being consucted all as a result of the Schengon Agreemen have harsh policies against immigrants an asylum seokors.
nically intograted capitalst Europe. The choice road and today's under ing class stucures should be rosi Economic moonscion, cological cris, the Not the boa No. 22 May 30, 1992
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