Time for a systemic change?

Time for a systemic change?
John Beeching, Hon. Chair CPS

Since its inception, the capitalist system has as its major basis the conflict between social production and private ownership – that is between those who must work to live and the owning class. It has undergone many changes from its more democratic stage in the beginning, the industrial revolution to the present 21st century change the scientific and technological revolution.

The Haiti earthquake ushered in a spate of media analysis and explanations on earthquakes. We found most interesting one from a communist that sometimes for centuries the tectonic plates make minor movements or shifts. Then when a major shift takes place we witness an earthquake. For example, we heard that in BC’s lower mainland there are over 200 minor quakes a year. The prediction is that the big one can come at any time. The article then went on to point out a similar condition prevails in systems. Sometimes in hundred of years small changes in the system take place like the success of the Magna Charta such as strikes, demonstrations, petition campaigns like the ‘Ban The Bomb’ campaigns which bring about minor changes in the system. When the predominant conditions reach a point where those in social production are in agreement that “we can not live this way any more” and the Private ownership also can no longer continue as they have in the past the earthquake – a revolution takes place.

Each crisis in the capitalist system has the capacity to begin the earthquake – the revolution. Worldwide the proxies of corporate governance are busy doing all possible to prevent a social earthquake. A good example is the Speech of Canada’s Prime Minister Harper in Denmark when he ignored a historical fact and said that 90 years ago Canadians “stood firm” against imperialism. The inference is that some system in WW I was fighting imperialism. The fact is that war was a fight between two imperialist systems. “The First World War was an Imperialist War was an imperialist war for the re-division of global markets, for control of global resources and for the control and re-division of colonial empires.” Don Currie, editor focus on Socialism. See www.focusonsocialism.ca

World war II also began as a conflict between two imperialist systems, capitalism and fascism/nazism. With the attack by Hitler’s troops on the former Soviet Union, it changed from an unjust war to a just war. A war between communist states allied with capitalist states against a Nazi/fascist state. Our veterans, I am one of them, fought with our allies for the defeat of fascism. Our winning, besides keeping the world free of a tyrannical system also halted the holocaust. Recent world events have shown that most people have not forgotten and fascism is a hated system. Our hope is they have not forgotten what is called the Spanish Civil War. The Canadians who fought in the international brigades there were the first to battle against fascism. Ask at you library for the book by BEECHING, WILLIAM C. - Canadian Volunteers Spain, 1936-1939. If they do not have it ask them to order from MACKENZIE-PAPINEAU MEMORIAL FUND, Association of veterans and Friends of the MacKenzie-Papineau Batallion, International Brigades. 56 Riverwood Terrace, Bolton ON L7E 1S4.

Speaking of allies, I overheard a conversation while onboard a ship, to come home and be demobilized where the claim was made that Churchill had ordered that no weapons captured should be destroyed, as we would need them against Stalin. Overnight our ally was our enemy! The losses of the Soviet Union both civilian and military came close to half that of its ally. In New York after the war I recall Churchill quoted as saying that communism should have been strangled in the cradle or words to that effect. Anti-Communism has since then been perhaps the major weapon if imperialism.

The fact is the private owners and investors use the profit system today for the maximization of profits. They fight fiercely to have their taxation reduced while promoting through their proxies cut backs in spending for social programs. It is increasing opposition in small changes. We live in the period before the big one when resistance to undemocratic and draconian measures against those who produce socially will resolve into the big one. Recent events in Greece and the Red Shirt demonstrations in Thailand are examples of the small shifts.

The time has come to stop accepting corporate governance and restore true democracy not the present for the rich democracy.

For participatory democracy