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Class Struggle 90 July-August 2010

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Class Struggle 90 July-August 2010

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How to defeat NACTs austerity attack

The NACT governments new package of labour reformsis designed to improve 'productivity' and 'create jobs' says John Key . This is the neo-liberal language for increased exploitation of workers under worse conditions to restore profits. Under the new law workers will have fewer rights than they had under theECA in the 1990s. This is why the CTU has been forced to call for street protests. However, like the social democrats inGreeceand Spain, where the EU isimposing tough austerity measures, the CTU will use street protests to try to pressure theLabour Party to the left and defeat the NACTs at the next election. But Labour will notchallenge capitalism and imperialism. Its purpose has always been toreconcile workerstocapitalism. We say that the working class must organise independently of the Labour Party and fight for a revolutionary party and program to socialise the economy and plan production for need and not profit.

What drives the NACTS?

The NACTs have shifted up a gear to declare an openclass war on workers in this country with a series ofattacks on work rights (90 days fire at willfor all newjobs)beneficiaries(toughening work tests for sicknessbenefits, DPBs) ACC (denial of sexual abuse counselling)savings (reducing employers Kiwisaver contributions),cuts to health, education, privatisation of socialservices, tax increases(GST) and so on adnauseum. The whole pointis to force down wagesand to cut the social wageto shift more valueproduced by workers tothe bosses and increasetheir profits.The rise in violent crime isa direct result of the crisisand the call to arm thepolice is to up the level ofstate force to clamp downon workers and suppressrefusal of workers to payfor the crisis. It is not apolicy option for theNACTS, rural rednecks orbloody mindedfascistsassome think.

And it certainly can't be fixed by a LabourGovernment thatSue Bradfordis calling for. It is aspecific response by the NZ ruling class to theimmediate crisis of profitability in the exportoriented sectors. Resistance to the NACTs whichmerely aims to get Labour into government in 2011will fail miserably as we explain below.

Chinese semi-colony?

The NACTs represent international capital in NZfacing a serious global crisis of falling profits that isheading for another great depression like the 1930s.NZ is a weak, low-wage semi-colonial producer of bulk commodity exports. Its a price taker and not aprice maker in the world market which means thatthe NZ capitalist class has to drive down the costs of production to get any share of the profits fromagriculture, mining, tourism and education etc., thathave historically flowed to British, US, andAustralian imperialism. Today that value isincreasinglyflowingtoChinese imperialism.The national share of profits, wages, taxesand social services inAotearoa depends onthe profits retainedfrom the value of exportearnings of thesecommodities, and todayit is the relationshipwith China that iscritical to thisdistribution of thenational income.

To keep the wholeeconomy buoyant theprices for commodityexports (agriculture,tourism, tertiaryeducation etc) have to beheld up by increasingdemand in these imperialist and other economies. Theywant cheap milk powder, cheap iron sands, cheaphoneymoons and cheap degrees. This means competingwith other semi-colonial exporters by driving down theprices of production including labour costs (fire at will,performance pay for teachers in schools anduniversities, workfare) environmental costs (gutting theRMA, cutting ETS obligations) and energy costs(privatise water, privatise national parks, foreshore andseabed, make workers subsidise corporations (egRioTinto-formerlyComalco,electricity, and billions in ETSsubsidies).

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The main demand for such commodities at themoment is being driven by China which is rapidlyovertaking the other imperialist powers as NZ'smaintrading partner. This explains the NACT'ssubservience toChinese imperialismand NZ'sweakening ties with its traditional trading partners -apart from Australia which is a weak imperialistpower dependent on China for its growth and NZ'smain trading partner.

The opposition toselling landto Chinese corporationsand the growing Chinese migrant population reflectsthis increasing influence. China is the only largedynamic capitalist economy whose rapid growth is sofar preventing theglobal economygoing into acomplete slump.That is why in thelast analysis theNACTs policies arethose of a NZ semi-colonial rulingclass forced toserve the interestsof Chineseimperialism.

Strategy forfight back

Understanding theclass enemy then,is the key tofighting back. TheNACTs represent asubservient,largely parasitic, NZ ruling class that is becoming thelackeyof Chinese imperialism. They have no room tomanoever but have to cut production costs to meet thedemands of Chinese imperialism. Key signals this whenhe agreed to joint ventures with Chinese corporationsin third countries. He is acting for NZ bosses seeking astake in the profits from China's ability to super-exploitthird world countries. Such pressure to outsource NZproduction will grow if costs at home are not cutdrastically.

This is the new template that shapes NZ politics. Wecan call it the Chinese century. It excludes thepossibility of reforms since these raise capital's costsand harm NZ's competitiveness. Whatever the anticsof the NZ ruling class may be they are driven by thisnecessity. And NZ workers do not have the clout of Chinese workers who are winning higher wages froma very low base. The only alternative for NZ workersis to fight for a socialist Aotearoa.

Socialism needs a revolution

To make this absolutely clear, by socialism we meanthe overthrow of capitalism and its replacement by asocialist, planned economy democratically administeredby the working class. We do not mean some fakesocialism which can be won by a 'progressive' blocbetween workers and national capitalists benefittingfrom the relationship with China. Much of the leftmodels its brand of socialism on market socialistreforms. Parliamentary socialism is theStandardistabrand. The there is the Chinese brand which advocatesa form of market socialist state that acts to 'develop'rather than 'colonise' the semi-colonial world. This istheChavistaor Bolivarian brand espoused by theAustralian Green Left and local mimics.We have discussed the danger for workers of these leftreformistpositions atlengthelsewhere. Weargued thatChina is nodifferent fromthe US or EUimperialists inAsia,AfricaorLatin America,where it extractssuper profits likeall imperialistpowers, even ifits methodsdiffer. Weconclude thatthere is nopossibility of theNZ working classbeing able tofollow someimaginaryFabian, Chavist or Chinese road to market socialism.Therefore, the fight for a socialist Aotearoa is not justagainst the NACTs, but also against the Labour Partybacked by the CTU union bureaucracy which thinks thatit can reform capitalism in the new Chinese Centurybecause NZ's relationship with China is'progessive'.

Aotearoa socialist republic

In its essence the fight for socialism is the not tokowtow to China but to join forces withChineseworkersto fight to expropriate imperialism and theNZ ruling class who are the junior partners of imperialism.

By socialism we mean collective ownership and alsocollective consumption of value as the product oflabour. Nationalisation can become collective propertyonly if workers take control and prevent theprivatisation of value as profits (eg stop private miningof national parks). This means defending state ownedassets not only from privatisation but also from private