| From Unity, 2 June 2007 |
A public service alliance—against neo-liberalismby John MolloyOne of Dennis Potter’s last works used the popularity of karaoke as a metaphor for the continuing ability of capitalism to simultaneously enforce its consciousness, its agenda and its language upon us yet make it appear that their words are our own, self-evidently true and merely “common sense.” Given the few hands within which the mass media are held, this anti-progressive power is incredibly effective—to the point where those with alternative political and economic views struggle to make themselves heard, or are presented as old-fashioned kill-joys limiting the “freedom” of a debt-fuelled service economy to sell us what we “must have.” A case in point is the complete absence of voices within what passes for economic debate in the North of Ireland offering a sustained defence of the public sector, let alone using this as the foundation upon which to provoke a wider discussion of the political—i.e. socialist—transformation that is required to build an educated, healthy and just society. The key questions for us, therefore, are, Where and how, within this unpromising terrain, and with local political parties dominated by orthodox (capitalist) views, can counter-arguments and campaigns be advanced? In terms of “where,” we must look to the trades unions. These organisations still possess the potential that led Marx to describe them as the “schools of socialism,“ where “workers educate themselves and become socialists, because under their very eyes the everyday struggle with capital is taking place.” However, there is nothing inevitable about a victim of this struggle becoming politically educated or making a connection between their plight and feeling confident in the ability to challenge it in any way. This brings us to the “how,” in that it will be the workers’ observation of and participation in the actions of their trade unions and their progressive allies’ actions that will provide the living argument that change is possible. In this way, as Connolly stated, “the workers’ organisation secures respect and consideration in proportion to the extent to which it can hamper and embarrass the employers against whom it is pitted.” Within the “new” political climate the need for this work is all the more vital. While during the “Troubles” a succession of right-wing ministers “tolerated” the public sector, they did so only for fear that the consequence of dismantling it would provide greater evidence that Northern Ireland was a “failed political entity.” With “managerial” neo-liberalism re-elected in the Dáil, and its British counterpart confident of running Stormont via a Treasury “remote control” in Whitehall, the public sector will now come under unprecedented attack from the agents of capital—most explicitly via the asset-stripping wrecking-ball that is the Strategic Investment Board. This places a major responsibility on the labour and trade union movement to make sure its own performance is not a karaoke of meaningless resolutions. The trade union movement must revisit its true purpose and connect to the wider society. In short, we need to build a public service alliance against the barbarism of neo-liberalism. |
| Home page > Publications > Unity > 2007 > A public service alliance—against neo-liberalism |
| Baile > Foilseacháin > Unity > 2007 > A public service alliance—against neo-liberalism |