Workers in the economical development of society
A new dawn
By Daniel
Paquet dpaquet1871@gmail.com
“Business
investment and trade remain dominant themes in the global economic
outlook. Global growth investment has
slowed since 2012, partly as a result of uncertainty over future prospects for
global demand and ongoing structural adjustments in China.[1]
(True), over the last decade, China’s
manufacturing industry has been producing a widening range of products
domestically, thus specializing less in assembling and processing imported
inputs and reducing the importance of global supply chains.
Growth in
China is projected to slow gradually to 6, 3 per cent by 2018. Previously announced fiscal support and rapid
credit expansion appear to be boosting growth in spending on infrastructure and
in the housing sector. While these dev
elopements are helping to replace some lost demand from slowing investment in
mining and manufacturing industries, they may exacerbate financial vulnerabilities
by increasing leverage, particularly in unprofitable state-owned enterprises.
A modest decline in metal prices is expected,
reflecting slower growth in both investment and production in commodity-intensive
industries in China, combined with strong supply growth from previously built
mines in other countries.
“The economy
is on track for a rebound in the second half of the year, reflecting improving
exports, a return to full oil sands production and the rebuilding activity in
Alberta. Real GDP increased in July
across a number of industries, particularly non-conventional oil production. Goods exports posted gains in July and
August, following a sharp contraction over the previous five months, but not
enough to make up for previously lost ground.
Looking through volatility in the data, service exports have steadily improved,
but the level of goods exports has only returned to where it was a year ago. Underpinned
by a pickup in the US economy, exports are expected to continue to recovering.
Statistics Canada’s
Labour Force Survey and the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours, together
with interprovincial migration data, continue to provide evidence of ongoing
adjustment in labour markets to the past decline in commodity prices: employment
is weak in energy-intensive regions and labour continues to migrate out of
Alberta. In contrast, employment gains
in the service sector, particularly in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec,
have been strong over the past year, and Ontario and British Columbia have seen
provincial in-migration. Overall, the
national labour market has been resilient.
In response
to persistently lower prices, oil firms have been cutting capital expenditures
and reducing labour. This investment cuts
are expected to diminish toward the end of 2016, leaving investment in the oil
and gas sector about 60 per cent below its level in 2014. The recent weakness
in business investment could reflect more persistent structural factors. Over time, weaker business investment would also
reduce capital deepening and lower potential output, partially mitigating the
disinflationary effect of weaker demand.”
With all of
those elements as the backdrop, we shall dwell now on the world and domestic politics,
especially the race between the West and Soviet Union (to be more specific).
“The
so-called policy of ‘Perestroika’ in the Soviet Union was accompanied by
unbridled anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda.
Anti-communist hysteria flooded all media outlets. Lies, slander and
misinformation all received the green light for publications. The country was flooded with bourgeois
theory, western pseudo-culture, fake memoirs, provocative rumors and apolitical
jokes – all the dirt of the bourgeois propaganda machine. (…) The
counter-revolution in the USSR was the greatest tragedy of the 20th
century. The (Communist) Party abandoned
the principles of the proletarian dictatorship and the county was declared a ‘state
of all’, it ceased to be guided by the objective economic laws of
socialism. The principle of centralized,
planned economic management was replaced by independence of enterprises. Capitalist economic mechanisms were
introduced in place of a planned economy; profit and self-financing,
cooperation and joint stock companies.
Socialism collapsed.
(For
opportunists, including in the ranks of the Communist parties), it is almost a natural requirement … not to
dwell on the Marxism of the 19th
century, but rather to develop it according to the new historic
situation. This completely renounces the
fundamental tenets of Marxism, which are based on objective scientific laws.
(Furthermore
in the field of ideological struggle), on all continents of the world there are
located hundreds and hundreds of U.S. military bases. Such a material force must be opposed by the
same material strength. The ‘Other’
force, however, is missing! That is why
the question of the combination of legal, peaceful with illegal, violent
methods of resistance must be one of great importance to Communists. The post-war situation led to ferment in the communist
parties of Europe. Under conditions of
militant anti-communism from the bourgeoisie, the revolutionary spirit of
Marxism began to be given up in favor of an intensified reformist mood with the
focus on parliamentary practices. There
was intensified ideological struggle within the Communist Parties.”[2]
(All of
this multi-faceted battle is to preserve the profits of the world bourgeoisie,
especially US Imperialism). Since the
North American Free Trade Agreement was signed, we have seen the loss of well
over half a million manufacturing jobs in Canada, the net loss of 1 million
jobs in the United States, and the displacement of millions of Mexican
farmers. Employment trends show a growth
in part-time precarious jobs, with the quality of employment in Canada now at a
25-year low. (…) The Council of Canadians has always been a strong supporter of
the public ownership of public services.
We argue that public services, like water and wastewater infrastructure
and even airports, should not be privatized to be run by for-profit
corporations. (…) More recently, we have
endorsed the Leap Manifesto (…) Among its demands, the manifesto highlights
the need for a 100 per cent clean economy by 2050, public support for clean energy projects developed
by Indigenous peoples and other frontline communities, a universal program to
build and retrofit energy-efficient housing, a more localized and ecologically
based agricultural system, immigration status and full protection for all
workers, the expansion of low-carbon sectors including care giving , teaching,
social work, the art and public-interest media, higher income taxes for
corporations and wealthy people, and an end to fossil fuel subsidies. (…) (As the journalist Rutget Bregman wrote:) ‘Every (dollar) invested in a homeless person
returns triple or mote in savings on care, police and court costs, just imagine
what the eradication of child poverty might achieve.’ (It is worthwhile to underline that) the richest
86 individuals and families in Canada have now accumulated as much wealth as
the country’s poorest 11.4 million people.
(Nevertheless) workers under age 25 earned and 27 per cent from jobs
covered by a collective agreement. Workers
in unions are an important part of the local community and economy because
that’s where they spend their paycheques.
(…) It has been estimated that
Canadian corporations have as much as $199 billion in offshore accounts (in
countries like Panama, Barbados, the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg) as a way to
avoid paying their fair share of taxes.”[3]
Blog in
French : La Nouvelle Vie Réelle www.lnvr.blogspot.com
Blog in English:
Communist News
www.dpaquet1871.blogspot.com
Archives :
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[1] Bank of
Canada, Global Economy, Monetary
Policy Report, Ottawa, October 2016, pages 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 19
[2] Pribytkova,
Luba, ‘Eurocommunism’ has Put Down Deep
Roots in Russia, Northstar Compass, Toronto, Fall 2016, First published in Garden
Ring –Moscow
[3] Patterson,
Brent, Creating a New, Healthy Economy
for People and the Planet, Canadian Perspectives, - The Council of
Canadians, Ottawa, Autumn 2016, pages 5-6
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