|
|
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS, July-August 2010
World in View
G-20 Summit class war
The violence perpetrated by Canadian police against demonstrators at the G-20 June summit in Toronto--tear gas, plastic and rubber bullets, 900 arrested, close to $1 billion spent on security--was little in comparison to the violence planned and presently being carried out against the working class and poor across the globe. This most recent meeting, first of the super-big G-8, and then of the 20 largest economies, the G-20, decided to take the next step in what is termed "rebalancing" the economy--cutting government deficits through reduction in unemployment benefits, restructuring worker pensions, raising the retirement age, firing workers, cutting hard-won social benefits, etc. "Deficit reduction" in a time of severe economic crisis is one more way of seeking to resolve capitalism's non-viability on the backs of the vast mass of humanity, as against the tiny minority of bankers, industrialists, energy capitalists, and the state, which represents and coordinates these new draconian financial efforts.
With the near-total financial collapse, capital sought to "resolve" the crisis with a massive rescue of financial institutions with billions of government dollars despite the reckless actions of the financial community. Crucially, the majority of the G-20 decided no further economic stimulus is necessary--despite high unemployment in many parts of the world. Instead, they claim capitalism will "grow" itself out of this latest crisis.
As important as were the protests in Canada, the crucial struggles are those ongoing in Greece and other parts of Europe where what is left of European welfare benefits, hard-won through decades of social struggle, is being dismantled. The class-based response to the Toronto G-20 Summit has yet to fully unfold.
--E. W.
|
Subscription for one year
$5
|
