FOR BOLSHEVISM No 8 (101) AUGUST 2011
FOR BOLSHEVISM
INSIDE THE COMMUNIST AND WORKERS’ MOVEMENT
ALL-UNION COMMUNIST PARTY OF BOLSHEVIKS (AUCPB)
FOR BOLSHEVISM-AUCPB website: http://aucpbenglishwebsite.blogspot.com or google in: aucpb
No 8 (101) AUGUST 2011
58 YEARS WITHOUT STALIN
The growing false arguments across the former Soviet Union against Stalin's personality, force one to turn to the statistics of the time and take look into the purse of a citizen of the USSR in 1953. In this comparison will lie the historical truth.
What did Stalin, as head of a huge state, do and wanted to do for its citizens?
Let's start with wages. In 1953, workers' wages ranged from 800 to 3 thousand rubles per month. Steelmakers and miners got 8-10 thousand rubles. The salary of an engineer, lawyer, doctor, teacher after graduation was £ 900-1000. Specialists with experience, received 1200-1300 rubles per month. Salaries of secretaries of district committees was 1500 rubles, Ministers of the USSR - 5 thousand rubles, Professors and academics - 5-10 thousand rubles. As you can see, the miner in the Soviet Union could earn as much as academic or 6,5 times more than the Secretary of the district committee of the Communist Party.
From 1928 to 1955, growth of products of mass consumption in the USSR per capita increased by 595%, ie, almost 6 times (and this despite the devastating war and restoring the national economy, which took about 10 years).
Real incomes of workers in comparison with 1913, taking into account the elimination of unemployment and shorter working hours, increased by 5 times.
The lowest level of life in the Soviet Union after the Civil War years were 1921-22 and 1946-47, after the Great Patriotic War. However, the Soviet government, headed by Stalin on December 16, 1947, informed citizens about the abolition of rationing supply of food and manufactured goods and the abolition of the high prices of commercial trade. The prices for bread, flour, cereals, pasta and beer were reduced on average by 10-12% of the operating ration prices. On cloth, shoes, clothing, jerseys, prices were set at 3,2 times less than commercial. Meat, fish, fats, sugar, confectionery, salt, potatoes, vegetables, tobacco and matches were maintained at ration prices which were much lower than commercial prices.
On milk, eggs, tea, fruit, the prices were also significantly reduced compared with the commercial prices, and set at a level in relation to ration prices of basic foodstuffs.
This Decree of the USSR Council of Ministers was a surprise to economists and politicians of the West. For example, in England the rationing of food was abolished only in 1952.
From 1947, Stalin annually reduced prices, and in 1953 they looked like this (per kg):
white bread - 3 rubles. (Ukraine, February 2011: 6,5 UAH.);
black bread -1 rub. (4,3 UAH.);
meat, beef - 12,5 rubles. (60 grn.)
fish - 7.1 rubles. (15-150 grn.)
Butter - 27.8 rubles. (40-120 UAH spray, with the vegetable oil additives);
sugar - 9,4 rubles (9-10 hrn.)
buckwheat - 5,6 rubles (14-25 grn.)
Eggs, 10 pcs. - 8.35 rubles. (10-12 grn.)
milk, 1 liter - 2.24 rubles. (10 grn.)
vegetable oil, 1 liter. - 17 rub. (12-15 grn. and higher);
vodka 0,5 l - 22,8 rubles. (25-30 grn. and higher);
beer, 0,5 l - 2,96 rubles (4-8 grn.)
Jar of crabs - 4.3 rubles (40 grn.)
shoes, a pair of (on average) - 188.5 rubles. (250-800 UAH).
A miner for a monthly salary could buy a "Moskvich" car, which cost 9 thousand rubles, and a "Pobeda" car was worth 16 thousand rubles.
At the same time in the leading capitalist countries from 1947 to 1953, the price of bread, meat, butter, sugar rose: at 4-28% in the U.S., 35-133% - in England, 88-270% - in France.
In this case, we should not forget that under Stalin for the first time in the world there was an 8-hour working day, provided guaranteed free education and health care, almost free housing, the cheapest in the world public transport (for example, travel on the tram cost in Soviet times in the 1980-s, 3 kopecks, trolleybus - 4 kop., bus and subway - 5 kop.), railway, air and sea transport; guaranteed pensions, paid holidays, etc.
Success of Stalin's socialism mortally frightened leaders of the capitalist countries. U.S. presidential candidate Stevenson said that if the pace continued, in 1970 the volume of production in the USSR would be of 3-4 times higher than the U.S.. King of the American press, Hearst, after visiting the USSR demanded that the U.S. Senate form a permanent council for planning - a prototype of the Soviet State Planning Commission.
At the same time, Stalin's ruble was the hardest currency in the world. On March 1, 1950, the Soviet government agreed to: stop from the March 1, 1950 the definition of the ruble against foreign currencies based on the dollar and transfer over to a more stable gold basis, to establish the gold content of the ruble at 0.222168 grams of pure gold, and the purchase price of the State Bank of 1 g of gold = 4.45 rubles.
The gold ruble equivalent of Stalin's sample in 1950 outweighed the current UAH by 78 times (1 g bank gold is now in Ukraine 347.88 UAH. In Russia - 1283 rubles.) and the modern Russian ruble – by 288 times.
The achievements of the economy, created under the leadership of Stalin, is being used by the modern bourgeois "jackals" who are still plundering the country.
In his outstanding work, “Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR”, Stalin formulates the main economic law of capitalism: "Maximizing the capitalist profit through the exploitation, ruin and impoverishment of the majority of the population of a given country, through the enslavement and systematic robbery of the peoples of other countries, especially underdeveloped countries, finally through wars and militarization of the economy used to provide the highest profits.
Simultaneously, Stalin formulated the essential features and requirements of the main economic law of socialism, which is to "maximize the satisfaction of the constantly growing material and cultural needs of society through the continuous expansion and improvement of socialist production on the basis of higher technology”.
Compliance with this law by Stalin gave a powerful push in the economy and the steady improvement in the lives of workers. And he thought at the end of his life not about yachts, cottages, private accounts in foreign banks and a glamorous life, but made a concrete plan for implementation to further improve the material and cultural living standards of the Soviet people and the conditions during the transition to communism: "To do this, first of all, we need to shorten the working day, to at least 6 hours and then 5. This is to ensure that members of society have enough free time necessary to obtain a comprehensive education. To do this, then, we need to introduce universal compulsory polytechnic education, necessary to ensure that members of society are able to freely choose a profession and not be tied for life to any one profession. To do this, further, we need to radically improve living conditions and raise the real wages of workers and employees by at least twice if not more, both by directly increasing the monetary wages and, especially, by further systematic reduction of prices on consumer goods."
That's how Bolshevik Stalin ruled the country.
For 20 years of the bourgeois-liberal reforms in Ukraine, production and economic potential of the country has been completely destroyed, most of the people robbed and plunged into poverty. Also our presidents and rulers - Zionist lackeys of capital, continue to propose we tighten belts. The question arises, what to do?
I will answer with the words of the US Declaration of Independence in 1776, the country that Ukrainian politicians and the tabloids constantly put up as an example: "... We hold these truths to be sef-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among thses are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governmenta are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of government becomes destructive of these rights, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness... But when long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object envinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such Government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
I'd add - so the government can be only Bolshevik government, as under Stalin.
A.N. BILANIK, from Vinnitsa, Ukraine
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THE COLLAPSE OF IMPERIALISM IS INEVITABLE
Author: A. Mayevsky
"... The conditions of bourgeois society are too narrow to comprise the wealth created by them. And how does the bourgeoisie get over these crises? On the one hand by enforced destruction of a mass of productive forces, on the other hand, by the conquest of new markets and by the more thorough exploitation of the old ones. That is to say, by paving the way for more extensive and more destructive crises, and by diminishing the means whereby crises are prevented. "
Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, "Communist Manifesto”
U.S. financial problems, the slow growth of the Chinese economy, the debt crisis in Europe and the recession in Japan, with high probability can turn into the "perfect storm", the full force of which the world economy will be felt in two years, - says economist Nouriel Roubini, who predicted the global financial crisis of 2008.
A new wave of crisis
As you know, on May 31, the U.S. Congress voted against raising the limit of government borrowing, without a significant reduction in government spending. As Bloomberg reports, 318 MPs - nearly all of the Republican faction (236 representatives out of 240) and 82 Democrats - voted against the bill, while only 97 supported it people. To pass the bill to the next stage it was necessary to muster two-thirds, or 277 votes present at the vote of Congress.
The American administration since the vote has 11 weeks left (at the time of writing this) to avoid default (default - failure to pay for some or other financial liabilities, the financial failure of a bank, corporation or government in general) that may occur after August 2, if Congress does not vote for raising the ceiling level of government debt.
It should be noted that the ceiling of 14.294 trillion dollar (which almost corresponds to the value of U.S. GDP), public debt was reached by the country in mid-May, after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in an address to parliamentarians forced the situation. He called on Congress as early as possible to raise the limits for state loans in order to "protect the recognition and confidence in the U.S. and avoid catastrophic economic consequences for the citizens."
The same was said by Barack Obama two weeks before the vote in Congress: "If investors around the world consider that the U.S. debt obligations are not guaranteed and that we can stop payments on our bonds, it could bring down the entire financial system. We may face a worse recession than the one already, with a worse financial crisis than it was. "
The debt ceiling is an American "invention." The first limit for government borrowing USA was established in 1917, when it stood at $ 11.5 billion. In March 1962 the U.S. debt ceiling increased 74 times. 20 years ago, the ceiling was 3.665 trillion. $ 10 years ago - about 6 trillion. In 2008 - 10.7 trillion. Despite this, the government always managed to reach an agreement with lawmakers.
In anticipation of the forthcoming in autumn 2012 US presidential election, Republicans want to place Barack Obama fully responsible for the crisis in the economy, for which they are willing to even go to the default (or blackmailed by Barack Obama's default), thus on this background, beat the Democrats to the White House.
"Even now, - said Nouriel Roubini, - there are signs of weakness. All continue to follow the path of increasing public and private debt. The load is getting heavier, and all these difficulties will be felt at the latest by 2013." In his view, global economic growth could slow in the second half of the year because of "continuing to get rid of debt," wrapping up incentive programs and the weakening of consumer confidence in the economy.
Alex Vyazemsky, an analyst at FG, "Calita-Finance", proposes to consider the seemingly improbable, until recently, the scenario of default in the United States. In this case, the belief in the stability of U.S. Treasury bonds, ie, government securities, will be immediately lost and they will fall sharply in price. The Federal Reserve will rush to save the situation, and print dollars to buy government debt securities from panicked investors. However, dollars injected into the economy would not be enough to delay the massive Margin Calls around the world. (Margin Call - demands to banks and brokers to quickly, within a few hours bring guarantees). Covering Margin Calls in this case will be nothing – there will be too few dollars in the global economy to support the momentum suddenly arisen in the mutual demands between major banks and corporations (whose volumes are close to 25 trillion which is about half of world GDP) . The interbank lending market will cease to exist - exactly the same scenario as in the time of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, paralysis of the financial system, including the foreign exchange market and derivatives market (ie, derivatives, derivative securities).
The crisis in financial markets would spread to markets and trade. In an attempt to find an urgent liquidity (ie, cash, dollars) to cover liabilities, hedge funds (hedge fund - Engl. hedge Fund - a private, not limited by regulation, or affected by a weaker regulation investment fund that is not available a wide range of people and driven by professional investment management) and banks will begin to throw off massive futures (futures - contracts signed for future supply of certain types of goods, raw materials, food, etc., according to previously defined and strictly specified price and other conditions) for oil, gold, industrial metals and other assets, even increasing the domino effect and provoking new mutual defaults.
That is, we are talking about a new wave of the global financial crisis, 2012-2015.
Moreover, as Sergey Egishyants chief economist asserts at SG "ITinvest", N. Roubini is too optimistic. Two years is too long for his proposed scenario. Already the question is now: who will buy the U.S.government bonds, because there is still a fair amount of demand (and, accordingly, the U.S. budget deficit) covered by the program. "To get investors to buy bonds, they – the investors - need a good scare. What is beneficial for markets to fall, along with defaults or the threat of defaults (Greece and other eurozone countries), disasters and wars? Investors are given to understand: all around is volatility, and the only stable assets are US government bonds. It always has been. But things are changing. Even leading U.S. banks are getting rid of government bonds and go into cash ", - says Sergey Egishyants.
And if the United States lower the ratings, then their government bonds will certainly no longer be accepted. Moreover, this process has already started.
In April, the international rating agency Standard & Poor's changed the rating forecast of the U.S. from "stable" to "negative", though still at the highest rating AAA. At the same time the ratings of the Federal Reserve System (FRS), as well as the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) of New York were both downgraded. The main reason for the rating change was to do with problems with the U.S. budget, public debt and the inability of U.S. legislators to find a compromise solution to these problems. In fact, there was a turning point in world economic history, the "idol" staggered, because the priests themselves of that idol (international credit rating agencies) questioned the idol’s omnipotence. The cornerstone on which rests the current world global economy faltered, and the question of when there would be a "domino effect" and collapse of the entire present world economic system, was then only a matter of time, - said Vasily Kryukov, in his article "The world economy on the eve of the crisis” (“Comments” № 763, 04.26.2011).
The agency Standard & Poor's has revised downward the rating outlook of the U.S. economy for the first time in many years. The current rating (AAA) was awarded the U.S. on January 1, 1941 and throughout this period it has not changed. International rating agencies, the bourgeois analysts and economists assured the world that anything can happen, any company can go bankrupt, but there is no doubt in the U.S. ability to pay, that the U.S. government is omnipotent and in its T-Bills, will always pay on time. And this belief was based on the fact that the Fed can always make an extra dollar emission and pay off the debts. The decision by Standard & Poor's to downgrade the U.S. means one thing - for some reason the Fed will not be able to quickly "release a few dollars" to pay its debts.
Economists and analysts have long known that the budget and debt problems of the United States are increasing, "like a snowball." The budget deficit is regularly funded by additional debt issuance. In the period 2003-2008, this deficit was within 2-5% of GDP. In 2009, it was 11%, and experts predict that by the end of 2011 it will reach 1.5 trillion dollars. It became obvious that America is living beyond its means. As a result, on April 13, U.S. President Barack Obama introduced the medium-term fiscal consolidation plan designed to reduce the budget deficit and reduce the amount of debt in 10 years by 3 trillion, and in 12 years – by $ 4 trillion. It is proposed to do this by eliminating exemptions for income tax on the rich (families whose income exceeds 250 thousand dollars), introduced by George W. Bush, as well as by reducing defence spending, health and agriculture. Obama also proposed an automatic budget sequestration, if the ratio of public debt in 2014 to GDP remained stable. But in Congress, the Democratic President plan met opposition, particularly among Republicans, as we have mentioned above.
Among the largest creditors of the U.S. economy are: China, the world's largest holder of foreign reserves (the second largest holder of gold reserves is Japan, the third - Russia) - U.S. Treasuries to China, is 1.16 trillion $, which exceeds 40% of all gold reserves of China. Further, among the largest holders of U.S. Treasury bonds (government bonds), after China's 2010 results are: Japan - $ 882.3 billion, United Kingdom - 272.1 billion U.S. dollars, a group of 15 oil-exporting countries, including Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Nigeria - 211.9 billion U.S. dollars, Brazil - 186.1 billion U.S. dollars, a group of Caribbean countries - $ 168.6 billion, Taiwan - 155.1 billion U.S. dollars, Russia - $ 151 billion ($ 508 billion of gold reserves of Russia), Hong Kong - $ 134.2 billion, Switzerland - $ 107 billion.
In fact, these countries are the holders of U.S. Treasury bonds, keeping the U.S. economy afloat, and allow the U.S. due to the growing budget deficit, which is covered by these state bonds, to perform certain social programs and retain workers from just indignation, because primarily the crisis lies on the shoulders of working people.
If all these debt obligations as a result of the U.S. failing on its payments, devalued, then all of the above countries will simply lose all their "earnings" over the years (for example, the gold reserves of Russia in the first place, supplemented by the sale of natural raw materials, oil and gas). If the “pyramids” of the markets U.S. government debt “collapse", then it would be a disaster - said Vladimir Kryukov. All the wealth and savings of "advanced economies" in the twinkling of an eye turn into nothing, real estate, manufacturing facilities, land and other assets and thousands of banks and insurance companies based in these countries would depreciate, unable to meet their obligations and in global finance, chaos will begin. Kryukov predicts economic chaos, immediately provoking political chaos, and on a global scale. The legitimacy of existing government institutions will be questioned, etc.
Given the increasing unreliability of the government bonds in the U.S., China has virtually stopped buying them. Financial analysts note that since November last year, almost the entire increase in U.S. government debt is bought only by the Fed, that is, in fact, "empty" (i.e. no guarantee) dollar emissions. Hence, by the way, derives a sharp jump in global inflation.
According to Egishyants, the more likely scenario is a relatively rapid onset of a new phase of the crisis, compared with the prediction of N. Roubini: the markets would drop for another month or two. Then in the second half of the summer - after raising the national debt the U.S. - investors, sensing another "stage of dropping money from helicopters" will start to buy risky assets (stocks, commodity futures), which would fuel inflation. This, in turn, would reduce household incomes and corporate profits would decline (rise in inflation, in practice, means an increase in prices, i.e., with the same cash amount of money, consumers can buy fewer goods and services, then causes the actual decline in profits of corporations) that give rise to a sharp collapse in the market for next autumn-winter. Following this, the world economy will go fast into minus, and the governments will print money quickly, but that will not help. "That's something of the sort, I think, is more likely happen than the too stretched over time scenario by Roubini" - explains Egishyants. According to him, the collapse of the global economy is inevitable: the real aggregate demand is much smaller than the world production capacity. Until 2008, demand was artificially inflated by credit, but this resource is now exhausted. Now demand is supported by state injections - in the U.S. they provide 10-12% of household disposable income. But it greatly increases the burden of public debt, which has a limit under the threat of default, which is what Roubini talks about. "Thus the end of fiscal stimulus and as a consequence, a collapse of aggregate demand and the global economy - it's just a matter of time. How long – this can be debated, as Roubini does. But in one thing he is right: this year, it will begin to fall, in 2012 or stretching up to 2013 - the process would already have begun, and the crash inevitable"- concludes Egishyants.
The fact that a new global financial crisis is "not far off", is believed by head of Templeton Asset Management, Mark Mobius. According to him, the reason for the new shocks will be the increase in the volume of trading with derivative financial instruments (derivatives) in the absence of proper regulation. "Certainly, in the near future we are expecting another financial crisis, because the reasons which provoked the previous shocks, have not been removed", - said M. Mobius to Bloomberg agency.
According to experts, the total value of derivatives exceeds global GDP by 10 times. (The volume of world GDP, according to various estimates, is between 50 to 64 trillion dollars. That is, on the financial markets of the world circulates around 600 trillion dollars of unsecured funding markets. Herein lies the objective source of huge inflation, soaring prices of natural raw materials, goods, food, services, etc. It should be noted that there is also another estimate of the derivatives. Paul Wilmott, a mathematician at Oxford University, believes that the volume of derivatives is 20 times greater than the volume of world GDP and amounts to 1.2 quadrillion, i.e. 1,200 trillion dollars). That is what creates the preconditions for a new crisis.
The fact that "large areas of the world economy over the next three years, may suffer a substantial decline," was stated in a speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (17.06), by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin of Russia.
And one more point I would like to pay attention to.
Manufacture of money out of thin air, money not backed by commodities is one of the main reasons for the current financial and economic crisis of capitalism. In order to finance the budget deficit (the so-called fiscal stimulation), the U.S. government now has to stimulate the economy at more than $ 2 trillion dollars a year. (Since the crisis, in September 2008, the U.S. monetary base has increased almost 3-fold - from $ 875 billion to $ 2.5 trillion. However, pumping the economy with such money is not easy: it was necessary to increase sharply government borrowing and budget deficit, Artem Sokolov said in the article "Global currency depreciation," "Comments” № 763, 04.26.2011). If we take into account that the U.S. gross domestic product should grow this year by about $ 500 billion, it turns out that $ 1.5 trillion will simply "evaporate".
But this is not entirely true. Analysis of the first phase of the crisis has shown that it is the bankers and financial speculators who are the main culprits of the current crisis, and in the crisis years continued to get incredibly rich at the expense of precisely those "volatile" hundreds of billions and trillions of dollars (of which we have repeatedly written in the pages of "RKP", analyzing the first phase of the crisis, 2008-2010). At the same time, the financial moguls and big business pass the brunt of the crisis generally onto working people. This trend is observed worldwide, including in Ukraine (we have already said that Ukrainian oligarchs in 2010 - when the Azarov government called for and continues to encourage workers of Ukraine to economise on everything and even go with a spade into the garden, to save themselves from starvation – have more than twice increased their capital. Not forgetting about the members of the government, faithfully who serve this capital and increase their own wealth).
In the U.S. last year another negative record was made: more than a million homes were seized by mortgage banks (the main culprits of the crisis) from the population at large to pay off mortgage arrears. This is a record figure since the start of the process in 2006, exceeding the 2006 indicator by 4 times. Experts predict that this year, this practice will continue, and with further growth. Outstanding mortgage is the reason that many Americans are losing their apartments and houses. Outstanding mortgage is due to the high unemployment in the U.S. constituting 10% of all able-bodied power that does not allow people to pay the credits taken in collateral acquired by housing (mortgage).
We Bolsheviks can say only one thing - the approaching second phase of the global economic crisis, which promises to be much more severe than the first one, means the collapse of the world system of imperialism is coming closer, as a completely bankcrupt system and an obstacle to the further development of civilization, therefore we can only welcome that collapse.
The crisis of the European economy
The state of affairs in Europe is not much better than in the U.S.
The country with the world's lowest long-term credit rating according to Standard & Poor's is Greece. The international agency calls its debt restructuring and the first sovereign default in history, the eurozone "increasingly likely". The ratings of Greece, experiencing a deep economic crisis, have been reduced by three stages, and the forecast for it remains "negative". S & P forecasts that by 2013, the country will have endured at least one default.
"Greece is waiting for default - now the question is only when this will happen" - managing director of the New York Granite Springs Asset Management LLP Vincent Trulia said to Bloomberg.
In early June, Moody's Investors Service agency lowered Greece's sovereign rating. The rating outlook is "negative". According to Moody's, there is an increased the risk that Greece will not be able to stabilize its financial position, without debt restructuring.
In late May, the international rating agency Fitch downgraded the long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of Greece's foreign and local currency.
"Rating agencies are now playing catch-up with the market - says JP Morgan analyst Gianluca Salford. - Market estimates the very high probability that in Greece are expected some credit events. Thus the agencies simply reflect the negative ratings already laid down in the price in the market, not vice versa."
Authorities are trying to tighten up on the economy and reduce government spending: such conditions have been put forward to Greece by the EU and IMF, in providing credit to the country of 110 billion euros to support the Greek economy.
In response to the desire of the authorities in Greece to save the economy from default due to the attack on the living standards of working people, working people in Greece on June 15 held a 24-hour general strike, the third one this year.
Not in a much better position are some other countries in the Eurozone. In particular, the PIIGS group of countries (Portugal-Ireland-Italy-Greece-Spain). Of these five, three countries are in a critical condition, and 2 - in a complex situation.
In general, the European "problem" countries are characterized by such symptoms:
- Falling competitiveness
- Low economic growth,
- Rising unemployment,
- Problems in the banking sector,
- Political crisis
- The growing budget deficit,
- Social tensions.
According to Eurostat, in this top five in the 2010, the budget deficit to GDP of Ireland was 32.4%, Greece - 10.5%, Spain - 9.2% Portugal - 9.1%, Italy - 4.6 %, the level of public debt to GDP, Greece was 142% (forecast for 2011 - 150.2%), Italy - 119% (120.2% - respectively), Portugal - 93% (101.7%), Ireland - 65% (107%), Spain - 53% (69.7%).
In addition to this, the five countries with the most difficult situation are also Hungary, the UK (the two countries are not included in the euro zone. In the euro zone comprises 17 of the 27 EU countries), and Belgium. In late May, Denmark was added.
***
Due to the escalating crisis in the capitalist world economy, there is increased competition for survival, especially among the major world currencies, which are the dollar and the euro (as well as gaining strength yuan, of course).
Therefore, all the crises in the EU economy, the contradiction between individual EU countries and the eurozone, including the artificially provoked "cucumber war," only benefit the U.S. because they weaken the euro and, on this background, help for some time hold the dollar as the world's dominant currency.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn - the first high-ranking victim of the global crisis of imperialism
on April 3, speaking at the annual meeting of IMF and World Bank, Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn made an hour and a half speech in which he criticized the principles of the "Washington consensus" and called for "fairer globalization, globalization with a human face."
It should be noted that the "Washington Consensus" as a set of policy recommendations on economic and financial policy for developing countries, was formulated by British economist John Williamson in 1989. The "Consensus" urged these countries to adopt principles for economic policies followed by the "developed" countries. It was about principles, which, according to Williamson, reflect the common position of the United States, the IMF and World Bank, as well as leading U.S. think tanks. Since their headquarters are located in the capital of the United States, hence the term "Washington Consensus". "Washington Consensus" includes the following recommendations: to maintain fiscal discipline (a minimum budget deficit), reducing marginal tax rates, liberalization of financial markets, free exchange rate of national currency, liberalization of foreign trade (mainly due to lower rates of import duties); reduction of constraints on foreign direct investment, privatization of maximum deregulation of the economy, i.e., maximum withdrawal of the state from the economy, all-round protection of property rights.
Thus, the term "Washington Consensus" is a set of measures aimed at strengthening the economy of market mechanisms while simultaneously reducing the role of the state.
It was the "Washington Consensus" as a basic tool of modern financial and economic policy of the U.S. and dominance of the dollar in the global economy, and was subjected to criticism by the head of the IMF.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn called for forming a global economy, with fewer risks and less uncertainty, where the financial sector will be regulated by the government, and revenues and benefits shared equally: "Financial globalization has increased inequality, and it became one of the secret springs of the crisis - says Dominique Strauss Kahn. - Therefore, in the longer term, sustainable growth is associated with a more equitable distribution of income. We need a new kind of globalization, more equitable globalization, globalization with a human face. The benefits of economic growth must be widely distributed, and not simply attributable to a handful of privileged people "..." The crisis was the product of mindless risk culture, which is still alive. In constructing a new macroeconomic framework for the new world, the pendulum will swing - at least a little - from market to state and from the relatively simple things to things more complex ..."" The "Washington Consensus" with its simplistic economic ideas and recipes collapsed during the global economic crisis and was left behind."
That conclusion by Strauss-Kahn about the collapse of the "Washington consensus", his appeal to the rich (the world's financial elite) to share with the poor, i.e., with working people was the main reason for his resignation as head of the IMF. And it was done against the background of another sex scandal. The powerful, financial and banking tycoons, dismissed in disgrace from his post as manager, a hired top-level only for the fact that he allowed himself to publicly question the usefulness and reliability of the current financial system, its inability to cope with the challenges of the time, its collapse.
And yet the former head of the IMF in return has not offered anything new in principle, but wishes the strong to share with the weak, to reduce the social costs of the crisis.
But the involuntary confession by Strauss-Kahn only revealed the depth of the current stage of general crisis of imperialism, and showed all its inhuman nature.
The struggle of U.S. imperialism, Zionist capital for world domination is entering a decisive phase.
Already, even bourgeois economists and analysts have come to the conclusion that other means besides setting up all sorts of disasters, wars, acts of provocation, the American financial system and imperialism in general has nothing more to stay afloat with, and is trying to prolong its existence.
The so-called Arab "Internet Revolutions", the obsession to destroy the recalcitrant regime of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya - only for the fact that the Libyan leader had dared (!) to place the country's natural resources, oil, primarily at the service of the people - until the transition to land military operations, incitement and provoking popular discontent in Yemen, Syria and other countries - all this is in line with the US-Zionist policy of complete mastery of all oil, gas and other natural resources of the planet, in line with the enslavement of nations and peoples, complete and final destruction of the sovereignty and independence of all rebellious nations and plantations needed for imperialism's puppet regimes in the imposition on other countries in the world and foreign policy that is pleasing to U.S. imperialism.
For this purpose, international financial and economic, military, political and legal institutions such as IMF, World Bank, NATO, International Court of Justice in The Hague, etc., are used. Recommendations are drawn up for "developing" countries, recommendations such as the "Washington consensus", although the U.S. absolutely do not adhere to them (take for instance the demand to limit the budget deficit primarily by cutting social programs; the share of borrowing only within the U.S. budget is currently 43%, which completely contradicts the principles of "consensus").
Yet the focus of expansion of the Zionists remains to be Russia with its incalculable wealth, natural resources and raw materials, rich in oil and gas reserves.
U.S. imperialism has done and will do anything to disrupt or complicate plans for post-Soviet integration into the Customs Union and Common Economic Space.
And Ukraine has managed to reliably tear away from the integration processes taking place. To do this, in 2004 and early 2005 by the Orange "revolution", the nationalist anti-Russian regime of Yushchenko was brought to power, who had for five years of his reign, placed Ukraine in opposition to Russia, nullified the intended unification processes and trends. The regime of Yanukovych-Azarov that came to power last year on a wave of pro-Russian rhetoric and promises to restore and strengthen ties with Russia, continues to carry out in practice the same policy in the European orientation, in an effort to create a Free Trade Area with the EU (which is no benefit Ukraine, but making it an economic appendage of the European Union) and by all means avoiding the Customs Union and Common Economic Space, which is completely contrary to the interests of Ukraine (according to estimates of economists, it would have brought to Ukraine annually ten billion U.S. dollars, and help revive the advanced science-intensive industries, etc. etc.). But instead, the regime answers to the demands of world capital to prevent the re-establishment of interstate associations of fraternal countries and peoples, even on a capitalist basis.
The Customs Union was created and worked in the 3 countries: Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. But even in a smaller union, without Ukraine, this union has the potential to become a competitor to the U.S. and the EU.
And attempts have already been started to try to tear away Belarus from Russia, and set the two republics against each other. The West has long dreamed of removing bourgeois patriot Lukashenko from power. But all attempts have failed in the course of election campaigns to achieve the desired result, as in Ukraine, for example, and still have not brought success to the West. Then the West used direct provocation against the Belarusian people.
The explosion on April 11 in a Minsk subway, killing 14 people and wounding about 200, showed that the era of peaceful life in Belarus is now over. The aim of this inhuman action is to wreak havoc in Belarus and set its people against the leader Alexander Lukashenko. This was another attempt by hook or by crook to remove Lukashenko from the political arena.
And then after that, inflation provoked from outside immediately started a sharp devaluation of the Belarusian currency. Moreover, this triggered panic among the Belarusian population, who rushed to buy foreign currency and buy up everything in the shops, using, primarily, social networks and foreign, mainly Russian media, which read about and observe Belarus.
As noted by commentators (see, for example, P. Verhovinets "How to Organize a crisis in one country”, “Comments” № 769, 06.06.2011), this moment was used next to provoke panic. The economy of Belarus, as well as the economy of any country, differs in specific seasonality, i.e., at certain periods of time, the flow of currency into the country is less than the outflow. Such a moment occurs in Belarus in late winter and early spring due to the need to import energy, (and this year they rose, particularly oil,) and exports during the period, primarily agricultural products, farm machinery and fertilizers, is reduced. This imbalance in foreign trade of Belarus is observed from year to year, thus to provoke panic among the petite bourgeoisie, petty-minded entrepreneurs and intellectuals (i.e., among the petty and middle bourgeoisie) was not difficult. The use of social networks clearly shows the same handwriting of the overseas provocateur who (social networking), at the request of Hillary Clinton at the height of the outbreak of the conflict in Libya and the beginning of NATO aggression against that country should be under the full control of the appropriate U.S. agencies and services. In whipping up panic in Belarus, the Russian liberal (i.e., controlled by Zionist capital) media were drawn in, carriers and spokesmen for the interests of Russian oligarchs, who are dreaming, as they take over and privatize still state owned and successfully operating major Belarusian enterprises.
Yielding to skillfully provoked panic, Belarusian philistines began actively buying foreign currency in exchange offices, then started rush buying of items like jewellery, household appliances, food products, up to sugar, salt, vinegar, matches, which could not be brought into the trade network on time.
By the end of May, the Government and National Bank of Belarus managed to stabilize the situation - the attempt to provoke a crisis and massive anti-government protests, this time also failed. True, the National Bank was forced to devalue the Belarusian ruble by 55%, which hit in the first place the Belarusian working people, reducing by 1.5 times their standard of living.
Alexander Lukashenko was able to negotiate with Russia to obtain credit for Belarus amounting to $ 3 billion for stabilization and maintenance of the Belarusian ruble. True, of course, is that the Russian oligarchs (and the Putin-Medvedev regime is a regime at the service of Russia's big business) put forward the condition of individual privatization of Belarusian companies. Indeed the working people of Ukraine are well aware of what privatization really is. This is, first of all, throwing out of factory gates, dozens and hundreds of thousands of workers, and the start of mass unemployment.
In this respect, Alexander Lukashenko has said that he has nothing against private property (this is the answer to those comrades who believe Lukashenko is a Communist): "We are for private property, which man creates himself", he says. But at the same time, the president of Belarus said he would not tolerate predatory privatization. That the provision of credit (with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Community) is not only financial but also political in nature, is clear from the remarks of the liberal Kudrin, after declaring the inadmissibility of Belarusian state obstruction of the Russian media, the very media that fuelled the anti-Belarusian anti-Lukashenko hype.
And one more point I would like to mention. Those who came out with anti-Lukashenko statements and protests against his policies, especially during the artificially kindled crisis, were mainly small and medium entrepreneurs, those who are banned from the uncontrolled export of Belarusian goods and gasoline abroad (on which they build their business.)
The petty-bourgeois environment is a social base of fascism which is skillfully used by big business (and this is particularly noticeable among us in the Ukraine). In this case, these layers have their ideological and psychological impact by big business in Russia (through the media under its control). But this impact, this effort will talk directly, "to gobble up Belarus” ultimately directed against Russia, against Russian workers and fits perfectly into the concept of Zionist and American imperialism to oppose Belarus against Russia, to weaken the Customs Union and Common Economic Space formed, so then U.S. imperialism and the West seize Russia itself, completely stripped of its allies.
There is no doubt that the Zionists will sooner or later be engaged with Kazakhstan too. The "Eternal" ruler of this largest Central Asian republic, Nursultan Nazarbayev, amassed his multibillion-dollar state due to the ruthless exploitation and plunder of Kazakh workers (as we wrote in the pages of "RKP", publishing material of out Kazakh colleagues), and is hated by the Kazakh people. Any protests by the workers is ruthlessly suppressed by Nazarbayev's regime.
Consequently, the Zionist provocateurs, again by using social networks, i.e., influencing that same petty-bourgeois strata of the population and young people, doped up by anti-communist propaganda and the glorification of Western "civilization," it would be easy to ignite another "colour revolution" in order to fully replace Nazarbayev with a controlled by them puppet Saakashvili-Yushchenko type and try to set Kazakhstan against Russia.
And after that, again I repeat, then comes Russia’s turn.
And, finally, the General Staff of the Russian Federation "woke up" stating that Russia’s START-3 is unprofitable. That is what we Bolsheviks said last year, calling a spade a spade: the START-3 is a betrayal of national interests of Russia. Americans continue to rapidly build a missile defence system directed solely against Russia with the aim of lowering its strategic nuclear and missile capabilities. In the case of the fulfilment of START-3, by 2015-2017, Russia will be deprived of any possibility of retaliation, which will allow the U.S. imperialists to dictate and impose its bonded-predatory terms, and we finally be turned into a raw material appendage of colonial Western imperialism.
By capturing and putting under their control of the oil and gas resources of Russia, the imperialists are hoping to delay their own imminent historically predetermined death.
* * *
Experts predict that China by 2020, and the latest by 2030, will surpass the U.S. in economic potential of up to two times the excess of U.S. GDP. But all these predictions are based on non-conflict scenarios and do not account for acute ruthless competition of various groups of imperialists and the various imperialist countries with each other (and the fact that China under the guise of the Communist Party, became in the course of reform, one of the major imperialist countries, that we have previously mentioned).
The U.S. imperialists will never give way to global leadership without a fight. They will try to push China to a conflict with India, or China with Russia, so as not to allow the yuan to replace the dollar and become the world's dominant currency.
But still, the essence of the matter is in the economic development of China along the imperialist path (the same way in which capitalist economies of the USA and EU complete their historic path), the paths of strengthening, and then the unchallenged dominance in the economic life of financial and speculative capital, generating larger and more destructive crises, which in the end, will bury capitalism.
The task of the international working class is a united struggle to confront all these threats and to help imperialism go into the dustbin of history.
A. MAEVSKY, secretary of the CC AUCPB
Further interesting reading on China today can be found in
a book by A. Maevsky entitled - "Modern Day China"
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