efficient agricultural producers in the world, much of our foodstuff still has to be imported. But rises in the price of food have been aggravated by the Government's policy of encouraging the export of foodstuffs so as to take advantage of high world market prices. Earnings of foreign exchange gained in this way help to alleviate the balance of payments problem which flows from the uncompetitive nature of British indiatrial exports. Consequently, British capitalism, rather than the working class, benefits from the high productivity of British agriculture. Success and failure The failure of the Tory controls are at the same time a 'success story. They have failed to restrict prices, hut succeeded in maintaining capitalist profits. The profits of the big corporations rose by about 20% over their last accounting year and are expected to do even better in the current. year. They are being helped out by the wage controls, which are designed to prevent workers from meeting rising prices through higher wages. But the Price Commission has been a political failure, for it has lost any credibility in the eyes of the workers Ulster capitalists and gentry. By July 1914, everything was ready for Carson and his supporters to declare the independence of Ulster, and set un a Provisional Government hostile to both Dublin and Westminster.
COUNTER REVOLUTIONARY FORCE If the UVE had been let loose in Ireland at this time, one of its main aims would have been to crush the Dublin trade union movement from 1973: UDA unit with batons and radios | The working class has been, and of necessity will be, the loser under the Tory prices and wage policy, Any form of wage restraint under capitalism is against the interests of the working class and must be rejected. But what policy should the working class adopt towards prices?
A working class policy would have to centre its weaker members and guarantee the working class an adequate living standard. In otber words, this price scheme should operate in precisely the opposite way to the present one: the workers get the guarantees, the capitalists carry whatever burden is necessary to provide such guarantees. Administration The operation of such a scheme would pose big administrative problems. Quite aside from the fact that the Tories have no intention of controlling prices in the interests of the workIng class, the machinery of the Price Commission with its 400 staif is totally inadequate, The Economist pointed out that many companies do not collect information in the form required by the Price Commission (quite apart from deliberate concealment of information). As the Economi said: "Some office administrators regard the rules about reporting sales, profits cec. to the prices board within three weeks of the end of every quarter as a nightmare. In practice they will soon be regarded as a joke Ellective economic planning is almost impossible for a capitalist government. It would requine either a total co-operation of individual capitalists to an extent that would he out of and check whatever facts they considered necessary. They would have full access to company records, the right to interview technical and managerial staff (who would be obliged to answer all their questions) and the right to carry out their own inquiries into such matters as costs, production, pricing, elc.
These on-the-spot bodies would be co-ordinated across the entire coonomy. They would provide the Government with any information required, and at the same time act as an enforcement agency to ensure that decrees were obeyed.
Seizure of power Here is the crux of the question. Such a system of workers control over the capitalists in relation to prices, would take the working class movement a long way along the road to the seizure of state power and the destruction of the political and economic power of the capitalist class.
Yet such a scheme would be eminently practical and effective. Even the Labour Party and TUC are in fuvour of workers representatives having access to a certain amount of company information, providing of course it is in the context of participation' schemes.