The big firm of Courtauld's recently ran into a workers a bit lower, and the black militants are right al the bottom, Because of the bad conditions in this department, workers often apply for transfer to other sections. But black workers have found this almost impossible — even when they have picked up chest ailments from the fumes and have office and pressurised to sign. But of the 160 workers in the Plastics section only 14 did so. Reg Harris then intervened to say that he had re ocived complaints and was ordering new elections, But there is no doubt that Williams and Singh will be re elected. As Ajit Singh told me: "1 stand for a principle 1 hold dear Every day the massise inflation, now universal throughout the capitalist world, gather speed. A recent report of the OECD (the organisation of the 17 most important capitalist countries) holds out no hope whatever that the present rate of inflation can be reduced in the foresce. able future.
Over the last six months prices in the OECD countries have risen on average by 8 per cent; this is twice the rate of a year ago. In some countries the figwe is already much bigher (Japan 19 per cent and Italy 15 per cent), and in all of them it is still rising relentlessly. Inflation has been endemic since 1950; but the present inflation has a diflerent character. It has become completely unsloppable by the ordinary braking mechanisms of monetary and fiscal adjustments.
Its most obvious effects, of course, are the relentless crosion of the wages and pensions of the working class. But there are hidden effects of equal importance connected with the rate of Interest, Even though monetary rates of interest have also been soaring upwards, they are now in many places lower than the rate of inflation. The real value of monetary assets therefore is being constaotly destroyed, and a massive redistribution of incomes and assets taking place from creditors (those who own monetary assets like bonds and savings deposits) to debtors.
It becomes more and more rational to botrow money in order to finance the purchase of commodities, since the real value of debts is constantly falling. This is one of the forces behind the colossal speculation in commodities now going on, which is pushing up raw tutoria prices so rapidly. At the same time firms have an incentre to borrow in order co financs investment in producing commodities. The ratio of debts to equity shares in their liablicies (their gearing ratio) consequently rises. In these ways inflation produces a tremendous centralisation of capital away from small scale savers (above allthe petty bourgeoisie) to big capital, which in turn is encouraged to become increasingly speculative.
Once these reactions are established the ending of inflation becomes increasingly problematic. Growing sections of the capitalist class obtain a vested interest in the continuation of inflation; many of them would be ruined if the inflation nded, sance the necessary fall in the real valu of their debis would not take place, This plac them in conflict with the small bougeoisie desperate to end inflation so as to protect its savings.
CONTROLLING WAGES Increasingly, therefore, the large and small sections of the capitalist class can unite only on one basis — ending inflation through a decisive defeat of the working clase by cutting ite real wages. As long as the labour movement refuses woluntarily to disarm itself, and keeps up its struggle to protect living standards by fighting for higher wages, the capitalist class is driven to secure its objectives tbrough a decisive political defeat of the workers.
This is why the major capitalist countries have abandoned the traditional means of controlling inflation and are driven increasingly to find methods of controlling wages directly. But wages policies are only a beginning of what will be needed for the capitalists to protect themselves against the sudden crash which is becoming the increasingly inevitable end to hurtling inflation, For this reason the faster the rise in prices, and the deoper the ceonomic crisis which this reflects, the faster grows the danger of fascism and the need for revolution. A lot. lies behind the delusively bland words of the OECD report: high inflation rates (probably even when they are not accelerating) entail distortions of income and wealth patterns which are not only unfair, but produce continual social strains of a type that OECD countries are illequipped to counter".
/ Michael Price