Every capitalist politician, newspaper and broadcaster has been declaring that the present crisis is really about whether or not the present political structure of Britain can survive, Never before have the virtues of Parliamentary government and "the rule of law" been trumpeted so loud.
This chonis comes not just from the open agents of the ruling class, but also from the so-called leadership of the working class, Wilson goes on television to declare that he never has and never will support an illegal act, Len Murray wriggles and squimms, claiming that attempts to break the pay laws are not rally a challenge to the govern?
ment and that the trade unions are the most law-abiding of all people. Eric Heffer and the Communist Party make a nonsensical distinction between "real" laws which must be obeyed and "Tory laws" which necdn't be, u distinction so subtle that even they don't appear to understand it.
Meanwhile the Tories go on blessing every anti-working class meavure with the holy incense of "law". What is the reality behind all this rubibish?
THE CAVEMEN EMERGE The Tories are preparing, in the present crisis, the main outlines of their policies for the coming period. At the beginning of the crisis, with the imposition of Phase Three, the Torles were slightly hesitant. Six million workens had claims in, while the victory of the Glasgow firemen and the proven fighting abuity of the miners also advised caution.
Figures like William Whitelaw, who is supposed to be the "human face' of capitalism, were pushed to the forefront, The aim of the ruling class was probably to soeak Phase Three through and wait for rising unemployment, inflation and demoralisation to sap the fighting strength of the working class. Meanwhile the Tories would be able to gain "credihility" for winning on Phase Three.
On this basis they wouid regain middle class suppott lost to the Liberals and win the next general election. With a now mandate and a weakened working class, a new phase of vicious open anti-working claw measures could be introduced.
But the continual retreats and refonmism of the trade union and political leadership of the working class have encouraged the ruling class and the Fory governent to go increasingly onto the offensive. When the NIRC fine on the AUEW mot with no real "THE TORIES CRISIS-OUR CHANCE baldly proclaimed the International Socialists aftor tha announcement of the Tory emergency measures. But the report of the IS National Committee diseussion which followed this hoadline showed that the IS, if not actually in crisis itself, was in total confusion as to now to besi with the proant situation. The views on the Nationel Committee spanned the whole spectrum from those calling for some uretated OOTC DICOLNICEIOEAUMHE TO TH CHESSE should demand sweeping nationalisation under workers, control as the key solution"1 thraugh to thase who ins sted on the imrelevanee of "grandiose programmes" and the noad to be 'narrow and practical".
What has happened is thot the developing needs of the wor kers struggle has shown up che throodbare formala that the IS has been oparating on with a oer tain success ,owr me pose penod. seunout douci, We lne of group ing the rank and file against the buroucracy on a mommilitant-than-thau programme porresponded to the sentiments of much of the vanguard during the initel elemental upsurge of the workers" struggle, Ploss 2 LHAS SITE HIHIE DUPLLES TEKIHU CLS MEM BUL SEM to have been suffered not so much by lack of-militancy, but through the absance of any cinar alternarive stru tegy tó That bi 1he bureaucrocy. J1 was for thar reason that the buresucracy were abie to g ve sno death kiss to the striggles against the Tory goverrnent, This orisis of perspective now impels the best elements of the rank and file to look for serioue political ansBut The Woie o1 the Is expir Rici in the pest perod lends them to a response which, in the present crises, response from that union's executive, 'he NIRC was encouraged to go on to fine the TGWU again. The treacherous role of the union buresucracies in refusing to defend the Shrowsbury 24 throughout the suminer has now allowed the imprisonmient of three of the workers. And the refusal of the Irade union leaderships to co-ordinate the strugele against Phase Three has allowed the Tories to go on to impose the three-day week. HIGH STAKES The ruling class has now committed ibsell to playing for very high stakes. If the lock-out goes on for any length of tume many salal! firms will be pushed into bankruptcy. But the gains of a victory here will be cnormous. If the miners and the other groups of workers can be deleated, the Heath leadership will once more be established as the 'strong government" which the ruling class so desperately needs, and which it appeared to be until its nose was bloodied by the miners in 1972, On this basis it would be able to win back the middle class forces which have deserted it. On the basis of soaring intlation, rocketing unemployment, and the fomenting of racism it could then nope to impose a decisive deleat on the working class.
On a small scale, we can almady see their pians for stepping up the exploitation of the working cliss in Courtaulds, where a group of workers lave been sacked so as to be rehired at houdy rates of pay with no guaran teed wage.
The real face of the capitalist class, after a long period of obscurity, is once more showing ibelf. Chancelior of the Exchequer Burber, is nothing short of disastrous. In the last analysis, the "more militacy" programme is assential ly defensive. It consists in responding to the inifiatives made by BiliRus uou JemRi sinoidlean DEosal0eau1 the elements of an independent course. The whole burden of the recent Tory ploys-the emergency maasures, thn 3 day week etc-is precisely to turn me of bourgeois "democracy".
CALCULATED BLUFF the working class, the trade union a defensive struggle.
Countrywide campaign called for-no paper solutions writing in the Financial Times on 31 December, openly admits that the present capitalist econonuic crisis and the Tory measures will mean that many families are bound to suffer a reduction in carnings. Bnoch Powell and his rabble rant on about the need for two million unemployed. The Economir magazine in its last issue of 1973 called for it to be 'the normal procedure lo sack workers who broak a binding contract ( which is legal Jargon for going on strike)'. Tory MP Poter Fry, going esen . further, taiks in the Guardian of the need to bring in the army. Even though the main core of the ruling class does not yet think in terins of an army solution, we can now begin to glimpse the barbarism bebind the curtain The Torics are engaged in a calcutated and extra-ordinarily vicious piece of bluff. They know perfectly well that if the organised forces of the trade union movement launched a united attack against Phaso Three and the rest of the government's policies the Heath povernment would be destroyed. The government does not at present have any acceplable repressive apparatus which could be set against the working class movement, What the Tories sare hanking on is that the leadership of bureancracy and the Labour Party, will underntine what cannot be destroyed by a frontal assault. By putting forward the sovereignty" of Parliament and the 'right ol govemments to govern', "the rule of law," etc., the Tories calculate that they can the centrat strategic planks of the Tory Policy into Most of the left leven the Labour left) are agreed thet the crisis measures introduced by the Tories are not based on a crisis af energv supply, but an PATH. intimidate the existing working class leader ship into surrender.
Unfortunately if it was left to the TUC and the Labour Party the government could not lose. The leadership of the labour movement will never grasp that every single major working class advance from the Tolpuddle Martyms fo The freeing of the Pentonville Five was gained in a strugele apanar the capitalist "rute of law": The choice between the reformist and the revolu tionary attitudes to the "rule of law", and the 'sovereignty of Parliament' is not a choice between "peaceful" or 'violent" roads to sociniism, as the Labour lefts and the Communist Parly cluit. The choice is between the maintenance of capitalist socicty which means the grinding down of the working class, in the name of the defence of capitalist "democracy", or the defence of the conditions of the working class-which means the smashing of capitalist society, and the establishment of the democrucy of workeis councils. Already in the present creis the historical choice botacen socialisot or barbarism, cren if only in microcoem, is clearly posed. JOHN MARSHALL a manceuure to bring alt resouroes to bear agoinst any passible breach of Phase 3. If this tails, the credibility of the whole employing caas will be seribusiy dented. On the other hand if they manage to hald the line against unions and fores thern to beck down, the wurking ciees will suffer a grave defest and the balanse of forses will be decisively altered, Conssquently although it is true that the present confrontation is not Armageddon, the stakes are rather high. The Torins are very determined to win, even to the extent of allowing some secions of small capital to oo to the Despite chis the present measures rest on a gigantic biuff, for the actuel relation of forois if totaity ageinst the Tories and the employers. The lack out is not designed to starve or batter the working class into somiser he wiee eiabone scneme s cesignea to intimidate the burcaucracy into playing its essencial rois of fragmenting and confusing the struggle and simultaneously changing the terrain of the struggle to one best suited for the disorgsnising role of the bureaucracy -local, fragmented struggles around layotfs, pay, redundencias and so on. To make the contral reply to this menoeuvre defenaVE SPorD nou- worкoruonoтk renr off our Pay or what howe you —is to walk neatly into che Tory trap. By contrast, the task af revalutionarles is to gituate all auch defensive sruggles ww/thin an offerisive strategy of winning wage claims in full, smashing the pay lawi, torging allances between decisiv sectors, and push ing towarde a genaral strike which can unite both the offensive and defensive struggles Hed Weekly 4 January 1974 Page 3
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