The last election was generally regarded as one of the most boring in recent history. But underneath opened up big divisions inside the ruling class, lonks at the big political problems this is creating within the main ruling class parties, and outlines the various solutions that are being debated by the capitmore vigorous than mark time.
alists and their representatives.
THE RUN-UP to the election confirmed very strongly that the dominant sections of the ruling class are moving sharply to the right.
Inside the main employers" organisation, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), leadership had been consolidated around GN chairman Sir Raymond Brookes -the most extreme right-wing of all the major employers. The key journals of the industrial capitalists such as the Economist, the CBI newsletter, and Management Today continued to demand tougher measures against working class militancy.
The Economir, for example, fairly consistently supported and called for open strike breaking. Manage ment Today, in its October editorial, spoke of the possibility of a 'once-forall showdown with organised labour', while optimistically expressing the hope that "given the innate conserva tiveness of the British people, however, organised labour may well back down from a revolutionary posture in such circumstances after disputes and disruptions"
SPLIT But the capitalists remained fundamentally split on exactly what pol scies should be pursued. There was a very clear division of interest between those sections of the ruling class based on finance capital (the banks, insurance companies, and fnance houses) and sections of smallbusinessmen, and those based on the big industrial monopolies.
For the former group inflation is the menace, and they call for sev ere cut-backs in the money supply and the creation of several million unemployed. Sir Keith Joseph, for example, is one of the leading adyocates of this policy; one of his main economic advisers is Samuel Brittan of the Pinancial Timesa newspaper which has fairly consistently represented the interests: of finance capital The industrial capitalists, on the other hand, have both an economic and political objection to this policy. Economically they do not want a slump, as it will hit their production and profit levels. And politically they are afraid that an attempt to increase unemployinent massively would lead to a militant working class response. The Economist, for example, says that such unemployment would not be met with passivity. but by factory occupations and viol ence.
This section of the ruling class whose ideas are expressed clearly by the Econpmiss and the London Schoul of Business Studies-believes that the correct approach is not a severe cutback of the money supply, but a showdown with the workers movement in order to impose an incomes policy Naturally, the policies of both these sections of the ruling class involve a hard line against the working class. The only difference is that the first group wants to strangle the working class into submission via unemployment, while the second wants to club it into submission by imposing un incomes policy, But this debate, which ruged vary fiercely during the election campaign, divides and weakens the ruling class thrust. It also has implications for the struggle that is now;
Red Weekly IT OCODIT TATA the soggy cotton-wool of the politicians' election speeches, powerful class forces were at work. The election was dull because all the major political parties were in chaos, unable to do anything In this article ALAN JONES digs beneath the surface. He examines how the economic crisis has opeaing up within the Tory Party over the leadership:
The election of Sir Keith Joseph, for example, would he reparded as a victory by the financial and petit-bourgeois wing.
But the Tory Party has its own interests, which do not always co-incide directly with those of the ruling class The leaders of the Tory Party natur ally serve the overall interests of their class, but they also want to get into office. For this reason the Tory Party has to pursue its own interests to some degree.
Historically the Tory Party has not been most closely linked to the dominant sections of the industrial capitalists but to various sectoral groupings-lance capital, sections of the Tuliag class massively dependent on foreign investment, landowners, brewers, the petit-bourgeoisie and the Northern Ireland bourgeoisie. This motley alliance was kept toget-r ber, and the Tory Party kept in office, by an orientation of British capitalisin towards foreign financial and commercial operations, rather than by building up the domestic economy and competing in the export of manufactured good with other advanced capitalist countries. This orientation meant that the Tory Party was relatively able to avoid a direct attack on the British working class, and instead cultivated a paternalist attitude.
With the collapse of this econ however, the Tory Party's traditional scheme was upset. A clear representative of the industrial hourgeoisic, Heath, then came into the leadershin of the Tory Party, The result was a re-orientation towards the Common Market and towards a direct conftontation with the British working class.
But while a new cconomic formula could be found, a new political one could not, Heath and the Tories appeared merely as "soulless" bureaucrats who, in the carly period, openly announced that they would attack the working class.
Initially Heath succeeded in keep ing together all the groups who traditionally backed the Tories because it looked as if his new cconomic policy would work. But once the spearhead of the attack on the working class was broken by the miners in Page B 1972, this "Tory hiod started to so ever since out a new political formula they class.
base open to the Liberals. In the run-up to this election, therefore, need of the ruling class for a hard Party to retain its old hase.
hadn't reverted to all the old ruba whole.
together a "political formula' for a crusade to save Britain's 'moralattempt fell as flat as a pancake, and the Tories are back at square олс.
leadership took a very interesting for the ruling class.
Thorpe continually castigated the Tories for avoiding the real issues policy made important gains in this way. als as a serious alternative to the ruling class, the problem remained table to the working class or petitachieved the feat of getting more support from the ruling class than ever before, but seeing its vote decline. come apart, It has continued to do In February 1974 the Tories finally learnt that if they continued on the old economic course withwould he defeated by the working A hard line might please the ruling class, but it left the old Tory the Tories sacrificed the cconemic line to the political need of the Tory There is no doubt that if Heath hish about 'National Unity" and had instead fought the election on a show down type line, they would have beet slaughtered at the polis. Even as it was, they were murdered by the SP in Scotland and achieved their lowest vote of the century in the country as More recently Sir Keith Joseph made a pathetic attempt to cobble the economic hardliners, based on ity by bashing the poor. But this LIBERALS As for the Liberals, the Thorpe turn. Sensing that the Tories new "softness" did not meet the needs of the ruling class, Thorpe flung himself headlong into a campaign to present himself as an alternative main party On television and unashamedly advocated incomes There is no doubt that Thorpe The Economist and the Sunday Times oil industry. Times for example, openly supported his pulicies although they did con- Powell. Although he still bas some tinue to have doubts about the LiberBut if Thorpe won over the that their policies are nor politically aco a platform in Parliament. bourgeoisic. Hence the Liberal Party SCOTTISH WORKERS campaigns with the likes of Jack Jones and Hugh Scanion, Powell will be piven a turther air of Tespec tabusty to sproed his poisonous vapours inside the working class movement.
The prospects which face the ruling class after this election are very cleir. Nothing can put the old ruling class blee around the Tory Party back topether again, The re building of an effective ruling class bloe demands a new political formula to take on the workers" move Ment. The only answer which is viable is the racist, chauvinistic demagopy of Powell-and in Scorland the nationalism of the SNP.
But "Powellism' is a very dangcrous option economically and pol itically, and the SNP can provide no answer for the dominant sections of the British ruling cinss. For that reason the ruling class will not, in the short term, tum co such a solution. Several years will pass before Powell's day will dawn, but It is he who holds the only politica formula for the ruling class. None of the other products on display can do the job.
The road the ruling class is trav cling at the moment leads only to turther disincegration of its domin ant parties aand alliances. Labou is too weak, too unreliable, and has too little control over the workers to be a practical allernative for the bourgeoisie for any leugth of time As the ruling class sluwly begins to realise this, the "Bowellite" solu tion will be seen as the only polit ically viable one. A move in that direction, at first only by sections of the ruling class, will begin. Many bumblings and combinations Whitelaw, Joseph, reform of the electoral system, etc- will doubtless he gone through before the day of Britain's 'Bonapurte" is arrived at But the severely wounded body of the old ruling class political bloc is beginning to rot, and as it does it provides a breeding ground for maggots even more disgusting than their Tory parents