FRFI 198 August / September 2007
After ten long years the face of the top servant of British imperialism has changed. The chosen replacement is a tried and trusted ally of the British ruling class, Gordon Brown. Under his watch we can guarantee the same reactionary policies, both at home and abroad, as those of his predecessor Tony Blair. This is because the outlook and actions of the British state are little to do with the ‘policy choices’ of particular individuals or parties, but are dictated by the interests of capital and imperialism. The Labour Party has always understood this and it will always respond first and foremost to the interests of the wealthy and their imperialist designs.
For the past 27 years FRFI has consistently exposed the Labour Party as willing servants of British imperialism and in this issue we demonstrate how the parasitism of the system is personified through the new Labour leader (see p3).
The brutal occupation of Iraq will continue with Brown at the helm. As an imperialist he is fully complicit in Britain’s and the US’s brutal war for oil in Iraq. The recent US ‘surge’ has not produced the results that Bush’s administration desperately needed and in both Iraq and Afghanistan the resistance is eroding the will and stamina of imperialism (see p8/9).
The war in Iraq will define the legacy of Tony Blair and it is the Middle East which continues to dominate his attentions. It is an obscene irony that Blair has been made an ‘envoy for peace’ in the Middle East. This multiple-warmonger and ardent Zionist is only interested in a peace that sees the Palestinians capitulate to the attacks and interests of Israel and imperialism. Imperialism is seeking to divide the Palestinian people and deliver a death blow to the Intifada (see p6).
In the wake of new terrorist attacks and plots in Glasgow and London, BrownÕs government has sought to exploit the terrorist threat, to terrify the population, whip up racism and criminalise whole communities. In the name of the ‘war on terror’ our civil liberties are being taken away (see p1/3).
Under the veneer of impenetrable might, however, the parasitism, insecurity and vulnerability of capitalism is demonstrated most starkly in the world’s most wealthy and powerful country. Cracks in US capitalism are beginning to widen with a collapse in house prices and huge quantities of fictitious wealth and insecure stock are facing meltdown (see p4).
Economic crisis is the inevitable result of contradictions in the capitalist system but it is the oppressed who feel the brunt of these crises. In Britain the first to suffer are asylum seekers and migrant labourers such as those from Bulgaria, Romania and other Eastern European countries who will be forced to leave when their labour is no longer required (see p16).
There is an alternative to this destructive cycle. Socialism is being lived, evolved and developed by Cuba. The Caribbean island is at the forefront of showing that a new world is possible, a world free from inequalities and environmental destruction, one where production is set to meet the needs of the people, not profit (see p12). Its example is giving inspiration and foresight to other revolutionary developments, such as those in Venezuela (see p5).
We continue to expose the bankruptcy of so-called ‘socialists’ here in Britain still tied to the Labour Party, who seek at every opportunity to criticise and undermine the example of the Cuban revolution (see p10/11). There is a real urgency now to follow the example of Latin America and build a revolutionary movement in Britain.
A panel of acclaimed atomic scientists have warned that we only have five minutes left until a figurative midnight in which mankind will destroy itself. The prospect of nuclear Armageddon does not seem so fanciful as the imperialist powers threaten and arm in their destructive quest for global hegemony (see p7). Read this paper, educate yourself, and with that knowledge join us in action on the streets (see p14). Contact us and get involved.
