FOR the second day running the bourgeois media have been dominated by the Olympic opening extravaganza organised brilliantly by Danny Boyle, who used and developed the techniques of mass use of non-professional performers to express aspects of working class history, a technique pioneered by the likes of Ken Loach, and not seen performed live and in a public place since the Pageant of Labour History in the 1970s.
So desperate are the bourgeoisie to find a base of support for their crisis-ridden system, they were prepared, in the context of the most big business dominated Olympic Games ever, to put up with leaning to the left a little with Danny Boyle, and endure Boyle’s ‘Pandemonium’ glimpse of the industrial revolution and his defence of the NHS, to try and win support for the proposition that we should all be proud to be British, from Danny Boyle to the Queen and ‘that Britain has something to offer’. This is what had the bourgeoisie drooling.
In fact the ‘Pandemonium’ of the Industrial Revolution was progressive in that it developed the productive forces of mankind. Boyle declined to deal with what Britain has to offer today, which is the banking crisis, the Libor scandals and the destruction of workers’ rights and living standards in the UK and everywhere else.
This was well outside his brief of making a case for national unity.
The reality of the situation is that the working class does not require circuses, it requires the struggle for socialism, and is involved in a life and death struggle with the the British bourgeoisie.
Real life proves that this is the case. In the last week the TUC has exposed the ‘scandal of workers forced to pay for their own protective safety equipment’ and that ‘despite laws which say employers must give their staff personal protective equipment (PPE) free of charge, more than one in five workers are being forced to pay for it out of their own pocket.
‘PPE includes protective clothing, helmets and goggles designed to protect workers from injury, electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection.
‘More than one in 10 (11.6 per cent) of those who responded to the TUC questionnaire said that although their work required them to wear safety equipment of some kind, their employer failed to provide or pay for this.
‘A further 8.9 per cent were made to pay for any replacement equipment if their original PPE was damaged.’
The NUT and the NASUWT has exposed ‘the Department for Education’s decision to remove the requirement for academies to employ qualified teachers’.
Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said: ‘The NUT believes all children deserve to be taught by qualified teachers, and it’s not just the profession that thinks so.’
Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said ‘The public would be horrified if people were able to practice medicine or law without the appropriate qualifications and they should be equally horrified at the removal by the Secretary of State of this important qualification for teachers.’
A Unison survey has highlighted the devastating impact of education cuts, and that: ‘More than 60% of respondents said they had closed courses that ranged from Aerospace Engineering and Construction, through to A-levels and part-time adult learning. Colleges gave funding cuts and changes to funding eligibility rules as the main reasons for cutting courses. In addition, despite record youth unemployment figures, the survey also reveals a drop in enrolment figures for this academic year – with nearly 70% of respondents reporting a fall. This was blamed primarily on the loss of the education maintenance allowance.’
The list of cuts in wages, education, the NHS and benefits of all kinds is endless. This is what capitalist Britain has to offer. This is why the bosses were prepared to put up with a little leftism from Boyle, to try and suggest that we should all take our punishment from the bosses because we are all British!
This is reactionary nonsense. What workers need is a general strike to bring down the coalition and bring in a workers’ government and socialism, putting an end to the capitalist class and the monarchy.
