Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/1091/30916
From The Socialist newspaper, 17 June 2020
Capitalism = inequality. Fight for socialism!
So Boris Johnson is going to set up yet another inquiry into racism and inequality. That's the last thing we need! It will end up in the bin along with all the others that have gone before it.
We already know about stop and search and the daily police harassment of black youth. We know all about poverty, unemployment and workplace discrimination; about poor housing and how ten years of Tory cuts, put into practice by councils, including Labour, have destroyed our local services.
We are well aware that black, Asian and minority ethnic people are more likely to die from Covid-19 - and that the Tories haven't even published the recommendations from the recent Public Health England report on BAME deaths!
We also know that the working class - black and white - is being ground down, while the super-rich and the powerful make mega-profits at our expense.
That's exactly why millions of black and white youth have taken to the streets, here and across the globe. A sea of anger against inequality, poverty and injustice - demanding action, not cheap words.
As footballer Marcus Rashford says, this system is not built for working-class people to succeed. This system is capitalism. It uses racism to divide working-class people, so that we don't come together in a united force to fight to end the power, and privilege of the tiny minority that owns and controls the wealth in society created by the rest of us.
That's why we are fighting for a united struggle of workers and youth to organise society on an entirely different foundation. One based on need, not profit and inequality. One where big business and the banks are publicly owned, and society is democratically controlled by working-class people for the benefit of all. That's socialism!
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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.
We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to donate to our Fighting Fund.
In The Socialist 17 June 2020:
What we think
Which way forward for Black Lives Matter protests?
Oppose racist symbols and the racist system
News
Capitalism = inequality. Fight for socialism!
Black Lives Matter: more youth protests take aim at capitalism
Contact tracing fiasco: You can't believe a word the government tells us
Youth
Youth without a future: fight for jobs and homes - fight for socialism!
Workplace news
Resist relaxation of Sunday trading laws
Debenham's protests: Workers must not pay price of Covid-19
Battle with BT management needed to win real pay rise
Schools
Tories retreat on free school meals
Parents' protests against Welsh schools reopening
Cumbria: Teachers, parents and socialists fight reckless school reopening
Reviews
Tears and anger over the treatment of the Windrush generation
Film: Da 5 Bloods - entertaining but politically constrained
Campaigns and party news
Why we joined the Socialist Party
20 days. One town. Four domestic violence murders.
Lessons from history
Reform or revolt? How was the slave trade abolished?
Scotland
Scotland and coronavirus - a catalogue of government failure
Readers' opinion
Three years on: No justice for Grenfell, no peace from BLM
Two-metre rule under 'review' - Another case of profit before safety
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