Which has teusht the prasent generation an old truth = you don't judge
the cigar by the picture on tho box, Most of us roalise that the trade mark
and label or the shape of the bottle area not procise indicetors of the contants.
For Marzists, of course, it is no revelation that appearances can be deceptive
or that the contents of a package can change in quantity and quality with no
sooming or real change in ths package. Even the "Good Book" makes the point
that new ("working") wine should not be put in old (fully stratched-leather)
bottles, To come to the particular point. “e need to be pracisa about cur
political jargon, “ords ssrve us as labels, ‘fe should use the right label
naturally and furthermore we should check that the contents corraspond with
old labels, Fascism, democracy, totalitarian, bonapartist, dictatorship,
bourgeois — such labels have avaried meanings east or west of the "Curtein,"
and left or right of the Labour Farty — or within itl In
A 3 i W
Living in a democracy — a bourgeois democrasy — we feel wo Bow such a
tocime works and how far contents and lebel correspond. Yet long ago a Fabian re = Graham Yallas = pointed out the necessity in polities fer facts, figures,
research, and scientific method, Let us look at Professor Griffith's research
in issue No. 20 of Hew Society, His first sentence is a surprising assumption:
"Eritons today live in a ats and authoritorian society." This prefaces
an article on local democracy and sug_estions for its resuscitation, To this
end he gives stetistics to show ths apathy of the electorate, These analyse
the vote and its variations, He states:
"The most revealing statistics ars those which show the vast number
of uncontested seats end as a consequence, the difference in voting percentages
of these vho could not vote because there was no candidate, are counted as
non=voters, His figures for 1958 are summarised:
Souncilloera Gouncillors % Unopposs’ .% vote in % yote of
Unopposed Elected contests total
Sounty Boro!s 250 1992 18.6 40.3 34.0
Gounties 2444 1568 60.9 3383 19.5
lhinicipal Boro's
U.DeGes "Sity" 2211 4666 32.2 42.9 2607 i RD. tas 8613 2648 15a2 46.2 12.9
Particular examples: In Cornwall, Herts., Lincs, 85% were returned unopposed
In Holland (Lincs) 3 out of 43 seats contested, bt ‘' vote in, these three 3
seats was highest in magland, 51.9. Griffith states
We rather enjoy those elections in Jommmist countries which result in
percentage turnouts epproaching 100, with unanimity of party choice, Perhaps,
however, our system of local democracy has its faults when 23,592 are open to
contest, only 10,174 are fought for; if less than 12.5 millions out of 52.5
million actually vote; if the avsrage percentage vote is only 40; and if
alections for 1,500 diffarent authorities rosult in a change of party control
in less than 4% of the councils.
Howaver for us the important points are that wa should have a clearer
picture of our democracy, and that we chould understand why a politically
conscious working cless is so "apathetic" about council elections,
> NE SS ee ee are
— m3 Horsa's mourn «=: 4 5 8D by a special correspondent
Jack London long ago pinpointsod the tactics of the capitalist s Clare of cither breuking the leaders of our class, or corrupting them, by money, titles, flattery or sntr-: to "socisty". Yet the left has been accused of malice, "sour grapes", and carping criticiem for branding many T,.U. leaders as bureaucrats divorced from ths rank and file, -iven today Ilany workers don't really know the full significance of the “Jstablishment", On the othsr hand, a slap on the back, a bandying of first names, and the rotention of dialest can soften the person's year's neglect, orking in with tha bosses, and rotten compromises at the expense of the members,
If you know an honest 1T,U. official uncorrupted by Jstablishment soduction you can learn something of the social whirl, the ‘mbassy "do's", the slap-up dinners, the Xmas prossnts, the “cocktails with everything", that can be yours in any section of the movement, if thats how you like it, Gepitulation to this softening up paves the way for alisnation from your former yorlmates,
Don't think all thie is the figment of a fevered imejination, a cheap version of Howard “pring's "Fame ia the Spur" or Fienburgh's “No Love for Johnny", Horaco Moulden, President of the National Union of Hosiery Yorkers, said on ‘pril 6th that there comes a time in a union leader's life when he drifts away from ths peopls he represents. It was 30 years sinca he last worked in a hosiery factory and that "is a long time to be out of a factory and to bs telling people what they ought to be doing in a factory. I have been vory conscious that I could see a gulf gradually widening between mo and the people I was supposedly reprosenting, I don't believe I belong to their world,"
Remember Moulden is president of a right wing union that has twice since the war rajected affiliation to the Labour Party, that has teen a gealous Mond—Turner=nefotiation=<at-all-costs practioner, That this speech was made at the N.J.1.¢. when he was presented with a eold watch on his motirament. He concluded that "if he could go back he would not do what thoy had done in the hose section, In the last three years they had throw away their heTitage, He was locking forward to his retirement and did not intand to work again, if something meant having an employer and drawing wages. That was one shackls he was glad to be rid of."
Tut what of the thousands of his union's members who mst go on being wage slaves under agreements and conditions forced on them by the joint efforts of the union leaders and tha employers? A cmmtury ago Marx said we mist have done with the slogan of "i fair day's wage for a fair day's work" and inscribe cur hannere: "The abolition of the wages system" and "From each according to his ability, to sach according to his need." In Value, Price and Profit, Marx explained ths limitations of even the most successful trade union effvrtsa and pointed out that the very success of raising wages above historical or national average levels led to the capitalist class replacing too expensive labour by machines, The hosiery union with its long-time cost of living bonus, its previeucly sheltared home market, and two decades of ssllers' markot, won wage rates that enebled above avaraze wagss to earnad by many for long peri ods, Persistent inflction, in a period when the homa market is no longer protected and supply exceeds demand, had forced the profit-sacsking bosses to replace human labourpower by machines, After many cecedes of peace the hosiery workers are striking hap-hesardly, piecomaal, and in increasingly unfavourable conditions, Thers is an urgent need for a new militant leadership who will inform the membership of the preblems and seak to braak out of their solf-impeosed political isolation, Perhaps Moulden's last words may prove to be his most useful service to his members in the long run,