The almighty unions of old have been reduced during the course of time to practically powerless organisations relying on the benevolent attitude of the state and its monetary contributions. In actual fact unions have the power that the state wants to give them. It is convenient that to consolidate the impression that unions are of use to the workers, the state turns a blind eye to certain minor strikes that confirm the rule.
Laws that prescribe minimum services decaff totally the importance of a strike that otherwise could be really disruptive of the smooth going of the economy. Our capitalist world rests solidly on the “good-will” of workers and the states have seen to it that this “good-will” be firmly encouraged, but there is still something that unions could do: intervene in politics. For the time being they are the only organisations with capacity of unity existing in the “democratic” world of the deeply lobbied political parties.
There is a hope for the people in strikes, much that our comfortable way of living detests those strikes that may discomfit the usual routine in our lives. We have reached a point in our existence that we are deeply divided in everything. The “divide and conquer” of old has served the capitalistic system, too. Whoever wishes to talk about democracy finds her/himself at a loss to understand how the democracy that we have does not allow for the full, progressive strikes that much did for the labour world. Its excesses, though, also paved the way for a perfection of technology which meant the loss of countless jobs and the institution of unemployment. And when this technology is not enough, then the big companies decide moving to another country where the political conditions do not permit preponderance in workers, the costs of exploitation are considerably lower than those in what we call the civilised world and tax exemptions further pamper the powerful multinationals.
I am not against capitalism as an economic system, in my opinion it is for the time being the best chance that we have to exist, otherwise I wonder what today any other system will do other than return us to our primitive conditions of food for living and cover ourselves in skins and rags. But capitalism must also have its limitations. There must not be excesses in capitalism as there must not be excesses in labour.
There is a chance for the unions to recover their old influence and this chance in my opinion is politics, intervening in politics needs unity and the unions are just the only organisations with a possibility to achieve that unity in our world, not Marxist or Communist unity, not that but the unity necessary to use common sense in all the aspects of our lives.
Which ought to be moderate not aggressive. Understanding not adamant.
After saying all this I’m ready for the stake.
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