Whistling in the Dark

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£ 500 Monthly 1500 bankı OnOn NOR I → a drowning man ling a serpent, econom țad politicians in Wester upe and the USA cling strately to "certain indons" that an economic very is under way. -se indications are two-fold. *, the improvement in the te of payments in Western e and the USA; and secondfact that the rate at which trial production is declining • United States has recently i improvements in the balance qyments, far from establishing ¡reconditions for an economi Tery, is an indication of the Tity of the crisis! • Arthur Burns: US whistler ¡industrial production has apsed and millions are thrown of work, of course capitalist ¡tries import less (and the -in oil imports is the main Monthly uptcy of ic recessi Social Fund develoment fund is made the leadership in the working clas on. The building of the Work st Press are vital if the right factor here) and export less. The therefore tend to become less indebted to each other.

Nevertheless, mesmerised by this consequence of their own bankruptcy, the governments of the USA, France, Germany and Italy prepare to reflate - increase government spending and the.. issue of credit - to cure "unaccept able" levels of unemployment.

They do this totally oblivious of the fact that until just recently they were boasting about how the massive unemployment they managed to unleash on the working class had cured "unacceptable" levels of inflation!

Of course they cannot have it both ways. In the USA, President Ford after slowing down the rate of increase of the slump proclaims it has ended. But as he begins urging reflationary policies he now finds that. the rate of inflation in the US has shot up from 6% in May to 9.6% since June while unemployment remains at over 8 million.

Reflation under such circumstances would push up inflation as increases in credit enabled sectors of industry otherwise certain to go bankrupt to remain in business. Such reflation would also increase the severity of the slump in the long run as price increases pushed up industrial costs.

The inherent laws of the capitalist crisis cannot be wished away. Until massive amounts of capital value are destroyed to leave room for the restoration of the rate of profit for the survivors, involving the creation of mass unemployment throughout the capitalist world and bringing the increasing threat of imperialist wat, capitalism cannot be put on a stable basis.

more urgent by the coms in tl ¡e face of the grow. ers So cialist Lea ind tl ving i : to be fou ght.