[All over the world, both the tremendous fighting…]

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All over the world, both the tremendous fighting strength of the working class and peasantry against imperialism, and the possibility of defeating capitalism in revolutionary struggle, have never been clearer.

The tremendous gains of the National Liberation Front in Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, promising to end impe rialist rule of a massive part of South East Asia, are striking mortal blows at the world domination of international capital.

Yet they are only a part of the struggle which continues for national liberation and against capitalism on a front from Mozambique with the victory for FRELIMO and the guerilla liberation struggle in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) to Portugal.

The working class in the metropolitan countries of the west is immediately strengthened by these movements on the road to revolution in the 'under-developed" countries.

But if ther e is one great school of pessimists and reactionaries who ignore, write off, or oppose these developments the population ind resources" lahby.

WARNINGS

Their warnings of ¿ world-wide starvation, poverty and unemploy. ment blame "overpopulation" and western workers living standards instead of capitalism's greed and its harsh contradictions as it undergoes its greatest ever economic crisis.

A good example was the BBC documentary The Face of Famine shown on 18th March. it started by saying of the under-developed countries: "There is a connection between the fact that we eat more and they eat less. This programme is to demonstrate that connection":. It ended with "Northern afluence caused this famine. It has to be said now: we caused it and we condone it. it is our fault"

EAT LESS

A report in this month's 'Ecolugist' magazine headed "Can Britain Survive? dedicates itself te giving advice to the Government on how to reduce the halance of payments deficit of British capitalism, by telling workers to eat less meat (as if we could afford much anyway) and have fewer children.

The same magazine issued in 1972 a document now well-known among environmentalists titled 'Blueprint for Survival which concluded that стор yields were unlikely to increase. and that Britain's population should therefore be stabilised at 30 million, probably less"

These people just take impression: of world food production. the difference between advanced and "underdeveloped" countries, etc. without seeing ochind these the workings of imperialism an its world market.

In fact the possibilities of world food production have ne.greater. Until the late sixties at Icast agricultural production /was increasing much faster than population, with the exception of tew countries which limited production to avoid huge surpluses, as in the USA, Sweden and Norway In most advanced countries production per man in agriculture was increasing up to the sixties by around 5% per year, far in excess of increases in population or demand. In Britain total output was increasing at 2.7% per year and demand at only 1.2% (0.8% pe year increase in population an 0.4% in consumption). In New Zealand, one of the most productive one man in agriculture could support 30 families at average American living standards ADVANCES The revolution continuous and advances, from raising animals to modern water sprinkler innovations like 25 acres with one revo 1,200 St. span. harves: 12 acres of sugar beet and so on.

But it is at this point that production comes capitalist market production means surplus to the ma sales and outlets, human needs o Indian poor Capitalsm only demand back ed by le ability to pay and by the Lity of he capitalist to maintain a rate of p.ofi on investment when he sells his commodities on the market. The onset of a surplus to demand on the "free" market immediately threatens the capitalist with loss of his profit marguis as prices fall. Thus extra food - which is of benchi to all - is seen as a major threat by the capitalist producer who sets out to destroy it in order to pressive his own position. As a result so will is declared long before energ produced to adequately feed the world's population.

As already mentioned, certair. efficient agricultural producers like America were holding back product ion early on, but in the carly seventies every food industry omployer in the world was realising that a surplus would cit prices ar to save profits, producion have to 7e cut.

CUT In this country potato acreage was cut from 590,000 in 970 to 525,000 in 1972. The Potato Marketine Board soent £18m buvin up surpluses just rotted.

British Egg 1971 "there ayers in the al Times ai curer in Jar too much ba rectify it by bacon. That ahout Agine riculture brings enormous tech niques the te chnological tertilisers.

OVeI lution ers to in one DI Surplus up agains ons. Overiction of s so availabl. rplus to over Ene la The Chairman of the Authority claimed in are 1 million too many country". The Financ ted a leading bacon ary 1972: "There is con about: we have to somehow making less is what we are setting now"

The 5 milli 2% up Bno la surpi con radictio] on the cor Increased ni by the side want. Adva productivit: unemplos ution' wi the small countries lebt and cannot aft. tools, irriga. them on h In 1971 all previous world nice production records were broken for the fourth successive year, the price fell and producers and growers outdid each other in accusations of "dumping" i.e. flooding cach other's markets. In June 1971 the United Nations Rice Study Group urged rice exporters, especially Japan and Italy, to cut rice production or at cast avoid measures which encourage it*.

In October 1971 American farmsrs, with a wheat crop up 18% on 1970. were threatening to burn then stocks to prevent a price collapse. The US Department of \griculture planned to reduce feed prain acreage by 25% in 1972 and to take 38 million acres (bigger than ca of the British Isles) out of iction of maize and barlev.

Common Market mon Market harvested ons of cereals in 1971, 1970, Grain merchants the storage space in putedly eve 1 crossing to zechosla Takia to use lisused churJes as warehouses. France cut acrease u nder harley by 600.000 acres.

Surplus was also used as aid' to "underdeveloped countries - conve niently removing unsaleable overproduction and getting in exchange cheap raw materials for industry, payment in local currency to build up profitable foreign capital holdings, a question of systematic imperialist impoverishment of the Third World to which we will return EBI 1003 i sole the IS of capitalism, but trary increases them. enty stands mockingly of pauperisation and neing technique and increases agricultural -The Green Revol strains are barred to or in underdeveloped use bound down with ous landlordism, he pecial machinery, .on and fertilisers for is small-holding. The Digger warmers can pront, increase mechanisation and require fewer workers. Unemploy ment increases and tew can atford what is abunc antly available.

Thus an EEC report for 1971 stated "There are an estimated 1% million families in French agricMarx examinea the forced emiration from Ireland, Scotland and England during the 1840's "brought of faris, application of machinery about by landlordism, concentratior to the soil and introduction commented, Here it snot the commented, want of productive power which creates a surplus population; it is the increase of productive power which demands a diminution of population surely mine drums gain the Obviously the globe cannot accomodate an infinite number of human beings. But a high birth rate is absolutely vital in areas of underdeveloped agriculture FAMILY In the conditions of monsoonal countries for instance which includi nearly half the world's population, peasant farmer needs a large labour force to get preparation and planting done in time in the short rainy season. Since the basic organisation of such farming is the tamily unit, a large family is essential if such work as land clearance for more intensive agriculture to be carried out. Obviously the raising of the level of technology in these areas could now assist in the overcoming of these problems, but until this takes place the peasant farmer has need of a large family.

Or again, the Indian peasant, for example, knows that with the abysmal medical facilities available to his family, that if he has ten children maybe four will survive to keep him when he is too old to work. There is of course no other means of support available to him. This is why attempts to introduce from outside purely arbitrary "birthcontrol" through capitalist-sponsored contraceptive programmes must fail until the advance of living standards and social benefits like improved medical care and pensions convince people that large families are not necessary for them to survive.

But this brings the question: how can the benefits of production reach the people themselves, the workers and poor peasants in underdeveloped countries, and how can the technical level be raised in the face of exploitation every day on the world market by the western capitalist states, and the crippling interest rates charged on loans from banks ami finance houses.

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