Some time ago we discussed the importance of co-operation as the basis for a fair society. We used the example of a local village shop because the first Welsh co-operative store was established near Aberdare by working people.
Today we experienced something of an epiphanic moment reading the views of Paul A. Baran in his essay entitled “Better Smaller But Better”. It was published in Monthly Review in July 1950, originally under the pen-name Historicus.
Baran discusses ‘Co-Operation on the Left’ in a post-war American society where capitalism seemed unassailable and omnipotent. He discusses the methods used to preserve and strengthen capitalism in America as it was then, 1950.
Here’s how Baran puts it, any emphasis in the text is ours …
“The impotence of the American left cannot be understood without a full appreciation of the ideological stability of American capitalism. We have to understand the ideologically overpowering impact of bourgeois, fetishistic consciousness on the broad masses of the working population. The still-vigorous belief in the possibilities of individual advancement within the framework of capitalist society. The deep-seated acceptance of bourgeois values, especially the desirability of reaching the status of the next-higher group. The supremely streamlined, multi-pronged manipulation of the public mind. The heart-breaking emptiness and cynicism of the commercial, competitive, capitalist culture. The systematic cultivation of devastatingly neurotic reaction to most social phenomena (through the movies, the “funnies” etc.). The effective destruction in schools, churches, press, everywhere, of everything that smacks of solidarity in the consciousness of the man in the street. And finally, the utterly paralyzing feeling of solitude which must overcome any one who does not want to conform, the feeling that there is no movement, no camp, no group to which one can turn.
Is this going to last forever ? Social psychology and political experience alike suggest that the prospects are bleak. Quite possibly major changes will come only as the result of shocks; in the humdrum of slow evolution the status quo reproduces itself continuously with only such changes as the manipulative machine wishes to induce. The outcome may be fascism, but there seems to be hardly a chance of anything progressive growing in such soil. The ruling class knows this. It is aware of the fact that it does not face any serious dangers in the absence of shocks. It knows that the result of shocks is unpredictable. It will do everything within its power to avoid them….
Where does the Left and its cooperation come in ? Not very much, not very broadly, not very obviously. The main avenue of activity is to attack the ideological front – by clarifying the issues, by trying to cut through the cultural fog of capitalist society, by trying to break the notion of the “identity of interests” of the ruling classes with those of the working masses. This is not a program of mass politics, nor should it be the program of a sect. It is blueprint of intellectual activity, of enlightened economic, ideological, political thinking and discussion that should be free of dogmatic fetters and petty political considerations. It is a program of building cadres, of what Marx used to call Selbstversta:ndigung..
There is hardly any room for political cooperation on the Left at the present time because there are no politics of the Left. The time will perhaps come, possibly sooner than we think. But just now the issues are ideological problems, and ideological problems cannot be solved by organizational makeshifts. To the extent that so-called liberals are themselves fully and unreservedly subject to the prevailing obfuscation, to the extent that they serve as faithful soldiers of the Cold War army, to the extent that they debase themselves to the function of informers and stool-pigeons, to that extent “cooperation” with them can only be of the same nature as such cooperation between the murderer and his victim. Nor is such cooperation desirable. What is needed – let us say it again and again – is clarity, courage, patience, faith in the spontaneity of rational and socialist tendencies in society. At the present historical moment in our country – “better smaller but better”.
- Paul A. Baran, this essay is included in the ‘The Longer View’, a collection of Baran’s essays, first published 1969 by Monthly Review Press
Ann Clwyd – Aberdare’s MP – drew attention to the plight of starving people in Zimbabwe yesterday in a debate in the House of Commons. She contributed a persuasive anecdote concerning her recent trip to South Africa…
While I was in South Africa a few weeks ago, Zimbabwean refugees handed me a note for 10 million Zimbabwean dollars. That buys a bag of tomatoes in Zimbabwe. Now Mugabe is prepared to starve his people to death for their votes. What kind of human being is President Mugabe ?
- Source Hansard, via TheyWorkForYou. Click the link to read Mrs Clwyd’s full contribution to the Parliamentary debate.
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Jack Frost visited the Valleys recently and left some grand displays of frosty art on the Cwmdare hillsides!
The following photos were snapped in Cwmdare. In the first photo, the Tonglwydfawr Inn. The latter two landscape photos were taken from the northern end of Dare Valley Country Park. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version…
Postscript : How do you put a price tag on a landscape or a Welsh hillside ?
In the eyes of bourgeois industrial capitalism, this Welsh hillside in Cwmdare represents a resource to be exploited. The coal was mined from this area over a period of around one hundred years, exploiting thousands of workers during that period. Now that the coal has gone, the capitalist class see the potential of exploiting the landscape to harness a modicum of wind energy, albeit less energy than that invested in erecting and maintaining the wind turbines in the first place. It’s all very silly of course, but then capitalism is an irrational system.
This week
George Bush and other Western war-mongers celebrate the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
War is good news for the corporations which the war-mongers represent.
War is profitable and militarism plays a key role in the capitalist system.
Wars are fought for class interests. The Iraq war is no exception.
Writing fifty-two years ago in their book Monopoly Capital, American economists Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy characterize the impact militarism has on society and the function of militarism in capitalist society :
Read the rest of this page »
Now that Tower Colliery has finally closed, the new language that has been incubating there during the past thirteen or so years finally emerges.
Tyrone O’Sullivan and Tower Colliery shareholders now speak the language of business development and exploitation, the language of managers of men and land, of balance sheets, profit and bottom lines.
Over the past year or so, stories have been drip-fed via the corporate press about possible developments at the Tower site after its closure, including entrepreneurial-sounding visions for a waste processing plant, a housing and retail development, a museum and a range of other schemes.
There has been much talk about creating “sustainable jobs” at the former Colliery site, but one is skeptical of this type of lofty talk. The only idea not discussed by Tower Colliery shareholders is that perhaps the land be left to recover after nearly two hundred or so years of gross industrial exploitation.
No discussion has taken part with the communities of Rhigos or Hirwaun, or indeed any other community that will be blighted by more industrial expansion or development at the Tower Colliery site.
The new language of Tower Colliery is the language of a business class.
Glynhafod School lies at the foot of a mountain.
It was closed last year. The Local Authority, Rhondda Cynon Taff Council, claimed there were too many spare places.
They gave the usual marketing mumbo-jumbo excuses about “rationalising”.
It was reported in the Cynon Valley Leader that the property was sold in an auction in London.
The buyer was one Ian Roberts, a local man who is manager of Cwmaman Institute.
There is a brief ‘walk-around’ video clip on Glynhafod School on Youtube.
The development at Glynhafod is reminiscent of what happened to the site of the old Aberdare Boys’ School : an old school site was sold off in a questionable manner by Rhondda Cynon Taff Council only to be developed for hyper-profits by some local developer/entrepreneur.
It is the Grammar of Capital thing again.
The house-building economy has to expand. It is an imperative of the capitalist system. The conversion of schools into housing estates is perfectly normal in a system which must expand, exploit, and dominate.
Work continues this week around the clock tower at the site of the old Aberdare Boys’ School.
According to Colin Rees, the clock tower dates back to 1901, it was built five years after the school was built.
The efforts to preserve parts of the school site by former pupils was laudable, but it seemed almost inevitable that they would fail as it would be going against the grain of how things work. Nothing is sacred or too special in a capitalist society. Marx puts it eloquently in Communist Manifesto thus :
Constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social relations, everlasting uncertainty and agitation, distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier times. All fixed, fast-frozen relationships, with their train of venerable ideas and opinions are swept away, all new-formed ones become obsolete before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and men at last are forced to face with sober senses the real conditions of their lives and their relations with their fellow men
The clock tower, the clock itself and the various buildings have little or no value as part of Aberdare’s architectural heritage, in a capitalist system. Why ? Because the ‘here and now’, the ‘today’ is most important in capitalism. People forget that capitalism is a revolutionary system where standing still is not an option.
American writer Marshall Berman characterises the way people and things are swept aside in his book All That Is Solid Melts Into Air (The Experience Of Modernity) (Verso, London, 1991)
“In this [modern bourgeois] world, stability can only mean entropy, slow death, while our sense of progress and growth is our only way of knowing for sure that we are alive. To say that our society is falling apart is only to say that it is alive and well… Modern men and women must learn to yearn for change: not merely to be open to changes in their personal and social lives, but positively to demand them, actively to seek them and carry them through. They must learn not to long nostalgically for the “fixed, fast-frozen relationships” of the real or fantasized past, but to delight in mobility, to thrive on renewal, to look forward to future developments in their conditions of life and their relations with their fellow men. – Berman pp. 95-96”
In the capitalist system, the destruction of local architectural sites of interest represents expansion, development, growth, progress even. Likewise (to use another recent example) in the capitalist system, destroying a variety of wildlife habitats, simplifying (or polluting) the environment, and imposing massive social costs on society by erecting a few wind turbines is growth, an investment and (in the Alice in Wonderland world of Cardiff Bay) environmental progress.
Capitalism has a grammar or a set of rules that make it work. Economist and historian Doug Dowd refers to the “needs” of capitalism :
The three prime needs of capitalism are (1) the need for expansion, (2) the need for exploitation, and (3) the need for rule by what amounts to an oligarchy.
The story of destruction at the old Aberdare Boys’ School reflects the needs of bourgeois capitalism. There are many more untold stories of destruction. Everyone has a story to tell. “Nothing lasts forever” the capitalist might quip. And the respondent aware of the grammar of capitalism should reply “yes of course, you too”.
Nearly fifty years ago John Kenneth Galbraith published his book The Affluent Society (1958) about the haves and have-nots of modern capitalist society.
The postcard on the left with images from Cwmbach is a reminder of the differences between the haves and have-nots.
Affluent Society was a book about contrasts in the economy. In Aberdare, the gulf between rich and poor has been transformed into a grotesque chasm in the past three decades of hyper-capitalism under Thatcher and Tony Blair, her ideological heir.
. Read the rest of this page »
Newspapers love to play games with a pliant readership.
The most common game played is Hide the News Story.
Take a recent example …
Did you catch the news story there ?
Page 26 of the Cynon Valley Leader, November 16 2006.
Had it been pushed just a little further back it would have ended up in the darts or football results section of the newspaper. But that might have drawn attention to the story.
About the size of two or three postage stamps.
No ? Then try this … Read the rest of this page »
Imagine Cynon Valley as an orange being squeezed …
The latest pips to squeak are from Abernant
Residents in Abernant are infuriated by a proposal to build on the local village green.
People from across Cynon Valley can sympathise with their plight because building overdevelopment is a key feature of the Cynon Valley economy today. It is spurred on by a planning system which favours the developer-capitalists and the mammoth planning bureaucracy of the local County Borough Council who have a vested interest in continued overdevelopment.
Individuals and communities who dare to argue “no, enough is enough… where is this development leading?” are simply trodden on like unwelcome cockroaches in their own communities.
Yesteryear we might have argued the case ‘for’ or ‘against’ in the local newspaper, but in 2006, Aberdare has no free press where such a discussion could take place. Freedom of speech in Aberdare is a luxury for a political and commercial elite. It has been completely marginalised and shunted to the sidelines into online forums, websites, blogs and the occasional meeting in a local Chapel organised by annoyed citizens.
The media are, as Noam Chomsky argues, adjuncts of the powerful. The media exist to ensure we consent to what the elite have decided is in their best interest. To question economic overdevelopment, whether it is the overdevelopment of houses, roads, or any form of overdevelopment, would be to question the very basis on which the Cynon Valley economy rests : capitalism.
Corporate media do not reflect any anti-capitalist sentiment today because it is, again to quote Noam Chomsky, beyond the “bounds of the expressible“. The media only permit a spectacle or charade of free and open discussion. Thus we can read about opposition to wind turbines in the Cynon Valley in the local newspaper – wind turbines do not, after all, generate much advertising revenue – but we are unable to read about the mass opposition to overdevelopment or to the duelling of the Heads of the Valley road near Hirwaun, a Welsh Assembly Government project. That is beyond the bounds of the expressible. It might upset the capitalist apple-cart and people might get the wrong idea and start engaging in a real democratic debate.
In Abernant, if we look back thirty years, we might find lessons there. Thirty years ago, services at Aberdare were being downgraded and moved to Prince Charles hospital. Thousands took part in rallies and marches. Such expressions of solidarity are nowadays rare. We can but marvel at these mass movement in history books.
Today bourgeois capitalism reigns triumphant and the very last thing the rich and powerful and their newspapers would admit is that there are pips squeaking in every corner of the Cynon Valley. That might give working people a sense that they had something in common . The last thing the bourgeosie want is a conscious working class… it would be bad for business.
Almost three hundred people met in a Valleys Chapel recently to discuss the future of their community. The village campaign group Action for Hirwaun organised the meeting at Nebo Chapel in Hirwaun to address the fears of local people concerning over-development in the area.
Action for Hirwaun were formed in response to widespread local concern about issues such as housing over-development and loss of basic public services. They hold regular meetings, consult widely and have deep roots in the community.
Many of these community-spirited people remember or were involved in previous community campaigns such as the campaign to prevent gas tanks being located in the village in the mid 1970s. Women were at the forefront of that campaign and thirty years later Hirwaun women are leading from the front in their battle for their community.
Chris Bond (see photo below) spoke on behalf of Action for Hirwaun and gave a hard-hitting visual presentation. He showed in graphic detail precisely how much of Hirwaun is disappearing under house and road building.
We learned that Hirwaun is being simplified. It is both a sad and frightening ecological tale. The rich tapestry of fields, the wildlife, flora and fauna supported by the remaining natural havens is being simplified into tarmacadam, asphalt, and concrete. Such is the legacy we are leaving our Valleys children in the name of ‘economic development’.
There was an audible sigh from members of the public as the presentation progressed showing the inevitable loss of green fields and open spaces. The audience was shown a horse in a green field and someone quipped “enjoy it while you can”.
Mr Bond spoke of the transformation of Hirwaun from “a quiet village to commuter town”. Hirwaun is one of Wales’ biggest villages and there is a continued growth in population due to a house-building boom. Land is cheap in Hirwaun and it is a magnet for property developers.
The presentation cited the key issues that went to the very heart of the community and local people’s concerns : health, education, recreation, amenities, and policing. These were basic political issues, yet there was no elected politician at that meeting. The absence was in many ways a shameful indictment on local democracy. Elected representatives were invited to attend this meeting in advance, including local County Councillors and Assembly Members.
“So far no consultation”
One of the chief grievances seems to be the fact that local people are not being properly consulted over a range of large-scale developments. Some of the grievances concerning broken promises go back twenty or more years. Action for Hirwaun repeatedly emphasised “so far no consultation”. Given the voluminous evidence they have collected to support their assertion it is not easy to disagree with them.
Are local people to be consulted properly on issues that will affect their lives and the lives of generations to follow ? Or is it only a corporate oligopoly – the rich and powerful – that has a ‘vote’ on what happens to Hirwaun ? These are questions that demand to be answered by working people in Hirwaun.
public services “retreating from the community”
Mr Bond bemoaned the fact that “policing is retreating from the community” and the downgrading and eventual closure of Hirwaun police station. Mr Bond is correct however many people would suggest that he does not go nearly as far enough in his analysis : health, education, and other basic public services are also retreating from the community under the influence of neoliberal economics.
Neoliberal economics is the dogma that now rules our lives. They called it Thatcherism in the eighties, and many other things since, but it is nonetheless now the dominant political and economic system. It is a form of capitalism with the gloves off where very few private interests are allowed to control as much of society as possible. Today Hirwaun is fighting against the greedy robber-baron property developers, but tommorrow it could be the complete privatization of healthcare or education. People should be concerned about what is left of their communities.
Two wags from the WAG
It therefore seemed re-assuring to know that the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) were invited to send representatives to this public meeting to make a contribution towards the democratic process. They parachuted two wags into Hirwaun for the meeting and they came with a mission. It seems these Assembly Missionaries were there to convert the people of Hirwaun to the cause of ‘economic development’ Cardiff Bay-style.
Andy Falleyn came representing the Welsh Assembly Government’s Transport Wales department. He came as ‘travelling salesman’ for the A465 Heads of the Valley Duelling Programme. He flapped on about statistics and referred to a glossy document called Turning Heads 2020 which he waved about. It was an instant turn off.
People coughed and yawned. They were busy – and tired – working mums and dads and grandparents. It is not easy to listen to a bureaucrat jawing about jargon and fancy figures when you’ve just spent a day at the proverbial ‘coalface’. Mr Falleyn convinced few – if any one – at that meeting of the usefulness of the Heads of the Valley project.
If the duelling of the A465 sends thousands of extra cars through Hirwaun, the people will suffer a serious, long-term degradation in the quality of their lives and the lives of their children. That was the case presented by Action for Hirwaun and it was uncontested by members of the public. The severe concerns expressed about traffic congestion at the meeting were not assuaged by the Welsh Assembly Government representative… he wasn’t much of a travelling salesman.
From the back seats of Nebo Chapel the two wags seemed to a bear a physical resemblance to Laurel and Hardy, at least in this writer’s eyes. There was a physical contrariety and comedy about them, especially the wag called Chris Ashman who resembled Oliver Hardy. It seems that Mr Ashman is employed by Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council and is “on-loan” to the Welsh Assembly.
Mr Chris Ashman wowed the audience with this long title : Head of Regeneration, Welsh Assembly Government. Licensed to frill it seems… He then proceeded to talk about frilly phrases like “regeneration” and “development” and “investment” when most people there wanted to know about traffic gridlock. It all seemed so glib to be told that the “strength of the Valleys community spirit is envied across the UK”. And as if that was not enough Mr Ashman cooed that he saw “this meeting as the start of something”. This was perhaps the most inane political ‘chat-up’ line ever spoken in Hirwaun.
That great observer of language use and abuse George Orwell would have wept in Hirwaun at Nebo Chapel that evening. The Welsh Assembly Government people perverted words like “growth”, “development”, “regeneration”, and “investment” to fit their own ideological needs. Language is an instrument of power, and so if a rich and powerful elite want to exploit the people of Hirwaun by running thousands of extra vehicles through their village they will not (and did not) call it what it is – degeneration or degradation – they call it “regeneration” or “development”.
Betrayal by Assembly
There was a palpable sense of betrayal at that meeting. No one held out much hope that the Labourites Clwyd (MP) or Myring (County Councillor) would attend, but there was some hope that Welsh Assembly Members would give their moral support to their own constituents. None came.
But nearly ten years ago, in the summer of 1997, they came to Hirwaun. They came to campaign on the eve of the September 1997 Referendum on the Assembly. They came with promises. There was a cross-party campaign. In a Public Meeting at the Michael Sobell Sports Centre in Aberdare Ieuan Wyn Jones (Plaid), Eluned Morgan (Labour), and Tyrone O’Sullivan (Tower Colliery) shared a platform with Professor Kevin Morgan (Chairman, Yes for Wales Campaign).
Professor Morgan was born in Rhigos, a neighboring village. He is a good man and a clever man without whom the Referendum would not have been won. At that 1997 meeting in Aberdare he talked about his vision for the Welsh Assembly and how the people needed to give voice – to articulate and to confront the problems of industrial decline in Wales. There should have been a place at that Hirwaun meeting for the good Professor.
The Forgotten People ?
As Chris Bond asked at the end of that meeting, “Are we the forgotten people?”
