EDITURIAL Hand in hand with the bosses?

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'OUR PROGRAMME', says the Campaign Document, is heavily dependent upon the achievement of our basic objectives: namely, a large and sustained increase in the nation's output and income and a matching decline in the numbers out of work. It is this that will make the resources On certain issues this is not true. Scrapping nuclear weapons, the House of Lords, and the SPG will save money.

Repealing Tory anti-union laws, the immigration and nationality acts, and the Police Bill, will cost nothing.

But many central objectives do depend on an answer to the economic crisis. And the inadequacies of the Campaign Document on that score are likely to make many of its Those inadequacies flow as much from the confusions of Labour conference policy as from the document's fudging of conference policy on issues like the nationalisation of the top Michael Foot's introduction to the document denounces 'the readiness of the Conservative Party to act in a crisis to protect the interests of a small privileged class'. But it also insists: 'More than ever we must think of our country, the whole British community'. And it means just that: the document is an attempt to square the circle, with a policy that serves the interests both of the working class and of the 'small privileged class' that Thatcher serves.

If only the majority of the population, the working class, had a leadership so clear-headed and ruthlessly dedicated to Instead Foot promises 'a Labour government working together with unions and managers to plan Britain's industrial The core idea is to bribe, the capitalists into expanding production, and to hope that the working class will pick ur ›eneticial side-eflects. Increased public spending will give contractors more contracts. A National Investment Bank will Now sometimes this sort of project works to some extent. Economists have long discussed when and how. But all the evidence - including, most recently, the experience of France — is that it doesn't work for modern capitalist states The expansion is very limited. Instead the increased state spending mainly fuels inflation, increased trade deficits, and The document includes proposals for price controls and import controls. But again we can look at experience and see that these do not work. Capitalism depends on free movement of prices and international trade. Serious restrictions on these — outside the special circumstances of a war economy — stitle and cripple the system without replacing it.

However much money the state throws at the capitalists, there is no guarantee that they will expand production - or, it they do expand production, that they will not just pile in new technology and leave everyone no better off except The document proposes some gestures towards planning 'agreed development plans with leading companies' 'a new, tripartite National Planning Council'. But the only way of enforcing these plans would be easier credit for compliant companies, and stricter price controls on uncooperaThis is not a battle plan for storming the commanding heights of the economy, but a scheme for co-opting the trade unions into taking responsibility for the sickness of capitalWhen the system of production for profit has brought us to today's crisis, why is Labour begging and bribing the profiteers to expand business? Shouldn't Labour be fighting to take over the major banks and enterprises, putting them under common ownership and workers' democratic control? Isn't that the only way to have rational planning and jobs for all, rather than vague hopes of unemployment being brought Such a fight would raise many other issues. The millionaires would not submit passively to being stripped of their millions: the top civil service chiefs, the courts, the monarchy. and the police and army hierarchies could all be expected to swing into action to support them. The labour Easement would have to mobilise the working class to meet satackze by direct action: counter-revolutionary violence by "= Das de consistent class-struggle atternative to the CoMEET DEEDeDI's Des social Contract. And to build nazis I it. se must fight for Labour to break with is projected miy with the bosses and the bankers - 1o mappen workers in struggle, rather than spinning schemes to persuade the capitalists to hand down some crumbs. available... promises just promises.

25 monopolies and incomes policy. Now an Anti-Tory League?