Dual Crisis: COVID-19 and Capitalism
This talk was presented by ISO member Josh O’Sullivan at a national hui on workers organising during the pandemic, 11 May 2020.
For Solidarity: Maintain lockdown to save lives
Support essential workers! Give them PPE! Beware Slackening the Fight against COVID-19 The lockdown against the spread of COVID-19 is, among other things, a piece of class struggle. Workers socially distancing themselves and limiting their exposure to essential workers (keeping supermarket shopping to an absolute minimum and following distancing guidelines) are acting together to save […]
The politics of the virus
Socialist Alternative is an Australian socialist organisation. This speech was given at a video conference of Socialist Alternative’s national committee on 22 March. Mick Armstrong is a founding member of Socialist Alternative and is a member of the organisation’s national executive. There can be no overstating the significance of this horrific crisis for humanity. The death […]
Labour’s COVID-19 response package: Not enough for workers
When the Labour-led Coalition Government revealed its first fiscal response package to the COVID-19 pandemic I was, at first, jubilant. The pessimist in me had been expecting austerity, expecting cuts and sell offs. This package is definitely not that. $12.1 billion in spending and 4% of GDP – great! But as the afternoon continued and […]
Inadequate Action against COVID-19: Govt Must Put People before Profit
Around the world capitalist governments (there are no others, unfortunately) have criminally permitted COVID-19 to spread and cause needless deaths. From the political harassment of Li Wenliang by the Chinese Stalinist police state to the present day, governments have behaved appallingly. Why? Because they have sought to limit the impact of responses to COVID-19 on the business of […]
Why Hasn’t Labour Delivered?
On 19 September the Labour Party faces the hurdle of being elected into government for another term of office. Having the advantages of incumbency, re-election should be a cake-walk. One would think that all Labour needs to do is to deliver improvements in the standard of living of the working-class majority to ensure popularity. One […]
The Fourth Labour Government’s Launch of Neoliberalism
Ever wonder about the days when universities were free and not run as a business? When the social welfare safety net was available to all that needed it and could sustain a decent living? When the government worked towards a goal of total employment, not enabling a system that requires unemployment to function? When vital […]
The Fourth Labour Government and the Destruction of the Welfare State
Ever wonder about the days when universities were free and not run as a business? When the social welfare safety net was available to all that needed it and could sustain a decent living? When the government worked towards a goal of total employment, not enabling a system that requires unemployment to function? When vital […]
A looming world recession?
At the ISO’s annual conference over the weekend 7-8 December a session on the international situation was led off with this introduction by Martin Gregory. An assessment of capitalism internationally, both in its political domination and the state of its economy, is essential for forming a view of what might lie ahead for us in […]
Who gains from Capital Gains?
The Tax Working Group, set up by the Labour-led government in 2018, has released its first volume of findings. This is where the government’s proposed capital gains tax is beginning to take shape, and a useful analysis underpinning the work of this group is important to understanding the broader political narratives arising from the working […]
