The review of reviews. The UK is currently witnessing its biggest strike action since 1990. The British Review Grandstand welcomes this mobilization. This socialist publication, close to former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, now expelled from the party, is very active in supporting the protest. It thus continues its rebirth.
Founded in 1937, Grandstand was originally a daily, for which the writer George Orwell (1903-1950) worked from 1943 to 1947. Faced with financial difficulties, the paper became a weekly in 2001. This cycle continued until takeover of Grandstand by Jacobina magazine of the American radical left, which managed to revive the title.
Now quarterly Grandstand is a mook with a square back, which brings together contributions from journalists and academics. The last issue is devoted to austerity, a policy of budgetary restriction pursued by the British government for thirteen years. Ronan Burtenshaw, its editor, says in an editorial that the aim is not to “to balance the accounts”the function of this “moral tale” rather being to absolve the economic elite of the crises caused by capitalism, by claiming that we all bear the responsibility.
Wage stagnation
Of course, in the end, the richest do not have to tighten their belts: no tax increase for them, on the contrary. Austerity has resulted in wage stagnation, especially in the public sector, but not only. This explains why the United Kingdom has to face such a strike movement, especially, adds Ronan Burtenshaw, that it is not possible to rely on the current Labor Party”which would not fight austerity.
In an article on the history of this fiscal policy, journalist James Delaney begins by noting the effects of such measures on public health: between 2012 and 2019, 335,000 people died prematurely in Scotland, England and the Country. of Wales. But, beyond this contemporary reality, austerity would be a mode of state management, which would have taken shape in the 1920s in the United Kingdom and Italy, under fascism.
In London, an anti-inflation policy contrary to the interests of the workers would thus have been adopted after the Great War, in order to favor the accumulation of capital. In Rome, between 1922 and 1925, measures to restrict state spending, facilitate privatizations and reduce taxes for the richest would have been adopted. The argument developed by James Delaney aims to demonstrate that reducing the state budget serves above all to protect profits and reduce the power of the working classes. This thesis, emphasizing the antidemocratic tendencies of capitalism, is not new. It is reappearing today, particularly in the United Kingdom, brought back into vogue by a young generation of authors, including Grandstand wants to be the spokesperson.
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