The internationalists

Translated from Bilan & Perspectives No. 6 (December 2005) · The text which follows as part of a series of discussions between communists in France. This particular text is a reply to a document by the comrades who still call themselves the Internal Fraction of the International Communist Current although some years have now passed since they were in that organisation.

On the 5th of May British workers endured another sickening charade in which the ruling class elected its governing team. As expected, the Labour government was confirmed as the manager of British capitalism for the next five years. For the bourgeoisie, the result of the election was less important than the fact that the election took place.

The April Collapse · In early April, MG Rover finally declared itself bankrupt and called in the receivers. This followed the failure of a rescue deal, under which the Chinese car manufacturer Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) was to invest £ 1 bn in Rover. Apparently SAIC, which has already invested £ 67 million in Rover, backed off when they discovered the true state of the...

Introduction · Today, according to the National Pensions Convention, there are about 4 million pensioners living below the official poverty line. Britain has one of the lowest state pensions in the entire OECD group of countries. It amounts to only 47% of the average national wage. Only 4 countries in the OECD, Mexico, Korea, New Zealand and Ireland have state pensions representing a lower...

(Translated from Battaglia Comunista 4 - April 2005) · Introduction · We are printing here a translation from Battaglia Comunista, monthly paper of our comrades in Italy. The translation has tried to convey the sense of irony that is brilliantly illuminated in the original but inevitably some of the puns and comments are difficult to render in a foreign language.