FIGHT FOR COMMUNISM!
International Communist Workers Party
|
|
FIGHT FOR COMMUNISM! |
International Communist Workers Party | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
May 12—A commuter train going from Washington to New York derailed and crashed in Philadelphia killing 8 people and injuring 200 more. Before any facts came out, the bosses’ media immediately started blaming the conductor.
The facts show that capitalism was the murderer. Not installing proper safety equipment and putting workers under constant excessive pressure is a recipe for disaster. Tragic accidents become inevitable. Communism will guarantee safe mass transit and will make workers’ health and safety the most important thing.
Tuesday afternoon, before the accident, the driver, Brandon Bostian, drove an express train from New York to Washington. The electronic signals malfunctioned and he had to carry out a long series of safety procedures including slowing the train. He pulled it safely into Washington, but was 30 minutes behind schedule.
This meant he had no time to rest. He only had time to fill out paperwork and check equipment before having to start the next run.
The portion of the track where the crash occurred, one of the most heavily used lines in the US, did not have “positive train control” which controls the speed of the train. The technology exists and was installed on this line but had not been made operational because of “the cost.” As usual, under capitalism money trumps human lives.
Capitalism, however, always has money to slaughter workers. While the politicians fight about how much to fund the rail system, the US imperialists have no such problems when it comes to funding and carrying out lethal drone attacks. In the last five years, Obama’s favorite weapon, drones, have killed over 2400 people, mostly civilians, including hundreds of children from Pakistan to Yemen to Somalia.
Capitalist infrastructure: always for profits and war
The main purpose of infrastructure under capitalism is to move materiel and workers for production and to take their products to market as cheaply as possible. In times of war, it has the added importance of mobilizing the whole society for the war effort.
As US imperialism declines, the infrastructure of rail, roads and bridges is in a state of decay. In this crisis, the health and safety of workers and passengers are not important for the bosses, and never will be – saving their system is.
Communist infrastructure: For workers’ needs, not for profits
In a communist society without money or profits – with nothing being bought or sold – masses of workers will mobilize to build safe transit, roads, bridges, cities, places to grow food, and everything else workers need. There won’t be one driver for a train, but teams of workers sharing the responsibility to drive, repair and develop safe trains.
Guaranteeing the safety of passengers and workers will become a mass question Workers will mobilize to guarantee everyone’s wellbeing. Those who live near train tracks will keep them safe and secure. Workers will figure out collectively the technology to guarantee the safest trains, buses and planes. Every worker will be encouraged to contribute his or her knowledge, ideas, and labor.
Competition and war drive imperialists’ infrastructure modernization
Today, the declining US bosses are preparing for war against their rising rival imperialists, the Chinese and Russians. The US bosses spend about 2.5 percent of GDP on infrastructure. Canada spends about 3.9%, Europe about 5% and China between 9 and 12%.
The rising imperialists spend a little more on infrastructure to better compete with rival capitalist-imperialists, and like China, to move soldiers and military equipment more rapidly. But they also constantly sacrifice workers’ safety for their own profits and imperialist ambitions. That’s the nature of capitalism.
Pressured by other imperialists’ advances – especially China’s – the US bosses desperately need a more updated infrastructure to be more economically competitive and to make the country ready for war. Whatever money they spend will come from cutting back services US workers need to survive. The funds will come either from more taxes and cuts in social services or by privatization and increasing fees. Either way, the workers will pay.
Only communism will guarantee that the health and safety of the working class are society’s main concern. Capitalism cannot fix the mess that it has created. Only the working class organizing communist revolution and a communist world can do that. Help spread Red Flag and join us to mobilize for a communist world.