MJM
29th April 2002, 09:27
From:
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/wpnz/ap3-02republic.htm
For information email: [email protected]
Time for a republic –
but what sort?
The Spark 3 April 2002
The days of the monarchy are surely numbered. Not that the royals are suddenly about to exit the stage, but more and more there is talk of moving to a republic. Helen Clark has said she thinks it is just a matter of time and that New Zealand will follow Australia when it decides to cut its ties with the British royal family. The question is, what sort of republic is she talking about and what does it mean for the ordinary people?
Ms Clark, and other capitalist politicians, speak of a republic from the standpoint of the present system. They are not suggesting any big change, but would have a presidential head of state instead of the Queen. Such a republic, while a small advance on the feudal relic that royalty is, would leave the whole system intact. It would not free the working class from exploitation by the capitalist class and it would not change this relationship which results in poverty amidst plenty and overwork while there is mass unemployment. Actually, capitalist republics are far more common than constitutional monarchies today, but their system of exploitation is every bit as ruthless if not more so.
We are not, however, arguing to keep the monarchy which we view as an utterly worthless appendage on society. This expensive and parasitic hangover from the dark ages is long due for retirement. A growing number of people realise this, excepting those who have had their powers of reasoning dulled by a chronic diet of royal mush dished up in weekly magazines and the like.
Of course, one of the uses of the royals is to provide a circus – to be a source of entertainment and distraction so as to divert attention away from the pressing issues. Why is it that workers’ wages are relatively lower today than 20 years ago and last year the richest 100 people in New Zealand are 17 per cent wealthier than they were the previous year? Why are elderly people turning to foodbanks today, when there was once no need for such charities? And how long will ordinary workers tolerate this downward spiral? All this is far more important than Fergie’s latest diet or Prince Harry’s dabblings with marijuana.
We are all for the abolition of the monarchy, but we say a different sort of republic is needed to the one proposed by Clark, and by Bolger before her. What is needed is a working people’s republic. This type of republic would give the fullest scope to working class democracy, it would be a society run by the working people in which the police and the standing army would be abolished. They are props to the rule of the capitalist class, and would need to be replaced by workers’ organisations. A society where production was for the needs of the people, not to expand the profit margins of the monopoly capitalists. A society where the factories, lands and fisheries were owned by the working people, not by the Fletchers, Brierleys or big foreign corporations.
There is a long way to go before such a transformation can take place. Working class rule has to be won through struggle, it has to be wrested from the ruling capitalist class which is absolutely intent on keeping its position of power and privilege.
The Anti-Capitalist Alliance standing in the general elections this year is committed to fighting for a working people’s republic and for genuine democracy for the workers and poor. We know that real change does not come through the ballot box, and we shall be saying that loud and clear throughout our election campaigning.
Let’s start imagining a much better world; there has never been a time in human history when so much is possible and yet so little has been delivered.
(Edited by MJM at 9:29 pm on April 29, 2002)
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/wpnz/ap3-02republic.htm
For information email: [email protected]
Time for a republic –
but what sort?
The Spark 3 April 2002
The days of the monarchy are surely numbered. Not that the royals are suddenly about to exit the stage, but more and more there is talk of moving to a republic. Helen Clark has said she thinks it is just a matter of time and that New Zealand will follow Australia when it decides to cut its ties with the British royal family. The question is, what sort of republic is she talking about and what does it mean for the ordinary people?
Ms Clark, and other capitalist politicians, speak of a republic from the standpoint of the present system. They are not suggesting any big change, but would have a presidential head of state instead of the Queen. Such a republic, while a small advance on the feudal relic that royalty is, would leave the whole system intact. It would not free the working class from exploitation by the capitalist class and it would not change this relationship which results in poverty amidst plenty and overwork while there is mass unemployment. Actually, capitalist republics are far more common than constitutional monarchies today, but their system of exploitation is every bit as ruthless if not more so.
We are not, however, arguing to keep the monarchy which we view as an utterly worthless appendage on society. This expensive and parasitic hangover from the dark ages is long due for retirement. A growing number of people realise this, excepting those who have had their powers of reasoning dulled by a chronic diet of royal mush dished up in weekly magazines and the like.
Of course, one of the uses of the royals is to provide a circus – to be a source of entertainment and distraction so as to divert attention away from the pressing issues. Why is it that workers’ wages are relatively lower today than 20 years ago and last year the richest 100 people in New Zealand are 17 per cent wealthier than they were the previous year? Why are elderly people turning to foodbanks today, when there was once no need for such charities? And how long will ordinary workers tolerate this downward spiral? All this is far more important than Fergie’s latest diet or Prince Harry’s dabblings with marijuana.
We are all for the abolition of the monarchy, but we say a different sort of republic is needed to the one proposed by Clark, and by Bolger before her. What is needed is a working people’s republic. This type of republic would give the fullest scope to working class democracy, it would be a society run by the working people in which the police and the standing army would be abolished. They are props to the rule of the capitalist class, and would need to be replaced by workers’ organisations. A society where production was for the needs of the people, not to expand the profit margins of the monopoly capitalists. A society where the factories, lands and fisheries were owned by the working people, not by the Fletchers, Brierleys or big foreign corporations.
There is a long way to go before such a transformation can take place. Working class rule has to be won through struggle, it has to be wrested from the ruling capitalist class which is absolutely intent on keeping its position of power and privilege.
The Anti-Capitalist Alliance standing in the general elections this year is committed to fighting for a working people’s republic and for genuine democracy for the workers and poor. We know that real change does not come through the ballot box, and we shall be saying that loud and clear throughout our election campaigning.
Let’s start imagining a much better world; there has never been a time in human history when so much is possible and yet so little has been delivered.
(Edited by MJM at 9:29 pm on April 29, 2002)