The basic theory of the Joseph school of Toryism is the economic policy of monetarism'. For the monetarists, the key to salvaging British capitalism is the restriction of the volume of money in the economy. By carrying through a savage deflationary policy -public expenditure cuts, cuts in aid to nationalised industry, restriction of credit and other measures which cut the real value of wages -the monetarists seek to produce a streamlined, competitive British capitalism. The key to the success of this 'pruning operation is the creation of mass unemployment:
Milton Friedman, for example, one of the most 'eminent' of the monetarist school and an adviser to the military dictatorship in Chile, calls for a 'fairly protracted period of economic recession or slowdown and or relauvery high unemployment' (Friedman, Monetary Correction p9). At the same time Brittan makes it clear that he regards trade union strength as 'one of the greatest threats both political and economic we face today (p19). Brittan's formula for dealing with this "greatest threat' is exactly the same as Friedman's - the creation of mass unemployment. UNEMPLOYMENT His argument is simple. Mass unemployment is inevitable, and the best the working class can do is accept large cuts in its living standards which might allow a tiny amount of relief from the dole. Brittan is a dyed-in-thewool reactionary, but in essence this argument is also accepted by the trade union bureaucracy with its claim that the present £6 limit is the only way to stop workers pricing themselves out of a job'.
The stupidity of this argument is revealed when Brittan argues 'a lower real wage will make it profitable for employers to offer more jobs - always assuming other things remain unchanged' (p32). In fact, 'other things are very far from unchanged when wages are cut. The working class has less money to purchase goods, demand for production falls, and consequently less output requiring less workers is required. The logic of monetarist policy is a permanently high level of mass unemployment - all else is window-dressing.
In the same way, acceptance of the £6 limit - a significant wage cut at present rates of inflation - doesn't save jobs but loses them. For Brittan to advocate wage cuts is perfectly logical - he is in favour of mass unстроу ment. But for the TUC to falsely allege that the £6 limit will save jobs is a betrayal of the working class.
Where even Brittan does not dare spell out the logic of monetarist arguments is in relation to their political conclusions. It is no accident that the great examples of "success held up by monetarist economists are countries like Brazil, where a ruthless military dictatorship has held sway for a decade.
DISTORTION
However, the real inspirer of the monetarists dates back even further than that. There is only one person in history who has successfully carried through the monetarist programme of massively cutting real wages and then claiming credit for a temporary halt in unemployment afterwards. His name was Adolf Hitler. When the monetarists Keith Joseph Review of Secona Thoughts on Full Employment Policy by Samuel Brittan (Centre for Policy Studies, £2).
It is now becoming clear to many in the labour movement that the policies of the Wilson Government are not simply the harshest attack on the living standards of the working class since the war, but are leading tie Labour Party to electoral disaster.
Just what type of Government that will be is made clear in the first work to emerge from the Centre for Policy Studies - tne Tory 'think-tank' established by Sir Keith Joseph with the support of Margaret Thatcher. Samuel Brittan, author of the Pinochet, head of the Chilean military dictatorship, and the Brazilian police. Just the people you need to carry out 'monetarist' econoric policies. the birth rate amongst the lower' classes and of the superiority of British blood and the white race, they are treading in well worn footsteps, as are also the 'monetarists' of the National Front.
Brittan himself has made one 'outstanding' contribution to capitalism's interests. a finesse developed over many years as the main economic journalist on the Financial Times, he embarks in this pamphlet on the task of systematically covering up the gravity of the unemployment situation in Britain.
This particular exercise so perfectly reveals the racist and reactionary character of the monetarist school of thought that it is worth looking at in some detail.
The first way in which Brittan 'cuts' unemployment is to exclude Northern Ireland from the figures altogether - presumably it doesn't matter if the mere Irish are unemployed.
Next to go are the 100,000 unemployed over 60, clearly of no use in the competitive capitalist economy Brittan envisages.
Then unemployed school leavers are excluded. According to Brittan: 'A worker who has crême fraiche. The party's really over. to search for a career! half that.
unemployed person'!
in the future.
exist - by definition.
Using
red weekly 28 august 1975 bangladesh/egypt 9_
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Wilson is preparing the way for the return of a Tory Government. present pamphlet, is one of the Centre's main economic advisers.