Ɖ Gardịn vy on Britn ǎt v ɖ YY: a treźr îḷnd fr rentịrz
(Transcription of a Guardian editorial of 27 December 2020)
Ɖr’z no sîn ɖt ministrz wl yz ɖ twin śocs v ɖ pandemic n Brexit t fix a brocn sistm ɖt z felñ tù mni ppl
27 Dsmbr 2020
Ẃn ɖ YC entrd ɖ c’roṇvîṛs ej in Marć, stet rzorsz n c’lectiv cmitmnt wr moḅlîzd on a scel nt sìn sins ɖ secnd wrldwor. Decedz ago, Britn hd rvild itslf, ʈancs in part t biyñ ebl t marśl ɖ industrịl mît v ɖ empîr, t b a formiḍbl wrldpǎr. Its icoṇmi wz eṇjîzd wɖ brecʈrūz in redar, atomic pǎr n meḍsin.
Olɖo ɖ stori v ɖ pandemic hz nt yt endd, ɖr apirz t b no sć transfmeśn in sît undr Boris Jonsn. Rɖr dpresñli, fmiłr trendz v grīd, incompitns n croniizm r ri’srtñ ɖmslvz. Ɖs z bad nyz fr an icoṇmi ẃr ɖr hz bn a c’laps v soṣ́li ysfl iṇveśn. Britn’z lac v hî-téc mańfacćrñcepbiḷtiz, noṭbli in medicl dạgnostic tstñ, wz cruwli xpozd bî ɖ pandemic.
Ɖs cuntri hz bcm mor v a pṛkrr ɖn a pṛdysr v tecnoḷji. Bt it z a rmarcbli inifiśnt wn – dspt an xtrordnṛli hî psntij v loyrz n acǎntnts in ɖ wrcñpopyleśn. Cnx́nz sīm t matr mor ɖn invnśnz. Hǎ els t xplen ẃ, in ɖ despṛt scrambl t pṛkr prsnl pṛtctiv iqipmnt, vnṭletrz n c’roṇvîṛs tsts, biłnz v pǎndz v contracts hv gn t cumṗniz îɖr run bî frendz or s’portrz – īvn nebrz – v Cnsrvtiv poḷtiśnz, or wɖ no prîr xṗtīz.
Hisṭri z nt śort v xamplz ẃr p’liticl insîdrz wr s’xesfl in xtractñ vrć̣li ol ɖ srpḷs ɖt ɖ icoṇmi crietd. Sć influenśl inṭrests moldd poḷtics t inlarj ɖer śer v ɖ pî. Grīd wz liṃtd onli bî ɖ nīd t let ɖ pṛdysrz svîv. Ɖ śoc v wor, reṿluśn, famin or pleg pṛvîdz an oṗtyṇti t fix a brocn ssayti. Bt f, post-pandemic, YC poḷtiśnz cer les abt rform ɖn ɖ rtnśn v pǎr, ɖe wl fel t rstren ɖ graspñ inrićmnt ɖt unḍmainz dmocṛsi itslf.
Windfōl profits
Phps ɖ most peṇtretñ X-re v ɖs fnominn tde z bî Bret Crisṭfrz in hiz bc Rentịr Capiṭlizm. Ɖ acdemic mcs ɖ ces ɖt Britn hz bcm a treźr îḷnd fr ɖoz sīcñ xes profits fṛm stet-sañśnd cntrol v naćṛl rzorsz, proṗti, fnanśl asets n inṭlecćl proṗti. Rent, peid bî rentrz t rentịrz, z taid t ɖ ǒnrśp or cntrol v sć asets, md scers undr cndiśnz v liṃtd or no comṗtiśn.
Mr. Crisṭfrz sz ɖt ɖ frst sîn v ɖs ny ordr wz ẃn Britn struc blac gold in ɖ Norʈ Sì. H raits ɖt MPz on ɖ public acǎnts cmiti notd wɖ incṛdyḷti in 1972 ɖt “ɖ frst hyj eriaz v ɖ sì wr lìst t ɖ cumṗniz az jenṛsli az ɖo Britn wr a guḷbl Śecdm”. Aftr ɖt, public asets wr sold of ćīpli. Ɖ prîṿt sectr endd p cntrolñ lîtli reğletd mnoṗliz in gas, wōtr n ilectric s’plî, n public trnsport n teḷcomz. Custmrz lost ǎt, oṿpeyñ fr pur srvis. In a rentịr’z paṛdîs, windfōl profits abǎnd. Breznli okpayñ ɖ lǒist moṛl grǎnd wz isnśl, az ɖ hǎsbildr Prsimn pruvd bî rnñ sūṗsîzd stet-bact hlp-t-bai profits loñ inuf t hand ǎt a £75m boṇs t its bos.
Ɖ bancs, ẃć tc ɖs cuntri t ɖ brinc v c’laps a deced ago, r at ɖ hart v a rentịrstet. Frans, Jrṃni, Jpan, ɖ YS ol hv bancñsectrz smōlr ɖn ɖ YC. Ẃl bancs rnñ rents hv fluriśt, ɖ hǎsholdz peyñ ɖm – îɖr d’recli az fnanśl cnsymrz, or indirecli az taxpeyrz v a détrstet or custmrz v détrfrmz – hv flǎndrd.
Ɖ angr ɖt sć spiṿri injndrz z dfyzd p’liticli bî mcñ votrz cmplisit in ɖ ʈeft. Ɖ sel-of v caunslhomz, sz Mr. Crisṭfrz, wz a prîṿtîześn ɖt gev mni v ɖoz phps most inclînd t cic agnst Ʈać̣rizm a prsnl stec in ɖ project. Culćṛli, Brexit plez ɖ sem sort v rǒl az ɖ rît t bai, insyletñ purr līv̦otrz fṛm ɖ îdīa ɖt ɖe wl sufr fṛm ɖ rzultñ poḷsiz.
Ɖ prîm̦inistr unḍstandz ɖt Covid cn ćenj Britn, bt lacs moḍnîzñpoḷsiz. H xtolz ɖ vrćuz v fri comṗtiśn – bʈ fr itslf n bcz sć frīdm, h rīznz, wl smhǎ liḅret ɖ spirit fluṭrñ wɖn a pri-Brexit Britn cejd bî c’roṇvîṛs. H z no dǎt betñ ɖt ɖ dsrupśn v līvñ ɖ YY wl b lost in ɖ ror v an icoṇmi tecñ of az an inokletd popyleśn rtrnz t of̣sz n śops.
Wìcnd reğleśnz
Ɖ gap btwn rić n pur in ɖ YC z at līst az hî tde, acdemics calklet, az it wz jst bfr ɖ start v ɖ secnd wrldwor. Ɖs z larjli bcz ɖ Britiś stet ɖt wns mīdietd ɖ strugl btwn lebr n capitl hz bn tecn ovr bî rentịrz. Wìc̣nñ reğleśnz, rdysñ ɖ importns v fiscl poḷsi n średñ sośl pṛtx́nz hz c’rodd libṛl dmocṛsi in ẃć an incrisñli influenśl wlʈi fy hv bn injoyñ a fri run. Ultiṃtli, rentịrz wont t incris ẃt ɖ icoṇmist Michał Kalecki cōld ɖ “dgri v mnoṗli” in an icoṇmi. Ɖs alǎz ɖm t limit ɖ abiḷti v wrcrz, cnsymrz n reğletrz t inflụns ɖ marc-up v selñprîsz ovr costs n t dfnd ɖ śer v wejz in ǎtpt.
Ɖ YY sz its lebr, invîrnmnt n custmr pṛtx́nz r a flor, nt a sīlñ, n ɖt ɖe c’nt b tredd awe fr frix́nlis marcit axes. F w hd steid in ɖ club, ǎr abiḷti t consntret profits fr mnoṗlists wd hv bn stîmid in fyćr treḑīlz ngośietd bî Bruslz n opn t MYPz’ scrūṭni. Ǎtsd ɖ YY, Mr. Jonsn cn bartr awe sć reğleśnz – wɖt parḷmntri oṿsît – n scrap sefgardz in ny tecnoḷji fr hayr mnoṗliprofits. Carl Marx rout in Ɖ Etīnʈ Brumaire v Louis Bonaparte in 1852 ɖt “ɖ Tōriz in Ñgḷnd loñ fansid ɖt ɖe wr in rapćrz abt roylti, ɖ ćrć n ɖ bytiz v ɖ enćnt consttyśn, untl a tîm v trîl tòr fṛm ɖm ɖ cnfeśn ɖt ɖe wr onli in rapćrz abt rent.” Hiz asesmnt v rli 19ʈ-snćri Tōriz aplîz wɖ unŕñ akṛsi t tde’z Cnsrvtivz.
Mr. Crisṭfrz’ insît z ɖt ɖ Tōriz undr Mr. Jonsn r a parti v – n fr – rentịrz, mć mor ɖn ɖ inṭrests v pṛductiv capitl. Ɖs xplenz ẃ, aftr 2016, ɖ Tori parti imbrest Brexit n śrugd of pṛductiv capitl’z cnsrnz abt līvñ ɖ YY. It wl b t ɖ gret detrimnt v ɖs cuntri f ɖ pandemic pmitd Mr. Jonsn t cmbîn preznt-de firz wɖ a yrnñ fr hopfl ćenj t pswed ɖ aṿrij prsn t vot agnst ɖer inṭrests in ɖ fyćr. Bt hisṭri ofn rpits itslf frst az traɉdi, ɖen az fars.
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