'Now we can all see cost of deregulation'

by LOUISE NOUSRATPOUR in Manchester
Monday September 22, 2008

Convention of the Left: LEFT-WING economists identified the government's "ruthless" deregulation of the financial sector and privatisation of key public services as the root cause of the "unprecedented" crisis on Monday.

Speakers at the Convention of the Left in Manchester called on the movement to create links with international unions and progressive groups to forge a global unified front and minimise the impact of the crisis on the working class.

They argued that the left could use capitalism's new-found love for market regulation and socialisation of the banking sector to force through demands for an end to the rampant free market and a return to a publicly owned and controlled economy.

Professor of Accounting Prem Sikka said: "The US and Britain are introducing socialism for the bankers and nasty capitalism for the rest of us to save their rotten system."

He condemned new Labour and the US government for heeding calls from big business for "light regulation on terms that are beneficial to the corporate world at the expense of the rest of us.

"In the City of London, there is an attitude that you can make massive profit without any consideration for the social cost. And now we can all see what the cost of deregulation is."

Scottish Socialist Party member and economics expert Raphie de Santos warned that Britain faced "a worst economic slump than the US" because Margaret Thatcher and, later, Gordon Brown as chancellor brought in "damaging" policies to postpone capitalism's inevitable boom and bust for as long as possible.

"They looked for homes for capital investment in traditional industries and, to stop overproduction, they created a gigantic credit bubble to enable people to continue buying even though, in reality, they could not afford to."

Mr de Santos stressed that the left must now make the case for "a rational economy" that is run under public control and not left to the whims of the market.

"George Bush has become the greatest socialist economist since Karl Marx," he said to much laughter.

"We must use this opportunity and tell those in power that, if you can spend billions on bailing out banks, why not nationalise key industries to create a more stable economy."

War On Want executive director John Hilary said: "The economic crisis is a global threat on so many levels and we must build a unified global front to prevail."

The latest World Bank figures show that 1.4 billion people in the world now live in extreme poverty, conference heard.