Editorial

Celebrating Historic

May Day

as Ominous Divisions in the Working Class Threaten…

Ray Stevenson

Three generations ago, Ernst Busch and other dedicated anti-Nazis of the German working class, confronting the German monopoly driven horrors of that time, composed and sang a song called the "Arbeitereinheitsfront". The words ring with truth as we are celebrating this 116^th workers' anniversary of the1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, USA that was the "spark" that ignited international struggle for "eight hours work, eight hours sleep and eight hours leisure time".

Ever since May Day has been celebrated internationally by the working class of the world. In its full flowering, the day saw massive struggles for the unifying of world labour, and to proclaim international solidarity. The words of the "Arbeitereinheitsfront" ring with deep meaning in today’s world:

The tragedy of the international working class today as we are celebrating this workers' blood-sanctified day of resistance, is contained most dramatically in the fact that in place of a "UNITED FRONT OF THE WORKING CLASS" either holding the line or repelling and destroying the ghastly offensive of monopoly capital in order to embark on the historical mission to re-create and build a new cooperative and collective society internationally and nationally in virtual all parts of the world, the working class confronts and is the victim of division, disunity and defeat at the hands of their class enemy, monopoly capitalism.

It is not necessary here to reiterate or underline this frightening state of affairs. Wherever descending wars, aggressions, corrupt regimes and government is apparent, the subjugation of the working class is deepest and most entrenched. Where ever even a modicum or the smallest of unified activity by the working peoples exists that is where the difficulties of the bourbons of monopoly are greater and they have their greatest difficulties. It also must be said, that is where the heaviest ideological, military, political and corrupted state measures against the workers are found.

We hale heroic Cuba as the world’s foremost example of all humanity's ongoing struggle on this May Day, to throw back into the teeth of their tormentors, the united will of their people as they march forward, erecting their new state. There are no shortages anywhere of heroic peoples fighting for their future and a new and vastly differently constructed existence and to rid themselves of the poisoned throttlehold of monopoly masters.

Ten years after the fact of counter-revolution and of the dismemberment, we bow our heads in sorrow and frustration at the destruction of the previously mighty working class, led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This was and remains the result of interventionist activity from beyond its borders and by internal subversion of ideological, political, economic, social and cultural treachery. In place of working class power, a bureaucracy was in control. At the root we believe, was the alienation and removal from the Soviet working class of the historic mission of rebuilding a higher socialist society, and the assumption of bureaucracy that saw the working class as a mere pawn, brought this tragedy to all humanity… first of all to the Soviet people themselves.

Today, internationally working class division is rooted deep in rejection and failure to understand, support or accept the long-term working class historic mission of erecting and defending the only possible and coherent structure in which the species, homo-sapiens, can survive. Clearly, survival will not be possible if all the powers of Transnational Corporate Power, Imperialism, in the third millennium is permitted to continue its suicidal path to universal destruction. Truly, humanity stands at cross- roads of choice of life or death in a historic sense. Acceptance of the world-wide war and aggressions, plus the totally insane President George Bush’s version of "Star Wars", presents an unprecedented threat of universal calamity.

On this May Day, the central, all-embracing task of working people everywhere is to use the powers of production, or non-production to shift humanity's course away from those disastrous potentials. We already know that not a single gun, bomb, nuclear fission or fusion capability, let alone the vast and total waste of diversion of the global resources and wealth in armed might could happen without the expenditure of labour. Certainly, the "non-brain-trust" who have presented humanity with the current disasters of the Middle East, Afghanistan, Africa, Asia, Latin and South America, in fact the entire world, would be totally helpless and without power if the working people demanded a halt and enforced it with universal withdrawal of their power to produce. That is the awesome power that lies potentially within the working class, united and mobilized for their own and humanity's salvation from the soporific Bush and Blair and their mindless madmen currently in charge in their system of rapacious, unending and savage exploitation.

A dream or a fantasy? Make no mistake, the mindless class of predators who have in their bloodlust and blindness developed the current suicidal situation, would have working people and citizens everywhere believe it to be "fantastic and unworldly". On this May Day, hidden in the poisonous outpourings of the psychological warriors of monopoly kept media, workers and common people will see or hear nothing, or very little but the "fantasies and dreams" conjured up for them in the interests of the Transnational Corporate self-interests of aggression and war. It is time to "switch stations" to view the realities, the possibilities, the potential of working class and people’s needs and demands that can be won by co-operative, coordinated international unity on this historic May Day.

The depths of opportunist corruption that witnesses workers manufacturing weapons of death, that are used to slaughter their fellow workers must be brought to a halt and expunged from the psyche's collective bodies, hands and minds of working and common people. But the working people alone can throw them down. Failure to accomplish that, confronts working people with complicity in the death programs of millennium III’s "globalized" monopoly ruling class.

The demand for shifted emphasis and new perspectives of creative labour, of collective ownership of the means of production in properly developed social structures, of ongoing dialogue, discussion and agreements toward those ends we declare, lies at the very heart of working class May Day demands and proposals on this day, 2002. Only a united will and foresight of a new world of free labour and creative development will remove, or even diminish the current horrors all humanity faces today.

Northstar Compass places that call at the very centre of all activities with every sinew and fiber of strength we possess. In doing so, we are acutely aware that call must reverberate with great power and strength far beyond the circles of our national and international reach. Our appeal is directed universally to all forces of progress on this day.

We are acutely aware also that we are not a "political party", even if our activities for international friendship and solidarity, peace and the resurrection of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are of the greatest political dimensions and of immense significance to people everywhere. We join with all forces nationally and internationally this May Day, who are seeking to mobilize activity. Our particular appeal is to the national and international working class, who possess the awesome and irresistible powers we have indicated. It is time to open activities and discussions that will lead to use of them everywhere.

We should all take clear notice of the necessity among human beings everywhere that the soul-wrenching words of the old working class anti-Nazi song, must today be implemented and put to work, and those courageous working German nationals sought three generations ago. We salute their memory as we value the more than fifty million humans who perished in a war fomented and prosecuted, because of the stupidity, mindlessness and voracious ambitions of the "financial oligarchy" of those times.

On this May Day, 2002, let all voices of reason, labour and a future of stability and peace be raised in unison. First must come the voices that call for the "Arbeitereinheitsfront"… the United Front of the working class in every national body and on international terrain.

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