Wales Stands with Yemen

Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr says the situation in the Yemen is dire beyond description and it gets little publicity in UK - British and US Intelligence knew at least three weeks before that the Saudis planned to murder Khashoggi because he was going to reveal use of Chemical Weapons by the Saudis in Yemen - they could have stopped his murder for his planned exposure of Saudis chemical weapons use in Yemen but chose not to do so.

SEE ALSO:
https://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.com/2018/10/khashoggi-was-to-reveal-info-on.html

Karl Marx on Henry George

Marx to Friedrich Adolph Sorge
In Hoboken

Abstract

Published: Gesamtausgabe, International Publishers, 1942;
Additional text from Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Selected Correspondence, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1975;
Transcribed: Sally Ryan;
HTML Markup: Sally Ryan.

Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr publish this article as backgrounder to our previous article on the Land Value Tax and the taxation of land as proposed by Adam Price and Plaid Cymru.

It is important to understand the right wing character of the issues around Land and history of Socialism and the Land Question particularly in Wales.

[London,] 20 June, 1881

... Before your copy of Henry George ^[1] arrived I had already received two others, one from Swinton ^[2] and one from Willard Brown; ^[3] I therefore gave one to Engels and one to Lafargue. Today I must confine myself to a very brief formulation of my opinion of the book. Theoretically the man [Henry George][1] is utterly backward! 

He understands nothing about the nature of surplus value and so wanders about in speculations which follow the English model but have now been superseded even among the English, about the different portions of surplus value to which independent existence is attributed--about the relations of profit, rent, interest, etc. 

His fundamental dogma is that everything would be all right if ground rent were paid to the state. (You will find payment of this kind among the transitional measures included in The Communist Manifesto too.) This idea originally belonged to the bourgeois economists; it was first put forward (apart from a similar demand at the end of the eighteenth century) by the earliest radical followers of Ricardo, soon after his death. 

I said of it in 1847, in my work against Proudhon: “We can understand that economists like Mill” (the elder, not his son John Stuart, who also repeats this in a somewhat modified form) “Cherbuliez, Hilditch and others have demanded that rent should be paid to the state in order that it may serve as a substitute for taxes. 

This is a frank expression of the hatred which the industrial capitalist dedicates to the landed proprietor, who seems to him a useless and superfluous element in the general total of bourgeois production.”

We ourselves, as I have already mentioned, adopted this appropriation of ground rent by the state among numerous other transitional measures, which, as we also remarked in the Manifesto, are and must be contradictory in themselves.

But the first person to turn this desideratum [requirement] of the radical English bourgeois economists into a socialist panacea, to declare this procedure to be the solution of the antagonisms involved in the present method of production, was Colins, a former old Hussar officer of Napoleon’s, born in Belgium, who in the latter days of Guizot and the first of Napoleon the Less, favoured the world from Paris with some fat volumes about this “discovery” of his. Like another discovery he made, namely, that while there is no God there is an “immortal” human soul and that animals have “no feelings.” 

For if they had feelings, that is souls, we should be cannibals and a realm of righteousness could never be founded upon earth. His “anti-landownership” theory together with his theory of the soul, etc., have been preached every month for years in the Parisian Philosophie de l’Avenir [Philosophy of the Future] by his few remaining followers, mostly Belgians. They call themselves “rational collectivists” and have praised Henry George. After them and besides them, among other people, the Prussian banker and former lottery owner Samten from East Prussia, a shallow-brained fellow, has eked out this “socialism” into a thick volume.

All these “socialists” since Colins have this much in common that they leave wage labour and therefore capitalist production in existence and try to bamboozle themselves or the world into believing that if ground rent were transformed into a state tax all the evils of capitalist production would disappear of themselves. The whole thing is therefore simply an attempt, decked out with socialism, to save capitalist domination and indeed to establish it afresh on an even wider basis than its present one.

This cloven hoof (at the same time ass’s hoof) is also unmistakably revealed in the declamations of Henry George. And it is the more unpardonable in him because he ought to have put the question to himself in just the opposite way: 

How did it happen that in the United States, where, relatively, that is in comparison with civilised Europe, the land was accessible to the great mass of the people and to a certain degree (again relatively) still is, capitalist economy and the corresponding enslavement of the working class have developed more rapidly and shamelessly than in any other country!

On the other hand George’s book, like the sensation it has made with you, is significant because it is a first, if unsuccessful, attempt at emancipation from the orthodox political economy.

H. George does not seem, for the rest, to know anything about the history of the early American anti-renters,** who were rather practical men than theoretical. Otherwise he is a talented writer (with a talent for Yankee advertisement too) as his article on California in the Atlantic proves, for instance. 

He also has the repulsive presumption and arrogance which is displayed by all panacea-mongers without exception.

1. Marx is referring to Henry George, Progress and Poverty [available at Ludwig von Mises Institute — MIA].

2. John Swinton (1830-1901) — American journalist of Scottish descent, socialist, editor of several New York newspapers, friend of Marx.

3. Willard Brown — American journalist, socialist.

* GEORGE, HENRY (1839-97) American bourgeois economist, earlier a sailor, gold-digger and printer. He was the founder of the land reform movement.

** Settlers in New York State in the ’thirties and ’forties of the 19th century who refused to pay rent for their land and shot down the sheriffs’ officers who came to enforce payment. The no-renters numbered thousands and turned the scale at several elections.

SEE ALSO:

http://democracyandclassstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/heny-george-and-land-value-tax-wolf-in.html

http://democracyandclassstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/justice-to-george-georgism-once-again.html

No Third Investiture - Na i Arwisgiad Arall ! Expose the traitors and disrupters

For More on the Welsh traitor Lloyd "Petain" George the Liberal Imperialist visit

https://greatunrest2012.blogspot.com/2015/04/david-lloyd-george-liberal-imperialist.html


THE ERA OF TREACHERY IN WALES IS NOT OVER JUST LOOK AT THE DISRUPTIVE ACTIVITIES IN WELSH INDEPENDENCE ORGANISATIONS AND THE ACTIVITIES OF BRITISH STATE AND NEW SPATE OF FASCIST ACTIVITY IN WALES IN RUN UP TO 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ANTI INVESTITURE PROTESTS.

THE BRITISH STATE AND THE FASCISTS IN WALES ARE JOINED AT THE HIP AND ARE DISRUPTING WELSH INDEPENDENCE ORGANISATIONS. 

THE RIGHT AND THE FASCISTS ARE PLAYING THE BRITISH STATE GAME AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE.

FORWARD TO JULY 2019 AND THE CELEBRATIONS OF THE 50 ANNIVERSARY OF THE ANTI INVESTITURE PROTESTS WHEN WELSH PATRIOTS WILL BE HONOURED.

Aberfan: 9.15 am on Friday October 21st 1966

At 9.15am on Friday October 21st 1966, after several days of heavy rain, a huge slag tip above the town of Aberfan in South Wales suddenly liquified and poured down the mountain. The black tidal wave demolished properties in its path and engulfed the Pantglas Junior School in seconds.

Of the 144 people who lost their lives that day, 116 were children. The tragedy was totally preventable.




The National Coal Board had been warned time and time again of the dangers of dumping slag in such a geologically unstable area above towns.

They chose to ignore the warnings claiming it wan't profitable for them to move the slag tips to safer locations.

After the disaster, donations from all over the world poured in for the shattered community. However, most of the money never reached Aberfan. Instead the Government gave it to the National Coal Boad so that they could move other slag tips overlooking other towns in South Wales.

Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr says Aberfan impacted the political and social landscape of Wales and reminded many of us who had forgotten we were Welsh - to be reminded of the consequences of British Coalboard Rule in the Mining Valleys, just has Tryweryn some years earlier had shown who ruled Wales and it wasn't the Welsh.

Welsh Resistance Against Investiture III

White Supremacist Propaganda Vs Truth

It is with some regret that in 2018 it is necessary that we have to debunk racist propaganda in Wales.

While the racists and fascists and their enablers like Jack o North go low we will go high and educate our compatriots.

The answer to racism and fascism is raising the level of education and understanding and knowledge and not demeaning our brothers and sisters by taking them down to the lowest common denominator the Populist Path.

Populism will not defeat Fascism and Racism only Anti Fascist Mass Education  and Anti Fascist Mass line will.

Manic Street Preachers - Anti Fascist Songs from Wales

NO FASCISTS IN WREXHAM ON 27th OCTOBER 2018

FOR BACKGROUND ON GENERATION IDENTITY READ ARTICLE FROM INTERCEPT HERE

https://theintercept.com/2018/05/03/uk-far-right-terrorism-national-action/?fbclid=IwAR1kYsYIK5rzKlClmoVrUd213V54FX6Ao3QAayAao_T4YlagBIfj00xIpIs

No To Fascism and Neo Nazism in Wales

Following on from Ein Gwlad Syncretic Fascism we now have Generation Identity organising a meeting in Wrexham on the 27th October - no to Fascism and Neo Nazism in Wales and their ENABLERS like Jack o North - Royston Jones.

ORGANISER OF GENERATION IDENTITY

ROYSTON JONES ENABLER OF FASCISM IN WALES CALLS HIMSELF CENTRE RIGHT BUT HAS OPENED THE DOOR TO ALL MANNER OF ALT RIGHT AND FASCISTS TO ENTER NATIONALIST MOVEMENT.

MEMBER OF SYNCRETIC FASCIST EIN GWLAD

FOR BACKGROUND ON GENERATION IDENTITY READ ARTICLE FROM INTERCEPT HERE

https://theintercept.com/2018/05/03/uk-far-right-terrorism-national-action/?fbclid=IwAR1kYsYIK5rzKlClmoVrUd213V54FX6Ao3QAayAao_T4YlagBIfj00xIpIs

The Devil's Bridge ( Welsh Folk Tale)

Independence or Liberal Imperialist Home Rule ?

Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr has been investigating Welsh Home Rulers especially Tom Ellis and David Lloyd George and the Liberal Imperialist ideology that informed their nationalism.

Here are some of our notes on Lloyd George, we are certainly not David Lloyd George fans like Huw Edwards of the BBC, and are making less known information about David LIoyd George available to illustrate how he like Tom Ellis combined Imperialism with their Welsh Home Rule Nationalism in the 1890's.

Lloyd George in June 1891 on Tories and Nationalism

"It was a maxim of ancient Roman Law that slaves have no country. Our Tories today believe it.  So they oppress the national spirit in Ireland, jeer at it in Wales, cajole it in Scotland, and pervert it in England , where they degrade it into an unholy imperial vanity"

"A great writer attributed the fall of the Roman Empire in a great measure to the decay of the national spirit in the provinces forming the Empire.

The Roman policy was to destroy the national identity of the subject peoples.

The Gaul the Briton, the German were citizens of Rome. The result was disasterous to Rome itself. The individuality,independence  and manliness of spirit developed by the sense of nationhood vanished and with the disappearance of these qualities Rome fell.

"It is a remarkable fact that the Imperial party in this country which makes the preservation of Empire the motive power of its statesmanship should now pursue the very policy that lead to the destruction of the Roman Empire.

"As Welsh Liberals we are Imperialists because we are nationalists. We are Liberals because we are nationalists.

We know that by honouring our native land as shall best respect ourselves and that by the sum of the success, prosperity and happiness attainted by Wales, the Empire of which she is a part will be the more glorious."

Page 44 Wales Drops its Pilots  (1937) by W Hughes Jones

Talk of dominion status for Wales originated in Liberal Imperialism in 1890's with Lloyd George and predates Plaid Cymru and Saunders Lewis and Gwynfor Evans use of the term.

It is interesting how Plaid Cymru adapted to Liberal Imperialist notion of Dominion Status and later Confederalism so easily.

We at Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr and the Welsh Socialist Republican Congress actually stand for Independence and we defined what we mean at our Congress in 2016.

Liberalism will never bring Independence to Wales only Revolutionary Socialism can.


Welsh Independence Resolution adopted at 1st Congress Of WSRC October 2016

The Welsh Socialist Republican Congress stands for Welsh Independence, we do not agree that Wales is a mere principality of England but a sovereign Nation.

We stand for Welsh Independence as it is the only way to restructure the relationship between two unequal nations the Welsh and English Nations from one of domination by England to one of equality and mutual respect.

The road of the Home Rulers of Constitutional changes and a Welsh Assembly is nothing more than a new management arrangement for the continued domination of Wales by the British State.

We look to the separation of Norway from Sweden as a model of how new relationship between a once dominant nation and subordinate nation was turned into one of mutual equality and respect following Norwegian Independence.

Independence is a prerequisite of a new long term amicable relationship as the Norwegian case has proved.

Continued domination of Wales by the British State no only damages Wales but ultimately the harmony between English and Welsh working people.

TO LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT WHAT INDEPENDENCE MEANS AND A STRATEGY TO GET THERE LOOK AT 


https://greatunrest2012.blogspot.com/2018/09/what-price-independent-wales-mirage-or.html

Salute to the Objects in the Constitution of Yes Cymru

Yes Cymru is a campaigning organisation with the aim of gaining independence for Wales in order to improve the way the country is governed. 

Yes Cymru believes that Wales would be better running its own affairs, as part of a wider European and international family. 

Yes Cymru believes in an inclusive citizenship, which embraces the fact that all who choose to make Wales their home – regardless of background, ethnic origins, gender, religion or sexuality – are full citizens of the new Wales.

We at The Great Unrest/Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr and at The Welsh Socialist Republican Congress wish YES CYMRU  success at their AGM at Burry Port this Saturday.

In particular we want them to live up to the Objects in their Constitution and not be diverted down any path that violates their commitment to civic nationalism.

SEE ALSO:

https://greatunrest2012.blogspot.com/2017/06/independence-in-your-pocket-from-yes.html

Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr welcomes discussion of the question of Welsh Independence and therefore welcomes this publication by Yes Cymru of Independence in your Pocket 

We have a very different strategy for Welsh Independence from Yes Cymru as outlined in our First Welsh Socialist Republican Congress Resolutions in October 2016

Understanding Banking and Why it is so important to Welsh Independence

Professor Werner should help us to establish a Welsh Community Banking System just like he  assisted creation of a Hampshire Community bank  - he has the rare understanding of what is needed - also read our papers below on need for Welsh Banking System.

PUBLIC BANKING FOR WALES

https://greatunrest2012.blogspot.com/2016/09/public-banking-for-wales-escaping_12.html


https://greatunrest2012.blogspot.com/2016/02/european-union-membership-not-helpful.html


One of the essential movements around Welsh Independence must be a Welsh Banking System or "Independence" will be a Cambrio Brit Fiction - drawing the line between real independence and fictional independence starts here

Over 100,000 Scots rally to call for independence

Catalonia October 1st - One Year On from Independence Vote

Henry George and Land Value Tax : A wolf in sheep's clothing - by Nickglais

Picture Henry George

In view of Plaid Cymru's and Adam Price's talk of a Land Value Tax in Wales we have re- published an article of one of our comrades on this subject first published in 2012 for discussion.

Given the nature of land ownership in Wales LVT like all taxation would fall on those already on the tax books and would be regressive -  the large estates which are held offshore avoid tax and the application of this tax in Wales would be the suicide of Plaid Cymru in rural areas of small holders and small farmers.

The theory of LVT is one thing its practical application is another.

LVT can work in  restricted high value land economies like Hong Kong or London but in Wales they will have the opposite effect to that intended of helping economic development.



Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American writer, politician and political economist ,who was the most influential proponent of the Land Value Tax.

Henry George in his book Progress and Poverty tries to marry the interests of the working class with that of the capitalist class against landowners.

Henry George was an advocate of the free market and free trade against any form of protectionism. He believed in removing taxes from Labour and Capital and placing the burden of tax on landowners.

However whilst most Georgists are self confessed right wingers some on the Left like the Green Party in the UK have also adopted Georgist ideas.

The object of Land Value Taxation is to ensure that the rent attributable to the natural value of the land , and to the value created by its fortunate location, is paid to society as a whole and not to individual landowners.

Whilst the Land Value Taxation ostensible target is the absentee landowner or speculators, LVT would also fall on every landowner however small and they would be under pressure to extract as much profit from their land as possible to pay the tax.

In a capitalist society such pressures would bring undesireable results like ecologically unsound exploitation of forests , peat bogs etc.

Also low value properties with a larger acreage than high value properties would suffer from this tax.

Land Value Taxation in Urban areas would lead landlords to evicting tenants in pursuit of profit and the elimination of low cost urban "Land withheld from use".

There have been discussions about a special urban land tax in UK  to stop land speculation, rather than a universal land tax which would be more equitable, but it appears to have been abandoned by its proposers as "unworkable" in the UK.. We think that is more productive direction to proceed than LVT.

In broader political terms shifting the burden of taxation onto just the landlord and rent diverts the working class from redistributing the other elements of the economic surplus like interest and profit from the capitalist class.

People like UK Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George employed Georgist land rhetoric during his famous 1909 Budget.

Henry George was not short on employing racist rhetoric against Chinese workers in USA.

This free market racism from Georgism stays with us to this day which is why we describe Henry George as a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Interest rates by Banking capitalists and profit by Corporates are ring fenced for tax protection by Georgists who do not regard interest on capital or corporate profits as part of the economic surplus like Marxists.

Transaction taxes to reduce financial market speculation are opposed by Georgeists as would any profits tax on corporates, this exposes the free market fundamentalism of Georgeism who Marx characterised as a "last ditch" defender of free market capitalism.

The new manifestation of Georgeism during the current economic crisis has social roots in the bourgeoisie and is the last ditch ideological defense of capitalism - it also exposes the bourgeois ideological class character of the "Greens" that have embraced Georgeism.