November 23rd, 2008
Live Working, Die Fighting: How The Working Class Went Global
I’ve been reading a very interesting book, on and off, I am a bad reader of books! I read articles and such but I don’t seem to get round to reading books much. Which I should do because a book can give you a better depth of understanding. Anyway ‘Live Working, Die Fighting: How The Working Class Went Global’ By Paul Mason is a history of different Labour movements throughout time and paralleling it to struggles of today, mostly in the Neo Colonial worlds of today.
The book starts by summarising the fall of Labour movements of the last thirty years. The Neo Liberal Agenda has very effectively derailed Labour Movements by out sourcing to less developed nations. By doing this they have not just destroyed our industries but have destroyed a lot the great labour networks that had been formed in the industrial nations. Such as, before parents would pass down the importance of Unions and such that doesn’t happen anymore. Or the great fear and propaganda that was installed into people when the Soviet Union feel, falsely connecting that to Labour movements in western nations.
A very important point the book makes is how the workers tend to be a head of the Union Leaders in taking action and creating real change. The move from the bottom up instead of the top down is key in the success of a movements. Like now so many Union Leaders should be using their positions to address their members about seizing opportunities, taking action and saying no to the incredible injustices in society that have never been so clear in modern times. But they don’t, they seem content to sit back and fade into further obscurity!
In essences this book is the history that ‘they don’t want you to know’. Which is really true, why do you never hear about labour movements in the mainstream, there’s a business section on News programs and sites, but now industrial action section? Or in our history classes? When it has such a rich important history. And when we speak of history what do we look at? It’s the history of the ruling classes and the history of imperial empires and wars. And we are told this is are culture, no this is their cultural, this is the culture of a few that exploited us, the people. No this is not our history. Our history is opposing this throughout history in the face of fear and terror by the ruling classes. Yet we still have constant reminders in our society of it, we have a royal family!? The very essence of oppression!
In conclusion this is a very important book, there are so few books like this around today. As Ken Loach says ‘don’t die stupid, read this book’.