On Thu, 25 Jan 2001, you wrote: > > > Let me ask you a practical political question: do you think that a conception of socialism as generalized state ownership has appeal to workers in any part of the world today? > Yes, wherever there is a significant socialist movement, among the supporters of that movement. I suggest that among communist workers in Turkey and India for example. Also among a significant sector of the working class in Russia. Even here in Britain, there is working class opposition to any reduction in state ownership. I was instrumental in getting a campaign going in scotland that stopped the privatisation of water supply here. We demanded a referendum on the issue and got one in Glasgow where we got more than 90% opposition to privatisation. There is majority popular, let alone working class support for the re-nationalisation of the railways in Britain. When the issue of state ownership is posed as opposed to private ownership there is support for it. In this society the media and the political system do their best to make sure that the issue is never posed. -- Paul Cockshott, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland 0141 330 3125 mobile:07946 476966 paul@cockshott.com http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/people/personal/wpc/ http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~wpc/reports/index.html
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