Let’s Strengthen Our Unity and Solidarity as Poverty Soars!

The working people are struggling to breathe under an unprecedented wave of impoverishment in the history of Turkey. In the last century, Turkey’s society has passed through crossroads of key importance. However, this is the first time working people have faced such a sudden and dramatically rapid impoverishment. The impoverishment which accelerated with the crisis that broke out under the oppressive one-man regime in 2018 summer, has turned into an avalanche in the last year. Because of government policies, the Turkish currency rapidly depreciated and inflation soared. So, real wages decreased and the living conditions (standards) of the working class tumbled down. Moreover, it is not clear how far this avalanche of impoverishment will continue and where it will stop.

It is necessary to elaborate on the issue of poverty and impoverishment. First of all, it should be emphasized that all sections of the working class, whether white-collar or blue-collar, are exploited and poor in the capitalist system. It is not possible for the working class to get rid of exploitation and poverty without overthrowing this system. Whatever the wage they earn, workers are poor and it is not a shame for them to be poor. However, there are levels of poverty as well. For instance, in Western countries, the working class has waged century-long struggles. In this way, it has increased the living standards compared to those a century ago. Both the working class in Europe and the working class in Africa are poor. But the living conditions of workers in Europe are better than workers in Africa. However, because of capitalism the cost of living is increasing all around the world; wages are falling and living conditions are going backwards. So all over the world, the working class is being driven further down the pit of poverty.

As we have underlined, this process is taking place very fast in Turkey. While the poverty of the working people is growing, the capitalist class is hitting profit records. We are passing through an incredible (marked) period and what is happening in Turkey today is historically remarkable. The one-man regime, whose absolute priority is to preserve its existence, fly in the face of capitalist realities of the economy with the policies it implemented and exacerbated the problems in the economic field. But despite all oddities the wheels of the economy are turning and banks or companies declare high profits. For example, according to the data from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, the net profit of the banking sector in the first six months of the year increased by 400 percent compared to the previous period! Banks take loans from the Central Bank with cheaper rates and give them to consumers with higher interest rates.  So to speak, they hit big! For example, while the six-month profit of Koç Group (one of the biggest capital groups in Turkey) was 22 billion Turkish Lira, Halkbank’s profit was 4.6 billion Turkish Lira.  It is possible to extend this list, but these are enough to give an idea. Is the meaning of this picture not clear enough? First, the degree of exploitation of the working class is increasing. Secondly, what is missing from the plate of workers goes to the bosses’ coffers as profit. The government calls this situation “turning wheels of the economy”!

As we have stated many times, inflation is a policy of impoverishment. Since wages do not increase at the same rate as inflation. Besides, the government is trying to hide the depth and severity of impoverishment by hiding the true rate of inflation. Although the real inflation rate exceeds 175%, the inflation announced by Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) is 80%. However, if the wages are increased by 80%, there is an enormous loss of 95% in reality. This sheer loss in real wages puts workers in much more difficulty in making ends meet. And autumn and winter, when schools are opened and energy bills rise, will be more difficult and painful for the working people! In response, the working class will not just sit still in the face of this situation, it should not!

However, workers, students, the poor, i.e. the working class, which forms the vast majority of society, cannot interfere in this course of events unless they unite and step into politics. Yet from politics, most of the workers make of something else since they are told by the rulers that politics is a profession. It is said that “only those who are professionally politician do politics”. Moreover, politics is presented as something dirty and at the same time dangerous. And the kind of politics that goes beyond capitalism is presented as something illegitimate in an effort to discredit it.

The rulers have developed certain methods of managing the masses to keep the capitalist system of exploitation alive. One of them is to keep society under pressure through state repression in various forms. Keeping workers and labourers away from politics by clouding their consciousness is another one. The bourgeoisie elevated the lie that the economic realm and the political realm (state and political rule) are independent of each other to the level of an idea/ideology. According to this, these two realms should not be mixed up with each other and politics should solely be done by professional politicians. And the people should wait obediently for 4 or 5 years and then vote.  However, contrary to this idea, which aims to push the workers to a “passively waiting” position, the economy and politics are inextricably linked with each other. For example, Erdogan rule, which has been governing the country for the last 20 years, has developed special mega projects such as costly airports, tunnels, bridges, power plants, etc. to make benefits available to the pro-government capital groups. In this way, immense resources are transferred to them; their debts are rescheduled or written off and thus they are enriched by the state. Who would say that these decisions are not political but economic? Or how can the government’s policy to cut interest rates be independent of politics?  In short, the economic is political, and the political is economic!

The working class must do its own politics as a class. To do politics or to think politically means to consider all affairs in the country and in the world on the basis of the interests of the working class. No need to be professional politician for this. It is enough to join a fighting workers' organization like UID-DER and get class consciousness. If politics becomes part of daily life of workers, if workers get organised and do not stay away from politics, that’s when a lot of things change! Just imagine if tens of millions of united workers interfered in social developments through their own workers’ organizations! The working class can interfere with the course of events from its own side. It can object to unemployment, low wages, slavish working conditions, the high cost of living, depriving the youth of their future, retirement in the grave, and it should! With this point of view, we have to get out of our shells just in the days when the winter of poverty is knocking on the door! We must stand shoulder to shoulder and strengthen our unity and solidarity networks!