Let’s Unite Against the Exploitation System!

In September, world leaders came together at summits such as the G20 and the UN. They addressed various issues such as the war spreading from Ukraine to Niger and from Syria to Armenia, the global crisis causing floods, hurricanes and droughts, the deepening of global inequality and the unstoppable migration problem. While they were making speeches in pompous halls, these problems kept making life hell for hundreds of millions of people. For instance, as a result of the flood disaster in Libya, a whole city was completely submerged. Nearly 12,000 people died and many more disappeared. The survivors faced problems such as hunger, lack of clean water, epidemics, and housing problems while searching for their missing loved ones. The real source of the disaster was the collapse of two dams, which had not been strengthened for years, rather than extreme rainfall. Libyan people gathered in the squares to protest this negligence and the disaster it caused, saying “we are angry because we have been through hell.”

In the last year alone, just like in Libya, similar cases occurred in Pakistan, Brazil, Japan, China, Slovenia, Greece, Turkey, and many other countries. Likewise, earthquakes in Iran, Syria and Turkey, Indonesia and Morocco turned into total disasters. Hurricanes and tornadoes, especially in the USA, and extreme weather events claimed many lives.  The flames of imperialist war reached Niger, Azerbaijan and Armenia. According to the UN’s reports, 122 million more people were dragged into hunger worldwide. Even worse, the Ukrainian war exacerbated the hunger problem. As the number of people suffering from hunger reached nearly one billion, food companies increased their profits at rocket speed. According to the British charity Oxfam, the wages of 1.7 billion workers worldwide have lagged behind the inflation rate in recent years, whereas the wealth of the world’s billionaires has increased by a total of $2.7 billion every day. For example, Elon Musk, who topped this year’s list of the world’s richest people, has a fortune of $251 billion. In other words, our world is a wonderland, even heaven, for a tiny minority, whereas it has turned into a real hell for the vast majority of humanity.

Undoubtedly, this picture of our world is painted by capitalism. In the article titled “What if we change this economic order?” in the 180th issue of Workers’ Solidarity, the world we live in and the capitalist system were described as follows: “Capitalism is based on private property and profit. The capitalist class, which holds the private ownership of the means of production, does not care about the needs of society, but about its profit. It does not care whether nature is being damaged or not, whether people suffer or not. The following words, once said by a workers’ leader, describe the essence of capitalism: “Capitalism will cut down the tree if it cannot sell its shadow.” Under capitalism, the state, media, law, education and politics are all shaped on the basis of the interests of the ruling class. The resources collected by the state through taxation are allocated to the needs of capital.  For example, resources are transferred to the capitalists, rather than the basic needs such as education, health and housing. Politics serves as a tool for this purpose. The law enforcement forces of the state are used to put pressure on workers who resist exploitation. The rich minority exploits the labour-power of the poor majority not only through repression. It also seeks the consent of the majority. To this end, ideological tools come into play. The capitalist system imposes certain thought patterns on each of us as individuals and on society as a whole so that exploitation is legitimised and accepted as a law of nature.”

Exactly as stated here, the capitalists desire us to accept the evils of their order, i.e. exploitation, wars, disasters and sufferings, as a law of nature, as our fate. They pretend not to have the slightest responsibility. They even pose as our saviours. For example, in his G20 summit speech, Erdogan said, “None of us can feel safe in a world where children die since they cannot find a piece of bread and water, where tens of thousands of refugees lose their lives in desert and seas, where millions are displaced due to wars and conflicts, where human life becomes increasingly more worthless despite all the rhetoric; in short, in a world where heartbreaking tragedies take place right beside us. On the one side, there is an unprecedented extravagance, waste and luxury. On the other side, 735 million people are struggling with famine. This contrast points to a vital problem.” Indeed, there is a vital problem here and none of us can feel safe! For, we are the ones who fall victim to wars, poverty, earthquakes, floods and destruction!

Let’s take a look at what we are experiencing in Turkey, ruled by the very Erdogan who said these words. Working people are paying the heavy price of the economic destruction created by the capitalist class and the government. The working class is subjected to a huge wave of attacks. For example, the so-called Medium Term Programme is an austerity programme aimed at further enriching the capitalists. According to this plan, inflation will keep rising and so will the dollar. Pay rises will be based on projected inflation, not actual inflation. The minimum wage will be raised only once a year. Credit card expenditures, personal loans and housing loans will be cut down. Severance pay will be transferred to a fund and destroyed. The public pension system will be abolished. Agricultural areas, olive groves and forests will be sold for profit. New mining sites will be opened up, which will pollute habitats. In short, workers and labourers will be cruelly attacked, whereas capitalists will be provided with all resources, subsidies, funds and credits. In other words, the capitalist class will enrich itself, whereas the workers, who are already struggling with misery, will pay the price!

And yet it seems that they want us to submit to these plans obediently. Their justifications are “savings/austerity”, and “creating resources to heal the wounds of the earthquake”. In order to suppress those who reject and protest these lies, they resort to police force, police stations and courts. In order to make us swallow the bitter pill, they ban and prevent strikes, demonstrations, protests, resistances through police force. They use courts to prevent unionisation. They label and blacken all those who claim their rights. They escalate oppression and tyranny.

Under capitalism, it is always the working class that pays the price for the disasters, crises, economic destruction, and the luxury of the rulers! But it is very clear that the government in Turkey, which usurped the state’s power, further exacerbates the burden for the working class. Openly hostile to workers and labourers, this regime uses the state’s power for looting and plunder. It seeks to enrich certain capitalists at any cost. For example, last year, due to soaring inflation and the high cost of living, many children fainted from hunger in schools, which was frequently reported in the news. Studies showed that children became stunted because of malnutrition and that they became unable to cope with diseases because their immune systems were not strong enough, pointing to the fact that many children would face serious health problems in the future. Therefore, there was a growing public demand for free, high-quality and healthy school meals for children. In the run-up to the May 2023 elections, the Ministry of National Education felt obliged to announce that children in pre-school education would receive a free school meal from February 2023. However, this promise was kept only for one semester. Afterwards, free school meals were cancelled except for the earthquake zone. While the cost of living has kept rising over the past year, the burden of school meals has been placed on the shoulders of families. While the taxes were poured into the capitalists’ pockets, it was again the workers’ children whose food was stolen.

From homes to workplaces, from markets to schools, from bus stops to cafes, workers talk about the cost of living, inflation, high rents, debts, and the struggle to make ends meet. But the capitalist class and the government are preparing to impose even heavier burdens upon us. On the other hand, from Istanbul to Antep, from Kocaeli to Dersim, workers are struggling for pay raises, unionisation and better working conditions. From England to America, from Indonesia to Libya, workers and labourers around the world are struggling for their lives and future. “We will not pay for the crisis!”, they say. It is very obvious that the way to fight for our lives and our future is to build bridges of fraternity and solidarity and to stand up against capitalism as an organised force as workers. So, let us take a step on this path and strengthen UID-DER’s call to “stand together against the attacks of the capitalists and the government”.