CAPITALISM HITS THE DUST AS NIXON PUTS THE BOOT

Workers Press no. 998, 15 February 1973 · scan page 2

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IN EPHEN LESS THAN 24 hours after the 10-per-cent devaluation of the dollar, President Nixon has dropped a second bombshell on the stunned financial capitals of the world.

The latest attack involves tariff barriers which will choke off the flow of foreign goods into the American market. Meanwhile US industry-riding high on the competitive advantage of devaluation—will go all out to cripple its rivals abroad.

The background to devaluation is the $70,000m held by speculators, banks and firms in Europe which have a ficticious value since the US refuses to redeem them in gold. These have totally disrupted the international monetary system and now Nixon is turning to trade and rushing the tariff Bill through Congress. • These latest moves are the most serious yet of the crisis which began when the capitalist rulers in the US encouraged a massive wave of speculation against the German mark and the Japanese yen.

Tariffs mean America is snatching the rug from beneath Japanese and European capitalism-turning to destroy the very creatures it created after the end of World War II.

Recession

For Europe especially it will mean massive recession. the physical destruction of capital and millions and millions of unemployed.

Concorde will be a backstreet closure compared to the crashes ahead.

Ever since 1914 the capitalist system has been gripped by contradictions that could only be solved by slump or world war.

Now its corpse-bloated by the post-war inflationhas burst. And the system is turning to dust beneath the horrified gaze of the European industrialists and speculators.

Now is the time tical roll call. 'Left' union leaders on their way to an ultimatum from Heath yesterday. (i to Hugh Scanion, Jack Jones, Harry Urwin and Terry Parry.

It was only the Trotskyist movement through the International Committee and the Socialist Labour League that warned and warned again that the crisis was central to the political situation.

The Stalinists in the Communist Party and the revisionists who deserted the Trotskyist movement said we BY ROYSTON BULL OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT