Tensions, crises, and disagreements marked the recent meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, of the seven imperialist powers that make up the Group of Seven. The gathering highlighted that to defend the profits of their respective ruling classes these capitalist governments are driven to more intense competition, not cooperation.
From the point of view of the capitalists there is overproduction in the world. They also face downward pressure on prices and are in a race to steal market share.
The representatives of capital use whatever means are at hand in this conflict. Washington is providing a perfect example with its trade sanctions to force Tokyo to accommodate U.S. business interests. "Buy my cars or else," was the title of one article in the Economist summing up the situation.
Imposing trade sanctions is one form of the U.S. government stepping up its use of political and military clout to force its desired economic ends. The Japanese government could retaliate, and it has threatened to do so. But Washington is banking on the bottom line calculation that in any trade war it has more weight to throw around, including militarily.
While the bosses fight it out among each other they are also trying to enlist the working class on their side. It's a fight for American jobs, says Washington, while Tokyo claims it's guarding employment in Japan. Top officials of the United Auto Workers union echo the bosses on these matters and are cheering on Washington. Meanwhile, as Japanese and U.S. capitalists claw at one another, they are also going after the wages and job conditions of workers in their own countries. From Japan to Europe capitalists are downsizing, cutting wages, and speeding up production to catch up with the similar measures U.S. bosses have been carrying out for more than a decade.
"Sacrifice," workers are being told, to save the company. But many U.S. workers have learned that concessions to the bosses gain nothing, and demands for more sacrifice are sure to follow. The only effective way to defend ourselves is to insist that we have a right to a job and decent pay, and fight to demand that society's resources are used to guarantee that.
The Halifax conference accented the weakness of the imperialist powers, not their strength. Working people can put up effective resistance and hold back the attacks on our rights if we stick together and keep our fire on the bosses.
Throughout Latin America government plans to privatize companies, with accompanying wage cuts and layoffs, are being slowed by growing protests. In many parts of Europe workers are putting up a fight for jobs and higher pay. The fight against union busting by workers on strike against Caterpillar is another example of the working class's capacity to put up resistance.
The employers and their governments spend a lot of time and money trying to convince us we can't do much of anything against them, but more and more the evidence is we can.