On the Nature of Things | Forum

One of the world's largest ever strikes began at midnight on Monday 27th Feb and will end at midnight tonight. Up to 100,000,000 Indian workers from different sectors and industries are calling for a national minimum wage, permanent jobs, and much more.

As reported by libcom blogger working class self organisation in January:

Quote:
Over a dozen of India’s largest trade unions have called for and signed up to the strike. The strike will affect many sectors, including public sector banks, ports and docks, railways, insurance, road transport, energy workers, miners, and aviation workers.
“Recent months have seen a mounting wave of militant worker struggles in India, strikes for union recognition in India’s expanding auto sector, including a two-day occupation of a Hyundai plant, a wildcat strike by Air India personnel, and walkouts by telecom workers and coal miners against the central government’s privatization plans.”

The different unions have a variety of different demands, they include gaining the same rights and protection for temporary and contract workers that permanent workers have, raising and extending the minimum wage, resisting the attacks on trade unions, stopping price rises, the creation of a national social security fund, increase in pensions, and combating corruption.

The workers are demanding a national minimum wage, permanent jobs for contract labourers, social security for informal labourers, pensions for all workers, intervention by the government to stop the rising costs of living, and to end the sell off of publicly owned companies amongst other demands.

Transport, postal services and banking have all been hit by the strike which involves around a dozen unions, with a 'complete shutdown' of banking in Mumbai being reported. Police have been deployed to try to prevent 'unlawful' picketing, with 100 arrests made this morning for obstructing traffic.

Ibrahim wrote:This is why China will always have the edge over India.

Zack Morris wrote:

Ibrahim wrote:This is why China will always have the edge over India.

Well, at least until they become old and poor in about 30-40 years. Maybe the turtle will pull ahead.

Ibrahim wrote:

Zack Morris wrote:

Ibrahim wrote:This is why China will always have the edge over India.

Well, at least until they become old and poor in about 30-40 years. Maybe the turtle will pull ahead.

India will retain the youth edge, demographically. Not clear why China would suddenly be poorer than India.

Zack Morris wrote:

Ibrahim wrote:

Zack Morris wrote:

Ibrahim wrote:This is why China will always have the edge over India.

Well, at least until they become old and poor in about 30-40 years. Maybe the turtle will pull ahead.

India will retain the youth edge, demographically. Not clear why China would suddenly be poorer than India.

China is still an enormously poor country and it's difficult to see how they will be able to continue growing when their labor force grows older and more expensive. Sooner or later, the authoritarian model is going to sputter. We'll see what the leadership transition in the coming year holds. Time will tell whether their anticipated reforms will amount to anything. Efforts at democratization and establishing the rule of law have been underway for a decade now and have yielded no fruits.

Carbizene wrote:China has 70000 protests a year.

Carbizene wrote:True, this ability to allow open dispute may well be what see's India to overtake China as China may well be riven with structural rigidity to allow appropriate responsiveness.

Ibrahim wrote: Not sure what you mean about "rule of law" or "anticipated reforms."

The country has reformed its economic model so radically and successfully since 80's, and most of the political controls conform to the Basic Law that has been in effect for decades, so there isn't so much a failure to implement a model in China as there is the successful implementation of a model very different than our own.

Zack Morris wrote:

Ibrahim wrote: Not sure what you mean about "rule of law" or "anticipated reforms."

"Rule of law" means exactly what it normally does: that the country is governed by known, transparent legal rules. It implies order, predictability, and accountability for all. China lacks this.

The country has reformed its economic model so radically and successfully since 80's, and most of the political controls conform to the Basic Law that has been in effect for decades, so there isn't so much a failure to implement a model in China as there is the successful implementation of a model very different than our own.

The model is rule by corruption and selective enforcement. If Beijing's vague, tiresome, and sometimes hopeless convoluted proclamations are anything to go by, there is no coherent "model" being put into place. The "Beijing Model" is something Western authoritarian apologists have imagined.

Zack Morris wrote:
"Rule of law" means exactly what it normally does: that the country is governed by known, transparent legal rules. It implies order, predictability, and accountability for all. China lacks this.

Carbizene wrote:

Zack Morris wrote:
"Rule of law" means exactly what it normally does: that the country is governed by known, transparent legal rules. It implies order, predictability, and accountability for all. China lacks this.

As compared to US corruption which is codified in that members of Congress and Senate can inside trade and be paid in options.

I love how people bitch about China and conveniently overlook violent US Imperialism, New Rome apologists.

No doubt Chinese Authoritarianism sucks but at least they keep it largely in-house and it is their own business unlike New Rome.

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