Some Marxism basics for Australia’s Fake Left

Marxist theory goes like this, from Wikipaedia (yes, that’s all you need):

In Marxist theory, humansociety consists of two parts: the base (or substructure) and superstructure. The base comprises the forces and relations of production (e.g. employer–employee work conditions, the technical division of labour, and property relations) into which people enter to produce the necessities and amenities of life. The base determines society’s other relationships and ideas to comprise its superstructure, including its culture, institutions, political power structures, roles, rituals, and state. While the relation of the two parts is not strictly causal, as the superstructure often affects the base, the influence of the base is predominant. In Orthodox Marxism, the base determines the superstructure in a one-way relationship.

I’m not a Marxist but I reckon that this is basically right. “Base” does largely determine “superstructure”, even though these days power has become much more diffuse and interconnected than the model suggests.

This is a follow-up to yesterday’s Jacinda Ardern post in which I argued that she is putting Australia’s Fake Left to shame with a policy platform much more reminiscent of Marxist class wars that Australia’s pathetic losers:

“When you have a market economy, it all comes down to whether or not you acknowledge where the market has failed and where intervention is required. Has it failed our people in recent times? Yes.

“Wages are not keeping up with inflation (and) and how can you claim you’ve been successful when you have growth at roughly 3 per cent, but you have the worst homelessness in the developed world?”

Real measures that the public can rate the government on are important, Ms Ardern said, citing improved waterways, child poverty, homelessness and building 10,000 new homes every year to judge them on.

• a crackdown on foreign ownership of residential and farm land (NZ First wants a ban)
• deep cuts to migration, particularly of low-skilled temporary workers
• ensuring people can retire at 65 and access publicly funded superannuation
• a better deal for tertiary students (Labour’s promising three years of free tuition)
• more affordable housing
• a huge boost in police numbers

In short, Ardern is focused on changing the “base” in the Marxist model of society, where the real power is. She is making the forces of production take losses so that those excluded from it can get access. This is the case in property prices via demand side policies for lower immigration and international capital and increased supply. And for wages in lower immigration for reduced supply and increased offshore demand for Kiwi goods and services. It remains to be seen what the owners of the “base” will do in response!

By comparison, Australia’s pathetic Fake Left focuses nearly all of its efforts on the “superstructure” in the Marxist model of society where little power resides. Granted, the post-Australia Labor Party is going to scrap negative gearing, but it has become horribly complicit in a whole range of other capital-hugging policies that mean the base will not change (and neither therefore will class structure). Its absurd conflation of free trade with mass immigration raises house prices and lowers wages. Its pre-occupation with art, culture, education, gay marriage and other “identity” issues is an obvious distraction from issues such as tax and superannuation reform, addressing the currency, rebuilding industry and constraining finance, which are the base of a phenomenal class war on wage-earners and youth.

Likewise, The Greens are addicted to Australia’s economic growth model, which is all about supporting current owners of the base, while spending much of their time poofing around in the superstructure, even on issue of deep environmental concern, such as population policy.

That is not to say that “superstructure” issues should be ignored. They shouldn’t. But they are second order if you want to really effect change for the better for the most marginalised populace in our society, the working classes and youth. Worse, in our case, “superstructure” fixations have become so dominant that the Fake Left has become a status quo defender of the “base”.