SocialismToday Socialist Party magazine | ||
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Editorial: Copenhagen cop-outTHE UN CONFERENCE on climate change (Cop15), held in Copenhagen 7-18 December, was a fiasco. After years of preparation, the representatives of 193 countries discussed and wrangled for two weeks but no agreement was reached, let alone the framework for a binding international treaty, Cop15’s original aim. The failure of the Cop15 assembly to produce an agreement was not merely the result of manoeuvres by this or that recalcitrant government. It reflects the inevitable clash of interests between rival national states, each pursuing its own power, prestige and economic advantage. They may seek to guard themselves against the worst effects of global warming, but they want to dump the costs onto other states. The axe-men are coming: preparing the public-sector fight back General election campaigning has begun in Britain with the establishment parties unveiling plans for deep public-sector cuts. The details may vary. But they all agree that workers and sections of the middle class should pay for the economic devastation wrought by the bankers and the failures of the capitalist system. As HANNAH SELL writes, only determined, militant action will be able to push back this offensive. Why not take out an annual subscription online, and receive Socialism Today every month? New! Click here for a complete index of articles from the first issue of Socialism Today to issue 100 |
Global warning
Obama's Afghan surge
Bolivia
The wages gap
The tawdry morals of capitalism
Beyond the pale
Contract killers More on noir fiction and its politics Cover cartoon: Suzanne Muna www.squashdonkey.co.uk |