WSF2005 Keynote for ICLS Workshop 1
Strategy and Foresight for Labor Movement in the 21st Century
Beyond the Controversy of “Reform or Revolution”

27 Jan 2005

Osamu Yomono, Vice President of JRU

How should labor unions confront the reality of the 21st century and rising neo-liberal globalization? I intend to work out my own answer in this address, and I’m looking forward to hearing opinions from all the participants here on my ideas.

Chapter 1 Workers and people suffering from neo-liberal globalization

1-1 World ripped apart by competitiveness

Today’s world is ruled by general competitiveness. Through a dog-eat-dog race the wealth of the world is concentrated in the hands of a few ultra rich people, while in contrast, the majority of people are compelled to become sacrifices.

Big multinationals, winners of the race, keep world-wide wealth under their control, and grow more and more enormous, while workers all over the world are suffering the fierce attacks of unstable employment, reduction of wages, deterioration of working conditions and deprivation of their rights. They are forced into an endless race to the bottom.

1-2 Unchained wild beasts

The neo-liberal policy promoted by governments of developed countries has removed all barriers, such as national boundaries, that interfere with multinationals’ activity. International institutions, such as the WTO, IMF and World Bank have converted themselves into instruments of neo-liberal policies. Big multinationals have already built up their economic power surpassing medium-scale countries and they swagger around the world like unchained wild beasts.

Big multinationals promote division between workers through competition and impose unstable employment, low wages and inhuman working conditions on workers. They distort the local economy, society and culture, and destroy traditions and the rich natural environment. Moreover they force the world economy into chaos and push an endless tragedy on people, while they are gaining larger and larger profit by speculative operations.

1-3 War and ecocide

Multinationals’ rule extends to every corner of the earth and to all human activities, which are subordinated to making money for them. This blind appetite of the capital supported by neo-liberal policies of developed countries and international institutions deprives people of their life, destroys the environment and wages wars. Big multinationals are stealing the future of the human race and the earth.

The natural disasters that hit the world in succession through 2004 remind us again that we, the human race live within nature. Nature warns us to abandon the conceit of capitalism that intends to dominate the earth with money.

Chapter 2 History of the labor movement

2-1 General offensive from capital and retreat of the labor movement

Multinationals’ behavior around the world and neo-liberal policies that support it force workers into a “race to the bottom”, and they aim to exterminate the achievements which labor union movements have accumulated. Facing this general attack, the labor movement has no power to stand up for workers. The labor movement is challenged by decreasing influence and rate of organization, and is suffering a setback.

It is clear that the labor movement has lost its effectiveness in the gap between reality and ideology or strategy which led the movement during the 20th century. We are required to establish a new labor union strategy to confront the status quo in the 21st century. I’d like to briefly retrace the long history of the labor movement.

2-2 Reformism

In the 19th century, capitalism achieved enormous development mainly in the U.K. It produced a large number of workers and resulted in their organized struggles. Unionized workers struggled for an “eight-hour day”, welfare policy and universal suffrage. Despite repeated oppression and defeats, their power was enhanced. Capitalists realized that they could not simply suppress workers by oppression. At the end of the 19th century, in order to settle workers’ complaints, they began to choose a way to provide them with social and economic support which was derived from overseas colonies.

This imperialist behavior caused European countries to scramble for colonies at the beginning of the 20th century, and finally two world wars erupted with the participation of new capitalist countries, the U.S. and Japan. The world wars destroyed tremendous numbers of lives and goods, and it resulted in the independence of colonies and the birth of the “Socialist Bloc” led by the USSR. Eventually this led to the “Cold War structure” among so-called socialist countries, capitalist countries and the third world.

In the capitalist world after two wars, the economy developed rapidly, supported by mass production and mass consumption of durable goods. It was called a “new model of capitalism”. Capitalists allowed the labor unions to exist legally and also provided wage increases within the limit of productivity improvement. Besides they mobilized workers into consumer-driven culture, stirring them to a sense of mass consumption using the mass media. States improved their economies through large-scale financial and monetary policies, so-called “Keynesian policy”. The economic surplus produced through the high economic growth was allotted to enrich the welfare state.

In concert with the new model in the 20th century a tendency toward reformism emerged in the labor movement. This tendency welcomed the conciliatory attitude of management and expected wage increases, amelioration of working conditions and enrichment of social welfare through accumulation of capital and the growth of national economies (this means development of capitalism).

2-3 Comintern line

On the other hand, another school of thought, which was critical of reformism, also emerged. It emphasized revolution and socialism, and became a strong power in the 20th century.

The leaders of reformism approved pro-war foreign policy of their own states. From Karl Kautsky to Tony Blair, they consistently approved war policy. At the beginning of the 20th century another group emerged- revolutionaries, who pointedly criticized this attitude. Followers of this group insisted that workers should respond to an outbreak of war with revolutionary struggle. After the success of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, this tendency was integrated into the “Comintern line” modeled after the Russian experience.

These groups didn’t recognize the innate value of the labor movement. They insisted that all union struggles should be connected with the struggle for seizure of power, because they thought that there was no ultimate solution to the problems brought by capitalism without seizure of power and centralized control.

Workers encouraged by the success of the Russian Revolution and Chinese Revolution were integrated into this revolutionary group, and they formed another pole of the labor movement in the 20th century. But the “socialist” regime destroyed itself without resolving the issues it faced at the end of that century. The factors of failure were the centrally controlled economy which had reached an impasse and oppression of workers by secret police and gulags. Disillusioned workers abandoned the socialist revolution.

2-4 End of honeymoon between labor and management

In the 1970s a hiatus in high economic growth in capitalism became apparent. While the demand of durable goods was looped back and growth began to slow down, mass production began to reach environmental and resource limitations. Oil crises shook the world economy. Acceleration of inflation in many countries caused the collapse of Keynesian policy and increased the financial deficit.

In this situation capitalism found a new way ahead through multinationalism. Capitalists sought profit by utilizing low labor costs overseas and advancing to underdeveloped markets instead of enlarging domestic expenditure. Governments of developed countries converted their policy to neo-liberalism to cut welfare services and give priority to free market competition.

Capitalists’ attitude has changed from concessive to aggressive. They force the race for low wages, worse working conditions and unstable employment among workers all over the world. Domestically, irregular workers such as casual workers and contract workers have been increasing and outsourcing has been encouraged. Irregular workers are forced to compete with unionized regular workers. Capitalists continuously revise labor laws concerning workers’ rights and show a hostile attitude toward labor unions.

Chapter 3 Strategy and foresight for labor movement in the 21st century

3-1 End of the 20th Century model labor movement

The enormous capital, released from all regulation, dominates throughout the world. We are facing globalization which has been encouraged by devastating human life and environment. Seeing the dawn of this new age, the illusion of the 20th century that capitalist development improves workers’ life and welfare disappeared with a dream of “socialist” revolution.

The 20th Century model labor movement has lost its effectiveness and is going to fade from the historical stage. It leaves behind spokespeople of capital who stand against workers and union bureaucrats who pursue making rules by tripartite negotiation among government, management and labor as a merchant of dreams which never come true.

3-2 Beyond the controversy of “revolution or reform”

The history of the 20th century shows us that capitalism is not as kind as reformists said it was and cannot be settled so easily as revolutionaries wished. Capitalism won’t last forever, of course but workers have to be patient and coexist with capitalism for a certain period. The labor movement is now required to hoard its power that can change the world fundamentally.

Karl Marx wrote in his “Communist Manifesto” : “Now and then the workers are victorious, but only for a time. The real fruit of their battles lie not in the immediate result, but in the ever expanding union of the workers.” Reformists forgot to expand solidarity, settling for immediate results of their struggle, even though they were temporary. On the other hand, revolutionaries tried to utilize workers for their own purpose to seize political power impatiently, but they ruined themselves and deteriorated workers’ solidarity after repeating the strategy of sectarianized division.

The controversy of “revolution or reform” during the 20th century should be stopped now. We must overcome this controversy. The source of the labor movement manifests when workers get angry with the unreasonable and brutal attacks of capital, and confront it. However, the result of workers’ struggles must contain some compromises which depend on a balance of power between labor and management. Workers build up unity and solidarity, and enhance their power through their experiences. We must seize a dynamic perspective based on diversity in which the labor movement can grow, expand its power and overwhelm capitalist dominance.

3-3 For the grass-roots global solidarity

While big multinationals systematically attack workers and people, the labor movement becomes weakened and decentralized. ICFTU and WCL decided to combine with each other to respond to this problem. However, cadres can’t break the deadlock through their consultation. Activists of the workplace who are biting the bullet around the world can develop the power for fighting by exchanging their grass-roots experiences and accumulating discussion.

A forum is needed for those who confront and fight neo-liberal globalization to exchange opinions and experiences. Here mutual support and joint action will grow and then it will develop into a dynamic movement based on diversity. We have prepared to establish ICLS which will be reported fully in the next keynote.

We’d like to give consideration to the process of establishing ICLS that is ready to start now. Diversity should be esteemed and mutual differences must be a driving force for development. Sectarianized division should be rejected. Without settling for small achievements, we should advance the linkage between discussion and action, and expand workers’ net power that drives the struggle against neo-liberal globalization. I believe the labor movement is full of promise. If we call it socialism when people establish a new society by setting this world free from unreasonable dominance of capital, genuine socialism will be born in the future of this process.

In closing I’d like to make an appeal to all brothers and sisters to join this process with us.