Date: Mon, 25 Nov 1996 15:45:41 +1000 (EST)
From: Gary MacLennan <g.maclennan-AT-qut.edu.au>
Subject: M-I: reply to Adam on Australian racism



A>You say Australian capital is increasingly integrated with Asian 
>capital.
>But the flip side to integration is competition. Australian based 
>capitals will be 
>competing with Asian based capitals for market share. Integration and 
>competition
>are two sides of the same process. So what is "rational" for Australian 
>capital ?
>This question becomes even harder to answer when you factor in the arms
>race in S.E Asia.

Adam thank you for replying to my post.  I think this is important and if
you don't mind 
I will stay with you for a while on it.  If it starts to piss off the others
then 
we could move off-list, but I think it is of general interest.

Australian links to Asia are basically through the export of raw materials
e.g. coking coal to Japan, foreign investment and tourism.  Asian tourists
are becoming more and more important. I cannot see the element of
competition here.  We sell. They buy and value add.

My own field of university teaching is being turned into an export industry.
Asian students are absolutely vital to us.  Of course we do compete here
with Asian universities, but really our chief competitors are other English
speaking countries.

Whatever the case there was a stab of fear throughout the university system
here at the thought of a shortfall in Asian student numbers.  The result
would be catastrophic (unless we could move to a revolutionary paradigm). 
Hanson has been linked directly to Malaysian students expressing fears about
their safety here this week.

Now I think our disagreements are more to do with the detail of  the racism
that the capitalists would encourage.  I repeat that for the bourgeoisie no
matter what the state of the economy, anti-Asian sentiment is off the agenda.

Anti-Aboriginal sentiment is a very different matter.  But the problem here
is that  there are so very few Aborigines (1.5%) and they are so poor that
even the most pathological of racists has trouble envying or fearing the
aboriginal Australians.

Under what circumstances would anti-Asian sentiment be encouraged?  Well
only in the kind of scenario that prevailed in the 50s when Australia was
closely integrated into the British Empire.  I cannot see that kind of
situation prevailing again.  

So though Hanson personally may wobble back to anti-Asian racism she will
not get the dream run that she did a few months ago. But our disagreement is
I think down to this.  You argue: In a crisis the ruling class will do
anything to protect their own asses.  They will do anything to preserve
their ascendency.  This could in Australia include encouraging an anti-Asian
party. 

I argue that the specifics of Australia's integration within an Asian
economy make this extremely unlikely.

You should see for instance how the mainstream media is closing her down and
pouring out the nice pro-Asian stuff. BTW what kind of press is she getting
if any in the U.K.? 


Now your point about Le Pen and his support being a barometer of the class
struggle has complete and absolute agreement from me.  Hanson is a fungus
which has grown in the cracks of 13 years of Labor betrayal of the working
class.  should the struggle ever really heat up here she will be a simple
excrescence, something of no consequence.

>Last month, I was the only contender for smug bastard of the month.
>Gary is now giving me some competition.
>
>However, I should point out that "So far, 279 people have joined [ the
>Socialist Workers Party ] in November : 17 . . . in Manchester".
>
>I think I'm still in the lead.
>
>PS. Gary MacLennan is 102.


Why 102? or should I not ask?

regards

Gary




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