New website of the Dutch Marxists

We are proud to announce that the supporters of the International Marxist Tendency in the Netherlands have a new website: www.vonknl.org

In the Netherlands there is need for a socialist alternative. The capitalist crisis has hit the Netherlands too. The damage at first sight seemed not to be as big as in other European countries. However, there have been enormous bail-outs for the banks, which are a large part of the Dutch economy, and someone has to pay for these. The Dutch capitalists and their politicians have decided that the working class, the pensioners, the students, in fact anyone except the capitalists and bankers, have to pay.

There are three Dutch left-wing parties, the Labour Party, Green Left, and the Socialist Party. The problem is that none of these parties put forward a genuine socialist programme that could offer an alternative to capitalism in crisis. All three parties limit themselves to working within the framework of capitalism, the system that always returns to crisis.

In the same way, the trade union leaders are clinging to the ‘polder model’, the idea of peaceful negotiations between trade union leaders, employers’ representatives and the state. While this had some results in the period of upswing of capitalism, the model certainly does not work in times of capitalism’s decline. The pressure of the rank and file is growing on the union leaders. The public sector workers are not waiting for wage freezes. There is now a militant strike going on by the cleaners in the airport and the train stations. This is a traditionally badly organised section, but now it has become one of the most militant. This shows what we can expect in the future.

What is needed is a real socialist programme. The big banks, insurance companies and monopolies need to be nationalised under worker’s control. This is the only way forward. When the anarchy of the market is abolished, the problems of the Dutch working people can be solved.

That is why Vonk in the Netherlands now has a new website which will be regularly updated, and also contain theoretical articles.

Join us!