All posts by Rajdeep Banerjee

Corbynomics meets Piketty, Stiglitz; From Milibandism to “People’s Quantitative Easing”, the new Labour’s flavour (Part 2 of 3)

The anti-austerity leader is a strong opponent of military interventions. He has clearly indicated that bombing Syria may not defeat ISIL but would rather involve heavy casualties and has even warned Cameron that any attempt to launch air strikes will be blocked by him. Corbyn is a strong proponent of political and diplomatic solutions, instead of armed conflict. His staunch opposition to renewal of the Trident Nuclear Programme and his ambivalence on continuing membership of NATO has recently raised many eyebrows. But he continues to be defiant and it can only be expected that he may take a more nuanced position in near future. He considers NATO as a cold war vestige which should have been disbanded alongwith the ‘Warsaw Pact’ in 1990. Corbyn views EU and NATO as tools of US policy in Europe. As the US remains overwhelmingly the military superpower, it seized opportunities in 1990 and in 2001 to increase its military spending and develop a global reach of bases unmatched since the Second World War. Also the expansion of NATO into Poland and the Czech Republic has increased tensions with Russia and the West’s intentions in Ukraine are unclear. Corbyn argues that the obsession with cold war politics that exercises the NATO and EU leaderships is fuelling the crisis and underlines the case for a whole new approach to foreign policy. He warns that the long-term effect of the aggressive US foreign policy, backed by the EU and the British government, can lead to further conflagrations and an ever-growing and more fearless Russia-China bloc will increasingly rival NATO and the EU, leading to a more turbulent future.

On the issue of continuing membership of the EU he has made it clear that worker rights cannot be overlooked as part of David Cameron’s renegotiation strategy. Now he has stated that Labour would make the case for continued British membership of the EU whatever may be outcome of the renegotiation. Labour will now make the case that the membership would help Britain to create jobs, secure growth, encourage investment and effectively tackle the refugee crisis.  He has further warned that if the employment protections are diminished then instead of leaving the EU, Labour on coming to power in 2020 will reverse and restore those protections. Protection of the NHS from EU competition law, reform of the state aid rule, reform of the EU budget and increased flexibility on transitional controls will be in the Labour’s agenda.

National Health Service should continue to be completely publicly run and publicly accountable. There cannot be any trace of privatization. A National Education Service, like the NHS, will be the Labour’s flagship education policy. A free University education, funded through a higher rate of national insurance on the highest earners is now being envisaged. He even wants to offer an apology to the students who had to pay fees because of the previous Labour governments decisions. Hard-hitting on the bailout plans, he has lamented that instead of the bailout money reaching the desired public, it has gone to various banks all across Europe leading to continuing destruction of the economy of many troubled countries. A strong proponent of renationalising the railways, he argues that it will allow the public to get the benefit of the investment in infrastructure that is currently underway. Also rent controls will be reintroduced so that an average citizen need not face extreme difficulties because of the mindless surging property prices.

He is a supporter of a United Ireland, even controversially inviting Sinn Féin Party President to London in 1984. Being sympathetic to IRA campaign, his party’s early stand of support for United Ireland was changed by Blair to one of neutrality. The tussle between Irish Nationalists and Unionists is surely going to escalate.

Corbynomics meets Piketty, Stiglitz: From Milibandism to “People’s Quantitative Easing”, the new Labour’s flavour (Part 1 of 3)

The loss of the Labour Party in the 2015 General Elections led to the end of Milibandism and the rise of Jeremy Corbyn, the backbencher MP for Islington North. The new leader of Labour Party is now exhorting fellow Englishmen to support “sunshine of socialism” to break through against the “narrow, nasty” politics of the Conservatives. Extremely conscious of rising inequality, child poverty and widening health inequalities, he plans to set up a National Investment bank to invest in infrastructure, such as housing, transport, rural broadband and green energy; and bankroll that investment with “people’s QE”, money created for a social purpose rather than for banks. Corbyn argues that, if it was acceptable to use QE to support the banking system and encourage lending, it should also be acceptable to use it to fund investment. He envisions a modern, more productive and fairer economy. Agreeing with anti austerity economists, like Stiglitz, he is of the opinion that reducing government investment, for the sake of prudence, is dangerous because it prevents growth, innovation and productivity increases. This in turn lowers the tax receipts resulting in higher debt. In fact noted economist Keynes first proposed “monetising public debt” to pay for public works in order to stimulate recovery from depression. The Treasury would sell new bonds direct to the Bank of England, which would issue credits on which the agencies in charge of public works would draw to pay for the labour, equipment and materials they required.

Corbyn camp has vociferously attacked the privatisation spree as “a confidence trick”. They dismiss it stating that the British people have been clearly robbed while those snatching up the public assets have been printing money. Privatisation of water, energy and rail and even the PFI schemes have been one long confidence trick. A Corbyn led Labour Government would reserve the right to renationalise Royal Bank of Scotland and other public assets, with either no compensation or with any undervaluation deducted from any compensation for renationalisation if they are now sold at a knockdown price. Chancellor, George Osborne, plans to sell off £31bn of public assets in 2015-16. This is now opposed by Corbyn arguing that Conservatives’s “free market dogma” will be challenged and a future Labour Government under his leadership would re-empower the state.

Thomas Piketty, “the modern Marx” and author of the international best seller ‘Capital in the Twenty-First Century’, has researched that capital becomes destructive when it chronically exceeds income. A steeply progressive tax, raising top rate of income tax, a land value tax, inheritance tax are few measures that could absorb the superfluous wealth and redirect it to more productive purposes. Under Corbyn’s plans, Labour 2020 will make large reductions in the £93 billion of corporate tax relief and subsidies. He plans to tackle tax avoidance and evasion by stronger anti-avoidance rules brought into UK tax law, aim of country-by-country reporting for multinational corporations, reform of small business taxation to tackle avoidance and evasion, enforcement of proper regulations to ensure that companies pay what they owe and reversal of the cuts to staff in HMRC and at Companies House, taking on more staff at both, to ensure that HMRC can collect the taxes. He laments that UK has shifted from taxing income and wealth to taxing consumption; and from taxing corporations to taxing individuals.

Corbyn will face his first electoral challenge in Scotland in May 2016 Holyrood elections. It will be a tough contest against the incumbent Scottish National party. He has recently signed an agreement with Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale pledging a more autonomous structure. Corbyn, derided by many, will be before the public with his ‘too good to be true’ plans.

Canto CX Book VI (Yuddha-Kánda) – The Battle – The Scion of Ikshvaku slays the Lord of Rákshas (Part 2 of 2)

Then Mátali to Ráma cried:
“Let other arms the day decide.
Why wilt thou strive with useless toil
And see his might thy efforts foil?
Launch at the foe thy dart whose fire
Was kindled by the Almighty Sire.”
He ceased: and Raghu’s son obeyed:
Upon his string the hero laid
An arrow, like a snake that hissed.
Whose fiery flight had never missed:
The arrow Saint Agastya gave
……………………………..
He laid it on the twisted cord,
He turned the point at Lanká’s lord,
And swift the limb-dividing dart
Pierced the huge chest and cleft the heart,
And dead he fell upon the plain
Like Vritra by the Thunderer slain.
……………………………..

On Mátali’s advice, Ráma chose the gleaming shaft, a gift from Brahma and which had been given by sage Agastya. It was breathing as if like a serpent. This was created for the conquest of all the three worlds, to be used by Indra. With the sun and fire in its head, the wind god was in its feathers. It was as heavy as the mountains Meru and Mandara. It sparkled as the Sun. The shaft was resplendent by its own lustre, well feathered and adorned with jewels. It could annihilate the enemy completely. It could rip through entire enemy army as it was hard as a diamond.  This deadly shaft brought euphoria to the monkeys and extermination of the Rákshas. Ráma fitted the resplendent shaft into his magnificent bow and after pronouncing the required mantras, drew his bow to the fullest and aimed the arrow at the Lord of Rákshas. He discharged that shaft at Rávan, piercing his vitals. The arrow fiercely struck Rávan in the chest. Rávan’s bow slipped from his hand and he tumbled out of his chariot. The shaft, after slaying Rávan, soaked in blood, again entered the quiver. Rávan thunderously fell to the ground. Seeing the death of their lord, the Rákshas panicked and started running away, but the monkeys chased them. The monkeys proclaimed Ráma’s victory with joy. Flowers rained down on Ráma’s chariot and the celestial beings were delighted with Rávan’s death. After killing Rávan, Ráma dazzled on the battle field, encircled by his army and friends. The epic battle thus came to an end with the victory of good over evil.

Canto CIX Book VI (Yuddha-Kánda) – The Battle – The Scion of Ikshvaku battles Lord of Rákshas (Part 1 of 2)

With wondrous power and might and skill
The giant fought with Ráma still.
Each at his foe his chariot drove,
And still for death or victory strove.
The warriors’ steeds together dashed,
And pole with pole reëchoing clashed.
Then Ráma launching dart on dart
Made Rávan’s coursers swerve and start.
………………………….
God and Gandharva, sage and saint
Cried out, with grief and terror faint:
“O may the prince of Raghu’s line
Give peace to Bráhmans and to kine,
And, rescuing the worlds, o’erthrow
The giant king our awful foe.”
………………………………..
The doubtful fight he still maintained,
And on the foe his missiles rained.
In air, on earth, on plain, on hill,
With awful might he battled still;
And through the hours of night and day
The conflict knew no pause or stay.

The battle waged relentlessly. Indra summoned his charioteer Mátali and sent him to Ráma with the jewel studded gold made chariot. Mátali took the chariot to Rama and exhorted Ráma to kill the Rákshas in the same way as Indra killed the danavas. Ráma climbed into the chariot and the battle resumed. Ráma and Rávan opposing each other in the epic battle, highly angered, began to dash towards and assail each other; and being determined to slay each other they looked greatly dreadful. The two great warriors attacked one another with a barrage of arrows. The two heroes, discharging their shafts and  influenced by illusions, assailed each other proceeding and receding, Rama attacking Rávan and Rávan withstanding him. Ráma’s courage and confidence started increasing gradually, and he intensified his assault on Rávan. On the other hand, Rávan became more and more confused and he even could not find his weapon. The omens indicating Rávan’s destruction multiplied whereas more signs of good fortune for Ráma appeared. The final chariot duel started between them which made the monkeys and Rákshas absolutely still, holding on to their weapons and witnessing the fierce combat between the two. They stood facing each other, the forepart of one chariot touching that of the other and the heads of the steeds touching each other; and the flags, stationed on one touched those of the other. Ráma’s sharpest arrow cut off Rávan’s head but immediately another head grew in its place. That too was severed quickly but another grew to replace it. The hundred heads, all equal in brilliance, were cut off but there seemed to be no end to the Lord of Rákshas’s life. Ráma wondered that the arrows killed Marica, Khara, Dusana, Viradha and Kabandha. But why they were failing against Rávan.  Now the final assault.