Article from the May 2005 edition, the Socialist paper of the Socialist Party, the CWI in Ireland

Make capitalist history- Protest at the G8 summit

Make socialism our future

By Daniel Waldron, Socialist Youth organiser

THIS JULY in Scotland, the New Labour government will play host to the G8 summit, a gathering of government representatives from the world's richest countries. Blair says that he wants the summit to focus on the problems faced by the people of Africa and the destruction of our environment. However, it is the policies of these governments and the capitalist system they support which is to blame for these problems in the first place!

Every day 30 thousand children die preventable deaths in Africa alone, due to poverty, disease and starvation. With proper use of modern technology, distribution of food supplies and provision of medicines, these problems could be rapidly dealt with. However, multinational companies take these things out of the reach of the continent's people through their insatiable desire for profit. These companies also rape Africa's huge natural wealth to line their own pockets.

World leaders, including those in the G8, refuse to deal with the threat of global warming to our very existence. To do so would mean dramatically cutting the use of fossil fuels and developing renewable energy sources. This would threaten the profits of the oil barons, who pull the strings of capitalist governments. We are currently in the middle of biggest mass extinction of species since the event which wiped out the dinosaurs! Capitalism naturally breeds overproduction and waste.

The G8 summit is always a focus of huge counter-demonstrations by angry workers and young people and this July will be no different. Hundreds of thousands are expected to converge on Gleneagles and Edinburgh, not least because it will be another chance to voice our anger against Bush, Blair and their supporters who were responsible for the devastating war for oil in Iraq which has cost the lives of 100,000 Iraqi people.

School students from West Belfast, including members of Socialist Youth, have set up Students Against Poverty and have organised a bus to the counter-summit so they can make their voices heard against the destructive neo-liberal policies and war mongering of the G8.

Socialist Youth will also be organising a bus to Scotland. International Socialist Resistance is holding a youth camp during the summit. We will be intervening explaining the socialist alternative to the madness of capitalism.

Transport will be provided to all the protests and meetings planned at the counter-summit. It will also be an opportunity for political discussion with young socialists from across Europe.

If you want to join the thousands of young people standing against the corrupt policies of the G8 in Scotland, contact Socialist Youth on 07821058619 or socialist_youth@hotmail.com for more information!