Government policy and 'global investment' as 'plunder of the Commons'

Capitalist global investment as a parasite

These headings caught my eye in the past couple of days, and I take this opportunity to share them with you now to emphasise the dangers of deregulation, or 'regulation by the market'.

The first is from Camden New Journal:

Camden’s ‘North Sea oil’ land and property deals to be investigated

Panel of backbenchers set up to look into performance of flagship Communiy Investment Programme

17 October, 2019 — By Richard Osley

 ......

Luxury flats tower in Somers Town

ONE of the most controversial projects in Camden’s Community Investment Programme collection of schemes has been taken over by partners in the Far East looking to capitalise on a tower of luxury flats.

How the new tower will look

The council has levered in investment for new facilities for Edith Neville Primary School, whose site had fallen into disrepair, and nearly 40 new council homes by allowing a development which will dramatically change the skyline in Somers Town.

Hong Kong-based investment company Prime Pacific and the ED Group Holding, based in the UK and Europe, have “formed a strategic joint venture” to work on residential developments in London and have exchanged contracts on the 22-storey tower project.

It will feature 54 private apartments which are already being promoted with the promise of panoramic views and its proximity to the railwaylands regeneration in King’s Cross site....

 The second is from London School of Economics International Inequalities Institute:

WATCH 'Plunder of the Commons: a manifesto for sharing public wealth'
With Professor Guy Standing, David Lammy MP and Caroline Lucas MP

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Accelerated by Margaret Thatcher and then even more so in the austerity era, our Commons have been depleted illegitimately. The commons belong to all commoners, and include the natural resources, inherited social amenities and services, our cultural inheritance, the institutions of civil common law and the knowledge commons. The rights of commoners were first established in the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest in 1217.
This presentation shows how all forms of commons have been taken in the neo-liberal era, through enclosure, commodification, privatisation and, most shockingly, colonisation, highlighting how this has increased inequality. It concludes by outlining the key components of a 44-Article Charter of the Commons that could be an integrated part of an ecologically progressive politics in Britain and elsewhere.

Watch here

Instead of a "home owning democracy" we now have public land and buildings sold off to remote 'investors' by indirect routes, and "there [should be] no such thing as society" as a major legacy of Thatcherism, as Guy Standing argues. It is a further 'plunder of the Commons'.

Meanwhile, a registered charity called 'Optimum Population Trust' or 'Population Matters' blames over-population and lack of birth control for shortages of land, etc. Eg, Population Matters: For a Sustainable Future. 

Yet when land is owned by remote control and vast wealth, I am reminded of the practice of food supplies as 'commodities' and supplies of those 'commodities' are destroyed to increase price or value. That phenomena is clearly illustrated in a song by Tom Paxton, called 'Feed the Children' that he recorded around 1979:

Lyric content of Tom Paxton's song, 'Feed the Children'

"Feed The Children" lyrics

Tom Paxton Lyrics

"Feed The Children"

The cribs are bursting with ears of corn
A hungry cry from a child is torn
In all the shops no corn to buy
And all ask why

The grain is piled high in every bin
Still the wagons bring more in
It seems as if each pile would try
To touch the sky

And yet the child will get no bread
They'll burn it all down to dust instead
Destroy it all; do you wonder why
The price stays high

Feed the children
Feed them all
Feed the children
Let no war
Prevent the child from being fed
Jesus said
Feed the children

Feed the children
Feed them all
Feed the children
Let no war
Prevent the child from being fed
Jesus said
Feed the children

The market rises, the market falls
The market races, the market stalls
The price is hot, now the price is cold
The grain is sold

It changes hands, now it's sold again
It's in the hands of the middle men
The smiles are warm and their eyes are cold
They pay in gold

The mothers weep and the children cry
But people sleep and the children die
How many more must die tonight
'Til the price is right

Feed the children
Feed them all
Feed the children
Let no war
Prevent the child from being fed
Jesus said
Feed the children

Feed the children
Feed them all
Feed the children
Let no war
Prevent the child from being fed
Jesus said
Feed the children
Jesus said
Feed the children 

 

Source: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tompaxton/feedthechildren.html

See also https://newsforwardsfromalanwheatley.blogspot.com/2019/10/government-and-fiona-bruce-backing-for-mipim-uk-summit-2019.html