An article by Piers Mostyn on the Murdoch Empire phone hacking scandal (http:// socialistresistance.org/2253) and its follow up (http:// socialistresistance.org/2305) generated a lot of discussion on the Socialist Resistance website. We present a few edited extracts from the comments together with a reply by Piers. An updated article on this topic appears in this issue of Socialist Resistance. We welcome further debate by email, post or at socialistresistance.org Social media • Very good article revealing the depth to which 'criminal" late capitalism will sink to keep control. Only element not discussed is the social media and various internet campaigns against Murdoch's proposed takeover of BskyB which had at least some impact on the shift away from supporting News Corporation by the ruling class. And now Brooks has resigned as well - good riddance. The Cameron government must be thanking their lucky stars that Parliament has gone off for their extended summer break. The faces of Osborne, May and Clegg while Cameron was 'answering' questions on Wednesday was a sight for sore eyes! Jane Kelly Working class cynicism • I'm not sure I buy into Piers' analysis that the revelations have happened now due to an upsurge in working class militancy, and that the ruling class is on the run. I'm not sure that Piers does completely either, as he also seems to suggest that how much it is a defeat for the ruling class depends on whether a movement is built on the issue. He then shows how little the hacking scandal has impacted on support for the various parties. In some ways, this is all reminiscent of the expenses scandal, which seems to have just increased working class cynicism about MPs. Of course, it is a bigger issue, not least because it involves police and media corruption and scandal, as well as MPs. Also, the subsequent changes may be greater - such as measures in relation to media ownership, and monitoring schmoozing between various sectors of the ruling class. If the scandal extends to the USA, then the most positive outcome could be the discrediting of Fox News. PhilW • I guess what I was trying to get across in the first piece was two things: first that there must have been some trigger for this all to come out now - when it relates to information that has been sitting there for years. Secondly that it just so happens that over the past couple of years the ruling class has gone through something of a crisis - political and economic -that has had an impact on its traditional sense of unity and internal solidarity. To what degree it manages to hold together nonetheless will to an extent depend on the amount of external pressure - from objective factors and from the working class. It is therefore possible that the timing of this scandal's eruption is the product of the working through of these pressures weakening the bonds of internal solidarity among the various forces at play in the drama. The outpouring of public anger (expressed through twitter and petitions) has led to serious defeats for a major global capitalist player. Those aren't strategic set backs. But it is an opening, a situation of weakness that the working class can and should take advantage of. But in the absence of a an organised movement capable of pressing demands the bourgeoisie will make it's own efforts to recover and rebuild with only the most token and superficial reforms. Piers Real democracy now! • I was delighted to read the article Republicanism isn't an optional Extra' for the left (SR, July / August). As a long time republican, I couldn't
31 agree more. As a taxpayer I recently resented paying for the wedding of two people I don't even know: William and Kate. Coming from wealthy backgrounds, they should have paid for it themselves. The Queen's vast inherited wealth could have funded it easily in full. Yet, it's not just the unearned privilege of the Royal Family and Monarchy that is morally dubious. Monarchy is also a constraint on the ambitions and abilities of ordinary people. Anyone should be able to become Head of State, if they can get a mandate from the voting public. The Monarchy and whole Royal Family is costly, elitist and undemocratic. All socialists should indeed demand that these institutions go. Let's demand Real democracy now!" as the cover of 'Socialist Resistance' put it! Graeme Kemp You can comment on many of the issues raised in articles in this issue of Socialist Resistance at www.socialistresistance.org. or simply drop us a line at PO Box 62732, London, SW2 9GQ