In Defence of Marxism

In capitalist Russia squeezing extra last kopek of profit out of the blood, sweat and tears of the workers is too little for the capitalists. No, the workers must then squeeze themselves, extracting every last ruble they can out of their own sweat and blood even when they have left the factory gates.

This is the situation at the Nestle factory in Perm, in the Urals of Russia. Rather than raise wages at a time of rampant inflation, managers tell workers to supplement their income by donating blood.

In the video of a union picket, the workers speak for themselves in describing the arrogant attitude of management and the constant pressure and stress that is forced on them every day at work.

In Nestle's Corporate Principles document (pages 11-12) the company speaks for itself in its propaganda about labour values, such as the aim "to establish staff relations based on trust, integrity and honesty." Source

The more grotesque and reactionary capitalism is, the more grotesque and reactionary is its hypocrisy.

The brutal attitude to workers comes at a time when profits are at record highs, up by 15.8% in 2007 to $9.7bn, in spite of higher commodity prices for milk, cocoa and other agricultural goods. Higher input prices have actually helped boost profits by giving the company the green light to raise its own prices by even more - at the expense of consumers. And, at the same time, these profits are due to squeezing the workers, who see the products of their labour sell for ever higher prices.

If the capitalists are so desperate for more money, why don't they take their own advice and donate their own blood?