Having carried out a return to capitalism in 1991, the bourgeoisie through the media promised a wonderful life for all inhabitants of Latvia, including the working majority. At that moment, many people, not knowing the true face of capitalism, opened their mouths and believed in these fairy tales, which, however, is quite understandable, given the artificially created shortage of consumer goods in the late 80s and early 90s.
Except that under capitalism, side by side with apparent commodity abundance come unemployment, inflation, and economic stratification of society. The ruling class, i.e. large capital, and their faithful servants do not care about these problems. The capitalists’ profits ensure the preservation of a high standard of living even if the income of the majority of the population drops. Officials, board members of state-owned companies, deputies and their assistants, all of whom are well-paid and well insured, can live their lives as long as they help to implement the policies of the bourgeois dictatorship. Who is left? – Right, the workers. So we are the ones who are suffering the full force of capitalism.
A survey by Intrum showed: 84% of Latvians are worried about price increases. Latvia is once again ahead of the rest of the world on this indicator. It is safe to say that among these 84% there is not a single member of the board of directors of “Latvijas Gāze” or “Latvenergo”. There are no high ranking officials among them, owners, co-owners and managers of big Latvian enterprises and newly emerged ranties. No, these 84% include those who have to sell their ability to work every day – working people.
The bourgeoisie is not worried. It has quietly raised prices, and is in no hurry to increase wages. Statistics, however, report an average increase in wages of more than 10%. What is really happening?
Comrade workers, We would like to know the real picture of what is happening. To what extent does your worker show his social responsibility? Send us information about whether your salary has recently increased (or decreased).
Inflation (an increase in the price of all goods except labor) is the perfect opportunity to reach into the pockets of workers without giving away any intentions. Why reduce wages when we can simply raise prices? The people most concerned about this robbery are the inhabitants of Eastern and Southern Europe – namely, those workers whose cheap labor is used by the capitalist center, whose territory it uses to market low-quality goods, and whose bourgeoisie is so weak that it is completely subservient to the big imperialist states, both economically and politically.
These are all obvious phenomena of the capitalist world, and for Latvia, as long as it remains capitalist, with its place in the periphery, to expect better is naive and stupid. Bourgeois politicians, promising “the second Norway” in 10-20 years, are blatantly lying (to put it mildly!), and those who believe them at their word are complete idiots. No one will help the working people but ourselves.
