Arguably, capitalists’ most time-honored principle is: “We have nothing to revere but fear itself.” E.g., I’ve just been reading a new book, “The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm,” by Juliet Nicolson (granddaughter of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson). It contains a gripping account of the 1911 London dock strike, a bitter struggle that played a pivotal role in advancing the power of UK organized labor and that revealed Winston Churchill at his reactionary worst. Key points:
* Thanks to the strenuous efforts of David Lloyd George, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, a peaceful settlement to the strike was reached on Aug. 18, 1911, narrowly avoiding threatened army action to break the strike by force.
* Even King George V was ecstatic at Lloyd George’s success, congratulating the chancellor for “averting a most disastrous calamity ... [that] has caused me the greatest possible anxiety.” OTOH, Churchill – then Home Secretary and a perennial arch-imperialist/capitalist – was bitterly disappointed to learn that the strike had not been broken by military force.
Juliet Nicolson writes:
“A message ... [stating that a dock strike settlement had been reached was sent to] Churchill, who was packing to leave London for the weekend. He telephoned almost at once, asking to speak to the triumphant mediator [Lloyd George]. ‘I’m very sorry to hear it,’ Churchill spluttered. ‘It would have been better to have gone on and given these men a good thrashing.’ And having made his own feelings clear, he left to play golf.”
A prick for all reasons was old Winnie.
Carl
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