What Difference Does It Make?

The Smiths released one of their most well-known songs in 1984 called, “What Difference Does It Make?”. Like a lot of Morrissey’s lyrics, I haven’t got a clue what the words are about, but then I’ve never been good at interpreting lyrics or poetry for that matter, so I’m not going to speculate what the theme of the song is. There are several interpretations on the worldwide web – some of which are about Morrissey coming out.

Alas, this isn’t what I want to talk about, because today I’ve returned to work after the Christmas break. I’ve got a cold and some bruised ribs, but that doesn’t stop me from sitting in front of a laptop. Whether I should have taken the day off as a sick day is another issue, but who cares, I’m typing this during work time, and if this article ever finds its way to the editor of the Daily Mail, then yes, I am shirking work and yes, I am fully funded by the taxpayer. Its precisely for this reason that Kemi Badknock will come in and do away with the public sector altogether, at the behest of the aforementioned rag above, and its loyal readership. Hence, I may as well make the most of the next four years under Comrade Starmer and learn more about Marxism-Leninism before I get found out and sent packing, along with all my other colleagues.

Of course, for all their bluster, Badknock or Farage won’t dispose of the public sector and many of us will (probably) still be working for the same council in 2029. But leaving aside the ridiculous and suicidal fantasy of the extreme right-wing capitalists to “get rid of the state” for a moment, this morning I had to ask myself, what difference does it make whether I turn in or not? Just how relevant is my job? How relevant are the people that I work with? As someone who works within Transport Planning, just what is the point in this sector? The same goes for Planning (Development Control)., and the Environmental sector (park rangers, for example). These are massive sectors with billions of pounds of capital sloshing around them, and we as communists know why they’re important.

But answering these questions in the here and now of the present capitalist system is difficult, hence the title of this article. But why?

Well, who gives a shit about planning, transport and the environment anyway? Workers need to be able to get from A to B – preferably safely, quickly, comfortably, cheaply, and conveniently. Even if you don’t work, or work from home, we all need essential supplies, like food, bog roll, clothes, grape scissors, although in this day and age, you could always just stay inside and order everything online….

But that’s by the by. We all need to get about, and with 70 million people on this island, that requires a degree of planning. The same applies to housing. We all need somewhere to live, so houses need to be planned and built. As do shops, hospitals, railway stations, and so on. Everything.

So why would working within the sectors of transport and planning feel so irrelevant and insignificant? Why would workers in those sectors feel so demoralised and disenfranchised?

The Guardian would write a dissertation of pretentious nonsense trying to make itself look clever in order to answer these questions, but I will point directly at the present capitalist system and explain why the only solution is a worker-led planned economy. The Guardian would never do that, and that’s why I fucking hate liberals. But that’s for another day.

Quite simply, and to reference Comrade Joti in her excellent speech on January the 5th , our entire economy is completely pointless. We’re incredibly unproductive. We have countless jobs (and entire sectors) which contribute nothing positive to society. We’re a nation of parasites, as Joti rightly says, whether we like it or not. It’s the sad reality of our political, social and economic system.

Only under the conditions of the present system can we reduce such important industries as transport and planning to frivolous pastimes.

So what if a train driver doesn’t turn up for work because he’s fed up with the shit working conditions? If it means that a few dozen people miss their train to work, so what? Why would the rail company give a toss? Besides, they can always get the bus, can’t they? Well so what if the buses get stuck in traffic, making everyone late for work? Why would the bus company care? Well, if you don’t like the bus, you can always drive, can’t you? Okay, you’ll get stuck in the same traffic as the buses, and then have to find a parking space, but why would the Highway Authority care about relieving congestion? Fine, so you can’t drive and want to ride your bike in, but there are no cycle lanes, and you end up getting wiped out by a car and end up in hospital. Again, why would the local Highway Authority care? What are they gonna do about it?

The present system has no accountability. Parasitic train companies, parasitic housing developers, impotent local councils…. Parasites take no responsibility while impotent councils have no ability to take responsibility, precisely because they are so weak and, I would say, hopeless. And by that I don’t just mean incompetence, rather, they are broken remnants of a public sector that once used to have a modicum of competence, accountability, and autonomy.

Today, the public sector is accountable to the private sector. It’s the private sector that calls the shots. Train companies exist to make a profit, as do housing developers. Everything else, like fixing potholes, is secondary. The government, of course, must provide funding to councils to pay for road repairs and other bits of transport infrastructure (or else where would the money come from?), but as we all know, its never anywhere near enough. So, councils are in a perpetual head-lock, stuck in a doom loop of being under-funded, under-staffed, and always an easy scapegoat for workers who are fed up with shite transport infrastructure and services.

So, who would want to work in this industry? What’s the point? What difference can you make?

A few years ago, Britain was supposed to be getting a high-speed rail line from London to Manchester. Then last year, the government (and it really doesn’t matter who was in charge) fucked it off, cutting it short at Birmingham. And while that case is worthy of further investigation in its own right, the crux of the matter is that it was – and still is – one of the most parasitic infrastructure projects in British history. No citation needed. The figures are eye-wateringly mind-boggling. There may be bigger white elephant failures to come in the future, but the level of parasitism involved was, in some ways, world-leading. If there’s one thing Britain’s world class at, its parasitism and spunking untold billions of pounds down the drain. Future historians will look back at this era in awe of how talented our rulers were at bleeding their workers dry.

But back to the point. We don’t get anything done because we can’t get anything done. And we can’t get anything done precisely because we are ruled by parasites.

So, what difference does it make if I don’t turn in? What difference does it make if I leave and go to a different council? Who cares? Same shit, different town.

Only by dismantling the present system and putting the workers in charge can we empower workers, increase productivity, and achieve our full potential.

In the words of Oscar Wilde’s mum (thanks again to Moz), A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours.

by CJ, January 2025