• ACCORDING to Aristotle, there are two forms of government: democracy, the rule of the poor, and oligarchy, the rule of the rich.

For the past 30 years, we had a rule of the rich. Their economic power is expressed by extreme exploitation in the developing world, producing massive profits.

The purpose of profit is to get more profit, so most of it goes into finance (industry in the developed world not being so profitable). This leads to fantasy finance and collapse, as in 2008.

After finance, there’s investment in assets or asset bubbles, like housing. On Maiden Lane estate, most of the new homes are really assets. They were not built to solve the housing crisis. This was done by kicking the homeless off the waiting list.

Complementary to their economic policy is austerity. Its main purpose is to depress wages. One of its results can be seen in the metre-square charity box for Maiden Lane at the local Sainsbury’s.

I live on the Maiden Lane estate and I want, among other demands, a basic wage that covers housing costs for everybody, an end to the inquisition against the disabled, a fully public health service, the reinstatement of legal aid so we can all have access to justice, and local government to represent the borough, not the corporate privatisers.

I do not want a bag of donated pasta.

In the election, a vote for the Labour Party is a vote for the Labour Party under Corbyn. A victory will be the beginning of government for the people. A defeat will be the return of Labour as a party of the oligarchy.

RD WARREN
Broadfield Lane, NW1