Food stamps and consciousness and the difference between Ireland and the US.

I was born in Ireland, a country with a history of centuries of oppression and exploitation. British colonialism, British and US, other international capitalist powers and local capitalism, have been the source of this. The state apparatus in Ireland , the armed bodies of men and women, and the government and political bureaucracies have represented these forces. This has had a big effect on consciousness. For working class people these state and political institutions tend to be seen as the enemy. For working class people therefore it tends to be natural to try and get what we can from the state and the powers that be in whatever way we can. If we are not getting as much as we can from the state and the employers then we are idiots. The art of fiddling the state and the corporations is an accepted, in fact an expected, art form in Ireland.

When I came over here I saw things tended to be different. The system here has had much greater success in convincing the majority of the working class that they should not accept help from the state. The system has even managed to convince the majority that it was a disgrace to accept welfare. It was okay for the corporations to be bailed out and get welfare, it was okay for the banks and financial institutions to be bailed out and get welfare, but for ordinary people, they had to stand on their own feet. The majority of ordinary people even tended to think it was un-American to accept welfare or help from the state, never mind engage in the good old fashioned fiddle.

Well things are changing. Those applying for and receiving food stamps has gone up by one third in the past two years to 36 million. 1 in 8 Americans and 1 in 4 American children are now on food stamps. Warren county in Ohio was so against government help that in its insanity it refused its share of the government stimulus but now food stamp use in the county has doubled. Things become clearer when you are hungry.

One couple explained that they had started the year expecting to earn $70,000 but both were laid off and they ended up in their house one night with one can of beans. They explained they became angry at each other. "You get irritable when you are hungry." Yes this sounds right. The man explained: "I always thought people on public assistance were lazy but it helps me know I can feed my kids." This man's consciousness like that of tens of millions of others is being changed by the crisis of capitalism of the past year. Belief in the system is weakening and a movement to struggle is being prepared.

Events change consciousness. When the overwhelming majority of Americans could have well paid jobs the system was able to convince them that all who could not get by were lazy and shirkers, that they did not deserve help. They were able to divide the working class from the poor and in this way divide and rule. They were able to attach a stigma to receiving food stamps and welfare. This helped the right wing political forces keep their base. But things are changing. As more and more people have to get food stamps to survive more and more people are seeing that it is the system that is to blame not poor people. This is preparing the basis for a new movement of struggle from below.

Sean.