aprii / aprile / abrll / avrll 1978 14
inlerrogations international review of anarchist research / rivista internazionale di ricerche anarchiche / revue internationale de recherche anarchiste / revista internacional de investigaci6n anarquista Technobureaucracy and city llfe (part one) 7 Per una definizione del nuovi padroni 25 Les nouveaux maitres: confluences et particularités lati no-americai nes 65 La clase alta franquista espai'lola 87 14 APRIL APRILE ABRIL AVRIL 1978 NINO STAFFA AMEDEO BERTOLO LOUIS MERCIER VEGA CARLOS M. RAMA
prezzo / prix / price / 1precio abbonamento / abonnement / subscription / subscripci6n amministrazione e redazione / administration et redaction / management and editing / administraci6n y redacci6n pagamenti / versements / payments / pagos distribuzione / distribution / distribution / distribuci6n interrogations TRIMESTRALE / TRIMESTRIELLE / TRIMESTRAL / EVERY THREE MONTHS 1200 lire / 10 francs f. / 1 pound U.K. / 120 pesetas / or the equivalent in the country currency of 2 dollars U.S. 4 volte il prezzo / 4 foix le prix / 4 times the prices / 4 veces el precio EDIZIONI INTERROGATIONS, via G. Reni 96/6 10136 Torino, ITALIA English language section: INTERROGATIONS, BM BOX 746, London WC 1 V6XX, GREAT BRITAIN ROBERTO AMBROSOLI, c.c.p. 2/18534, via A. Vespucci 41 bis, 10129 Torino ITALIA ISAT, via Decembrio 26, 20137 Milano, ITALIA ALTERNATIVE, 51 rue Saint Honoré, 75001 Paris, FRANCE LIBROS DOGAL, Sambara 81, Madrid 27, ESPAlilA BAS MOREEL, Nobelweg 108, Wageningen, NEDERLAND DIRETTORE RESPONSABILE: Paolo Finzi lscri. Tribunale di Torino n. 2683 del 1.4.1977 OFFICINE GRAFICHE SABAINI - MILANO Dans les prochaines numeros / En los proximos numeros / In the very next issues / Nei prossimi numeri: ENRIQUE GUTIERREZ, Pouvoir et corruption en Bolivie. EDUARDO COLOMBO, Des ideologies complementaires pour les nouveaux patrons. CLAUDIO VENZA, Elementi tecnoburocratici nelle Forze Armate italiane. ALBERT MEISTER, Self-management et autogestion dans !'industrie et dans la formation.
Come abbiamo annunciato sul numero scorso, dal 25 al 27 marzo si è tenuto a Venezia il Convegno Internazionale sui « nuovi padroni», organizzato dalla nostra rivista e dal Centro Studi Libertari di Milano. Senza falsa modestia, riteniamo sia stato un convegno importante. Per la profondità, il rigore delle relazioni presentate, è stato un contributo qualificato alla comprensione di quel « potere tecnoburocratico » che, per la sua estensione e pericolosità, riteniamo nostro dovere di anarchici studiare attentamente. Gli atti integrali del Convegno verranno pubblicati in lingua italiana, a cura delle Edizioni Antistato. Su lnterrogations appariranno invece, nella lingua originale, le relazioni più interessanti e più rispondenti allo spirito che anima la rivista. Fra di esse, presentiamo in questo numero lo studio di Amedeo Bertolo ( « Per una definizione dei nouvi padroni») e quello del compianto Louis Mercier Vega (« Confluences et particularités latino-americaines »), concepito circa un anno fa in previsione del convegno che si è tenuto a Venezia. Entrambi i lavori (con particolare riferimento all'Italia il primo, al Sud America il secondo) tentano un esame, per così dire, « sintetico » della tecnoburocrazia, che viene considerata nel suo complesso, globalmente. Qui sta il principale motivo del loro interesse. Il lavoro di Carlos M. Rama («La clase alta franquista espafiola ») ha invece un'impostazione più analitica, ma fornisce al lettore un notevole numero di informazioni e considerazioni, utili per la dentificazione dei nuovi padroni nella realtà spagnola. Completa questo numero di Interrogations, la prima parte dello studio di Nino Staffa ( « Technobureaucracy and city life ») che dimostra come l'assetto delle grandi metropoli moderne rifletta la natura tecnoburocratica delle classi dominanti. Il discorso vale per l'Inghilterra, ma è estendibile, senza eccessiva difficoltà, anche ad altri paesi europei. Il testo che pubblichiamo è l'originale, assai più ampio e documentato di quello, forzatamente condensato per poter essere letto in pubblico, presentato a Venezia. La seconda parte apparirà sul numero 15. 3
Como habiamos anunciado en el pasado numero, entre el 25 y el 27 de Marzo se ha celebrado en Venecia el Congreso internacional de estudios sobre «nuevos amos», organizado por nuestra revista y el Centro de Estudios Libertarios de Milan. Sin falsa modestia, creemos que ha sido una reuni6n importante. Por la profundidad y el rigor de las ponencias presentadas, fue una contribuci6n cualificada p<".ra la comprensi6n del « Poder tecnoburocratico » que, por su estensi6n y peligrosidad, creemos nuestro deber de anarquistas estudiar atentamente. Los actos integrales del Congreso seran publicados en lengua italiana por Edicciones Antistato. Por otro lado, sobre « Interrogaci6n » aparecera - en lengua original - una relaci6n mas interesan te y mas coherente con el espiritu que anima esta revista. En ella, presentamos en éste numero el estudio de Amedeo Bertolo ( « Por una definici6n de los nuevos amos ») y la del fallecido Louis Mercier Vega (« Confluencias y particularidades latinoamericanas ») concebido hace una afio en previsi6n del congreso que se ha producido en Venecia. Los dos trabajos, el primero referido a Italia y el segundo a Latino-America, intentan un examen - por asi decirlo, «sintetico» de la tecnoburocracia que esta considerada en su total complejidad. Este es el principal motivo de su interes. El trabajo de Carlos M. Rama (« La clase alta franquista espafiola ») tiene una postura muy analitica que proporciona al lector un notable numero de informaciones y consideraciones, util para la identificaci6n del nuevo patr6n en la realidad espafiola. Completa este numero de « Interrogaci6n » la primera parte del estudio de Nino Staffa (« Tecnoburocracia y vida urbana »), que demuestra corno la estructura de la gran metropoli refleja la naturaleza tecnoburocratica de la clase dominante. El analisis vale para Inglaterra pero es estensible - sin escesiva dificultad - a otros paises europeos. El texto que publicamos es el origina! y mas amplio y documentado que el presentado en Venecia, forzosamente condensado para poder ser leido en publico. La segunda parte aparecera en el numero 15. 4
Comme nous l'annoncions dans le dernier numéro, la conférence internationale d'études sur les nouveaux maitres s'est tenue du 25 au 27 mars à Venise, sous les auspices de notre revue et du Centro Studi Libertari « Pinelli » de Milan. Sans fausse modestie nous pouvons dire que cette réunion a été importante. Le sérieux et la rigueur des communications ont contribué notamment à la compréhension du « pouvoir techno-bureaucratique » que nous jugeons nécessaire, en tant qu'anarchistes, d'étudier de près en raison de son étendue et des dangers qu'il présente. Les actes du congrès seront publiés en italien aux éditions Antistato à Milan. Dans Interrogations paraitront à partir de ce numéro, et dans la langue originale cette fois, les textes les plus intéressants, ceux qui correspondent le plus à l'esprit qui anime la revue. Nous publions dans ce numéro l'étude d'Amedeo Bertolo ( « Pour unè définition des nouveaux patrons ») et celle de Louis Mercier Vega ( « Confluences et particularités latino-amériaines » ), cette dernière ayant été rédigés il y a un an en prévision du colloque de Venise. Les deux travaux (le premier se référant plus particulièrement à l'Italie, le second à l'Amérique latine) tentent d'examiner assez systématiquement la techno-bureaucratie dans ses dimensions globales: c'est là la principale raison de leur intéret. L'étude de Carlos Rama ( « La classe supérieure franquiste en Espagne ») est quant à elle plus analytique mai fournit au lecteur nombre d'informations et de considérations utiles pour identifier les nouveaux patrons dans la réalité espagnole. La première partie d'un travail de Nino Staffa ( « Techno-bureaucratie et vie urbaine ») complète ce numéro: elle démontre comment la structure et l'équipement des grandes métropoles modernes reflète la nature techno-bureaucratique des classes dominantes. L'analyse vaut pour l'Angleterre, mais on peut sans difficulté l'étendre à d'autres pays, et pas seulement en Europe. Nous publions ici le texte origina!, qui a été présenté à Venise sous forme extremement condensée. La seconde partie pa:raitra dans le numéro 15. 5
As announced in the last issue the lnternational Convention of Studies on the New Bosses, organized by this magazine and the Centro Studi Libertari « Pinelli » of Milan, was held in Venice from the 25 th to the 27th March. Laying aside false modesty, we consider the meeting to have been an important one. By the depth and rigorousness of the reports presented, it made a notable contribution to the understanding of « technobureaucratic power » which we considee it our duty as anarchists to study attentively because of the way it is spreading and the dangers it presents. The entire proceedings of the Convention will be published in ltalian by Edizioni Antistato. Starting with this number, however, Interrogations will publish in their originai language the most interesting of the articles which are in keeping with the moving spirit of this magazine. For our first selection we present studies by Amedeo Bertolo ( « Per una definizione dei nuovi padroni ») and by the late, lamented Louis Mercier Vega ( « Confluences et particularites latino-americaines » ). Mercier's article was prepared a year ago in anticipation of the Venice convention. Both works (the .first with particular reference to Italy, the second to South America) attempt what we might call an « overview » of the technobureaucracy as a whole. This is their main interest. Carlos M. Rama's work ( « La clase alta franquista espaiiola ») is of a more analytical character, but it provides the reader with a remarkable amount of information and insights with which to identify the new bosses in the contemporary Spanish situation. This number of Interrogations is completed by the first part of Nino Staffa's study ( « Technobureaucracy and city life ») which shows how the structuring of the great modern metropolises reflects the technobureaucratic nature of the ruling classes. The argument is centred on England but it can also be extended without great difficulty to other countries, and not merely European ones. The text we are publishing is the originai one, considerably longer and more documented than the version presented at Venice, which was necessarily much more condensed for public delivery. The second part will appear in no. 15. 6
TechnobureaucracJ and city llfe (PARTONE) NINO STAFFA (*) Cities and the way that people live in them and use them are a reflection of the way in which society functions. It is reasonable to assume also that those with the most power in society will tend to reinforce their position by taking the most physically desirable positions within the urban system. The ruling class or classes achieve this by altering or attempting to alter the shape and organisation of the urban system in order to facilitate the smooth functioning of the economie and socia! activities of that ruling class. « OLD » AND «NEW» EXPLOITATION The present-day power class structure in Britain developed as the result of the existence of a powerful capitalist/bourgeois class followed by the growth of a professional/managerial class and the occurence of intense but objectively limited labour struggles. Unlike either Italy or Germany, where the socia! and economie conditions of the time resulted in the take-over of power by the Fascists and Nazis which accentuated the effects of certain elements still having profound effects on the power structure of both countries ( 1), in Britain no such dramatic take-over of power occurred. The « struggle » between the ruling class and any aspiring ruling classes in Britain has gone through an evolutionary rather than revolutionary process. The aristocracy, th~ capitalist class, the professional/managerial class and the (*) The author was born in ltaly but has lived in Britain since the age of f. He ìs at present employed in a Housing Department. (1) LUCIANO LANZA, Elementi tecnoburocratici dell'economia fascista, in « Interrogations » 5, december 1975. 7
NINO STAFFA industria! working class have together added to and modified the ruling class system which resulted from the industria! revolution. Consequently, in modem-day British society, a great variety of public and private institutions contro! and dictate how we live, where we live, in what type of accommodation we live, and the amount of energy and resources that we must expend in arder to survive. In the Victorian cities the polarisation between the capitalist/bourgeois class and the proletariat found physical expression in the stark contrast between the luxurious accomodation occupied by the capitalist/bourgeois minority and the unsanitary, miserable and inhuman life-style of the urban proletariat. This contrast was so great that it led Marx and Engels to mistakenly conclude that Britain would be amongst the first nations in which the « inevitable » revolution would take place. Engels' description of Manchester in his « The Condition of the Working Class in England » provides a convincing account of how the miserable life-style of the proletariat would almost certainly have led them towards the revolution. « The workers have been caged in dwellings which are so wretched that no one else will live in them ... Industry alone has been responsible for all this and yet this same industry could not flourish except by degrading and exploiting the workers ... But have either the landowners or the authorities done anything to improve matters when new buildings were erected? Far from adopting any such policy those responsible for recent developments have built houses in every conceivable nook and cranny ... No hovel is so wretched but it will find a worker to rent it because he is too poor to pay for better accomodation » (2). The bourgeoisie was also aware of the obvious danger to themselves that the « masses » represented. As far back as 1750 London already housed 10% of the total population of England and whilst the quality of the housing stock had certainly improved by the year 1900 a housing problem of comparable and possbly even more frightening proportions still existed. Sections of the bourgeoisie accordingly had already mobilised themselves in severa! ways. Reformers such as Owen, Salt and others built «model» towns in which the wotking classes could work, live decently and improve their morals (2) F. ENGELS, Manchester in 1844, reprinted in « Cities in Modern Britain » edited by C. Lambert and D. Weir (Fontana 1975). 8
TECHNOBUREAUCRACY ANO CITY LIFE according to Victorian bourgeois norms. Some members of the bourgeoisie went to live in or dose to the proletarian areas in order to help and influence the poor « masses » by their gentrifying presence. Much pressure was brought to bear on Parliamen t by other upper class reformers to introduce « sanitary Acts » and measures to contro! and regulate substandard housing. Unfortunately these measures resulted in demolitions and loss of accomodation for many so that by the year 1900 despite all these efforts a very serious housing problem still persisted. The revolution predicted by Marx and Engels and feared by the bourgeoisie of the Victorian era has so far failed to materialise and the housing conditions of the majority of the population have reached a socially acceptable standard. The polarisation between two classes typical of the Victorian era has developed towards a more complex social system in which a greater number of social « classes » compete with each other for access to space in the urban system. In generai, however, there is increasing divergence between the highest and lowest strata of society but increasing convergence between the various intermediate strata (3). The increasing bureaucratisation of many aspects of the British economie and social system has resulted in the development of a system of access to jobs and housing accommodation wich provides differing levels of social, physical and financial rewards dependent on how « suitable » the individua! is for a place in the hierarchies of the administrative, the productive and the service sectors. This « suitability » is at present dependen t on a mix ture of factors such as social class origin, colour of skin, sex, and so on. TRANSITION AND DECLINE The industria! revolution, as is well known, brought about a massive expansion of the towns and cities of Britain. A labour force had to be created where none had existed before and housing had to be provided. However, building houses for the workers was not a very profitable form of investment but the investors with a stake in the factories of the area had to provide new housing so as to ensure that there was and adequate supply of labour available locally. Hence new housing (3) A detailed statistica! study of this phenomenon is provided by R.N. Davidson's and D. Weir's Changes in Residential Structure and Class Convergence in Hull. From « Cities in Modem Britain ». 9
NINO STAFFA of poor quality was built by the industialists for migrant workers who had been driven to the growth areas for work in order to survive. For a certain amount of time the industries which had established themselves in the industria! areas of Britain continued to provide stable employment and the local population also became well established. As these firms amalgamated into larger units to form trusts and then multinational corporations new forms of investment in other localities became necessary. Leslie Hannah describes how the firms which developed in the period of the industria! revolution differ from the firms in the pr~sent century and what effect this transition has had socially, politically and economically. « It is a commonplace that in the course of the present century British industry has witnessed a transformation from a disaggregated structure of predominantly small, competing firms to a concentrated structure dominated by large, and often monopolistic corporations... In qualitative terms also the firms of today, and particularly the larger ones, differ significantly from their Victorian forebears: they are more diversified, they have more complex organization structures, they spend more on research, they are more likely to acquire contro} of rivals, and they are now themselves more frequently the subject of takeover bids. Many of their products are also very different from those of Victorian firms, for the development of large corporations is closely bound up with the « second industria! revolution », with twentieth century economie growth based on electricity, the motor car and chemicals, rather than steam, railways and textiles ... The significance of this organisational transformation extends beyond the economie sphere; there are profound politica! and sociologica! implications also. It has facilitated, and perhaps induced, substantial changes in the relationship between government and industry. lt has brought an increasing number of workers into the employment of large organisations. lt has extended to the wealthier middle class what the industriai revolution accomplished for the working class, by breaking the links between family and work, which survived in the Victorian family business but are increasingly rare today. In making this break, it has divorced the role of saving and investing from that of 10
TECHNOBUREAUCRACY ANO CITY LIFE managing and directing, yet it has nonetheless preserved substantial inequalities of wealth and power » (4). The working class communities which developed around the growing industries of the 18th and 19th centuries dependent on proximity to raw materials, fuel and communications with markets, have found it increasingly hard to find a place in the new socia! arder. The industria! corporations which originally developed and grew in the same areas in the 19th century eventually started to adopt vastly different investment criteria. Investment in technologically advanced methods of production necessitated reductions in the work farce, and the location of factories became dependent on tax levels, financial incentives, politica! stability, and strength (or preferably weakness) of organised labour in countries around the world. The wider variety of goods produced by the multinationals and the vast resources they command enables these firms to exploit cheap sources of labour in various parts of the world and close down particular factories whenever it suits the investment strategy of the company to produce the same or other products elsewhere. In Canning Town, located in London's East End and once a thriving dockland industria! area, 24,000 jobs disappeared between 1966 and 1972. « Between 1966 and 1972, employment fell in the docks (42% fewer jobs), in ship repair (70% fewer), food jobs (down 30% ), chemicals (68% fewer), gas (completely closed), and most other sectors. Three quarters of the jobs were cut by just six companies - P&O, Tate & Lyle, Unilever, Harland & Wolff, Furness-Withy and Vestey's » (5). As far back as the 1930's new light industries became established in the areas where the traditional industry had declined attracted by cheap industria! premises and labour. Most of these new industries were the result of initiatives by large corporations. Whilst the growth of the new activities may have alleviated a part of the unemployment problem, they did not reverse the <ledine of these areas' economie bases and hence only served to disguise the full consequences of this decline. By the middle and late sixties much rationalisation (4) LESLIE HANNAH, The Rise of the Corporale Economy, Methuen & C. Ltd. London 1976. (5) CDP, The Costs of Industriai Change, Published January 1977 by CDP Inter-Projet Editoria! Team, London, p. 30. 11
NINO STAFFA was already taking place with many firms transferring production to other areas outside the old declining areas or even overseas. . At the same time that the multinationals were locating their manufacturing processes elsewhere, smaller labour-intensive firms were moving into these declining areas attracted by the older premises which they could rent cheaply and convert at little cost. « Using relatively primitive equipment, they aim to make a quick profit out of exploiting cheap labour. For them there is a double benefit: Batley's old mills, Canning Town's refineries, West Newcastle's old factories, represent not just empty buildings but a vast reserve of labour ... The firm of Spyrallynx in Canning Town is typical. lt moved into the area in the late sixties, after being pushed out of Tower Hamlets by redevelopment. Its business is to manufacture beds ... Many of the workforce of 200, who are not unionised, are immigrants. Like most of the new manufacturing jobs, work at Spyrallyinx is insecure, low paid, and in poor conditions. Many such firms pay below even the poor minimum rate made compulsory by Wages Council legislation. They occupy an increasing share of the old industriai buildings and provide a growing proportion of local employment » ( 6). Only a small number of firms, however, contro! the majority of the workforce. In Canning Town, for instance, 6 firms in 1974 controlled 50% of the workforce, and other declining areas display a similar pattern. The transition from a capitalist/industrial society towards a corporate society has manifested itself on the urban form of British cities in several ways. Whereas the construction of cheap working classes housing was the main form of 19th century urban expansion, in the 20th century Britain's towns and cities have grown through the construction of middle class housing in vast suburban developments. In the traditional working class areas the residents adapted to the industriai decline of these areas in severa! ways. Some people simply moved away to other parts of the country where jobs were to be found, but it was mostly the skilled and semiskilled who were able to take this solution. A minority of those that moved elsewhere emigrated to countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand and an even smaller number emigrated to (6) CDP, op. cit., p. 34. 12
TECHNOBUREAUCRACY ANO CITY LIFE other industrialised North European countries (such as Germany, Holland, the Scandinavian countries, etc.). Therefore, most of those that remained were the unskilled workers and their families. As the demand for cheap unskilled labour increased in these areas the native population was joined by immigrants from countries in the British Commonwealth and from the Mediterranean countries of Italy, Spain, Greece and so on. As the middle classes expanded in size and then expanded outwards during this century, the ex-middle class residences of the 19th century and the traditional working class areas (those that remained after the massive clearance programme of the post-war era) became the refuge for that part of the population who could not (either temporarily or permanently) or would not conform to the middle-class ideal of owner-occupation, nor qualify for ~uncil housing. Therefore, many of these older parts of Bri ain's cities either became or remained areas of houses in ultiple occupation (especially in the formerly prestigious 19th century residences) under private rental. THEINN CITY « PROBLEM » « Towa ds the end of 1976 among the endless reminders of Britain' economie predicament another theme was brought to public ttention: the urban crisis. "Task force needed for the cities' Shelted and others insisted, and the Secretary of State for he Environment gave the news officia! weight: "If cities fail, so to a large extent does our society. That is the urgency tackling the problem; and why it has to be of concern t everyone in this land". (Peter Shore, 17-9-'76). The Sunday T es picked up the theme, "Britain's cities are rotting at the core», it announced, "but now the Prime Minister has set up top level ministerial committee led by Peter Shore to establi a whole new policy for our cities". (28-11-'76). The urban risis was presented as acute, demanding immediate attention, oreover it was apparently a new problem to which new soluti ns must be found » (7). These ords of concem seem, at first sight, to echo the sentiments f horror of that small but influential part of the bourgeoisie of the 19th century which had noticed the condi- (7) CDP, lding the Ghetto. The State and the poverty experiments. Published Fe ary 1977, p. 3. 13
NINO STAFFA tions of the working classes and feared a revolution. Sir John Gorst, a Tory MP of the 1880's was one of many bourgeois philanthropists to express this « concern ». « Modern civilisation has crowded the destitute classes together in the cities making their existence thereby more conspicuous and more dangerous. These already form a substantial part of the population, and possess even now, though they are still ignorant of their full power, great politica} importance ... Almost every winter in London there is a panie lest the condition of the poor should become intolerable. The richer classes awake for a moment from their apathy, and salve their consciences by a subscription of money ... The annual alarm may some day prove a reality, and the destitute classes may swell to such a proportion as to render oontinuance of our existent social order impossible » (8). The people who now live in the « deprived » areas of Britain's cities are no longer as serious a threat t.p the ruling class system as the 19thC. urban poor. The maì\: « fear » is now not revolution but « crime » and « violence ». The decline of the traditional industria} areas was also partialt alleviated by the post-war «boom» of the 1950's. However, behind the facade of a fictitious Britain in which the people ad « never had it so good » there were signs showing that t economy was vulnerable and uncompetitive in world market! 1 • Together with the rise of the multinationals' influence on th economy of the nation, an increasing number of mergers and n increasing amount of government intervention in the o ~anisation of industriai production, the inhabitants of the « i ner city » were fast becoming a « problem ». The « problem » onsists of the fact that there is an imbalance between the la our needs of a developing « corporate economy » and the sk· ls of that section of the population which was gathered in t cities by an older form of exploitation during this century nd during the « boom » of the fifties. Consequently the lo status of the present day urban poor is reflected in the typ of accommodation and area in which they are forced to li in. THE POVERTY PROGRAMME « Concern » for the inner city « problem » prod ced a host of reports and projects from the mid-sixties onwa ds. In 1968 (8) CDP, Gilding the Ghetto, p. 51. 14
TECHNOBUREAUCRACY ANO CITY LIFE the Urban Aid Programme was established. Responsibility for the Programme was located in the Home Office, which was also responsible for the Community Relations Commission. The blame for the poverty of the urban poor was placed on the urban poor themselves and location of the responsibility for the Programme in the Home Office (also responsible for the police, fire brigade, secret service, etc ...) emphasised the fact that this project and the others that followed is in actual fact a policing operation. Speaking in 1968 James Callaghan, then Home Secretary, cutlined the purpose of the Urban Aid Programme. « ... to provide for the care of our citizens who live in the poorest or most overcrowded parts of our cities and towns. It is intended to arrest, in so far as is possible by financial means, and reverse the downward spirai which afflicts so many of these ar as. There is a deadly quagmire of need and apathy » (9) The Department of Education and Science, at about the same time~· announced their Educational Priority Area (EPA) « action-re arch project ». The aim of the EPA's was to raise education standards by attempts to compensate for the children's nadequate home background through what is called « positive cliscrimination ». The areas were characterised by: « •. .lo economie and social status of parents, poor amenities in t e home, high demand for free school meals and large nu bers of children with linguistic problems » (10). Then n 1969 the Home Office set up the Community Developme Project (CDP). The brief was based on three important sumptions. Firstly, that it is the « deprived » themselves w o are the cause of « urban deprivation ». Secondly, the probl m can be solved by overcoming apathy and promoting self-h lp. Thirdly, changes in locai and centra! government policies ere to be brought about by locally-based research into the roblems of these areas. In 19 O the Conservative Party got back into power and proceede to introduce yet more schemes to deal with the innercity « pr lem ». In 1971 a Community Programmes Department wa set up to administer the various programmes for which th Home Office was responsible and which was also to set up n projects such as the « Neighbourhood Schemes ». (9) Han ard 2-12-68quoted in Gilding the Ghetto, p. 10. (10) CD , Gilding, the Ghetto, p. IO. 15
NINO STAFFA These were to play a coordinating role in the administration of finance and resources directed at the inner city « deprived areas ». The Department of the Environment announced its own scheme with the « Six Towns Studies » which was intended as yet another « tota! approach to the urban problem ». The Department of Health and Socia! Security at about the same time set up a working party to consider « whether the cycle of transmitted deprivation would be a fruitful area of research ». For Keith Joseph (noted for his eccentric views and then Secretary of State for Health and Socia! Security) there was a need to investigate how « deprivation » is passed on through the family. On the basis of the working party's report a seven year research programme was set up costing f 500,000 but no action was ever initiated. Then in 1973 the Department of the Environment took another initiative known as 1the « Quality of Life Studies ». Their aim was to encourage ~elf-help and find new ways of improving the availability of ainenities and facilities without cost to loca! authorities. By 1973 the Treasury was becoming increasin ly worried by the number of projects and schemes under diffe~nt government Departments and it produced yet anothe unit. The Treasury ordered an Inter-Departmental Study to ·nvestigate ways of rationalising and co-ordinating the many chemes in existence. As a result, in Novembre 1973, the then ory Home Secretary Robert Carr, announced the birth of e Urban Deprivation Unit, which was followed shortly afte ards by the establishment of an inter-departmental committe on urban deprivation. In 1974 the Labour Party was returned to p wer and further schemes followed. Just before the Octobe elections ( which brought Labour back into power) the Urba Deprivation Unit had launched a series of Comprehensive C mmunity Programmes. Roy Jenkin, Labour's Home Secretary the time said that: « •.. the object of the exercise is to ultimate! produce reports on these areas which will indicate what has been clone as a result of dose cooperation between go ernment, loca! authorities and voluntary agencies and to in cate also what needs to be clone and where the gaps are in t existing programmes » ( 11). ( 11) Hansard 29-7-'74, quoted in Gilding the Ghetto, p. 1 . 16
TECHNOBUREAUCRACY ANO CITY LIFE The fìerce competition which has always exited between the Home Office and the Department of the Environment over the issue of « urban deprivation » and the « inner city problem » prompted the DoE to produce another scheme shortly after the announcement of the Comprehensive Community Programmes. The DoE's new scheme was known as the « Area Management Trials' whose aims included analysis of problems, formulation of policies, coordination between various authorities, etc. etc ... which was to be done through an « Area Manager » for each area chosen. Still in 1974, the EEC also announced its own Poverty Programme, which was part of the EEC's broader « Social Action Programme ». In Britain it produced a network of seven family advice centres to help the « poorest families come to terms with the particular ill effects of extreme poverty ». It is clear, therefore, that these « poverty programmes » have developed into a self-perpetuating but erratically-coordinated bureaucratic framework in wich the growing number of « urban deprivation experts » could be employed. Furthermore, by concentrating on action in specifìc areas and laying great emphasis on self-help, the actual amount of public investment in the inner city areas was actually decreased. Of course, both the Labour and Conservative govemments were able to point these schemes and programmes to show that they were indeed concerned about the inner city « problem » and were busy initiating action to deal with it. The « poverty programme » also served to alleviate the extra stress that would have placed on the Welfare System in these areas of « deprivation, since to have attempted to meet the demand for the already existing forms of subsidy and other forms of aid would have proved extremely costly. What is more, the main reports which were produced by this army of « prolifìc » experts merely re-stated in academic jargon what the inhabitans of these deprived areas knew already: if you live in one of these areas the chances that you will be unemployed for long periods, living in slum conditions, maybe evicted from your home, wait a long time for hospital treatment, that your children are more likely to die in infancy, and that if they survive they will receive the lowest possible standard of education, are very high. 17
NINO STAFFA CONTROLLING THE « PROBLEM » David Eversley, one of the most outspoken « deprivation experts » in London, outlined what he saw as the potential problem far Britain's cities. « These is now a large group of people whose incomes are not sufficient to maintain life without substantial special help. These people depend on means-tested benefìts of one kind or another ... ever increasing tracts of our older cities could be inhabited by such people ... But if we do allow such a new urban under-class to emerge the consequences will be severe. There will be a permanent housing problem, nomadism, an unstable family life. There could be increased tension, especially, on an ethnic basis. Dereliction, abandoned old premises, failure to build new property and maintain the old will lead to progressive blight and decay » (12). Far the state urban poverty presents the problem of controlling crime, juvenile delinquency, and in cities with substantial immigrant populations, potential race riots. Robert Carr speaking in parliament in 1973 indicated that he saw « crime », the « urban problem » and « social ferment » as part of the same area of concern. « The urban problem is fundamental to the problems of our society and the level of crime in our society ... The.level of crime is only the visible tip of the iceberg of social ferment lying beneath ». (13). Dealing with the crime and violence which has already manifested itself in British cities is a matter of utilising the existing farces of law and arder, and accordingly between 1951 and 1973 the expenditure on law and arder as a proportion of total public expenditure more than doubled. In 1951 0.6% of public expenditure was spent on law and arder but by 1973 the proportion was 1.4%. During the early 1960's the Home Office was developing new farms of social control of which the « poverty programme » is an integra! part. « Concern » far the inner city« problem » seems to be more directly concerned with preventing violence against the status quo rather than improving the living conditions of poor people who, in any case have « only themselves to blame far their poverty ». The lngleby Report of 1960 on Children and Young Persons (12) David Eversley, Urban Problems in Britain Today, from Gilding the Ghetto, p. 37. (13) Hansard 1-11-73,Robert Carr- Home Secretary. 18
TECHNOBUREAUCRACY ANO CITY LIFE (the report of a committee established in 1956) recommended the examination of a more coordinated family service and the setting up of family advice centres in « populated areas ». The report expressed concern about the increased rate of juvenil~ delinquency during the 1950's and proposed a long term solution based on the family. « The primary responsibility ofr bringing up children is parental and it is essentially a positive responsibility. It is the parents' duty to help their children to become effective and law-abiding citizens by example and training and by providing a stable and secure family background in which they can develop satisfactorily » (14). The « poverty programme » was still being seen as a means of social control by the time the Community Development Projects (CDP) were being set up in the late 1960's. The North Shields CDP, for instance, used to receive frequent informa! visits from the local police and were even sent regularly compiled lists of offences reported in the project area. By this time, therefore, it was not only the family but also the community which needed help in the eyes of the Home Office, to prevent the occurrence of crime. Another area of concern, closely related to concern about the family and the community, is race relations. Alex Lyon, speaking to parliament in 1974 as Minister for State at the Home Office made this « concern » abundantly clear. « The problem is complicated by the fact that a great many of those who suffer in these areas of deprivation are black and immigrant and, therefore, add to the deprivation felt by the indigenous population of these_ areas. They add newness, inadequacy of language and the cultura! differences which go to make up racial discrimination within our inner cities » (15). By the late 1960's there was no longer a shortage of cheap labour and there was a constantly broadcast fear that race riots on the scale of those seen in America could break out in Britain if coloured immigration continued. The government responded by cutting down on coloured immigration and by passing limited anti-discrimination legislation so as to enable it to maintain a socialist facade. It also set up the Community Relations Commission with its accompanying network of community relations councils (all the responsibility of the Home (14) lngleby Report on Children and Young Persons. (15) Hansard 29-7-74from Gilding the Ghetto, p. 47. 19
NINO STAFFA Office) in an attempt to dispel and pre-empt alternative forms of organisation and protest amongst the black population. The Home Office recognises, therefore, that direct use of police violence and repression is only a short term solution and that in the long term the « black community » has to be « helped » to produce good law-abiding citizens. The « problem » has been « controlled » further by the State's insistence that its failure to deal with poverty is an administrative and technical problem .. Great emphasis has been placed on management techniques with many proposals throughout the late sixties and early seventies for « area management», « community development », « coordinated social pian», and most recently, « an urban deprivation plan ». « THE PROBLEM » IN PERSPECTIVE The inner-city « problem » attracts a great dea! of attention from many quarters, not surprisingly. Both Conservative and Labour governments proclaim that the inner city and its problems will be amongst their highest priorities for action, and then proceed to devise schemes in which a smaller overall proportion of public expenditure is directed towards geographically isolated areas. These schemes are usually token gestures, which after years of « effort » produce yet more reports for the « deprivation experts » to argue over. The left is also greatly attached to the inner city « problem ». The inhabitants of the inner-city are, after all, the closest modem-day equivalent to the industria! proletariat of the 19thC as described by Marx and Engels. They also see the increasingly difficult living conditions of the urban poor as incontrovertible evidence which blatantly shows that the final crisis of capitalism is just around the corner. The right-wing, on the other hand, seC::sthe inner-city « problem » as incontrovertible evidence of their claim that coloured immigrants and socialist policies are to blame for all the ills of the nation. Ample evidence exists to suggest that the housing conditions of the population as a whole have improved significantly. In the 20 years between 1951 and 1971 the proportion of households unsatisfactorily housed decreased from 69% in 1951 to 24% in 1971. The following table (Table 1) gives a more detailed breakdown of the numerica! changes that have occurred in the various categories of unsatisfactorily housed households in England and Wales. 20
TECHNOBUREAUCRACY ANO CITY LIFE Table 1: Twenty Year Trend of Households Unsatisfactorily Housed, England and Wales (thousands) 1951 1961 1971 Multi-person households sharing 1,442 582 380 One person households sharing 430 448 440 Concealed households 935 702 426 Crowded households 664 415 226 Occupied dwellings that were unfit or (if fit) lacked one or more of the basic amenities . 7,500 4,700 2,846 Tota! (rounded) . 11,000 6,800 4,300 Tota! free of duplication 9,700 6,400 4,100 Total free of duplication as per cent of all households plus concealed households 69 42 24 (16) The tenure pattern of the nation's housing stock has changed dramatically during this century and it can be seen from the statistics available that not only are more older houses being sold for owner occupation but also that only a small number of houses built since 1945 are for private rental. The number of houses in the publicly owner rented sector (loca! authorities and New Towns) ha increased substantially since 1914. « In the nineteen seventies questions of tenure have pervaded discussions of housing policy; but this is comparatively recent. Before 1944 renting was the predominant tenure for all kinds and standards of housing other than very largest. So little interest was taken in owner occupation that no contemporary figures exist about the number of owner occupiers » (17). (16) Housing Policy, Technical Volume Part I, HMSO, London 1977, p. 36. {17) HMSO, op. cit. Part. I, p. 37. 21
NINO STAFFA Table 2: Age Distribution of th~ Housing Stock by Tenure: England and Wales 1914-'75 (millions) Local Private MiscellaOwner- Authorities Landlords neous occupied and and Total NewTowns 1914 0.8 - 7. 1 7.9 1938 Pre-1914 1. 9 - 5.7 7.6 Post-1914 1.8 1. 1 0.9 3.8 Total 3.7 1.1 6.6 11.4 1960 Pre-1914 2.9 0.2 3.9 7.0 1914-44 2.4 1.2 0.6 4.2 1945and after 1.1 2.2 O. 1 3.4 Total 6.4 3.6 4.6 14. 6 1971 Pre-1914 3.3 0.3 2.5 6. 1 1914-44 2.6 1.2 0.4 4.2 1945and after 3.1 3.4 0.3 6.8 Total 9.0 4.9 3.3 17. 1 1975 Pre-1914 3.4 0.3 2.2 5.9 1914-44 2.7 1.2 0.3 4.2 1945and after 3.8 3.7 0.4 7.9 Total 9.9 5.2 2.9 18. O (18) Before 1914 a large number of households did not live in separate dwellings due to the almost exlusive reliance on private enterprise, unaided by subsidy, for house building. After the First World War, however, subsidies, either director in the form of tax relief, became a feature of the housing market which has increased in size ever since. Developments in transport facilities made large-scale building for private (18) HMSO, op. cit., p. 38. 22
TECHNOBUREAUCRACY ANO CITY LIFE owners (who receive tax relief whilst paying off the mortgage) possible. Real earnings have risen considerably during this century but house prices have risen at an even faster rate. Furthermore, the cost of building houses to the standards of any particular era, both for local authorities and for the private purchaser, have ensured a continous reliance on subsidies from the State. State subsidies, rising incomes, increases in house building and the rapid growth of the institutions governing access to housing accommodation have ensured that an increasing number of households bave been able to either purchase tbeir own home or rent housing accomodation from public authorities. Tbe level of private renting has been decreasing throughout tbis century. However, it must be borne in mind that before tbe introduction of rent controls during the First World War the majority of households in Britain could not afford to rent separate housing. Tbe decrease in private rented accommodation is attribuitable, therefore, to its relative lack of attraction as a form of investment. The return on building for sale and conversion for sale is far greater than bulding and conversion for renting. Table 2 (above) shows that only in houses built before 1944 was there any signifìcant level of private renting. Tbe growth of the corporate economy during tbis century has brought about an increase in the number of people in professional/managerial occupations and the number of whitecollar employees in both « public » and « private » institutions. These types of households and a substantial number of that part of tbe working class with tbe appropriate skills for the dominant forms of industriai production have mostly purchased their own homes and for the most part these are homes witb a good standard of repair and possessing all the amenities. Tbese bouseholds bave greatly increased the « demand » for owner-occupied bousing and the « building societies » ( the main institutions involved in the fìnancing of housing purchases) bave been in a position to dictate to a large part of tbese bouseholds precisely wbich houses they can « demand ». Just over one and a half million dwellings in owner occupation are either unfìt or lack basic amenities. This occurs mostly in those parts of cities and towns where, for reasons such as « undesirability », house prices are not very high, or were very low in the past, thus enabling low incarne households to purchase substandard housing accommodation. Table 3 (below) sbows the occurrence of unfìtness and lacking of amenities in dwellings of various tenure categories. 23
NINO STAFFA Table 3: Unfitness and Lack of Amenities: England and Wales 1976 thousands (percentages in brackets) Rented Owner- from Other Vacant All occupied Local Tenures Tenures Authority Unfit Dwellings No fixed 310(3) 49(1) 384(16) 151(30) 894(5) bath in bathroom 302(3) 47(1) 426(17) 126(25) 901(5) No inside wc 407(4) 161(3) 471(19) 129(26) 1,638(9) Lacking one or more basic amenities 547(5) 280(6) 640(26) 166(33) 1,633(9) All Dwellings 10,125(100) 5,067(100) 2,444(100) 497(100) 18,133(100) (19) It is interesting to note that the occurrence of these features in the « Other Teneures » category is of much higher frequency than for owner occupation. Private rented accommodation is mostly concentrated in the « inner city» and thus it is not surprising to find that much of the debate about the ills of the « inner city» centres around the trends of the private rented sector. Whilst overall housing conditions have improved considerably during this century, particularly in the post-war era, improvement has not taken place evenly in all areas, with the result that a marked concentration of substandard housing has occurred in particular regions (and especially in the inner city areas). It seems, therefore, that whilst the housing conditions of the majority of the population have improved considerably, the housing conditions of those who count least in the corporate hierarchy have steadily deteriorated. Not only have the lowest strata of society not enjoyed much improvement in their housing conditions but they have also been crowded into fewer and fewer « undesirable » areas where they can find (or (19) HMSO, op. cit., p. 56. 24
TECHNOBUREAUCRACY ANO CITY LIFE Table 4: Spatial Concentration of Poor Housing: Great Britain 1971 Lack fixed bath . Lack inside WC . Households with more than 1 ½ Persons per room Lack exclusive use off all basic amenities Proportion in Proportion in Worst 5% of Worst 15% of EDs (*) EDs 30 64 28 61 33 61 18 47 (20) (*) EDs = Enumeration Districts (i.e. the basic geographical units for Census Counts). attempt to find) housing accommodation at a price they can afford. It is not too surprising to find that in England in 1976 there were 52,570 known homeless households compared to 50,950 the previous year (21). There is no doubt that the worst housing in the nation is concentrated in the private rented sector, which is in turn concentrated in the inner city. « The problems of the private rented sector are accentuated by its extreme geographical concentration and the generally poor condition of its housing stock. This reflects the fact that 70% of privately rented accommodation was built before 1919... In fact, more than one in five privately rented dwellings is statutorily unfit, as compared with 3,8% of owner occupied housing and 1 % of council housing... Over half of all unfit dwellings in England and Wales, and almost half of all dwellings lacking a bath, shower or WC, are in the private rented sector, though only 14% of all dwellings are in this sector ... The private rented sector is concentrated mainly in inner city areas, above all in London ... Even in London, private renting is concentrated in the centrai areas » (22). (20) HMSO, op. cit., p. 63. (21) More Homeless, in « Roof » Shelter's Housing Magazine, September 1977. (22) SHELTER, The Future of Private Rented Housing, Evidence to the review of the Rent Acts, London 1977. 25
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