Commenting on the blackouts that took place in Spain and Portugal Nicola Grant Workers Party representative said this major event should serve as a warning to working class people about the dangers inherent in a cashless society. The blackouts flagged up the profound consequences of being reliant on technology to access goods and service.
Nicola continued we cannot brush aside the fact that within minutes people could not use their cards, ATMs were down, and people could not access their money. No power meant no digital payments and people were unable to pay for food and other necessities. Now that the capitalist system is driving us towards a cashless society what happened with the blackout raises several important questions:
Who benefits from a cashless system? Is it ordinary working people or is it the banks, technology giants, and governments?
Because here is the reality: without cash we are totally at the mercy of systems we do not control. When something goes wrong like a power cut, we are without financial resources. This is not just a matter of technical glitches this is a class issue.
The Workers Party believes in economic freedom and that working people should have direct, secure access to what they earn. We should not have to rely on corporations to “let us” use our own money. Cash is still important to allow people access to goods and services in the more frequent era of digital and technology failures that can quickly become a crisis. If the recent blackouts had lasted days, instead of hours, the effects on working people would have been devastating.
The Workers Party is not against technology, but we believe it should work for the benefit of people, not against them for example ATMs in working class areas charge a for poor people to withdraw their own money. Someone using these machines can end up paying between £1.99 and £2.50 which is scandalous and disproportionately affects low-income families. Nicola finished by saying a cashless society might sound convenient, but it is about control, cash allows us the freedom and puts financial power into our hands and that is something we should fight to protect.
ENDS
CLANRYE NEWS 