Guardian: Marx's reserve army of labour is about to go global

It should be welcomed that in a global economy a better balance of wealth between nations will arise, although this may mean some loss of income for the richer nations as capital is transferred to the poorer nations. There is a possibility of sustainable incomes in the richer nations by allowing for global economic growth; always at the expense of diminishing natural resources. However, it should be understood that a key restraint on capitalist excess has been universal suffrage. To date, the citizens of western nations have demanded that capitalism is contained and is fairer to the mass of workers. The new threat from capitalism is twofold. Firstly, as noted in the article, the ability of China to supply cheap labour; amplified by the inability of the Chinese workers to apply the same democratic restraints on capital that we have. Secondly, old fashioned divide and rule is coming in to play. As the economy is globalised, democratic nations become less able to restrain capitalism on their own and find themselves competing against each other to accept work on the worst terms. It is no surprise that pro-capitalist politics tries to increase xenophobia, as this helps prevent international unification. I believe the only way to continue the control of capitalism is to follow a three point plan: first increase democracy in China, second allow workers to move as freely as goods and finally, develop more supra-national democracy.