Now, a hurricane of fresh air challenges this hypocrisy as the disadvantaged, unemployed and homeless of our society share their common cause of opposition. Tomorrow's March for Social Justice reflects the politics of 'no alternative'. For centuries ordinary people have given their freedom and quite often their lives to show that other ways exist in which we can structure our rich and varied society. Indeed, all social progress has emanated from opposition. Justice only exists when people directly confront injustice.

As politicians and unions polarise to confirm the strategy of 'no alternative' to Thatcher's revolution, other groups have also come together to proclaim an alternative. Environmentalists, protest groups, workers, the unemployed, some politicians, the dispossesed, ethnic groups, indeed a whle and increasing structure are now united and challenging the status quo.

In watching these struggles, in recognising the difficulties, a new force for change can exist. We have to believe with confidence and optimism that things don't have to be as they are. A whole society wants to be reclaimed for all our futures.

PICTURE: "Britain Deserves Burgers" Tony Blair hands out junk food in a bid to entice young voters

McDonalds are attempting to stop kids playing truant from school by bribing them with free burgers. The more attendance the more burgers. In a different world the offer of half a pound of rotting flesh might seem a disincentive to school attendance.

Other Corporations are following a similar track. General Motors with no irony intended sent a free copy of a video to all schools in the US entitled "I need the earth and the earth needs me". These attempts to get us early may be signs of desperation rather than power. After all none of it stopped the kids of Glasgow walking out of school to join the protest against the M77.

Hot air of manifestoes is exposed as greenwash Last week the Manifestoes of all three Parties were unleashed on the public. Seven years after the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that we need an immediate 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide to halt life-threatening climate change, you might think that the Party Manifestoes would be proposing some serious changes to the status quo. Not a bit of it. The three major parties' well-worn rhetoric of 'sustainable development' remains as empty as ever. The Tories claim we cannot afford to protect our environment without continued economic growth. In other words, we must keep consuming the earth's finite resources at an everincreasing rate, so we can pay for the damage caused by consuming the earth's resources! Since multinational corporations are the experts at putting this flawed logic into practice, it is natural for the Tories to declare, "for enterprise to flourish, the state must get out of the way of the wealth creators." This clearly explains why it makes such good sense to hand over responsibility for the former national roads programme to the banks and construction industry under the "Private Finance Initiative". The more people they can encourage to use the roads, the more they will get paid. But Labour is hardly less keen on cosying up to big business and the City. How else can one explain their assurance that they want to see car ownership increase or their failure to promise legislation to renationalise the railways? As for the Liberal Democrats, it would be interesting to know how they square their commitments to environmental and social justice with their blind faith in the European Union. Its system of government was created by multinationals purely to serve their own corporate interests. It benefits from having even less interference from public opinion than our own national parliament! The proliferation of genetically engineered food, the oil industry's plans to extract millions more tonnes of North Atlantic oil, the links between Third World poverty, debt and dictatorial regimes who assist multinationals in carrying out their business as usual - the list of environmental issues ignored by the Parties goes on.

Massive Protest Tomorrow, the capital will be brought to a standstill with the largest mass social protest of its kind since the Criminal Justice Bill. The March For Social Justice, bringing together the sacked Liverpool dockers and tens of thousands of their supporters, will march on 10 Downing Street, where they will present a People's Charter of social demands to John Major. The March has been called by the Merseyside Port Shop Stewards Committee jointly with the Hillingdon Hospital workers, the Women on the Waterfront and the Magnet strikers. It highlights the plight of the 500 sacked Liverpool Dockers and the success of their 18 month, worldwide campaign against casualisation of port labour by Drake International and the Mersey Harbour Board. Meeting at noon at Kennington Park, the March will proceed via Lambeth Bridge to the sounds of brass and steel bands, arriving at Trafalgar Square for carnival type celebrations. Reclaim The Streets, the direct action network renowned for its street parties, have planned an action billed as 'Never Mind the Ballots - Reclaim the Streets' to coincide with the march. Rumour has it, RTS will pull off one of their most spectacular events since last year's street party when ten thousand people danced on Britain's shortest motorway.

Do It Yourself 1994. "Governments should interfere in the conduct of trade as little as possible" P.Sutherland Director GATT 1997. "Big Business now governs our lives, governments have become obsolete" D.Korten Author ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Don't leave it up to the politicians and corporations to change things

BRITAIN DESERVES BETTER THAN POLITICIANS