The฀Tyranny฀of฀Rent VARIANT฀37฀|฀SPRING฀/฀SUMMER฀2010฀|฀37฀ Neil฀Gray A฀recent฀Shelter฀advert1฀lucidly฀exposed฀the฀ obscene฀rise฀in฀house฀prices฀by฀comparing฀how฀ much฀domestic฀household฀commodity฀goods฀would฀ now฀cost฀if฀matched฀to฀house฀price฀rises.฀A฀joint฀of฀ meat฀would฀cost฀£95.62;฀a฀chicken,฀£47.51;฀a฀box฀of฀ washing฀powder,฀£28.53;฀a฀jar฀of฀coffee,฀£20.22;฀a฀ dozen฀eggs,฀£9.30,฀and฀a฀bunch฀of฀bananas,฀£7.86.฀ As฀Shelter฀argue:฀we฀wouldn’t฀accept฀these฀price฀ rises฀with฀anything฀else,฀so฀why฀accept฀them฀in฀ housing?฀Eliot฀M.฀Trettter’s฀article฀‘The฀Cultures฀of฀ Capitalism:฀Glasgow฀and฀the฀Monopoly฀of฀Culture’฀ (Antipode:฀2009)฀goes฀some฀way฀to฀answering฀ how฀we฀got฀to฀this฀abject฀position.฀Tretter’s฀work฀ can฀be฀seen฀as฀a฀continuation฀of฀the฀critical฀vein฀ of฀historical฀geographical฀materialism,฀which฀has฀ developed฀since฀the฀1970s.฀Deeply฀influenced฀by฀ the฀research฀of฀urban฀theorist฀David฀Harvey฀(in฀ turn฀influenced฀by฀the฀critical฀writings฀of฀Marx,฀ Benjamin,฀and฀Lefebvre),฀this฀school฀of฀critical฀ geography฀has฀produced฀a฀corpus฀of฀materially฀ grounded฀analyses฀of฀the฀ways฀in฀which฀capital,฀ culture฀and฀social฀relations฀are฀both฀constituted฀ in,฀and฀constitute฀the฀urban฀realm.฀Tretter’s฀article฀ takes฀as฀its฀starting฀point฀Harvey’s฀analysis฀of฀ monopoly฀–฀relating฀to฀rents,฀competition฀and฀fixed฀ capital฀–฀in฀order฀to฀draw฀out฀the฀links฀between฀ culture,฀gentrification,฀and฀economic฀valorisation฀ in฀1980s฀Glasgow.฀While฀Glasgow฀is฀routinely฀held฀ up฀as฀a฀salutary฀success฀story฀in฀the฀boosterist฀ literature฀of฀‘post-industrial’,฀culture-led฀urban฀ renewal2,฀Tretter฀argues฀that฀this฀narrative฀masks฀ an฀insidious฀and฀destructive฀raid฀on฀the฀commons:฀ “Glasgow฀is฀a฀primary฀example฀of฀an฀industrial฀ city฀that฀has฀re-invented฀itself฀through฀the฀ exploitation฀of฀its฀cultural฀infrastructure”฀(p.113). Following฀Harvey,฀Tretter฀contends฀that฀a฀ precondition฀for฀looting฀the฀cultural฀infrastructure฀ of฀a฀city฀is฀the฀transformation฀of฀elements฀of฀ cultural฀distinctiveness฀into฀‘fixed฀capital’฀ (physical฀infrastructure฀such฀as฀land,฀machinery,฀ transport฀etc,฀which฀is฀not฀immediately฀spent฀in฀ the฀process฀of฀producing฀products฀or฀commodities)฀ via฀outright,฀or฀de฀facto,฀forms฀of฀privatisation.฀ Following฀a฀time-line฀that฀begins฀in฀the฀early฀’80s฀ and฀concludes฀around฀the฀period฀of฀the฀European฀ City฀of฀Culture฀Festival฀in฀1990฀–฀an฀event฀ intensely฀contested฀by฀the฀oppositional฀Workers฀ City฀group฀–฀Tretter’s฀analysis฀provides฀a฀useful฀ heuristic฀with฀which฀to฀understand฀contemporary฀ raids฀on฀the฀commons฀in฀Glasgow.฀While฀ acknowledging฀the฀value฀in฀Tretter’s฀account,฀ the฀full฀magnitude฀of฀this฀ongoing฀dispossession฀ remains฀untouched฀by฀his฀curious฀decision฀to฀ end฀his฀enquiry฀at฀a฀historical฀juncture฀lying฀ nearly฀20฀years฀in฀the฀past.฀Moreover,฀his฀narrow฀ emphasis฀on฀the฀monopoly฀aspects฀of฀culture฀ and฀representational฀issues฀omits฀other฀forms฀of฀ monopoly฀and฀underplays฀the฀still฀central฀question฀ of฀labour฀in฀the฀valorisation฀of฀capital3.฀However,฀ his฀re-appraisal฀of฀the฀Workers฀City฀group,฀and฀his฀ appeal฀for฀their฀enduring฀relevance,฀provides฀a฀ platform฀from฀which฀to฀analyse฀a฀continuum฀of฀ dispossession฀that฀has฀never฀stopped฀and฀to฀bring฀ important฀lessons฀from฀the฀contested฀past฀into฀ a฀productive฀and฀critical฀relationship฀with฀this฀ present฀era฀of฀recession฀and฀financial฀crisis. Extracting฀Value฀From฀The฀City:฀Basic฀ Banalities “There฀is฀a฀politics฀of฀space,฀because฀space฀is฀political.” Henri฀Lefebvre4 “With฀the฀disappearance฀of฀local฀manufacturing฀ industries฀and฀periodic฀crises฀in฀government฀and฀ finance,฀culture฀is฀more฀and฀more฀the฀business฀of฀cities฀ –฀the฀basis฀of฀their฀tourist฀attractions฀and฀their฀unique,฀ competitive฀edge”. Sharon฀Zukin5,฀1995 Despite฀all฀the฀evidence฀to฀the฀contrary6,฀culture฀ is฀still฀presumed฀to฀play฀a฀positive฀economic฀ role฀in฀the฀fortune฀of฀cities฀globally.฀A฀common฀ assumption฀is฀that฀each฀city฀contains฀a฀stock฀ of฀physical,฀social฀and฀cultural฀assets฀that฀are฀ economically฀exploitable.฀The฀widespread฀erosion฀ of฀the฀economic฀and฀fiscal฀base฀of฀many฀large฀ cities฀in฀the฀advanced฀capitalist฀world฀since฀the฀ 1970s฀has฀seen฀a฀re-orientation฀of฀governance฀ from฀a฀managerial฀to฀an฀entrepreneurial฀mode7฀ with฀an฀emphasis฀on฀exploiting฀a฀city’s฀cultural฀ infrastructure฀concomitant฀with฀the฀turn฀from฀ manufacturing,฀and฀waning฀central฀budgets.฀ As฀Tretter฀argues,฀the฀revaluation฀of฀culture฀ is฀directly฀contemporaneous฀with฀the฀broader฀ entrepreneurial฀turn฀in฀governance:฀the฀appraisal฀ of฀culture฀as฀an฀economic฀asset,฀and฀the฀increasing฀ exchange฀value฀of฀culture,฀has฀led฀governments฀ and฀private฀capital฀to฀undertake฀a฀series฀of฀ programmes฀and฀strategies฀to฀realise฀and฀validate฀ these฀resources.฀While฀many฀city฀governments฀ of฀a฀Keynesian฀persuasion฀were฀once฀engaged฀ in฀managing฀the฀urban฀economy฀with฀at฀least฀a฀ nominal฀agenda฀of฀alleviating฀inequality฀through฀ planning฀and฀administration฀of฀services,฀urban฀ governments฀now฀attempt฀to฀follow฀an฀explicit฀ growth฀agenda฀in฀partnership฀with฀private฀ agencies฀and฀non-governmental฀organisations.฀ Such฀market-oriented,฀market-dependent,฀‘growth฀ coalitions’฀reflect฀elite฀interests฀and฀typically฀ “show฀a฀significant฀deficit฀with฀respect฀to฀ accountability,฀representation,฀and฀the฀presence฀of฀ formal฀rules฀of฀inclusion฀or฀participation”.8 A฀major฀characteristic฀of฀this฀‘entrepreneurial฀ turn’฀is฀geographically฀uneven฀development฀and฀ inter-city฀competition.฀Local฀growth฀coalitions฀ routinely฀stress฀a฀fierce฀struggle฀with฀other฀ cities฀to฀compete฀for฀investment฀capital.฀Thus฀ increasingly฀opaque฀constellations฀of฀power฀ have฀justified฀strategies฀to฀stimulate฀economic฀ growth฀–฀by฀providing฀subsidies,฀tax฀breaks,฀and฀ other฀economic฀incentives฀–฀as฀a฀means฀to฀lure฀ and฀leverage฀capital.฀In฀the฀race฀to฀enhance฀the฀ competitive฀position฀of฀the฀city฀in฀relation฀to฀other฀ competing฀cities,฀the฀use฀of฀localizing฀strategies฀ (the฀exploitation฀of฀a฀city’s฀peculiar฀‘marks฀of฀ distinction’)฀is฀now฀ubiquitous.฀Cities฀have฀sought,฀ with฀highly฀uneven฀results,฀to฀increase฀their฀ marketability฀and฀brand฀identity฀through฀the฀ promotion฀of฀the฀city฀and฀its฀assets฀as฀commodities฀ to฀investors฀and฀private฀capital฀(including฀ its฀labour฀force,฀infrastructure฀and฀cultural฀ amenities).฀As฀part฀of฀this฀generalised฀process,฀ Tretter฀emphasises฀the฀exploitation฀of฀the฀shared฀ cultural฀assets฀of฀a฀city฀(‘the฀commons’9)฀as฀a฀ means฀to฀promote฀the฀revaluation฀of฀prime฀urban฀ land,฀and฀transform฀culture฀into฀an฀economic฀ resource.฀In฀order฀to฀unpack฀this฀proposition฀in฀ historically฀and฀geographically฀concrete฀terms,฀ he฀assesses฀the฀“primary฀example”฀of฀Glasgow฀ through฀the฀prism฀of฀Harvey’s฀theoretical฀insights฀ on฀the฀political฀economy฀of฀monopoly฀rent. Monopoly฀Rent “…capitalism฀cannot฀do฀without฀monopolies฀and฀craves฀ the฀means฀to฀assemble฀them.฀So฀the฀question฀upon฀ the฀agenda฀is฀how฀to฀assemble฀monopoly฀powers฀in฀a฀ situation฀where฀the฀protections฀afforded฀by฀so-called฀ ‘natural฀monopolies’฀of฀space฀and฀location,฀and฀the฀ political฀protections฀of฀national฀boundaries฀and฀tariffs,฀ have฀been฀seriously฀diminished฀if฀not฀eliminated”. David฀Harvey10 Harvey฀begins฀to฀answer฀this฀question฀by฀noting฀ that฀all฀forms฀of฀landownership฀that฀are฀the฀basis฀ for฀the฀wealth฀and฀power฀of฀landowners฀exist฀ as฀monopolies:฀they฀involve฀exclusive฀claims฀to฀ definite฀portions฀of฀the฀surface฀of฀the฀earth฀that฀ are฀not฀reproducible.฀However,฀transformations฀ in฀time-space฀compression฀(“the฀annihilation฀of฀ space฀through฀time”11)฀have฀accelerated฀since฀ the฀shift฀from฀‘fordist’฀to฀‘post-fordist’12฀modes฀of฀ accumulation฀via฀advanced฀telecommunications฀ and฀transportation฀innovations.฀These฀innovations฀ have฀destroyed฀previously฀existing฀spatial฀ barriers฀and฀loosened฀the฀individual฀landowners’฀ monopoly฀power฀by฀putting฀them฀in฀competition฀ with฀increasingly฀mobile฀global฀competitors.฀For฀ Harvey,฀the฀drive฀to฀obtain฀profit฀from฀the฀cultural฀ capital฀of฀cities฀can฀be฀seen฀as฀an฀attempt฀by฀ landowners฀and฀their฀political฀allies฀to฀re-assert฀ and฀reclaim฀monopoly฀powers฀in฀a฀context฀of฀ accelerated฀globalisation. While฀the฀source฀of฀land฀rent฀is฀derived฀from฀a฀ monopoly฀on฀land,฀monopoly฀rent฀is฀distinguished฀ by฀the฀ability฀of฀a฀landowner฀to฀earn฀a฀higher฀ than฀average฀rent฀because฀of฀another฀pre-existing฀ monopoly฀that฀exists฀independently฀of฀their฀ monopoly฀on฀the฀land.฀Harvey฀specifies฀location฀ and฀scarcity฀as฀the฀two฀chief฀sources฀of฀monopoly฀ rent. •฀Location:฀The฀locational฀source฀is฀related฀to฀the฀ centrality฀of฀the฀land฀to฀a฀highly฀concentrated฀activity฀of฀ economic฀capture฀such฀as฀a฀transport฀or฀communication฀ network,฀or฀a฀financial฀center฀or฀shopping฀precinct.฀This฀ is฀an฀indirect฀form฀of฀monopoly฀rent.฀A฀premium฀for฀the฀ land฀will฀be฀paid฀in฀this฀case฀for฀its฀accessibility฀and฀for฀ the฀commodities฀and฀services฀produced฀therefrom. •฀Scarcity:฀In฀the฀case฀of฀scarcity฀the฀inimitable฀qualities฀ of฀a฀resource฀are฀directly฀traded฀upon฀(for฀instance฀a฀ vineyard,฀prime฀real-estate฀location฀or฀work฀of฀art).฀Here฀ the฀uniqueness฀and฀specificity฀of฀the฀asset฀forms฀the฀ basis฀for฀monopoly฀prices.฀Investing฀in฀a฀city’s฀cultural฀ infrastructure฀is฀so฀desirable,฀Harvey฀argues,฀because฀ culture฀distinctiveness฀is฀always฀embedded฀in฀a฀place฀ and฀therefore฀provides฀the฀potential฀for฀landowners฀ to฀garner฀extra฀rental฀income฀on฀top฀of฀an฀average฀ differential฀rent.฀A฀distinct฀cultural฀infrastructure฀is฀thus฀ the฀source฀of฀additional฀monopoly฀rents฀if฀imaginatively฀ marketed฀in฀the฀commodity฀realm. Moreover,฀in฀Harvey’s฀schema,฀free฀amenities฀ held฀in฀common฀come฀to฀be฀valued฀for฀their฀ability฀ to฀fetch฀monopoly฀rents.฀While฀many฀of฀the฀assets฀ that฀he฀discusses฀fetch฀a฀monopoly฀price;฀many,฀ such฀as฀parks,฀museums,฀monuments฀and฀scenic฀ areas฀do฀not.฀Yet฀these฀ostensibly฀‘free’฀resources฀ still฀provide฀a฀potential฀source฀of฀monopoly฀ rent฀for฀adjacent฀land฀and฀property฀owners฀ 38฀|฀VARIANT฀37฀|฀SPRING฀/฀SUMMER฀2010 due฀to฀co-determinant฀factors฀such฀as฀prestige฀ and฀status฀linked฀to฀special,฀localised฀‘marks฀of฀ distinction’฀(e.g.฀a฀block฀of฀apartments฀overlooking฀ a฀municipal฀park,฀or฀a฀shopping฀centre฀close฀to฀a฀ museum,฀monument฀or฀gallery). As฀Tretter฀notes,฀the฀cultural฀resources฀and฀ institutions฀of฀a฀city฀almost฀always฀function฀at฀the฀ local฀level฀as฀monopolies฀(each฀city฀can฀host฀only฀ so฀many฀concert฀halls,฀museums,฀theatres,฀etc),฀ and฀the฀monopolistic฀potential฀of฀a฀city’s฀cultural฀ assets฀are฀routinely฀traded฀upon฀to฀boost฀a฀city’s฀ competitive฀edge:฀“Cities฀trade฀on฀their฀cultural฀ resources฀in฀attempts฀to฀attract฀investment,฀and฀ corporations฀profit฀by฀effectively฀siphoning฀off฀ revenue฀from฀the฀exploitation฀of฀the฀popularity฀ of฀the฀city’s฀infrastructure฀or฀the฀uniqueness฀of฀a฀ particular฀cultural฀tradition”฀(p.116).฀But฀it฀is฀not฀ just฀cultural฀institutions฀that฀have฀monopolistic฀ potential;฀the฀culture฀of฀any฀city฀is฀perceived฀ as฀a฀monopoly฀asset฀because฀it฀is฀not฀easily฀ exchangeable฀with฀the฀culture฀of฀another฀city.฀In฀ this฀vastly฀reductive฀sense,฀any฀city฀can฀be฀said฀ to฀have฀a฀monopoly฀over฀its฀“cultural฀heritage”฀ or฀“way฀of฀life”฀because฀they฀are฀specific฀to฀one฀ location฀(p.116).฀City฀culture฀itself,฀as฀abstract฀ and฀unstable฀as฀this฀concept฀may฀be13,฀is฀open฀to฀ monopolization฀because฀of฀its฀unique฀and฀nonexchangeable฀properties;฀city฀branding,฀endemic฀ to฀the฀neoliberal฀city฀(e.g.฀‘Glasgow:฀Scotland฀With฀ Style’),฀is฀perhaps฀the฀most฀blatant฀example฀of฀the฀ city฀reduced฀to฀the฀status฀of฀a฀product฀under฀the฀ market฀calculus. Smiles฀Better? Glasgow,฀as฀Tretter฀notes,฀is฀a฀“primary฀example”฀ of฀monopolistic฀subsumption.฀In฀the฀early฀1980s,฀ Glasgow’s฀elite฀started฀to฀rid฀the฀city฀of฀images฀ of฀its฀industrial฀past,฀and฀began฀in฀earnest฀the฀ plunder฀of฀its฀cultural฀infrastructure฀in฀the฀pursuit฀ of฀urban฀revalorisation.฀The฀‘S/Miles฀Better’฀ campaign฀launched฀in฀198314฀and฀the฀Garden฀ Festival฀of฀1988฀were฀initial฀attempts฀in฀this฀ direction,฀followed฀by฀Glasgow’s฀nomination฀to฀ host฀the฀European฀City฀of฀Culture฀festival฀in฀1990.฀ A฀key฀advocate฀for฀Glasgow’s฀nomination฀bid฀was฀ ‘Glasgow฀Action’฀–฀the฀“first฀clearly฀defined฀publicprivate฀partnership฀in฀Scotland”15.฀Formed฀in฀ 1985฀by฀the฀Scottish฀Development฀Agency฀(SDA),฀ Glasgow฀Action฀formed฀a฀strategic฀partnership฀ with฀Glasgow฀District฀Council฀(GDC)฀to฀ensure฀ that฀public฀funds฀were฀mobilised฀on฀behalf฀of฀ private฀partners.฀Typical฀of฀later฀entrepreneurial฀ private/public฀growth฀coalitions,฀Glasgow฀Action฀ was฀almost฀exclusively฀composed฀of฀local฀business฀ personalities16฀with฀direct฀ties฀to฀local฀banks฀ and฀other฀property฀related฀institutions17.฀Their฀ agenda฀unsurprisingly฀reflected฀the฀bias฀of฀that฀ constituency.฀The฀purpose฀of฀Glasgow฀Action฀was฀ “to฀be฀a฀vehicle฀to฀inject฀private฀sector฀leadership฀ into฀the฀growth฀process”฀(p.120),฀stated฀Chief฀ Executive,฀David฀Macdonald.฀The฀agency฀was฀ designed฀to฀“recreate฀Glasgow’s฀entrepreneurial฀ spirit”฀and฀to฀co-ordinate฀and฀link฀Glasgow’s฀urban฀ renewal฀efforts฀with฀a฀series฀of฀private฀partners.฀ Private฀sponsorship฀was฀supposed฀to฀support฀ community฀development,฀but฀as฀Robin฀Boyle฀noted฀ at฀the฀time,฀this฀soon฀turned฀into฀a฀narrow฀focus฀on฀ property฀development:฀“Profit฀becomes฀the฀goal;฀ the฀original,฀much฀wider,฀objectives฀covering฀the฀ economic฀and฀social฀condition฀of฀the฀city฀begin฀to฀ fade”18. In฀the฀lead฀up฀to฀the฀City฀of฀Culture฀festival฀ Glasgow฀saw฀a฀major฀subsidy-driven฀property฀ bubble:฀conservation฀and฀refurbishment฀work฀in฀ the฀newly-branded฀‘Merchant฀City’฀accompanied฀ new฀office฀buildings฀and฀refurbishments฀in฀other฀ city฀centre฀locations฀such฀as฀the฀Broomielaw฀(now฀ home฀to฀the฀International฀Financial฀Services฀ District,฀IFSD),฀the฀Scottish฀Exhibition฀and฀ Conference฀Centre,฀and฀the฀site฀of฀the฀1988฀ National฀Garden฀Festival,฀“all฀developments฀ heavily฀underwritten฀by฀the฀SDA฀and฀other฀ government฀agencies”19.฀The฀flipside฀of฀the฀ ‘boom’฀in฀construction฀and฀renovation฀came฀ in฀the฀form฀of฀a฀sharp฀increase฀in฀rents,฀with฀ city฀centre฀rents฀nearly฀doubling฀between฀1987฀ and฀1989฀alone฀(p.120).฀This฀highly฀uneven฀ and฀ambivalent฀‘success฀story’฀was฀attributed฀ to฀the฀entrepreneurial฀vision฀of฀the฀Glasgow฀ City฀councillors฀and฀business฀leaders฀whose฀ place-marketing฀techniques฀(rather฀than฀public฀ subsidy)฀were฀said฀to฀have฀provided฀the฀necessary฀ stimulus฀for฀economic฀growth.฀In฀particular,฀ according฀to฀Tretter,฀the฀marketing฀of฀Glasgow’s฀ Victorian฀architectural฀grid,฀helped฀landowners฀ and฀property฀developers฀trade฀on฀Glasgow’s฀ unique฀and฀distinctive฀cultural฀qualities฀and฀its฀ “new฀image฀as฀a฀cultural฀centre”฀(cited,฀p.121).฀ Private฀investment,฀Tretter฀argues,฀was฀thus฀ primarily฀stimulated฀on฀the฀back฀of฀the฀pre-existing฀ monopoly฀arising฀from฀the฀special฀qualities฀and฀ ‘marks฀of฀distinction’฀associated฀with฀locational฀ factors฀(place)฀–฀a฀monopoly฀held฀over฀and฀ above฀individual฀monopolies฀in฀property฀and฀ infrastructure. Tretter฀maintains฀that฀the฀drive฀towards฀ monopoly฀rents฀in฀Glasgow฀was฀built฀on฀the฀ valorization฀of฀Glasgow’s฀unique฀and฀distinctive฀ cultural฀assets฀as฀“a฀tool฀to฀promote฀economic฀ growth”฀(p.122).฀He฀cites฀a฀key฀report฀by฀the฀ Museum฀and฀Galleries฀Commission฀in฀1986,฀which฀ assessed฀Glasgow’s฀cultural฀infrastructure฀as฀one฀ of฀the฀largest฀in฀the฀UK฀(p.122).฀When฀Scottish฀ local฀government฀reorganisation฀in฀1973฀made฀ art฀infrastructure฀the฀exclusive฀domain฀of฀district฀ councils฀–฀including฀all฀capital฀and฀revenue฀ expenditures฀related฀to฀the฀“fine฀and฀performing฀ arts”฀–฀the฀GDC฀were฀legally฀sanctioned฀to฀exploit฀ Glasgow’s฀cultural฀infrastructure฀for฀economic฀ growth฀(p.122).฀In฀the฀run฀up฀to฀the฀City฀of฀Culture฀ year,฀GDC฀routinely฀emphasised฀the฀comparative฀ advantage฀these฀assets฀afforded฀the฀city฀in฀terms฀ of฀promoting฀such฀a฀goal. In฀order฀to฀‘release฀the฀value’฀of฀the฀local฀ authority’s฀heritable฀arts฀and฀cultural฀assets,฀and฀ transform฀the฀cultural฀commons฀into฀fixed฀capital,฀ the฀GDC฀introduced฀privatisation฀measures฀in฀at฀ least฀two฀ways฀in฀the฀lead฀up฀to฀and฀during฀the฀ City฀of฀Culture฀festival.฀First,฀the฀GDC฀(hiring฀ Thatcher’s฀favourite฀PR฀company,฀Saatchi฀and฀ Saatchi)฀began฀to฀“package฀and฀sell฀the฀culture฀ of฀the฀city฀as฀a฀brand฀and฀source฀of฀revenue฀to฀ private฀investors”฀(p.123).฀The฀City฀Council฀gave฀ its฀private฀sponsors฀exclusive฀usufruct฀on฀the฀ European฀City฀of฀Culture฀brand,฀featuring฀them฀ in฀all฀brochures฀and฀advertising฀materials.฀This฀ acceptance฀of฀private฀sponsorship฀of฀the฀arts฀ marked฀a฀decisive฀shift฀in฀Council฀policy฀to฀what฀ is฀now฀a฀banality฀despite฀its฀relatively฀recent฀and฀ highly฀contested฀provenance฀in฀the฀UK.฀Second,฀ Glasgow’s฀long฀tradition฀of฀not฀charging฀people฀ for฀admission฀to฀museums฀and฀galleries฀ended฀ when฀two฀museums฀specifically฀designed฀for฀the฀ City฀of฀Culture฀festival฀introduced฀admission฀ fees.฀The฀Mclellan฀Art฀Galleries฀(now฀closed฀as฀ galleries),฀entirely฀funded฀from฀the฀public฀funds,฀ started฀charging฀a฀fee฀at฀the฀door฀in฀1990.฀More฀ pertinently฀for฀Tretter’s฀discussion,฀‘Glasgow’s฀ Glasgow’,฀presented฀by฀the฀City฀Council฀as฀the฀ ‘leading฀exhibition’฀of฀the฀Year฀of฀Culture฀festival฀ charged฀a฀standard฀admission฀fee฀of฀£3.40.฀But฀ this฀was฀later฀reduced฀to฀£1฀when฀projected฀ attendances฀fell฀to฀less฀than฀half฀the฀numbers฀ expected.฀‘Glasgow’s฀Glasgow’฀ended฀as฀a฀“critical฀ and฀financial฀disaster”20,฀with฀the฀City฀Council฀ eventually฀losing฀£4.5฀million฀on฀the฀hugely฀ unpopular฀exhibition฀(p.124). The฀‘Glasgow’s฀Glasgow’฀exhibition฀was฀roundly฀ slated฀by฀curators฀and฀activists฀for฀its฀efforts฀to฀ transfer฀art฀already฀on฀display฀for฀free฀in฀Glasgow฀ museums฀to฀a฀private฀‘for-profit’฀corporation.฀ Elspeth฀King,฀then฀the฀curator฀of฀the฀People’s฀ Palace฀museum,฀was฀an฀especially฀vocal฀critic.฀For฀ King,฀the฀privileging฀of฀the฀exhibition฀ignored฀ the฀already฀established฀worth฀of฀the฀People’s฀ Palace฀and฀its฀resonant฀location฀on฀Glasgow฀ Green฀(an฀area฀historically฀associated฀with฀ working-class฀gatherings).฀She฀also฀criticized฀ the฀exhibition฀for฀receiving฀–฀unlike฀the฀People’s฀ Palace฀–฀a฀seemingly฀endless฀supply฀of฀public฀ funding;฀failing฀to฀represent฀the฀full฀diversity฀of฀ Glasgow’s฀history;฀and฀omitting฀a฀well-detailed฀ plan฀for฀the฀handling฀of฀the฀objects฀collected฀for฀ the฀exhibition฀(p.124/125).฀When฀King฀was฀passed฀ over฀for฀‘promotion’฀to฀the฀post฀of฀‘Keeper฀of฀the฀ City’s฀Social฀History’฀(a฀newly฀invented฀post฀which฀ stood฀above฀curator฀in฀museum฀hierarchy,฀thus฀by฀ default฀demoting฀King21)฀intense฀local฀reaction,฀ galvanised฀by฀the฀Workers฀City฀group,฀soon฀ developed฀the฀Elspeth฀King฀matter฀into฀a฀national฀ issue;฀part฀of฀a฀wider฀critique฀of฀the฀Year฀of฀ Culture฀per฀se.฀For฀Tretter,฀‘Glasgow’s฀Glasgow’฀and฀ the฀‘Elspeth฀King฀Affair’฀symbolize฀key฀moments฀ in฀the฀battle฀over฀the฀representation฀of฀Glasgow฀ during฀the฀Year฀of฀Culture. Oppositional฀Spaces?฀‘Merchant฀ City’,฀or,฀Workers฀City For฀Tretter,฀the฀ability฀of฀city฀governments฀and฀ private฀partners฀to฀capture฀monopoly฀rents฀is฀ predicated฀on฀the฀fact฀that฀“the฀images฀and฀ symbols฀associated฀with฀a฀city,฀and฀particularly฀ its฀cultural฀infrastructure,฀have฀a฀clearly฀defined฀ and฀stable฀meaning”฀(p.118).฀By฀creating฀a฀market฀ brand,฀city฀governments฀hope฀to฀harness฀the฀ collective฀symbolic฀capital฀of฀the฀city฀in฀order฀ to฀compete฀with฀other฀global฀cities฀for฀inward฀ investment.฀Thus,฀he฀argues,฀by฀mobilising฀ around฀the฀‘Elspeth฀King฀Affair’฀the฀Workers฀City฀ group฀challenged฀the฀stability฀of฀this฀meaning฀ and฀offered฀“an฀alternative฀narrative฀about฀the฀ proper฀use฀of฀Glasgow’s฀history฀and฀culture฀that฀ was฀important฀to฀questioning฀who฀owned฀the฀ cultural฀heritage฀and฀legacy฀of฀the฀city”฀(p.128).฀ But฀this฀sumary฀of฀events,฀while฀sustaining฀a฀ useful฀corrective฀to฀city฀boosterism,฀conforms฀to฀a฀ somewhat฀rigid฀adherence฀to฀Harvey’s฀hypothesis.฀ For฀Tretter,฀the฀monopolization฀of฀Glasgow’s฀ culture฀in฀1990฀increased฀the฀“sentimental฀ investment”฀that฀people฀made฀in฀their฀locale,฀ enhancing฀“people’s฀conscious฀attachment฀to฀ Glasgow,฀their฀sense฀of฀belonging,฀and฀their฀ VARIANT฀37฀|฀SPRING฀/฀SUMMER฀2010฀|฀39฀ awareness฀of฀their฀place฀in฀a฀longer฀historical฀ continuum”฀(p.127).฀But฀this฀apparently฀sudden฀ transformation฀of฀consciousness฀would฀surely฀come฀ as฀a฀surprise฀to฀the฀Workers฀City฀group,฀many฀of฀ whom฀had฀been฀engaged฀in฀political฀struggle฀in฀ Glasgow฀for฀decades.฀By฀concentrating฀specifically฀ on฀the฀cultural฀and฀representational฀issues฀thrown฀ up฀by฀the฀Year฀of฀Culture,฀and฀by฀neglecting฀ the฀wider฀social฀and฀economic฀contradictions฀in฀ Glasgow฀that฀had฀long฀motivated฀Workers฀City฀ activity,฀he฀leaves฀their฀arguments฀adrift฀on฀an฀ahistorical,฀symbolic฀plane,฀rather฀than฀embedding฀ their฀activity฀within฀a฀continuum฀of฀resistance฀ which฀carries฀important฀precedents฀for฀the฀ present.฀The฀Workers฀City฀campaign฀was฀less฀about฀ “belonging”฀and฀more฀about฀becoming;฀change฀ through฀collective฀praxis. The฀campaign฀to฀safeguard฀the฀jobs฀of฀Elspeth฀ King฀and฀Michael฀Donnelly฀(her฀colleague฀at฀ People’s฀Palace)฀was฀initiated฀by฀the฀Workers฀ City฀group฀primarily฀through฀the฀commitment฀of฀ Hugh฀Savage.฀Savage฀had฀for฀some฀time฀been฀a฀ member฀of฀‘Friends฀of฀the฀Peoples฀Palace’,฀a฀group฀ dedicated฀to฀supporting฀and฀fundraising฀activities฀ for฀the฀Palace,฀and฀a฀group฀supremely฀aware฀of฀ their฀“place฀in฀a฀longer฀historical฀continuum”,฀ long฀before฀the฀City฀of฀Culture฀year.฀According฀ to฀Workers฀City,฀it฀was฀precisely฀King’s฀efforts฀ in฀resuscitating฀Glasgow’s฀radical,฀working-class฀ history฀that฀had฀seen฀her฀passed฀over฀for฀the฀post฀ of฀Keeper฀of฀the฀Museum.฀This฀despite฀the฀fact฀ that฀King฀was฀more฀qualified฀than฀Mark฀O’Neil฀ (who฀was฀eventually฀appointed),฀and฀despite฀the฀ fact฀that฀she฀had฀transformed฀a฀“semi-derelict฀ building฀into฀one฀of฀the฀finest฀social฀history฀ museums฀in฀Europe”,฀winning฀the฀European฀ Museum฀of฀the฀year฀award฀(1981)฀and฀the฀British฀ Museum฀of฀the฀year฀award฀(1983)฀in฀the฀process22. That฀Savage฀was฀interested฀in฀King’s฀archival฀ and฀historical฀work฀should฀come฀as฀no฀surprise.฀ A฀personal฀friend฀of฀legendary฀Clydeside฀radical฀ Harry฀Mcshane23;฀veteran฀of฀the฀Apprentices฀ Strike฀in฀1941;฀shop฀steward฀in฀John฀Brown’s฀ shipyard฀(blacklisted฀for฀union฀activity);฀and฀ long฀time฀community฀activist฀in฀the฀permanently฀ deprived฀east฀of฀Glasgow,฀Savage,฀along฀with฀ other฀Workers฀City฀members฀Leslie฀Forster฀ and฀Ned฀Donaldson,฀were฀part฀of฀the฀Glasgow฀ Labour฀History฀Workshop฀research฀group.฀They฀ published฀books฀in฀their฀own฀right฀such฀as฀All฀for฀ the฀Cause:฀Willie฀Nairn,฀1856-1902,฀‘Stonebreaker,฀ Philosopher,฀Marxist’,฀and฀Sell฀and฀Be฀Damned,฀ The฀Glasgow฀Merrylee฀Housing฀Scandal฀of฀1951฀ (Forster฀and฀Donaldson).฀They฀also฀contributed฀ to฀several฀critical฀books฀on฀Glasgow’s฀radical฀ history,฀including฀The฀Singer฀Strike฀Clydebank,฀ 1911;฀Miltant฀Workers:฀Labour฀and฀Class฀Conflict฀ on฀the฀Clyde฀1900-1950,฀and฀Roots฀of฀Red฀Clydeside฀ 1910-1914.฀James฀Kelman฀recently฀paid฀tribute฀to฀ their฀research฀work฀in฀an฀introduction฀to฀Savage’s฀ autobiography:฀“Reclaiming฀history,฀exhibiting฀the฀ radical฀tradition;฀the฀work฀they฀accomplished฀is฀ inspirational,฀packed฀full฀of฀information:฀to฀read฀ them฀is฀to฀come฀into฀contact฀ with฀a฀roll-call฀of฀outstanding฀ men฀and฀women”24.฀As฀William฀ Clark,฀another฀member฀of฀ Workers฀City,฀recently฀said฀of฀the฀ group:฀“Within฀Workers฀City฀we฀ could฀see฀that฀the฀city฀officials฀ thought฀of฀culture฀as฀something฀ to฀be฀brought฀into฀the฀city.฀They฀ could฀not฀countenance฀the฀fact฀ that฀culture฀already฀existed,฀was฀ indeed฀indigenous”25.฀An฀idea฀ of฀this฀‘indigenous’฀culture฀can฀ be฀found฀in฀James.฀D฀Young’s฀ account฀of฀the฀progressive฀ impact฀of฀socialist฀ideas฀from฀ the฀refugees฀of฀the฀Paris฀ Commune฀–฀who฀gained฀political฀ asylum฀from฀the฀working-class฀ communities฀of฀Glasgow฀–฀or฀the฀ links฀of฀solidarity฀between฀the฀ Glaswegian฀and฀Dublin฀workingclass26. While฀the฀Year฀of฀Culture฀may฀have฀instigated฀ a฀response฀from฀the฀Workers฀City฀group,฀it฀was฀ far฀from฀“sentimental”,฀and฀far฀from฀pivotal฀in฀ shaping฀the฀consciousness฀of฀the฀group.฀Indeed,฀ historical฀consciousness฀was฀what฀prompted฀the฀ Workers฀City฀name,฀specifically฀chosen฀to฀challenge฀ the฀newly฀invented฀‘Merchant฀City’฀branding27฀ that฀had฀been฀applied฀to฀the฀gentrifying฀area฀in฀ the฀east฀of฀the฀city฀centre฀as฀part฀of฀the฀attempt฀ to฀“recreate฀Glasgow’s฀entrepreneurial฀spirit”.฀ The฀group฀pointed฀out฀that฀the฀branding฀of฀the฀ ‘Merchant฀City’฀was฀a฀craven฀attempt฀to฀link฀ modern฀entrepreneurs฀with฀those฀of฀Glasgow’s฀ past฀–฀thereby฀honouring฀the฀role฀of฀the฀‘tobacco฀ lords’฀(who฀once฀lived฀in฀the฀area),฀despite฀their฀ “deep฀involvement”฀in฀a฀colonial฀economy฀“which฀ could฀not฀have฀functioned฀without฀an฀entrenched฀ and฀expanding฀system฀of฀slave฀labour”28.฀As฀James฀ Kelman฀noted฀at฀the฀time,฀Glasgow’s฀tobacco฀ traders฀trafficked฀in฀degradation,฀and฀generated฀ wealth฀“by฀the฀simple฀expedience฀of฀not฀paying฀ the฀price฀of฀labour”29.฀This฀critical฀historical฀ approach฀(for฀which฀they฀were฀lambasted30)฀ can฀now฀be฀seen฀as฀a฀central฀legacy,฀though฀not฀ the฀sole฀merit,฀of฀the฀Workers฀City฀group.฀While฀ city฀elites฀have฀continually฀attempted฀to฀erase฀ Glasgow’s฀history฀–฀radical฀and฀otherwise฀–฀the฀ Workers฀City฀group,฀at฀the฀minimum,฀created฀“a฀ record฀of฀opposition,฀some฀other฀history”31. Tretter฀is฀right฀to฀emphasis฀this฀critique,฀ but฀it฀was฀more฀than฀just฀“vocal฀opposition”฀ or฀“analysis”฀(p.128).฀He฀suggests฀that฀“the฀ more฀profound”฀contradiction฀between฀the฀ Council’s฀attempts฀to฀monopolise฀the฀Year฀of฀ Culture฀and฀the฀“perceived฀injustice”฀of฀this฀ endeavour฀led฀to฀Workers฀City฀opposition.฀But฀ cultural฀‘regeneration’฀is฀typically฀only฀a฀small,฀ if฀important,฀mainly฀symbolic฀part฀of฀wider฀ strategies฀of฀dispossession32฀and฀the฀Workers฀City฀ group฀were฀well฀aware฀of฀that.฀A฀central฀campaign฀ that฀the฀group฀initiated฀(which฀Tretter฀barely฀ acknowledges)฀was฀the฀battle฀to฀save฀Glasgow฀ Green฀from฀privatisation฀and฀‘development’.฀ The฀Green฀has฀long฀been฀associated฀with฀radical฀ working-class฀gatherings33,฀and฀remains฀to฀this฀ day฀a฀part฀of฀the฀city’s฀‘common฀good’฀assets.฀The฀ group’s฀victory฀against฀the฀Green’s฀privatisation฀ (alongside฀numerous฀supporters฀and฀collaborators)฀ can฀be฀seen฀as฀one฀of฀its฀central฀achievements.฀ The฀group฀also฀practically฀supported฀campaigns฀ against฀pollution฀in฀Carmyle฀and฀Rutherglen฀and฀ Action฀on฀Asbestos,฀crucial฀solidarity฀work฀in฀a฀ city฀riddled฀with฀industrial฀pollution.฀Moreover,฀ looking฀through฀back฀issues฀of฀The฀Keelie,฀“a฀ scandal฀mongering฀organ”34฀distributed฀freely฀and฀ anonymously฀by฀the฀Workers฀City฀group,฀the฀range฀ of฀critical฀work฀draws฀attention฀ to฀anti-poll฀tax฀campaigns,฀antimilitarism,฀housing฀campaigns,฀ gentrification฀(“yuppiefication”),฀ council฀corruption,฀the฀routing฀ of฀the฀steel฀and฀oil฀industries,฀ privatization฀of฀common฀good฀ assets,฀governance,฀and฀the฀ deplorable฀health฀and฀wealth฀ disparities฀of฀a฀city฀notorious฀for฀ them฀to฀this฀day.35 Tretter’s฀aporias฀obscure฀ the฀fact฀that฀the฀Workers฀City฀ analysis฀was฀rooted฀in฀the฀social฀ and฀economic฀contradictions฀of฀ Glasgow฀in฀a฀city-wide฀context฀ during฀the฀Year฀of฀Culture,฀but฀ by฀no฀means฀confined฀to฀it:฀ “The฀money฀had฀to฀come฀from฀ somewhere.฀Major฀cuts฀have฀ already฀taken฀place฀in฀the฀areas฀ precisely฀concerned฀with฀art฀and฀ culture.฀The฀public฀funding฀of฀ libraries,฀art฀galleries฀and฀museums;฀swimming฀ baths,฀public฀parks฀and฀public฀halls;฀all฀are฀being฀ cut฀drastically…Prime฀assets฀not฀to฀mention฀ services฀to฀the฀community฀are฀being฀closed฀down฀ and฀sold฀off฀altogether,฀to฀private฀developers,฀to฀ big฀business.฀What฀has฀been฀celebrated฀as฀art฀in฀ all฀its฀diversity฀is฀there฀to฀behold,฀a฀quite฀ruthless฀ assault฀on฀the฀culture฀of฀the฀city”36฀The฀struggle฀ was฀neither฀merely฀event-based,฀nor฀limited฀to฀ the฀symbolic฀plane,฀but฀contested฀over฀a฀series฀ of฀class-based฀economic฀processes฀and฀their฀ underlying฀contradictions;฀and฀this฀struggle฀was฀ worked฀out฀at฀the฀level฀of฀praxis฀as฀well฀as฀in฀ the฀field฀of฀representation฀as฀the฀Glasgow฀Green฀ campaign฀clearly฀shows. The฀Rent฀Devours฀All… A฀major฀flaw฀in฀Tretter’s฀argument฀is฀the฀chronic฀ lack฀of฀evidence฀he฀uses฀to฀support฀his฀otherwise฀ helpful฀critique฀of฀monopoly฀rent฀seeking.฀By฀ curtailing฀his฀examples฀up฀to฀the฀year฀1990฀ (though฀his฀article฀was฀published฀in฀2009),฀and฀ by฀restricting฀his฀outlook฀to฀the฀role฀of฀culture฀in฀ monopoly,฀he฀fails฀to฀update฀the฀wider฀processes฀of฀ monopoly฀that฀have฀made฀the฀city฀such฀a฀paragon฀ of฀neoliberal฀urbanism.฀Even฀a฀brief฀summary฀ suggests฀the฀scale฀of฀the฀city’s฀capitulation฀ to฀market฀forces.฀Most฀pertinent฀to฀Tretter’s฀ position฀is฀the฀transfer฀of฀the฀management฀of฀ Glasgow’s฀entire฀cultural฀and฀leisure฀services฀ to฀Culture฀and฀Sport฀Glasgow฀(CSG),฀an฀arm’s฀ length฀body฀composed฀of฀two฀companies;฀one฀ limited฀by฀guarantee฀with฀charitable฀status,฀and฀ a฀‘trading฀arm’฀to฀carry฀out฀functions฀not฀deemed฀ charitable.฀For฀Rebecca฀Gordon฀Nesbitt฀this฀ transfer฀represents฀“the฀wholesale฀takeover฀of฀ culture฀by฀business฀interests”37.฀The฀total฀list฀of฀ assets฀transferred,฀including฀all฀community฀and฀ leisure฀services฀in฀public฀ownership,฀encompasses฀ a฀remarkable฀diversity฀of฀services฀lost฀from฀the฀ public฀sector38.฀Controversial฀proposals฀to฀allow฀ private฀companies฀to฀develop฀businesses฀in฀the฀ Botanic฀Gardens฀and฀Pollok฀Park฀–฀successfully฀ resisted39฀–฀suggest฀the฀direction฀ahead;฀as฀does฀ a฀projected฀wave฀of฀industrial฀action฀in฀the฀face฀ of฀closures฀and฀pay฀cuts40.฀Further,฀CSG’s฀recent฀ Venues฀Review฀further฀proposes฀to฀close฀over฀a฀ dozen฀community฀facilities,฀including฀a฀library฀and฀ a฀swimming฀pool,฀and฀to฀reduce฀opening฀hours฀for฀ museums฀and฀sports฀facilities.฀Among฀other฀deeply฀ controversial฀arms฀length฀external฀organisations฀ (ALEO’s)฀that฀Glasgow฀City฀Council฀has฀calved฀ out฀of฀former฀city฀departments฀are฀City฀Building41,฀ offering฀building฀services฀(2,200฀staff฀transferred),฀ and฀Cordia42฀which฀operates฀out-sourced฀services฀ contracts฀for฀IT,฀catering฀and฀cleaning฀(8,792฀staff฀ transferred). Glasgow’s฀common฀good43฀assets,฀held฀in฀the฀ common฀good฀fund,฀have฀long฀come฀under฀threat฀ from฀‘mismanagement’฀and฀lack฀of฀accountability฀ due฀to฀a฀lack฀of฀a฀comprehensive฀register฀of฀assets฀ –฀others฀might฀say฀the฀looting฀of฀the฀common฀good฀ fund฀is฀far฀from฀accidental.฀The฀latest฀threat฀to฀ the฀fund฀comes฀from฀a฀new฀ALEO฀–฀City฀Property฀ (Glasgow)฀LLP฀–฀a฀subsidiary฀to฀which฀the฀council฀ will฀be฀transferring฀the฀rights฀to฀1,400฀incomegenerating฀commercial฀properties฀in฀exchange฀for฀ a฀loan฀of฀£120m฀from฀Barclays฀Bank,฀ostensibly฀in฀ order฀to฀fill฀a฀funding฀black฀hole44.฀Taking฀the฀role฀ of฀property฀services,฀which฀was฀formerly฀part฀of฀ the฀City฀Council’s฀development฀and฀regeneration฀ services,฀City฀Property฀(Glasgow)฀LLP฀will฀ work฀at฀‘arms฀length’฀from฀the฀City฀Council฀in฀ order฀to฀“deliver฀to฀the฀market”฀a฀wide฀range฀of฀ properties45.฀The฀ALEO฀will฀now฀be฀responsible฀ for฀the฀management฀and฀sale฀of฀all฀Glasgow฀City฀ Council’s฀‘non-operational’฀property฀assets฀and฀the฀ management฀of฀the฀Council’s฀major฀ground฀leases.฀ 40฀|฀VARIANT฀37฀|฀SPRING฀/฀SUMMER฀2010 The฀loan฀will฀have฀to฀be฀paid฀back฀at฀an฀expected฀ average฀rate฀of฀£10m฀a฀year฀for฀20฀years,฀costing฀ the฀City฀Council฀£80฀million฀(which฀represents฀a฀ 66%฀interest฀rate฀over฀the฀period).฀As฀the฀interest฀ rates฀will฀be฀reset฀five฀years฀into฀the฀deal,฀there฀is฀ a฀considerable฀risk฀that฀the฀final฀deal฀might฀cost฀ “significantly฀more฀than฀expected”;฀if฀so,฀the฀risk฀ is฀part฀guaranteed฀by฀the฀council฀and฀the฀costs฀will฀ be฀borne฀by฀further฀sales฀of฀city฀council฀properties฀ to฀the฀private฀sector฀or฀an฀extension฀of฀the฀loan46.฀ But฀it’s฀not฀only฀the฀ALEO’s฀who฀profit:฀a฀recent฀ scathing฀report฀reveals฀an฀“elaborate฀system฀of฀ political฀patronage”฀at฀work฀in฀the฀ALEO’s,฀with฀ councillors฀sharing฀‘top-up’฀payments฀of฀£400,000฀ –฀over฀and฀above฀their฀public฀salaries฀–฀for฀landing฀ a฀role฀o฀the฀board฀on฀these฀ever฀proliferating฀ quangos’47. Tretter฀can฀be฀forgiven฀for฀missing฀these฀recent฀ developments,฀but฀not฀for฀failing฀to฀adequately฀ account฀for฀previous฀acts฀of฀enclosure฀in฀Glasgow.฀ Thatcher’s฀UK-wide฀‘right฀to฀buy’฀policy฀in฀the฀ Housing฀Act฀of฀1980฀encouraged฀council฀housing฀ tenants฀to฀buy฀their฀homes฀with฀enormous฀ discounts,฀effectively฀subsidising฀the฀mass฀sell-off฀ of฀social฀assets฀way฀below฀their฀market฀value฀and฀ instigating฀a฀wave฀of฀speculation,฀rent฀seeking,฀and฀ the฀debt-financed฀housing฀bubble฀in฀the฀process.฀ By฀2003,฀after฀the฀most฀desirable฀properties฀had฀ been฀bought฀up,฀Glasgow฀transferred฀its฀entire฀ remaining฀public฀sector฀housing฀supply฀(81,000฀ council฀homes,฀the฀second฀largest฀stock฀in฀Britain)฀ to฀a฀‘registered฀social฀landlord’,฀Glasgow฀Housing฀ Association฀(GHA).฀GHA฀have฀since฀been฀“crisishit”฀by฀a฀slew฀of฀management฀resignations฀ and฀controversies฀over฀proposed฀‘second-stage’฀ transfers฀to฀Local฀Housing฀Organisations฀(LHO’s)฀ which฀have฀failed฀to฀materialise฀on฀anything฀ like฀the฀scale฀promised48.฀Moreover,฀a฀spate฀of฀ demolitions฀has฀seen฀the฀total฀amount฀of฀social฀ housing฀reduced฀from฀81,000฀to฀under฀62,000฀ by฀200949,฀with฀creeping฀marketisation฀through฀ ‘mixed-housing’฀tenure฀providing฀a฀neoliberal฀alibi฀ for฀further฀privatisation฀of฀the฀city’s฀‘social’฀(no฀ longer฀public)฀housing.฀This฀in฀a฀context฀where฀the฀ number฀of฀Council฀and฀Housing฀Association฀homes฀ is฀now฀at฀its฀lowest฀for฀fifty฀years฀in฀Scotland50. In฀education,฀a฀£1.2฀billion฀contract฀for฀new฀ build฀construction฀and฀the฀management฀of฀the฀ city’s฀entire฀secondary฀school฀system฀over฀30฀years฀ was฀given฀to฀3ED฀consortium฀in฀2002฀as฀part฀of฀ a฀PFI฀scheme฀with฀£451฀million฀public฀subsidy฀ from฀the฀Scottish฀Government฀(raiding฀public฀ budgets฀from฀other฀local฀authorities),฀and฀with฀ all฀the฀risk฀underwritten฀by฀the฀City฀Council51.฀ According฀to฀Unison,฀the฀bill฀for฀the฀Council฀will฀ be฀£36.4m฀more฀than฀if฀the฀schools฀were฀funded฀ by฀conventional฀finance,฀and฀they฀estimate฀ that฀Glasgow฀lost฀seven฀school฀swimming฀pools,฀ along฀with฀staff฀common฀rooms฀and฀classroom฀ reductions,฀in฀the฀deal52.฀Moreover,฀25฀primary฀ school’s฀and฀nurseries฀have฀recently฀been฀subject฀ to฀closure฀in฀the฀city,฀despite฀furious฀resistance฀ –฀including฀school฀occupations53฀–฀from฀parents,฀ and฀local฀community฀groups฀in฀the฀affected฀ areas.฀Meanwhile,฀in฀transport,฀after฀the฀UKwide฀deregulation฀and฀privatisation฀of฀staterun฀Passenger฀Transport฀Executives฀(PTE’s)฀in฀ 1986,฀Strathclyde฀Transport฀became฀Strathclyde฀ Buses,฀an฀“arms฀length”฀bus฀company,฀and฀by฀ 1993฀was฀sold฀to฀its฀employees.฀Competition,฀and฀ the฀inevitable฀process฀of฀monopolisation฀which฀ accompanies฀it,฀ensured฀that฀by฀1996฀Strathclyde฀ Buses฀was฀sold฀off฀to฀First฀Bus,฀(now฀First฀Group),฀ who฀now฀monopolise฀most฀of฀the฀bus฀routes฀ in฀Glasgow฀in฀an฀inadequate฀and฀increasingly฀ expensive฀service54.฀While฀the฀subway,฀currently฀ run฀by฀scandal-riven55฀Strathclyde฀Partnership฀for฀ Transport฀(SPT),฀has฀been฀starved฀of฀investment฀ and฀now฀requires฀a฀£400฀million฀modernisation฀ plan฀–฀with฀“closure฀an฀option”฀if฀finance฀is฀not฀ forthcoming฀according฀to฀a฀recent฀Herald฀report56.฀ Those฀with฀eyes฀to฀see฀will฀note฀that฀disinvestment฀ is฀often฀a฀deliberate฀strategy฀to฀lower฀asset฀values,฀ making฀it฀more฀profitable฀for฀asset-stripping฀ private฀investors.฀Privatisation,฀or฀a฀public฀private฀ partnership,฀is฀sure฀to฀be฀on฀the฀agenda฀sooner฀or฀ later57,฀and฀we฀might฀expect฀that฀this฀will฀be฀a฀new฀ battleground฀for฀basic฀services฀in฀the฀near฀future. Subsidy฀Junkies฀and฀Flexible฀ Friends… The฀Merchant฀City฀–฀the฀so-called฀‘style฀mile’฀–฀is฀ the฀most฀heavily฀promoted฀example฀of฀Glasgow’s฀ alleged฀urban฀renaissance.฀The฀‘Arts฀Led฀Property฀ Strategy’58฀the฀City฀Council฀are฀pursuing฀in฀the฀ area฀has฀roots฀in฀the฀early฀’80s฀when฀public฀ subsidies฀were฀directed฀into฀the฀area฀to฀re-brand฀ the฀city฀centre฀and฀pump-prime฀private฀property฀ development.฀In฀the฀’60s,฀the฀area฀was฀home฀to฀ warehouse฀storage,฀clothing฀manufacture,฀and฀ the฀regional฀fruit฀and฀vegetable฀market.฀These฀ uses฀were฀threatened฀by฀the฀proposed฀southwards฀ expansion฀of฀The฀University฀of฀Strathclyde,฀and,฀ as฀part฀of฀Glasgow’s฀comprehensive฀urban฀renewal฀ policies,฀the฀east฀flank฀of฀a฀proposed฀inner฀ring฀ road.฀The฀relocation฀of฀the฀fruit฀and฀vegetable฀ market฀to฀Blochairn฀in฀1968฀precipitated฀a฀“crisis”฀ that฀caused฀“a฀ripple฀or฀domino฀effect฀on฀a฀range฀ of฀related฀uses฀and฀caused฀up฀to฀80฀businesses฀ to฀cease฀trading฀in฀the฀area”59.฀Moreover,฀the฀ University฀plans฀failed฀to฀materialise,฀and฀the฀ ring฀road฀plan฀was฀abandoned฀in฀that฀form.฀The฀ planning฀uncertainties฀led฀to฀blight฀and฀eventually฀ demolition฀orders,฀and฀the฀Merchant฀City฀went฀ into฀further฀decline฀over฀the฀following฀decade.60 By฀1980,฀a฀third฀of฀the฀property฀was฀in฀Glasgow฀ District฀Council฀(GDC)฀ownership฀and฀a฀third฀ of฀property฀was฀vacant฀(with฀the฀majority฀of฀ this฀vacant฀property฀owned฀by฀GDC).฀Overall,฀ the฀physical฀fabric฀was฀neglected,฀and฀the฀area฀ was฀designated฀a฀‘Special฀Project฀Area’฀where฀ “active฀participation฀by฀the฀public฀sector฀was฀ considered฀a฀necessary฀factor฀towards฀attracting฀a฀ renewed฀market฀interest”61.฀Realising฀its฀property฀ interests฀in฀the฀area,฀GDC฀began฀to฀offer฀subsidy฀ packages฀to฀stimulate฀market฀interest฀–฀including฀ conversion฀grants,฀‘positive’฀planning฀controls,฀ and฀the฀release฀of฀buildings฀to฀developers.฀A฀more฀ promotional฀and฀entrepreneurial฀approach฀was฀ being฀signalled;฀and,฀as฀Jones฀and฀Patrick฀have฀ noted,฀for฀hesitant฀investors,฀“public฀subsidy฀would฀ bridge฀the฀gap฀between฀a฀desirable฀objective฀ and฀a฀profitable฀opportunity”.62฀From฀1982฀–฀with฀ Albion฀Building,฀Merchant฀Court฀and฀Blackfriars฀ Court฀–฀conversions,฀rehabilitations฀and฀new-build฀ gradually฀began฀to฀take฀shape฀in฀the฀area.฀These฀ developments฀were฀assisted฀with฀new฀planning฀ criteria฀whose฀“underlying฀principle฀was฀that฀ of฀flexibility”.63฀In฀1984,฀with฀major฀GDC฀and฀ Scottish฀Development฀Agency฀(SDA)฀assistance,฀ the฀Ingram฀Square฀project฀constructed฀239฀ housing฀units฀as฀part฀of฀its฀comprehensive฀street฀ block฀renewal฀scheme. Gradually฀the฀demography฀of฀the฀area฀began฀to฀ shift฀as฀buildings฀were฀converted฀to฀apartments฀ and฀cultural฀amenities฀via฀public฀subsidy.฀ Fashion฀and฀retail฀outlets฀emerged:฀The฀exclusive฀ Italian฀Centre,฀incorporating฀shops,฀flats,฀offices,฀ restaurant,฀and฀café฀bar,฀was฀opened฀around฀a฀ courtyard฀and฀a฀‘fashion฀theme’.฀By฀1991,฀flats฀ with฀gymnasiums,฀pool฀and฀porterage฀services฀ were฀being฀marketed฀from฀£120,000฀and฀above.฀ The฀area฀now฀fostered฀forms฀of฀shopping฀with฀ specialist฀and฀leisure฀themes฀in฀order฀to฀attract฀ tourist฀revenue฀to฀the฀city฀centre,฀and฀by฀the฀ early฀’90s฀the฀city฀centre฀‘lifestyle’฀opportunities฀ afforded฀by฀the฀Merchant฀City฀were฀attracting฀ “the฀relatively฀modest฀numbers฀of฀people฀who฀ seek฀the฀lifestyle฀that฀such฀an฀arrangement฀ offers”64.฀Glasgow฀District฀Council฀figures฀show,฀ for฀instance,฀that฀purchases฀of฀houses฀in฀Ingram฀ Square฀in฀the฀Merchant฀City฀were฀overwhelmingly฀ by฀professionals฀and฀managers,฀with฀other฀nonmanual฀workers฀taking฀much฀of฀the฀rest฀–฀as฀ Jones฀and฀Patrick฀comment:฀“the฀overriding฀ impression฀these฀surveys฀imbue฀is฀that฀the฀demand฀ predominantly฀stems฀from฀young฀professionals฀ on฀relatively฀high฀incomes”65.฀These฀affluent฀ young฀professionals฀were฀of฀course฀often฀termed฀ ‘yuppies’:฀a฀term฀that฀was฀correctly฀associated฀ with฀gentrification฀and฀loaded฀with฀negative฀ connotations.66 By฀1991,฀£12฀million฀of฀public฀money฀had฀ been฀invested฀in฀the฀Merchant฀City.฀The฀logic฀ of฀this฀financial฀assistance฀was฀partly฀that฀of฀ ‘pump฀priming’฀a฀market฀from฀which฀the฀publicsector฀would฀eventually฀be฀withdrawn,฀but,฀ unsurprisingly,฀the฀private฀sector฀developed฀a฀ taste฀for฀such฀public฀largesse:฀“the฀availability฀of฀ public฀finance฀has฀perhaps฀inevitably฀influenced฀ land฀values.฀Potential฀assistance฀has฀been฀built฀ into฀many฀site฀valuations฀with฀the฀result฀that฀the฀ land฀values฀have฀been฀bid฀up”.67฀Jones฀and฀Patrick,฀ summarising฀their฀analysis฀of฀the฀Merchant฀City฀ redevelopment฀in฀1992,฀stated฀that฀the฀Merchant฀ City฀–฀despite฀such฀sustained฀public฀support฀–฀was,฀ “still฀dependent฀on฀public฀funds฀and฀therefore฀ its฀future฀relies฀on฀these฀monies฀continuing”;฀ moreover:฀“It฀would฀be฀very฀difficult฀for฀the฀public฀ sector฀to฀withdraw฀its฀support฀without฀the฀painful฀ acceptance฀that฀the฀current฀momentum฀would฀ fall฀by฀the฀wayside.฀The฀conundrum฀of฀rising฀land฀ values฀and฀the฀ongoing฀need฀for฀public฀assistance฀ is฀therefore฀likely฀to฀continue”.68฀And฀indeed฀it฀ has.฀Property฀owners฀in฀the฀Merchant฀City฀area฀ continue฀to฀see฀their฀rents฀protected฀and฀enhanced฀ by฀public฀subsidy.฀Glasgow฀City฀Council฀have฀ made฀improvements฀to฀‘urban฀realm’฀works฀worth฀ £10฀million69฀–฀including฀the฀laying฀of฀Italian฀ porphyry฀stone฀“which฀sparkles฀when฀wet฀and฀ comes฀in฀a฀variety฀of฀colour฀variations฀[sic]”,฀at฀ a฀cost฀of฀£500,000฀in฀John฀Street70.฀The฀Merchant฀ City฀Townscape฀Heritage฀Initiative,฀funded฀by฀ the฀Heritage฀Lottery฀Fund,฀Glasgow฀City฀Council฀ and฀Scottish฀Enterprise฀has฀contributed฀another฀ £4.5฀million฀between฀2000฀and฀the฀present;฀while฀ the฀Merchant฀City฀Tourism฀and฀Marketing฀Cooperative฀Limited฀(MCTMC)฀receives฀public฀ funding฀from฀Scottish฀Enterprise฀and฀Visit฀ Scotland฀to฀carry฀on฀a฀campaign฀of฀unadulterated฀ propaganda฀for฀businesses฀in฀the฀area.฀MCTMC,฀ via฀public฀agencies,฀also฀supports฀the฀‘Merchants฀ Market’,฀a฀market฀for฀expensive฀high-quality฀ produce฀which฀opened฀three฀months฀after฀the฀ brutal฀closure฀of฀working-class฀Paddy’s฀Market฀ nearby,฀despite฀a฀sustained฀campaign71.฀In฀a฀typical฀ act฀of฀historical฀erasure฀the฀new฀‘merchants’฀ market฀stands฀over฀the฀site฀of฀the฀former฀fruit฀and฀ vegetable฀market฀relocated฀to฀Blochairn. VARIANT฀37฀|฀SPRING฀/฀SUMMER฀2010฀|฀41฀ Rent฀neither฀grows฀from฀the฀soil฀nor฀emanates฀ from฀brickwork.฀The฀enclosures฀of฀public฀housing,฀ and฀the฀gentrification฀of฀the฀Merchant฀City,฀ depended,฀and฀still฀depend,฀on฀new฀legal฀and฀ policy฀frameworks,฀and฀new฀forms฀of฀economic฀ and฀social฀relations฀(not฀to฀discount฀corruption฀ and฀cronyism).฀Despite฀the฀mythology฀of฀risktaking฀market-led฀and฀entrepreneurial฀activity,฀ neoliberal฀urban฀development฀is฀almost฀without฀ exception฀state-led฀and฀heavily฀state-financed.฀This฀ fact฀is฀now฀a฀banality.฀In฀an฀exemplary฀account,฀ Swyngedouw฀et฀al’s฀comprehensive฀survey฀of฀largescale฀neoliberal฀urbanization฀in฀North฀America฀ and฀Western฀Europe฀notes:฀“Traditional฀and฀welldocumented฀processes฀of฀socialization฀of฀cost฀and฀ risk฀and฀privatization฀of฀the฀possible฀benefits฀are฀ central฀characteristics฀of฀most฀UDP’s”72.฀In฀2008,฀ at฀the฀State฀of฀the฀City฀Economy฀conference,฀ disgraced฀former฀City฀Council฀leader฀Steven฀ Purcell73฀only฀reiterated฀neoliberal฀convention฀ when฀he฀promised฀that฀‘Team฀Glasgow’74฀(an฀unelected฀cabal฀of฀business฀leaders฀purporting฀to฀ represent฀the฀wider฀interests฀of฀‘Glasgow’)฀would฀ do฀everything฀they฀could฀to฀help฀businesses฀ ‘cope฀with฀the฀downturn’:฀“The฀first฀thing฀that฀all฀ public฀bodies,฀including฀my฀own฀Council,฀must฀ do,฀is฀to฀examine฀where฀we฀can฀help฀business฀ by฀being฀more฀flexible฀and฀willing฀to฀do฀things฀ differently.฀This฀is฀no฀time฀for฀unnecessary฀rules฀ and฀processes;฀this฀is฀a฀time฀to฀do฀everything฀we฀ can฀to฀help”.75฀The฀“relaxation”฀of฀development฀ rules;฀“flexibile฀loans”฀for฀business;฀payment฀ deferrals฀on฀development฀sites;฀more฀“flexibility”฀ on฀“land฀disposal”;฀a฀£36฀million฀‘Better฀Glasgow’฀ fund฀to฀support฀developers;฀“flexible”฀grants฀for฀ social฀housing฀providers,฀and฀a฀“build฀now,฀pay฀ later”฀policy฀that฀amounts฀to฀free฀land฀deals฀for฀ developers฀with฀no฀clear฀and฀transparent฀plan฀ on฀future฀payment฀details76฀–฀no฀wonder฀Purcell฀ was฀so฀lionised฀by฀the฀business฀community฀for฀his฀ ‘vision’! In฀case฀there฀was฀any฀doubt฀over฀his,฀and฀ the฀City฀Council’s,฀affiliations,฀Purcell฀told฀the฀ Conference’s฀assembled฀business฀leaders:฀“We฀are฀ on฀your฀side;฀we฀want฀to฀work฀with฀you฀to฀ensure฀ that฀businesses฀and฀jobs฀stay฀in฀Glasgow.฀And฀we฀ will฀do฀everything฀within฀our฀powers฀to฀ensure฀that฀ happens”.77฀Tretter฀is฀right฀to฀say฀that฀monopoly฀ rents฀can฀be฀derived฀from฀pre-existing฀monopolies฀ arising฀from฀special฀qualities฀and฀‘marks฀of฀ distinction’฀relating฀to฀place:฀the฀Merchant฀City฀ is฀a฀prime฀example฀of฀an฀area฀whose฀image฀has฀ been฀constructed฀in฀order฀to฀attract฀tourist฀revenue฀ and฀investment฀in฀property฀portfolios.฀But฀by฀ concentrating฀on฀the฀economic฀aspects฀of฀the฀ monopoly฀of฀culture,฀he฀makes฀the฀mistake฀of฀ political฀economy฀by฀assuming฀the฀eternality฀of฀ pre-existing฀sets฀of฀economic฀relations.฀He฀thus฀ fails฀to฀adequately฀account฀for฀the฀economic฀ and฀political฀processes฀by฀which฀an฀area฀like฀the฀ Merchant฀City฀can฀be฀turned฀from฀a฀working-class฀ warehousing฀and฀market฀district฀into฀a฀‘cultural฀ quarter’฀with฀a฀“cohesive฀Victorian฀architectural฀ grid”.฀Rent฀does฀not฀grow฀from฀the฀soil,฀and฀ private฀property฀development฀and฀the฀rentier฀ economy฀in฀Glasgow,฀as฀elsewhere,฀have฀been฀ dependent฀on฀a฀interdictory฀forms฀of฀security฀and฀ surveillance78,฀and฀a฀form฀of฀looting฀and฀enclosure฀ indelibly฀marked฀by฀a฀socialisation฀of฀risk฀and฀ privatisation฀of฀profit. History฀Against฀the฀Grain “The฀Workers฀City฀group฀points฀towards฀the฀future.฀It฀ is฀of฀groups฀like฀ours฀the฀future฀shall฀be฀made.฀We฀have฀ nothing฀to฀apologise฀for”. Farquhar฀McLay,฀199079. Tretter฀is฀right฀to฀validate฀the฀Workers฀City฀ group’s฀ability฀to฀offer฀“an฀alternative฀narrative”฀ and฀disclose฀a฀“different฀version”฀about฀the฀ proper฀use฀and฀representation฀of฀Glasgow’s฀ cultural฀and฀historical฀legacy฀(p.128).฀But฀his฀ somewhat฀bloodless฀account฀rests฀too฀heavily฀on฀ representational฀questions฀–฀however฀valid฀those฀ may฀be฀–฀and฀fails฀to฀excavate฀the฀Workers฀City฀ group’s฀deeper฀questioning฀of฀the฀roots฀of฀labour฀ in฀the฀extraction฀of฀value฀from฀the฀city.฀The฀ group฀correctly฀claimed฀that฀Glasgow’s฀‘cultural฀ regeneration’฀was฀based฀almost฀entirely฀upon฀low฀ paid฀service฀sector฀jobs.฀Even฀Richard฀Florida,฀ the฀chief฀purveyor฀of฀the฀‘creative฀class’฀thesis,฀ acknowledges฀that,฀“There฀is฀a฀strong฀correlation฀ between฀inequality฀and฀creativity:฀the฀more฀ creative฀a฀region฀is,฀the฀more฀inequality฀you฀will฀ find฀there”80.฀As฀Gerry฀Mooney,฀a฀persistent฀critic฀ of฀Glasgow’s฀social฀and฀economic฀policies,฀has฀ later฀reiterated,฀with฀the฀support฀from฀numerous฀ studies:฀“the฀arguments฀that฀cultural฀regeneration฀ would฀do฀little฀if฀anything฀for฀the฀vast฀majority฀ of฀Glaswegians฀is฀surely฀borne฀out฀by฀even฀a฀brief฀ discussion฀of฀the฀social฀and฀economic฀problems฀ that฀have฀faced฀the฀City฀in฀the฀period฀since฀ 1990”81.฀The฀low-wage,฀insecure฀service฀economy฀ is฀ultimately฀the฀“support฀infrastructure”฀of฀the฀ so-called฀‘creative฀age’,฀and฀the฀growth฀of฀this฀ burgeoning฀and฀increasingly฀precarious฀service฀ class฀must฀be฀understood฀alongside฀the฀deeply฀ uneven฀development฀of฀the฀“creative฀economy”82.฀ Over฀40%฀of฀households฀in฀Glasgow฀live฀below฀ the฀poverty฀line,฀and฀as฀a฀recent฀academic฀report฀ states,฀even฀beyond฀endemic฀unemployment,฀“the฀ norm”฀is฀“becoming฀a฀low-wage฀and฀casualised฀ work฀environment,฀or฀an฀unregulated฀and฀ degrading฀training฀system”83. The฀Workers฀City฀group,฀while฀raising฀similar฀ issues฀around฀1990,฀were฀criticized฀by฀the฀ right฀for฀daring฀to฀use฀the฀term฀‘working-class’;฀ and฀later฀by฀the฀left฀for฀adopting฀an฀allegedly฀ ‘workerist’฀position84.฀‘Workerism’฀in฀the฀UK฀left฀ has฀been฀associated฀negatively฀with฀a฀privileging฀ of฀industrial฀and฀manufacturing฀workers฀at฀the฀ expense฀of฀other฀social฀and฀labour฀sectors.฀Thus,฀ as฀James฀Kelman฀relates,฀the฀Workers฀City฀group฀ was฀caricatured฀as฀“the฀ghost฀of฀Stalinist฀past฀and฀ workerist฀future”฀by฀the฀municipal฀authorities85.฀ More฀productive฀for฀this฀discussion฀is฀criticism฀ from฀within฀the฀left:฀while฀broadly฀supportive฀ of฀the฀group,฀some฀suggested฀that฀behind฀the฀ Workers฀City฀critique฀of฀service฀sector฀jobs฀there฀ was฀“implicitly”฀almost฀an฀unreflexive฀nostalgia฀ for฀real฀working-class฀jobs฀(in฀shipbuilding,฀in฀ engineering฀and฀in฀factory฀work,฀etc).฀For฀critics,฀ the฀allegedly฀workerist฀position฀neglected฀the฀ fact฀that฀service฀sector฀work฀has฀always฀been฀ a฀part฀of฀Glasgow’s฀economy,฀at฀the฀same฀time฀ as฀it฀reified฀a฀masculine฀subject฀position฀by฀ privileging฀certain฀forms฀of฀labour.฀While฀this฀ type฀of฀critique฀has฀played฀a฀necessary฀and฀ constructive฀part฀in฀developing฀new฀forms฀of฀ organisation฀appropriate฀to฀temporal฀shifts฀in฀class฀ composition86,฀the฀criticism฀seems฀misplaced,฀or฀at฀ least฀over-emphasised,฀in฀the฀case฀of฀Workers฀City.฀ The฀group’s฀conception฀of฀‘work’฀was฀much฀more฀ complex฀than฀that฀of฀workerism฀as฀outlined฀above. The฀traditional฀conception฀of฀‘workerism’฀ should฀be฀distinguished฀first฀of฀all฀from฀the฀ workerism฀(‘Operaismo’)฀of฀the฀Italian฀autonomist฀ Marxist฀movement฀that฀emerged฀in฀Italy฀during฀ the฀’60s฀and฀’70s87.฀Defining฀itself฀as฀‘autonomous’฀ from฀the฀dominant฀Italian฀Communist฀Party฀ (PCI),฀the฀movement฀was฀distinguished฀by฀its฀ ambivalence฀to฀PCI’s฀‘productivism’฀and฀Party฀ ideology,฀as฀well฀as฀its฀tendency฀to฀seek฀out฀radical฀ potentialities฀in฀new฀forms฀of฀class฀composition฀ in฀the฀wider฀‘social฀factory’.฀This฀latter฀included฀ production฀and฀reproduction฀within฀and฀outside฀ the฀workplace,฀and฀comprised,฀as฀well฀as฀‘workers’฀ in฀the฀wage-labour฀relation,฀the฀unemployed฀ and฀those฀deemed฀outside฀the฀waged฀work฀ doing฀housework,฀caring,฀family฀maintenance,฀ etc:฀the฀‘hidden฀work’฀that฀supports฀the฀wage฀ labour฀relation฀and฀capital.฀While฀it฀would฀be฀ wrong฀to฀attribute฀an฀autonomist฀perspective฀ retrospectively฀to฀the฀Workers฀City฀group,฀Farquhar฀ McLay’s฀preface฀to฀The฀Reckoning฀–฀a฀collection฀ of฀Workers฀City฀writing฀from฀1990฀–฀presents฀a฀far฀ from฀traditional฀workerist฀homage฀to฀the฀nobility฀ of฀manufacturing฀workers฀and฀the฀unions: “The฀old฀jobs฀are฀vanishing.฀Nostalgia฀for฀these฀ outmoded฀forms฀of฀production฀–฀now฀a฀marketable฀ commodity฀in฀art฀and฀theatre฀–฀is฀surely฀ misplaced.฀It฀was฀hard,฀miserable฀toil฀in฀deplorable฀ conditions”88. McLay฀understood฀that฀we฀are฀all฀alienated฀ under฀capitalism฀and฀the฀wage฀labour฀relation:฀ “Work฀has฀been฀degraded฀to฀the฀point฀where฀ it฀is฀totally฀devoid฀of฀any฀meaning฀outside฀the฀ consumer฀values฀of฀capitalism”89.฀His฀antiproductivist฀critique฀of฀“trade฀union฀betrayal”฀ and฀the฀“pursuit฀of฀delusory฀wage฀claims”฀reflects฀ many฀of฀the฀same฀concerns฀found฀in฀autonomous฀ Marxism:฀“Was฀it฀right฀that฀people’s฀labour฀should฀ be฀just฀another฀commodity฀to฀be฀bought฀and฀sold฀ in฀the฀market฀place?฀That฀a฀person’s฀chances฀in฀ life฀should฀be฀determined฀by฀the฀market฀value฀of฀ his฀labour?฀That฀certain฀people’s฀labour฀should฀ have฀a฀higher฀value฀than฀that฀of฀others?฀That฀ some฀people’s฀labour฀should฀have฀no฀entitlement฀ whatever…While฀the฀wages฀system฀remains฀intact฀ all฀the฀authoritarian฀relationships฀proceeding฀ therefrom฀will฀continue฀to฀thrive฀throughout฀the฀ whole฀of฀society,฀in฀every฀job฀and฀profession…”90.฀ McLay฀edited฀The฀Reckoning,฀and฀wrote฀both฀ the฀introduction฀and฀the฀preface;฀we฀can฀surely฀ deduce฀that฀his฀views฀were฀shared฀to฀some฀extent฀ by฀the฀rest฀of฀the฀group.฀The฀same฀ambivalence฀to฀ wage-labour,฀for฀instance,฀is฀frequently฀reflected฀ in฀James฀Kelman’s฀fiction;฀the฀striking฀instability฀ of฀his฀working฀class฀subjects.฀Few฀have฀full-time฀ work,฀and฀when฀they฀do,฀it฀tends฀to฀be฀low-paid฀ and฀insecure.฀Frequently,฀his฀chosen฀subjects฀are฀ unemployed.฀Far฀from฀reifying฀a฀fixed฀proletarian฀ embedded฀in฀the฀wage-labour฀relation,฀his฀fiction฀ –฀A฀Disaffection,฀The฀Busconductor฀Hines,฀How฀ Late฀it฀Was,฀How฀Late,฀for฀instance฀–฀instead฀ explores,฀among฀other฀things,฀the฀tension฀between฀ the฀uncertain฀coming฀into฀being฀of฀social฀and฀ imaginative฀lines฀of฀flight,฀and฀the฀alienating฀ social฀and฀economic฀relations฀that฀tend฀to฀repress฀ them.฀These฀tensions฀are฀explored฀throughout฀ the฀‘social฀factory’฀–฀in฀work,฀in฀benefit฀offices,฀in฀ parkland,฀in฀pubs฀and฀bookies฀and฀in฀the฀home.฀ Social฀identity฀is฀never฀restricted฀to฀the฀workplace. Henri฀Lefebvre’s฀influential฀insight฀in฀ The฀Production฀of฀Space฀(1974)฀was฀that฀the฀ “survival฀of฀capitalism”฀no฀longer฀depended฀on฀ production฀that฀merely฀appears฀in฀space,฀but฀ instead฀on฀the฀production฀of฀space฀itself,฀in฀and฀ through฀the฀process฀of฀capitalist฀development.฀ Spatial฀production฀is฀a฀political฀instrument฀that฀ determines฀the฀reproduction฀of฀social฀relations฀of฀ production฀through฀the฀control฀and฀heirarchisation฀ of฀public฀spaces.฀There฀is฀then,฀a฀politics฀of฀space,฀ because฀space฀is฀political.฀With฀the฀financialisation฀ of฀the฀economy฀over฀the฀past฀few฀decades,฀the฀link฀ between฀finance฀and฀an฀urban฀rentier฀economy฀ has฀become฀more฀explicit.฀David฀Harvey฀has฀ shown฀how฀large-scale฀urban฀infrastructural฀ processes฀(Haussman’s฀Paris,฀Robert฀Moses’s฀ post-war฀US฀suburbanisation,฀modern฀China,฀etc)฀ provide฀a฀potent฀“spatial฀fix”฀for฀the฀dumping฀ of฀capital’s฀surplus฀profit,฀especially฀in฀times฀of฀ over-accumulation฀and฀recession91.฀Meanwhile฀ Michael฀Hudson฀has฀shown฀that฀most฀wealth฀in฀ the฀US฀economy฀is฀generated฀by฀rent-yielding฀ property:฀“real฀estate฀remains฀the฀economy’s฀ largest฀asset,฀and฀further฀analysis฀makes฀it฀clear฀ that฀land฀accounts฀for฀most฀of฀the฀gains฀in฀real฀ estate฀valuation”92.฀Stock-market฀speculation฀is฀ largely฀a฀rent-seeking฀activity฀as฀companies฀are฀ raided฀for฀their฀land฀or฀other฀property฀income.฀The฀ 42฀|฀VARIANT฀37฀|฀SPRING฀/฀SUMMER฀2010 speculation฀process฀inflates฀prices฀for฀these฀assets,฀ making฀property฀and฀financial฀speculation฀more฀ attractive฀than฀new฀forms฀of฀productive฀capital฀ formation:฀“The฀bulk฀of฀this฀rentier฀income฀is฀not฀ being฀spent฀on฀expanding฀the฀means฀of฀production฀ or฀raising฀living฀standards.฀It฀is฀plowed฀back฀into฀ the฀purchase฀of฀property฀and฀financial฀securities฀ already฀in฀place฀–฀legal฀rights฀and฀claims฀for฀ payment฀extracted฀from฀the฀economy฀at฀large”93.฀ The฀property฀bubble,฀and฀the฀financial฀crisis฀it฀ precipitated,฀is฀largely฀a฀financial฀phenomenon฀ borne฀from฀this฀form฀of฀social฀looting.฀Rental฀ incomes฀are฀an฀unproductive฀“free฀lunch”฀gouged฀ from฀the฀economy฀at฀large,฀forcing฀an฀ever-higher฀ proportion฀of฀wages฀to฀be฀spent฀on฀rent฀and฀basic฀ social฀subsistence,฀and฀denying฀it฀for฀more฀socially฀ useful฀means. As฀Harvey฀argues,฀since฀the฀urban฀process฀is฀ a฀major฀channel฀of฀surplus฀use,฀then฀struggles฀ over฀the฀“Right฀to฀The฀City”94฀can฀no฀longer฀be฀ dismissed฀as฀‘secondary’฀in฀relation฀to฀traditional฀ manufacturing฀struggles.฀When฀McLay฀suggested,฀ in฀1990,฀that฀groups฀like฀Workers฀City฀pointed฀ towards฀the฀future,฀he฀talked฀of฀the฀traditional฀ image฀of฀the฀worker฀as฀producer฀of฀wealth฀ becoming฀more฀problematic฀every฀day.฀Indeed,฀ the฀manufacturing฀sector฀now฀accounts฀for฀only฀ 6%฀of฀the฀Glasgow฀labour฀market,฀while฀lowpaid฀services฀work฀now฀accounts฀for฀88%฀of฀the฀ workforce95.฀As฀Harvey฀and฀Hudson฀have฀shown,฀ wealth฀is฀more฀than฀ever฀non-reproductive฀and฀ non-wealth฀generating฀for฀the฀vast฀majority฀of฀ people.฀It฀is฀perhaps฀ironic฀then฀that฀the฀Workers฀ City฀group฀could฀provide฀a฀model฀for฀a฀form฀ of฀politics฀that฀isn’t฀confined฀to฀the฀workplace,฀ fighting฀for฀limited฀gains฀at฀work฀that฀are฀stolen฀ away฀by฀inflationary฀price฀rises฀at฀the฀level฀of฀ social฀reproduction.฀Urban฀struggles฀over฀social฀ reproduction,฀social฀space฀and฀everyday฀life,฀as฀ Lefebvre฀and฀theorists฀from฀the฀autonomist฀ Marxist฀tradition฀understood,฀must฀come฀to฀ the฀fore฀if฀social฀gains฀in฀the฀workplace฀are฀ to฀be฀protected฀at฀the฀level฀of฀social฀totality.฀ The฀Workers฀City฀group,฀while฀by฀no฀means฀a฀ perfect฀model96,฀overcame฀narrow฀specialisations฀ –฀‘the฀artist’,฀‘the฀academic’,฀‘the฀worker’,฀‘the฀ activist’,฀‘the฀unemployed’฀–฀to฀form฀a฀non-party฀ political,฀horizontal,฀place-based฀movement฀ ‘from฀below’฀whose฀arguments฀resonate฀more฀ than฀ever฀today฀–฀despite฀all฀the฀booster฀talk฀of฀ urban฀renaissance฀in฀Glasgow.฀Herein฀lies฀their฀ importance฀for฀understanding฀the฀struggles฀of฀ today.฀James฀D.฀Young฀cited฀Walter฀Benjamin฀ when฀he฀talked฀in฀The฀Reckoning฀of฀a฀low฀level฀of฀ historical฀consciousness฀being฀an฀indispensable฀ part฀of฀ruling฀class฀control฀over฀working฀people.฀ Remembering฀Workers฀City฀means฀brushing฀ history฀against฀the฀grain,฀and฀bringing฀the฀ fractious฀constellations฀of฀the฀past฀into฀a฀critical฀ and฀productive฀relationship฀with฀the฀present;฀ Workers฀City฀are฀an฀image฀of฀the฀future,฀not฀of฀the฀ past. Notes 1.฀฀http://england.shelter.org.uk/home 2.฀฀฀For฀instances฀of,฀and฀a฀critique฀of฀this฀position,฀see,฀ Mooney,฀G,฀Cultural฀Policy฀as฀Urban฀Transformation?฀ Critical฀Reflections฀on฀Glasgow,฀European฀City฀of฀Culture฀ 1990,฀Local฀Economy,฀Vol.฀19,฀No.฀4,฀327-340,฀November฀ 2004. 3.฀฀฀It฀is฀less฀Glasgow’s฀cultural฀infrastructure,฀and฀more฀it’s฀ surplus฀labour฀pool฀and฀low-wage฀economy฀that฀attracts฀ capital฀investment฀to฀Glasgow.฀Moreover,฀as฀Richard฀ Florida,฀chief฀proponent฀of฀the฀‘creative฀class’฀thesis฀ admits,฀the฀cultural฀pilots฀of฀regeneration฀are฀entirely฀ dependent฀on฀a฀“supporting฀infrastructure”฀of฀low-wage฀ service฀workers฀to฀satisfy฀their฀consumption฀demands. 4.฀฀฀Henri฀Lefebvre,฀‘Reflections฀on฀the฀Politics฀of฀Space’,฀ in,฀State,฀Space,฀World:฀Selected฀Essays฀(eds฀Brenner฀and฀ Elden),฀Minnesota฀Press,฀2009. 5.฀฀฀Zukin,฀S,฀The฀Cultures฀of฀Cities,฀Blackwell฀Publishers,฀ 2000,฀p.2. 6.฀฀฀In฀The฀Rise฀of฀the฀Creative฀Classes,฀for฀instance,฀Richard฀ Florida฀acknowledges฀that฀behind฀the฀hyperbole฀of฀his฀ creative฀class฀theory฀lies฀inequality.฀In฀fact:฀“There฀is฀a฀ strong฀correlation฀between฀inequality฀and฀creativity:฀the฀ more฀creative฀a฀region฀is,฀the฀more฀inequality฀you฀will฀ find฀there”. 7.฀฀฀For฀a฀seminal฀account฀of฀this฀process฀see,฀Harvey,฀ D,฀‘From฀Managerialism฀to฀Entrepreneurialism:฀ The฀Transformation฀in฀Urban฀Governance฀in฀Late฀ Capitalism’,฀Geografiska฀Annaler.฀Series฀B,฀Humkan฀ Geography,฀Vol.71,฀No.1,฀The฀Roots฀of฀Geographical฀Change:฀ 1973฀to฀the฀Present.฀(1989),฀pp.3-17. 8.฀฀฀For฀an฀authoritative฀account฀of฀the฀changing฀scales฀of฀ governance฀in฀large-scale฀urban฀developments฀projects,฀ see,฀Swyngedou฀et฀al,฀‘Neoliberal฀Urbanization฀in฀ Europe:฀Large-scale฀Urban฀Development฀Projects฀and฀ the฀New฀Urban฀Policy’,฀in฀Spaces฀of฀Neoliberalism:฀Urban฀ Restructuring฀in฀North฀America฀and฀Western฀Europe,฀ Blackwell฀Publishers,฀2002,฀p.209. 9.฀฀฀The฀‘commons’฀refers฀to฀resources฀that฀are฀collectively฀ owned.฀This฀can฀include฀everything฀from฀land฀to฀ software.฀The฀process฀by฀which฀the฀commons฀are฀ transformed฀into฀private฀property฀is฀often฀termed฀ enclosure.฀http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_commons 10.฀Harvey,฀D,฀‘The฀Art฀of฀Rent:฀Globalisation,฀Monopoly฀ and฀the฀Commodification฀of฀Culture’,฀Socialist฀Register,฀ 2002. 11.฀Ibid. 12.฀Caution฀is฀required฀here:฀not฀everywhere฀is฀‘post-fordist’.฀ China฀and฀India,฀for฀instance,฀ensure฀that฀production฀ continues฀at฀the฀expense฀of฀a฀massive฀(and฀massively฀ exploited)฀workforce. decisions,฀particularly฀of฀a฀commercial฀nature”.฀http:// www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/YourCouncil/PublicRelations/ Campaigns/glasgowsmilesbetter.htm฀ 15.฀For฀a฀clear฀account฀of฀the฀changing฀UK฀and฀Scottish฀ policy฀context฀at฀this฀time,฀see,฀Boyle,฀R฀(1989)฀ ‘Partnership฀in฀practice:฀An฀assessment฀of฀public-private฀ collaboration฀in฀urban฀regeneration฀–฀a฀case฀study฀of฀ Glasgow฀Action’,฀Local฀Government฀Studies,฀15:2,฀p.17-28 16.฀“It฀is฀noticeable,฀however,฀that฀all฀were฀well-connected฀ in฀the฀Glasgow฀and฀Scottish฀business฀community,฀having฀ numerous฀inter-locking฀directorships฀(particularly฀in฀ Scottish฀financial฀institutions),฀membership฀of฀the฀local฀ Chamber฀of฀Commerce,฀and฀the฀CBI฀[...]฀leadership,฀ control฀and฀direction฀was฀to฀be฀firmly฀located฀in฀the฀ private฀sector”.฀Boyle,฀Ibid.฀p.21. 17.฀Sir.฀Norman฀Macfarlane,฀for฀instance,฀was฀director฀of฀ Clydesdale฀Bank;฀Director฀of฀Edinburgh฀Fund฀Managers฀ and฀Chair฀UK฀Distillers,฀among฀numerous฀other฀roles,฀ while฀he฀was฀Chair฀of฀Glasgow฀Action. 18.฀Boyle,฀R฀(1989)฀‘Partnership฀in฀practice:฀An฀assessment฀ of฀public-private฀collaboration฀in฀urban฀regeneration฀–฀a฀ case฀study฀of฀Glasgow฀Action’,฀Local฀Government฀Studies 19.฀Ibid. 20.฀Kelman,฀J,฀‘Storm฀in฀the฀Palace’,฀in,฀Mclay,฀F฀(ed),฀The฀ Reckoning.฀Clydeside฀Press,฀1990,฀p.52. 13.฀Gerry฀Mooney฀correctly฀notes฀that฀cities฀such฀as฀ Glasgow฀are฀all฀too฀frequently฀reified฀and฀presented฀ as฀“homogeneous฀locales฀of฀common฀interests”฀in฀ city฀branding฀exercises,฀yet:฀“‘Glasgow’฀does฀not฀‘do’฀ things,฀it฀is฀not฀an฀agent฀and฀it฀is฀not฀‘Glasgow’฀that฀ ‘wins’฀or฀‘loses’,฀or฀that฀is฀undergoing฀a฀‘renewal’,฀but฀ particular฀(and฀if฀recent฀evidence฀is฀anything฀to฀go฀by,฀ fewer)฀groups฀of฀its฀citizens฀living฀in฀particular฀parts฀ of฀the฀City”.฀Mooney,฀G,฀‘Cultural฀Policy฀as฀Urban฀ Transformation?฀Critical฀Reflections฀on฀Glasgow,฀ European฀City฀of฀Culture฀1990’,฀Local฀Economy,฀Vol.฀19,฀ No.฀4,฀327-340,฀November฀2004. 26.฀James฀D฀Young,฀‘The฀May฀Day฀Celebrations฀in฀Scotland’,฀ in,฀The฀Reckoning,฀Clydeside฀Press,฀1990,฀p.141-3. 14.฀The฀campaign฀was฀replete฀with฀a฀Mr.Men฀style฀‘Mr. Happy’,฀and฀the฀advertising฀concentrated฀on,฀“the฀ABC1฀ market฀-฀namely฀those฀people฀who฀make฀or฀influence฀ 27.฀Sean฀Damer฀noted,฀in฀1990,฀that฀the฀‘Merchant฀City’฀ moniker฀was,฀“...a฀complete฀invention฀of฀environmental฀ consultants.฀Nobody฀in฀Glasgow฀had฀heard฀this฀term฀ 21.฀Ibid. 22.฀Ibid.฀(p.50) 23.฀See,฀McShane,฀H฀and฀Smith,฀J,฀No฀Mean฀Fighter,฀Pluto฀ Press,฀1975. 24.฀Savage,฀H,฀Born฀Up฀a฀Close:฀Memoirs฀of฀a฀Brigton฀boy,฀ Argyll฀Publishing,฀2006,฀p.16. 25.฀Clark,฀W,฀in,฀Savage,฀H,฀Born฀Up฀a฀Close:฀Memoirs฀of฀a฀ Brigton฀boy,฀Argyll฀Publishing,฀2006,฀p.258. VARIANT฀37฀|฀SPRING฀/฀SUMMER฀2010฀|฀43฀ ten฀years฀ago”.฀Damer,฀Sean,฀Glasgow:฀Going฀for฀a฀Song,฀ Lawrence฀and฀Wishart,฀1990.฀ 28.฀For฀a฀widely฀accepted฀mainstream฀historical฀summary,฀ see฀for฀instance,฀Devine,฀T,฀M,฀Scotland’s฀Empire:฀16001815,฀Penguin,฀p.73-74.฀See฀also,฀Stephen฀Mullen,฀‘Ae฀ Fond฀Kiss,฀and฀Then฀We฀Sever’,฀Variant,฀Issue฀35:฀http:// www.variant.org.uk/35texts/AeFondKiss.html฀ 29.฀Kelman,฀J,฀Some฀Recent฀Attacks:฀Essays฀Cultural฀&฀ Political,฀AK฀Press,฀1992,฀p.2. 30.฀“The฀authorities฀rejected฀criticism฀and฀condemned฀the฀ critics,฀especially฀those฀who฀used฀the฀phrase฀‘workingclass’.฀They฀described฀them฀as฀philistines฀and฀kill-joys.฀ It฀was฀an฀odd฀line฀of฀attack฀since฀a฀few฀of฀the฀critics฀ were฀well-known฀writers,฀artists฀and฀musicians”.฀James฀ Kelman,฀in,฀Savage,฀H,฀Born฀Up฀a฀Close:฀Memoirs฀of฀a฀ Brigton฀boy,฀Argyll฀Publishing,฀2006,฀p.10.฀ 31.฀Brendam฀McLaughlin,฀group฀member,฀cited฀by฀William฀ Clark.฀Savage,฀H,฀Born฀Up฀a฀Close:฀Memoirs฀of฀a฀Brigton฀ boy,฀Argyll฀Publishing,฀2006,฀p.260. 32.฀Take฀a฀walk฀around฀Dublin’s฀‘Temple฀Bar฀Area’,฀then฀ walk฀down฀to฀the฀Docklands฀to฀see฀how฀cultural฀ regeneration฀fosters฀an฀image฀of฀the฀city฀that฀masks฀ land-grabbing฀and฀rent-seeking฀property฀development฀ on฀an฀enormous฀scale.฀Glasgow’s฀‘Merchant฀City’฀has฀ a฀similar฀function฀in฀relation฀to฀wider฀development฀ strategies฀along฀the฀Clyde฀river฀corridor฀and฀the฀ ‘regeneration’฀of฀the฀East฀end. 33.฀http://libcom.org/history/battle-green-john-taylorcaldwell 34.฀“For฀decades฀in฀Scotland,฀the฀name฀‘keelie’฀has฀been฀ applied฀pejoratively฀to฀Glaswegians,฀denoting฀‘low-class฀ vulgar฀beings’.฀Absolutely฀appropriate฀for฀the฀Workers฀ City฀group”.฀James฀Kelman,฀Introduction,฀Savage,฀ H,฀Born฀Up฀a฀Close:฀Memoirs฀of฀a฀Brigton฀boy,฀Argyll฀ Publishing,฀2006,฀p.13 35.฀A฀recent฀WHO฀health฀report฀noted฀that฀“inequalities฀ are฀killing฀people฀o฀a฀grand฀scale”.฀A฀boy฀growing฀up฀in฀ Calton฀for฀instance฀can฀expect฀to฀live฀28฀years฀less฀than฀ in฀wealthy฀Lenzie.฀Cited฀from฀a฀WHO฀report฀on฀health฀ and฀well-being,฀in,฀Collins,฀C,฀To฀Banker,฀From฀Bankies.฀ Incapacity฀Benefit:฀Myths฀and฀Realities:฀Perspectives฀on฀ Welfare฀Reform฀from฀the฀Clydebank฀Independent฀Resource฀ Centre.฀CIRC.฀Funded฀by฀Oxfam฀GB,฀April฀2009. 36.฀Kelman,฀J,฀‘Art฀and฀Subsidy,฀and฀the฀Continuing฀Politics฀ of฀Culture฀City’,฀Some฀Recent฀Attacks:฀Essays฀Cultural฀&฀ Political,฀AK฀Press,฀1992,฀p.32. 37.฀Gordon-Nesbitt,฀Rebecca,฀‘The฀New฀Bohemia’,฀Variant,฀ Issue฀32.฀http://www.variant.org.uk/32texts/CSG.html฀ 38.฀See฀page.฀71฀for฀full฀list฀of฀transferred฀assets:฀http:// www.scottishcommons.org/docs/BusinessCase.pdf฀ 39.฀‘Go฀Ape฀cancels฀Pollock฀Park฀Development’:฀http://www. indymediascotland.org/node/15857฀ ‘Botanics฀Nightclub฀plans฀scrapped’:฀http://news.bbc. co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7352237.stm฀ 40.฀http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/stormlooms-as-private-revolution-in-scotland-s-councilsgathers-pace-1.1013063฀ 41.฀http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/purcellsaga-continues-as-further-contracts-to-labour-donorsemerge-1.1016526฀ 42.฀http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/revealedhow-purcell-used-council-spin-off-company-to-wine-anddine-labour-colleagues-1.1014929฀ 43.฀For฀a฀good฀summary฀of฀common฀good฀issues,฀see:฀http:// www.scottishcommons.org/commongood.htm 44.฀http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/corporate-sme/ mortgaging-property-will-cost-80m-but-glasgow-insists-its-a-good-deal-1.1004279฀ 45.฀http://www.citypropertyglasgow.co.uk/฀฀฀ 56.฀http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/transportenvironment/closure-an-option-for-glasgow-s-outdatedunderground-1.1015598฀ 57.฀See฀http://www.subway2020.com/ Glasgow%20Subway%202020.doc฀especially,฀p.17.฀ 89.฀Ibid. 59.฀Jones,฀C฀and฀Patrick,฀J,฀‘The฀Merchant฀City฀As฀an฀ Example฀of฀Housing-Led฀Regeneration’,฀in,฀Healy,฀P฀ et฀al฀(eds),฀Rebuilding฀The฀City:฀Property-Led฀Urban฀ Regeneration,฀E฀&฀FN฀Spon,฀1992,฀p.129. 91.฀http://www.newleftreview.org/?view=2740฀ 60.฀Given฀that฀disinvestment฀is฀often฀a฀motor฀of฀urban฀ redevelopment฀–฀a฀strictly฀logical฀outcome฀of฀market฀ rationality฀–฀one฀wonders฀if฀this฀process฀wasn’t฀at฀least฀ partially฀engineered฀via฀an฀incremental฀process฀of฀ ‘creative฀destruction’?฀Much฀more฀work฀would฀need฀to฀ be฀done฀to฀‘prove’฀such฀a฀thesis,฀but฀the฀question฀should,฀ at฀the฀very฀least,฀be฀asked. 61.฀Jones,฀C฀and฀Patrick,฀J,฀‘The฀Merchant฀City฀As฀an฀ Example฀of฀Housing-Led฀Regeneration’,฀in,฀Healy,฀P฀ et฀al฀(eds),฀Rebuilding฀The฀City:฀Property-Led฀Urban฀ Regeneration,฀E฀&฀FN฀Spon,฀1992,฀p.129. 62.฀Ibid,฀p.132. 63.฀Ibid,฀p.136. 64.฀Ibid,฀p.138. 65.฀Ibid,฀p.139. 66.฀For฀an฀amusing฀and฀prescient฀take฀on฀‘yuppification’฀in฀ Glasgow฀see฀Down฀Among฀the฀Big฀Boys฀(1993),฀Directed฀ by฀Charles฀Gormley,฀and฀written฀by฀Scotland’s฀Jim฀Allen฀ -฀Peter฀McDougall. 67.฀Ibid,฀p.143,฀144. 68.฀Ibid,฀p.144. 69.฀See฀19,฀http://www.glasgowmerchantcity.net/downloads/ devmap0609.pdf 70.฀http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/Archives/2006/July/ JohnStBrunswickStpublicrealm.htm 71.฀See,฀http://www.squidoo.com/paddysmarket.฀For฀a฀ critical฀overview,฀see฀section฀‘Governing฀Through฀Crime:฀ Managing฀the฀Dark฀Side’฀in:฀http://www.variant.org. uk/34texts/mechantcity34.html 72.฀See฀Swyngedou฀et฀al,฀‘Neoliberal฀Urbanization฀in฀ Europe:฀Large-Scale฀Urban฀Development฀Projects฀and฀ the฀New฀Urban฀Policy’,฀in,฀Spaces฀of฀Neoliberalism:฀Urban฀ Restructuring฀in฀North฀America฀and฀Western฀Europe,฀ Blackwell฀Publishing,฀2002,฀p.201-209. 73.฀And฀here฀we฀are฀not฀in฀the฀least฀bit฀concerned฀with฀ Steven฀Purcell’s฀private฀or฀personal฀life,฀but฀rather฀ his฀role฀in฀facilitating฀the฀looting฀of฀public฀assets฀ in฀Glasgow฀on฀an฀unprecedented฀scale.฀http://www. heraldscotland.com/revealed-cronyism-at-heart-ofpurcell-s-council-1.1017770 74.฀Including,฀Sir฀Tom฀Hunter,฀Willie฀Haughey,฀Jim฀McColl,฀ Akmal฀Khushi฀and฀Dr฀Lesley฀Sawyers.฀Interestingly,฀ Willie฀Haughey฀-฀the฀Labour฀Party’s฀biggest฀Scottish฀ donor฀-฀recently฀received฀£700,000฀from฀Clyde฀Gateway฀ Developments,฀a฀quango฀run฀by฀Iain฀Manson,฀a฀former฀ advisor฀to฀฀Steven฀Purcell:฀http://www.heraldscotland. com/news/politics/company-linked-to-purcell-in-700-000land-deal-with-labour-donor-1.1014924฀ 75.฀http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/Archives/2008/ November/stateofthecityeconomy2008.htm฀ 76.฀http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/SNP--casts-doubtover.4706969.jp฀ 77.฀http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/Archives/2008/ November/stateofthecityeconomy2008.htm฀ 78.฀MacLeod,฀G,฀‘From฀Urban฀Entrepreneurialism฀to฀ a฀Revanchist฀City?฀฀On฀the฀Spatial฀Injustices฀of฀of฀ Glasgow’s฀Renaissance’,฀in,฀Spaces฀of฀Neoliberalism:฀ Urban฀Restructuring฀in฀North฀America฀and฀Western฀ Europe,฀Blackwell฀Publishing,฀2002,฀p.254-276.. 79.฀Mclay,฀F฀(ed),฀The฀Reckoning.฀Clydeside฀Press,฀1990,฀p.12. 47.฀http://www.heraldscotland.com/revealed-cronyism-atheart-of-purcell-s-council-1.1017770฀ 80.฀See,฀Gray,฀Neil,฀‘Glasgow’s฀Merchant฀City:฀An฀Artist-led฀ Property฀Strategy’,฀Variant,฀Issue฀34,฀Spring฀2009. 48.฀http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/ troubleshooters-called-in-at-crisis-hit-gha-1.821496฀ 81.฀See,฀Mooney,฀G,฀‘Cultural฀Policy฀as฀Urban฀ Transformation?฀Critical฀Reflections฀on฀Glasgow,฀ European฀City฀of฀Culture฀1990’,฀Local฀Economy,฀Vol.฀19,฀ No.฀4,฀327-340,฀November฀2004. 50.฀http://scottishtenant.wordpress.com/2009/07/19/ syndicated-from-bbc-shelter-report-confirms-housingsqueeze/฀฀ 51.฀http://www.cipfa.org.uk/thejournal/download/jour_vol1_ no1_d.pdf฀ 52.฀http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/comms/pfi. html#pfireasons฀ 53.฀For฀news฀and฀links,฀see:฀http://sosglasgow.wordpress. com/฀and,฀http://libcom.org/news/glasgow-threateanedschools-occupied-parents-03042009#comment-form฀฀ 54.฀http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/editor-spicks-ignore/kids-clubbers-hit-by-bus-fares-hike1.1015641?pollId=poll_1_1015643&questionId=0&forwar d=http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk:80/news/editor-s-picksignore/kids-clubbers-hit-by-bus-fares-hike-1.1015641&ans werId=1&cookieSet=true฀ 55.฀http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/ article7035061.ece 88.฀Mclay,฀F฀(ed),฀The฀Reckoning.฀Clydeside฀Press,฀1990,฀p.10. 58.฀See฀http://www.variant.org.uk/34texts/mechantcity34. html฀ 46.฀http.//www.heraldscotland.com/business/corporate-sme/ mortgaging-property-will-cost-80m-but-glasgow-insists-its-a-good-deal-1.1004279฀ 49.฀See,฀page.53:฀http://www.gha.org.uk/content/ mediaassets/doc/AnnualReport2009.pdf฀ 2002,฀p.3.฀For฀an฀influential฀account฀of฀operaismo฀within฀ -฀and฀against฀-฀the฀currents฀of฀Marxism,฀see,฀Cleaver,฀ H,฀Reading฀Capital฀Politically,฀Harvester฀Press,฀1979.฀ Especially,฀p.51-66. 82.฀Peck,฀Jamie,฀‘The฀Creativity฀Fix’,฀Variant,฀Issue฀34:฀ http://www.variant.org.uk/34texts/creativityfix.html฀ 83.฀http://www.variant.org.uk/events/Doc7Poverty/ BeyondAspiration.pdf฀ 84.฀See,฀Mooney,฀G,฀‘Cultural฀Policy฀as฀Urban฀ Transformation?฀Critical฀Reflections฀on฀Glasgow,฀ European฀City฀of฀Culture฀1990’,฀Local฀Economy,฀Vol.฀19,฀ No.฀4,฀327-340,฀November฀2004. 85.฀Kelman,฀J,฀Foreword,฀Some฀Recent฀Attacks:฀Essays฀ Cultural฀&฀Political,฀AK฀Press,฀1992,฀p.1. 86.฀As฀a฀starting฀point,฀see฀these฀seminal฀accounts฀from฀a฀ feminist฀perspective,฀which฀retain฀an฀analysis฀of฀class฀ and฀capital:฀http://libcom.org/library/power-womensubversion-community-della-costa-selma-james.฀And,฀ http://libcom.org/library/sex-race-class-james-selma฀ 87.฀For฀an฀excellent฀summary฀of฀autonomist฀Marxism,฀see,฀ Wright,฀Steve,฀Storming฀Heaven:฀Class฀Composition฀and฀ struggle฀in฀Italian฀Autonomist฀Marxism,฀Pluto฀Press,฀ 90.฀Ibid฀(p.9) 92.฀http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/hudsonmichael_the-rentier-economy.html 93.฀Ibid. 94.฀The฀phrase฀comes฀from฀a฀Henri฀Lefebvre฀essay฀in฀ 1968,฀and฀despite฀its฀connotations฀of฀bourgeois฀liberal฀ democracy฀and฀“equal฀rights”,฀it฀usefully฀focuses฀ attention฀on,฀and฀provides฀a฀rallying฀point฀for,฀the฀ control฀and฀management฀of฀urban฀processes. 95.฀http://www.variant.org.uk/events/Doc7Poverty/ BeyondAspiration.pdf 96.฀William฀Clark,฀a฀younger฀group฀member฀at฀the฀time,฀ has฀alluded฀to฀his฀“difficulty”฀with฀some฀generational฀ attitudes฀towards฀the฀sexes฀in฀the฀group.฀Born฀Up฀a฀Close:฀ Memoirs฀of฀a฀Brigton฀boy,฀Argyll฀Publishing,฀2006,฀p.259.