Over 150 years ago, hundreds of thousands of workers took to the streets of Britain's industrial towns. They stood up against the bullets of the army and sometimes even armed themselves, in the hope of changing the course of history. Some paid for this with their lives, many with their freedom. Out of their courageous mobilisation eventually came the right to vote.
These women and men wanted an equal say in a society in which the "haves" were imposing their dictatorship on the "have nots". However, their aspiration for a less unequal society was betrayed. By a sleight of hand, the capitalist class turned the right to vote into an instrument of their own domination: instead of giving the working class a say in the operation of society, this vote became a cover for the wealthy's exploitation of the working class and their parasitism over the whole of society.
Behind the 2 camps, the 2 faces of capital
Next week's EU referendum is a striking example of this sleight of hand. Whichever way we vote, it won't give us a say over the real issues that affect us - and we'll be voting for policies which are against our class interests.
Some of us may be thinking of voting Leave, as a means of voting against Cameron and his five years of attacks against the working class.
And, of course, they would be right to seek a way of expressing their anger against Cameron's policies of lining the pockets of the wealthy while attacking the poorest.
But, this referendum won't give them this possibility. Because, by voting Leave, they will only give their support to Cameron's clones - like Gove, Johnson or Priti Patel - and to his ugly twin, Nigel Farage! In other words, they'll be supporting politicians whose agenda against the working class is just as vicious as Cameron's, if not more vicious!
Others among us may be tempted to vote Remain, in the belief that, in the 21st century, after decades in which the planet has already been increasingly welded into one single economic and social entity, it makes no sense for Britain to isolate itself from the outside world.
And, of course, they would be right to seek a way of expressing their refusal to allow the clock to be turned back in Britain - and to see the rise of a xenophobic "little England" atmosphere.
But, in this referendum, their ballot paper won't give them this possibility either. Because, by voting Remain, they will only endorse Cameron's past six years of blaming the EU for the messy state of the British economy - when it was really due to his bailout of the wealthy - and his scape-goating of EU migrants to cover up his attacks against public services.
June 23rd does not deserve our votes
Both camps, Remain and Leave, have a problem: if the turnout in the referendum is too low, it will be discredited regardless of its outcome.
Right from the beginning, of course, whipping up fears of an imaginary "migrant flood" was the focus of the Leave camp. More recently, though, this bunch, which comprises many outspoken racists, has dared to woo Commonwealth-born voters, claiming that Commonwealth citizens were discriminated against due to EU membership! Never mind that this is yet another lie: the punitive red-tape imposed on Commonwealth migrants is British-made and has nothing to do with the EU!
But the Remain camp has indulged in the same kind of demagogy. In a TV speech, Cameron recently reminded his audience: "You know me, I am a Eurosceptic". And, together with Labour's Ed Balls, he's gone to great lengths to explain that, under his "reform of the EU", EU migration into Britain will be curbed. As if we had anything to fear from EU migrants, when the only real threats we face are the British bosses' attacks on jobs, wages and conditions, and their government's cuts in welfare and public services!
No, this referendum is not about giving us a say. First of all, it was about helping Cameron to curb the in-fighting in his own party. At this point, however, it amounts to getting us to choose between two ways of turning the same screw on us. And whichever camp wins, we can be sure that it will use our votes to justify turning it!
The best that can happen on June 23rd is that this farce of sham "democracy" gets discredited by an abysmally low turnout. At least this would demonstrate the justified contempt of working class voters for this exercise in politicking!
As to the real issues we face, they will have to be dealt with, in due time - but rather than using ballot papers, we'll have to use the methods of the class struggle, by using our collective strength and involving all workers, regardless of nationality!