Long ago, there was a time when the first day of this month was celebrated with nothing more than a dance round the maypole on the village green.

Then it became a time for the workers of the world to unite.

But in the last few years, May Day has become progressively uglier with mayhem in major cities such as London.

Organised anarchists, if that is not an oxymoron, appear to be behind the violence. Last year, they affronted many by disfiguring the Cenotaph in Whitehall and a statue of Sir Winston Churchill.

They caused large amounts of damage to property they considered represented the excesses of capitalism, such as McDonald's restaurants.

This time the police had a policy of zero tolerance and most demonstrators were corralled in the centre of London.

But there was still a lot of violence, trouble and damage, with the total cost of disruption put at £20 million.

Most of the demonstrators against globalisation, increased traffic and other problems of the 21st century are sincere and peaceful people.

By getting mixed up with violent thugs, they are in danger of losing the argument.

Thousands of shoppers in London and millions of viewers on television who might have some sympathy with protests over capitalist excesses will want nothing to do with smashing department store windows.

What the genuine protesters should do is to abandon May Day as a time for their demonstrations and separate one cause from another.

It would be far more effective to have a Reclaim the Streets slow bike ride one day and an animal aid day another.

By co-operating with the police, unlike the anarchists, they would be able to hold peaceful protests and get their point across effectively.

Anarchists themselves, despite their cartoon image of being armed with fizzing bombs, have an honourable tradition of demonstrations.

Back in the Seventies they used to hold enjoyable carnivals against capitalism on The Level in Brighton with a sense of humour entirely lacking among today's violent destroyers.

They may be frustrated because of the advances capitalism has made.

Thirty years ago there was still a debate between those who supported capitalism and those who felt alternative systems such as Communism were more effective.

That largely ended with the collapse of Communism and the introduction of some form of democracy to many countries a decade or more ago.

All the world's most successful countries, including the UK, have a democratic system of government fuelled by capitalism.

The current Government is the first Labour administration to have used capitalism as a way of redistributing some wealth rather than trying to share it out without first having created it.

The trick is to tame the excesses of capitalism and preserve the environment without completely hampering its ability to create wealth.

It's extremely hard to achieve but any change in Government policy or public attitudes will be achieved by reasoned argument and non-violent action rather than by fanatics smashing up shops.

May Day should be left to the Morris dancers.