Joe Craig, John McAnulty and Paul Flanagan Belfast, August 1996 This book is a timely intervention into the debate about the future of socialism in Ireland. It takes issue both with those who believe that the national question is an outdated distraction from real class politics and with those who put their hopes for socialism in a blind tail-ending of the Republican movement.
Wide ranging in scope, it analyses the struggle in Ireland within the framework of the collapse of Stalinism in Eastern Europe, European integration, the relationship between for socialism and womens' liberation and the question of The entronen.
It starts from the failure of both partitioned states; the South, paralysed by a massive international debt and saved only in the short term by European aid, and the North, dependent on political, military and economic aid from Britain.
It denounces Maastricht but argues that the alternative is not a revitalised nation state. It correctly points out "the nation state is no longer a convincing framework for regulating economic life but it retains its key role in legitimating capitalist rule on a world scale." Opposition to European union in no way implies support for national capitalist or even socialist development. Counterposed to the capitalist project for European unity is a United Socialist States of Europe.
Neo-colonialism
Some, including the Dublin ruling class and John Hume of the Social Democratic and Labour Party believe the solution to the problem of what Hume calls the divided people of Ireland is regional self government within a federal Europe. Unfortunately for them a large section of the Conservative and Unionist Party of Great Britain and Northern Ireland does not share this Euro ideal.
After 1960 the south exchanged dependence on Britain for dependence on the EU. The attempt at native economic development between 1932 and 1958 The Fianna Fail-government made an abrupt about turn - opening the economy to foreign capital and dashing for EU membership.
The influx of foreign capital led to a rapid growth in the number of jobs controlled by multinational capital and the decimation of domestic industry. The acumulation of capital in Ireland is now largely determined by the capital flows of the imperialist countries. But despite those sectors which have sprouted since the 1960's, there remains a high dependence on the British market. This was clear in the devaluation of the Irish punt after sterling crashed out of the ERM in 1992.
About 12% of GDP is repatriated by multinationals. The lack of investment accompanying such massive capital oulflows means that manufacturing productivity in both parts of Ireland is about 75% of that in Britain and Britain is by no means a world leader in this area.
The National Question and the armed struggle Consisting of a Southern neo-colony and a Northern colony, Ireland's national question remains unresolved. British rule has never been accepted by the majority of its people and Britain can only maintain this rule through repression and sectarianism.
For socialists there is only one response to this oboression - immediate withdrawal and disbandment of the repressive forces which it has brought into being.
Workers in Britain have a responsibility to demand British withdrawal, because a nation which oppresses another can never itself be free - a phrase borne out repeatedly in the history of relations between Britain and Ireland.
But the democratic demands for self determination and British withdrawal chould never he counternosed to the struggle for socialism itself. While the struggle for self determination may create the conditions for the struggle for socialism, the two things are in no way synonymous.
The book defends republicans who fight against imperialism and their right to use armed force. It does not demand they adopt a socialist programme as a however implies support for them or their methods.
Military struggles by their nature are elitist and many republicans elevate the armed struggle itself into a principle. The republican movement has combined militarism with reformist politics. More recently it has linked up with the Northern and Southern bourgeoises in the so called 'pan-nationalist alliance".
Central to the book's thesis is that the form of expression for the self-determination of the whole of the Irish people is itself a matter of struggle.
For socialists, it is clear that real democracy and equality will only be possible in a workers republic. This is what socialists fight for as the concrete expression of self determination.
Republican politics offers no solution to the problems of the working class north or south. Breaking out of this impasse requires mass action and a programme which addresses the needs of workers especially in the South.
Workers Unity The Protestants are not a separate nation. Because they cannot clearly identify themselves as British, Irish, Northern Irish or as an Ulster nationality they define themselves by religion.
Calls for Protestant self-determination attempt to give their reactionary and pro-imperialist role a democranc cover The Northern state was and is based on a sectarian headcount.
Sectarianism cannot be reduced to the ideas in peoples heads - this feeds easily into the view promoted by the British that the war is an irrational feud which needs the presence of themselves to keep the fanatics apart. Socialists need to challenge the sectarian ideas held by many Protestant workers, not capitulate to them The struggle for national self determination is not a diversion from the so-called bread and butter issues contrary, the fight to dismantle the sectarian state grew out of such issues as discrimination in jobs and housing.
But attempting to unify the working class around these issues while ignoring the political divisions will not succeed. Sooner or later they will fall apart under which bases itself on sectarianism.
The trade union leadership in the North responds to sectarian murders with calls on the British State - in the guise of the Army or the KUl - Tor protection, in spite of the collaboration between both of those and loyalist murder gangs.
All attacks on workers because of their religion must be condemned and all organisations which claim to defend workers must campaign against sectarian attacks. Such a campaign would necessarily be anti-Loyalist since loyalism is based on Protestant sectarianism.
Republicans who target mainly Protestant towns and accept Protestant civilian casualties but not Catholics ones and who refuse to confront the bigotry of the Catholic Church are rightly denounced by socialists.
While rejection of Protestant self-determination is correct it should not mean rejection of the need for minority rights in a unica stale.
The struggle in the South The Southern working class is the key to the destruction of the sectarian northern statelet. But even though a vast majority favour Irish unity they will not be mobilised simply around a demand for We are offering a special price of just £4.50.
Send a postal order or cheque PO Box 1109, London N4 ZUU. the South has been its inability to confront the backward, bigoted and reactionary ruling class on the question of womens' rights.
Never having challenged the role of the church in the realm of family affairs, republicans have been sidelined as more and more cases of violence against women, abuse of children and the hypocrisy of many priests who preached celibacy but acted ornerwise, nave emerged from behind the facade of the Irish catholic family.
A key political requirement in the South is to break the working class from its support for Fianna Fail. In the short term this means campaigning for a vote for the Labour Party, not because of any illusions in this crass and timid organisation but because mass support for Labour would show a clear vote on class lines. At the same time socialists must demand that Labour retuses to take part in any coalition government.
The Labour Party cannot be reformed hut catino tor a vole or luis a necessar y step towards the creation of a genuine workers party. It is to the building of such a party that the authors commit themselves. Their success will have no small impact on the struggle for socialism in England, Scotland and Wales SPECIAL OFFER Two years in the writing, Socialist Democracy's founding document Ireland: the promise of socialism is the most extensive Marxist analysis of Ireland since the forties.
Clinton is the chosen candidate of US big business to run the country on their terms.
Terry Conway looks at the non-Republican Republican THE 1996 U.S. presidential election campaign has been the quietest ever - despite attempts in the closing minutes to awaken interest with news of supposedly falling support for Clinton.
Prior to that all attention had switched away from the presiPowell has left Clinton a free run at re-election dential contest to the more close to call battle for Congress.
While a Democratic victory in either the House or the Senate is publicans held sway. anyuing but assurea despite the dramatic fall from popularity of Newt Gingrich and the death of his Contract with America, this is not necessarily dao news Tor Clinton. The president had a tougher time in the first two years
US election walkover
budget. $5.15. by Clinton. of his presidency when his own party controlled Congress than in Clinton. the latter two years when the Re- One of the Republicans' biggest criticisms of Clinton is that Of course, the man who is he has stolen their campaign almost certainly to be re-elected themes. Be it crime, welfare president did not carry out his benefits or reducing the deficit, campaign pledges. His inaugura- Clinton has embraced the Repubtion four years ago coming after lican's platform. twelve years of Republican rule The areas of agreement hewas greeted with high hopes by tween Clinton and Dole include:
and wage claims followed suit. The exthose who believed his The assault on the living promises to reburia tne sandares or women a coloren country's infrastructure by limiting their rights to benefits and defend health care. to no more than iwo years, with Instead he secured a lifetime maximum of five. passage of the North • Cuts in Medicare and MediAmerican Free Trade caid and introduction of the marAgreement despite ma- ket into health care jority sentiment oppos- • Attacks on Mexican immiing it, and slashed grants without papers including spending the construction of a wire fence except for the military at the border • Legal immigrants excluded The trumpeted in- from social service benefits crease in the $4.25 an • Expansion of the death penhour minimum wage, alty should be expanded and of which had been in effect jail terms for five years, was to the • Civil liberties sacrificed to princely sum of $4.60. fight "terrorism." Next year it will go to • Gays and lesbians denied a series of rights including that of This is hardly a living legally recognised marriage, wage even for a single spousal Social Security and penperson. None of the anti- sion benefits etc. union legislation from Reduction in controls the Reagan-Bush era in- wnich protect eltner the nealtn or cluding a bill which consumers or the environment in meant strikers could be the interests of profit. "replaced" was repealed In foreign policy Clinton and Dole also are on the same wave Indeed except over length. They support bills such as abortion, the Republican the Helms-Burton bill, which atchallenger, Bob Dole, tempt to penalise any governhas trouble distinguish- ment that does business with ing his positions from Cloa Despite the historic launch of the American Labour Party at a convention of 1500 mainly union delegates in Cleveland this summer, the new party is not standing candidates in these elections and indeed has agreed not to do so for the next two years. While there are positive arguments for such a decision such as but does nothing for employment or the need to concentrate on build Ing a real Dase tor une new party before getting embroiled in the machinations of electoral politics, it would be naive to suggest that it was the positive arguments that influenced the outcome. The convention did agree that the new Party would campaign on political issues such as the living wage, reform of anti-union laws and in defence of health care.
But the dominant view of the purpose of the new party was expressed by Maryanne Young, elected to the Constitution Committee at the Congress who told a local paper immediately after the meeting that she saw the the labour party initially playing a role like that of the Christian Coalition. 'if we are a unified voice' she said, maybe one of those other parties would listen TO US Despite such confusion, and the fact that the AFL-CIO is pouring vast sums or money into Clinton's election campaign, the launch of the new party remains one of the most hopeful signs in A mencan pontes tor sone time Whether its potential will be realised or whether eventually, like earlier attempts at an independent voice for the American working class it will eventually be absorbed into the democratic machine remains undecided.
It is the outcome of this battle rather than the presidential election which will decisively shape American politics for many years to come. when it turned out that VAT receipts
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