Imperialism – Ireland and Britain

As part of our on-going discussions on the nature of imperialism in Ireland, today we re-publish 'Imperialism – Ireland and Britain' by the socialist republican party éirígí, which sets the Irish struggle for national liberation clearly in the context of the class struggle and the international struggle for socialism against imperialism.

It is a must read for socialist republicans. 

Imperialism – Ireland and Britain

Introduction

 

This paper is one of a number being produced by éirígí throughout 2007. Each will focus on a topic of significant importance to modern Ireland and its place in the broader world. These papers are the result of internal discussions and reflect the collective views of the membership of éirígí.

This paper is focused on the issue of imperialism, both historic and contemporary, and the profoundly negative effect that imperialism, as a policy, has had on the development of humanity across the globe in general and in Ireland in particular. We in éirígí reject the notion that imperialist policies and strategies are of a bygone era and instead assert that these policies are as real today as at any point in history.

Imperialism

Imperialism, the policy of one country extending control over another, has blighted humanity for millennia. Countless millions of lives have been lost through war, famine and poverty caused as a direct consequence of such policies.

Imperialist policies are primarily motivated by the desire of countries, or more precisely the ruling class of some countries, to acquire wealth. While there are many other contributory factors leading to the adoption of such policies it is greed that is the common denominator for all imperialism, although this will be rarely admitted or acknowledged by those who implement such policies. Imperialism in tandem with capitalism has over the centuries ensured that an ever-greater portion of the world‟s wealth is held by an ever smaller portion of the world‟s population.

All imperialism is underpinned by a philosophy that deems the colonised in some way inferior to the coloniser. Racism, discrimination and exploitation are intrinsically linked to a policy which justifies the right of one people to dominate and exploit another. In rejecting imperialism, we in éirígí are also rejecting philosophies that place one human being as superior to another. We hold that all human beings are born equal and entitled to a set of basic human rights which allow them to fulfil their own potential.

The world we know today has been largely defined by the empire-building policies of a small number of the world‟s countries. We live with the consequences of their efforts to establish global empires, which have repeatedly seen huge swathes of the earth‟s surface, and the people who inhabit them, arbitrarily divided up between these imperial powers. The modern- day borders of countless countries have been determined in this way. Such borders were, and are, always drawn to benefit the political, military and economic interests of the relevant imperial power with scant consideration given to the interests of those who actually have to live within these borders. Many of the worlds most embittered and longest running conflicts have their roots in such decisions.

Imperialism is not just responsible for the creation of artificial borders and territories. It also creates, and relies upon, an entirely unequal and unjust distribution of the world‟s wealth and wealth-generating resources. Our world is regularly divided into those countries which are deemed „developed‟ and those that are deemed to be „developing‟.

It is both more accurate and more honest to divide the world into those countries whose peoples are materially rich and those whose peoples are materially poor. It is no coincidence that the vast majority of those countries which form the poor world are those same countries which endured, and are enduring, the imperialist policies adopted by many of those same countries which now form the rich world. Indeed it is the systematic robbery of the hugely valuable natural and human resources of the poor world that has made the rich world rich.

21st Century Imperialism: New Form – Old Result

éirígí recognises that imperialism in its twenty-first century form rarely necessitates the physical occupation of a given territory, although this option is always retained. Modern imperialist policies tend to be more subtle than previous forms although the end result is the same: the rich world harvests the wealth of the poor world. In the age of modern communications and a globalised economy it is often more profitable to exploit a country through political, cultural and economic means rather than military.

Imperialists have learned that it is often easier to gain access to the resources and markets of a given country by identifying allies within that country who are willing and able to facilitate such exploitation. In this regard the rich world routinely impinges upon the sovereignty of the poor world, interfering in the internal political life of such countries to ensure that the chosen ally gains, or retains, state power. Where such allies oversee dictatorial, inhumane or cruel regimes the rich world has long-since perfected the art of double-think, refusing to question the internal affairs of such countries.

Where such allies cannot be found other means are deployed. One has to look no further than organisations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to see how effectively countries can be coerced into adopting economic and social polices that serve the interests of the rich world far more than the interests of their own people. éirígí stands in opposition to imperialism in all its forms.

éirígí believes that humanity can only reach its full potential when policies which pit human beings in competition with one another are replaced by policies based upon co-operation and mutually beneficial relations. This is true at both a national level within countries and at an international level between countries. Such relations can only be built upon the principle of respect for the right of each country to choose its own destiny free from foreign interference, in short the right to self-determination. Having thus chosen a system of governance international political, economic and cultural relations can develop upon a just and mutually beneficial basis.

Imperialism and Ireland

We in Ireland have a unique perspective on imperialism and the manner in which it divides people from each other and from those things necessary for a dignified and independent existence. Our country has for eight centuries been the subject of British aggression and interference. Much of our history has been marked by oppression, famine, poverty and forced emigration. In this we have a shared history with the bulk of the world‟s countries. However unlike the vast majority of these countries we are part of the European continent and as such now find ourselves to be part of the rich world.

 Therefore we are simultaneously the victim of imperialism, through the British occupation, and the direct beneficiaries of imperialism, by our location within the rich world.

The joint system of twenty-first century imperialism and capitalism relies upon a passive acceptance of a racially-based exploitation. Much of the material wealth that the people of Ireland enjoy comes at a cost of human suffering that we would be unwilling to pay if the victims were Irish, or indeed white. Hard-fought for rights that we in Ireland take for granted are unknown to billions of our fellow human beings.

Those who promote imperialist policies have, unfortunately, no shortage of allies in Ireland. There are many who would bring Ireland into formal military and political alliances with those same countries which for centuries past to the present day treat their fellow human beings as resources to be exploited in pursuit of material gains. We in éirígí believe that the agenda of these Irish apologists for imperialism should be challenged and exposed at every opportunity, be this in relation to the use of Shannon airport by the US military, the British occupation of six Irish counties, membership of the EU rapid reaction forces or the proposed entry of the twenty-six counties into NATO.

We in Ireland have a humanitarian duty to reject the capitalist/imperialist system and the exploitative philosophy underpinning it. Furthermore, we must endeavour to pursue a form of governance and international relations based upon justice and co-operation, and use our position within Europe to encourage others to do likewise.

Ireland and Britain

The national territory of Ireland includes the island of Ireland, her waterways, airspace, islands and seas. The right of the Irish people to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, is sovereign and indefeasible.

For eight centuries relations between Ireland and Britain have been defined by Britain‟s ambition to conquer and colonise the island of Ireland. For eight centuries this ambition has been thwarted by the determination of the Irish people to be free. The resultant cycle of invasion and occupation, rebellion and resistance has led to the deaths of millions and the impoverishment and enforced emigration of millions more.

Throughout this period Britain has carefully fostered false divisions among the Irish people. These divisions, be they on the basis of class, religion, gender or ethnicity have been used to maintain the British presence in Ireland and to ensure that wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of the few at the cost of the many. Such “divide and conquer” strategies have been used by Britain and other imperialists the world over. Central to the success of this strategy is Britain‟s ability to identify a sufficiently large, or powerful, section of the Irish people willing to support and administer British rule in Ireland. Throughout our history Britain‟s rule in Ireland has been at its most tenuous at those points in history where such a section of the population could not be identified, most notably in the 1916-1921 period.

The continuing British occupation of six Irish counties is a clear violation of the right of the Irish people to national self-determination. This is the context within which relations between the peoples of Ireland and Britain are defined.

 éirígí wishes to see the normalisation of relations between the peoples of Ireland and the peoples of Britain but believes that this can only occur when Britain respects the right of the Irish people to self-determination. This in effect means the ending of Britain‟s constitutional claim to part of Ireland and the withdrawal of the apparatus of occupation. There can be no other basis for the normalisation of relations between the peoples of these islands.

While it would be highly desirable for a British government to unilaterally commence the process of disengagement from Ireland, we in éirígí believe this to be a highly unlikely scenario. The lessons of history teach us that Britain will concede only as much as is necessary to weaken and divide any political movement that challenges its authority in Ireland. Our history is littered with military campaigns, treaties and statutes designed by Britain to neutralise such movements and prolong the occupation.

The most recent of such treaties, namely the Belfast and St Andrews Agreements, of 1998 and 2006 respectively, contain many of the features that have defined British treaties in Ireland for centuries. Three such features stand out most clearly.

•   Firstly, central to both of these agreements is an absolute acceptance of the legitimacy of British rule in Ireland. The constitutional status of Britain‟s occupation will not change until a majority of those within the occupied six counties so decide– in effect one sixth of the Irish people will hold a veto over the other five-sixths.
•  
•   Secondly Britain‟s long history of nurturing false divisions in Ireland continues with power being allocated on the basis of a crude sectarian head-count designed to deepen and prolong false divisions along religious lines.
•  
•   Finally, as with all British treaties, there is the apparent potential for those who support Irish freedom to achieve a long-term victory if they are willing to support the status quo in the short-term. In this the British government is at its most devious. Britain has conceded enough to convince some who oppose British rule in Ireland that these latest treaties are substantially different to all previous treaties and therefore worthy of support. In this the British draw upon their not insubstantial experience in negotiations and hope to neutralise the demand for British withdrawal and Irish Freedom. Failing this the British hope to lay the seeds of division among those who would nominally desire Irish freedom but disagree upon how it may be achieved.
  We in éirígí are convinced that these two most recent treaties are considerably more likely to solidify British rule in Ireland than they are to end it.
• 
  Others have argued that Britain no longer has ambitions of empire and is in fact preparing to withdraw from Ireland, using the establishment of the Stormont assembly and increased levels of cross-border co-operation to support this hypothesis.
• 
  We in éirígí reject this analysis. We believe that the evidence indicates the opposite to be true. Britain is simply re-shaping and modernising the occupation and in doing so is attempting to portray her role in Ireland as neutral while simultaneously co-opting an ever larger section of the population into supporting the occupation. The current British government have over the last number of years implemented a policy of regionalised parliaments and assemblies with the objective of securing the long-term integrity of the so called “United Kingdom”. The British establishment has moved to neutralise the demands for complete independence for Scotland, Wales and Ireland by conceding limited powers to locally elected representatives. This tactic, and variations of it, has been successfully used on many occasions throughout history. This is the context within which the Stormont Assembly was established. 
• 
  
  Increased co-operation between the Dublin and London governments and increased co- operation between the business classes on both sides of the border is in reality simply part of a broader pattern of globalisation and European Union-wide integration and not evidence of a gradual British withdrawal.
• 
  If further evidence of Britain‟s contemporary imperial ambitions is required one need only look to Britain‟s role in the invasion and occupation of both Afghanistan and Iraq. For those who have claimed that Britain is now a force for good in both an Irish and a global context, the lie has been well and truly exposed.
• 
  The Future
• 
  It is now more than ninety years since Pádraig Pearse read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic from the steps of the General Post Office on Easter Monday 1916. This act signalled the start of a most momentous phase in Irish history which culminated in the ending of the British occupation of twenty-six of Irelands‟ thirty two counties, after more than seven hundred years of attempted conquest. As we approach the centenary year of the Easter Rising freedom has yet to be achieved with six Irish counties remaining under British occupation.
  We in éirígí view this occupation and the denial of democracy it represents to be the single most substantial challenge facing the Irish people today.
•  
• For as long as Ireland remains occupied it will be impossible for the Irish people to choose a system of governance that truly “cherishes all the children of the nation equally” which we hold to be the only form of governance worthy of the people of Ireland.
• 
  Recent years have seen the demand for Irish freedom largely neutralised as Britain has attempted, with some success, to co-opt ever greater sections of the Irish people into administering British rule in Ireland.
• 
  Irish freedom will only be achieved when the demand for British withdrawal is once again placed centre stage of the Irish, British and International arenas and when the cost to Britain of holding Ireland outweighs the benefits of withdrawal. We believe the time is approaching when that demand will once again be loudly voiced.
• 
  That is the task now facing Socialists, Republicans and Nationalists; the building of a new social and political movement for Irish freedom. While ultimately such a movement will need support internationally, including most probably a section of the British people, it is at home and most particularly within the occupied counties where the renewed call for freedom must first be made.
• 
  In the building of such a movement inspiration can be sought, and lessons learned, from our own history. In the period prior to the 1916 Rising Ireland witnessed a cultural revival encompassing the Irish language, music and sports. The same period saw the growth of both a separatist movement advocating Irish freedom and a revolutionary form of socialism and
   trade unionism. It was by drawing support from all three of these trends that that the most successful Irish Rebellion to date, and the following five year revolutionary period, occurred.
  

  The international arena also offers insight into how modern day social and political movements develop. There are now numerous examples across the globe of people challenging global capitalism and imperialism through “bottom up” social and political movements. Any new movement for Irish freedom should seek to encompass not only traditional political parties but also organised labour, community groups, cultural organisations, campaign groups as well as non-aligned individuals.
• 
  While advocating the development of a new movement for Irish freedom we in éirígí believe that freedom is only of value if we, the Irish people, use it to create a society based upon genuine equality and social justice. Ninety years of nominal freedom for twenty-six counties has produced a social and economic order that is in no way substantially different to that of the old imperial order. The words of James Connolly have proved typically prophetic:
• 
  If you remove the English army tomorrow and hoist the green flag over Dublin Castle, unless you set about the organisation of the socialist republic, your efforts would be in vain. England would still rule you. She would rule through her capitalists, her landlords, financiers, and through the whole array of commercial and industrial institutions she has planted in this country and watered with the tears of our mothers and the blood of our martyrs. England would still rule you to your ruin, even while your lips offered hypocritical homage at the shrine of that freedom whose cause you betrayed.
• 
  éirígí believes that the creation of a Democratic Socialist Republic represents the best framework within which the needs of all the Irish people can be met. We assert that any new movement for Irish freedom needs to recognise that the pursuit of national freedom is inextricably linked to that of social and economic freedom.
• 
  We in éirígí also wish to see an end to the false divisions that Britain has so carefully fostered in Ireland and believe that a new political and social movement may offer a mechanism to do just that. We challenge those who may historically have believed that their interests were best served by supporting the British presence in Ireland to re-examine their position in the context of the twenty-first century. We appeal to members of this community to join us in a political movement for the creation of a new all-Ireland Republic where all the people of Ireland will be entitled to an equal share of the nation‟s wealth and equal access to power regardless of class, religion, gender, ethnicity, or other false division.
• 
  We in éirígí intend to play a full part in a new movement for Irish freedom and appeal to people the length and breadth of Ireland and beyond to do likewise and to contribute, in whatever way they can, to completing the unfinished business of Irish freedom and the establishment of a Democratic Socialist Republic. 

Mizen Head Anti-Land Grab Campaign Intensifies

The following article is re- blogged from www.eirigi.org

This is some genuinely inspirational campaigning from socialist republicans in Wicklow.

In the 1970's Seamus Costello led a campaign to ensure access to Wicklow's coast line, confronting private interests that tried to make profit from public land.

It's great to see socialist republicans in Wicklow continuing that proud tradition and a campaign that combines socialist republican's and a section of the organised labour movement is a very positive development.

Mizen Head Anti-Land Grab Campaign Intensifies

In recent weeks the Mizen Head Action Campaign, which is made up of members of éirígí and the Independent Workers Union along with local anglers, walkers and members of the community, have intensified their campaign against the illegal barricade preventing public access to Mizen Head in County Wicklow.

            On Sunday July 21, the campaign held a vibrant “Fish In” protest against the European Golf Club’s land grab of a section of the Wicklow shoreline. For over a decade the owners of the Golf Club have fenced off land belonging to the Irish people, denying accesses to Mizen Head. Before protestors arrived at the disputed site, the illegal barrier had been removed by the ‘Wicklow Saw Doctors’, allowing the protestors gain safe access to Mizen Head to carry out the “Fish In”.

 Campaign members erected posters at the site highlighting the dispute and the protest took the form of a hotly contested fishing competition which was won by an East Wicklow angler. On Monday July 22, the anti-land grab campaign staged a picket at Wicklow County Council buildings in Wicklow Town. The picket took the form of a peaceful ‘lock-out’ that saw the gates at the entrance of Wicklow County Council buildings chained closed.

 The colourful picket received great support from local people passing by. An hour after the ‘lock-out’ began the management of Wicklow County Council and local Gardaí gained access by sheering the large chain and lock that had prevented access to the building. The protestors then moved to the outside foyer of the building to continue to highlight the land grab of Wicklow’s scenic shoreline.

     Sean Doyle, a trade unionist from the IWU and a member of éirígí, said, “The matter of the illegal barrier on the Mizen Head was referred to An Bord Pleanála, who found there was an unregistered land strip between the European Golf Club boundary and the shore line. They also found that the golf club owner has no right to erect a barricade or claim land belonging to the people as his own.”

      éirígí Wicklow spokesperson Adrian O’Raghallaigh said, “We have brought the Mizen Head campaign to the gates of Wicklow County Council because of their lack of effort in dealing with this case. In 2005 an enforcement notice was issued by Wicklow County Council yet in 2013 the barricade remains in situ.

 This is completely unacceptable and the campaign will continue until the right of the people to access Mizen Head is recognized by all.”

For more information on the campaign 'Like' the facebook page:
 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mizen-Head-Action-Campaign/173995486113861

The Establishment Fears the Rise of Socialist Republicanism!

Recent hysteria in the corporate media has exposed a growing fear in the capitalist establishment at the rise of socialist republicanism in Ireland,

The latest example follows a protest outside Leinster House in Dublin, called to demand the Jailing of Ireland's Bankers when a group of anti- austerity protestors confronted Labour minister for communications, Pat Rabbitte.

 The corporate media have lined up to portray such action as criminal and have been quick to attribute the 'ugly scenes' to members of the socialist republican party éirígí. Rabitte himself has 'confirmed' that it was indeed éirígi  who subjected him to 'a bit of jostling and abuse and that kind of stuff' and 'waving Bobby Sands posters in my face saying éirígí says this and éirígí says that.'

This hostile reaction from the establishment and their attempts to portray éirígí as the big bad bogey man exposes a real fear at the heart of the establishment at the rise of socialist republicanism. The ruling elite are terrified the prospects for its long term growth and success in Ireland. Ironically it's thanks to the reaction of Rabbitte and the mass media that many working class homes are cheering éirígí tonight!

When the latest attempts to discredit socialism is combined with the on-going harassment of socialist republican community activists and the internment of éirígí spokesperson Stephen Murney it's clear to see that the forces of reaction north and south are living in constant fear of the socialist republican message. That's why the establishment is attempting to use the full power of the state and the corporate media to undermine socialist republicanism, but they are failing.

The capitalist state is right to fear socialism. Socialist republicans aim to organise the complete overthrowing of the current system and bring the working class to power in Ireland. We aim to establish a system that  through democratic central planning. will meet the needs of all citizens. Such a system will put and end to exploitation and political and economic corruption. Put simply we aim for the democratic control of society by communities, something the powers that be fear most.

 The likes of Rabbitte and other 'labour fakirs' in Leinster House are all to aware of this fact. Many of them climbed into power on the backs of the working class by pretending to be socialist republicans. Their anti- republican stories in the media and the on-going harassment by their bully boy,s only highlights that éirígí and Irish socialist republicans are getting it right.

Pat Rabbite and his cronies in the capitalist establishment should be very afraid of the 'reds under the bed'. Especially when those reds are unrepentant socialist republicans. As the on-going crisis in capitalist has shown the days of this system of exploitation are numbered. As Irish socialist republicanism continues to grow and spread its influence across Ireland we move closer and closer to the historic victory of the working class and the successful conclusion.

Onwards to the Socialist Republic!
Tiocfaidh Ár  Lá

Building an alternative movement in Ireland

Socialist Republicanism is gaining popularity across Ireland. At this time socialist republicans are working tirelessly to build a new movement which will be capable of success.

One of the most promising socialist republican organisations in Ireland at the present time is éirígí. Formed in 2006 following a left wing split in Sinn Féin, éirígí has grown from humble beginnings in Dublin into a National movement within six short years.

éirígí are committed socialist republicans who like Connolly and Costello before them, are in the process of building a movement that combines the class and national liberation struggles into the one fight. 

As an introduction to éirígí and the work of Irish Socialist Republicans today, we here republish an edited interview with éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson.

This interview was published on the fantastic blog  'The Irish Revolution' based in New Zealand. The blog commenting on Irish affairs from a socialist republican position. The Irish Revolution Blog can be accessed here and is highly recommended: http://theirishrevolution.wordpress.com/

This interview is important as it gives clear insight into the strategy and tactics, as well as the longer term views of Irish Socialist Republicans in the 21st Century.

Building an alternative movement in Ireland: interview with éirígí national chairperson Brian Leeson

The following interview was conducted back in late 2008, and first appeared in early 2009 in The Spark newspaper. 

Philip Ferguson: Could you tell us how you first got involved in political activity?

Brian Leeson: I suppose I first became politically active in the summer of 1989 when I attended a large protest in Dublin that was demanding a British withdrawal from occupied Ireland.  It was called to mark the 20th anniversary of British troops being re-deployed onto Irish streets back in August 1969.  For a few months before the demonstration I had been becoming more politically conscious, particularly with regard to the war that was then raging in the occupied Six Counties.

What struck me most about that day was the contrast between the sheer size of the protest and the tiny amount of media coverage it received.  Despite the fact that more then 20,000 marched that day, it hardly registered on the political landscape at all.  Of course, this was at a time when state censorship by both the London and Dublin governments excluded republican spokespeople from the airwaves.
Within a couple of weeks of that demonstration I had taken a decision to become politically active.  I applied to join Sinn Féin, but at 15 years of age I was too young.  Instead, I started to sell the An Phoblacht newspaper each Saturday morning outside of the General Post Office on Dublin’s O’Connell Street – a building which fittingly had served as the headquarters of the 1916 Rebellion.

From then on I became ever more involved in the republican struggle and the Provisional Movement, which I remained a part of until early 2006.


PF: How and why did éirígí come into existence?  How would you explain your pretty rapid growth?

BL: éirígí was formed as a socialist republican campaigns group in April 2006.  Initially, there were just seven members and the organisation was based solely in Dublin.  In May 2007, at our first Ard Fheis (national congress), the decision was taken to constitute éirígí as a political party.  Since 2006, éirígí’s membership has grown steadily, to the point where we now have ciorcail (branches) all across Ireland.

As to why éirígí came into existence; what was then a small group of people thought it was time to make a new beginning in terms of socialist republican politics.  We believed there to be the political space for a new socialist republican organisation.  The growth of the party since then has confirmed that our original analysis was correct.

There is clearly a significant number of people who were basically waiting for a credible vehicle to emerge for them to join or support.  I think this fact, along with the hard work of our activists, explains our relatively rapid growth.

PF: What is éirígí’s view of the current situation in the north?

BL: The British occupation of the North of Ireland is as real today as it ever was.
In July 2007, there was much fanfare surrounding the ending of the British army’s 38-year-long Operation Banner campaign in the Six Counties.  What wasn’t mentioned was that, on the very day Operation Banner ended, a new British army campaign began in the North – Operation Helvetic.
Under Helvetic, 5,000 British troops remain garrisoned in the Six Counties. These troops can be deployed at will by the British government.  In addition, much of the ‘temporary’ repressive legislation that the British government introduced to suppress the republican struggle had now been made permanent.

Also in 2007, the British government’s spy agency, MI5, was appointed as the chief gatherer of intelligence on Irish republicans.  To facilitate this, a massive MI5 base has been built on the outskirts of Belfast.  This facility will also serve as the main headquarters for MI5 in the event of an attack on their London headquarters.

On the front line of the occupation is the Police Service of Northern Ireland – formerly the RUC. The PSNI remains a highly sectarian, paramilitary police force.  Since its name change the PSNI has added CS gas and tasers to its arsenal of lethal plastic bullets.  These ‘less lethal’ new weapons are in addition to the standard issue handguns and assault rifles routinely carried by members of that force.
On the socio-economic front, nationalists remain two-and-a-half times as likely to be unemployed as unionists (members of the population who support British rule – PF) and, in some areas, nationalists make up 83 per cent of those on the housing waiting list.

All of this compounds a deeply unequal society where working class people generally, and working class catholics in particular, are exploited and denied basic rights.  In short, the Six Counties remains a highly abnormal state and necessarily so in order to maintain the British occupation.

PF: The south of Ireland, the Twenty-Six County state, is often held up in NZ as a model of ‘social partnership’ between the state, the bosses and the unions.  What are things really like for workers in the south?

BL: That may be so, but it should be also noted that the Twenty-Six County state was the first in Europe to enter recession earlier this year.  Socially and economically, the Twenty-Six County state now rates second only to the United States in terms of inequality within the ‘developed’ world.
This fact is a massive indictment on the class of politicians and business people who have decided policy in the South to the detriment of the majority of the population.

The Twenty-Six Counties, Ireland as a whole and the rest of Europe are now in financial meltdown due to the manner in which our economies have been structured and mismanaged by political parties and corporations that have only their own interests at heart.

Fianna Fáil (the main and near-permanent party of government), their coalition partners and their friends in big business are at the top of the guilty list in this regard.
They have allowed a chaotic, greed-fuelled auction to take centre-stage in this country over the last 15 years and labeled it the finest economy in the world.  Yet, as soon as this ‘fine economy’ implodes, the hundreds of thousands of people who actually work to generate the wealth are expected to foot the bill to save those who mismanaged it.

Instead of harnessing the wealth of recent times to create first-class health, education and transport systems, the Dublin government has provided us with rising unemployment, mass privatisation and endemic child and fuel poverty.

PF: Is there much of a challenge to the class collaborationism of the union leaderships? What role does éirígí see for itself in challenging this collaboration?

BL: The whole carefully-manufactured ‘consensus’ that lauds ‘social partnership’ as a panacea for all our ills in now beginning to fall apart.  It is falling apart because the brutal realities of the capitalist economic system are becoming ever more obvious.

According to the ‘social partnership’ narrative, everyone was a winner – workers, bosses and the state.
This narrative cannot survive the utter failure of the system that ‘social partnership’ was designed to protect.

Now that the economy is in crisis, it is clear that everyone isn’t a winner.  Once again, it is working class people who are being told to ‘tighten their belts’ while the wealthy secure their gains and are supported by massive government bail-outs.

éirígí has stated from day one that there is an alternative to this dog-eat-dog economic madness and it is one based on cooperation, solidarity and participatory planning, i.e. socialism.
It is the job of every left-wing organisation, including éirígí, to fill the vacuum of ideas that exists in terms of how to deal with the economic crisis with socialist politics.

PF: One of the key things that has bedeviled Irish republicans, including socialist-republicans, since Connolly’s time is the relationship between the class and national questions or, put another way, the class and national aspects of the Irish revolution.  How do you see that class and national relationship in Ireland being linked?

BL: Connolly believed that the relationship between the class and national questions is fundamentally indivisible.  What has bedeviled Irish republicans since that time is how to build a movement that effectively deals with both. éirígí shares Connolly’s analysis that the Irish revolution has two aspects – the national and the social.

To resolve one, you have to resolve the other.

The key to socialist republican thinking is to understand that the military occupation of Ireland, and the denial of political democracy that it represents, is just one aspect of what Connolly referred to as the ‘Conquest of Ireland’.

The social aspect – the replacement of the collective ownership laws of the native population with private property relations, particularly with regard to the land – was what provided the material incentive in the English invasion of Ireland.

Any successful reconquest of Ireland must remove the social and economic system that the English brought into Ireland.  In éirígí’s opinion, any revolutionary movement in Ireland must have the resolution of the national and social questions as its core objectives.

PF: The other issue that has bedeviled the movement in Ireland is the relationship between military and political activity, or party and army. How do you view the issue of armed republican activity?

BL: Any population that has the misfortune to find itself under foreign occupation has the right to use armed force to remove that occupation.  Whether it was the French resisting the Nazi occupation or the Vietnamese resisting Franco-American aggression, the principle is the same.  And that principle also extends to the Irish context.

However, while any people may have a principled right to use armed struggle, it may not always be tactically or strategically the correct option.  We believe that there are other, more effective ways to challenge and defeat British rule in Ireland today.

PF: What possibilities are there for uniting anti-imperialists, at least around particular projects and maybe into some kind of ongoing coalition?  Is éirígí working along those lines or do you have a different view?

BL: Since its foundation, éirígí has been working with anti-imperialists and other progressives on a number of issues.  The first of these was the ‘Shell to Sea’ campaign which is resisting Shell Oil’s operations in Co. Mayo.   This was closely followed by éirígí joining the Irish Anti War Movement, which is made up of a broad coalition of groups opposed to Irish collaboration in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  More recently, éirígí has worked within the Campaign Against the European Union Constitution, which was one of the lead organisations in the recent defeat of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty.
We believe the building of a new progressive social movement to be an essential step on the road to transforming Ireland’s socio-economic system. Such a movement will need to encompass trade unions, political parties, community groups, campaign groups, residents associations and non-aligned individuals.  Similar movements have played an important role in the recent move to the left within a number of South American countries.  éirígí believes there are lessons to be learned from these countries that could be applied to the Irish context.

PF: There are also a number of explicitly socialist-republican currents, such as the Irish Republican Socialist Party.  What is éirígí’s attitude to the idea of trying to regroup all the socialist-republicans into a single organisation?

BL: While, theoretically, the ideal situation would see a single socialist republican party we have to recognise that the conditions for such a party do not yet exist in Ireland.  The reality is that there are a number of organisations, including éirígí and the IRSP, that profess a left republican analysis.  These various organisations have come into existence for a range of different historical reasons, some of which still exist today.

While, at a superficial glance, these differences may seem surmountable, a more comprehensive analysis reveals much deeper tactical and ideological separation.  To prematurely attempt a merger or coalition of these groups and parties may well damage the tentative growth that radical politics in Ireland is currently enjoying.

In éirigi’s opinion, a better option at this time is for groups of similar outlook to work together on single issue campaigns, similar to those outlined above.  Over time, the conditions for a single socialist republican party may well emerge.

PF: How does éirígí see things in Ireland developing over the next, say, decade?  How do you see éirígí developing in that context?

BL:  The discourse in Ireland, both north and south, over the last decade has been dominated by an ‘end of history’ type analysis.  The aim of this propaganda was to promote the idea that all forms of popular struggle were finished.  According to this view, the economy, although fundamentally unequal, was fundamentally sound and needed nothing but minor tinkering with.  Meanwhile, the national question was settled, with the British occupation continuing indefinitely.

In éirígí’s view, the next 10 years will be about exploding these myths.  The truth remains that the economy is not fundamentally sound – it is on the point of collapse due to the way it was managed in the interests of the wealthy few.  Already, we have seen tens of thousands of people taking to the streets of Dublin to protest about government cuts.

The Six County state is not functioning as it was supposed to under the normalisation agenda of the British government and it never will.  The communities that always opposed British rule are witnessing the failure of British rule on a daily basis.

In light of this, I think the next 10 years are going to see a rejuvenation and popularisation of the struggle for an independent, socialist Ireland.  It won’t be easy, but we’re determined to get there.