Party Loyalty or International Struggle (Revised)

 
Reading an article in The Observer recently brought my thinking back to the nature of political struggle and the party structures that we have in the nation state.


Lester Brown, an environmental analyst and president of the Earth Policy Institute in Washington has an article in the paper. He has a new book out - Full Planet, Empty Plates– in which he predicts “…ever increasing food prices, leading to political instability, spreading hunger and, unless governments act (will lead to) a catastrophic breakdown in food.”


On one level, we can see this already reflected in price hikes on basic staples like Rice, wheat and other cereal crops. Brown, however, focuses on the geopolitical fall-out.


"Food is the new oil and land is the new gold," he says. "We saw early signs of the food system unravelling in 2008 following an abrupt doubling of world grain prices. As they climbed, exporting countries [such as Russia] began restricting exports to keep their domestic prices down. In response, importing countries panicked and turned to buying or leasing land in other countries to produce food for themselves."


"The result is that a new geopolitics of food has emerged, where the competition for land and water is intensifying and each country is fending for itself.”


We know that millions of people have been killed in wars to control oil supplies. We have been thinking out loud for years about land grabs for the control of water supplies. Is it really such a great leap of imagination to consider ‘interventions’ and regime change to secure the best paddy fields? Palestinian farmers have seen their best land grabbed for years – and not just to house Israeli settlers. Land grabs are far more strategic than that.


Having been involved in the politics of national liberation as well as socialism, I spent many years inside a party based in Ireland, albeit not without international connections and solidarity with other national liberation struggles. For all sorts of reasons, localised, regional or national party political structures matter.

All struggle is relative I suppose, but it is not a cliche to say that indeed times they are a changing.


Do I believe that having national political parties matter as much in the current political dispensation?


I have given this a lot of thought in recent years. Yes, it is true that there is unfinished business here in Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement offers one framework in which republicans and others can pursue a strategy of national unification and deliver social change. There is plenty of argument as to whether these objectives can be successfully delivered. That’s another article.


Progressive people have been elected to chambers, assemblies and parliaments to try and force the pace of change. But, national governments are ignored when it comes to international capitalism. Don’t take my word for it, just observe how the dictate of capital, articulated by the IMF/ECB and others and slavishly implemented by parties of the centre left and/or various shades of right.


We are compartmentalised into our geographical blocs in term of struggles. The fight against the redistribution of wealth to the wealthy is fought at the local, while the enemy operate on the global – or at least the continental. Local and regional democracy, such as it ever existed, has been largely relegated to the distribution of tiny budgets to garner localised political support. Increasingly, local authorities have become useful adjuncts in the privitisation and profiteering of what had been hard won essential services.


We have tried joining together in ideological blocs at European level – within those parliamentary structures, but these are remote structures, distant and aloof from ordinary activists.


In Greece we have seen progressive socialist parties put aside sectarian differences to join battle against a common enemy. That they are fighting largely on their own without the assistance of 'international brigades' is another matter. Things have slid so far and so fast that the challange has become far too big to be left to any individual grouping, however ideologically sound or strategically brilliant.


All activists on the progressive left need to consider the widest possible contact on an international basis – and this should be encouraged and facilitated by political party leaderships. I am afraid that party self-interest is fast becoming an irrelevance given the challenges facing us.


Nationalism is being encouraged – for all the wrong reasons. Instead of facing down fascist, centrist parties and their allies in the media are pandering to rascism and patriotism to steal the thunder and hang on to whatever power they have left - or feel they have left, even if that is only the saleries and trappings of office.

When struggle returns to the that of securing the basics for ourselves and our families (as of course it is and has been for many people in large chunks of the world on a consistant basis) Then 'normal'politics has failed. We need to be creative. Oil, water and food are mere commodities to the capitalist. They will only secure these commodities by ensuring that we – the ordinary folk – are pitted against each other. There has never been a better time to be an internationalist in outlook.


It must be time for (at the very least) a pan European progressive left front – wider than a collection of political parties. Individuals, community organisations, Unions, the creative sector -the arts, film, theatre and literature - and all advocates of progressive political change need to feel that they belong to a large group fighting against a common, deadly enemy.



 

 

‘Maybe it’s because…’ by Vincent Wood is available as an eBook from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and all Amazon sites internationally.

 

 

 

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That Handshake

People who believe in nonsense, even if their feelings are genuine, long held or even ‘cultural’ need to be confronted.

Whatever way you look at it, a genetic ancestral right to privilege, such as that enjoyed by royalty, is a notion that needs to be vigorously challenged.   It is not good enough to simply respect the view of monarchists to defend royalty.

If a section of a community is wedded to the support of privilege and hierarchy in the shape of the British royals, for example, they are given no favours by acknowledging their sensibilities.   For a start, it certainly won’t change their mindset.  More than that, it does not even serve as a genuine gesture of tolerance.   The monarchist knows that the Republican is insincere in tolerating that which is contrary to the core of what Republicanism is about.

Martin McGuiness, or any Republican on this island, could easily articulate an anti-monarchist position and back that up without conferring legitimacy on this relic of feudalism.   Given that upper class Unionism and the element in Unionism that is drawn from fanatical religious fundamentalism is a lost cause, the people to win over are the greater number of that community – the working class.

The more productive course for a republican to take is an evangelical one – if you pardon the pun.  Engage on the basis that Republicanism (not nationalism) serves the ordinary people.  Monarchy embodies the subservience of most of us to the few.  Once we learn to bow our heads, we don’t stop bowing to all our ‘betters’.  We don’t challenge.

Elizabeth Windsor and yours truly grew up in the same town.  Like me, and all Londoner’s, she is mixed race.  I am Irish/French Huguenot; she is German and her husband a Greek, so the heir to that throne has a rich mix indeed.  Still, with all that we have in common, I wouldn’t shake her hand.  Not because she represents an army that committed atrocities in Ireland (and elsewhere) or that she is sasanach Mór – true and all that she is.  No, I wouldn’t shake her hand because she is the embodiment of privilege and hierarchy and an aid to the dominance of capital over civilisation.

Martin and Sinn Féin have missed an opportunity to contribute to a necessary debate that has to happen within working class Unionism. 

I don’t accept much of the commentary about McGuiness or other Sinn Féin leaders from other Republicans opposed to their strategy.  He isn’t a ‘traitor’.   Sinn Féin has a strategy and have worked out how they want to get there.   It’s their view and I believe that is genuine.  They may be wrong and if so, Republicans and Socialists need to challenge them and continue to articulate alternative strategies.

 Meeting the British Queen is a mistake.  I hope that amends can be made and that Sinn Fein will embark on an engagement with working class unionism to promote republicanism – in its fullest sense.

A Crisis to Fight The Crisis.

Back in 2007 I wrote an article for An Phoblacht about a debate within Sinn Fein on taking a position on coalition with Fianna Fail.

I ventured a view that having upwards of 20 TD's elected would not of itself necessarily move the aims and objectives of the party forward if other factors influencing power in the state were not adequately addressed.  Nothing new or earth shattering there.  With all the reactionary forces that are marshaled to resist progressive change, it has always been necessary to have a subversive mindset when trying to fight for a civilised future.

It was hard to argue against comrades who took me to task.  Of course 20 plus TD's would make a difference. 

I could not have foreseen how this current crisis would lead to the sweeping away of any semblance of democratic control over fiscal policy.  Now we have a situation where having a majority government fails to guarantee the implementation of manifesto commitments let alone a vision of society fairly put before an electorate.

As I am reaching a phase of life when I could be tempted by moderation and cooperation in politics, I find myself returning to the conclusion that laws will have to be broken and broken regularly to get out of this straitjacket into which we have been put. 

For Unions to effectively represent their members, they will have to defy legislation.  The type of industrial action that has been curtailed by successive legislation and supported by political and media led conditioning of the public will have to be embarked on just so that basic pay and conditions can be maintained.  That or the labour movement will be destroyed - long the aim of the architects to neoliberalism.

Any government made up of progressive political parties will have to defy EU diktat in order to deliver any level of equality to an electorate who would have chosen an alternative to neoliberalism. That, or be party to wiping out many of the gains made by working people over many decades of struggle.

Without conflict of this type, austerity will put us back decades.

The challenge facing the progressive left is to accept that realpolitik as proscribed as the political norm - even in opposition - is useless.  What are we to be the better managers of?  Events have moved beyond this.  The Dail and Council chambers will have to be disrupted -  because simply opposing a puppet government is literally a waste of time. 

During the 1920's the Labour group on Poplar Council (A borough in East London, near to where I grew up) were sent to jail en masse for defying bad law in defence of the ordinary working people.  They were castigated by the media and called economically and politically illiterate by 'responsible' politicians including the leadership of their own party.

The 'yes' vote in the austerity referendum is no green light to guarantee barbarity over civilisation. There is a huge international mandate from the ordinary people of Europe and beyond to fight on.  The headlines that will give the necessary encouragement to the people on the front line are not those that show Sinn Féin and the ULA as effective Dáil performers.  Rather, they will need to see these parties and others creating havoc.  It is up to these parties to help cause a crisis.  There seems little point in being in these chambers besides under the current conditions.

Tipping the Balance

Wouldn't it be something to believe that voting actually matters?  We have all heard it - 'If voting changed anything, they'd ban it..' Or some variation of that.

Certainly the vote received by Fine Gael and Labour at the last Leinster House elections did no more than allow those parties to carry on as their predecessors in Fianna Fail.  Said predecessors are carrying on in the same vein even though they lost. But sin scéal eile.

Does casting a NO vote in the current referendum matter then?  This time it does.

The recent elections in France and Greece have created a space into which - with a few additional 'events' - we could see the first glimmer of hope in the long war resistance against the neoliberalist onslaught of all remaining remnants of political. economic and social protections for ordinary people.

On such 'event' that could help tip the balance in favour of the anti-austerity bloc that is emerging would be the people of Ireland voting against the Austerity Treaty.  We should not underestimate the psychological impact of this among the plain people of Europe.  This would be seen - not as an act of politicians and political parties - but an exercise in electoral democracy.  It could also give Hollende at al some useful ammunition in the battle that will have to be joined at governmental level.

Of course, the political parties here in Ireland have a huge role in all of this.  The progressive parties lined up against the Treaty are performing well in debates and in the marshaling of activists for the campaign.  The national media remains firmly pro-treaty, so to speak.  However, the local and regional media (if the local papers such as the Galway Advertiser are anything to go by) are wide open and are editorialising against the treaty.

In among all of the tactical priorities that parties have to deal with at this time, they should give some consideration to elevating the importance of this vote to one where it could tip the balance of the argument internationally.  We cannot win this war on our own - those days are gone - but we could be the determining factor in this battle.  It would do no harm in majoring on this.

Austerity To Crush The Labour Movement

The crisis that has brought us to the dire economic situation we face today is not one caused by a few rogue bankers or reckless policy decisions made by successive Finance Ministers.

The Elephant in the room that most media commentators and virtually all politicians choose to ignore is ideology.  The austerity measures laid down by the Troika continue in the vein laid out under the neoliberal revival of the 1980’s and 90’s.  An ideological shift away from the broad Social Democracy of the post war period, with all of the cooperative involvement of public and private sectors that entailed. 

Fine Gael - already keen advocates of conservatism and neoliberalism - have been given free hand to continue this political and economic trend, assisted by and not hindered by the medicine proscribed by the IMF, ECB et al.  The Public Sector, essential State utilities and much of the NGO sector is now fair game for a shift towards private ownership and rich pickings for a very small percentage of people.

The very concept of the ‘free’ provision of Education and Health services has always been an anathema to supporters of neoliberalism.  Now, in the wake of the best example of the failure of this untrammelled capitalism since the 1930’s, this selfish ideology is looking to grab victory from the jaws of defeat.  Under the guise of austerity, the rolling back of democratic control of essential public services accessible to all is being accelerated.  More than this, the very exercise of policy making and the setting of Budgets by  national government is to be subject to the approval of neoliberal ideologues at the centre of the European Commission.

The Irish Labour Party, if they are in the tradition of Social Democracy/Democratic Socialism should have no truck with this.  The Gilmour leadership may not want to admit defeat by leaving this coalition, but in effect that could be their best chance of ensuring that the party survives.

Congress and the Unions have a huge responsibility if they too are to be relevent into the future.  Picture a post referendum scenario where the government can shrug its collective shoulders and point to a pre-agreed budget - agreed by neoliberals in far away chambers and approved by Goldman Sachs and others.  'Sorry David (Begg) and Jack (O Connor), but what can we do?'

There may be a time for the leadership and the ILP and Trade Union movement to be measured and 'responsible'.  Now is not that time.  Congress is sitting on the fence with regard to the impending referendum.  If that treaty passes, the neoliberal dream of killing off the unions, rolling back democratic control and bringing workers back to a cowed and compliant level will allow the 'flexibility' required to hammer home the dominance of capital over labour

The potential for democracy was far stronger fifty years ago than it is today.  Austerity is taking us back decades, as it is designed to do. 

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We Need To talk About Tax

With apologies to Lional Shriver

'A nation's tax system is often a reflection of its communal values or/and the values of those in power. To create a system of taxation, a nation must make choices regarding the distribution of the tax burden—who will pay taxes and how much they will pay—and how the taxes collected will be spent. In democratic nations where the public elects those in charge of establishing the tax system, these choices reflect the type of community that the public and/or government wishes to create. In countries where the public does not have a significant amount of influence over the system of taxation, that system may be more of a reflection on the values of those in power'.
(Wikepedia)

This is not an academic post. I think that we often write for ourselves and fellow travellers on  these pages and this is not about stating the bleedin obvious to people who already have a far more articulate and informed method of relaying this message.

I have been following the debate on various sites in relation to the Claiming Our Future/Siobhan O Donaghue piece on taxing the wealthy. Leaving aside the usual suspects coming from the Right, the commentary from 'civilians' as I might call them for these purposes, tells me that 30 years of Thatcherism and uniform commentary from most media outlets has had the desired effect of conditioning people on the issue of taxation.

Neoliberalism has decreed that taxes equal theft. Of course they mean taxes on income, wealth and property. Indirect taxes are ok as long as they aid business. VAT disproportionately effects those on low or average incomes. Allowing the rich to keep their 'own' money by cutting or abolishing direct taxes gives an obvious outcome. Reducing direct taxes for the rest of us allows us to spend on services that were once provided through said taxes (usually through the public sector) on, well , whatever we want really. Sometimes it is on health and education services ( provided by the private sector, needless to say) to give us an advantage over our fellow citizens, or else on other consumables and/or services and service products provided by...you guessed it.

The debate about specific tax proposals is an important one. Points are well made and arguments effectively put within the paradigm that we are in. That must go on. However, given the amount of deliberately fostered misunderstanding about the rationale of taxation and the role of the public/state sector, what is needed is a long war strategy - one that begins to address the basics again - a process of conditioning if you like.

Those who come on to scorn the notion of a wealth tax need to be challenged on the basics as well as the specifics. All of this with an eye to spectators.

Vigilante Man

Woody Guthrie "Vigilante Man"

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Woody Guthrie "Vigilante Man." From the 1975 documentary: "Brother Can You Spare a Dime." Footage from Bonus Riots of 1932, San Francisko General Strike 193...

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Barbarity or Civiliation

I have no choice but to be agitated.  I have to agitate.  I am troubled.

My dad often used to say that we (his children) would have much more leisure time then people of his generation.  He believed that technological developments would take the strain, so to speak.  He also had the reasonable expectation that the life chances of working class people would continue to flourish, as he had noted from the end of the second world war.

Like most people who grew up in the East End of London he voted Labour.  He was a rank and file Union man in common with his fellow Dockworkers and he could measure and illustrate how his quality of life, working conditions and access to leisure was way ahead of that of his own father.

My dad was in his sixties when Thatcher came to power.  The London Docks had had their day and the baby boomers (including my elder siblings) were established in white collar professions – the first generation of working class people to reach these lofty heights.  Many of these baby boomers saw Thatcherism as an opportunity to advance further upwards, alas.  Now in their sixties themselves with mortgages paid for and pensions matured, the insular among them (far too many) are closeted from the nightmare that many others are having to cope with.

Of course, many others were forced from manufacturing, mining, agriculture and fisheries and never worked again or had part time or yellow pack work.

Still and all, my dad remained somewhat optimistic that things would get better.  After all, he could remember the 1930’s and had come through a terrible war, seen how non-union labour was dealt with in the Docks and seen the effects of poverty on the health of family, friends and neighbours.

He was even happy to see Tony Blair elected in 1997, though his optimism was sorely tested and then crushed by the jettisoning of all semblence of socialism from Labour in the following decade.  Still he had seen people fight for better conditions and win.

I want to be able to impart that kind of optimism to my children.  I want to be able to say that their lives will be free from conflict and stress and that the future will be civilised and not barbaric.

Its been hard to build up the optimism these past 20 years, dominated by the self interest and individualism  of Thatcherism and the erosion of all that was gained by ordinary working people.

With the current crisis in capitalism, there is a glimmer of hope.  If enough people are agitated and agitate (in whatever way they can) then we can get back onto the collective track of moving forward. That begins with a mindset of course.

It requires that we are of a mind to invisage a future free from the barbarism of untrammelled market controlled capitalism.  It means that we stand with those who are under threat from the agents of the privilaged - the 1% in the current lexicon - That we either join with or use (and I know that we understand that 'use' is a positive here) the various occupations that are mushrooming, to demand a shift from the political and economic paradigm that has set back the hopes and dreams of those who struggled for us.

Its not a time to sit on the fence.  Its a time to tell stories, to inform or remind people of all that those who came before us had achieved and hoped to achieve.  Its a time to understand that many people have been conditioned to see no alternative. Indeed, for many of these people, the language that us lefties use is strange and our sometimes sectarian behavior is a barrier to understanding, let alone participation. 

I wish that I could get on with lots of other things, but I am agitated and I have to do something. 

A Key Moment

A concerted effort is being made to close down the Occupations in the US. No doubt this has given reactionary forces the green light to start the process wherever they can. Expect more stories of local business's trade being adversely effected or random criminal acts. After the initial first few weeks when there was little media attention, the growth in understanding and support for this overt challange to neoliberalism has made an impact. This is the reaction.

Above all else the Occupy movement has given progressive political activists and supporters an opportunity to move beyond simple oppostion to the existing political and economic system towards advocating a complete change - not a tweak to stabilise capitalism so we can move on in much the same way.

It would be a criminal waste if the progressive left could not share some of the burden currently carried by the occupiers, work together in a broad non-sectarian way and act to consign Thatcherism to the dustbin of history. Inside the Dail, Assembly and council chambers lay a space that can be occupied by progressive politicians standing (sitting or camping) causing disruption, walking out, whatever it takes to draw attention to the denial of basic democracy that has blighted us for many years.

This is a time for radicalism. A time to create a crisis to meet the crisis. Proceedure and protocal are not the answer. Putting forward parliamentary motions to address this or that issue within the existing paradigm seems meagre and not a little daft in the face of such an opportunity to challange injustice and put forward an alternative based on what brought all of us activists into politics in the first place.

Leading With The Chin

The progressive political parties represented in the Dáil, Assembly and Council chambers around the country have been slow to understand the potential opened up by the Occupy movement.

During the recent Presidential election, with all the coverage it was bound to receive, none of the candidates representing progressive politics in Ireland – Higgins, McGuinness and I am going to includes David Norris (although, I understand that not everybody will see him in this category) referenced the Occupy movement. 

I found this strange.  Not only because it was clear, even at that stage, that there was occupation activity across the globe, but it was also strange because the occupiers were making the case that the system – a system opposed by progressive political activists – was clearly failing.

We all realise that the occupy movement has deliberately not been prescriptive in putting policy positions forward.  I may have issues with some within those structures not defining themselves as ‘left’, but I am an old fashioned leftie and acknowledge that this is as much my problem as anything else.  What cannot be denied however, is that this global protest has begun to focus minds in a way that we haven’t seen for years.

What the occupy movement has done is to create the space for political parties to move beyond mere opposition to policies framed within the existing political paradigm, holding conservative parties to account and trying to reform a system that is inherently corrupted.   It has enabled progressive politicians to talk about the ‘V’ word – Vision.

It has to be said that progressive politicians on the way up, so to speak, advancing electorally and gaining increased access to the media tend to fall into the trap of framing discourse within the existing paradigm.   The need to illustrate their ability to understand the Realpolitik stifles bravery.  The bravery required to put up with ‘experts’ in the media and in the conservative political establishment rubbishing any idea that doesn’t sit somewhere between the centre right and the centre left.  Even in the face of the abject failure of these political and economic positions to deal with the mess that they have placed us – or 99% of us – in.

Any advance made for and by ordinary people over the centuries and particularly over the last century has been made by people brave enough to shift the paradigm – to lead with the chin, to use that boxing analogy.  Ideas that have become mainstream began life as ideas ridiculed and dismissed as unworkable or naive.

Thousands of ordinary people camping out this winter in the middle of all sorts of places around the world are leading with their chins.  In some places, the authorities are itching to knock them out.  We should support these people and thank them for giving our mainstream political leaders a chance – should they choose to take it – to do something really interesting; to work together on a broad platform to work our way out of the failure of untrammelled capitalism; to challenge the consensus and cast aside Realpolitik; to lead with the chin.

The (Long) Now

There is an organisation called the Long Now Foundation that is well worth people looking into. The name comes from an observation by the music innovator, Brian Eno that the term 'now' can be interpreted in different ways. He uses the example of conversations that he has had in the USA where 'now', he believes invariably means this instant. He claims that in England and elsewhere, 'now' can also mean 'in this time, era, year. In other words, there is a 'short now and a 'long now'.

Why am I blabbering on about this now? (short) Because of my concern about what is happening now (long)    Decisions taken by governments adhering to the proscribed remedies to stabilise capitalism are reacting in the way they do because of the belief that the have to do this now (short) They will worry about the longer now when? - well, not now.

At the end of World War 2, when we were in far more volatile situation, there were politicians and economists prepared to take the long view. They knew that it would take decades to get onto a firm economic and political footing. They also realised that it was vital to invest in people - in society.

I know that there were other agendas at play. There was a geopolitical conflict shaping up (when isn't there one) The fear of radical change was forcing conservative forces to implement social welfarism, but in among all of that there were serious attempts to move us in towards a 21st century that would be an advance for humanity.

And all of that came to a shuddering halt when Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Regan rode into world domination in the late 70's.

That this Irish Government, which contains a Labour Party - a Labour Party mind - can still be in awe of this short-term and anti-democratic unchecked capitalism, given all that we have witnessed in these past couple of years, is deeply worrying.

Surely we are in a period when long term thinking is more important than ever. As mainstream politics seems incapable of such thinking, the pressure will have to come from the rest of us - organised or otherwise. If that entails presenting the established order with additional headaches, then so be it.

The Greeks are holding a referendum that is causing such a headache and maybe that will force a positive rethink. That is the way we have to behave. The failure of an Irish government to pay bondholders, for example, would be a headache for the capitalist world order, but they would just have to think again. With enough pressure, eventually we might get some thinking that was beneficial to building a 21st century political and social order that just might be acceptable to the greater number of us - the 99% if you prefer. That's the theory! But its not a bad theory.

There will have to be plenty more marching, camping and campaigning to try and change all of this. It needs to happen now (short) and be happening now (long). get it?

Time to Change Tack

With the election of Michael D Higgins to the Presidency and with another TD by virtue of the Dublin West election, the Irish Labour Party has been given a lift from their slippage in recent opinion polls.

But what will they do with this extra ammunition?  Higgins has a track record of support for progressive politics, even when it has cost him personally.  He lost his Dáil seat after a particularly vicious anti-choice campaign by reactionary Ireland.  He has a good record in defending the disadvantaged and he is a promoter and supporter of the arts.  He is a self-confessed independent thinker – or maverick, if you prefer – and seems unafraid to challenge his own parties leadership if need be.

And there’s the thing.  The Irish Labour Party decided to throw their lot in with Fine Gael – a reactionary and conservative party who are resolved to implement the same ideological policy platform of their predecessors in Fianna Fail.  In other words the further erosion of the state and the continued lemming like adherence to Thatcherism. 

In no way has the involvement of the Irish Labour Party in government contributed to the defence of the plain people of Ireland.  If anything, they have adopted the Thatcherite clothes that seem to have become a prerequisite of participation in government.

Labour are an unnecessary adjunct to a Fine Gael that have enough seats to govern on their own. If Labour cannot make a social democratic (whatever about a democratic socialist) footprint on the policies of this administration, then what’s the point in being there?

The presidential election, among other things, has further established a division in Irish politics between the conservative and gombeen Fine Gael, Fianna Fail/Sean Gallagher element – let’s say about 40% of those who vote) and those of us who support, or at least vote for Labour, Sinn Fein, the ULA and its constituent parts and other left leaning and progressive politicians.

I understand that it is argued that people who support the Labour Party or Sinn Féin are not regarded as truly ‘left’ by some who claim the vanguard of the Left, but I have no truck with this self-defeating sectarianism.  Tony Benn, when asked if the British Labour Party was a Socialist Party replied that it wasn’t, but it contained many socialists.  The same could be argued about Labour and Sinn Fein.  It is petty in the extreme to deny this. 

The future for the left lies in the breaking down of this sectarian nonsense, finding common ground (of which there is plenty, especially on core democratic issues) and forming a broad left and progressive stream in clear opposition to the unchecked capitalism which is causing the ordinary people – the 99% if you prefer – enormous misery.

This may take a while, but it is important to continue to reach out, persuade, embarrass or cajole that significant body of (potential) progressive political activists that make up the Irish Labour Party.  Eamon Gilmour and others in that party’s leadership could and should move closer to the Michael D/Noel Browne tradition, abandon all faith in the old Ireland of Fine Gael and its adherence to Thatcherism and see that they should have no hand, act or part in the further erosion of all that has been won for ordinary people over the past 50 years.

Occupied by the Arts

Progressive people are delighted by the blossoming of the Occupy…phenomenon.  Many of us are not quite sure where it all came from so quickly and heaven knows where it is all going on to, but one thing is for sure, it has given some energy to the Left.

And for certain, that is what the Left need.  After 30 years of Thatcherite hegemony and the rightward drift of Social Democratic and Labour parties, the Left has looked tired and defeated.  This has of course meant that the Neo-Cons and Neo-Liberals have been able to eat away at the progressive gains made for ordinary people over the past five decades. 

The most recent crisis in Capitalism, far from causing the retreat of Thatcherism, has been used to accelerate its key objective – the further erosion of the state.  With little parliamentary representation, progressive political parties have been struggling to stem the tide, whatever about being able to initiate the kind of social and economic policy that we need in the 21^st century.

I am coming to the conclusion that the role of the political party as a vanguard is in question.  I have had this debate with good comrades from several progressive parties and I understand the role that formal party structures can and do play in parliaments, assemblies and in terms of being able to organise and populate campaigns and protests.

But it is only when campaigns broaden out that we see a real impact.   Sectarianism on the Left plays a part in alienating parties from each other and with non-aligned individuals from party structures.  Whatever it may be that causes people to feel excluded or want to be excluded from this aspect of the body politic, the fact remains.

Of course, conservative and reactionary forces want us to be cynical about politics so that we don’t play a part and this has added to the sense of detachment felt by the majority.

It is only when campaigns and issues are dealt with in a wider sense do we see progress.  During the late 1950’ and throughout the 1960’s we had a revolution in music and the arts.   That this coincided with the first generation of working class people coming through the University system and an empowered Trade Union movement meant we had a potent mix calling for change.  The influence of all of this permeated society and crucially the education sector – particularly higher education.  It took reactionary forces a decade or so to counter this and the proceeding 30 years or so to row back on many of the gains made.  The failure of the left in that period warrants further analysis – but not in this article!

Whether political parties are welcome or not at the occupied venues needs to be worked out.  Personally, I believe that the parties need to be involved as they bring experience and stamina. They also have access to the media, especially during elections and could do much to highlight the occupations and add gravitas.   But I do agree that any hijacking – or perceived high jacking – would be counter-productive.  Therefore any involvement would have to be unobtrusive on the ground and without the usual jockeying for position with banners and posters that can turn a decent event into a farce.   In fact party posters should continue to be banned.

This should be an education for the party activists and hierarchies as well.  What use is there in having a self-serving party?  Loose the party ego, so to speak.  The broad objectives are the same.  Broad Left or Broad Progressive is probably the best way forward if we want to avoid division and alienation anyway.

And what is needed, in my opinion, is inclusivity.  When artists, film-makers, musicians and other performers feel that they can join in – on the same non-takeover basis of course – then we could see something truly interesting developing.  The creative arts have a far wider reaching and encompassing appeal than party politics.  I may bemoan that as someone who has spent half of life involved in party activism of one sort or another, but my experience has informed my view here.

These Occupations do have a wide appeal and the creative community can feel able to participate without fear of being branded.  I hope that the occupiers can see that and encourage musicians, film-makers and all artists into the fold.

If this is truly a concerted effort to defeat the barbarity of untrammelled capitalism, then it has to be as revolutionary as the 60’s.  The arts have a lead role to play.

Otherwise Occupied

It appears that progressive political parties are holding back from overt support for the Occupy protests around the world in general and Ireland in particular.

 Perhaps it is because they see the occupiers lacking in political sophistication or any clear program for change. If so, this misses the point. The chips have been thrown in the air, who knows where they will land. Issues are being aired and progressives should run with them.

We all came into to politics to make real change, didn't we? Surely, this is the most interesting political phenomenon of recent years. Where are the statements from the Trades Unions? Whatever else the Occupiers are saying, it is a rejection of the failed capitalist system and on that general principal, we should be shouting very loud support. Come on SF, SP, ULA, Labour Left et al. Loose the ego and give the oxygen of publicity that may help tip the balance

New Thinking

With public opinion being informed by the presidential contest in seems that there is some movement in support for progressive politics.

With Fine Gael able to go it alone in government, there remains an opportunity for the Labour Party to be part of a process of contributing to a movement away from the failures of deregulated capitalism. 

The decision to enter coalition (again) with Fine Gael - a conservative party still wedded to Thatcherism - does nothing to move the ordinary people of Ireland - Labour's constituency in other words - towards a society that Connolly or Dr Noel Browne could be proud of.

Members of the Labour party have much more to offer than this.  They should abandon any sectarian hostility they may hold towards other progressive parties, including Sinn Fein and start talking about serious alternatives to the current paradigm.

There are people rejecting Thatcherism and its international variations and coming out onto the streets.  The chips have been thrown in the air and the outcome of all of this is unpredictable, but it would be a major failing of this generation of political activists if they forget what brought them into politics in the first place.

No Time Wasters Please!

Anybody presenting themselves for election as President of Ireland need to be prepared to break protocol and be radical.

At least, anybody not from the Fine Gael/Fianna Fail camp.  We expect them to wallow in the pomp of it all and keep out of the grubby business of what really matters to people at this time.  And this is a dangerous time, folks.

The contest for the Irish Presidency has to be used as an opportunity by progressive activists to do two things.

1. To clearly define what a citizen is.  To understand that it is about society - the collection of people.  The responsibility that we all have to each other.  Of course, that puts plenty outside of all of that.  Most politicians have disavowed the concept of society - a la Thatcher.  The actions of many private companies towards their workers, the environment or to pay their way in the collective raising of public finance - ie Taxation.  These people are failing the citizenship test and any presidential candidate worth a damn has to use the attention generated by such a high profile campaign to play a part in stopping the erosion of gains made by ordinary people.

2. Obviously. To promote a 21st century progressive agenda not only to defend the best of what has been secured for ordinary people during the past few decades, but to play a vociferous part in showing that we want to disavow the barbarism of neo-liberalism.

There is  no room for the luxury of keeping out of politics here.  It is far too dangerous a situation for that.  The current crisis in capital has been turned around to attack the gains made.  This is much more serious than even the Thatcher period.  Political parties of the progressive left cannot afford the luxury of presenting themselves as 'responsible', working within the paradigm laid out by the same reactionary forces that are supposed to be our enemies.

It's time to get thrown ut the Dail chamber once in a while.  Put up with media jibes and ridicule about unworkable policies. 

We don't need safe presidential candidates who look nice for the camera's.  We need a rebel.

Rioting!

I have just come back from three weeks in England, most of which spent in London.  I watched events unfold and how the media covered it all from the initial understanding of the Police shooting a man who may or may not have had a gun through to the more rabid hang em and flog em chorus that is still playing out.

What is really striking though is the complete and total divide within the ordinary working people.  I spoke to quite a few people over the period and while a riot could be happening in Hackney - or more accurately, a part of Hackney - the cleintel of a pub in nearby Stratford were shouting at the TV in an echo of the tabloid commentary.  Working people are divided.  They are not mixing with each other let alone sharing their anger.

When stepping even slightly outside of working class London, the gulf widens further.  I spoke to people living on the more affluent suberbs - decent, Liberal types - who obviously inhabit a different country. 

Was all of this any different from the riots of the early eighties?  That's an interesting discussion.  I remember those riots too.  I remember white working class pub goers 'tooling up' in case black rioters came into the area.  There was division then too.  The us and them, encouraged and fostered by Thatcherism, manifested itself in these divisions within the working class - the white pub goers, soon to depart the East End for the sanctuary of Basildon and Billericky, to aspire to Middle Class, leaving 'others' behind. 

All of this is a manifestation of  the success of Thatcher and her successors to debunk the idea of Society and have us compete against each other -  a competition that has to have winners and losers, us and them, whites and blacks and not cooperation, solidarity and shared understandings.  Alas, it also underlines the failure of the lef to move beyond sectarianism and navel gazing and work in a broad project to defend Society and offer a vision for the 21st century.  Its an open goal. Shoot!