Watching the Green Party conference last weekend leaves no doubt about the bankruptcy of their political programme. Leader John Gormley condemned the opposition for not being more supportive of the government's cuts and bail-outs. Unlike the Greens who are deeply committed to the survival of the government. There were strong hints that they wanted a national government of national unity - "We in the Green Party are willing to work together with other parties to achieve a national consensus on these issues" (www.greenparty.ie).
Difficult times call for tough measures - "We will do whatever is necessary – even if it means losing some power – because right now the needs of the country are greater than the needs of any political party." The party is committed to the survival of Irish capitalism no matter what.
Their actions contrast with their supposed commitment to equality and social rights as set out in their many policy statements.
But despite Gormley's best efforts to boost morale the tensions are evident. The glory of being in government has turned sour for many ordinary members. They did not envisage themselves hatcheting services, imposing levys and cutting jobs. In particular the planned education cuts could be that step too far....
Monday, March 9, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
SWP day school on the crisis
I went to a day school today here in Cork addressed by Kieran Allen, leading SWP member. The first part was on the crisis and the solution to that crisis. His view was that we should expect mass activity over the next period - similar to that in Iceland and Latvia. He argued that there was a need for a socialist solution but this would not be created by 'waving a book by Marx on a street corner'. Socialists should be the best activists and should engage in the struggle to defend people in the present period as well as argue for socialism.
This is all fair enough but what about the need for a political party? I raised this question and got a lot of support from people present. Kieran Allen did not dispute the need but said they had tried to get electoral unity with the Socialist Party with no success. Therefore they had gone on to launch People before Profit.
The problem is though he was again talking about unity around reformist demands, not socialist unity. He made some very good points about the kind of work the left should be involved with - defending people against evictions, supporting workers who have been made redundant etc. But he ended his talk by calling for eveyone to join the SWP.
While I have no problem with him building his organisation, it really does not deal with the need for political representation.
I left the meeting thinking that the SWP are actually unsure how to deal with current challenges. It is a time of rapid change and we do not know what will happen. But the working class are militant and this is good. They are looking for answers. Nearly every political radio and tv show is dominated by debate on what the solution is. The 'sharing pain' consensus dominates but this is unpalatable to many given the behaviour of bankers and government ministers, all caught with their snouts in the trough.
I would say however that the meeting was a comradely one and people were thinking rather than trotting out lines. A good idea would be setting up forums now to discuss and work together. These could include all the left as well as trade unionists and others who want to be politically involved. I would be interested to know what people think.
This is all fair enough but what about the need for a political party? I raised this question and got a lot of support from people present. Kieran Allen did not dispute the need but said they had tried to get electoral unity with the Socialist Party with no success. Therefore they had gone on to launch People before Profit.
The problem is though he was again talking about unity around reformist demands, not socialist unity. He made some very good points about the kind of work the left should be involved with - defending people against evictions, supporting workers who have been made redundant etc. But he ended his talk by calling for eveyone to join the SWP.
While I have no problem with him building his organisation, it really does not deal with the need for political representation.
I left the meeting thinking that the SWP are actually unsure how to deal with current challenges. It is a time of rapid change and we do not know what will happen. But the working class are militant and this is good. They are looking for answers. Nearly every political radio and tv show is dominated by debate on what the solution is. The 'sharing pain' consensus dominates but this is unpalatable to many given the behaviour of bankers and government ministers, all caught with their snouts in the trough.
I would say however that the meeting was a comradely one and people were thinking rather than trotting out lines. A good idea would be setting up forums now to discuss and work together. These could include all the left as well as trade unionists and others who want to be politically involved. I would be interested to know what people think.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Irish working class moves into action
The recent change in Irish society from `get rich quick' to working
class struggle has been unprecedented. The economy is sinking fast
and the predictions are that things can only get worse. European
Commission president José Manuel Barroso has made the point that
Ireland would be in the same situation as Iceland if it were not in
the euro zone. But maybe even this cannot save the country from
plunging into bankruptcy, as banks and businesses collapse and
unemployment soars.
There is a great deal of fear within the working class, but there is
also a new defiance and militancy. Fresh cuts in education, health
and benefit provision are announced daily and there are many
thousands facing the repossession of their homes. It is obvious for
all to see that capitalism has completely and utterly failed.
The demonstration on February 21 was the largest in 30 years. Over
120,000 union members and others marched together in a protest that
sent out a clear message of opposition to the government. Other
marches were held across the country and protests are continuing as I
write - the Garda Representative Association came out in force
against the pension levy along with other workers on February 25.
Strike action among public sector workers was due to begin on
February 26, although bus workers have suspended an indefinite strike
called for this weekend. Significantly the Irish Congress of Trade
Unions (ICTU) has announced a one-day national strike on March 30.
The presence of the working class on the streets in such numbers has
made the government jittery. It is at pains to express its
understanding and sympathy for those affected by the recession, but
determined to push through cuts. Desperate to salvage what it can
from the erstwhile Celtic tiger, it is turning on our class with a
vengeance. Whether it does so with a smile or a snarl does not
matter. We should not accept any agenda of sharing pain, of bailing
out capitalism.
The recent pronouncements of David Begg, general secretary of ICTU,
are particularly dangerous in the present circumstances. He is
calling for a "fairer sharing of pain". ICTU has put forward a 10-
point plan which it calls on the government to adopt. In a recent
radio interview Begg pointed to measures taken by the Swedish
government in the 1990s to turn its economy around. These were
apparently acceptable because, as well as cuts in welfare and wages,
top executives and government ministers also had their salaries
pegged back.
The March 30 strike is intended to mobilise support for the 10-point
plan. Begg wants to be back in social partnership helping to manage
capitalism. He does not mind about the impact of the crisis on the
working class so long as everybody has their share of pain. He wants
to channel workers' militancy behind a programme of rightwing social
democracy. This must obviously be challenged.
Looking at the left and its various action programmes on last week's
demonstrations, it is clear that we need a revolution in our own
thinking and organisation. The Socialist Party call was for a "one-
day public sector strike". This "would be a major blow to the
government" (The Socialist February 2009). Well, obviously not if it
is to be on the basis of ITUC's 10-point plan. The government has
already indicated its willingness to discuss Begg's proposals and
called for the working class to be reasonable so we can all work
together.
The Socialist Workers Party front, People Before Profit, has
organised meetings to discuss the economic programme it is
advocating - "strong, practical solutions based on an economic
programme that can be popularised on a large scale" (www.people-
before-profit.org). Other groups like Workers Power have called for
all-out, indefinite strike action.
The problem with all of these action programmes is that they are
extremely limited. People Before Profit, of course, advocates a
reformist platform that the SWP thinks is a great basis for winning
populist support. Yet another opportunist short cut that will result
in a dead end. What is needed is not tailing this or that strike or
debating the merits of indefinite as against limited action. Much
more important are questions of programme and party - based on
revolutionary, not reformist, principles.
There is a glaring need for a real political alternative. All the
bourgeois parties, from Fianna Fáil to the Greens, from Labour to
Sinn Féin, have shown that they are of absolutely no use to the
working class. They want some kind of `fairer' capitalism - and are
prepared to do whatever is needed to retain the present system. The
working class needs to look to itself and aim to take hold of the
reins of society.
The February issue of The Socialist made a call for a mass working
class party based on socialism. Obviously the SP's concept of
socialism is limited, to say the least, but the call, if it is a
serious one, is to be welcomed. I contacted the national office to
find out if there were any concrete plans for a unity initiative to
launch a campaign for such a party, but was informed that there are
none at present. It is, for the moment then, just a slogan.
This is obviously a great shame, to put it mildly. For all those who
call themselves Marxists or socialists the question of unity and the
formation of a working class party based on those politics must be
paramount. The bourgeoisie is currently discussing the need for a
national government of unity to save capitalism. It they can do it,
why can't the left?
__._,_.___
class struggle has been unprecedented. The economy is sinking fast
and the predictions are that things can only get worse. European
Commission president José Manuel Barroso has made the point that
Ireland would be in the same situation as Iceland if it were not in
the euro zone. But maybe even this cannot save the country from
plunging into bankruptcy, as banks and businesses collapse and
unemployment soars.
There is a great deal of fear within the working class, but there is
also a new defiance and militancy. Fresh cuts in education, health
and benefit provision are announced daily and there are many
thousands facing the repossession of their homes. It is obvious for
all to see that capitalism has completely and utterly failed.
The demonstration on February 21 was the largest in 30 years. Over
120,000 union members and others marched together in a protest that
sent out a clear message of opposition to the government. Other
marches were held across the country and protests are continuing as I
write - the Garda Representative Association came out in force
against the pension levy along with other workers on February 25.
Strike action among public sector workers was due to begin on
February 26, although bus workers have suspended an indefinite strike
called for this weekend. Significantly the Irish Congress of Trade
Unions (ICTU) has announced a one-day national strike on March 30.
The presence of the working class on the streets in such numbers has
made the government jittery. It is at pains to express its
understanding and sympathy for those affected by the recession, but
determined to push through cuts. Desperate to salvage what it can
from the erstwhile Celtic tiger, it is turning on our class with a
vengeance. Whether it does so with a smile or a snarl does not
matter. We should not accept any agenda of sharing pain, of bailing
out capitalism.
The recent pronouncements of David Begg, general secretary of ICTU,
are particularly dangerous in the present circumstances. He is
calling for a "fairer sharing of pain". ICTU has put forward a 10-
point plan which it calls on the government to adopt. In a recent
radio interview Begg pointed to measures taken by the Swedish
government in the 1990s to turn its economy around. These were
apparently acceptable because, as well as cuts in welfare and wages,
top executives and government ministers also had their salaries
pegged back.
The March 30 strike is intended to mobilise support for the 10-point
plan. Begg wants to be back in social partnership helping to manage
capitalism. He does not mind about the impact of the crisis on the
working class so long as everybody has their share of pain. He wants
to channel workers' militancy behind a programme of rightwing social
democracy. This must obviously be challenged.
Looking at the left and its various action programmes on last week's
demonstrations, it is clear that we need a revolution in our own
thinking and organisation. The Socialist Party call was for a "one-
day public sector strike". This "would be a major blow to the
government" (The Socialist February 2009). Well, obviously not if it
is to be on the basis of ITUC's 10-point plan. The government has
already indicated its willingness to discuss Begg's proposals and
called for the working class to be reasonable so we can all work
together.
The Socialist Workers Party front, People Before Profit, has
organised meetings to discuss the economic programme it is
advocating - "strong, practical solutions based on an economic
programme that can be popularised on a large scale" (www.people-
before-profit.org). Other groups like Workers Power have called for
all-out, indefinite strike action.
The problem with all of these action programmes is that they are
extremely limited. People Before Profit, of course, advocates a
reformist platform that the SWP thinks is a great basis for winning
populist support. Yet another opportunist short cut that will result
in a dead end. What is needed is not tailing this or that strike or
debating the merits of indefinite as against limited action. Much
more important are questions of programme and party - based on
revolutionary, not reformist, principles.
There is a glaring need for a real political alternative. All the
bourgeois parties, from Fianna Fáil to the Greens, from Labour to
Sinn Féin, have shown that they are of absolutely no use to the
working class. They want some kind of `fairer' capitalism - and are
prepared to do whatever is needed to retain the present system. The
working class needs to look to itself and aim to take hold of the
reins of society.
The February issue of The Socialist made a call for a mass working
class party based on socialism. Obviously the SP's concept of
socialism is limited, to say the least, but the call, if it is a
serious one, is to be welcomed. I contacted the national office to
find out if there were any concrete plans for a unity initiative to
launch a campaign for such a party, but was informed that there are
none at present. It is, for the moment then, just a slogan.
This is obviously a great shame, to put it mildly. For all those who
call themselves Marxists or socialists the question of unity and the
formation of a working class party based on those politics must be
paramount. The bourgeoisie is currently discussing the need for a
national government of unity to save capitalism. It they can do it,
why can't the left?
__._,_.___
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Workers told to share pain
As the Irish economy goes into free-fall, the government has turned on the working class. Anne McShane reports:
In the midst of major job losses, wage cuts and house repossessions, we are being told to make even more sacrifices ‘for the good of Ireland’.
Taoiseach, Brian Cowan, a man with the looks and personal charisma of a bloated toad, is an unlikely Obama. But with his popularity ratings plummeting, his spin doctors decided to try out a little bit of ‘can do’ rhetoric on the population. In an address on February 5 to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Cowan made an impassioned plea for the nation to cease its petty grumbling and instead come together in positive self-belief - “If we decide to wallow in the sea of doubt, do not be surprised if we remain in the turbulent waters that we are in today.”
Although media pundits waxed lyrical about Brian’s apparently high-flown, poetic language, it did not do much to rally those at sharp end of the recession. Unsurprising really, as he had announced massive pay cuts in the public services just two days before. Public employees are to pay an additional ‘pension levy’, which will mean at they will be at least €50 a week worse off. Low and middle income workers will be hit particularly hard. The money is being clawed in to help fund a second big refinance of the two major banks, AIB and Bank of Ireland, to the tune of at least €7 billion. €2 billion of this will come from the pension levy. Not that this will make workers’ retirement secure. The last banking bail-out in December drew heavily on the reserve pension fund, and there are plans to dip in again for the present refinance.
‘Sharing the pain’ has become a by-word for attacks on working class living standards. Trade union leaders have stated their commitment to playing their part by bringing their members on board. But even they bucked at the attempt to force the pension levy through the Social Partnership process. Meetings between government, unions and employers collapsed, as union leaders protested that they would have faced a huge revolt from their members if they signed up to the deal.
Ballots are now being held by the public sector unions for strike action against the pension levy. And working class militancy is beginning to awaken, epitomised by the occupation of Waterford Crystal, while a number of student demonstrations have also taken place. A sense of foreboding hangs over the country, as every media item is dominated by the recession. It is evident that the government fears social unrest and is at great pains to win the ideological battle. But the best it has been able to come up with so far is its February 9 announcement of an increase in counselling provision to help the thousands of newly unemployed to ‘adjust’.
The sudden and deep nature of the recession has been remarkable. Redundancies have risen by nearly 100% and job losses by 71% in the last 12 months. From virtually no unemployment as late as 2006 to 10% and rising rapidly, the Irish economy has taken a real battering. Many thousands have found themselves on reduced hours and/or faced with wage cuts and almost every part of the economy is affected.
Corruption and massive pay-outs to banking and other executives has increased the antagonism towards government and banks. As in the UK, highly paid bank executives who fed the property boom through huge unsecured loans continue to be the focus of blame. Of course, their massive salaries are obscene. But they are just a symptom. In fact by just focusing on the situation within the banking sector we divert attention from the real problem. We are living through an international crisis of capitalism, of which Ireland is a particularly vulnerable but very tiny part.
Many thousands have lost all illusions in Irish capitalism. For revolutionaries this is an extremely important time to put forward our vision of socialism and of a mass, united Marxist party in order to achieve it. However, the left in Ireland is woefully weak numerically and ideologically.
It is divided into small groups, each promoting separate, and sometimes almost identical, front organisations around the same questions. The Socialist Party is particularly averse to unity with any other groups.
A recent report in Village, a liberal-left magazine, described talks last year between the Socialist Workers Party and SP around a common platform in the forthcoming local elections. The Socialist Party did not want the project to go beyond cooperation. The SWP, on the other hand, was pushing its People Before Profit front. Neither side was putting forward anything beyond the usual diet of sub-reformism. But even this minimal electoral pact has foundered. Those who argue that it is far easier to get low-level ‘broad’ unity were once again proved wrong.
Now we will have a number of rival leftwing campaigns in the June local elections. Not exactly an inspiring image for a working class desperate for a real alternative. The left is determined to chase strikes and demonstrations and pay no attention to the need for Marxist unity. Those who say they are for socialism seem extraordinarily reluctant to unite with any other group on that basis. Maybe they think they are the holders of the Holy Grail, and to forge unity on the basis of a Marxist programme with any other group would undermine those divine truths.
Instead of the struggle for socialism being regarded as the need to develop the highest theory tested through action, we are reduced to sects that trot out their own particular version of the Transitional programme when forced to discuss revolutionary ideas. The working class is expected to unite but its ‘vanguard’ cannot and will not.
Of course, the SWP believes that spontaneity is the answer to everything. Once workers undertake action the problems of programme and party can be ignored. Leading member Richard Boyd Barrett is put forward as a spokesperson for People Before Profit rather than the SWP itself in the current crisis. PBP has a stated aim of reversing “neoliberal policies which place wealth creation for the few over the welfare of communities in Ireland” (www.people-before-profit.org). There is not even a mention of the working class. Even the SWP’s own recent leaflet does not mention socialism and instead concentrates on calls for strike action and “one national shutdown” (http://www.swp.ie/).
The Socialist Party continually argues for nationalisation. It appears to believe that the systemic problems of capitalism can be resolved through state ownership. When the SP calls for “democratic socialist policies” it appears to mean a more socialised capitalism.
Yes, it is important to put forward practical policies in the here and now to defend the working class. It is also useful to agitate around the massive salaries and bonuses of executives and bankers. But we need to put it in the context of a programme aimed at uniting our class in the task of overthrowing the system as a whole. Anything else will simply result in sectional struggles and a political cul-de-sac.
And the best way for those who call themselves socialists and communists to really defend the working class is to break out of their ghettoised thinking on the question of party. There is a glaring need for a united working class party based on the politics of Marxism. The forces of the existing left cannot in themselves produce such a party, but their unification, combined with the struggle for theory, could provide a much needed impetus. It would be a central rallying point for those advanced workers who are looking for a real alternative to the nauseating politics of the Fianna Fáil-Green Party coalition government.
Originally published - http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/756/workerstold.html
In the midst of major job losses, wage cuts and house repossessions, we are being told to make even more sacrifices ‘for the good of Ireland’.
Taoiseach, Brian Cowan, a man with the looks and personal charisma of a bloated toad, is an unlikely Obama. But with his popularity ratings plummeting, his spin doctors decided to try out a little bit of ‘can do’ rhetoric on the population. In an address on February 5 to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Cowan made an impassioned plea for the nation to cease its petty grumbling and instead come together in positive self-belief - “If we decide to wallow in the sea of doubt, do not be surprised if we remain in the turbulent waters that we are in today.”
Although media pundits waxed lyrical about Brian’s apparently high-flown, poetic language, it did not do much to rally those at sharp end of the recession. Unsurprising really, as he had announced massive pay cuts in the public services just two days before. Public employees are to pay an additional ‘pension levy’, which will mean at they will be at least €50 a week worse off. Low and middle income workers will be hit particularly hard. The money is being clawed in to help fund a second big refinance of the two major banks, AIB and Bank of Ireland, to the tune of at least €7 billion. €2 billion of this will come from the pension levy. Not that this will make workers’ retirement secure. The last banking bail-out in December drew heavily on the reserve pension fund, and there are plans to dip in again for the present refinance.
‘Sharing the pain’ has become a by-word for attacks on working class living standards. Trade union leaders have stated their commitment to playing their part by bringing their members on board. But even they bucked at the attempt to force the pension levy through the Social Partnership process. Meetings between government, unions and employers collapsed, as union leaders protested that they would have faced a huge revolt from their members if they signed up to the deal.
Ballots are now being held by the public sector unions for strike action against the pension levy. And working class militancy is beginning to awaken, epitomised by the occupation of Waterford Crystal, while a number of student demonstrations have also taken place. A sense of foreboding hangs over the country, as every media item is dominated by the recession. It is evident that the government fears social unrest and is at great pains to win the ideological battle. But the best it has been able to come up with so far is its February 9 announcement of an increase in counselling provision to help the thousands of newly unemployed to ‘adjust’.
The sudden and deep nature of the recession has been remarkable. Redundancies have risen by nearly 100% and job losses by 71% in the last 12 months. From virtually no unemployment as late as 2006 to 10% and rising rapidly, the Irish economy has taken a real battering. Many thousands have found themselves on reduced hours and/or faced with wage cuts and almost every part of the economy is affected.
Corruption and massive pay-outs to banking and other executives has increased the antagonism towards government and banks. As in the UK, highly paid bank executives who fed the property boom through huge unsecured loans continue to be the focus of blame. Of course, their massive salaries are obscene. But they are just a symptom. In fact by just focusing on the situation within the banking sector we divert attention from the real problem. We are living through an international crisis of capitalism, of which Ireland is a particularly vulnerable but very tiny part.
Many thousands have lost all illusions in Irish capitalism. For revolutionaries this is an extremely important time to put forward our vision of socialism and of a mass, united Marxist party in order to achieve it. However, the left in Ireland is woefully weak numerically and ideologically.
It is divided into small groups, each promoting separate, and sometimes almost identical, front organisations around the same questions. The Socialist Party is particularly averse to unity with any other groups.
A recent report in Village, a liberal-left magazine, described talks last year between the Socialist Workers Party and SP around a common platform in the forthcoming local elections. The Socialist Party did not want the project to go beyond cooperation. The SWP, on the other hand, was pushing its People Before Profit front. Neither side was putting forward anything beyond the usual diet of sub-reformism. But even this minimal electoral pact has foundered. Those who argue that it is far easier to get low-level ‘broad’ unity were once again proved wrong.
Now we will have a number of rival leftwing campaigns in the June local elections. Not exactly an inspiring image for a working class desperate for a real alternative. The left is determined to chase strikes and demonstrations and pay no attention to the need for Marxist unity. Those who say they are for socialism seem extraordinarily reluctant to unite with any other group on that basis. Maybe they think they are the holders of the Holy Grail, and to forge unity on the basis of a Marxist programme with any other group would undermine those divine truths.
Instead of the struggle for socialism being regarded as the need to develop the highest theory tested through action, we are reduced to sects that trot out their own particular version of the Transitional programme when forced to discuss revolutionary ideas. The working class is expected to unite but its ‘vanguard’ cannot and will not.
Of course, the SWP believes that spontaneity is the answer to everything. Once workers undertake action the problems of programme and party can be ignored. Leading member Richard Boyd Barrett is put forward as a spokesperson for People Before Profit rather than the SWP itself in the current crisis. PBP has a stated aim of reversing “neoliberal policies which place wealth creation for the few over the welfare of communities in Ireland” (www.people-before-profit.org). There is not even a mention of the working class. Even the SWP’s own recent leaflet does not mention socialism and instead concentrates on calls for strike action and “one national shutdown” (http://www.swp.ie/).
The Socialist Party continually argues for nationalisation. It appears to believe that the systemic problems of capitalism can be resolved through state ownership. When the SP calls for “democratic socialist policies” it appears to mean a more socialised capitalism.
Yes, it is important to put forward practical policies in the here and now to defend the working class. It is also useful to agitate around the massive salaries and bonuses of executives and bankers. But we need to put it in the context of a programme aimed at uniting our class in the task of overthrowing the system as a whole. Anything else will simply result in sectional struggles and a political cul-de-sac.
And the best way for those who call themselves socialists and communists to really defend the working class is to break out of their ghettoised thinking on the question of party. There is a glaring need for a united working class party based on the politics of Marxism. The forces of the existing left cannot in themselves produce such a party, but their unification, combined with the struggle for theory, could provide a much needed impetus. It would be a central rallying point for those advanced workers who are looking for a real alternative to the nauseating politics of the Fianna Fáil-Green Party coalition government.
Originally published - http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/756/workerstold.html
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