Written by Diarmuid
Breatnach and first published at rebelbreeze
under the title Rupture and Revolution Part 1.
A new
periodical has emerged from the Irish Left. At the time of writing two issues
of Rupture have been produced and Parts I and II of this article consist of a
political overview (but of course from my individual viewpoint) of a number of
issues discussed in the magazine. While the assessment of some is highly
critical, overall my opinion is that Rupture is a welcome introduction to
socialist analysis of conditions in Ireland.
Rupture is a
quarterly magazine format produced by RISE, a group of socialists whose most
publicly-prominent individual is Paul Murphy (see Appendix) who is also a TD,
i.e a member of the Parliament of the 26 Counties. The formation of the party
RISE was announced in September 2019 when Murphy announced his departure from
the Socialist Party and his joining this new organisation, of which he is a
founding member.
Rupture
espouses “eco-socialism”, a drive to organise the production of food and fuel
under socialist control while dramatically reducing its harmful impact on the
environment. Most of its contributors address issues from a Marxist perspective
but interviews with activists from some other perspectives are included.
The magazine’s
two issues to date included features on public health and private services, the
environment and food production. In addition there have been a number of
articles on developing a broad socialist front, combating racism and fascism,
multi-national companies and neo-liberal capitalism, Big Pharm and trade union
struggle. For the first time, the latest issue (November 2020) addressed the
issue of the national question (and struggle) in Ireland.
PART I of this
article deals mostly with the magazine’s discussion of a) the Environment and
b) the National Question, while PART II focuses on its coverage of c) the
Health Service and d) the Broad Front and Anti-Fascism. As a consequence each
Part contains both positive and negative evaluation.
For another
aspect, the layout is generally attractive and mostly easy to read with
photography and artwork which is interesting (if its relevance is not always
clear). Some articles are perhaps on the longer side for some tastes but then
these are big issues being discussed, in many cases literally of
life-and/or-death dimensions.
An annual
subscription costs €40 all Ireland or €60 international and I would recommend
taking out one for 2021).
Environment
As with most
serious commentators on the environment, the articles in Rupture point to an
accelerating crisis and the need for urgent action right now. At the same time
they point to the unwillingness or inability of the capitalist system – which
means the governments of most states today — to take the necessary steps. In
fact, unwillingness and inability are almost the same thing with the capitalist
system because if one capitalist does not maximise his profit he will be
undercut and crushed – or taken over – by another who will do “what is
necessary” according to the rules and logic of the system.
Even if in the
longer term (or the medium term, in this case) the scramble for profit
maximisation destroys the very resource — cod and herring, for example or
rainforest. In this case, without the slightest exaggeration, it is the whole
civilisation-sustaining environment that is at stake.
Not Fun
Facts
“In 2017 a
habitat area the size of a football field was lost every second.” “Eirgrid has
projected that 2027 as much as 31% of Ireland’s electricty could by consumed by
data centres” (most of it for cooling the servers to prevent them overheating).
“In Ireland a fairly normal herd of pigs consists of 3,000 animals — only 2% of
pigs are living in small herds of 5 or less. ….. a flock of chickens can
normally be around 3,000.” Diseases due to overcrowding of animals enter the
food chain for humans, causing infections of “bird ‘flu” and “swine ‘flu”
through ‘zoonotic spillover’ (remember that term — you’ll be hearing more of it
in future).
The prediction
a fairly long time ago that the choice, rather than being between socialism or
capitalism is in reality socialism or barbarism, is facing us now as an urgent
practical question. Because when civilisation crashes the remaining groups of
humanity around the world, assuming their survival, will indeed be thrust back
into barbarism.
The
contributors to Rupture quote writings of Karl Marx and Engels which one never
hears from non-Marxist environmentalists and rarely either from Marxists
themselves. These early developers of Marxist thought studied not only
economics, class struggle and philosophy but also (and dare I say it,
necessarily), history, science and culture too.
Mental health
is an issue discussed in the magazine not only in respect to the appalling lack
of health services in that area or the stresses and strains of work under
capitalism but also in the divorcing of most humans in cities from nature. The
agricultural landscape, having been moulded by humanity is far from natural and
yet retains much of nature, the environment in which humanity first came to
exist and in which it developed …. but most people in the West are not employed
in agriculture. In these times of fear of infection along with isolation from
our regular social contacts, even a walk in a park, in woods, on hills or
botanic gardens can be rewarding and a reminder of what we have lost and are
losing.
It is a challenge
to radically change the way we produce food and generate power in a long-term
sustainable way but only a socialist system, with overall benefit replacing
profit as the ruling motivation has the possibility of bringing an end to the
ruthless exploitation of not only labour but the very environment.
The National
Struggle
This is a
question rarely dealt with by the socialist parties in Ireland, a situation
which surprises revolutionary socialists across Latin America and much of
Europe in particular. Some might ascribe that to the British origin of a number
of those parties, particularly the main Trotskyist ones which in that respect
established a tradition very far from the theory and personal practice of Karl
Marx. So although I have much to disagree with in this article, the fact that
it is being discussed at all should be encouraged.
I hope it will
serve to encourage further discussion rather than its opposite when I summarise
the piece as containing partial history and poor analysis with however one
important recommendation. This critique really deserves a treatment all of its
own but since this evaluation of the magazine has already got appreciably
longer than was my original intent, I will have to be brief and therefore
blunt.
The brief
overview of history does not even mention that the United Irishmen (and
therefore the uprisings of 1798 and 1803) was led almost exclusively by a
section of the colonist-descended bourgeoisie, which is why the leadership was
virtually all of various Protestant religious backgrounds. This is important
because this is not the same bourgeoisie that rules the Irish state today.
The article
also omits any mention whatsoever of the linguistic genocidal legislation and
practice of the conquerors of Ireland and for any treatment of “the national
question” one would have to wonder how or why one would omit that. In dealing
with the occupied Six Counties, the treatment of the civil rights movement is
poor, even for a very brief overview – it was not only “anti-Unionist unity”
that drove or characterised it but opposition to the violent response of the
Unionist statelet, Loyalist mobs and paramilitaries and their resolute backing
by the armed force of the British State.
The article
remarks on the “weak capitalist class” in Ireland. But what is the nature of the
weakness of this class? In other words, towards which forces are they weak? Not
towards the working class, with programs of austerity funding bank bailouts,
decades of emigration, slow adoption of equal social rights, high homelessness.
Not towards the working class, with the Army used to undermine the Dublin Bus
strikers in 1963 and 1979 or the restrictions on the right to strike and
solidarity action. Not towards the Irish Republican movement with its Civil
War, special non-jury courts, its repressive legislation and armed police.
No, it is not
those towards which the Irish capitalist class is weak. But it is weak in
developing its own industry and developing an independent political line. Its
weakness economically is marked by the takeover by big foreign capitalists of
nearly all of its industry and telecommunications network, along with chunks of
its transport infrastructure and services, its health services (private
religious and foreign companies) and its national airline and large pieces of
its agriculture. Its weakness is demonstrated in failure to develop its own
natural resources and selling them off or giving them away.
The weakness of
the Irish capitalist class is demonstrated in its firstly accepting the
partition if its national territory and going to war with the independence
movement rather than join it gaining total independence. Subsequent, the same
weakness manifested itself in its inability to unite its territory and
subsequently abandoning any claim to do so.
The weakness of
the Irish capitalist class is demonstrated in its permitting atrocities
committed against its citizens at home and abroad by the occupying power, only
once taking a case against it to the European Courts of Human Rights and never
to the European Court of Justice or the United Nations. And it permitted
without protest the intelligence services of that occupying power to bomb its
capital city many times, including in 1974, with the murder of 26 people (and
another eight in Monaghan). And there are many other examples too.
The article
admits that the Irish capitalist class has been “acting to facilitate the
exploitation of people and resources by foreign capital”. What would we call a
capitalist class that behaved like that in Latin America, Asia or Africa? Yes,
neo-colonial. Or in Latin America, possibly “comprador”. The difference is not
just in location but in the minds of the Irish electoral Left – but none of
significance in the reality on the ground. As the contributor from Talamh Beo
points out, “even though we’re geographically in Europe, our land history is
radically different.” Of course defining the Irish capitalist class as
neo-colonial might give one a very different outlook on the national struggle,
right?
And also on
socialist revolution, which we would understand to be opposed in Ireland not
only by the majority native and the minority colonial capitalist classes and
their apparatus, not only against our powerful imperialist neighbour, but also
against economic interests in the imperialist USA and EU.
In addition,
despite the officially neutral status of the Irish State, its armed forces are
being integrated into the European imperialist military alliance. Ireland has
not (yet) joined NATO but has the EU Battlegroups, as part of the Common
Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the European Union (EU).
Fianna Fáil,
although a split from Sinn Féin in the 1930s and therefore the losing side in
the Civil War, it has become the first party of choice of the Irish national
bourgeoisie, the “Gombeen” class, a neo-colonial capitalist class. In the
historically two-party state, it is currently in power in coalition with its
main rival, Fine Gael (and the Greens).
Fine Gael,
although formed from the victorious side in the Civil War, it has become only
the second party of choice of the Irish national bourgeoisie, the “Gombeen” class,
a neo-colonial capitalist class. In the historically two-party state, it is
currently in power in coalition with its main rival, Fianna Fáil (and the
Greens).
The truth is
that in the above respects, Irish Republicans in general have a much better understanding
of the Irish State, the representative of that neo-colonial capitalist class,
than do the electoral left parties in Ireland. The Republicans have traditions
and history and recurring practical experience that teaches them.
Ireland’s main
social-democratic party, whenever in Government it has always been as a minor
partner in coalition. It always supports the Irish national bourgeoisie, the
“Gombeen” neo-colonial capitalist class. It is currently sits on the Opposition
bench.
The Green Party
of Ireland, whenever in Government it has always been as a minor partner in
coalition. It always supports the Irish national bourgeoisie, the “Gombeen”
neo-colonial capitalist class. In the historically two-party state, it is
currently in power in coalition with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
The electoral
socialist Left, far from joining with the Republicans, chooses instead to snipe
at them on occasion and to ignore them the rest of the time. And to permit
their civil liberties and human rights to be attacked for the most part without
protest.
Positive Recommendation
The positive
recommendation in the article regards the projected Border Poll. While not
wishing for any kind of capitalist Ireland, whether partitioned or united, the
article recommends voting YES in any such referendum. I myself must agree with
that and along with them find it difficult to imagine how any socialists could
advocate any other position.
Recommending a
NO vote even if for the best of reasons would isolate any party from the
majority of the Irish people, while recommending abstention would leave the
party on the sidelines not only regarding the poll but in important debates
about what kind of Ireland we should have. Even the British & Irish
Communist Organisation deviation of the 1960s and 1970s with their two-nation
theory, although it generated much discussion, never looked likely to grow to
any size, much less become a mass party of the Left.
I am far from
convinced however that a genuine poll on the reunification of Ireland will ever
be agreed by the ruling classes of the UK and of Ireland or, should it be held
and have a majority for reunification, that the ruling classes will implement
the verdict.
APPENDIX
A Brief Introduction
to Paul Murphy (RISE)
Formerly an
activist and TD of the Irish Socialist Party, an Irish child of the British
Trotskyist organisation the Socialist Party (and formerly, Militant, the
largest among a number of entrist groups into the British Labour Party), Murphy
left them gently in September 2019 to form the RISE group. It may be remembered
that Clare Daly, also a TD, left the SP in August 2012 in a somewhat more
acrimonious dispute and became part of Independent Left with some other
socialist TDs and municipal councillors, since when she and her partner Mick Wallace
were elected Members of the European Parliament and virtually disappeared from
the Irish political scene (to be missed by many without allegiance to either
group).
Paul Murphy has
also been an MEP in the past, from 2011-2014. Although now a member of a
different political party, he has remained in the Solidarity-People Before
Profit coalition of SP and PBP which retains another five TDs (four essentially
of the Socialist Workers’ Party but no longer any of the SP).
Murphy has a
long record of activism and has been violently handled by the Gardaí (Irish
state police force) on a number of occasions and also arrested as part of the
celebrated Jobstown case defendants in 2015 (all acquitted two years later).
His international activism includes participation in the Gaza blockade flotilla
in 2011 and high seas capture by the Israeli Zionist state, detention and
deportation.
His production
of regular video broadcasts to date during the Covid19 crisis, both from home
and of his interventions in the Dáil have included lashing the Government on
placing accommodation of capitalism above the lives or ordinary people,
denouncing its “yo-yo policy” of precautionary restrictions followed by
much-too-early relaxation and also demanding the nationalisation of private health
facilities.
