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What's to be done?
 national |
miscellaneous |
opinion/analysis
 Friday March 11, 2005 19:22 by Paddy Collins - Independent mabuhay at eircom dot net Dublin
A few observations on where the left is, should be and how to get there. I’m interested. Interested in the views of as many people on the revolutionary left who care to comment on the ideas contained herein. I should, of course, say at the outset that this is not a news piece in the strictest sense of that term. However, I am hopeful that the administrators of this site will allow me some licence, and at the very least pass my scribbling of as an “opinion piece”. Thus permitting it to remain posted on their site, so as to solicit as many comments as possible.
In what follows I am, as it were, testing the waters. It is evident to me that the revolutionary left in Ireland, as in far too many countries around the world, is, for all intents and purposes, ineffectual and borderline insignificant. This is so notwithstanding the fact that, at present, society is ripe for revolutionary action and that the vast majority of Irish people are intuitively opposed to the imperialistic and neo-liberal agendas supported and advocated by our political elites.
To my mind, the most significant thing absent from the revolutionary left is unity. While the establishment parties may bicker and pantomime among themselves for the cameras, they are ultimately united around the essential parameters of social life. I take it as a given that this is commonplace to the patrons of this site.
In complete contrast to the establishment, the revolutionary left is, and has always been, fractured to a ridiculous and tragically comic degree. We have numerous socialist, anarchist, and communist organisations, not to mentions a wealth of independent socialists. Many of these groups and individuals put as much energy into tearing strips out of each other as they do attacking their real enemies.
The reasons for such intestine strife are many and varied. However, I believe that ultimately what divides those on the left is dwarfed by what unites them. The central objective, as I see it, for the revolutionary left in Ireland over the coming years will be how to work together for the long-term transformation of this society.
Ultimately, elections on this island should be contested by a “united left” block; the various organisations and individuals should pool resources and consult each other on deciding who the strongest candidate is in each area. Such unity and co-operation may be some time off, but I believe we should be thinking about such unity by the next general elections.
The revolutionary left has to pool its resources and present a united front if we are to make any inroads into the mind numbing lethargy that passes for politics in this country today. As a first step along the way, I would be interested to know what people think of the prospect of a left weekly newspaper, produced co-operatively through the work of the various groups on the revolutionary left.
Every journey begins with the first step; in some ways this was mine. I have been extremely disillusioned with the prospect for revolutionary politics in this country, however the simple truth is that we just have to do something. We have a better chance of succeeding if we try to do it together.
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Comments (6 of 6)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6I think if you start off talking of 'left unity' in electoral terms then you have already decided to exclude the anarchists and other libertarians who don't see the Dail as the way forwards. Beyond this the problem with the left is not that it is disunited but that it has failed and not just failed but created monstrous dictatorships in its failures. Uniting those who still see something positive in these dictatorships with those who see them as the reason communism failed it building on sand.
Incidentally on the level of the anarchist movement I am of the opinion that the existing organisations could unite if that was what their members wanted.
Anyway of some interest might be the statement the WSM prepared for the last serious discussion there was of left unity some years back.
would be a great idea, though I think you'd be better off setting it up yourself and taking contributions from party members and independents, that way you'd leave out the editorial problems and disagreements. Left party's in ireland at the moment don't have resources to set up weekly newspapers and what resources that are there are used to put forward the party position, the sp for example has 12 pages a month. The biggest problem though is distribution.
I think that the first thing you would need to do would be to establish some sort of guidelines to give direction and therefore unity to any leftist coalition. The principles of the Peoples' Global Action forum could be a good place to start off from.
Unfortunatly left wing coalitions do not have a very good history, all you need to do is look at the example of the Spanish civil war. I'm not saying that what happened arose from socialist beliefs per se but its failure shows how different hues of socialism can tear each other apart and not the real enemy.
Joe's comment shows that these divisions are still very real in the realm of left wing politics today. Perhaps the terms 'left wing', 'socialist' and the like are far too broad, the differences between the WSM and the SWP are big enough to put them on completely different ends of a scale. Maybe it is impossible to unite the left because it was never meant to be whole, the divisions are fundamental and very real. Here's hoping though...
I apologise, in framing the idea around elections I realise that I showed a lack of sensitivity towards the anarchist position. I understand and respect the anarchist view, although I am of the opinion that we must engage with the existing structures in order to overcome them.
This does not mean uncritically engaging, or foolishly believing that we can turn the structures of the present system to our own ends. Rather, I am swayed by the idea, which emerged from a grassroots movement in Brazil and reached me via a Noam Chomsky interview, that we have to work towards "expanding the floor of the cage". This is what I think we all can do, and the anarchists in their own way while still participating in a broad left coalition of forces. It entails engaging with the present structures, but always pushing them, to be more accountable, democratic and responsive, until they give and are replaced by a new order.
As to the second commentator, I certaibly take your point that setting up the proposed paper independently would be a lot easier. However, the initial idea I had was that if the broad left could work together on a paper, with all of the arguments and problems, then this would prepare them better to co-operate in larger projects down the road.
As for the third comment. I know that we ignore the lessons of history at our peril, but nonetheless I believe that failures in the past do not necessarily guarantee failures in our time. With regradr to the episode of the Spanish civil war, I belive the failings there owed an awful lot to the malign influence to the Soviet Union.
I think, perhaps rather optimistacly, that our generation, on a global as well as a national scale, are better equiped than any of our predecessors to bring about genuine revolutionary change. I think in some respects we have inherited the failings of those who went before us. For example the tendency of some to be excessively doctrinaire (anarchist, trotskyite, leninist, stalinist etc.).
I, personally, reject any grand narrative as such. Rather, I believe we can gain important insights from each of the revolutionary traditions. I always liked the idea Bruce Lee applied to martial arts, which resulted in him being the most effective martial artist of his time, that you take the best from each system and work with it. We should, in this day and age, have the confidence to do just that.
Anyhow, I ramble too much, Thanks again for the comments and please keep them coming. I am genuinely interested in getting the views of as many peoople, of different persausions, as possible-Paddy
I disagree with your statement the party's/groups/indiviuals put in as much energy into tearing strips out of each other as they do attacking their real enemies. In reality the left is only puting up a pitiful resistance against the powers that reign and are negligible as a policial power or influence on mainstrean opinion/action. Of course disputes are further weaking the left and its a double edged sword one side questionable the other repelling people who are politically concious and want to get involved but find this bitching severely off puting.
I am opposed to parliamentary democracy and in favour of direct democracy for the simply reason that i have faith in humanity. people working collectively and respecting each others skills accomplish more than their bureaucratic masters and their sub servants. I still support the green party/ independents(?) because even if it is a failed system of democracy (deMOCKcrazy) it is better to have some sort of representation as a from of compromising vanguard rather than another F.F. Td. I am a hypocrite for this statement as i do not vote.
Your idea of a left weekly newspaper is on the money or infomation how to......up to ta people
I was thinking that myself a while ago.( http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=65364 )
A newspaper and a combined party conference say .To be honest i am now more wary of the motivation of even the small parties.They can see like everybody else that this atomised atmosphere is not going to get anywhere yet it dosent bother the leadership of those groups very much as far as i can see.Hence i have become a conspiracy theorist!!lol..good luck anyhow.