Sinn Féin with Karl Marx

national | anti-capitalism | opinion/analysis Saturday March 08, 2008 11:57 by Cael - Sinn Féin Poblachtach

Socialism for the 21st Century

Personally, the biggest problem I see with private property is that western society has not been able to put any limit on it. It has become, or always was, psychotic.

Following on from another thread/article which got very far off topic, I thought it worth while to address some points regarding Sinn Féin Poblachtach's relation to the writings of Karl Marx:

I think its a common mistake to get hung up on the writings of one man; Karl Marx. Marx even said himself that he wasnt a Marxist - if that ment the way he was being interpreted by the young intellectuals of his time. Marx's ideas were not unique at the time. Many people were thinking the same way, but Marx formulated these ideas much more elegantly and in much more detail than anyone else. Michael Davitt, for example, was in favour of nationalising the big landlord estates rather than creating a nation of small holders. He did not need to read Marx to realise that this would lead to a very conservative society that would lack the will or motivation to struggle for genuine social justice. To suggest that all of socialism is to be found in the writings of Marx is pure nonsense. Marx would have been the first to recognise this. Marx made some mistakes, as did Lenin. Neither lived long enough to be able to correct them. This is our task. No doubt we will make many mistakes too, but the aim of socialism is a very good one, and well worth the risk.

Personally, the biggest problem I see with private property is that western society has not been able to put any limit on it. It has become psychotic.

Freud told the myth of the Primal Father and the Ban on Incest. At first the father took all the women and goods for his exclusive enjoyment and left the sons with nothing. Then the sons killed the father and instituted the ban on incest, where all the brothers would share the goods of the tribe. The Women's movement has made some progress in extending this contract to the women of the tribe as well. The psychotic nature of capitalism is that it pushes against this social contract, and back towards the enjoyment of the Primal Father, i.e. it extolls unfettered possession of all the capitalist can get his hands on, without regard for the other members of society. This is the structural nature of capitalism, and cannot be reformed, Those who enter Leinster House with the hope of reforming capitalism are doomed to failure. I have great respect for Joe Higgins, but within the context of Leinster House he could be nothing else but the court jestor, his logical arguments easily ignored and his colourful turns of phrase repeated with gleeful delight. In fact his presence in Leinster House merely allowed the gombeens to point to him as an example of how "democratic" the place is, as it even allows the likes of Joe Higgins to have his say - though not to strike too close to the bone; Higgins was ruled out of order when he tried to refer to land speculators as parasites. The Provisionals have failed to make any impact at all - not even some memorable turns of phrase.