The second issue of the Revolutionary Communist is now out! Read the editorial of this issue below, and get in touch to order your copy now! You can also pick up a yearly subscription for 10 euros, or pay a solidarity subscription of 20 euros (or more) to support the communist press.
To paraphrase the great revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, there are decades where nothing happens, but there are also periods where decades happen.
For the longest time, Ireland was hailed as some sort of unique exception to the political chaos mounting up across Britain and the rest of Europe. But now, under the blows of the deepest crisis of world capitalism ever, and an intensification of imperialist contradictions, Ireland has caught up with a bang. The world is on fire, and the critical lack of infrastructure in the South combined with the North’s sectarian setup is pouring more petrol on the flames.
The deepening of the crisis is giving an accelerated tempo to the pace of events. But at the same time, the revolutionary consciousness of thousands of young class fighters is being shaped by the unfolding struggles.
Political Crisis in the South
Since the publication of the first issue of The Revolutionary Communist, an earthquake has shaken the political buildings of the South. Sinn Féin was dealt a terrible bruising at the local elections, and its polls have now plummeted the party back to third-largest force in the country. They are increasingly seen as “just like the rest of them” in the eyes of many workers and youth.
In reality, there was never any roast behind Sinn Féin’s rhetorical smoke. However, the depth of the crisis is forcing the hollowness of their policies to the spotlight. Neither on Palestine nor on housing, or immigration, have they anything meaningfully different from the government on offer. This is the inevitable result of working within the confines of capitalism.
Sinn Féin’s loss, however, is no gain for the ruling coalition. And the government parties continue to poll at an aggregated historical low. The only ones benefiting from the crisis are the independents. This is for the simple reason that they are perceived as not being part of the despised caste of establishment politicians.
A General Election is looming, perhaps for as early as the winter. As we are going to press, the government is gearing up for the October Budget, and it is possible that they will try and stick the knife on Sinn Féin while it is on a downward trajectory.
However, this strategy could easily backfire. Posed with the choice between another Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil-led government or something else, it is possible that many that have moved past Sinn Féin could still lend them a vote at the polls.
But whatever the outcome, one thing is clear. Sinn Féin have all but lost their radical appeal. The next Dáil is likely to be the most fragmented in the history of the country. We are about to enter a stormy period of crisis and class struggle, and all the main political parties in the country are increasingly a spent force.
The deadlock on the political front will inevitably push workers to move against the new government. It will all combine to give an explosive character to the class struggle in the South.
The North
In the North, the DUP received another humiliating defeat at the Westminster elections. And what a striking illustration of the demise of Unionism and the historical dead end of the Northern statelet than the fall of the Paisley ‘dynasty’ at the elections. Ian Paisley and his father had held the North Antrim seat for more than half a century.
The DUP took a massive gamble earlier this year when, bowing to the pressures of their British masters, they restored Stormont – a deeply unpopular decision with their voter basis.
Then Donaldson gets arrested. And then, right in the middle of the trial, their “friends” in Westminster decided to call a snap election. As soon as the election was called the writing was on the wall for the DUP.
But the DUP’s debacle is not just the result of a fortuitous combination of accidents. It is written in the letters of the long-term decline of British imperialism. This is tearing away at the very fabric of the United Kingdom.
Michelle O’Neill can celebrate a perfect hat trick for Sinn Féin in the North. They are the most voted in the local councils, in Stormont and even for Westminster. We are now in a situation where the most voted party of the Six Counties does not take its seats in Westminster. Whatever semblance of ‘democratic legitimacy’ the Northern statelet might once have had (and of course it never really did) is long gone. But what now?
Neither O’Neill nor anyone in Sinn Féin’s leadership has any plan on how to achieve a United Ireland. Despite insisting that it is “within touching distance,” having signed the Good Friday Agreement these ladies and gentlemen have abdicated Irish self-determination to the British Imperialists – which are staunchly opposed to granting a border poll anytime soon.
In the meantime they will continue to shovel Westminster-dictated austerity down the throats of the Northern working class, already one of the most deprived around Europe.
Northern capitalism is rotting on its feet, but it refuses to die. With the lack of a revolutionary alternative, the crisis is generating monsters in the increasing entrenchment of sectarianism and even pogroms carried out against immigrants. Only revolutionary communism can offer a way forward.
Overthrow Capitalism!
Side by side with the deepening crisis and the emergence of counter-revolutionary forces, we see the embryo of revolution taking shape all across Ireland, and around the world.
In the last few months, the world has seen revolutionary movements breaking out in Bangladesh and Kenya. Mass mobilisations of the workers and youth have rocked country after country, including Argentina, Britain, France, USA and South Korea. Tens of millions have taken part in Palestine Solidarity demonstrations all around the world, and tens of thousands more have taken part in the militant encampment movement. This is but an anticipation of the mighty revolutionary movements that will shake the very foundation of capitalism the world over in the years and decades to come.
A new generation of class fighters is raising its head. A generation which knows nothing of the wealth of the ‘Celtic Tiger.’ Which have waited 26 years for ‘peace-dividends’ to materialise in the North, only to remain as empty-handed as before. A generation for which capitalism means only uncertainty, poverty, horrors and wars.
In order to put an end to the horror of capitalism, we need to overthrow this system once and for all. For that we need a communist programme and a Bolshevik organisation. The Revolutionary Communists of Ireland are fighting to build such organisation in every college, school and workplace on this island. Join us!
