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A mere glance at world news today shows one fundamental thing: the ruling class is sitting atop a social volcano. And just as a volcanic eruption is preceded by seismic tremors, so the initial tremors of the social explosions to come can already be felt.
Since the publication of the first issue of the Marxist Voice in February 2023, a million workers have taken to the streets of France in a dispute over the pension age, which was spilling over into an all-out struggle. In Portugal, teachers spearheaded a strike wave that became the largest since the Carnation Revolution. And Spain saw over a million people flooding Madrid in protest at the collapse of the public health system.
In the last period, the North of Ireland has seen strikes of nurses, junior doctors, social care staff, civil servants, teachers, road workers and more. This came on top of a 2022 strike wave that was already the largest seen in decades. In the South, you have had the inspiring struggles of Iceland workers, retained firefighters, gas and oil station workers, and unofficial action at Tara mines.
In the Netherlands, in Britain – even in ‘stable’ Germany – in country after country, the working class is squaring up for battle. Not only in Europe, but all around the world, we are witnessing an awakening of the labour movement on a scale unseen for decades.
Crisis
For workers and young people, there does not seem to be a sphere of their life which is not fundamentally threatened by the systemic crisis of the capitalist regime.
From the cost-of-living, to the housing crisis; from inflation to the mounting climate disaster – with heat waves and storms having ravaged continental Europe over the summer months.
Is it at all surprising that millions are desperately seeking a revolutionary way out, and are increasingly looking in the direction of communism?
A recent poll found that tens of millions of young people think of communism as their “ideal system”. Already – in the belly of the beast of world capitalism – a staggering 20 percent of American youth align with communism. Just across the sea from us, in Britain, a whopping one in three young people consider themselves to be communists.
Unfortunately, such a figure is not available for Ireland, only because no one has taken the time to conduct that poll. But 7 years ago, a poll found that an astonishing 54 percent of youth in Ireland would be prepared to take part in a large-scale uprising against the government. That was before Covid, the worsening of the housing crisis, inflation, the collapse of the healthcare system, and another 7 years of FF/FG rule… how many more people would take part in an uprising now?
We are entering a new stage in world history. Capitalism is at a dead-end. And only the ideas of Marxism can provide a way forward.
So our appeal to you is: if you are a communist, then get organised!
Join the ranks of the International Marxist Tendency today and prepare for the revolutionary battles ahead. There’s never been a more serious moment to do so. As we hope to highlight in this issue of the Marxist Voice, there are colossal tasks ahead for the communists – but a world to win!
United Struggle
The rising industrial struggle is leasing new life into the labour movement around the world.
However, all the main struggles remain compartmentalised from one another – often as a result of a conscious choice made by the trade union bureaucracy. But on the back of the terminal crisis of capitalism, the bosses will be less and less willing to make concessions to the workers. Increasingly, they’ll want to keep each and every small crumb for themselves.
And with inflation at stubbornly high rates for almost 2 years now, even for those disputes which will result in victory, their gains will soon be chipped away simply by the passing of time. Increasingly, the workers will have to strike just to maintain their current living standards – which in reality have precipitated in the last 2 years.
But the root cause of austerity, the cost-of-living-crisis, the housing crisis, the coming back of mass redundancies, inflation, and more, is one and the same: the crisis of capitalism. Which will only bring increasing suffering to workers until capitalism is overthrown.
It is the task of the communists to fight to unite all these struggles into a common, militant war against capitalism – and for the socialist revolution.
The North
If the crisis of capitalism is eroding the living standards of workers across Ireland, in the North it is taking a particularly acute character, reigniting sectarianism and the threat of sectarian violence.
But as we explain in this issue, the crisis of world capitalism – compounded by the long-term decline of British imperialism – is undermining the regime in the North. Undoubtedly, coupled with the rise of Sinn Féin, expectations are mounting that a united Ireland may be in touching distance.
However, it would be naive to imagine that the forces of reaction will simply give up without a fight. How many times have they unleashed mayhem in the past just to defend their cynical interests?
But the tide of rising industrial struggles points the way forward. As James Connolly explained, unity between workers – Catholics, Protestants or otherwise – can be forged only through a militant, revolutionary struggle against capitalism.
The fight for a united Ireland, is the fight for the socialist revolution. On the other hand, it would be impossible to seriously think of the socialist revolution on this island without mounting up a revolutionary struggle against partition and the festering wounds created by British imperialists over centuries. In Ireland, the fight for the socialist revolution is the fight for a socialist, 32-county workers’ state.
Fissures in world politics
The crisis of capitalism is not only reigniting the class struggle, but also the conflict between different capitalist powers – with thorny consequences for smaller nations. If capitalism is not overthrown in the coming years and decades, we are threatened everywhere with the barbarism arising from these growing, acute conflicts.
The war in Ukraine, the rising tensions in the Pacific and west Africa, and the winding back of so-called globalisation are all symptoms of the rising tensions between the big capitalist powers. Amidst these increased conflicts, the idea of small nations having any ‘sovereignty’ under capitalism is a joke.
In reality, despite all the pretence of ‘neutrality’, the weak Irish ruling class has been subjugated by, and subservient to western imperialism for a long time now. Despite the sham of ‘democracy’, it is clear to all that the dollar decides in the end.
But even that little facade of democracy is now being torn apart. As Ben Curry explains in an article in the current issue – the imperialists are now demanding the Irish ruling class stop playing at ‘neutrality’.
Small nations will always only be pawns in the games of the imperialists. That is, until capitalism – and therefore imperialism – are overthrown and defeated internationally by the working class.
Capitalism is an international system, and therefore the tasks of the socialist revolution are by necessity international. We fight for the Irish socialist revolution as the spark for the international workers’ revolution.
Building the Revolutionary Party
The tasks communists face today must fill us with a sense of urgency. But whilst all other trends are filled with pessimism for the future – from the ruling class’ representatives to the reformists of the labour movement – we are filled with an optimism that is grounded in reality and a faith in the working class.
The reality is that the working class has never been as strong as it is now – counting 3.6 billions in its rank. When the workers decide to move – armed with a revolutionary programme – nothing will be able to stop them. The key is to build a Marxist tendency that can equip the working class with a revolutionary leadership and programme.
For decades, the forces of Marxism have had to swim against the stream. But the current is now turning in the direction pointed out by the ideas of communism. And the Marxists are building.
There was an electrifying mood at the recent World Congress of the International Marxist Tendency, of which we include a report in this issue. All around the more than 40 countries in which we operate, our comrades report the same thing: the tide of the class struggle is turning, and millions of young people are looking for the ideas of communism.
Our growth is not only numerical – in terms of political education, of activity, of influence in the workers’ movement, the IMT has taken colossal leaps forward since the last in-person congress was held in 2019.
At that time, the Irish Marxists were composed of a handful of comrades, scattered around the island, with no official publication, no regular meetings and no national organisation to speak of. But how much water has passed under the bridge since!
Today, we have a solid core of dedicated members. Our comrades organise regular public discussion and reading groups in Dublin and Belfast, along with paper sales, and interventions at demonstrations and pickets, and we are beginning to establish a presence in other towns and cities across the island. Our student comrades are working to build revolutionary cells at their colleges. Our stickers have popped up far and wide all around Ireland. The Marxists are marching forward!
But all of this is just the beginning – albeit a promising one.
At this stage in world history, the most crucial task in front of us is that of building a genuinely revolutionary organisation – one based on the best traditions of Bolshevism, with living links to the working class struggles, and most importantly, steeled on Marxist theory.
The first issue of the Marxist Voice was a success beyond our greatest expectations. We have been flooded with support all around Ireland, and internationally. We thank the several hundred readers who bought a copy and the many who eagerly asked when a second issue would be out.
If you agree with the ideas defended in this magazine we ask you: help us spread the Marxist Voice! Take it to every town, every school, college and workplace around Ireland.
And better yet, join us! Contact us today, and we will put you in touch with comrades in one of our growing branches. Help us to build a revolutionary organisation in Ireland. Join the fight for the communist revolution.
For there has never been a more important battle in history.
