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July / August 2016
THE SOCIALIST
news
The system in snapshots You're wrong about wealth inequality it is important to hold your hands up and admit when you are wrong. and it turns out we've all been wrong about the levels of wealth inequality in ireland. a red C opinion poll showed the real levels of wealth inequality are actually far, far worse than most people think. While the common perception was that the richest 20% owned 60% of the wealth, in fact they own 73% according to Credit Suisse. Most people thought the poorest 20% would own around 11% of the wealth. in fact they own almost nothing – just 0.2% of the wealth.
12 Apostles of Greed
terity for working class people, while wages and services were being cut, profits went up almost 50%, from €35 billion to €51 billion. don't expect to see this “recovery” impact on our public services any time soon, however, as the political elite are hell bent on making sure these profits go largely untaxed.
…wages have not recovered Fine Gael like to portray the cause of poverty as being laziness, and push ‘labour activation’ schemes like JobBridge to force unemployed people to work unpaid, or fear losing their social welfare. The end result is a ‘recovery’ fuelled by low wages, and increased poverty. There are 750,000
20% of population in Irelland own just 0.2% of the wealth
By Cian Prendiville people in poverty now, according to Social Justice ireland, and almost one in five adults in poverty is working.
Workers share of the wealth produced has plummeted it has had many aliases, such as “austerity”, “neoliberalism” or before that “Thatcherism”, but for decades there has been a huge shifting of wealth from workers to bosses. The end result is that since the 1970's the share of wealth produced in ireland that has actually gone to the workers who make that wealth has been slashed from over 75% to 45%. Put another way that means workers get less than half the wealth they produce.
The Sunday Times rich list shows that there are now 12 billionaires in ireland, with a combined wealth of €34.5 billion. don’t feel bad though, because you too can be a billionaire, and it will only take you 25,000 years working at the average industrial wage.
Piles of cash
Ireland’s top 1000 businesses hit record profits of €36 billion
in the pantomime of politics in ireland, the government like to pretend “there is no money”. now we have the proof to shout back “it's behind you”. all the facts and figures about wealth in ireland tend to miss out on the money in various 'investment funds' and 'money market funds' based here. according to the Central Bank these funds add up to an extra €1.9 trillion euro. That’s over €400,000 for every man, woman and child in ireland, sitting in these funds.
The global 1% own more than everyone else combined
Profits have recovered… it isn't hiding in the closet, or under the bed. The “recovery” has been hiding in the profits of big business. Over the years of aus-
of the worlds population. One bus load of billionaires have more between them than the combined wealth of half the worlds population. not that they would be expected to wait in the rain for a bus.
Capitalism has outdone itself. another record first, as 2016 is the first year where the top 1% of the worlds population now own more than the rest
Spaceships to Jupiter, but on Earth 1 in 3 go without a toilet as testament to the marvelous capabilities of humanity, in July the spaceship Juno entered the orbit of Jupiter, in search of clues to how the planet formed and whether or not it has water. yet back home on earth we know that one in ten people still do not have access to safe water, and a third of our entire population don't even have access to a toilet.
Why the market can’t solve the housing crisis? 1. End profiteering by landlords Rack-renting landlords are squeezing every last cent out of tenants. Incredibly, rents have now outstripped the previous high set during the boom, according to the ESRI, while wages have remained flat. The average monthly rent in Dublin is €1,314, while nationally in the last year rents have increased by an average of 8.6%. A couple on average wages will now spend 40% of their income on rent! Rent increases are the main driver of the rapid increase in homelessness. We need real rent controls, not toothless rent certainty, and a ban on economic evictions. 2. Stop the speculation & profiteering by developers Despite the housing and homelessness crisis, builders and developers are not building homes. The simple reason for this is that they are waiting for land and home prices to increase further so that
they can maximise their profits. Land speculators are sitting on land banks across the country attempting to force prices up so they can make a 15%-20% profit. This type of speculation drives up the cost of a home. Similarly, developers have said that it isn’t worth their while to build a home because the profit levels are not high enough. On a home worth €330,000 a builder will make €38,000 in profit, yet want to increase that even more! During the boom, one infamous housing estate saw the developer’s profits account for 41% of the cost of the house. Stripping out the different layers of profits added to the price of a home by developers, builders and banks could reduce the price of a home significantly. 3. Dysfunctional banks and builders Only 12,000 houses were built last year despite the immediate housing crisis. The banking and building sectors are dysfunctional – they both want to maximise their
profits, while many builders and developers are relying on handouts from NAMA to get them on their feet. The private sector is not capable of solving the housing crisis, or providing affordable housing. Instead, all the resources of the state should be mobilised to solve it. NAMA has enough land to build homes to provide for current and future needs. It also has billions in cash, as does the ISIF, these funds could be used to directly build homes on a mass scale and create thousands of jobs. 4. The right to housing Having a roof over your head should be a basic human right, not something that reduces you to poverty to maintain. The root cause of the housing and homeless crisis is the right to profit of developers, builders, landlords and banks. The right to a home should be legislated for and inserted into the constitution. Many NGOs and campaigners call for this. This would mean that the interests of
Ruth Coppinger TD produced a minority report from the Oireachtas Housing Committee, which can be read at www.antiausterityalliance.ie
ordinary people to secure, affordable housing would trump the greasy-till mentality of the private sector. 5. Finish the idea of a ‘housing market’ The logic of the capitalist market
must be eliminated from the housing system. The banks and major building companies must be taken into democratic public ownership to build public housing for the needs of society. They could then be used as public utilities to provide not-for-profit homes to buy or rent.
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July / August 2016
THE SOCIALIST
Brexit vote is their crisis
By Councillor Michael O’Brien
n
EvEr onEs to waste a good crisis iBEC were quickly out of the traps after the Brexit vote claiming that the ensuing political and economic turmoil meant that bosses in ireland needed support and in turn workers’ rights must come under the hammer. Specifically IBEC Chief Executive Danny McCoy in the pages of the Irish Times and elsewhere trotted out the usual arguments that the “regulatory burden” needed to be eased, taxes on business remain low and pay expectations by workers contained. They were not alone in talking of the need of the workers’ pay and conditions to come under attack. In the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote the ESRI talked of their wage cuts of between four and five percent for up to 60,000 workers.
Let’s be clear, as far as IBEC and their ilk are concerned there is never a good time for a pay rise. A lot of workers in Ireland earn a quarter less than the living wage of €11.25 despite profits reaching record high levels.
For a real recovery The bottom line is that workers should in no way feel inhibited about fighting for their recovery and not permit that once again the living standards of working class people are to be sacrificed because of the chaos of the markets and a crisis for the capitalist system generally. As Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA) TD and Socialist Party member Mick Barry correctly said, workers should not be made the “whipping boys for Brexit”. Workers in Luas have set a justifiable benchmark when they lodged a significant pay claim and
UnITE report:
Shining the light on low wage economy
Determined industrial action will be needed to beat off bosses’ offensive
backed it up with action. This is not greed as some have accused but is driven by the reality of the massive costs borne by working people for accommodation, childcare and
putting their children through education. Wages make up an ever shrinking part of the costs for employers relative to non wage costs and the
workplace news
Workers’ rights must not be sacrificed
tax burden on profits remains derisory. The regulatory ‘burden’ they are fretting about refers to the likes of the legislative efforts from the Dáil opposition backed by the trade union movement to outlaw precarious short hour contracts and replace them with banded hour contracts. The arguments for doing this in the aftermath of the Dunnes stores strike are unanswerable, but Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil again combined in the Dáil at the bosses’ behest to defer the legislation into next year. The Socialist Party and the AAA will champion legislation to improve conditions and to restore public service pay. However, the initiative for pay justice has to rest firmly with the trade union movement and workers on the ground, and employer excuses about the effects of Brexit rejected out of hand.
FEMPI legislation: Austerity continues By Lea Vallence ThE Financial Emergency Measures in Public interest act (FEMPi) was first introduced in 2009 and provided for reductions in public sector pay. Since then, various legislation allowing pay freezes, cuts and changes in pensions have been introduced. The latest one was introduced last year and allows the government to apply sanctions against public sector workers who have not signed up to a collective agreement. At the forefront are the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland
(ASTI) and the Garda Representative Association (GRA), both of which have rejected the Lansdowne Road Agreement as it meant the continuation of new entrants being employed on worse conditions and a two-tier system.
Trade unions must act The Department of Education confirmed penalties would apply, including the stop of incremental pay increases until 2018 as well as a loss on supervision and substitution payments, less protection against redundancy and a more difficult
access to permanent positions for teachers on temporary contracts. The legislation has been passed without a vote or debate in the Dail, which has been strongly opposed by the Anti Austerity Alliance (AAA). AAA TD and Socialist Party member Mick Barry demanded the legislation would be voted on and exposed its undemocratic nature. The legislation has since 2009 served to drive down pay and conditions for public sector workers. The legislation should be opposed and we fully support workers who are taking a stand against it.
Despite economic growth Ireland is a low wage economy
By Susan Fitzgerald
t
housAnds oF tourists will flock to ireland this summer but the exorbitant prices they will pay for accommodation, food and entertainment won’t enrich workers in the hospitality sector who still earn 20% less than their European counterparts. the hospitality sector is not the exception though as with the second highest level of earnings inequality in the Eu, low pay dominates in most sectors of the irish economy. Unite the union published a study in June called ‘The truth about Irish wages’ which showed that workers in Ireland had the fifth-lowest average pay in the private sector when compared to other EU member states. This is despite the fact that Ireland is predicted to be Europe’s fastest growing economy for the third year in succession. Unite calls for the introduction of the living wage and greater collective bargaining powers to
address low pay. The demand for a living wage has some credibility as Unite in particular has won significant pay increases for thousands of low pay workers on the basis of fighting for the living wage. For example Unite and LIDL workers in 2015 won a 13% increase on the back of a battle in Northern Ireland linked to the living wage. Significantly the win reached over the border and saw pay increases throughout the island.
For a real living wage However the demand for a living wage doesn’t go far enough, it is worked out by the Living Wage Foundation and identifies how much someone needs to earn before they fall into poverty. The discussion now has to move on to how much do we need to earn to live in dignity and this has to be more than the bare minimum. Achieving this is inextricably linked to having active fighting trade unions.
Tory-inspired “fit to work” targets most vulnerable By Lea Vallence
A
“Fit to Work” scheme has been proposed by the Government to essentially force people with illnesses and disabilities back into employment if there deemed “fit to work”. this programme looks very similar to a programme in Britain introduced by the tories, whereby people on illness or disability benefits are assessed by private companies and then put on “activation schemes”. This programme has been widely criticised. Not only does the scheme intend to cut welfare payments by forcing people back into employment but it also subsidises the private sector by providing a source of cheap labour. It has been reported that 2,380
Kenny borrow new scheme from the Tory handbook
people died within a year of being declared fit to go back to work and having their welfare payments cut, between 2011 and 2014. Supporters of this proposed scheme, including the Minister of State with Responsibility for Disability, Finian McGrath, have tried to portray the scheme as beneficial to people with disabili-
ties. However, for those with disabilities who want to enter the workforce, a stricter enforcement of laws against discrimination is needed rather than a scheme, which will only serve to further undermine workers’ pay and conditions and is a direct attack on already vulnerable and marginalised group.
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July / August 2016
THE SOCIALIST
#JobstownnotGuilty trial
news
Criminalising protest must be resisted By Paul Murphy TD
Philip Preston (1979-2016)
t
hE CloCk continues to tick down towards the biggest political trial in decades. in April 2017, the first trial of adults for the false imprisonment of Joan Burton and her assistant will commence in the Criminal Courts of Justice. in advance of that, on 19 september, a 17 year old will go on trial in the Children's Court for the same offences. As things currently stand, he will be facing the judge who jailed a 16 year old for jumping on a Garda car after the protest and described his actions as an attack on the state and on female politicians!
Community activist & #JNG defendent By Councillor Kieran Mahon
attack on democratic rights This protest saw the delay of Joan Burton’s car for two and a half hours. Protesters now face charges that have a maximum sentence of life in prison. This is the most serious attack on democratic rights in this state in decades. This is the establishment reaction to its forced humiliating climbdown on the water charges. It is spending an estimated €2 million to pursue this prosecution. This case is about the right to protest pure and simple. Is sitting down behind a car or slow marching in front of a jeep in the course of a protest false imprisonment? If the DPP is successful in securing convictions, well then it has devas-
We need to mobilise to defend #JNG protesters in the coming months
tating implications for the rights of all who would engage in civil disobedience and protest in the future. Protest would be criminalised and future protesters or striking workers could expect the same treatment. Those who protested against austerity are not guilty. It is Labour, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil (don’t forget the Greens!) who are guilty of making workers, pensioners and unemployed people pay for a €64 billion bank bailout. Working class communities like Jobstown were hit hardest by the cuts that represented a betrayal of the election
promises of the Labour Party.
Campaign against political policing #JobstownNotGuilty will be fighting our case every step of the way in the courts. More important than that will be the national campaign of action to defend the right to protest which will be launched across the country. Public meetings, social media campaigns and protests need to be organised to build public awareness and opposition to what is taking place. The next court appearance is at
ThE SuDDEn passing of Philip Preston has shocked the community of Tallaght. Philip was the current “Tallaght Person of The Year”. an influential part of the Jobstown not Guilty group, Philip’s role in defending the community in which he was born and reared has been immense. From the time of the arrests of those involved in the Jobstown protest in February 2015 Philip spoke at many demonstrations, and was willing to not only publicly defend his co accused, but also to use the platform to reenergise the anti-water charges campaign and actively call for non-payment. During the Jobstown protest Philip played a hugely positive role in what at times was a very tense standoff between the community and the Gardaí. Philip maintained a disciplined the Criminal Courts of Justice at 10am on Thursday 21 July. This will be the first time that we appear without our co-defendant Philip Preston, who tragically and
and controlled presence while defending the legitimacy of protest by working class people against cuts and austerity. At Philip’s funeral, attended by hundreds of people, one of his favourite quotes was used to describe his attitude to life “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Our thoughts are with Philip’s family, his wife Aoife and daughter Keyleigh and his cousin Keith, as we undertake to defend the name and reputation of Philip Preston. suddenly died of a heart attack on Wednesday 6 July. Supporters turning out for court gives an important morale boost for all defendants.
non-payment of water bills rises to 73%
abolish the charges now By Katia Hancke
r
EmEmBEr WhEn a majority of people, by maintaining a principled boycott, put water charges on the agenda at the last election and 70% of the electorate voted for tds opposed to the charge? remember this new, weak government sweeping the issue under the carpet by suspending payments and a vague plan of an “expert” commission? Well, all that has come back to bite them. When met by an impressive grassroots movement of opposition to the introduction of water charges in 2014, the last government tried a “carrot and stick” approach. Among other things they were forced to drastically reduce the cost of the charge. However, the mass boycott held firm, and the government’s position was weakened so much they had to make the very significant concession of suspending all charges in the aftermath of the election.
“Carrot & stick” So now a new and much weaker government is hobbling along to the summer recess but what comes back onto the agenda? Water charges. And what does the government do? They try another “carrot and stick” approach. And once again it is not working for them. The “carrot” was helpfully explained to us by Joe O’Toole – an “expert” in paying water charges (and former ICTU bureaucrat!) and chair of the expert committee: “People voted a certain way, Leinster House is not prepared to grasp that particular nettle, so we have to find a solution that will have enough sugar on it to make the medicine go down easily.” Just in case anyone still had illusions as to what this commission really was about, Joe clarified the real tasks for us all. Anti Austerity Alliance TDs pointed out that, while his bluntness was welcome,
his utterances made a complete mockery of the “expert” commission. O’Toole was soon forced to collect his P45 in yet another fiasco for the government.
eU pushing water charges At the same time, the EU commission was invited to give their verdict about whether or not we should pay water charges. They needed two takes to get it “right” – the first one at the end of May being rather non-committal. But after a nod and a wink they firmed up their answer, and take a guess: the unelected, pro-privatisation EU Commission thinks we definitely should pay water charges. Just days after Brexit, they showed their true colours, defending the interests of multinational corporations and driving the neoliberal agenda of never ending austerity against the clear will of the majority of working class people in Ireland.
Pile on the pressure to force abolition of water charges
Maintain the pressure Despite two years of manoeuvring, the establishment have not succeeded in making us pay water charges. The latest non payment figures show that after the latest debacle, more people than ever have voted with their feet: non payment increased by 45% to 75% of households! Mass resistance on
the streets and most of all the refusal to pay have made this austerity tax uncollectable. However, these latest sagas also show that the establishment have not given up the ghost just yet. The water charges movement has delivered a significant blow to their plans, but we need to remain vigilant and mobilise to remind them what we really want: abolish the charges now!
5
July / August 2016
THE SOCIALIST
Homophobia in schools
options for same – sex couples in terms of having children is notably absent. This is damaging for LGBTQ+ students as, having in many cases not been lucky enough to meet many LGBTQ+ couples and not being sufficiently represented in the media, we are then left completely stumped as to how a healthy, fulfilling same – sex relationship looks or feels as we begin our dating lives.
By Clara Barry
i
t’s thE 21st century, yet disgracefully our state funded education remains under the control of religious institutions most notably the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church opposes same - sex marriage and the social acceptance of LGBTQ+ people, a Catholic ethos in school often leads to a reluctance to prevent homophobic and transphobic bullying by encouraging acceptance of LGBTQ+ students, which in turn could encourage more people to come out during their time at school. It also means that when bullying does occur it’s often not dealt with as seriously as it should be. Students can be encouraged to be less open about their sexuality, or engage in less stereotypical behaviours in order to protect themselves, which conveys shame on the victim, rather than the bullies being held responsible for their damaging actions.
End church dominance
Socialist Party contingent at 2016 Dublin Pride demo
Heteronormative sex education Also damaging, and largely due to the Catholic ethos of many schools, is the complete lack of sex education that is not heteronor-
Cruel & barbaric: Ban hare coursing now!
By Carah Daniel harE courSinG is a cruel and medieval blood sport in which hares are terrorised and pursued by greyhounds, as barbaric human entertainment. The hares are often kept captive months in advance, together in small cages, which is hugely distressing because hares are naturally solitary creatures in the wild. There were laws brought in that meant greyhounds must be muzzled but this does not prevent the hares suffering heart attacks from fear, being mauled and being savaged. Hare coursing is only legal in three EU countries, Ireland included. It is clear that the practice is dated and wrong but it continues because of the profits being made, like most forms of animal cruelty.
Sinn Féin oppose ban In recent weeks, a bill came before the Dail to ban hare coursing, but it was disgracefully
news
Church control of education must end
defeated 20-114. Sinn Fein, who are constantly posing as progressive, and go as far as to say they are opposed to blood sports, shamefully voted against this bill. This isn’t the first time they’ve caused outrage on the issue of hare coursing, with a local TD and councillors renting an add in a newspaper to wish good luck to hare coursers, earlier in the year. Another Fine Gael TD said in his speech about the bill that he would “look forward to voting against it.” Some political parties may “look forward” to preventing progress in animal rights and have no problem with animal abuse, but as usual, the out of touch establishment do not represent the majority of people in Ireland, who oppose cruel hare coursing. The backward views put forward in the Dáil are not reflective on society as a whole and we can’t be discouraged by the defeat of this bill. It’s essential that we continue to struggle against the money driven exploitation of animals in Ireland and internationally.
mative. The little sex education provided in Irish schools is generally inadequate as it takes a completely sex negative approach, often endorsing abstinence as the only method of birth control and keeping oneself free from STDs, rather than educating about con-
sent, respect and safety for yourself and partner(s). Sex education is even less adequate for LGBTQ+ students because information such as how same – sex partners have sex, that domestic violence and abuse occur in same – sex relationships and
Because LGBTQ+ students deserve better, teachers unions need to fight against church control in schools and have boards which are democratically run by parents, teachers and students which actively promote opposition to all forms of prejudice. We need to separate church and state so that LGBTQ+ students get the information they need and heterosexual students understand that same - sex relationships are just as valid and important as their own.
Sectarian & exclusive: The scandal of the baptism cert admission policy
Around 98% of schools are controlled by religious institutions
By Fiona O’Loughlin
A
BEhAviour and Attitudes poll found that 77% of people surveyed agreed that schools should not have the right to refuse admission to children with a different religion to the patron. 84% agree that the irish education system should be reformed with no child excluded because of their religion or non-religion. Yet legally a five year old can be refused a school place if it is believed they will undermine the ethos of the school. Parents took the streets to demand the right of equal access for children of parents from all faiths and none. More than 90% of primary schools have a Catholic ethos, children are being turned away from their local schools if they don’t have a baptismal cert. This is a particular problem in areas of large development where due to bad planning and corruption the schools are oversub-
scribed. A baptismal certificate allows you to jump the queue. This has led to a huge increase in “baptisms of convenience” as children are baptised solely in order to access the local school.
Promoting segregation In some areas it leads to segregation along religious and racial lines, children whose parents have more recently come to Ireland are less likely to be Catholic. On some sites there are both a Catholic School and an Educate Together School with the majority of children of Irish parents in one school and a majority of children of nonIrish parents in the other. Children as young as four years old face long journeys past the local school in order to get to a school that will take them if they are not baptised. This can impact on their social development due to a division between school friends and local children. Many argue that the system
should be changed to reflect the diversity of religions now in Ireland. We now have a more diverse society but replacing one religion with another will not solve the problem. This denies the fact that many people from an Irish background no longer consider themselves Catholic and many who do, want a secular education for their children.
Church and State The church will not give up it’s control of the education system easily. The lack of political will to separate the church and state on behalf of the political establishment is abundantly clear. Separating Church and State means the complete end of public services funded by the state being controlled and run by religious institutions. We need a non-sectarian, secular and inclusive education system for all children who reside in this state, regardless of their race, religion or nationality.
July / August 2016
THE SO
special feature
6
AFtER BRExit: CRiSiS Fo
T
he resulT of the Brexit referendum in the uK was a defeat for the ruling class in Britain, in europe and internationally, writes MicK Barry TD.
o
nE oF the first casualties of the result was david Cameron who was forced to stand down as Prime minister in its immediate aftermath. however leading right wing leave campaigners such as nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and michael Gove have failed to capitalise on the outcome of Brexit. Farage has stepped down as leader of ukiP and Johnson refused to stand for the leadership of the tories and Gove was unsuccessful in doing so.
Remain backed by 1% The Remain campaign had been funded and backed by the decisive sections of big business with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan funding the campaign and 1280 leaders of multinational corporations backing it. NATO, the IMF and the European Union elite had all wanted Brexit defeated. The White House was so supportive of the Remain side that President Obama had visited the UK to try to influence the result by warning that a Brexit would put the UK at the "back of the queue" for future US trade deals. All these forces wanted a Remain vote so as to continue "business as usual" with globalisation and neoliberalism and to continue with the policies which have made the superrich richer, deindustrialised country after country and created shocking levels of inequality within society.
Why did Brexit win? Trinity College Dublin (TCD) professor Ann Wren explained the class
character of the Brexit vote: "The winners – the college educated, those with high incomes, those working in areas like London where the new economy is flourishing – voted to Remain. The losers – those without college educations, with low incomes in areas that have been decimated by deindustrialisation voted to Leave." Four of the five key deindustrialised areas of Britain - Yorkshire, the North East, South Wales and the Midlands – voted to Leave. The exception was Scotland where the national question was a factor. The vote from the deindustrialised working class heartlands showed that in many respects that the root of this result can be traced back to the era of Thatcherism. Attempts have been made in key sections of the media to explain away this vote as a racist anti-immigrant vote. Apart from often ignoring that the Remain leadership presented immigration as a "problem" in the debate, this analysis is simplistic and ultimately wrong. One third of voters told pollsters that immigration was the key issue for them. No doubt, a minority of these hold racist and xenophobic opinions. For the majority, concerns about immigration are mixed in with anger over an absence of proper jobs, housing and public services. Not that the Tories and New Labour have needed much prompting, but EU rules have underpinned neoliberal policies and the race to the bottom in Britain for many years now. The mood for change combined with all of this to create the political earthquake caused by the Brexit vote on June 23.
UK is the second largest economy in the EU and its departure is a major blow to the ruling classes of Europe
Economic shocks The Brexit vote will have huge economic and political consequences in Britain, in Europe and globally. In Britain, sterling has declined by 11% against the dollar, bank stocks are down 20-30%, consumer confidence has plunged to its lowest level in twenty one years and recession is forecast within a year. Britain accounts for one-sixth of the EU economy and the negative economic consequences will knock on. Already, in Italy and Spain the stock markets have plunged by an even greater extent than in the UK. The IMF have downgraded their growth forecasts for the EU economy from 1.7% this year to 1.6% and from 1.7% next year to 1.4%. These
forecasts are based on the IMF's best-case scenario of the UK forging a close trading model with the EU along the lines of Norway and the EU holding together in the aftermath of the shock and not unravelling with other exits in the years ahead. The day after the Brexit vote, $2 trillion was wiped off global stock markets.
Precarious future of EU The EU establishment will nervously watch the situation that unfolds, particularly now in countries like France, the Netherlands and Sweden where demands for referendums on EU membership may grow. In France, a PEW survey last year showed 60% of the population with
Oppose the EU & racist division By Laura Fitzgerald
t
hE rECEnt Brexit referendum saw significant prominence being given to the “official” leave campaign that was dominated by the backward, racist, right-wing horrors in the form of ukiP and the “euro-sceptic” wing of the tories. Jeremy Corbyn’s capitulation to the Blairites in Labour meant he reluctantly advocated a ‘Remain’, despite being opposed to the EU from its inception, from a left-wing, pro-working class perspective. In doing so Corbyn left the field open to a dangerous populist right-wing that consciously tries to drum up racism. The EU must be opposed by the working class and trade union move-
ment and by the Left. It is not only an institution that is completely beholden to corporate interests, it is a racist and oppressive one, as shown by its horrendous treatment of refugees fleeing wars, poverty and persecution. Medicin Sans Frontieres’s took the unprecedented decision to refuse to take funding from the EU after it signed a dirty deal with the dictatorial Erdogan regime that will see these same refugees being deported back to Turkey upon their arrival in Europe.
Scapegoating migrants It is for these reasons that the Socialist Party in the north, and our sister socialist organisations in Britain campaigned for a ‘Lexit’, a
‘Leave’ vote on a left-basis. We did not touch off the vile and racist campaign of Nigel Farage and his ilk, summed up in the despicable poster with the slogan “Breaking Point” that depicted a large line of displaced people. We empathise with the many young and working people who voted ‘remain’ or abstained on the basis of opposing Farage and UKIP and this heartless approach to refugees. However, we can’t let the official ‘Remain’ campaign off the hook – it drummed up racism too. Cameron repeatedly proclaimed that migrants to Britain would see access to benefits curbed after a ‘remain’ vote. All politicians who have vilified migrants in any way are guilty of creating a climate in which a neo-Nazi sympathiser was emboldened to brutally mur-
der Jo Cox because of her anti-racist stance; and in which racists are bolstered to abuse and attack.
How racism can be fought All trade unionists, all of the Left including the new left-wing Labour Party members joining in their tens of thousands to support Corbyn against a Blairite-coup, must unite to organise against racism. Such action was co-ordinated effectively in Southampton on 2 July in response to a threat from a Fascist group to march. Mobilised at short notice by a coalition of trade unions, anti-fascists, anti-austerity and refugee organisations, over a thousand people marched ensuring not one Fascist came onto the streets.
an unfavourable view of the EU as opposed to a 48% unfavourable view at the time in the UK. Both the far right Front Nationale and important sections of the Left support a French exit, albeit for diametrically opposed reasons. A “Frexit” in the years ahead would deal a mortal blow to the EU project. With all eyes on Britain, a heavy political responsibility rests on the left leadership of the British Labour Party around Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn made a significant error in taking a Remain position (albeit a muted one) and leaving the Leave sentiment in working class communities to be exploited by the Tory Right and by UKIP.
Break with capitalism
July / August 2016
OCIALIST
Five short reasons why the EU is not a force for good ThE MEDia, education system and the political establishment all portray the European union as a force for progress which has enhances our living standards for the better. FinGhÍn KEllY outlines the real nature of this institution and why it must be opposed by working class and young people.
1. Racist fortress Europe It is a shocking fact that 75% of all migrant deaths worldwide take place on the Mediterranean. 3,700 people died or went missing in 2015 alone. It is as a direct result of the EU’s migration policy that those fleeing war, poverty and persecution are forced to put their lives at risk. Instead of responding to this crisis with resources to assist migrants the EU has responded by cutting funds to rescue missions and treating those who do make it here like criminals. The EU recently signed an agreement with Turkey, which makes the authoritarian Erdogan government a border guard for the EU. This is while the Turkish government’s human rights abuses continue and the bloody war against the Kurdish people is stepped up.
2. Greece – EU’s punishing austerity
However, Corbyn has stated that the Leave vote must be respected and his initial error can be compensated for if he now campaigns for a Left exit. This means fighting for the maintenance of a Left labour leadership; for a general election and for a Left Labour government that breaks with austerity and capitalism. Such a government could pursue a pro-working class and pro-immigrant policy linked to a fight for a socialist future in both Britain and Europe. This could open way for a different type of Europe – a Europe for jobs, decent wages and decent social services instead of a Europe of austerity, racism and militarisation. In other words a Europe for the millions not the millionaires, a democratic socialist Europe not a capitalist EU.
For many years the EU has been portrayed a force to develop weaker economies and to raise people’s living standards. The last number of years has utterly shattered this illusion. nowhere is this clearer than in Greece. Due to brutal austerity the Greek economy has shrunken by 25%. One in four workers out of work, with this rate at 60% amongst young people. Incomes have collapsed by 40% and over one fifth are experiencing severe deprivation. Austerity has not just destroyed the economy; it has destroyed people’s lives. Suicide has risen dramatically. Homelessness is at record levels. The numbers being forced into prostitution is rising. Public services have been slashed and many Greek people now struggle to pay for basic medicines. Austerity is a conscious policy to protect the interests of the banks and big business. The EU and its institutions have been the austerity hawks in this process. Even the notorious IMF were not pushing the austerity agenda as hard as the EU!
The brutal policies of Fortress Europe expose the myth of the EU being a force for progress
3. Workers’ rights under the hammer EU laws such as the Posting of Workers Directive, the Services Directive and the socalled ‘Laval quartet’ of European Court of Justice rulings have represented some of the most serious attacks on workers’ rights in decades. They attack the right to strike, the right to collective bargaining and even the ability of states to insist on minimal standards (such as paying certain rates of pay or union recognition) when awarding state contracts. For the EU, the ‘freedom’ to make profit comes before the right to decent pay and conditions in work. The EU has also been pushing reforms to labour laws, including in France and Belgium where they have been met with strong opposition in recent months.
4. EU institutions – unelected & unaccountable The EU Commission is the most powerful institution in the EU’s decision making apparatus. It is unelected and dominated by big business and the corporate lobbyists. Corporate lobbyists are effectively unregulated, employ an estimated 30,000 people and spend billions per year lobbying the EU institutions. The only directly elected institution,
the European Parliament is not much more than a talking shop. In the course of the crisis the unelected and unaccountable European Central Bank (ECB) used the threat of financial meltdown to bounce governments into bailout programmes and deeper cuts. This famously happened in Ireland in 2010. We have also seen the deposing of elected governments in Italy and Greece and their replacement with ‘technocrats’, whose only mandate was to implement the will of the markets.
special feature
oR BoSSES EU oPEnS UP
5. invest for the 99% outlawed There is a myriad of laws and treaties stitched into the framework of the EU (Stability and Growth Pact, the six-pack, the two-pack, the Fiscal ‘Austerity’ Treaty, Economic Governance...) which effectively outlaws major public investment in public services. For example, a plan to build 100,000 social houses in Ireland to put an end to the housing crisis would be illegal under these EU rules. Any government that takes measures to increase public investment is met with close scrutiny from the Commission. Governments can be fined (as happened to Spain and Portugal recently) and even see their voting rights at an EU level revoked if they do not comply with demands to cut spending!
Of course opposition to immigration was an aspect of the ‘Leave’ vote. Fears over pressure on public services in working class communities, not only hit by the austerity since 2008, but decimated by de-industrialisation, privatisation and joblessness – Thatcherism - for decades, are understandable fears and many people affected are not racist. They are victims of the dereliction of the duty of the Trade Union Confederation to mount an effective challenge to austerity, and of Blairites who turned the Labour Party into a Tory party mark II.
Left challenge needed The movement that propelled a socialist, Jeremy Corbyn into the
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leadership of the Labour Party, now has to grow, become more organised, and seek to defeat and split from the Blairites. Such a struggle could be the birth of a new mass left-wing, working class political force that could work in tandem with a movement from below. This would unite workers, migrants, refugees and youth in a struggle against austerity, to improve all workers’ rights, to fight racism, sexism and homophobia and to defend the right to asylum for refugees. There is a potential around Corbyn now to build a movement based on a radical socialist policies which advocate seizing the wealth of the 1% and productively using it for the benefit of all.
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July / August 2016
THE SOCIALIST
#Blacklivesmatter
international
Racist police killings spark mass protests By Diana O’Dwyer
t
hE murdEr of black people by racist police in the us is back in the headlines. on 5 July, Alton sterling, an unarmed black man selling Cds in Baton rouge, was wrestled to the ground and shot repeatedly in the stomach at point blank range. the following day, Philando Castile was killed in minnesota during a traffic stop. With his girlfriend beside him and her four year old daughter in the back seat, Philando was shot as he reached for his driver’s licence.
Re-ignited protests Both murders were caught on video and are sparking renewed protests against the almost routine killing of African Americans by police and white vigilantes. It was the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the vigilante killing of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent media vilification and victim blaming of an innocent black teenager that led to the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2012. The latest round of police murders have re-invigorated that movement but the situation has been complicated by a mass shooting of police by a lone gunman during a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas
on 7 July. Five police officers were killed and seven injured. The shooter, Micah Johnson, was a US army veteran who had amassed an arsenal of military-grade weapons. Under Texas’ ‘open carry’ laws, it was legal for him to go into the centre of Dallas carrying an assault rifle. Similar to other mass shooters like Omar Mateen in Orlando, Johnson had a history of abusing women. While on tour in Afghanistan in 2014, he stalked and sexually harassed a female soldier, yet received an honourable discharge. Johnson’s actions have been cynically linked to Black Lives Matter. Despite telling police he acted alone and was unaffiliated with any organisation, Johnson’s former membership of the New Black Panthers and the fact he liked several black civil rights groups, including Black Lives Matter on Facebook, have been seized on by the media and will be used as an excuse to further repress the black community. Hundreds of demonstrators have already been arrested across the US and the use of force by police has escalated, with the deployment of military-style vehicles and teargas.
Capitalist US and racism So far this year, 571 people have been killed by police. Two-thirds of
Black Lives Matter is putting the spotlight on the epidemic of police violence in the US
the US population is white but half of those killed have been people of colour. The rate of police killings of black civilians is over twice that of white Americans. So although police violence endangers all working class communities in the US, the threat is much higher for black Americans. This is the outcome of centuries of systemic racism. From slavery to segregation, legal discrimination lasted ‘til the 1960s when a mass civil rights movement forced its abolition. Since then, institutional racism has persisted in law enforcement, employment and welfare
policies that disproportionately impact black communities.
Clinton’s legacy The “War on Drugs” has incarcerated millions of black Americans – prison admissions of African Americans for drug offences increased by a factor of 26 from 1983-2000, spurred on by a draconian 1994 crime bill and “three strikes” laws supported by the Clintons. By 2001, when Bill Clinton left office, 42% of young, non-college-educated black men were either unemployed or in
prison. Meanwhile, the Clintons’ welfare reforms helped double extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $2 a day. Both Clinton and Trump will in practice support the continuation of systemic racism which is fundamental to US capitalism. The only real alternative is united mass movements like Black Lives Matter, fighting alongside workers, women, young people and all those oppressed by the rule of billionaires. An anti-capitalist, anti-racist movement is needed in the US based on the ideas of solidarity and socialism.
US Presidential election
Left wing challenge needed in november By James McCabe
i
n thE coming weeks the democratic and republican national conventions will be crowning their nominees for the presidential election in november. this election campaign has become a kind of circus, but it has broken some records. While donald trump is the least popular presidential candidate from a major party in the last ten presidential election cycles, hillary Clinton comes in second place. This must be understood in the context of a decline in support for the political system as a whole. A recent Pew report found that only 19% of Americans today say that they trust the government to what is right “just about always”, whereas in 1964, 77% of the public trusted the government to do what is right. The historic growth of income inequality has led many to the conclusion that the two-party system is a tool of the 1%.
Candidates of the billionaire class Millions around the world have been disgusted by the rise of the openly sexist, racist, demagogue and billionaire, Donald Trump.
A choice between a billionaire bigot and a warmonger
Most Americans see through the hypocrisy of his promises to “Make America great again”, as he’s a member of the billionaire class that has been on an all-out assault against the conditions of working people for the past 40 years. The problem is that Clinton is the ultimate Wall Street Democrat. While Trump brags that he opposed the disastrous invasion
and occupation of Iraq, everyone remembers that Clinton voted for, and fiercely defended Bush’s war. As Secretary of State under Obama, she launched what’s now referred to as “Hillary’s War” in Libya, and her department approved a whopping $165 billion worth of commercial arms sales to 20 nations that are also sponsors of the Clinton Foundation. The philanthropic
Clinton Foundation’s biggest donor, the brutal theocratic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was also the biggest purchaser of these weapons. Trump tries to claim that he’s not part of the establishment, as he largely self-finances his campaign with his obscene wealth, whereas Clinton’s top donors since 1999 were Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and other major corporate banks. As one of the biggest advocates of fracking in Washington, Clinton’s 2016 campaign received over $4.5 million from fossil fuel lobbyists. By posing as the anti-Trump, antiRepublican candidate, Clinton has recently tried to portray a progressive image, despite having opposed Marriage Equality until 2013. The polls indicate that many plan to vote for Clinton in fear of what a Trump victory would mean.
Beyond Bernie The fact that twelve million people were willing to vote Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist, in the recent primary elections shows the potential to build a sizeable left wing alternative in the US. A recent poll indicated that 91% of those aged under 28 would like to see an independent
candidate run against Clinton and Trump. Tragically, Sanders has come out and endorsed Clinton in the Presidential election campaign. In supporting Clinton, a candidate of the billionaire class, he is betraying the millions of young and working class people who were inspired by the message of opposing corporate rule in the US and were yearning for an alternative to the candidates of Wall Street in the form of Clinton and Trump. He rejected the call made by Socialist Alternative (sister organisation of the Socialist Party in the US) and more recently by Green Party presumptive nominee Jill Stein to run independently of the Democratic Party machine in the November election which used all their resources to block his nomination. The politicisation we have witnessed in the US in recent years that has been expressed in the emergence of the Occupy movement, Black Lives Matter and the massive support attained by the Sanders campaign must find a political voice. Stein’s candidacy in the November election can constitute an important marker in the building of a new party of the 99% that can reject a capitalist system based on racism, inequality and the rule of the 1%.
9
July / August 2016
THE SOCIALIST
“i
By Emma Quinn
Am with you, whatever”, not a line from a love letter but a chilling note from tony Blair to George Bush in the run-up to the iraq War. Hand in hand, despite the horrific consequences they knew were possible, Blair and Bush launched the 2003 invasion of Iraq which left hundreds of thousands dead and over a million displaced. The ramifications lead to the destabilisation of the Middle East, triggering a chain reaction of brutal sectarian violence that fuelled the creation of barbaric groups like ISIS. The Chilcot report condemns former Labour Prime Minister Blair who backed the Iraq war on the basis of “flawed” intelligence from “prejudiced sources” with “inadequate preparation” at a time when Saddam Hussein did not pose an “imminent threat” and when peaceful solutions were not fully pursued. Chilcot went on to say that the legal basis for the war was “far from satisfactory”. In essence, he has found that the war was an unjustifiable act of aggression.
opposition was ignored however, as he was determined to wage a capitalist war for profit that would also boost the prestige and fledgling power of British imperialism.
Blood for oil In the aftermath of 9/11 Bush and Blair discussed the over throw of Saddam Hussein; despite the majority of the attackers being from Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the Western powers. This was their chance for the coveted “regime change” in Iraq, which could open doors to the pursuit of oil, profit and power in the Middle East. To proceed they concocted tales of “weapons of mass destruction”, which Chilcot has again confirmed, never existed. The Irish establishment, refusing to bite the hand that feeds it, were complicit in the barbarity that ensued by providing use of Shannon to the US military. RTE reported that in 2005, 330,000 troops passed through Shannon. Excessive force was used, residential areas were bombarded by “shock and awe”, the use of deadly white phosphorus resulted in horrific birth defects and a massive spike in cancer, all of this along with the destruction of infrastructure and services. Blair has blood on his hands and wads of cash in his pocket. Now a multi-millionaire, he has
Fuelling sectarian conflict
Tony Blair’s invasion of Iraq cost hundreds of thousands of lives
directly profited from his legacy of war and terror by "advising" rotten dictatorships including the Kazakhstan regime. He waged a
war in the face of mass opposition within Britain. Two million took part in an anti-war demonstration in London in February 2003. Such
The damning report came days after an ISIS bomb killed 292 people and injured hundreds in a Baghdad shopping area. Iraq suffers almost daily suicide bombs and other atrocities. Since the Iraq war, Britain has joined in the bombing of Libya and Syria. The conflict continuing to ravage Syria has killed hundreds of thousands, created 4.8 million refugees and 6.5 million people displaced within Syria. Bush and Blair are gone, but this is their legacy. They are war criminals who must stand on trial for their crimes, and Bertie Ahern who facilitated this murderous war, must be held to account as well. The war in Iraq graphically exposes a capitalist system where human life is cheap and dispensable in the pursuit of profit. A movement of the global working class and oppressed must put it in the dock as well.
#KeepCorbyn Blairites mount coup against left leadership By Dave Vallely
What’s behind the coup?
WiTh ThE prospect of an early election in Britain, the rightwing Blairities in the labour Party have made their move against the party’s left-wing leader, Jeremy corbyn. They have been waiting for an excuse to move against him since he swept to victory as a labour leader last autumn. However, the leadership contest last year brought hundreds of thousands of new, predominately-young supporters into the Labour Party in order to vote for Corbyn’s radical anti-austerity politics. At the time of writing over 120,000 more people have joined the Labour Party to defend Jeremy Corbyn since plans were hatched by his opponents in the Parliamentary Labour Party to remove him. They have been shy about putting forward a challenger and have desperately opted for Angela Eagle. They hoped to bully Corbyn into resigning. However, as we go to press the attempted coup against Corbyn is in increasing disarray as their attempt to prevent him going on the ballot in the event of a leadership contest was blocked by Labour’s national Executive Committee (nEC). Of course there needs to be absolute vigilance in the coming weeks as the Blairites may seek to challenge this decision in the courts.
Contrary to what they say, the Blairites are not concerned that Jeremy Corbyn won’t be elected, but the opposite. They are terrified, as loyal political representatives of the ruling 1%, of the prospect of a Corbynled government committed to an anti-austerity programme and supported by millions of working class and young people. A poll immediately after the EU referendum indicated a rise in support for Labour, while support for the Tories fell. It’s this prospect that worries the Blairite wing to such an extent that they are prepared to split the Labour Party. Unfortunately, Corbyn and his supporters have facilitated the Right by compromising in an effort to maintain “unity”. This false “unity” has been maintained by not calling for deselection of Blairite MPs, refusing to make a clear call for Labourcontrolled councils to stop carrying out cuts in public services, and excluding left wing groups, including the Socialist Party in England and Wales from meetings and offering support. This has been perceived as a weakness by the Right and the emboldened Blairites have now overreached themselves. Jeremy Corbyn can be rescued by the popular support that is
international
Chilcot Inquiry: Bloody legacy of the Iraq war
Corbyn is opposed by the Blairites because of his anti-war and anti-austerity stances
already mobilising on the streets to defend him.
What next? The coup by the Right is a battle for the future of the whole labour movement. In this confrontation there lies the opportunity to reforge a mass party that actually stands in the interests of the working class in Britain. The coup plotters only number a few but are ensconced in parliament, among big business, and in the billionaire-owned media. The strength of Jeremy Corbyn rests with the hundreds
of thousands outside. A special labour movement conference should be called that would involve all those who support Corbyn – including trade unions and socialist organisations inside and outside the Labour Party – to work out a programme and strategy to defeat the coup and take on the Tories. A Labour Party freed of the Blairite deadweight could start by fighting on the programme which saw Jeremy Corbyn elected as leader in the first place. Even if the defeated Blairite MPs split and left a parliamentary Labour party of 30 or 40
MPs, such a force would still be able to wage a much more effective fight back against Tory cuts and win mass support. It could be the basis to refound the Labour Party as a new radical workers’ party able to attract all those workers and youth wanting to fight back against capitalism. It could raise demands for a £10 an hour minimum wage, re-nationalisation of the rail and energy companies, a mass council house building programme and radical socialist policies that mean breaking with the capitalist system.
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July / August 2016
THE SOCIALIST
analysis
Border poll would only heighten sectarianism choose to ‘call their bluff’, pressure for a border poll could mount.
a sectarian headcount
Sinn Féin have raised question of border poll to shore up their support in Catholic areas in the North
i
By Daniel Waldron
n thE immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote sinn Féin raised calls for a border poll on whether or not there should be a united ireland. this does not reflect a serious belief that such a poll would deliver a majority vote for a united ireland. the result of the Eu referendum will not have dented the almost universal opposition of Protestants to such a development.
A recent poll showed only 27% of Catholics supported a united Ireland in the immediate future. This may have increased following the referendum but the low turnout in Catholic areas suggests the EU is not such an emotive issue as to have transformed the situation.
Growing disillusion Sinn Féin raise the demand for a border poll as a way of creating the false impression that they have a meaningful strategy to deliver their ultimate goal of Irish unity.
They aim to cut across growing disillusionment amongst their support base, where there is anger at their implementation of austerity at Stormont, their integration into the establishment and the perception that they have sold out their republican principles. This disillusionment was reflected in People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll topping the poll in West Belfast in the recent Assembly election. So far, Secretary of State Theresa Villiers has ruled out such a vote, but if Sinn Féin consistently raise the demand and Unionists
The Socialist Party is opposed in principle to a border poll and, in the event of one being called, we would actively campaign for a boycott of the vote. A border poll would be nothing more than a sectarian headcount and would resolve nothing. A binary referendum is not a basis to reconcile the two communities, with their opposing identities and aspirations. It would serve only to heighten tensions and pit Catholic and Protestant workers and young people against each other. The ‘losing side’ would not stoically accept its fate. Such a poll would only deepen divisions and stoke the flames of sectarian conflict. A majority of Catholics aspire towards Irish unity, at least at some point in the future, for cultural reasons and because of the history of discrimination and oppression within the Northern state. Conversely, Protestants support the maintenance of the Union of for cultural reasons and because they fear becoming a vulnerable minority within a capitalist united Ireland, a legitimate concern given the historic dominance of the Catholic Church in the South and the sectarian nature of the southern state.
These fears and aspirations are preyed upon and manipulated by the sectarian parties and paramilitaries in both communities to suit their own narrow interests.
no capitalist solution Neither community has the right to coerce the other into a state they do not want to be part of on the basis of a simple majority vote. No solution can be found while forces with a vested interest in maintaining sectarian division – whether the Green and Orange parties or British capitalism – continue to dominate. Working class unity from below between Protestant and Catholics, North and South in a struggle against the two backward capitalist states created by partition and for a socialist solution is the only framework in which a resolution to the national question on this island can be found. Socialism is about organising society for need not profit and is about creating a society based on solidarity not discrimination and division. It is for this reason that the Socialist Party has advanced the programme of a socialist Ireland with no coercion and where the rights of minorities are guaranteed as part of a voluntary, democratic and socialist confederation of Scotland, England and Wales and with the rest of Europe.
Slaughter at the Somme – one hundred years on revolution and the creation of the world’s first workers’ state.
By Kevin Henry BETWEEn 1 July and 18 november, 1916 the bloodiest and largest battle of the First World War took place on both sides of the Somme river. in the first day almost 60,000 soldiers where killed; greater than the total combined British casualties in the crimean, Boer and Korean wars. The scale of the disaster was monumental. A fifth of the attacking troops died, with a 50 percent casualty rate. Some regiments simply ceased to exist. Yet the Field Marshall Haig described the battle that day as “going like clockwork.” In total over 600,000 died in this battle, so that the British and French forces could advance ten kilometres.
recruiting sergeants for war
War: a capitalist institution The millions of young soldiers who fought in this battle where told they were fighting in a “war to end all wars.” Today we know what a cruel lie that was. The Chilcot report shines a light on the modern day Field Marshall Haig’s willingness to drive us into war that serves the interest only of the super-rich. While we are told there is no money for schools and hospitals, we still
60,000 were killed in the first day of the Battle of the Somme
spend record amounts on the armaments industry: $1.7 trillion was spent on the arms industry in the last year and every minute one person dies as a result of armed violence. The real reason for the war was the growing power of German imperialism, which threatened the interests and gains of French and British imperialism across the world.
While politicians tell us that we now have peace in Europe, the truth is that, according to the Peace Index, nearly every country in the world is either directly or indirectly involved in wars. Some 42 conflicts are raging across the world today – and it is estimated that there hasn’t been a single day of peace since before the Second World War.
As French Socialist, Jean Jaurès, who was murdered for opposing the First World War, said, “Capitalism carries within itself war the way clouds carry a thunderstorm.” The brutality of the First World War was only ended by the revolts of soldiers and the fear of revolution spreading across the globe in the aftermath of the Russian
Thousands of soldiers in the Ulster division and the Irish division died in the battle of the Somme. Right wing politicians, such as John Redmond and Edmond Carson, both nationalist and unionist acted as recruitment sergeant for the British army in this brutal war. At the same time the socialist movement and its leaders like Jim Larkin and James Connolly stood opposed to the war. Today’s equivalent of Redmond and Carson wish to use the commemoration to whitewash this battle. These are the same people that support military intervention across the world and they should not be allowed to whitewash war and militarism today. It is important to remember those who died in this terrible battle, but that does not mean glorifying war and militarism. It should mean the opposite, by fighting to challenge the endless cycle of wars across the world and the increasing militarisation. To do so means challenging not just the warmongering generals and politicians, but the archaic and violent economic system they represent.
July / August 2016
11
THE SOCIALIST
"Jane" campaign of the Chicago Women's Liberation movement, was a group of young women activists who carried out 11,000 safe abortions in the years in the run up to 1973's Roe vs Wade ruling, defying the abortion ban and helping thousands of women and saving lives. They combined this with trying to build an active protest movement for abortion rights, as well as campaigns for free childcare and supporting women workers in Chicago on picket lines . The courage and determination of such activists was at the root of the push that enacted the legalisation of abortion.
By Monika Janas
r
EAl ChAnGE has never come from the top and it never will. the super-rich ruling elite and the parties that defend them are always behind the progressive attitudes and aspirations of working class and young people. they protect the status quo and must not only be dragged towards change but fought with in order to achieve it. It is on this basis that same-sex marriage is now legal in Ireland. The marriage equality referendum wasn’t called and passed due to the goodness of heart of the government; it was due to years of campaigning by LGBTQ activists that a referendum was held. The movement of LGBTQ people , young people and women as the Yes Equality grassroots delivered a resounding Yes, with the most hard pressed working class communities delivering some of the highest Yes votes in solidarity.
the lesson of the US It often happens that movements can force the establishment to impose changes that they do not
organise from below
Mass movement in the 1960s and 70s brought about historic Roe vs Wade ruling on abortion rights in the US
agree with. Such is the case for abortion rights in the US. The Roe vs. Wade case took place under the Nixon administration. Nixon himself was firmly on the anti-choice side, and said that “it breaks the family.”
A cynic would have said that a victory is impossible, that one must wait for a more progressive president, for a better time, for a distant future that may never come. And yet the US legalised abortion on Roe vs Wade in 1973.
Not because Nixon had a change of heart, but due to protests and demonstrations across the U.S.- to the persistence of the women's and labour movement engaging in struggle . For example in Chicago, the
In recent years the right-wing Spanish government has attempted to restrict abortion rights. In response, women and the labour movement organised mass, angry demonstrations across the state, forcing the Government to retreat. The power of a mass movement is a vital lesson we must heed as we struggle today for the repealing of the 8th in order to legislate for a woman's right to choose.
The countdown begins… Abortion Pill Drone action Mobilise to support the Repeal 8th Bill
By nicole McCarthy
in DEFiancE of regressive anti-choice abortion laws, abortion rights activists decided to take a strong and symbolic action in order to show unity with pro-choice activists in the north. it was important to shine a spot light on the recent prosecutions of women for using the abortion pills in the north. On 21 June, members of the Socialist Party, ROSA, Women on Waves and Labour Alternative transported abortion pills to northern Ireland at narrow Waters Castle. The transferral was done using a drone to fly some over and a remote control speed boat to ship the rest. Upon arrival in the north the devices were greeted by pro choice campaigners, media and members of the PSnI. Socialist Party members Courtney Robinson and Lucy Simpson took the pills to highlight their safety. The abortion medication is made of mifepristone and misoprostol, this is recognised as something women can use to have a safe abortion in an environment like the home by the World Health Organisation. There are mass movements growing rapidly in both the north and South of Ireland for abortion rights. We have to put pressure on our governments to allow women to have the basic human right of having a real choice over what happens’ to their own body. ROSA day of action for repeal in April this year
By Councillor Fiona Ryan
o
n thE 30 June, ruth Coppinger td moved the AAA-PBP bill to repeal the 8th amendment in the dáil. With polls now consistently showing over 75%+ in favour of a referendum, and the latest Ipsos MRBI poll commissioned in the wake of the defeated Fatal Foetal Abnormalities bill showing 67% in favour of repealing the 8th in its entirety, there has been a very clear sea-change in attitudes in society on abortion rights in Ireland. In contrast, the majority within the Dáil are, as always, backwards in their approach on this issue and refusing to acknowledge this growing change that is occur-
women
People power movement can win abortion rights
ring, particularly amongst young people. The bill also represents a blatant challenge to the undemocratic "Citizens Assembly", which has faced fierce criticism as being yet another stalling mechanism to further delay and bury any attempt at progress.
Establishment put on notice We now have a key opportunity, with the government having been issued 100 days notice before the bill is brought to the floor, to organise and campaign nationally to Repeal the 8th. We can exert the maximum pressure from below on this very weak current government
which continues to bury its head in the sand on this issue, but also on individual TD's who are increasingly faced with demands to act on this issue. We are now calling on all prochoice activists to use the coming months to contact their TDs but also to assist in forming regional groups with the specific purpose to increase and maintain the pressure and visibility on the ground to ensure that TDs cannot run away from this issue. ROSA will play a key role in the building of this campaign nationally in the coming weeks to end medieval abortion in the constitution and in turn force this backward capitalist establishment to fully legislate for a women’s right to choose.
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