The Socialist, March 2019 by Socialist Party

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PAPER OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY

ISSUE 120

Low Pay... Precarious Work.... Housing Crisis...

MARCH 2019

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Housing crisis & homelessness tsunami

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Climate chaos & the urgent need to end capitalism

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NEWS THE SOCIALIST

Socialism rising... & the ruling class are afraid Finance capital’s mouthpiece In February, The Economist front cover announced “The Rise of Millennial Socialism”. The article inside admitted: “Socialism is storming back because it has formed an incisive critique of what has gone wrong.” Of course, this being The Economist and not Teen Vogue, the rest of the article was an onslaught against socialist ideas. This was one of a series of public attacks in recent weeks that have only highlighted the growing influence of socialist ideas.

A howl of an argument Fox News got in on the act with all the subtlety you’d expect. Their article, titled “How to get your child to just say no to socialism”, echoed a failed anti-drug slogan from the ‘80s. Their advice included telling

your millennial “child” bizarre lies such as “in a socialist country, vegetarians would be required to be part owners in a slaughterhouse.” Fox host Laura Ingraham then comforted herself with the illusion that young people attracted to socialism (and young people generally) are just stupid and ignorant, and that “simple messaging” that socialists are “comin’ for your wallet” will convince us. We hope Fox continue with this line of attack, because it is obviously intended to satisfy the spite of the Fox demographic of aging conservatives, not actually to win young people away from socialism.

Socialism’s recruiting sergeant Donald Trump has already helped the cause of socialism. When he won the presidency despite being a bigoted, blabbering, wildly unpopular oaf, it demonstrated – more

By Manus Lenihan

clearly than a thousand socialist articles – how broken the politics and culture of capitalism are. But now Trump has gone on an offensive against socialism: "I really don't like their policies of taking away your car, taking away your airplane flights, of 'let's hop a train to California,' or 'you're not allowed to own cows anymore!'", he ranted, in response to – well, it’s not entirely clear. “America will never be a socialist country”, he vowed in his State of the Union address – a milestone of an admission by a US President that the influence of socialism is growing.

Attack on Marx The rebirth of socialist ideas is very pronounced in the USA, but it is global too. This was symbolised when some knuckleheads vandalised Karl Marx’s grave at Highgate Cemetery in London, not once but twice. Maybe they forgot to bring the paint the first time. Their crude daubings amounted to a few unhinged (and mis-spelled) references to Stalinism. This is another failed line of attack: our culture is already saturated with attempts to declare socialism guilty by association with Stalinism, but the “rise of millennial socialism” shows that these confused or dishonest claims can be washed away just like red paint on a tomb. Marx himself would have been intrigued by the fact that the last time someone attacked his grave was a series of bomb plots in the 1970s. Then, as now, the system was in crisis and people were turning to his ideas. Then, as now, some enraged creep performed an impotent outburst of violence against cold stone and bronze. Then, as now, it had no effect.

AOC makes an impact The most-watched video of a politician in the history of Twitter was of a socialist, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, showing how big money controls the political system. Posted on 11 February, the video now has nearly 40 million views. If you’re a liberal or a conservative trying to understand why socialism is gaining ground, watch as AOC illustrates how the capitalist “liberty” lauded by Trump, the Economist and Fox News amounts to liberty for the wealthy to be as corrupt as they like.

The context Socialists have seen this coming for a long time. Polls and online dictionaries have tracked a steady rise in support for or interest in socialism for years. Bernie Sanders, self-described “democratic socialist”, has drawn huge support. As far back as 2013, a council seat in

Seattle was won by our sister organisation in the US, Socialist Alternative, which identified this opening and is one of the socialist organisations in the US that have grown significantly.

“Conditions determine consciousness”- Marx As a certain philosopher who’s buried in Highgate knew, people turn to certain ideas in response to the conditions they are facing. Support for “socialism” is broad and vague, with the word meaning different things to different people, but the rise in its popularity shows that the working class and young people are not willing to accept the conditions prevailing since the 2007/08 economic crash – of the daily misery, horror and toil of capitalism. Socialists greet this barrage of feeble and incoherent attacks as an early milestone in the redevelopment of a worldwide socialist movement.

This mouthpiece of capitalism is getting worried

Oppose all racist attacks By Jessy Kelly

here have been two arson attacks in the town of rooskey on the Leitrimroscommon border in the past two months, both targeting the Shannon Key West hotel. The hotel has recently been contracted by the state to be opened as a new Direct Provision centre that would house 80 refugees seeking asylum. The first, on 10th January, did significant damage to the building and the second attack came just as repairs to the hotel were being completed on 11th February. This comes only months after an extremely similar case in Moville, Co. Donegal, in November last year when the Caiseal Mara Hotel was set alight after it was announced that it would soon house over 100 asylum seekers.

Threats and bullying These horrific acts are a blatant attempt to threaten and bully migrants seeking refuge in Ireland, committed by a small group who do not represent the majority of Irish workingclass people. The people of Rooskey have been outraged by the incident, with wide-spread criticism amongst locals and an anti-racism rally attended by hundreds organised after the first fire. The Socialist Party strongly condemns the violent, despicable actions of the arsonists and stands for the abolition of the cruel and backwards Direct Provision system. All refugees deserve the right to asylum, the right to work and the right to a decent quality of life here. No competition for resources There are valid worries amongst the locals about the 20% increase in population that the 80 asylum seek-

ers would bring to the small town and the increased strain that this would put on the already limited resources available to working people in the town. There is huge underfunding in education, housing and infrastructure within the area, so an increase in population woul naturally cause worry amongst locals. However, this then poses the question; why should people be forced to live in competition with each other for the limited resources that are provided by capitalism and its political representatives? A mass anti-racist movement needs to be built in Ireland, judging by these recent attacks, but this movement needs to be uniting across all layers of the working class, migrants and non-migrants alike. As well defending the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, such a movement should fight for the vast

Protests in Rooskey after the horrific attack on proposed Direct Provision centre

wealth in our society to be used to fund affordable homes, decent jobs and public services for all who live here, regardless of their race or nationality. Trade unions will also need to play a significant role in uniting working people on this issue. We have seen

that this is possible with the recent nurses' strikes, with a diverse range of the working class represented on the picket line, standing together against cuts and poor working conditions. The same tactics must be employed to fight this rise of racism in Ireland.

NEWS

THE SOCIALIST

Private profiteering creates

Housing crisis & homelessness tsunami By Finghín Kelly

iTh JuST under 10,000 people officially homeless, we are now living in the middle of a homeless tsunami. The government and all the procapitalist parties in the Dáil have no answers. It is well known that a quarter of TDs are landlords. However their refusal to deal with the problem goes much deeper than that. As they base their politics on the logic of the capitalist market they are staunchly committed to an ideology and policies that enriches profiteers and makes affordable housing an impossibility. A rigged system This pro-market logic creates housing policy that’s geared to the needs of corporate landlords, property developers, bankers and speculators. Capitalism profits from precarity. The rights of Irish tenants are among the weakest in Europe, and have not significantly increased since the foundation of the state. This lack of rights and security has resulted in a merry-go-round for

many renters, who are regularly uprooted and forced to move – each time at a higher rent. Focus Ireland has reported that 69% of homeless families became homeless after being evicted from a private rental home. Rising rents Under pressure from below, the government brought in ‘Rent Pressure Zones’ in many areas. Any hope that this would temper the profiteering was short-lived. DAFT.ie reported that in the last year rents nationally are up 10%. This increases mean that the average rent in the country is now €1,347 (83% of the full time minimum wage!). In much of Dublin it is well over €2,000! Due to the massive rent increases, the Rent Pressure Zone legislation has given an incentive to evict tenants in order to jack up the rent. Ban economic evictions Solidarity and the Socialist Party have put forward an ‘Anti-Evictions Bill’ in the Dáil. This bill seeks to boost the rights of tenants in many

Homelessness crisis is becoming more and more visible on our streets

ways. For example, the bill would prevent a landlord using the excuse of selling up to evict tenants. The bill would also protect tenants in homes that are repossessed by banks. Other excuses to evict include relatives being moved in or substantial refurbishment to the property. The bill seeks to close off these and other

Another attack on the unemployed

Abolish JobPath now!

loopholes. This bill would make an enormous difference to tenants who are in fear of the next call from the landlord being their eviction notice. However, we need more. As long as our housing needs are dictated by the profiteers and the logic of the market, we will not get secure and affordable housing.

We need to fight for a break with the market. As well as boosting tenants’ rights we need to take housing out of the hands of the profiteers. We need the mass construction of public housing on public land, nationalisation of the construction industry, and the planned distribution of homes to provide affordable housing for all.

Shining a light on the rigged capitalist economy

By Kieran Mahon

he coLLaPSe into administration of Working Links, one of the companies involved in the provision of the Jobpath “work activation” scheme, is a welcome one for those who have to deal with the Department of Social Protection. at least for Working Links there is the ever-growing comfort blanket (funded entirely by the public exchequer) of €75.7 million. The scheme has been characterised as operating on the basis of coercion and manipulation, with job seekers or those in longer term unemployment. While testifying in front of a Dáil Committee Ray Griffin, a lecturer in Waterford Institute of Technology, described how those on the scheme are “actively patronised, cajoled, threatened, manipulated and bullied”. A failed scheme Of the 41,000 full-time jobs that Minister Regina Dalton claims the scheme has provided, only 11,334 people remained in employment for more than 12 months. This is indicative either of an actual inability to work or of the scheme’s inability to provide quality jobs for often experienced workers. At one and the same time it is an attack on welfare and an attack on workers. The privatisation of social protection, aided by a huge ideological offensive (with Varadkar as its grinning Thatcherite poster boy), has

By Megan Brady

JobPath is another neo-liberal attack on the unemployed

seen 7,140 people hit with cuts to welfare payments in 2018, a 36% increase on the 2017 figures. Sanctions are generally undertaken at the whim of individual officers – with recipients having little right to appeal. Social welfare under attack The welfare system represents an essential part of the dynamic historical struggle between workers on one side and, on the other, bosses and the capitalist state. Welfare was first up on the butcher’s block after the bank bailout, facing huge attacks by the government – particularly on young people’s job seeker payments, Family Income Support and Children’s Allowance. There are now

760,000 people in poverty, 70,000 more than in 2008. CSO figures put those living in poverty at 15.7%. Without social welfare payments 43.8% of the population would be plunged into poverty. That includes many workers. 60% of taxpaying workers earn less than €30k a year gross. In one of the world’s most expensive countries work no longer pays. Workers need a raise, and that requires struggle. Jobpath needs to go. It’s a system designed to reinforce and heighten the exploitation of workers. We need to demand state investment in job creation – jobs with guaranteed hours, decent wages and the right to join a trade union of your choice.

The State We Are In: Inequality in Ireland Today, a report recently published by TASC, an economic think-tank, has shone a spotlight on the appalling levels of inequality that exist in Ireland today. These inequalities are a direct result of the capitalist system we are currently living under. In an age of precarity, when workers’ labour is undervalued, and exploited for the benefit of the bosses, inequality is certain to run rampant. In a study done by The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), ‘Insecure and Uncertain: Precarious Work in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland’, it was found that “over 1 in 2 or approximately 70,500 workers in 2016 said they were in temporary employment because they could not find permanent work”. Attack on workers’ rights The TASC report states that Ireland has a “comparatively employerfriendly labour market”. Capitalism is a system that is and always has been rigged against the worker. Ireland’s “employer-friendly market” has been created through practices such as temporary employment, bogus self-employment and zero-hour contracts – all of which benefit the bosses while further entrenching inequality in our society. Dr Robert Sweeney states in the report that “inequality tends to be driven by the gains of the upper classes and the rich at the expense of the working class and the poor”. The main drive of capitalism is profit, not the improvement of people’s lives. That is why capitalism is hopelessly rigged against the majority of the population.

WORKPLACE THE SOCIALIST

Nurses & midwives action wins concessions By Ciaran McKenna

oLLoWing The suspension of their hugely popular campaign of industrial action, nurses and midwives are now assessing the recommendations issued by the Labour court. While their struggle produced concessions, it is unlikely that these will address the deep systematic problems that drove the inMo strikes. Determined industrial action had won some gains in terms of pay scales and allowances. There are commitments to safer staffing levels, an extension of Advance Nurse Practitioner roles and enhanced continuing professional development. However, these recommendations by the Labour Court are fundamentally designed to try to get an antiworker right wing government out of a mess of its own making. Support and solidarity The groundswell of public support for the strike action by the INMO, despite attacks from the media and political establishment, demonstrated that the broad mass of workers in Ireland were fully behind the nurses and midwives. This was epitomised by the 45,000 strong march through Dublin on the 9th of February, the largest trade union demonstration in years.

Varadkar stated during the strike campaign that he had to govern for ‘all the people’. This was his cynical attempt to portray the nurses and midwives as just another ‘greedy’ sectional interest. But every working person knows that we depend on the expertise of the nursing and midwifery professions to maintain a healthy, functioning society. The classic establishment tactic of attempting to pit worker against worker in order to break a strike did not gain much traction. While the consultation process is under way in advance of a vote on the deal, it is worth looking at some of the wider implications. Agency staff The INMO deal will cost about €15 million a year with reported additional costs of €35 million to 2020. But the HSE spent €318 million on agency staff last year alone! A substantial portion of this is just pure profit for the private companies supplying, often precariously employed, agency staff. The government must use this money instead to recruit more nurses and midwives to the public system. Recruitment and retention were two of the huge issues at the heart of the strike. The spend on agency staff shows that the money for more staff is there. But the gov-

Determined action by nurses and midwives won massive support in society

ernment would rather funnel it to private companies than fund decent, permanent jobs at trade union rates of pay. Industrial action wins results Much more substantial pay increases for all public servants, enough to actually make a difference

at a time when rents are increasing by over 10% a year, could be funded easily if the government wanted. Just look at the tax breaks that are being given to landlords and multinationals like Apple! Incredibly the HSE agency staff bill each year is more than the yearly pay restoration for all public sector

Paramedics strike: Oppose union busting

Deliveroo workers fight back

Solidarity Councillor and Socialist Party member MARY CAHILLANE spoke to one of the paramedics who have been engaged in a campaign including days of strike action over their trade union rights “Our union balloted members last year because of our employer’s failure to recognise PNA/ NASRA as our official union. The union has existed as a branch of the Psychiatric Nurses Association since 2010 and has grown consistently every year since then. “We are also striking because of our employer-the HSE's -decision to stop deducting our union fees at source despite doing so for seven years previously. They continue to facilitate all other unions. This decision was taken to try and stem the growth of PNA /NASRA as it was becoming all too obvious that staff were leaving the other unions and joining us. New union organises “We believe a staff led and staff driven union is the way forward for us as a group of professionals. Our job is now a specialised job role. The days of just being an ambulance

workers under the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA)! If the members of the INMO do reject this deal nurses and midwives cannot be allowed stand alone. The entire trade union movement must mobilise to ensure serious industrial action is taken so that all workers can win significant wages increases.

By Sean Malone DElIvERoo WoRkERS who have been subject to a growing level of anti-social and racial based harassment and violence. This violence is mirrored by extreme exploitation with workers getting €4 per delivery. on Friday, 22 February 100 drivers in Dublin took wildcat strike action against these conditions. Deliveroo, a leader in the gig economy, has seen its global profit soar year on year with £64.3 million, in 2017 alone. Compare this with the drivers who have recently had their maximum distance of travel per delivery increased, which reduces the number of paid deliveries they can achieve.

Paramedics have taken an important stand against the Government's attempt at union busting

driver now are long gone. We are now all Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Practitioners that are highly trained and skilled according to our clinical grade. Each member must hold and maintain a practitioner’s license as well as the many other driving licenses and emergency driving training required to carry out our work. “Nobody knows our job like we do and we believe nobody can represent us better than one of our own. It is time our job role received the recognition and representation it truly deserves.

“I found that many of the issues that were very important not just to me but also to my colleagues were not being addressed to our satisfaction by SIPTU. I felt that issues that were being raised were being swept aside or in some cases ignored. “Enough is enough” “Nobody wants to be on strike, we would much rather be out there doing what we do best and looking after our patients but we have been left with no alternative If workers are not happy with their terms and condition’s they have a right to associate and to use

the industrial relations mechanisms to try and resolve disputes. “There are many sectors including ourselves that are frustrated with many things, a prime example being the extra levies public servants are paying under FEMPI. These extra payments were to be a temporary measure but a decade later we are still paying. People are very frustrated and I can't say I blame them. Whether its Nurses, Teachers, Bus Drivers or Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics some people for their own reasons have simply said enough is enough.”

Management contempt The contempt at Deliveroo HQ is typified by managements refusal to even meet with these workers after a vicious attack on a Brazilian driver. We fully support the strike actions of Deliveroo workers, who are showing the way for precarious workers in hospitality and services. Their calling of a national demonstration for safe working conditions, against racism, and violence is extremely important as it highlights these issues. The unions are the biggest force in civil society in terms of membership and could invest significant resources to organise precarious workers and combat racist violence.

ANALYSIS

THE SOCIALIST

The kind of trade union movement we need pressure, the government and ICTU could try and begin the talks on the terms of a successor to the PSSA earlier than originally scheduled.

By Michael O’Brien

hen The nurses and midwives embarked upon their strike action it was clear that they were not just up against the government, the hSe and a right-wing media. Unfortunately, they effectively found themselves up against the leaderships of other public service trade unions. SIPTU Senior Health Sector official and Labour party councillor Paul Bell was the most blatant example of this when he not only refused to support to the INMO and PNA on national radio but boldly said that SIPTU nurses would work as normal. PSSA: Workers on rations However, it was not just FORSA and SIPTU. The leaders of those unions like the INTO and ASTI whose members rejected the very same offer as the nurses late last year were conspicuous by either their silence or by citing their adherence to the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA). The PSSA, due to expire in 2020 is the deal voted on it 2016 that offered very partial restoration of some of what was taken away during the course of the early part of the crisis. There was the public service pension levy in 2009, the across the board pay cuts in 2010, the subsequent lengthening of the working week and cuts to various premia

It is only militant industrial action that will force the Government and bosses to make concessions on pay and conditions

and allowances which taken together all added to a lowering of the rate of pay. To top this off is the lingering injustice of a two tier pay system. The majority of the trade union leadership in the public sector accepted the fiscal arguments of the government and the Troika at the outset of the crisis resulting in a mere one-day public service strike action in 2010 before telling their members to swallow everything.

opposing successful action This is consistent with their current position which is that the PSSA and deals like it are the best obtainable for their members. They go on to point to the likes of the ASTI whose members were left to fight alone against these deals to reinforce their argument that militant action does not pay. Any successful action clearly undermines their defeatist perspective. For this reason, they effectively

did not want the nurses and midwives to prevail. The fact the nurses and midwives’ action, while not fulfilling all its potential, yielded something beyond what the government and employers said was available undermines the position taken by the other union leaders in front of their members. As we go to press it is unclear whether the scene is being set for an immediate push on pay by other workers. In order to contain the

Reclaim the unions However, the initiative should be taken by members and activists. A number of motions are likely to be debated at the other public sector union conferences in the coming months on pay and the cost of living. Union activists arguing for a fighting approach on pay pointing to the nurses and midwives can influence the mood at conference and put the leaders under real pressure. It should be pointed out that it is industrial action and the power of workers that will deliver results. This needs to be linked with a confidence that there is massive wealth in society being hoarded by the super-rich and big business that can be used to invest in decent wage and public services. There also needs to be a confidence is an alternative to the brutal logic of austerity and capitalism that has resulted in a fundamental undermining of workers’ pay and conditions. We need to replace the existing union leaders who have consistently shown an unwillingness to oppose this brutal juggernaut. We need a union movement that stands in the fighting, democratic and socialist traditions of its founders, Jim Larkin and James Connolly.

National Children’s Hospital: Profiteering results in ballooning costs By Mick Barry TD

he ScanDaL surrounding the ballooning costs of the building of national children’s hospital (nch) has undermined support for the government. ultimately this scandal is not about bureaucratic incompetency but it is the by-product of the ruthless profiteering that exists in the construction industry. The construction costs claimed by the main developer BAM rose from €432m to €556m during this period. The costs claimed by the Jones Group for mechanical systems rose from €107m to €177m. The costs claimed by Mercury Engineering for electrical systems rose from €98m to €157m. Overall, hospital construction costs rose from €983m to €1433m – an increase of €450m. Construction inflation is currently running at 8% and can’t explain the vast bulk of these cost increases. BAM construction “Cost overruns” are par for the course

for profiteers of this kind. For example, BAM Construction were taken to court by the Port of Cork company last year after hiking port redevelopment cost demands by more than 25%, claiming that there was an “arithmetic error” when the tender was submitted. The same company is embroiled in controversy over the Cork Event Centre project where costs have risen from €53m to €74m. Many parents and patient’s groups from outside Dublin have criticised the St James’ Hospital location on the grounds that children – some in need of emergency care – would be better served with a hospital on the outskirts of Dublin rather than one which requires a journey into the centre of the capital. But now the NCH project team are conceding that the city centre location is “difficult” for such a major project with added costs for draining, traffic, decanting and archaeology. Profiteering Fianna Fáil are continuing to prop up the Government despite these disastrous cost overruns. Fine Gael

The construction industry should be brought into public ownership

meanwhile have lashed out €450m for a PricewaterhouseCoopers report into the ballooning costs and

will probably implement sanctions against individuals in an attempt to allay public anger and divert atten-

tion from the real issues. First and foremost, the NCH scandal shows the need to seize the construction industry from the private ownership of profiteers such as BAM, and for it to be taken into public ownership under democratic workingclass control. On this basis a state-owned construction company could be established. Such a company should be charged both with ending the housing crisis with a mass programme of building public housing on public land and with capital projects such as the NCH. The scandal also shows the need for a national health service run on the basis of need not profit and its staff and its service users as its priority rather than the greed of outfits like BAM. A health service such as this would end profiteering in and from the health service. All private hospitals, healthcare and pharmaceutical companies would be nationalised in order end such profiteering. It would have the necessary investment in order pay its staff a decent wage and provide proper working conditions.

6 SPECIAL FEATURE

THE SOC

“Climate over Capitalism!” was the call of hundreds of school students in Manchester, protesting for effective measures to tackle climate change. This call is echoed throughout Europe in a myriad of school student protests in the past number of month, writes MEGAN OGLESBY.

MoveMenT was he sparked by greta Thunburg, a Swedish 16-yearold who began the first school-student protest outside of a Swedish Parliament building in august 2018. Since then, over 10,000 school students in Scotland and cornwall joined the strike, as well as students from Paris, Berlin and ghent, and a small number of protesters have begun to appear in Dublin also. as well as this, up to 70,000 school students will be holding protests in 270, towns cities and villages across europe every week until 15 March, the day of international school-student strike action and protest. “Change the system” This wave of protest is an amazing step forward for the climate change movement. These school students have identified the need for more systematic change than the hyper-individualised rhetoric of “reduce, reuse, recycle”. They appear to recognise the fact that meetings of the elite in the form of climate summits have done nothing but create abstract targets for lowering pollution levels by country or by company, which never appear to come to fruition in reality Thunburg has stated “If solutions within this system are so impossible to find then maybe we should change the system itself”. But why are solutions so hard to find within the capitalist system? The answer is that climate change and capitalism are inherently linked. If this movement can be linked to the collective power of the working class it can be a powerful force on our planet.

Leading researchers have identified a shift in the world’s climate, from the period in which all of humanity has evolved and flourished, the Holocene, to a new period of rising global temperatures and changes in climate which are controlled by human action, the Anthropocene. Many of these academics believe that we took the final and decisive step into the Anthropocene during the Industrial Revolution – or the first days of capitalism. Certainly, this is due to the fact that, in early capitalist society, very little regard was given to workers, and the environment alike; both were exploited to make a profit and little explanation was required to justify this. The profit motive The motive for profit is still the driving force for the capitalist economy and ruling classes today. However, governments and many companies now have to hide behind the pretence of being environmentally friendly when, in fact, they are far from it. Seventy one percent of greenhouse gasses are produced by just 100 companies, yet these companies have a right to exist and profit under the capitalist system regardless of the irreparable damage they are doing to the planet. As Thunberg states, “Our civilisation is being sacrificed for the opportunity of a very small number of people to continue to make enormous amounts of money…. It is the sufferings of the many which pay for the luxuries of the few”. Because capitalism protects its own interests above all else, no solution to climate change will be found within this system. It is why establishment politicians and members of the capi-

talist class do not point to the handful of companies which are contributing most to the quickly worsening conditions of the environment, but instead point to ineffective individualised solutions like telling people to buy electric cars, which the majority of people cannot afford, or reduce, reuse and recycle – which ultimately doesn’t stop the environmentally unfriendly product from being produced in the first place. This is in order to relinquish themselves of their own responsibility, and to protect their profit-driven interests. In Ireland, the government would rather give major tax-breaks to companies like Apple, worth €19 billion, than invest this wealth into a free, publicly owned transport system. This is the system and establishment that the school student protesters are challenging. Protecting jobs & our environment One concern workers justifiably have is that if companies or industries that are badly affecting the environment are taxed more heavily, nationalised or even just challenged, jobs would be lost en-masse, akin to Thatcher’s treatment of the miners in the 1980s. Under capitalism, which cares just as much about its workers as it does about climate change, this is very possible. This is why the solution to climate change must be both anti-capitalist and socialist. Under a socialist, democratically planned and publicly owned economy, the profit motive would be replaced by a motive to fulfil human and environmental need. We would be able to use the resources from corporations, as well as the means of production from newly nationalised and democratically worker-controlled industries, to invest in pre-existing research to create environmentally friendly products and industry. As well as this, workers’ rights would be respected, meaning that environmentally unfriendly industries would be gradually phased out, as workers can be up-skilled or retrained and repositioned in a workplace that is environmentally suitable. Climate change and capitalism are both global problems. Therefore, the solution cannot be national, it too must be international. This is why we need to build an international socialist movement to end the rule of this system uniting all working class and young peope in a struggle for the future of our planet.

CLIMATE C

THE URGE ERADICAT

Climate change movement exp By Arne Lepoutre, member of Left Socialist Party (sister organisation of the Socialist Party in Belgium)

ver The last couple of months the Belgian climate movement has exploded. in December and January, Brussels saw the two biggest climate protests ever in Belgium, with over 100,000 people, taking place . after the Winter holidays, school students started striking each Thursday. Thousands of students went protesting in Brussels, week by week. ‘Climate action committees’, where students discuss demands for the climate movement and prepare further actions on local and school level, popped up everywhere. These committees will be crucial in continuing to build this mass movement. The discrepancy between different programmes within the movement highlights the need for ideological discussion.

The power of the working class Many young people participating were initially pushed into an individualistic response to climate change due to the demoralisation caused by Trump’s election in 2016. Today however, collective mass action has been put forward again. Still, every student interviewed during the protest is only asked one thing; ‘what are you doing by yourself against pollution?’ This discourse went hand-in-hand with the

A youth revolt has spread across the planet aga

first very cynical reports on the strike in the mainstream media. Due to enormous support in public opinion for the movement, the media and many politicians publicly changed

SPECIAL FEATURE 7

CIALIST

CHANGE CRISIS:

Food production, climate change & capitalism

The obscene waste of capitalist food production

By Sam Belton

ENT NEED TO TE CAPITALISM

plodes in Belgium ment as a leading factor in the climate movement has led young people to play a key role in it. This new leadership pushed the trade union movement to the left and has put collective action, with pressure on politics and industry, as a central aspect of the movement. This created a climate of struggle, which played a role in a labor union protest that was transformed to a national strike the 13 February with all labor union federations supporting it. Now, Belgium is preparing itself for the 15 March, when we will be joining the international strike for climate. Young people are planning local marches everywhere. The socialist trade union federation calls for a strike as well after pressure from their members wanting to join this strike. This call is an important step for the climate movement. This movement has to be linked with the power of the working class.

ainst the impact of climate change

their stance in relation to the movement of school students. Of course, what they think in private is a different matter. The absence of the workers move-

Debates in the movement An important issue in the movement is the Sign For My Future campaign that has been started by industry and NGOs to blame politics for their inaction. They are saying politicians are to blame because they only want to take popular measures. The campaign shows the real problem, namely that the capitalist system is searching every solution on climate change in the wallets of the working class and doesn’t have a social answer to the ecological crisis.

The movement is going in different directions right now. Some are saying we have to keep on striking until the elections in May to make sure climate is an electoral theme. Then the Greens should go into office and that will supposedly solve everything. It is somewhat understandable that some young people may think this way, the Greens are profiling themselves as the big climate activists. Socialist alterantive needed Sadly they are a neoliberal, pro-capitalist party, whose policies won’t solve anything, but will polarize the debate on climate change. They’re proposing a low-emission zone, subsidies for solar panels, carbon taxes, not even one of their proposals is willing to break the power of the big multinationals and their shareholders. Every proposal they make will be paid by workers and their families through direct taxes, austerity or being obliged to buy a new environmentally friendly car. This will increase the discussion on the necessity of the workers movement usurping the theme of climate change, since only anti-capitalist and socialist measures will be able to solve anything. And these socialist measures won’t be won by simply for a party, particularly one that supports capitalism, but by struggling against the rule of multinational, capitalist corporations that are destroying our lives and planet.

FooD PRoDuCTIoN is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions and the primary contributor to ecosystem destruction and biodiversity loss. In 2050, it’s estimated that the global population will have risen to 10 billion, placing an even greater strain on the planet’s food production systems. Two-year research efforts of an EATLancet Commission on healthy diets and sustainable food systems just concluded that it will be impossible to put a brake on current climate change and biodiversity loss trends unless drastic dietary changes are made. It found that the consumption of unhealthy foods, particularly red meats, must be reduced by at least 50%. Simultaneously, a significant dietary shift towards legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetables must increase by more than 100%, all whilst completely stopping any further expansion of agricultural lands. Individual change? Co-leader of the commission, Prof. Johan Rockstrom from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, said that if we are to sustainably feed the world on a healthy diet in 2050, “nothing less than a new global agricultural revolution” would be required – in other words, a systems-level change. Action at an individual level, such as committing to a vegan diet, is of course to be encouraged, but the extent to which any individual has the luxury to modify their consumption is often contingent on their income – going greener tends to mean paying more. Additionally, this line of argument places the blame for climate change on working-class people, which is the punitive logic behind proposed carbon taxes, whilst completely ignoring the culpability of international agri-business and the power of other capitalist firms. A twisted logic It does not address the root of the problem, which is that the earth’s food production systems are driven by the ruthless drive for private profit,

with environmental sustainability coming as a futile afterthought. When English-grown apples are flown thousands of kilometres to South Africa to be waxed and polished by highly repressed labour, only to be shipped back to the UK and sold as “homegrown” produce, we see clearly just how morally twisted (and obscenely wasteful) for-profit food production can become. Global agribusiness is a $5 trillion industry and accounts for 30% of total greenhouse gas emission. However, this market-driven food production produces 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste a year, yet still manages to leave one third of the global population malnourished and millions relying on food banks in the more affluent global north. Food production is becoming increasingly monopolised by a tiny cabal of multinational companies. In Europe, 80% of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) money goes to just 20% of farms. This is despite the fact that smaller farms tend to perform better in terms of production efficiency per unit area. The socialist alternative The need to urgently transition to an economy that is a publicly owned and democratially planned is now starkly posed – nothing less will do. We need to end the rule of capitalist agri-businesss companies that are destroying our planet for profit. Nationalisation of key sectors of farming, food and agribusiness industry should not be viewed as an overly-ambitious demand. We must strive towards a planned food economy, which emphasises local, greener and more technologically innovative production, as well as a shift away from heavy state subsidisation of beef and dairy. There is no clearer example of a need to rapidly break from out-dated capitalist production than the need to sustainably feed a growing population, while at the same time averting the impending climate catastrophe. This can only be achieved by transferring society’s wealth, resources and industry into the public ownership of those most affected by climate change and most capable of tackling it – the working-class majority.

INTERNATIONAL THE SOCIALIST

Venezuela: Imperialist coup must be opposed to apply further economic sanctions and continue to squeeze the country dry of its liquidity and acutely heighten the economic crisis. This will have devastating effects on the lives of millions of people, to the point where enough layers of ordinary working people can see no other way out than submitting to the will of US capitalism.

By Stephen Ray

n MonDay, 25 February, uS vice president Mike Pence announced new and harsher sanctions on venezuela. This comes at a time when the venezuelan economy is in a dire situation, with inflation at record levels and the basic standards of living for many people not being met. These sanctions will only accelerate the devastation of its economy. At a conference between the US special envoy to Venezuela and the LIMA group in Bogotá, the VP also stated that “All options are now on the table” after the recent blockade of US 'humanitarian aid' attempting to enter Venezuela. Implying that direct military intervention could now be on the table. Imperialism conspires This is only the most recent development in escalating international tensions since 16 January, when Juan Guaidó pronounced himself interim president of Venezuela and declared Nicólas Maduro's 2018 election to the position as fraudulent and illegitimate. This presidential declaration was quickly supported by the Trump administration, leading EU member states and a plethora of right-wing leaders in South and Central America. Venezuela has been a thorn in the side of the US since the election of

Mass movement of the working class can defeat imperialism

Hugo Chávez in 1998. With Chávez coming to power there was major public investment in education, healthcare and land reform. In this context the 'Bolivarian' revolution gained considerable support amongst workers and poor people. However, these reforms were based largely on a reliance of the country’s oil reserves when oil prices were at record highs. The Chávez government failed to challenge the existence of capitalism and take the economy’s industry and banking system out of the private ownership of

its traditional ruling class. This ultimately enabled them to undermine the regime in a period of crisis. oil prices Hugo Chávez was succeeded by Nicólas Maduro. Maduro won the 2013 election by a very narrow margin and in the following years the economy of Venezuela would suffer badly due to a major decrease in the price of oil coinciding with a global economic downturn. Upon Maduro's re-election last year there was a renewed interest from Washington

concerning the fate of Venezuela. Trump placed harsh sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company the PdVSA at the beginning of this year. In January, Trump also appointed Elliott Abrams to position of 'special representative in Venezuela'. Abrams is a relic from the cold war era and is steeped in blood from Ronald Reagan's dirty wars in Central America in the 1980's. The Republican’s position is backed by the Democrats, the other party of US capitalism. The US tactics for the moment will

US: Sanders challenge garners mass support enthusiasm there exists for the leftwing program that Sanders represents for millions of people which has made him the most popular politician in the United States.

By Thomas White

LoT has changed in the political landscape of the united States in the last two years. With the election of Trump politics has been increasingly polarised and we have seen some of the largest protests in uS history opposing the right-wing agenda of the Trump administration. Socialism is no longer a dirty word and is being seriously considered as a viable alternative to capitalism, particularly amongst young people. Trade union struggle has been revitalised by a series of militant teacher strikes which have swept the US and given confidence to many workers that when you strike you can win. A general strike has been posed for the first time in decades by Sara Nelson of the flight attendants union during the government shutdown. The threat of such a strike swiftly brought Trump’s shutdown to an end. opposing the billionaire class It is in this context that Bernie Sanders has announced that he is running for the presidency in the 2020 elections. Sanders last run in 2016 had an electrifying effect on US society and galvanised millions of people into supporting his campaign. Working class people were inspired by his program of a political

Sanders must be willing to break with the Democrats.

revolution against the billionaire class with policies like taxing the rich, free universal healthcare, free third level education, erasing student debt and a $15 an hour federal minimum wage. Since the 2016 elections these demands have attained widespread support across the Republican/Democratic divide finding a ready audience amongst working class people

whose living standards have continued to decline following the 20072008 crash, while the profits of the capitalist class have continued to grow. Within 24 hours of announcing his bid for the presidency Sanders raised nearly six million dollars, with an average donation of $27 outraising every other candidate instantaneously. This shows just how much

Break with the two-party system Sanders has decided to run as a candidate for the Democratic party. Socialist Alternative, the Socialist Party’s sister organisation in the US believes this is a mistake. It is one of the two parties that represents the interests of the capitalist class. Although it tends to put forward less openly conservative policies on social questions but economically is just as committed to the rule of Wall Street and capitalism, as the Republican party. If the Democratic establishment again rigs the primaries against Sanders (as it did in 2016) to try and prevent him from becoming their candidate then Sanders should run as an independent candidate. He has the potential to mobilise millions of young people, women, workers and the oppressed. This can lay the basis for the building of a new mass party of the working class in US based on a socialist programme that rejects the economic and political rule of the billionaire class and capitalism. As the electoral process continues over the next two years there will be great potential for movements from below and independent class action to start forging the socialist alternative that working class people need.

Break with capitalism The Socialist Party and our sister organisation in Venezuela, Izquierda Revolucionaria (Revolutionary Left), maintain an open criticism of the top-down bureaucratic tendencies of the Chavismo movement. These have been seemingly intensified under the leadership of Maduro due to international economic conditions but also to what is an obvious mismanagement of the Venezuelan economy, open corruption and the undemocratic state control of vital resources. However, this blatant coup attempt by the world’s largest imperialist power needs to be strongly resisted. The only legitimate agents for change in Venezuela are those who create the real value in its society, the ordinary working class. They working masses of Venezuela must be organised around a mass revolutionary socialist party committed to overthrowing capitalism, imperialism and landlordism and nationalising its vast wealth under the democratic control of working people.

India witnesses mass general strike By Jack Flood BETWEEN 150 and 200 million workers in India, approximately 2% of the planet’s population, participated in a two-day general strike in January. This world-historic feat was absent from Western media. Workers from all sectors of the economy acted in solidarity to bring the country to a halt – with mass support from the general public, including farmers and students. This incredible display of workers’ power would have been impossible without the active role of workers’ unions in the struggle. Fightback needed Grievances identical to the ones expressed by Indian workers could be heard on any picket-line across the globe. They stand against precarious work, the underfunding and privatisation of public services, anti-union politics, and pro-corporate governments who offer austerity for the workers and tax cuts for the rich. A victory for Indian workers is a victory for all workers in the struggle against global capitalism. Only when the international workingclass organises and demonstrates its strength through disruption and self-management will real concessions be gained.

WOMEN

THE SOCIALIST

International Women’s Day 2019: The case for socialist feminism INTERNATIoNAl WoMEN’S Day was established by socialist women as a day of struggle against oppression and exploitation meted out by the capitalist system. A hundred years later, we have won the vote and equal rights by law, but women continue to be at much higher risk of poverty, abuse and harassment than men.

provements in reporting practices. But trade unions must take a lead in the #MeToo movement to organise in workplaces.

A precarious existence

Opposing violence The Women’s Aid helpline answers 50 calls disclosing abuse per day and 90% of women murdered in Ireland knew the man that killed them. In 2018, thousands took part in #IBelieveHer demonstrations against the court system rigged against rape survivors and the explosive #ThisIsNotConsent protests against the victim-blaming of a 17-year old girl. At this protest Ruth Coppinger, TD, and ROSA called for mass walkouts this International Women’s Day.

sexual harassment reached new heights in 2018. The #MeToo movement has continued to rage, with low-paid, mainly women of colour working at McDonald’s in the US taking militant strike action, saying “I’m not on the menu.” Google workers took part in a global walk out to protest sexual assaults by senior executives. The inspirational fight back taking place around the world shows that protests, strikes and walkouts can make real gains for women. By stopping work and More than half of all women and nearly of women murdered demonstrating, workers at two-thirds of women in Ireland knew the Google overaged 18-24 said they turned the ban have experienced sexman that killed on taking sexual ual harassment at them harassment cases work, and the vast maagainst colleagues to jority of incidents go unrecourt and forced imported. But the fight against

Opposing sexual harassment

90%

Since the economic crash, wages have stagnated and woefully precarious work continues to rise, squeezing working class people, particularly women, and offering little security. Women are vastly overrepresented in caregiving and service professions, such as nursing, which are undervalued, criminally underpaid and more precarious. Devastating cuts to the lone parent allowance, the decimation of domestic violence and rape crisis services, and an unprecedented housing crisis all serve to trap women in abusive relationships, risking their lives. While 760,000 live in poverty, the state refuses to accept the €14 billion in taxes owed by Apple and acts in the interests of big business and property developers. We need public homes on public land, investment to reverse all austerity measures and an end to precarity in the workplace.

By Keishia Taylor

working class women LGBTQ rights, affordable and taking away suphousing, decent pay ports that protect and a future for our Nearly women from vioplanet all reprelence and insent a struggle crease their against the autonomy. same thing: the Gender oprule of the cappression italist system won’t be which has inended by equality inbuilt women aged 18-24 wealthy into its DNA. We have experienced women speakneed a mass sexual harassment ing up for us, or working-class through piecemeal movement that at work reforms that are at unites all sections of risk of being reversed. the workers, women, Equality and liberation can LGBTQ people and all the oponly be won through class struggle, pressed, to struggle for a socialist soand working-class women have a ciety where its vast wealth is prized central role to play in leading the from the private ownership of the charge against this rotten exploitacapitalist elites. tive system. The struggle for abortion rights,

2 out of 3

International solidarity

We must stand in solidarity with all the victims of capitalism and oppression globally and with the movements fighting gender-based violence, abortion bans, the gender pay gap and sexism in the Spanish State, Argentina, Brazil, India, the US and elsewhere. We need to organise and mobilise and show the establishment that we refuse to tolerate misogyny, sexism, or oppression, here or anywhere else. Movements uniting all sections of the working class are key to social change - respond to the global call for walkouts and reclaim International Women's Day as a day for socialist feminism!

Feminising the elite? Gender equality will not be won by feminising the ruling elite. Theresa May, Regina Doherty and Joan Burton have all been responsible for dishing out brutal cuts that harm

Defend the right to bodily autonomy abnormalities. His dismissive response was to say “you should know the answer to your own question”. He continued to explain that severe foetal abnormalities are often disabilities and that would not be ground for termination of pregnancy. Varadkar has failed to recognise the complex details and extremity of the case; that a pregnant woman will be forced to carry on with a pregnancy that will end tragically and the implications this will have on her mental health. It is evident that a review of the law is needed and should be dealt with, as Ruth says, “sooner rather than later”.

By Leah Whelan

he voTe to repeal the 8th amendment and abortion on 12 weeks on request won by a historic vote last May. a movement of women, young people, LgBTQ and working class people generally won bodily autonomy in ireland As the abortion legislation passed from the Dáil to the Seanad in late last year it was clear that some aspects of what the pro-choice movement had campaigned for were not included in the bill. Demands for trans inclusive legislation and exclusion zones that were ignored or deemed unnecessary at the time, are now proving essential. Rights undermined There seems to be more underlying problems since the removal of the 8th amendment. Socialist Party member and Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger raised concerns in the Dáil in January and February in relation to women who have contacted her regarding the difficulty they are facing receiving terminations here in Ireland, three of whom subsequently had to travel abroad. Ruth highlighted the case of a

A movement from below won bodily autonomy in May of last year

woman “Mary” who was diagnosed with a severe foetal abnormality. This woman was told there was a 15% of survival and when born, there was a possibility her child would have Edwards Syndrome. This woman was also told that her unborn would not reach the second

trimester. Ruth mentioned how this woman expressed her concerns that “Ireland will do nothing for me”. varadkar’s indifference Ruth challenged Varadkar in relation to the denial of bodily autonomy in hospitals and cases of severe and fatal

Separate church and state There needs to be a full separation of church and state. We need state owned, properly funded and secular hospitals that under the democratic control of its workforce and service users that will provide the utmost care and abortion services for pregnant people and not send them away to other countries when they wish to terminate their pregnancy. As Ruth correctly pointed out “the conservative Catholic control of hospitals is having a chilling effect and forcing such women abroad”. The fact that abortion outside the existing legisla-

tion is a criminal offense which carrying a 14-year prison sentence is another chilling effect on obstetricians and doctors’ decision making. Varadkar has avoided answering these questions, but it is clear that the religious ethos of hospitals has an effect on the abortion service provided. The number of anti-choice protests outside hospitals, GP clinics and family planning centres are growing. A recent investigation by The Times Ireland disclosed that American activists are working with anti-choice groups in Ireland to target and harass women entering these facilities. As Ireland has no standalone abortion clinics, this harassment and intimidation is propelled onto each individual woman that enters these healthcare facilities. It is clear a review of the legislation is needed on exclusion zones, on the process of access to healthcare and on the 28-day rule that was not discussed during the referendum. Abortion needs to be fully decriminalised. What is needed is a national health service free at the point at the point of use that is properly resourced that will provide bodily autonomy to anyone who needs it and they will not be turned away because of religious ideologies.

HISTORY

THE SOCIALIST

Socialist ideas in action

Militant & the struggle of Liverpool City Council By Conor Payne

T The end of February , the capitalist press and the right-wing of the Labour Party in Britain were falling over themselves to condemn the re-admittance of Derek hatton, the former Deputy Leader of the Militantled Liverpool city council from 1983 to 1987. Hatton was formally a supporter of Militant (the forerunners of the Socialist Party of England and Wales, sister party of the Socialist Party in Ireland), and alongside Militant generally played a central role in the struggle of that council against the Thatcher government and its assault on the living standards of the working class. lies and smears The issue for the Labour right is not Hatton personally. What haunts them is the legacy of Liverpool City Council and Militant - one they continue to smear as thuggish and having led to chaos. In the 1983 elections, the Labour Party in Liverpool won a majority on a programme of fighting the Thatcher government's cuts to local councils. Thatcher's Chancellor Geoffrey Howe described their policy towards the city as one of “managed decline”. Working-class people in the city faced conditions of mass unemployment, deprivation and dilapidated slum housing. The council saw that a confrontation between them, alongside the organised working class, and the government would be needed to secure the funding to transform these conditions.

Militant played a leading role in the Liverpool Labour Party and the council. The council fought a determined campaign, including setting an 'illegal' no-cuts budget and mobilising the mass support which existed from working-class people in the city and in the unions. This included mass strike action and demonstrations involving up to 50,000 working-class people on the streets of the city. A proud record Despite the distortions the real legacy of Liverpool City Council still stands. The council was the only one in Britain to extract extra funding from the Thatcher government. It built 5,000 houses, rehoused 6,300 families from tenement housing, built nurseries, leisure centres, and comprehensive schools. In the context of the housing crisis in Ireland today, this is a shining example of what could be achieved. No workers were ever sacked by the Militant-led council. 10,000 workers a year were employed on the council's capital programme. The council had huge support but also involvement - the Liverpool Labour Party held regular mass meetings of 500 people with democratic discussion of tactics and approach. The socialist-led administration was never voted out of office, and was only removed by the intervention of the courts and, ultimately, the House of Lords. Shamefully alongside this, the council was publicly condemned by then leader of the Labour Party Neil Kinnock at its 1985 conference and supporters of Militant were expelled from the party. This was the beginning of

role of Militant in Liverpool is also an important example of the key role that can be played by a socialist organisation that is confident in the power of the working class and opposes the brutal logic of capitalism.

Legacy of the Liverpool battle:

Rightwing of Labour Party organised expulsion of members of Militant

Labour’s rightward shift that paved the way for Blairism to gain control in 1994. The role of socialists As ever, the press and the Blairites are targeting Jeremy Corbyn, trying to associate him and his opposition to austerity with a grotesquely distorted version of the legacy of Militant. But unfortunately, he has not followed the example set by Militant in Liverpool. In 2015, Corbyn wrote to Labour Council leaders across

Britain urging them to only set 'legal' budgets: in effect implementing Tory cuts to council services. In contrast, Liverpool Councillors said 'Better to break the law than break the poor.' Corbyn's position is symptomatic of a general reluctance to confront head on the Labour right and the establishment. But the experience in Liverpool shows that this is necessary to really f capitalist austerity and transform the Labour Party into a vehicle which fights for the interests of working-class people. The

l 6,300 families rehoused from tenements, flats and maisonettes l 2, 873 tenement flats demolished l 1,315 walk-up flats demolished l 2,086 flats/maisonettes demolished l 4,800 houses and bungalows built l 7,400 houses and flats improved l 600 houses/bungalows created by 'top-downing' 1,315 walk-up flats l 25 new Housing Action Areas being developed l 6 new nursery classes built and open l 17 Community Comprehensive Schools established following a massive re-organisation l £10million spent on school improvements l Five new sports centres, one with a leisure pool attached, built and open l Two thousand additional jobs provided for in Liverpool City Council Budget l Ten thousand people per year employed on Council's Capital Programme l Three new parks built l Rents frozen for five years

New Pamphlet Review: Rosa Luxemburg directed by Margarethe von Trotta By Carah Daniel

Workers’ Power in Belfast The Story of the 1919

Engineering Strike by Kevin Henry

€4/£3, available from: www.socialistpartyni.net

oRIgINAlly RElEASED in 1986 german director Margarethe von Trotta's Rosa luxemburg has been rereleased on DvD, Blu-ray and digital download to coincide with the centenary of her death. The film is based on the political and personal life of leading Polish socialist and Marxist Rosa Luxemburg. It focuses on her struggle for a socialist revolution of the working class to overthrow capitalism and in particular her vocal opposition to the First World War. Starting during one of Rosa’s stints in prison, it follows her life right up until her violent and brutal murder in 1919. Von Trotta cleverly portrays the bold personality of Luxemburg, in particular her bravery, sarcasm and determination. It shows on numerous occasions how she was never afraid to criticise anyone, no matter who they were or how important they may have been seen to be. It details her fight against the parliamentarianism and opportunism of her own party, the German Social Democrats, and her constant focus on working-class action. She often stood alone, or in a very small minority, even within her own party.

Her personal and love life are touched upon, but the real focus remains on politics: her life's calling. This is expressed well throughout the movie. The film shows many of her inspira-

tional speeches, her campaigns and even her repeated imprisonment in both Poland and Germany. Her personal relationships with well-known socialists Clara Zetkin and Karl Liebknecht are also depicted - those

who joined her in opposition to the war credits that the majority of the SPD shamefully voted for. These would then go on to form the Spartacus League, a new distinctly anti-war political party. The political and human tragedy of the First World War itself is something experienced mostly from Rosa's jail cell, as she was imprisoned for her anti-war sentiment for two and a half years. Following her release, she took part in the German revolution of 1919, which was an attempt at a socialist revolution that unfortunately ended in failure and repression. The demands of the revolution were an end to war, to abolish the monarchy, economic equality and other socialist demands. The response to the uprising was for the Social Democratic party to violently crush their left-wing opposition and its leaders, leading to a witch hunt against Luxemburg and Liebknecht and ultimately to their murder. The utterly tragic final scenes see Rosa's lifeless body being thrown into the river. The film is an excellent portrayal of the life and politics of Rosa Luxemburg, as well as an insight to the political situation in Germany at the time of the First World War.

ANALYSIS

THE SOCIALIST

Where next for Labour under Corbyn? By Paul Murphy TD

hiLe ThereSa May stumbles on as a zombie Tory Prime Minister, chuka umunna and seven other Blairite MPs chose their moment to strike – splitting from the Labour Party, forming ‘The independent group’. They were joined by three MPs who split from the Tories to join them. Establishment cheerleaders While fulfilling the “centrist” fantasies of the political commentariat in Britain, their right-wing politics are clear and will be a significant obstacle to developing a significant base of support. Interview after interview has seen the newly formed group studiously avoid saying what policies they have. When pressed, they insist they have values on their website, which are predictably vacuous. When they stray away from that line, they cannot help but give the game away. Anna Soubry MP declared her support for Tory austerity, saying “I think the things we did to the economy were absolutely necessary at the time.” Their baseless claim to be splitting from the Labour Party because of their opposition to racism and antiSemitism was quickly exposed, when Angela Smith MP referred to Asian

people, live on a TV panel as having a “funny tinge”. Welcome development From the point of view of the project of transforming the Labour Party into a genuinely left-wing mass workers’ party, the departure of the Blairites is to be welcomed. Unfortunately, many remain behind, and used the split to try to undermine Jeremy Corbyn. Deputy leader Tom Watson returned to the attack, declaring a “crisis” and called for him to listen more. Who he wants Corbyn to listen to is not the 500,000 members, many of whom have joined as a consequence of Corbyn’s challenge to inequality and advocacy of left-wing policies such as the scrapping of tuition fees and renationalisation of rail, energy and water. Instead, he wants them to listen to the many Blairite MPs who remain behind. Unfortunately, the initial demand of Corbyn and John McDonnell that the splitters stand down as MPs and face by-elections, gave way to conciliation, with McDonnell calling for a “massive listening exercise”. This has been combined, as we go to press, with the decision to suspend Corbyn supporter and Labour MP Chris Williamson on the trumped-up charges of anti-Semitism. It is the Blairite MPs that should be got rid of from the Labour Party, not the voices

from the left. Corbyn has also announced that Labour now favours a new referendum on Brexit. Although the details of this are not yet clear, it would be a major mistake for Corbyn to support a referendum with ‘Remain’ on the ballot paper in order to overturn the previous referendum result. While opposing a Tory Brexit he needs to take a clear stand in opposition to the capitalist EU. A socialist approach to Brexit Corbyn needs to articulate a clear socialist approach to Brexit – which can unite working class people regardless of whether they voted Leave or Remain. That means respecting the referendum result, and opposing any attempt to overturn it, while fighting against May’s Tory Brexit and any attacks on workers’ rights. Instead, Corbyn should outline how his government could re-open negotiations for a left exit on an entirely different basis, by appealing over the heads of the Merkels, Junckers and Varadkars to ordinary working-class people across Europe who also oppose the neo-liberal, militaristic and racist nature of the EU. This should be linked to popularising a vision of a genuinely democratic and socialist Europe, that breaks with a capitalist system built on the dictatorship of big business and bankers.

Corbyn must make a decisive stance against Blairites in the Labour Party

Mass mobilisations needed The split underlines the need for a change of approach by the Corbyn leadership. The Blairites who remain within cannot be conciliated with. They are simply biding their time for the next move to seek to return Labour to its role as another party clearly serving the interests of British capitalism. Instead of listening to those MPs, the MPs should be forced to listen to the mass membership of the Labour Party, who should de-select all those MPs who

do not agree with Corbyn’s left-wing policies. With the Tory government hanging to power by its fingernails, mobilisations are needed to force it out. Instead of relying on parliamentary manoeuvres, Corbyn and the trade union movement should co-ordinate a series of protest actions in order to drive Theresa May out of office and force a general election. This can lay the basis for a Corbyn led government taking power on a socialist programme.

other side’ in elections which have largely been reduced to sectarian headcounts. Many workers and young people are angry about austerity, poverty and the denial of fundamental rights, and desire a break from the deadend of Green and Orange politics. The Socialist Party is collaborating with others to put forward a challenge in the local elections under the banner of Cross-Community Labour Alternative, aiming to help rebuild an anti-sectarian, political voice for the working class and provide an outlet for the enthusiasm which exists towards Jeremy Corbyn’s antiausterity policies. Launched in 2016, Labour Alternative candidates have already achieved the highest votes for left candidates in their constituencies in decades.

of fracking in the county, Donal has a strong track record as a fighter for working-class people. In the 2014 local elections, he narrowly missed out on taking a seat as an anti-fracking candidate. Winning even one seat could have an impact across the North, raising confidence that it is possible to build a genuinely crosscommunity, socialist left alternative to Unionism and nationalism. In Belfast, a team of young candidates from across the sectarian divide are to stand for Labour Alternative. Among them are trade union activists leading the campaign to organise hospitality workers in the city, campaigners against cuts and prominent fighters for abortion rights and marriage equality, which are still denied in the North, reflecting the backward nature of all the main parties. They are likely to be joined by other candidates, presenting a vibrant labour movement challenge in the election, and a step towards building the mass, anti-sectarian and working-class party with socialist policies which is sorely needed.

Northern elections: Socialist challenge to the sectarian consensus By Daniel Waldron

n 2 May, local council elections are to be held in the north. uncertainty and fears around Brexit will undoubtedly form part of the backdrop. So too will the political deadlock between the main parties since the local assembly collapsed in January 2017 in the wake of the renewable heating incentive ‘cash for ash’ scandal. Over the last two years, the DUP and Sinn Féin have sought to shift focus away from the ten cosy years they spent working together at Stormont, dutifully implementing the Tories’ austerity programme while seeking tax cuts for big business. Instead, they have sought to frame political debate around divisive and contentious questions, such as the question of an Irish language act and how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles. Sectarian headcount On an electoral level, this strategy has worked – the Westminster elec-

Socialist Party member Donal O'Cofaigh will be standing in local elections

tions in 2017 saw the DUP and Sinn Féin both win their highest ever votes, taking all but one seat between them. However, this does not repre-

sent a ringing endorsement of their sectarian agendas or their role in implementing austerity. Rather, it reflects a pressure to vote against ‘the

Socialist left alternative In Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, Donal O’Cofaigh aims to challenge for a council seat. A leading trade unionist, campaigner against health cuts and prominent figure in the movement which defeated the threat

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