The Socialist, September 2018 by Socialist Party

thesocialist

PAPER OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY

ISSUE 117

Not welcome!

SEPTEMBER 2018

INSIDE

Ryanair: Union action wins important gains

Our crisis, their profits: Capitalism & housing

p6-7

- no red carpet for this billionaire bigot - protest against Trump in November

Climate chaos: why the planet is burning

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NEWS THE SOCIALIST

Inside the system – life at the top for the 1% water, they warn us, contain chemicals and additives. Well, yeah, those chemicals were put in there to kill bacteria and parasites, saving tens of millions of people from sickness and death. But of course, “raw water” was never about health. It’s about hucksters turning something as basic as water into an exclusive commodity to make affluent people feel superior and enlightened.

Pouring their wealth away The rich have always had a fetish for expensive things – rather than just enjoying their wealth, they splash out to make other people feel small. Today, with entirely new heights of wealth inequality, the wealthy have reached new lows. Rich kids in Sweden have a practise called vaska: they go to the bar, order two bottles of expensive champagne, and command the bar staff to pour one down the sink.

Lord Desmond of Shrewsbury

Stomach churning The Ainsworth in New York City combines gilded-age elitism with the most vulgar tackiness: you can pay up to $1000 for chicken wings coated in 24-karat gold. This is doubly sickening: first, there’s the thought of actually eating such a revolting snack; and second, because we know that this disgusting item is on the menu for only one reason – to make rich people get a rush because they’re able to spend a grand on chicken wings.

“Our misery is their playground” This obnoxious excess is written into the DNA of capitalism even at its most “respectable.” Take Ires Reit, Ireland’s biggest landlord: 2,500 apartments across Dublin, with rent per tenant ranging from €1,167 to €2,697. “Rental demand remains strong and the supply of residential accommodation remains con-

By Manus Lenihan

Golden chicken wings now available for $1,00

strained,” their chief executive reports, “resulting in a combination of attractive yields and rental growth.” (Irish Times). Translation: Homelessness is getting worse, which allows us to charge whatever the hell rent we want. Our misery is their playground.

Parasitism writ large Since Trump cut taxes for the rich by $1.5 trillion, the wealthy in the USA have begun doing vaska on a titanic scale. Top companies will spend $800 billion buying back their own stock in 2018 – a gimmick meant to enrich shareholders and massage the numbers. This is every bit as excessive and sadistic as vaska. In January, Harley-Davidson announced it was closing down its plant in Kansas

City. Days later, it decided to spend $700 million on stock buybacks.

Dermot Desmond, one of the richest people in Ireland, has bought a huge mansion on Shrewsbury Road. In 2005 it was sold for €58 million, the most expensive property ever sold in the state. Desmond is going to knock the mansion down and build another, three times bigger, on the same site. Balconies will

“Raw water” anyone? “It has a vaguely mild sweetness, a nice smooth mouth feel, nothing that overwhelms the flavour profile.” What is it? Champagne? Gilded chicken wings? In fact, it’s water – untreated water, straight from a spring, and the quote is from the manager of a store that sells it for $4 per litre. Live Water, Summit Spring Water and Zero Mass Water are marketing this “raw water.” Tap water and normal bottled

Desmond’s €58 million Shrewsbury mans

ion

overlook the fanciest private garden in Ireland, while down in the basement the servants’ quarters – sorry, the staff bedroom – will open on a “sunken courtyard.” While the housing list keeps getting longer, Desmond will be hosting garden parties to show off his wealth to other rich people.

A decadent & decaying system Take a tour of House of Bijan in Beverley Hills – where the cheapest suits are $10,000. “We are creating the most expensive, most exclusive, highest-quality and beautiful, in my opinion, clothing for men in the world,” says Nicolas Bijan. You’ll notice that “expensive” and “exclusive” come before quality and beauty. Photos of customers line the shelves – presidents, movie stars. Picking up one photo Bijan boasts, “This is the son of the Shah of Iran.” You see, the Shah was still the dictator of Iran back when the Bijan family moved to the USA. But Iran doesn’t have a Shah anymore: he was kicked out of power by a revolution. Here’s hoping all the gold-eating, champagneslopping capitalist class will someday face the same fate.

Dublin Bus on the chopping block he NaTioNal Transport authority (NTa) has now published a report by US transport consultancy firm, Jarret Walker, that drastically overhauls Dublin Bus. The claim is that this will significantly improve connectivity and frequency. However, reading the small print we see that this is simply a rerationing of Dublin Bus’s existing stock, which will actually worsen the service in the suburbs.

plan, tens of thousands will be obliged to get two buses. They will be forced to get a local bus from their community to one of the main ‘bus hubs’, where they will have to get off and wait for another ‘spine’ bus to take them into the city centre. The madness of this idea is clear to everyone, except the NTA. Thousands of commuters arriving in the same place scrambling to get on a bus going into the city centre. Imagine what it will be like for parents with buggies, wheelchair users and those with reduced mobility?

A plan for chaos The proposed plan is based around establishing eight ‘spine routes’ which will have, it is claimed, a significantly higher frequency, serving new ‘bus hubs’ in the main population centres, like Swords, Blanchardstown and Tallaght. These will be supplemented with additional orbital, east-west and feeder routes to serve nearby communities. Over 200,000 commuters in total use Dublin Bus to travel into the city centre each day. Under this new

Provoking outrage Already the proposal has provoked outrage among commuters. They correctly see this as simply re-rationing existing stock and another step down the road towards further privatisation. Such a situation will lead to the creation of an inferior transport system and attacks on workers rights. Large and angry meetings have taken place in communities across the city. Over 300 people attended a meeting in Greenhills with 600 in

By Matt Waine

ity and the Socialist Party have organised meetings in Edenmore, Tallaght and Dublin West.

Plans to overhaul and cut Dublin Bus services are being met with massive opposition

Drimnagh. Two hundred irate locals marched to one of the NTA ‘informa-

tion stalls’ in Crumlin to register their opposition to this plan. Solidar-

Invest in public transport While the consultation process ends on 28 September, the many local campaigns must continue to put pressure on the politicians. Many Fianna Fáil politicians are opportunistically holding meetings on the issue. They need to be pressurised into insisting that Transport Minister, Shane Ross, directs the NTA to scrap the plans. We need an active campaign in every community. SIPTU and the NBRU – who represent bus drivers – should call a city-wide demonstration to the Dáil. But this isn’t enough. Commuting to and from work in Dublin is a daily nightmare for hundreds of thousands of workers and students. The cause is chronic underfunding of and lack of capital investment in public transport. What is needed is a properly funded public transport system that is run on a non-profit basis to serve the interests of its workforce, commuters and our environment.

WORKPLACE

THE SOCIALIST

Ryanair: Union organising & workers’ action wins gains By Michael O’Brien

S We go to press news has broken that the directly employed Ryanair pilots in ialPa (affiliated with Forsa union) have unanimously voted to accept the agreement negotiated by their representatives. This is the culmination of a struggle spanning decades to force Ryanair to recognise unions in the first instance. In the end the threat of industrial action December last year forced them to concede on that principle but further days of strike action in recent months were required to get results on issues relating to working conditions. Taking on multinationals Not a lot of detail has been made public yet but on the basis of the union’s own statement it appears significant victories have been scored on seniority and base transfer policies which in practice breaks a lot of the power the employer has traditionally wielded over the pilots. The significance of this outcome should not be understated. There is a history of high profile unsuccessful recognition battles from Nolan Transport to Pat the Baker to the defeated campaign of Ryanair baggage handlers in 1998. Current recognition battles are still outstanding at Lloyds Pharmacy and Extern.

Workers action has forced concessions from anti-union, anti-worker Ryanair

While the absence of a legal obligation on employers to recognise unions is an impediment to organising it is not an absolute barrier as has been demonstrated here. It is all the more remarkable given that Ryanair is a multinational which like other multinationals threw in the threat of relocating jobs in the midst of the dispute. However practical international solidarity came into play with co-ordinated actions by pilots and cabin crew in a number of other countries. The fight for decent pay and conditions continues on the continent with further simultaneous ac-

tion due in Italy, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium. Vigilance needed No agreement like this ever represents a once and for all settlement between employers and workers. Firstly, it remains to be seen if Ryanair employers will honour the deal in practice as they have a history of acting in bad faith. Secondly, the bargaining position of pilots needs to be strengthened by the elimination of bogus self-employment practices by the company. Thirdly, the cabin crew who have

also organised themselves into Forsa remain to have their pay and working conditions issues resolved and it would be naïve to think that Ryanair will not test their resolve the way they tested the resolve of the pilots, necessitating action. Finally, a watching brief needs to be kept on the progress of struggles by Ryanair pilots, cabin crew and ground crew across Europe and regardless of the settlement reached in Ireland their bargaining strength rests on international solidarity which needs to be maintained when it is required.

Striking for union recognition Interview: Lloyds striker speaks out The campaign of strike action by Lloyds workers seeking recognition for their union MANDATE has entered its fourth month. Some 270 workers spread across 40 of the outlets have just completed their first 48-hour action. The Socialist spoke to Amy Bannon from the Nutgrove branch on the prospects for the struggle. “We never bought the argument from the company that they were financially unable to meet our demands for better pay and conditions. The recent announcement that Lloyds were seeking to buy the Bradley pharmacy chain and were willing to fund a voluntary redundancy package on the basis of five weeks pay per year’s service absolutely explodes that myth.

“The rationale behind the voluntary redundancy offer is clear. Normally such packages are offered by a company if they are looking to downsize. In this instance however, anybody who takes the package will be replaced by new staff on the bottom rung of the wage structure. This is transparent union busting. They are hoping that a sizeable chunk of the MANDATE membership will take the package. “In order to force this agenda along Director Pat Watt and other management figures have stepped up a campaign of intimidation. In last two of his propaganda videos (available for all to see on YouTube) he has made unspecific allegations of intimidatory and abusive behaviour by strikers, threatening disciplinary action. He wants to inhibit our effective picketing. He subsequently did a tour of the pickets confronting strikers individually including myself. “I have no doubt that our organising effort and the current campaign of strike action is responsible for the movement by the company on pay and conditions, despite the charade of pretending it’s the outcome of negotiations with the in house ‘Colleagues Representative Committee’. It’s no way near enough for us to settle however.

Action needs to be stepped up in order to succesfully take on the bosses in Llyods

Union strategy “There is no disguising the fact that the strike campaign is at a crossroads. If we are to win our campaign I think it will require a greater frequency of actions. The 48-hour action we’ve just gone through was a test and the three-day action scheduled for early October likewise is a demonstration of our seriousness. However, the month-long gap between these two actions and a further month of a gap before the four day action scheduled for November does pose a problem. It takes the pressure off the company for four

weeks at a time. The union have indicated that a meeting will be pulled together this month which is an ideal opportunity to review this strategy. “The idea of more days of action clearly poses a financial challenge to me and my colleagues. Practical support from other unions and groups of workers and supporting organisations that has come in has been very welcome and will need to be stepped up. The whole trade union movement and workers everywhere enduring precarious conditions have a stake in our success as it will spur them on to get organised. That’s basic solidarity”

IN BRIEF: The yawning pay gap By Denise Parker A recenT report found that the bosses of the top 20 companies in Ireland earned 33 times the wages of their workforce. Their combined pay packet comes to a whopping €35.8 million, an increase of 5.25% in the last year. Their workers have received a little more than half this amount. CEOs have always earned much more than the average worker but the pay gap between bosses and workers has increased by mammoth proportions in every country worldwide in the last decade. In response to the recession, many companies introduced pay cuts and pay freezes to protect their profit margin. Real wages are stagnating while the 1% revel in the profits. The acceleration of the pay gap has been a direct consequence of globalisation and the systematic attack on trade union rights within the workforce, which has led to a culture of low pay and precarious work. This is no accident. Stagnation in wages is a direct consequence of neoliberal policies.

Section 39 workers strike for pay restoration By Valerie O’Leary ThIrTeen ThoUSAnd workers who work for voluntary agencies that provide essential services to the hSe will take strike action this September. These so-called “section 39” workers work in agencies that receive up to 70% of their funding from the state. Their conditions have historically been in line with that of public servants and have been affected by FEMPI pay cuts in the same way as public servants. Last year, under pressure, the government partially restored some of these cuts, however this group of workers were exempt from this reversal. Suddenly, when it comes to improving conditions, the government consider these workers to be outside of the public service system. Undermining workers’ rights Section 39 workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action. Those workers organised in SIPTU will hold a one-day strike. A joint action with workers organised in UNITE, Forsa and INMO would make the strike much more effective. The treatment of Section 39 workers is a prime example of how outsourcing policies impact on workers within a two-tier health system. The state’s dependence and reliance on the Catholic Church and charities to provide essential services allows it to shirk its own responsibilities. These services should be part of a national public health system that would provide decent pay and conditions for its workforce.

ANALYSIS THE SOCIALIST

Separate church & state

Break this toxic connection By Ruth Coppinger

he PoPemoBile moving through near-empty Dublin streets; the vast spaces that went unoccupied at mass in the Phoenix Park; and the numerous protests against clerical abuse — these were the hallmarks of the Papal visit in august. Only three months after a historic defeat in the abortion referendum, the Catholic Church in Ireland was sent yet another clear signal of its marginalisation. Past abuse Leo Varadkar felt the need to deliver a somewhat critical message to the Pontiff. Clerical sex abuse and institutional abuse featured in his speech, as did the referendums on marriage equality and abortion. But despite the plaudits from some in the media, Varadkar’s speech was tame, merely asking the Pope to use his influence to “heal wounds". He made no demands for compensation for survivors, or anything concrete. The reason is that the establishment can only go so far in its criticism – the state is as up to its neck in the abuse, as is the church. Since the state’s foundation, welfare, education and health were handed over – provided by the state in other countries – to be privately run by reli-

gious orders. In a poverty-ridden and unstable state, religion was a useful form of social control. It took years of campaigning by survivors before the Irish state apologised for its role in the Magdalene Laundries. Yet over a quarter of the women were sent there directly by the state. The state gave lucrative contracts and finance to these institutions, knowing no wages were paid to those who toiled there. The Gardaí pursued and returned women, girls and boys who escaped such religious-run institutions. Shameful treatment The state still has not properly compensated survivors of abuse and residential institutions which should mean paying them pensions, lost wages, health and housing services. All the schemes set up have also had an onerous burden of proof. Instead of asking the Pope politely for justice, why has the state itself not launched criminal investigations and made prosecutions for the heinous crimes committed against children and women? Why still no exhumation of the hundreds of bodies and criminal investigation into Tuam and other ‘homes’? The soft approach was exemplified by Education Minister Richard Bruton who said the Pope made “a very firm statement”. He did not think that people ought to expect that the Pope would address the issue of

10,000 demonstrated in Dublin city centre to protest against the Pope's visit at the end of August

whether the Church had gone far enough to deal with the management of clerical sex abuse during his visit. Contrast this to the majority of working and young people who either showed mass disinterest in the Pope’s presence or actively took part in numerous protests. Small but powerful symbolic protests were held all over the country placing baby shoes at former institutions, for example, and a “Stand for Truth” protest that attracted thousands in Dublin.

no trust in establishment It’s clear that the capitalist establishment parties can’t be relied on to separate church and state. They have an appalling record of kowtowing to the church and, while they see the changed public attitudes, they’ve no fire in their belly for such a fight. If they can come to an accommodation they will. Their preference is to bend and adjust rather than break. That is why referendums are being proposed on women’s place in the home and blasphemy, to give the im-

pression of a momentum. But a more fundamental battle with the Church lies in education and health. It would pose the need to forcibly take extensive lands and buildings from the Church, to remove religious reps from boards and to set up a public health system and secular education at massive cost. We need to use the momentum of the victorious repeal movement to go all the way and say no more prevarication – separate church and state now.

Social Democrats: Radical alternative or Labour mark two? By Cillian Gillespie The lAST decade has seen convulsive change in Ireland. From 2008 onwards, we witnessed a devastating economic crisis and an eight year regime of austerity. This was followed by a neoliberal recovery where lack of affordable housing and childcare, underfunded social services and growing precarity in the workplace have become the norm. This is “capitalist realism”, Irish style. We have also seen important social movements on the part of workers, women, young and LGBTQ people; notably the successful mass movements against water charges and the historic referendums that delivered marriage equality and abortion rights. What is “social democracy”? One political party that has sought to tap into the growing vacuum in Irish politics in the last number of years, particularly with the demise of Labour, has been the Social Democrats. One of its two TDs and co-leader, Roisin Shorthall, and many of its councillors and active members, are former members of the Labour Party – people who belatedly left the party during its time in government from 2011 to 2016.

ing to Shorthall, about forming a government).

The concept of “social democracy” has meant different things, at different stages of history. For most of the 20th century, the main social democratic parties in Europe were parties of the working class – with left-wing programmes that in theory sought to gradually ‘reform’ the system out of existence – but with pro-capitalist leaderships that invariably dispensed with that progragramme in practice. However, in the early 1990s, parties such as Labour in Ireland finally ditched the pretense of supporting socialism and fully embraced the brutal logic of neoliberal capitalism. Supporting capitalism Notwithstanding their vague utterances about aims to “reshape Ireland, for the people”, it is clear that the Social Democrats haven’t fallen far from the Labour Party tree. They also believe that “there is no alternative”, to use Thatcher’s words, to capitalism in Ireland today. They support Ireland being a low tax economy for big business. They talk of promoting “Irish enterprises” such as capitalist entities like Glanbia. Rather than breaking with the draconian fiscal rules of the EU, which severely limit public expenditure, they merely wish to “challenge” them.

Social Democrats are following the same path as Labour in the past

In short, they stand for policies that represent “old wine” in the broken bottle of a capitalist system that is systemically failing to meet the needs of working-class people. A programme that accepts this economic staus-quo – where wealth is owned and controlled by a tiny minority and profit always comes first – simply cannot deliver

things like decent public housing and a national health service, which the Social Democrats say they stand for. Nor can any even limited “social democratic” programme be implemented through coalition deals with the establishment parties, which the Social Democrats have their sights on (they will “talk to anybody”, accord-

Progressive pioneers Despite their attempt to promote a progressive image, their actual conservatism can be seen on the issue which they have recently tried most to associate with, i.e. abortion rights. In the run up to May’s referendum, they sought to garner support amongst young people radicalised by the movement for bodily autonomy by being prominently active in local repeal campaigns. However, the Social Democrats were only willing to advocate for legislation for the right to choose in the aftermath of the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly, in April last year, clearly sensing how that the mood on this issue had changed in society. Like the traditional parties of the capitalist establishment, and Sinn Féin, they tail-ended the active movement for equality and choice. But such moevments are what deliver change and such movements – of workers, women, LGBTQ and young people – should have their own political expression: in a mass left-wing, anti-capitalist party with real socialist policies. A Labour mark two is the last thing we need.

WOMEN / LGBTQ+

THE SOCIALIST

Interview with Argentinian pro-choice activist

“On the streets we won an important battle” The Socialist spoke to Lucia, a pro-choice activist from Argentina living in Ireland, about the recent movement there for bodily autonomy that has seen hundreds of thousands take to the streets in recent months. What made you get involved in the movement? “I am an activist in a political organization so for several years I have been in contact with the struggles of feminism. However, recently I began to be aware in my work (I am a scientist) of the gender discrimination that

women suffer constantly and how naturalised they are. In particular, I did not realise the small number of women who become teachers or group leaders; that all the bibliography was written by men, and the thousands of extra obstacles that I had to overcome just for being a woman. Then, from that moment I felt the imperative need to be actively involved in the feminist movement.” What are the main issues for the movement? “In Argentina every 18 hours a woman is killed because of being a woman. That is the main reason why the “Ni una Menos” (Not one more) rally has started. We fight to disavow every form of gender-based violence and to protect our right to exist free of such violence. We fight because there are women that have dissapeared (it is thought that they were abducted by human trafficking networks). We fight for abortion legalisation (which is allowed in cases of rape or risk to the

mother’s life). We fight for ending the gender wage gap.” has the repeal movement and victory in Ireland had an effect on the movement in Argentina? “Definitely yes. During May, in our parliament, was taking place the abortion legalization debate. (It was approved at the Lower House on June 13th but rejected on the Upper House on August 8th). So, when the referendum took place in Ireland we had our eyes watching you. As in Ireland, the Church in Argentina has a lot of power (Pope Francis is Argentinian). So the fact that the 66% of you voted Yes filled us with enthusiasm and optimism. Although in Argentina we lost the legalisation, on the streets we won an important battle. Not only the abortion legalization was install as a subject but also make people understand that motherhood will be desired or it will not be. As we say in Argentina, ‘patriarchy is not going to fall, we are going to bring it down’.”

March for choice: Fight for full bodily autonomy

One million took to the streets of Buenos Aires in run up to abortion vote

“Progressive” Varadkar blocks Sex Ed Bill By Megan Brady

Pressure is still needed to ensure full bodily autonomy is won

By Myriam Poizat

FTeR ThiS year’s historic victory, the legislation regarding abortion rights will be implemented in 2019. Not only did we repeal the odious eighth amendment but we won 12 weeks on request. However, not all is good with this new legislation. It is bringing with it the injustice of conscientious objection, the right for any medical practitioner, nurse or midwife to refuse to carry out or participate in carrying out a termination of pregnancy. This will have consequences, as people who can get pregnant will not necessarily be able to access their rights easily, if in need of an abortion. As a matter of fact, the legislation will also implement a 72-hour waiting period, with the additional obligation of making an appointment with two different doctors. This is utterly medically unnecessary, stigma-

tising therefore of abortion and those who access it, and will make access difficult for the poorest and most marginalised people who need abortion access – those without access to transport, those in abusive relationships etc. church control of hospitals Another important issue that conscientious objection will bring up in the near future is the involvement of the Church in our hospitals’ boards. Will religious hospitals be able to ‘conscientiously object’? The strong intertwining of the Church and the State in Ireland has seen hospitals and schools being firmly influenced by the power of nuns and bishops who have been assigned positions of power in these institutions. Full separation of church and state is necessary so that no ‘Catholic ethos’ or influence impedes public abortion provision. On 29 September, people will be

gathering for the annual March for Choice. It is important to remember that although this will be a time where people will want to celebrate the results of the referendum which saw 66.4% of people vote for a prochoice legislation on 25 May, this should also be first and foremost a protest. demand real equality The women, young people, working class and LGBT communities, who were at the forefront of the radical movement that Repeal was have not finished battling for their bodily autonomy and rights. As long as people are denied agency over their own bodies at the hands of the State and the Church, real equality will not be possible. Join the Socialist Party today, and march with us at the next March for Choice for a publicly funded healthcare system and to separate church and state!

In The majority of schools across the country students are receiving an inadequate sex education. often these classes excluded young lGBTQ+ people and do not discuss important topics like consent and contraception. This is because of the catholic church’s tight grip on our education system. Schools have the freedom to provide their students with inadequate and sometimes inaccurate information in sex ed classes because proper sex education does not comply with their religious ethos. In March, Solidarity’s Provision of Objective Sex Education Bill passed through the first stages of the Dáil. This is due to a pressure put on the government from a society that is looking to shift away from church control. This bill guarantees a student’s right to receive factual and objective sex education in an age appropriate manor, in their school regardless of that school’s religious ethos. cynical arguments Now that the government believe that the public are no longer paying attention they have chosen to block the bill. Leo Varadkar refuses to commit to funding this bill and will not sign a money message, this has halted the bill in its tracks. Varadkar says that because we do not have legislation outlining other class curriculums we should not legislate for a sex education curriculum. But sex education in this country is not like other subjects. For instance, if the majority of schools were not teaching their students division in maths class because they morally objected to it then we’d have to legislate for maths classes. The bill is set of guidelines, outlining the vital topics that students deserve

to be taught about in sex education class, yet it has faced so much backlash from the government. This is not due to a difference of opinion on whether or not to legislate for a class curriculum, but rather due to conservatism on the part of the establishment and fear of upsetting the Catholic Church. Mass pressure needed In order to win the proper sex education that students deserve, young people will need to organise on a large scale. Through contacting your elected officials and through acts of protest we can send a message to the government, letting them know that the we are tired of the church having a say in our education. Young people have the right to learn about all genders and sexualities in the classroom and to have honest conversation about important topics like consent and contraception. With the state of church state relations, this is not something that will be willingly handed over to us, but something that has to be fought hard for.

6 SPECIAL FEATURE

THE SOC

Our cr Their pr

HE SCALE and scope of the housing crisis has led most mainstream commentators to an almost stoic acceptance of homelessness and precarious housing as a simple fact of modern life that we just have to put up with, writes MATT WAINE.

he homeleSS, just like the poor, will always be with us. The Socialist Party does not accept this cynical argument. Nor do we accept that this is a question of the capabilities of minister murphy, or Coveney or Kelly before him. For us, this is not about personality, but about policy and linked to this, the economic system of capitalism they all support. neo-liberal hawks We are experiencing a housing crisis in this country because successive governments have adopted market-led, neo-liberal policies. For them, the state had no role, or business, interfering in the market. It was all about simply creating the right economic climate and incentives and the market would solve everything. The central tenant of this policy was an almost religious fervour towards private property and the right to make profit at all costs. Capitalism is a system which is based on the private ownership of the means producing goods and providing services. Furthermore, it is a system that commodifies everything. Everything is potentially a means to make profit, the human necessity of having a home is naturally a prime target in this. Since the housing crisis began to spiral five years ago, it was clear that it was a question of lack of supply. However, having gorged themselves during the bubble and subsequently bankrupting themselves – and the state for good measure – the big developers and builders were unable, and indeed unwilling, to meet the demand. Last year it was revealed that a major developer, Cairns Homes, owned a land bank valued €835 million in Meath and Dublin. Their land in Dublin alone could build 12,100 homes. However in the first six months of 2017 they built a pitiful 94 houses. Why build homes now when their prices will rise further in the future. Vultures and developers The thirst for profit is driving more and more capitalists, and would-be capitalists, into the market. The occupations of Fredrick Street and Summerhill exposed big landlords acquiring properties and then hoarding them, waiting for the value to increase before selling them on. Ires REIT, initially got into the Irish

property market focussing on flipping properties in order to make a short term profit. They have now diversified into becoming landlords… for the moment at least. They are the largest landlord in the state, charging monthly rents of €2,200. Fingal County Council claim that there is enough land rezoned to build 18,000 homes. But developers are consciously hoarding land, only releasing smalls tracts at a time to keep prices high. In order to deal with the growing demand for housing from ordinary working-class people and those on low incomes, once again the Government turned to the private sector. Landlords were to be the saviours. Generous rent allowance and Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) rates were offered, which only added fuel to an already overheated private rented market, and as the new economic cycle unfolded into a recovery of sorts, house prices began to rise again. Governments offer no solution Karl Marx called the state “committees to manage the affairs of the capitalist class.” How true this is when looking at the housing markets. Since the economic crisis in 2008, there have been countless generous tax breaks and incentives for the private sector. The Dáil Committee on Housing and Homelessness in 2016 proposed no fewer than 15 such incentives, from cutting VAT to tax breaks for landlords. However there has been a steadfast refusal to implement a state funded nationwide house building programme. This act alone would have a dramatic effect on bringing down house prices. It would very quickly end the nightmare of homelessness and would also deflate prices in the private rented sector. The housing crisis is not a problem without a solution. It is not continuing apace because incompetent people are in charge. The problem is: in order to resolve the housing crisis, you need to implement initiatives which challenge profit and challenge private ownership of land and the building industry. It means challenging the foundations on which capitalism is built. When we call for socialist policies to end the crisis, it is not just because we think they are better policies. It is because they are the only way to solve the crisis.

Capitalism & the

Build a mass movement for hou By Mick Barry TD

iSiNg ReNTS, record homelessness, half a million young people locked out of the housing market – irish capitalism’s housing crisis just goes from bad to worse. how can a successful movement be built to challenge the government’s housing policies and force change? organising resistance In recent years, Irish society has witnessed two examples of national campaigns which have mobilised big numbers of working-class and young people and forced change: the antiwater charges movement and the repeal campaign. Both campaigns were grassroots campaigns which mobilised the maximum number of people on the streets in support of clear goals. Interestingly, both contained a radical wing which promoted militant action in the form of non-payment of charges in the one campaign and the illegal distribution of abortion pills in the other. The occupation of vacant properties at Summerhill and North Fred-

erick Street in Dublin has mobilised hundreds of housing activists around the demand for compulsory acquisition by the council of vacant properties. The National Coalition on Housing and Homelessness mobilised 10,000 on the streets in April. The same forces – Trade Unions, Housing NGOs, political parties – are mobilising now for the “Raise the Roof” protest at the Dáil on 3 October. This protest is being held to coincide with a Dáil motion calling for an increase in capital spending on Housing to €2.3 billion in Budget 2019. What programme is needed? The Socialist Party is supporting this motion and this mobilisation, but if much bigger numbers of people are to be mobilised on the housing issue, a more radical programme linked to mass weekend demonstrations will be needed. It must have to the forefront of its programme the demand for building social and affordable housing. The Socialist Party believes that the bold demand of 20,000 units of public housing per annum and 100,000 units over five years should be advanced.

We also believe that the low threshold for public housing eligibility should be abolished so that workers’ on average wages are no longer excluded. Housing analyst Mel Reynolds has estimated that there is sufficient land in state ownership (NAMA, local authorities) already zoned for residential development to allow for the building of 114,000 homes. This can be paid for without resorting to increasing tax on working people. It is estimated by academics in Maynooth University that the state could save €23.8 billion over 30 years by building public housing rather than enriching landlords via HAP (Housing Assitance Payments) along with a massive tax increase on the wealth and profits of big business. Ban economic evictions The surge in homelessness is coming first and foremost from the issuing of notices to quit by private sector landlords. It is literally insane to allow such evictions continue apace in the middle of the greatest housing crisis in the history of the state. The demand for an outright ban on economic evictions is a potentially powerful magnet for the creation of a mass campaign.

SPECIAL FEATURE 7

CIALIST

risis. rofits.

Parasitic profiteering fuels global crisis

By Robert Cosgrave

e housing crisis

Precarious existence This situation creates a precarity in peoples’ lives as working and living arrangements become more and more uncertain. It is no coincidence we are seeing these kind of developments internationally. They are the result of the conscious work of landlords, speculators, developers and bankers seeking to maximise profit at the expense of working-class people. It has meant working people saddled with ever-rising rents or the burden of inflated mortgages, while what provision existed or state intervention in housing disappeared, and indeed much of the stock of public housing was sold off and entered this bloated market. These developments and their effects can be seen throughout the world.

using Government culpability The goverment’s “rent controls” have proven to be a cruel hoax. Real rent controls should mean not just a slowing of rent inflation, or even just an outright freeze on rents. When rent is as high as it currently is, real rent controls must mean measures which slash the price of rent and a clear call for such controls can prove tremendously popular. Sinn Féin have announced their intention to submit a Dáil motion of no confidence in Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy. The Socialist Party will support this motion, but on the very clear basis that exchanging one Fine Gael Minister for another will make no difference. There needs to be a change of policy which doesn’t look to the “market” to solve the problems that the capitalist housing market itself has created. No government containing parties that support the logic of the market system will support such a policy. Mass movement needed A fightback on housing can put the government under real pressure if a housing fightback is nurtured in communities nationwide and a mass

The ABSence of affordable housing has become a “normalised” crisis throughout our planet. In some of the wealthiest countries and cities secure housing provision is beyond the means of many working-class and young people. Across the EU roughly half of these young people spend 40%, in many cases more, of their income on rent, the figure being even higher in many countries, including many of the supposed models of good, “efficient” European capitalism like Germany and Denmark. In the United States almost half of those renting (across the board that is, not just young people) are paying more than 30% of their income towards rent alone.

A third Dublin occupation began at 41 Belvedere Place on 8 September

movement begins to emerge. It is positive that the trade union movement, with its potential to mobilise big numbers, is now taking a campaigning stance on the housing issue. But a radical programme such as the one outlined above must not be avoided for fear of alienating “social

partners” or burning bridges with Fianna Fáil. By combining a mass movement on the one hand, with a radical programme which makes no concession to the demands of the “market”, a powerful challenge to the status quo and for real change on housing can be built.

hoarding land When houses are being built by the private sector they are unaffordable for the large majority. We can see this with the new houses under construction and recently finished in Dublin, which are available only to the better off – individuals or property companies – to rent out at extortionate rates. Similarly, in the United States (taken as a whole, though the situation can only be even graver in the major cities) 40% of new builds start off at at least $1,500 a month, and they are the ones who even bother to

build houses! Many ‘developers’ will simply sit on land waiting for the value to increase more and more until they feel they have the best opportunity to sell the land on for the largest profit. Attack on public housing At the same time we have seen governments across the world attack social housing ideologically and try to provide as little housing provision as possible. In the UK the numbers for government-funded social housing have fallen by 97% since the Tories took power in 2010. In Ireland the government has prefered to get people off the social housing waiting list not by building homes for them, but by subsidising private landlords and claiming their housing needs had been ‘fulfilled’. As a result, the largest private landlord in the Irish state, Ires REIT (Real Estate Investment Trusts, a vehicle for these companies to avoid as much tax as possible) doubled in the first half of this year alone! The diktats of the free market which created the situation we face today, a bonanza for capitalist speculators while the rest toil away for a roof, cannot be resolved on the basis of the free market. There are vested interests here which are diametrically opposed to the interests of ordinary people seeking a secure place to live in. Break with capitalism There is no clearer example of this than the recent experience in Seattle, where Socialist Alternative (the sister organisation of the Socialist Party in the US) through our City Councilmember Kshama Sawant successfully introduced a relatively modest tax on Amazon (now worth $1 trillion) in order to fund a public housing programme. However, this was met with mass opposition by the company and in turn in the Democratic Party establishment who managed to overturn this proposal. As long as profit rules the planet, and as capitalism becomes more parasitic as a system, the right to housing will not be met. It is as stark a reason as any as to why you should join us to organise for anti-capitalist and socialist change.

INTERNATIONAL THE SOCIALIST

Israel / Palestine: Netanyahu’s racist law met new protest movement ganisations which launched a joint call to mobilise for the protests on this clearer basis.

By Paul Murphy TD

RoTeSTS DemaNDiNg repeal of the new Nationality law exploded in israel in august. Three weeks of protests saw over a hundred thousand israeli Jews and Palestinians take to the streets, in what are the biggest protests in seven years. The Nationality Law, proposed by Netanyahu to try to deepen his support amongst the most right-wing sections of the Israeli Jewish population, further enshrines in law the racist and discriminatory nature of the Israeli state. It declares that "the right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people", excluding any right to self-determination of the Palestinian people. It declares that “the complete and united Jerusalem” to be Israel's capital, once more advocating the full annexation of Palestinian East Jerusalem. The law encourages further expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and downgrades Arabic from being an official language to being one with 'special status'. entrenching discrimination The protest movement started with a rally initiated by right-wing leaders of the minority Druze community, including Mayors and officers in the army reserves. Their message was unfortunately not one against the general discrimination against non-

Workers challenge repressive Chinese regime By Thomas White SInce 18 July, Jasic Technology factory workers have been campaigning for the right to an independent trade union. The workers are being supported by young radical anti-capitalist youth, who identify as Maoists but have no loyalty to the CCP regime. Dozens of workers and students have been arrested, and a number have been charged with “picking quarrels”, which carries a five year prison sentence. The workers and students remain defiant in the face of severe repression. International solidarity is urgently needed from across the left and trade union movement. For more information on the struggle please see chinaworker.info

A heroic freedom fighter: Ahed Tamimi released

right-wing attacks These protests were met with fierce denunciation and repression by the Israeli establishment. The Minister of Economy declared that “what we saw yesterday at the demonstration in Tel Aviv is the Fifth Column which is in the State of Israel!” The presence of Palestinian flags in the protest was used by the rightwing media to demonise the protesters as terrorists. Against this right-wing attack, the Socialist Struggle Movement defended the democratic right of Palestinians to fly their national flag and argued that defending that right is part of the struggle against the racist policies of the Israeli state.

Socialists in Israel protest against Nationality Law

Jewish citizens in Israel, but demanding an effective exception from this discrimination for the Druze community, on the grounds of the traditional loyalty of the Druze people to the Israeli state, as seen in their participation in compulsory military service. Such a demand excluded the majority of the Arab-Palestinian public, as well as many Druze people, who do not accept the idea of equality based on 'proof of loyalty'.

However, as the protest movement developed, the initiative of the protest movement against the law passed into the hands of High Follow-Up Committee for the Arab Public in Israel, which had a clearer principled opposition to any discrimination on the basis of nationality, calling for total repeal of the law. The Socialist Party's sister party in Israel/Palestine, the Socialist Struggle Movement, was one of over 25 or-

noW 17, Ahed Tamimi was released from an Israeli prison together with her mother at the end of July. Their freedom comes after an eight month prison sentence imposed on Ahed for slapping an Israeli soldier about to raid her family home, and on her mother for filming the incident. For Palestinians, and those who stand against their oppression, she has rightly become an iconic figure of resistance. However, for rightwing Israeli settlers, Ahed is a figure of hate, with graffiti painted in her village of Nabi Saleh reading 'Death to Ahed Tamimi'. Upon her release, Ahed declared: “My happiness is not complete without my sisters [Palestinian female prisoners], who are not with me. I hope that they will also be free." The struggle to free all Palestinian political prisoners continues.

United struggle needed The major mobilisations of Arabs and Jews together is an illustration of how a mass movement against the racist policies of the Israeli state can be developed. That racism is seen within the borders of Israel with its apartheid policies, and outside of its borders with the ongoing occupation. Defeating this discrimination and racism requires an overthrowing of the Israeli capitalist elite, and a struggle for a socialist solution, where the civil and national rights of Palestinians and Israelis, including the right to self-determination, can be fulfilled.

Aretha Franklin: A powerful voice for liberation By Adam Dudley

N 1947, five-year-old aretha was one of the five million black americans who migrated from the rural South to the industrial Northwest in the 20 years following the great Depression. in the late 1950's her father, Reverend C.l Franklin became active in the civil rights movement and in 1963 organised the Walk to Freedom in Detroit – alongside martin luther King Jr – which attracted 125,000 people and culminated in the dress rehearsal of Kings "i have a dream" speech. Her Detroit home served regularly as a meeting point for activists - including King himself. Alongside him, were representatives of an emerging cultural movement – gospel singers turning to secular pop and rhythm and blues – future contenders for the originators of Soul like Jackie Wilson, Solomon Burke, and Sam Cooke. Aretha's path was already well worn when she switched from the gospel songs of her father's church to the soul clubs of Detroit, Chicago, and

New York and, at least to begin with the power of Aretha's voice was lost in a crowd of talent with the same idea. “Queen of Soul” Aretha's first five years as a recording artist, although not unsuccessful, gave no real hint of her potential to make a mark. In 1966, at the age of 24, she signed for Atlanta records and found her sound. A remarkably short creative burst followed - nine albums over five years - which coronated Aretha Franklin as the “Queen of Soul”. Aretha was not a revolutionary or an activist in any true sense, although her public appeals for the release of the imprisoned Angela Davis and support for the work of the Black Panthers in working-class communities indicate she wasn't afraid to be labeled a radical either. And yet her name is synonymous with struggles for equality, sexual liberation, and social justice. If it was Nina Simone who was able to put the political tumult of the civil rights movement to music and bring the brutal truth of the fight against injustice into the airwaves - then

Aretha Franklin sang at the funeral of Martin Luther King in April 1968

Aretha Franklin had the voice black workers, young people, activists and in particular, women longed for. Powerful and self-assured, undimmed by hardship, obstacles,

and setbacks, defiant and hopeful. New generations and movements will produce their own soundtracks, but Aretha Franklin will demand r-es-p-e-c-t, always.

NEWS

THE SOCIALIST

Climate chaos

Capitalism is searing the Earth

By Sean Malone

017 saw the detachment of an ice sheet twice the size of luxembourg from antarctica. By 2020 it is predicted there will be no summer ice in the arctic. While people around the world worry about the impact of rising sea levels, including increased flooding as a result, the powerful energy corporations are rubbing their hands at the opportunity to exploit new shipping routes and access to oil and gas. Capitalism doesn’t care about the environment, or the future of life on Earth, it cares only about profits – short term profits. Burning up 2018 has been a year of extreme weather events. Having experienced the tail-end of Hurricane Ophelia in October 2017, Ireland began 2018 with a prolonged cold snap and a snow storm which brought vital services and indeed the whole country, to a standstill. Followed by a near record heat wave and drought-like conditions over the summer. Globally it’s hard to count the number of forest fires this summer, with so many tragedies in the headlines and destruction of whole

ecosystems. Tragedies that could have been avoided -- the high death toll in Greece was not unrelated to the years of cuts to park rangers, the fire department, the citizens’ protection agencies, the ambulance service and hospitals. Nearly all continents have experienced deadly heat waves. In South Africa, rainfall was at a 100-year low for the second year in a row. But 2018 is on course to be only the fourth hottest year on record. Three other years have been warmer, they were: 2015, 2016 and 2017. Clearly global warming is accelerating. Who is playing with fire? The key question now is not whether climate change is real or man-made. Despite the fact that Trump and others like him in influential positions actually deny this, this is no longer a debate among serious people. The key questions now are who is to blame and what is the solution? A recent study showed that just 90 companies have caused two-thirds of man-made global warming emissions. The majority of which were produced in the last 25 years, when knowledge about fossil fuels, CO2, and climate change was freely available and understood. Today, 70% of all CO2 emissions come from just 150 companies. So any analysis of

Devastating fires engulfed Greece during the Summer as a result of climate change

the problem that puts the responsibility on “all people” is way off the mark. It also shows the limited impact of individual-based solutions, which is the focus of the likes of the Green Party. Even the once-lauded Paris Climate Agreement, which Trump has now reneged on, falls far short of what would be needed to tackle climate change. Mere pledges, with no

time table or legally-binding commitments, are useless. Even those sections of the ruling class who acknowledge the problem are impotent, because their system is destroying the planet and they can’t control their system. Who has the extinguisher? The depth of the crisis necessitates the urgent building of an environ-

mental movement that puts socialism – the alternative to capitalism – at its core. That means a movement – of the billions not the billionaires – that calls for our economy and society to be taken out of the grips of big business and re-organised around public ownership of the corporations that pollute the world, and a democratic, green and socialist plan of the economy.

Factories of animal cruelty: Ban fur farming now! SOCIALISM

By Carah Daniel GloBAlly, The use of real fur for so called “fashion” is dying out thanks to the increased awareness about the barbaric cruelty behind it. however, in Ireland there are still three operational fur farms, that lead to the deaths of more than 200,000 mink every year. horrific treatment Mink are naturally solitary animals and are also semi aquatic, but on fur farms they are denied any opportunity to roam around or to swim, and are piled into overcrowded cages where they will spend their lives until they are “harvested”. They are either killed using carbon monoxide gas, or used for forced breeding, in order to continue the cycle of cruelty. The vast majority of people do not support the fur trade, and internationally we have seen numerous governments making moves to ban fur farming as a result of pressure, including both the Netherlands and Norway. Solidarity and Socialist Party members are going to be putting a bill through the Dáil to shut down Ireland’s fur farms, and end the cruelty that mink are subjugated to on them – a move that is largely supported within Irish society. Pressure needed At the end of 2017, Solidarity and Socialist Party members were very proud to have brought forward a bill to ban

the use of wild animals in circuses, which thanks to mass pressure from ordinary people was brought into place. Following this victory, the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said in a statement that it was “reflective of our commitment to animal welfare.” If this is to mean anything then the government must support the fur farming bill when it comes before the Dáil. Ireland still has a long way to go to improve our reputation on animal rights and welfare. In order to ensure that this bill passes we need to mobilise ordinary people to get behind it, and highlight the cruelty behind fur as much as we can. We are appealing to people to contact their local TDs asking them to support this bill, and to get involved in further campaigning in the run up to it. It’s the pressure from society that will ensure this bill is a success.

Featuring debates with the Green Party on: “What Solution to the Climate Change Crisis?” & with SoCial DemoCratS on “revolutionary Socialism or Social Democracy?” With discussions on: marx at 200, Housing Crisis, 1968 & Civil rights, art and revolution & more & rally on: “racist, Sexist, Billionaire -- trump not Welcome!”

Fri 12 Oct - Sat 13 Oct GreSham hOtel, Dublin

NORTH

THE SOCIALIST

Corruption, blood money & the Paisley corruption scandal government played a role in training prominent figures in “counter-insurgency” in the Sri Lankan military, sometimes involving prominent figures in the RUC Special Branch.

By Kevin Henry

ost families have to scrimp and save for a year to afford a wellearned holiday in the sun. But not the Paisleys, who in 2013 had not one but two trips to Sri lanka involving seven helicopter rides and stays at 5-star hotels. The two holidays cost an obscene £100,000. Ian Paisley Junior has now been disciplined and faces the possibility of a bye-election if 10% of the North Antrim electorate sign a petition for his recall. This is not because he went on the junkets – such lavish trips are relatively common for the political establishment in Northern Ireland. For example, this year, a trip to Cannes in southern France organised by the Belfast City Council, involving a Sinn Féin and UUP councillor, cost £60,000. Ian Paisley Junior is being discipline because he didn’t declare the holiday and subsequently lobbied at Westminster on behalf of the Sri Lankan government.

Paisley was in the patronage of a regime of war criminals

Genocidal government What makes these visits particularly obscene is that they happened in the aftermath of a genocidal campaign in which the Sri Lankan army brutally killed up to 70,000 mainly Tamilspeaking civilians in the last weeks of the civil war in 2009. They did this

by confining the Tamil population to highly concentrated areas – in reality, open air prisons – and then bombarding them. At the time of Paisley’s visits, thousands of Tamils remained (and remain) missing, and thousands of mostly young Tamils were in jail.

complicity in crimes Despite their complicity, the Cameron government came under pressure to be seen to address the war crimes in Sri Lanka. This was the result of a massive campaign of the Tamil diaspora in Britain alongside human right groups, trade unionists and journalists. In particular, the exposing of what happened in the Channel 4 documentary “Sri Lanka's Killing Fields” played a vital role. It was in this context that Paisley’s holidays took place and that he lobbied the government to oppose sanctions against the Sri Lankan government. At the same time as Ian Junior was being treated to lavish holidays, the same government repeatedly denied access to Sri Lanka for human rights observers, including Socialist Party MEP (now TD) Paul Murphy. The British government, and many other governments, were complicit in that slaughter and continued to support the brutal Rajapaksa regime. In the year of Paisley's visit, the UK approved export licences worth £3 million for the purchase of military items. For years, the British

Build a real alternative The DUP have been rocked with one corruption scandal after another, from Red Sky to NAMA and RHI. Paisley Junior himself is no stranger to financial scandals. He had to resign from his position as a junior minister in the Stormont Executive after he was caught lobbying for Sey-

mour Sweeney, a property developer and DUP member, to build a local visitor centre at the Giant's Causeway. If the DUP and other politicians seem like they are Teflon and that nothing sticks when it comes to these scandals, it is because sectarian politics gives them a get-out-of-jail-free card. For example, the RHI scandal exposed a massive scheme which benefited the rich at the expense of the rest of us. However, the election that followed the collapse of the institutions was dubbed the “the mother of all sectarian head-counts.” What was missing was a left political alternative that could win support in both Protestant and Catholic communities. In the absence of an alternative, the election was reduced to the question of whether the DUP or Sinn Féin would emerge as the largest party. In order to take on the corruption at the heart of our establishment, a working-class alternative must be built. Such a party would challenge the injustice of Paisley getting away with this while at the same time a chronically-ill grandmother is jailed for not paying TV licence. It would organise to unite working-class people in common struggle, and find solutions to the issues that divide people. It would also stand in solidarity workers and poor of the world, not with war criminals like Rajapaksa.

North: Marriage equality remains a burning issue By Amy Ferguson IT hAS been three years since the momentous victory of the marriage equality referendum in the South of Ireland, and four years since The Marriage (Same Sex couples) Act 2013 was passed in england and Wales. yet northern Ireland is still waiting. The issue, however, is far from being dropped off the agenda. This year saw Belfast’s biggest ever Pride parade, with tens of thousands in attendance; it was so big that the organisers had to reorganise the route! The atmosphere was one of militancy, with ‘F*ck the DUP’ signs, and chants of not being left behind - the time for marriage equality is now. Victory in Australia In December 2017, same-sex couples in Australia finally won equal marriage rights following a postal survey (ie, a referendum). The ‘Yes’ vote was just shy of 62%, with a turnout of almost 80%! The ‘yes’ campaign created a sense of unity and gave ordinary people an opportunity to participate in the political process. Understandably, some LGBT+ rights

Mass movement from below can win marriage equality

activists were reticent about their rights being put to a public vote. But whilst some used the opportunity to push homophobic views, they were overwhelmingly drowned out by the

enthusiasm for a ‘Yes’ vote. While the vote wasn’t formally binding, the fact that the overwhelming majority supported equality meant that previously wavering politicians were pressured to

conform with the dominant view. Even staunch opponents of marriage equality felt that they could not vote against the legislation, so instead abstained.

Building pressure This highlights the necessity of pressure from below in order to win. People power has already pushed many of our politicians to support marriage equality; even a number of UUP leaders marched on Pride this year, clearly fearing being seen as out of touch. It is also important to realise that the DUP is not immune to such pressures. Poll after poll has shown that a majority of their own voters support marriage equality and so their position of undemocratically blocking same-sex marriage can be made untenable if a movement is built which makes them fear for their political future. The gains made over the last few years, both North and South – with referendum victories in the South, the majority vote for marriage equality in Stormont and so on – show what can be achieved when we stand up and make our demands known. Progress has come about as the direct result of organised, mass campaigns by ordinary people. If we wish to see equality for LGBT people in the North, we must be prepared to fight a sustained, militant and cross-community campaign.

NEWS

THE SOCIALIST

A creature of capitalism

Why you should march against Trump suffering, on its hands. An international challenge to the system of capitalism is needed for real change; to truly unroot the basis for this system of exploitation and oppression, namely the private ownership of wealth and drive for profit at the heart of the capitalist system.

By Monika Janas

he PaTheTiC toadies in government will be rolling out the red carpet the billionaire bigot, "grabber-in-chief", US President, Donald Trump in November. There are many reasons why we should hit the streets when Trump arrives: he has shamelessly whipped up racism and Islamophobia, he is a mysognist, a climate-change denier and has virtually threatened nuclear war with some frivolous late-night narcissistic tweeting. Most of all, we should protest and march to stand in solidarity with the workers, women, people of colour, migrants and young people who are in the firing line of his extremely right-wing politics and who have been resisting him and all he symbolises. Attacking abortion rights In a graphic illustration of how rights can never be safe under capitalism, Trump’s federal Supreme Court judge nominee is on record as opposing Roe vs Wade (the case that legalised abortion in 1973 in the US).

Hundreds of thousands protested Trump when he visited London in July

The threat to Roe vs. Wade will be a further impetus to the new women's movement that has broken out, provoking outcry and a powerful feminist and working class fightback against the swingeing attacks on abortion rights across the States. When first elected, he was greeted with the biggest protest in American history as millions of women, young people and workers took part in marches not only in the US but on all

continents to show that this bigoted individual was not welcome. obscene wealth Donald Trump is not a freak accidental figure; born into a superwealthy family and embodying greed and elitism his whole life, he is the product of and an indictment of the capitalist system based on inequality and exploitation, personifying and illustrating the sexism, racism and ho-

Socialist Party summer camp: Inspiring weekend of debate & discussion

Showing soldiarity with Jasic Technology factory workers in Shenzhen, China

By Ollie Bell

he SoCialiST Party Summer Camp, which took place at the end of august, was a great success with over 115 people in attendance. Thursday was the start of the commissions with ones on human nature, trans rights, and Martin Luther King Jr. The trans rights commission showed the link between capitalism and rigid gender roles. What future under capitalism? The evening discussion was “What does the future hold in Ireland & Globally”, where the rise of the farright was discussed and how this can be combatted. Globally there was talk about the rise of the far-right and how immigrants have been scapegoated by the problems created by the system. On the other hand, the victory for Yes in the repeal ref-

erendum in Ireland and the pitiful attendance for the Pope’s recent shows the growing shift a massive rejection of the Catholic right. On Friday, there were three more commissions, including one on the national question. The commission centred around the reality of the national question. It is important for socialists to address the rights of various sections of the working class. Within the capitalist system, there is no hope that we will be able to answer these questions in a peaceful and democratic way. 1968: year of revolution That evening there was a rally in the evening, “1968: The Year of Revolution”. There were presentations given about the Civil Rights movement in the North, the revolutionary movement in France, the radicalisation of the youth globally, and the growth in Black Panther Party in the US.

Saturday had two sets of commissions, starting with ones that included Trotsky and the Transitional programme. There was discussion around the kind of programme needed to challenge capitalism. The second set of commissions included one on postmodernism. There was discussion on how cynicism as a philosophy has crept into political movements like Repeal. It was also mentioned that such an ideology is in the interest of the ruling class, because it points away from collective struggle and has a more individual focus. The day ended with a discussion on socialism and the new wave of feminism. There has been a new feminist movement against sexual violence and harassment, and how there is a link between this and an openness to anti-capitalist ideas amongst young people. Sunday was the final set of commissions, with one discussing mental health and how it is linked with capitalism. There was discussions on the effect of precarious work, inaccessible healthcare and the overuse of medication has on someone’s mental health, rather than it just being a chemical imbalance. The summer school came to a close with a rally on, “Marx @ 200 – the relevance of his ideas in changing the world today.” All in all, it was an inspiring weekend of discussion and our members went away with a real understanding of Marx’s statement that, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.”

mophobia rampant in our society. It is not enough to condemn Trump. In Ireland, over four thousand asylum seeking people spend an average of over three years in Direct Provision in inadequate, crowded accommodation, unable to even work, impoverished and left in limbo. The European Union has the blood of the thousands, who perished in the Mediterranean Sea trying to get away from war and

Wealth inequality In the US itself, wealth inequality continues to grow; today, the top 1 percent of households own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent combined. Globally, the eight richest men own the same amount of wealth as the poorest 50%. Working poor are becoming the norm as the employees of the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, refrain from drinking water as they won’t have enough time for a toilet break afterwards. Join with the Socialist Party, part of an international socialist movement and organisation, seeking to install real democracy in the world based on the needs of the people, not the profits of the corporations. Join us to protest Trump's visit and get involved in anti-capitalist action.

Why I Joined: Sadie Heffernan, (16), School Student, Dublin I joined the party shortly after I attended the “I believe her” march in April. I saw a huge amount of heart warming solidarity amongst survivors and supporters. I then made the decision to become a member of Rosa. Almost a week later I received a phone call and met up with two members where we discussed the repeal referendum and other inequalities and injustices, we then spoke about the Socialist Party and I went home and did as much research as I could. I was determined to join the party. I understood that the only way we could tackle and overthrow capitalism and inequality was through socialism.

Nikita Carragher, (18), Student, Galway I have always had an interest in politics from a very young age and care greatly about the social issues that affect Ireland today, such as homelessness, the environment, LGBTQ+, abortion rights and much more. I decided to join Galway prochoice in late 2016 and later joined the socialist feminist organisation ROSA in Galway, where I was then introduced to the Socialist Party and decided to join.

thesocialist

PAPER OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY

ISSUE 117

SEPTEMBER 2018

Build

homes

for need, not profit! Join the #RaiseTheRoof protest, 12.30pm, Wed, 3 October, outside the Dáil JOIN THE SOCIALIST PARTY!

Text ‘JOIN’ to 087 3141986