On the Evolution of Abuse

8/19/2019 On the Evolution of Abuse

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endlessly re(emphasising the 1proper’ role of women as home(makers, mothers,se!ual ob&ects, peacemakers and so on.

Women and the workforce

The situation facing women varies considerably in different countries worldwide. Insome -uropean countries women now make up more than half of the workforcealthough a much greater percentage of women than men work part(time3. 4lobally506 of women of working age are working, a small fall of around 26 since 775.The fall is accounted for by the huge increase in unemployment among young peopleof all genders, particularly in -urope. "ut it also reflects a fall in women’s

participation in the labour force in 8hina and India where, between 775 and 209, itdeclined from :2 to ;


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almost half were killed by their partners or family members. In contrast, only ;6 of killings with male victims were committed by intimate partners or family members.

Domestic labour

In many neo(colonial countries, the oppression of women is more brutal and severethan in the economically developed countries. There has been a wave of propagandain -urope and the '$ attempting to link the brutal treatment of women to Islam,

particularly using the horrendous treatment of women by I$I$. /owever, while thereis no *uestion about the barbaric practices carried out by I$I$ in the name of Islam, itis wrong to link the degradation of women to Islam in particular. /istorically,

practices such as honour killings or +4M have been carried out by all religions. -ventoday these horrendous practices and others ( like enforced suicides of widows anddowries for brides ( are carried out under the banner of different religions. There aremany factors, including the degree of religious influence in society or in government,

and the level of class struggle, which affect the degree of women’s oppression in particular countries but in general it is the predominance of semi(feudal economicrelations rather than any particular religion which is central.

In all countries women continue to bear the brunt of domestic responsibilities, despiteincreasingly also going out to work. In many cases women are still, as Trotsky put it,the 1slaves of slaves’. In countries where the working class and poor cannot afford thelabour(saving devices of modern capitalism washing machines, fridges, vacuumcleaners and so on and often do not have an electricity supply to power them, thedomestic burden on women is back(breaking. In the economically developedcountries, the combination of labour(saving devices and an improvement in social

attitudes means that there has been some lessening in the domestic burden on women.In "ritain, for e!ample, most studies show men accepting that they should do an e*ualamount of domestic chores as women, although there is still a considerable gap

between intentions and reality. Ane survey about "ritain showed that on averagewomen did : hours a week of domestic chores e!cluding childcare3 whereas mendid less than si!.

The uneven division of domestic work contributes to women generally having lower wages, less leisure time and worse health than men, but the main gain is for thecapitalists. "y putting the main burden of domestic life, the bringing up of the ne!tgeneration, and caring for the sick and elderly on women, they are removed from the

responsibility of society as a whole.

hile historically the development of capitalism has generally led to progress for women in comparison to previous class societies, is now largely being e!hausted.Twenty(first century capitalism, far from taking steps towards lessening the domestic

burden on women, is heading in the opposite direction. The relentless cuts in publicservices taking place across the economically developed countries are destroying thechildcare, care for the elderly and other social services which previously partiallyrelieved the burden on working class people, particularly women. omen are alsomore likely to work in the public sector and therefore to lose their &obs as a result of cuts. %ising housing costs and the closure of refuges in many countries make it moredifficult for women to leave violent partners.


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#t the same time the fall in real wages and cuts to social benefits means that there isno prospect for most working class and many middle class women of choosing toleave the workforce to concentrate on domestic tasks. To bring a family up on the

basis of one breadwinner is increasingly becoming impossible. An the contrary, both parents often have to work in more than one &ob each. This is creating the basis for

huge social e!plosions over cuts to public services, housing and pay. omen will beat the forefront of these, as they have been with the B5 an hour movement in the '$.

Women’s liberation and class struggle

e also have to be prepared for further mass movements relating to the specificoppression of women. In general the capitalist class is divided on how to deal with the*uestion. # section would support a ma&or offensive against women’s rights, linked to

propaganda about the importance of the family, women’s role in the home and so on./owever, there is a realisation from others that this would &ar too sharply with social

attitudes and would provoke mass movements. This was the case with the hugedemonstrations in $pain against attempts to severely curtail the right to abortion,which successfully defeated the proposed law. In fact the increased confidence of woman globally means that we can also see offensive movements, such as in Ireland,to improve women’s rights. The demonstrations against rape in India are also anindication of the kind of struggles that can develop in the neo(colonial world.

The struggle for women’s liberation is, at root, part of the class struggle, in which thestruggles by women against their own specific oppression dovetail with those of theworking class in general for a fundamental restructuring of society to end alline*uality and oppression. e disagree with bourgeois and petit(bourgeois feminism

because it does not take a class approach to the struggle for women’s liberation. Thisdoes not mean, of course, that only working(class women are oppressed. orking(class women are 1doubly(oppressed’, both for their class and gender but women fromall sections of society suffer oppression as a result of their se!, including domesticviolence and se!ual harassment.

/owever, at root, to win real se!ual e*uality for women, including women from theelite of society, a complete overturn of the e!isting order is necessary in every sphereCeconomic, social, family and domestic. The necessary starting point for such anoverturn is ending capitalism. The working class is the only force capable of leading asuccessful struggle to overthrow capitalism and therefore the struggle to end women’s

oppression and the class struggle are intrinsically linked.

To say this is not to suggest that we take a dismissive attitude towards a newgeneration of women who enter struggle initially around their rights as women andwho do not, as yet, have a class approach. %ecognising that you are oppressed, andthat you can fight against your oppression through a common struggle with otherswho share the same oppression, is an important step forward. In that sense what can

broadly be described as identity politics are an inevitable part of the politicalawakening of many members of oppressed groups within society. /owever, thehistory of struggle against oppression shows that, on the basis of e!perience, those

participating tend to go beyond identity politics as they recognise the root cause of their oppression lies in the structure of society.


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Aur role has to be to intervene skilfully, in a transitional way, to link the struggleagainst women’s oppression to the struggle for socialism. This includes being

prepared, where necessary, to clearly oppose the ideas of bourgeois and petty( bourgeois feminism, not least the idea held by many feminists that blame for theoppression of women lies in the innate character of men rather than the structure of

society.

Af course, that does not mean we do not combat se!ist behaviour in this society, notleast within the workers’ movement. In arguing that the working class is the onlyforce capable of fundamentally changing society, we are not in any way blind to the

pre&udices, including racism, se!ism and homophobia, which e!ist among all classesincluding the working class, and which we have a proud record of combating.

Violence against women

If workers’ organisations in general and above all revolutionary parties are to succeedin unifying the working class in the struggle to change society it is vital that theychampion the rights of women and all oppressed groups. e do not take the crude

position that has historically been adopted by some revolutionary organisationsD for e!ample the I$T. hen the 8I in -ngland and ales initiated the 8ampaign#gainst Eomestic Fiolence, the I$T $G3 initially reacted by arguing that raisingmale violence against women in the trade unions was divisive. This flowed from their mistaken theoretical position on how the workers’ movement should deal withwomen’s oppression.

In his book 18lass struggle and omen’s )iberation’, Tony 8liff, founder of the $G,

argued that the women’s liberation movement was wrong to focus =consistently onareas where men and women are at odds rape, battered women, wages for housework while ignoring or playing down the important struggles in which womenare more likely to win the support of menC strikes, opposition to welfare cuts, e*ual

pay, unionisation, abortion>. e countered this narrow approach. Af course it is vitalfor the workers’ movement to take up economic issues such as opposition to welfarecuts and e*ual pay. In fact these issues are also central to a campaign against domesticviolence. The 8#EF campaigned, as the $ocialist Garty and other 8I sections dotoday, in opposition to all cuts in se!ual and domestic violence services, for a hugee!pansion in the number of women’s refuges, and for a mass council house building

programme in order to make it possible for women to live independently.

/owever, we fight for the ma!imum unity of the working class, not by trying to brushissues relating to the specific oppression of women under the carpet, but bycampaigning to convince the whole workers’ movement that it is necessary to takethese issues seriously. The 8#EF played a vital role in convincing every ma&or tradeunion in "ritain to adopt a national policy against domestic violence. Thisdemonstrates, contrary to 8liff’s views that the big ma&ority of working class men can

be won to a position of opposition to domestic violence.

orkers’ organisations e!ist within capitalism. They are not the model for a newsociety, but tools to aid the struggle to create one. This is not an e!cuse for avoidingdealing firmly with all cases of se!ual harassment and abuse, but rather a recognition


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that such cases will sometimes occur. It is utopian to imagine it is possible to create amodel of a socialist society within capitalism. -ven the most thinking class(consciouselements of the working class are products of capitalism, with all of the distortions of the human personality which that creates. e cannot e!pect that our members especially new members come into the party fully(formed with a complete

understanding of every issue, including of se!ism. The aim of socialists in theworkers’ movement should be to raise understanding of all issues over time, includingthe oppression of women and taking a position of confronting any instances of se!ualharassment and abuse.

The struggle for greater participation by women

e also have to fight for greater participation by women in both the 8I and theworkers’ movement as a whole. +irst and foremost this is a political issue. It is byadopting and fighting for a programme that is in the interests of working class women

that the workers’ movement will attract more women to its ranks. e need to ensurethat our discussions on perspectives and programme include a socialist gender perspective. This does not mean that a correct programme will in and of itself overcome the problem.

In every country the double oppression that women face means that they have e!traobstacles to overcome in order to be active, especially in periods where there is not anupsurge in struggle. If this is true for the workers’ movement as a whole it is evenmore the case when it comes to women &oining the 8I while we are still a relativelysmall revolutionary minority in society. Garticularly in societies where the oppressionof women is most brutal it is a ma&or achievement to build a female cadre in the

organisation, even if they are at this stage a small minority of the party.

It can sometimes be necessary to hold separate party meetings for women, particularlynew members, but of course these should always be a transitional measure with theaim of building branches that involve both men and women. e should strive towardshalf or even a ma&ority as with the current -!ecutive 8ommittee in -ngland andales of our leading bodies at local, national and international level being made upof women. e also have to fight for women comrades to play a role as publicrepresentatives for the 8I where they can often be e!tremely effective, as we cansee in the '$ and Ireland. /owever, these goals cannot be achieved artificially, buthave to be on the basis of developing a female cadre over time. It is crucial that we

put e!tra effort into developing the political understanding and particularly the political confidence of female comrades. 8I sections should regularly assess anddiscuss what measures can be taken to involve more women in the section and in theleadership.

omen’s self(organisation within left parties and the workers’ movement is veryimportant for combatting the idea that women’s oppression is natural and tostrengthen the contribution of women to the class struggle and assist them to reachtheir full potential. The can be done through organising women’s commissions or caucuses where women can meet to discuss and formulate policies specific as wellas general points from a women’s perspective. This creates an environment for women to feel more comfortable and strengthen their ability to intervene elsewhere.These commissions are not decision(making bodies. It is the branches, aggregates,


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committees and congresses which make the decisions.3 omen are half the workingclass but are under(represented, especially on the leading bodies of parties and tradeunions. e do not believe we will solve this problem or overcome discriminationagainst women by these measures alone, but they can be of great assistance in fullyinvolving women in the struggle.

hile our scarce resources mean it will not always be possible to do everythingre*uiredD we have to strive to take practical measures to make it easier for women to

be active such as the provision of childcare, safe accessible venues and so on. #t thesame time we have to fight for the workers’ movement to do the same.

Quotas

In some countries the workers’ movement has adopted *uotas or reserved seats as ameans to ensure women are represented within the leadership. $uch measures do not,

on their own, overcome the obstacles that the mass of women face in becoming activein the workers’ movement and can even act as a hindrance. In some trade unions in"ritain, for e!ample, token measures have been taken which increased the number of women in their leadership bodies but are also used by the right wing of the union tostrengthen their grip on the leadership. #s a result of the unions’ woeful failure tofight, the mass of women are undoubtedly less likely to become active in the union,despite having women in the leadership.

onetheless, because of the perception that they can act as a tool to increase women’s participation in the movement, we usually do not oppose *uotas, especially wherethey have already been introduced. In some instances, 8I sections have supported

the introduction of *uotas in workers’ and left organisations, for e!ample in G$A) in"raHil, where today the leadership is made up of 506 women, and it has played somerole in increasing women’s involvement. /owever, there can be occasions when wedo oppose particularly token measures. In all cases we have to make clear that *uotaswill not solve the problem and that a fighting programme in the interests of workingclass women, and practical measures to aid women’s involvement such as childcare,are central.

The 8I has a proud record of campaigning on issues relating to the specificoppression of women and also of developing women into the leadership of the 8I./owever, what we have achieved so far is only a small beginning. "y intervening

energetically, and with a clear programme, into the struggles that will erupt, includingthose that relate to the specific oppression of women, we will be able to win manythousands of working class women fighters to our ranks.

Refugee crisis

00920;

Cruel capitalist regimes responsible

Editorial from the Socialist, paper of the Socialist Party (CWI in England & Wales)


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#s the -uropean 'nion -'3 referendum campaign gears up, the issue of migration has been put centre stage by the pro(big business campaigns on both

the ’remain’ and ’e!it’ sides of the debate. $ome of those who are rightly repelled bythe ’little -nglander’ nationalism of the capitalist ’leave’ campaign will be tempted tovote to remain in the -' in the hope this would mean a more humane attitude being

taken to refugeesfleeing war.

The truth is very different. #s arguments over refugees threaten to tear the -' apart itis highlighting how capitalist politicians ( in or out of the -' ( are incapable of offering a solution to the refugee crisis. Instead they all attempt to offload the problemonto other countries while leaving refugees living in appalling inhuman conditions.

8apitalist politicians continent(wide pose as being ’tough on migration’ and play onworkers’ genuine fears about the ability of public services to cope with an increase inthe number of refugees. Gublic services, of course, that have been cut to the bone bythose same capitalist politicians.

8ontrary to the propaganda of capitalist governments most of those trying to reach-urope are only doing so as a result of the truly desperate situation they face at home.Af those who arrive first in 4reece currently more than half of the total3 more than?56 have come from $yria, #fghanistan, Ira* and $omalia.

#ll of these are countries where estern military intervention has helped to create thenightmare situations from which people are now being forced to run. Most never reach -urope ( for e!ample around si! and a half million $yrian refugees aredisplaced within the country.

Ira war

"ritain’s ew )abour government took part in the 2009 invasion of Ira*, despitemassive opposition from the population, which was the beginning of the hell on earththat has since engulfed large parts of the Middle -ast ( above all $yria. ow thecurrent government has &oined in the '$(led bombing of $yria alongside +rance andother countries. This will do nothing to bring peace to $yria, but will only increase thedeath, misery and the number of refugees forced to flee for their lives.

#nd it costs a fortune ( J


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logic of the argument was that, if more refugees drowned, it would convince othersnot to come.

This unbelievable cruelty didn’t work of course. Instead the numbers drowningincreased e!ponentially. In #pril 205 ,90? migrants are believed to have drowned

compared to


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not taken by the Macedonian government alone, but as a result of a ’mini(summit’ of #ustria and central and eastern -uropean states. 4reece was not even invited.

The vast ma&ority of refugees are not aiming to settle in 4reece, but to travel throughto northern -urope. ow they are left ( starving and homeless ( on the streets of

4reece. 4reece is already suffering vicious austerity at the hands of the -' ( withover 506 youth unemployment and average wages having fallen by more than a third( now the country is being e!pected to somehow look after the bulk of the refugeeswho manage to reach -urope.

8ontrol of decisions whether to grant asylum cannot be left in the hands of the Tories,or the e*ually callous governments of the rest of the -'. The workers’ movementacross -urope should demand that elected committees of ordinary working people,including representatives of migrants’ organisations, have the right to review asylumcases and grant asylum.

Many working class people ( in 4reece but also "ritain and other countries ( feel that,while they sympathise with the suffering of the refugees ( their countries’ publicservices and housing supply cannot cope with the numbers that are looking for shelter.This idea is whipped up by the right(wing politicians who are constantly tellingworkers that the reason they are not paid enough, or cannot find decent housing, or a

&ob, is because of the migrants.

!oorest

#t the same time it is usually the poorest sections of society whose communities are

e!pected to house refugees. In "ritain, for e!ample, the private companies onto whichthe government has offloaded responsibility for housing refugees have a ’businessmodel’ reliant on housing refugees in the parts of "ritain with the very lowest rents.

Meanwhile, in the richest boroughs of )ondon there are an estimated :5,000 emptyresidential properties, mostly owned by speculators interested only in making a fat

profit. If homes owned by speculators alone were re*uisitioned by the government itwould go a long way to providing housing both for the ;?,000 households currentlyregistered as homeless in "ritain, and to providing houses for refugees.

%efugees and migrants are not responsible for the endless austerity we have endured both in "ritain and across the -'. In "ritain J?0 billion was cut from public spendingunder the 8on(Eem government, coincidentally the same amount as the bankers havereceived in bonuses since the economic crisis began.

If we allow the governments of -urope to falsely lay the blame for austerity withmigrants instead of with the crisis(ridden capitalist system and the bankers and

billionaires who benefit from it, then the capitalists will succeed in grinding our livingconditions into the dirt. It is vital that the workers’ movement offers a way forward,otherwise the far right can make gains.

It is a condemnation of the capitalist -' ( with a population of 500 million ( that it isfacing an e!istential crisis over its inability to cope with the million or so refugees.


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Ket, according to the 4uardian, there are eleven million empty homes in the -' (enough to solve the housing crisis of e!isting citiHens as well as to house the refugees.

The wealth e!ists to provide help for refugees ( but it should not come from thosealready suffering austerity ( but from enormous riches of the 6 ( both in "ritain and

internationally. It was left to #bdullah Lurdi, the bereaved father of the toddlers whodrowned in the summer, to point out that the regimes of the Middle -ast are doingnothing to help refugees, not even recognising the right to asylum in their countries.

"# referendum

Fast sums owned by the billionaire elites of $audi #rabia and other Middle -asternregimes are salted away in "ritain and other -uropean countries. Aver ?06 of

properties worth over J2 million in )ondon are owned by overseas business people,many from the Middle -ast. The Middle -ast elite’s wealth in -urope should be

seiHed to pay for looking after the refugees from their regimes and wars.

The $ocialist urges its readers to vote for e!it in the -' referendum on a socialist andinternationalist basis. The -', as its treatment of refugees demonstrates, is notinternationalist.

In essence it is a coming together of big business across -urope in order to ma!imisemarkets and profits. +ar from resulting in -uropean harmony, as the current refugeecrisis shows, any serious problem leads to an increase in nationalist tensions as thedifferent capitalist classes of -urope attempt to make sure they are not the ones tocarry the burden.

-' laws and treaties are designed to assist the capitalist classes of -urope at thee!pense of the working class and poor. #s a result the modest proposals in thiseditorial to make the 6 pay for the crisis would be illegal under -' law. Af coursethis would not prevent a determined socialist government implementing such policies,

but they are an e!tra difficulty to overcome.

#t the same time any government which implemented socialist policies would not beisolated. It would be enormously popular, not &ust at home, but internationally. Itwould be able to make an international appeal for support from workers across-urope and the world.

The only way to permanently end the refugee crisis is to fight for a democraticsocialist world. An the basis of capitalism, there will always be people forced to fleetheir country, not by choice, but out of desperation as a result of war, environmentalcatastrophe and starvation.

# socialist society would harness the wealth, science and techni*ue created bycapitalism in order to meet the needs of the ma&ority worldwide. Anly on that basiswould it be possible to have a world where people are free to move if they wish to,

but are not forced to do so by the nightmare they face at home.

"uropean #nion


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$lliance with Turkey to close borders

070920;

Crises for refugees % and the "# & continues

Per-Ãke Westerlnd, from !ffensi" - the #eekly paper of $att"isepartiet Socialisterna(CWI in S#eden)

The -uropean 'nion is now closing the doors to refugees. Those who make it to4reece will be deported back to Turkey. The road along the western "alkans is

blocked. "ut the war and the suffering of all those who are forced to flee continues, asdoes the -'’s crisis.

Kesterday’s -' summit Monday, March :3 illustrates the -'’s deep crisis. #fter anight of negotiations before the summit, the -'’s real leader, 4ermany’s #ngelaMerkel, presented a &oint proposal with Turkish prime minister, #hmet Eavutoglu.

+or all other government leaders and heads of state it was a fait accompliC( Turkey isthe solution to the -'’s refugee crisis. More than a million refugees ( &ust over 0.2

percent of the -' population ( was enough to create sharp national contradictions between -' governments and the deepest crisis of the entire -' pro&ect.

'ilitarisation

The countries that have closed their borders including #ustria and $weden ( haveforced a further militarisation of the -'’s e!ternal borders. The new proposals ( asreported in the media on Tuesday morning ( say that Turkey with the support of

#TA ships from 4ermany, 8anada, 4reece, Turkey and the 'L3 should stop peoplewho are fleeing across the sea to 4reece. Those who reach 4reece are to be sent back to Turkey. This means massive operations. In Oanuary and +ebruary alone, 92,000refugees travelled across the Mediterranean to -urope.

-uropean 8ouncil Gresident, Eonald Tusk, last week urged refugees not to come intothe -'. ow he and the -' add that Turkey is a PsafeP country.

To carry out its side of the bargain, Turkey is demanding that financial support fromthe -' should be doubled to ; billion euros, that negotiations on -' membershipshould restart and that Turkish citiHens will not need visas to travel to the -'.#ccording to #ngela Merkel, on the night of Tuesday, the -' accepted these demandsfrom the increasingly war(like and dictatorial regime in #nkara.

Desperation

Today there are over 90,000 refugees in 4reece, of which close to 5,000 are indifficult conditions in camps on the border with Macedonia at Idomeni. The $wedish

prime minister, $tefan )Qfven, claimed that their right of asylum will be looked into, but other -' leaders made it clear that deportations will take place. -veryone can


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imagine the tragedies such mass e!pulsions would create. #lready, the Macedonian police have used tear gas against refugees.

Eesperation will be on the increase, especially among all those refugees who do notcome from $yria. Moreover, women and children are over half of this year’s refugees,

many of whom hoped to be reunited with their men, who have already crossed the border.

Where to go(

The -' says refugees from $yria, and $yria alone, will be able to travel directly fromTurkey to the -'. Greviously there has been talk of 900,000 refugees over the periodof a year ( a *uarter of last year’s number. "ut whether governments are prepared toreceive them is e!tremely unclear. The -'’s previous plan to spread the refugeesstands as a monument to the failure of the 'nion itself.

Af the ;;,


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The -' crisis is far from resolved. ationalist parties have gained support and muchsuspicion against refugees has been cultivated. This mood can also turn against the-'’s financial set(up and ultimately against the euro. The collapse that leading -'

politicians have warned against is still a real threat.

The new wall(building and mass e!pulsions will strengthen -uropean racists and the aHi right wing. In $lovakia, the ruling $ocial Eemocratic party used propagandaagainst refugees as their only election issue, but lost heavily anyway in last weekend’selection, including giving ground to a aHi party. This is in a country which last year received &ust 950 asylum seekers, of which ? were given asylum@

$olidarity and opposition to the -'’s wall(building continues, and will increase. -venthe ' refugee agency, '/8%, says that the crisis is self(inflicted by the -'.#mnesty International says that support for Turkey is absurd. In 4reece, strongsolidarity with the refugees continues.

This crisis and the recent decisions again e!pose the real role of the -'. The refugeecrisis is a failure of capitalism. The action being taken against the refugees is part of the same neo(liberal policies that have seen banks rescued, privatisation pushedthrough of public enterprises and services, unemployment increasing, worseningconditions in the workplaces and so on.

The alternative is the struggle against right wing policies and in favour of the right toasylum, against the capitalist -' and against imperialist wars and e!ploitationworldwide. +or internationalism and a real struggle from below. #gainst capitalism (for democratic socialism.

)ermany

*etween hatred and solidarity

0?0920;

The situation in )ermany

%y Sascha Stanicic, Soialistische 'lternati"e (CWI in ermany)

Since this article was written on 24 February, the first of this year’s elections

in Germany, local elections in the state of Hesse, have confirmed the general

trends and polarisation in Germany. hile the biggest parties, !er"el’s #$%, its

S&$ grand coalition partner and also the Greens, suffered losses the new right'

wing (f$ came third in terms of the state'wide vote. (t the same time in a number

of cities li"e Gie)en, *assel and !arburg the vote for the left party $+ -+* or

left alliances involving $+ -+* significantly increased.

socialistworld.net


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Eresden, 8lausnitH, "autHen these towns in $a!ony have made headlines with racistdemonstrations, arson attacks on refugee accommodation and police brutality againstmigrant children. #ugsburg, $iegburg, MRnster these towns have made less

prominent headlines, but the protests there against the activities of the right(wing populist =#lternative for 4ermany> party #fE3 activities are testament to the =other

4ermany>.

The #fE’s high opinion poll scores and the rightward shift of the government createthe impression of a society shifting to the right, but what is happening in reality is a

polarisation. 'nfortunately, the trade unions and EI- )IL- The )eft Garty3 arefailing to give a sufficient e!pression to the left side of this polarisation.

20; began with a dramatic drop in support for 8hancellor Merkel and thegovernment and a sharp rise in support for the #fE, which reached 26 in nationalopinion polls and up to :6 in the eastern states. #t the time of writing two weeks

before regional local elections3, it seems *uite certain that +rauke Getry’s racist outfit

will be able to celebrate successes in the state elections in %hineland(Galatinate,"aden(Rrttemberg and $a!ony(#nhalt on March 9 and in doing so increase the

pressure on the establishment parties.

There are four main reasons for this developmentC +irstly, the racist e!ploitation of theattacks on women in 8ologne on ew Kear’s -ve. This caused a further radicalisationof racists and nationalists and influenced the mood towards refugees. $econdly, thefact that Merkel’s strategy has, so far, not led to her being able to keep her promise of decreasing the number of refugees coming to 4ermany. Thirdly, the open disputewithin the ruling national =4rand 8oalition> of $GE and 8E'8$', has increasedinsecurity by creating the impression that the government has lost control of thesituation. #nd fourthlyC the total failure by trade unions and EI- )IL- to counter

pose a convincing argument and strategy against the increase in racism and thegovernment’s policies.

The dispute within the coalition allows the Merkel wing of the 8E' and the $GE to pass racist restrictions on the right to asylum while at the same time posing asdefenders of a humane immigration policy. This is mainly thanks to /orst $eehofer’s"avarian based 8$', who play the role of racist loudspeakers and try to pushgovernment policy to the right with talk of upper limits for immigration and the needfor 4ermany to =go it alone>. In this, they have been successful. Merkel’s motto =e

will manage this@> has in the past months been replaced by =e need to limit thenumber of refugees@> The only thing in dispute is the way to achieve this.

)o+ernment disunity

This disunity reflects underlying differences and interests within the 4erman bourgeoisie and represents a continuation of the controversy within the 8E'8$'regarding Merkel’s -uropean policy. Greviously, the re&ection of the falsely named=rescue packages> for 4reece by sections of the 8E' and 8$' were an indicationthat some 4erman capitalists whose profits depend less on e!ports, see the euro andthe -' more as a burden than as a source of power and profit. This is a minority, but itis one which has begun to assert its voice. Indeed, the #fE was originally founded as


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an anti(euro party by economics professor "ernd )ucke and the former head of the"EI industrial employers association, /ans(Alaf /enkel an e!pression of thisdividing line amongst the rich and super(rich in the country. Merkel, on the other hand, is e!pressing the interests of the ma&or banks and companies, which have usedthe euro and the free movement of goods within the -' to make even more money

than they had made before.

There is no real controversy over the *uestion whether there should be immigration to4ermany. -ven if they may not want to admit it, even the 8E'8$' has long sincerecognised that immigration to 4ermany is a reality and has adapted its policiesaccordingly. The refugee situation of the last years was even seen as an opportunity toincrease immigration the necessity of which was accepted and in particular toattract a layer of well(educated people from $yria. There may be different opinionsabout how many people should be allowed into the country, but first and foremost allrepresentatives of the established pro(capitalist parties want to see immigrationcontrolled and limited. The *uestion they debate is howS

Merkel understood that the large number of refugees, the tense situation in 4reece andon the "alkan route threatened the e!istence of the $chengen agreement and the-uropean 'nion itself if there was no =-uropean solution>. This was particularly inlight of the danger of right(wing populist and nationalist forces coming to power in anincreasing number of -' countries and steering an anti(-' course. # loss of controlover governments by the main sectors of the ruling classes would be much moredangerous for -uropean capitalists than the loss of control over immigration. "utthere is a strong connection between both. This e!plains their willingness to shower the war monger -rdogan with money and allow him a free hand against the Lurds, italso e!plains the desperate attempts to scrape together more aid money for $yria, theattempts to achieve a cease(fire there and is also the reason for Merkel’s push for a-uropean agreement on *uotas for refugees per country.

Can 'erkel’s plan succeed(

'ntil now, this strategy seems to have had little success. In late +ebruary, fightingeven intensified in $yria and Turkey engaged militarily in the conflict with artilleryfire against Lurdish positions. The flow of refugees from $yria to Turkey is notslowing and in addition, newspapers report that there are an additional 200,000refugees in )ibya intent on trying to reach -urope across the Mediterranean. #ustria,

/ungary, Goland, $lovakia and the 8Hech %epublic are opting for unilateral measureslike setting upper limits on asylum numbers and erecting a border fence on 4reece’s

borders with Macedonia and "ulgaria. -ven +rance is saying that it is not willing totake more than the 90,000 it has already agreed to. Therefore it is no wonder thatMerkel’s future and that of the grand coalition is being openly debated in 4erman

political talk shows. /owever, it is noticeable that hardly any &ournalist is actuallyspeaking of a =crisis of government>. #nd a closer look reveals that the events of thene!t few months are far from clear.

The situation for Merkel is serious. /er previously very high approval ratings havecome down significantly, but are still at a level that many other heads of governmentwould be envious of and have recently shown tentative signs of recovery. In additionto this, the government is only in crisis as regards asylum and immigration policy. An


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all other issues, the grand coalition is in plain sailing whether as regards militaryinterventions abroad, or the fulfilling of employers’ wishes in regard to changinglabour contracts or the increase in licences granted for arms e!ports.

Garado!ically, the government is under pressure on an issue where according to all

opinion polls the ma&ority of the population agrees with it. These surveys show thatmost agree with the central tenet of Merkel’s policy that =Geople who come to4ermany fleeing war and persecution must be offered protection. "ut the number of refugees coming to 4ermany must be limited>. Golitically much depends on whether Merkel can make the second part of the statement happen. #nd that can still not beruled out.

In saying this, it has to be clear that such =success> will come at the e!pense of refugees. The combination of defeats of 20 Middle -ast revolutions, the poisonouslegacies of different imperialist interventions, dictatorships, continued neoliberale!ploitation and record levels of 4erman(made weapons being e!ported, all mean that

the numbers of refugees will not be reduced because the root causes are not tackledand people will not be able to remain where they are or return home. #s long as thewars continue the only way less people will come to 4ermany would be if more haveto stay in the overflowing refugee camps in )ebanon, Oordan and Turkey or are turnedaway at the borders of Turkey and 4reece.

/owever, this is all far away, and if the number of refugees arriving goes down tosomewhere between 90,000 and


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comeback of the +EG liberal party3 in western 4ermany. This, together with therightward shift of the 4reens in "aden(Rrttemberg, could further increase thenumber of coalition options for the establishment parties. Therefore, the possibility of "aden(Rrttemberg becoming the second state besides /esse to have a 8E'(4reengovernment cannot be ruled out. "ringing the +EG back into government at state level

would help to resuscitate the =little party of big capital> and bring it into position tore(enter parliament at national level in the $eptember 20: general election.

"ut without a reduction of the number of refugees coming to 4ermany, the pressurewill continue to mount. In that scenario, a =$wedish turn> in refugee policy isconceivable, including a closing of borders, a drastic increase in deportations andsome form of upper limits probably under another name3. The result of such adevelopment would, however, not be an automatic end to the weakening of Merkel’s

position and to the #fE’s rise. "ecause this would, in the eyes of many, be avindication of the #fE’s propaganda, in the same way that the far(right $wedenEemocrats were further strengthened by the $wedish government’s change of course.

!olarisation

The increase in racist violence, the success of the #fE and the large number of far(right demonstrations have left many people in fear. # fre*uently e!pressed thought onsocial media is that it is now easy to understand the developments in society in theearly 790s. ithout a doubt, the situation is serious if even police spokespeople arewarning of the danger of pogrom(like situations in $a!ony. /ere, the fascists andracists of the GE and Gegida have been particularly successful in inciting hatredamong parts of the population and building a base for themselves. +urthermore, these

forces are aided by a state apparatus apparently infested with right(wingers and racistswhich allows them a freer hand than elsewhere. "ut racist violence is not &ust a

problem in $a!ony, it is simply more clearly e!pressed there. There were attacks onrefugees’ accommodation in every state, in eastern and in western 4ermany. The #fEis gaining more strongly in the east than in the west, but will in all probabilitycomfortably pass the five percent threshold in the state elections in %hineland(Galatinate and "aden(Rrttemberg. #t a superficial glance, the whole country isshifting to the right.

It would be wrong, however, to speak of a general rightward shift in society. In fact,social polarisation is becoming sharper on these *uestions. The potential for left and

class(based resistance was evident during last year on a number of occasions. Thiswas the case in various strikes, in many successful mobilisations and blockadesagainst far(right demonstrations, in the massive wave of aid and solidarity for arrivingrefugees, in the huge 500,000 strong demonstration against the TTIG last Actober.EI- )IL- and the trade unions are, however, failing to combine this potential andgive it a clear class(based e!pression. Therefore, EI- )IL- is stagnating in the pollswhile the #fE makes gains. The end result of the polarisation at the moment is a shiftto the right in the policies of the government and a strengthening of right(populist andneo(fascist forces.

8onsciousness within the working class and within the population as a whole is, ingeneral, e!tremely varied, contradictory, and fluid. The feeling that the world is


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getting more and more out of control and that people in 4ermany are feeling theeffects of this, has certainly increased in the last few months.

This invariably leads to defensive reactions in the thinking of those people who seetheir livelihoods threatened in some non(specific way by these developments. #t this

moment this is happening against a backdrop of a relatively stable economic and budgetary situation. 8lass struggle, and situations in which workers, the unemployedand parts of the middle class feel directly and strongly attacked by measures by theruling class are currently still relatively rare and mostly not generalised although theyare increasing.

This leads a section of these people to focus their thinking and their fears on therefugee issue and the alleged threat of terrorism under the influence of the bourgeoismedia, state racism and incitement to hatred by the #fE. #t the same time the #fEmanages to portray itself as an anti(establishment force, despite its bourgeois policies.It is benefitting from the fact that the governing parties offer no solution and EI-

)IL- is being increasingly seen as a party like any other.

DI" ,I-." and the trade unions

hen Eie )IL- uses the slogan =out of love for our homeland> in its electioncampaign in Mecklenburg(Forpommern, when its lead candidate in $a!ony(#nhalt,ulf 4allert, is praised as =one who understands women>, when party leader $ahraagenknecht speaks of immigrants =abusing our hospitality> and advocates deportingasylum seekers who break the law, when former leader Askar )afontaine advocateslimiting the numbers of refugees and "odo %amelow’s )IL-(led government in

ThRringen deports people, then it is hardly surprising EI- )IL- is perceived as =theleft one among the establishmentU parties>, but still as a party belonging to thesystem and the establishment. )arge sections of the )IL- leadership are lookingtowards government coalitions with the $GE and the 4reens instead of self(confidently standing up for a genuinely different kind of politics in terms of styleand substance.

hat is necessary is an active campaign to combine social *uestions, solidarity withrefugees and the fight against racism. To make clear that the party has nothing incommon with all of the parties who have for years and decades been responsible for social cuts, deregulating employment conditions and pushing back workers’ rights.

+or e!ample, to raise the demand to confiscate residential and office space which islying empty for social use, to organise and to support occupations in order to fight for affordable accommodation for everyone whether 4ermans in need of homes or migrants or refugees.

The behaviour of the trade union leadership is even worse than that of EI- )IL-.ith their millions of members, they could launch an information campaign againstracism, against the #fE and co in the workplaces, which in itself would serve tochange the public debate. "ut most of all, they could organise a united struggle for theinterests of 4erman and non(4erman workers and unemployed. This would be the

best way to combat racism and division. The upcoming wage negotiations for publicsector employees at federal and local level, for the metal and electrical industry, in the


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construction industry, at Telekom, Folkswagen, in the printing sector and in the banks,as well as the ongoing disputes at the 8haritV and other hospitals, at #maHon and the%eal supermarket chain could be combined into a movement across wider society for a redistribution of wealth from top to bottom. This would change the situation insociety and push the social *uestion to the fore.

If EI- )IL- and the trade unions also formed alliances with tenants associations,immigrant organisations, anti(racist groups and social movements, combining thestruggle against the right with the struggle against spending restrictions, austerity, lowwages and housing shortages, it would *uickly become clear that the naHis, racists,#fE and Gegida are only a small minority.

'nfortunately, this is not happening. The leadership of the E4" trade unionfederation3 has instead initiated an =#lliance for cosmopolitanism> together with theemployers’ association and other institutions like the 8atholic and Grotestant8hurches. It is a paper tiger, which employers’ association president Ingo Lramer

even used as a platform to call for deportations. $ome forces within EI- )IL- suchas Mar!2 led by co(thinkers of the "ritish $G3 and others, are working on an anti(#fE alliance which declines to raise any social demands or to criticise stricter asylumlaws or deportations, so as not to scare away $GE and 4reen politicians.

/owever, the right cannot be stopped without presenting political alternatives. # better e!ample of how to go about this was presented by the W#lliance for a social"erlin against racism= which has &ust been formed by activists of the 4- teachers’union3, ver.di youth public sector and services union3, 4- youth, tenantsassociations, )IL-, $#F and others, which has called a "erlin(wide demonstrationon #pril ;th, which will combine the struggle against racism with the struggle for affordable accommodation, public investment and a redistribution of wealth from topto bottom.

The call to this demonstration saysC =-ven people who have lived here for a long timehave trouble finding affordable homes. There is a shortage of tens of thousands of housing units in "erlin, and every year only half as many as are needed are built,Gublic services are underfunded and colleagues in local authority offices and hospitalsare chronically overworked. $chool students are often being taught in classes whichare far too large, and often in containers. There are already ten schools less than whatwould be needed in "erlin. If planning doesn’t begin immediately, it will be around

?0 by the year 2090.

=It doesn’t matter whether you have been living in "erlin for :0 years or for threemonths. It doesn’t matter if you are from edding, from Eortmund or from $yriaC#nyone who can’t afford an e!pensive apartment or private tuition is dependent onthe social infrastructure of the city. Eestructive cutbacks have brought the city’sinfrastructure to the limits of what it can take long before the arrival of an increasednumber of refugees. e urgently need investment in education, homes and the socialsector@ X3 instead of taking away the rights of refugees, keeping them in camps,

banning them from working and threatening to deport them back to where they facewar, poverty and discrimination, we need a genuine right to asylum and e*ual rights

for everyone who lives here@ X3


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=The right wing claims that refugees are to blame for the housing crises, for there*uisition of sports halls and the lack of money for local authorities. They e!ploit theunderfunding of society for their propaganda. e confront them and refuse to letourselves be divided@ The division is not between people of different origin, it is

between those above and those below@>

history

/ebruary re+olution 0102 % what lessons

for today(

;09200:

-inety years ago3 the working class of Russia3 led by the immortal workers of what is now 4t !etersburg3 rose in a re+olution that o+erthrew the 03555%year

dictatorial rule of the Tsar6

Peter aaffe, general secretary of the Socialist Party

29 +ebruary 7: ? March in the new style 4regorian calendar3 marked the beginning of the socialist revolution in %ussia that sparked a revolutionary wave thatwould travel around the world. Geter Taaffe analyses the lessons of +ebruary for theworking class today and how the leadership of the "olshevik party, particularly )eninand Trotsky, was decisive in ensuring the victory of the revolution in Actober.

/ebruary re+olution 0102 % what lessons

for today(

This began a process of revolution and counter(revolution over the ne!t nine monthswhich in Actober 7: resulted in the first democratic working(class, socialistrevolution in history.

The +ebruary revolution stands between the first %ussian revolution of 705(70: andthe third and conclusive revolution of Actober 7:. The representatives of big

business today and their hirelings in the universities, the superficial professors of ’history’, either ignore this great event or seek to prove that +ebruary was the ’real’%ussian revolution which ’went off the rails’ and ended in the ’putsch’ of Actober 7:.

Af course, "ritain today is not %ussia of 7:, an economically and culturallydeprived society, with the working class a minority in a sea of peasants. Ket, under thewhip of a serious economic crisis, a social rupture can develop in the most ’advanced’as well as the most backward societies. The recent upheaval on world stock e!changes

is a harbinger of a more disturbed economic and social situation for world capitalism,which could produce in a different form the conditions of %ussia 70 years ago.


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*olshe+iks

Ane of the most vital lessons of the +ebruary revolution and its aftermath is that hadthe leaders of the most conscious workers’ party at that stage, the "olsheviks thema&ority3, pursued the policies of the workers’ leaders today, no %ussian revolutionwould have taken place. In 7:, %ussia was passing through the greatest social crisisin its history. If there had been no "olshevik party, led by )enin and Trotsky, thecolossal revolutionary energy of the workers and the peasants would have beenfruitlessly spent in sporadic e!plosions. The class struggle is the prime mover inhistory but it needs a correct programme, a firm party and a trustworthy andcourageous leadership ready to go to the end in the struggle against capitalism andlandlordism, as happened in %ussia.

The honour of beginning the revolution fell to the working(class women of $tGetersburg. An 22 +ebruary according to the old style Oulian calendar, which is 9

days behind the 4regorian calendar used in the est3, the ma&or plant of the city, theGutilov factory, announced a great strike. In the city at this stage there were roughly970,000 factory workers, employed in huge industrial units such as the Gutilovfactory. #ppro!imately one(third of these workers were women and the working classhad been hit hardest by the massive inflation at the time.

An 29 +ebruary, the women te!tile workers, without prior agreement from any party,went on strike in several factories, which led to mass demonstrations in the city. Thisopened the floodgates of revolution, which unfolded over the ne!t five days.

Role of the working class

Ane of the unmistakable features of a revolution is the direct intervention of the massof the working class and the poor ( usually discontented but forced into submission bycapitalism in ’normal’ periods ( in determining their own fate. This has been seen inall revolutions, for instance in +rance in 7;?, when ten million workers came out inthe greatest general strike against the wishes of their ’leaders’D and occupied thefactories. The same happened in the marvellous Gortuguese revolution, which beganin 7:


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"ut they themselves were not conscious of their own power. Many times in history,the working masses have overthrown a regime but have not en&oyed the fruits of their victory because they have not recognised their role. Therefore, in %ussia power fellinto the hands of a coalition of capitalist liberals, Mensheviks the original minority inthe %ussian workers’ movement3 and the $ocial %evolutionaries, a party of the middle

class of the towns and the rural areas.

The +ebruary revolution was, in effect, the beginning of the socialist revolution in%ussia and worldwide. "ut only )enin, the leader of the "olsheviks, in e!ile in$witHerland, and Trotsky in ew Kork recognised this. -ven the "olshevik leadershipin Getrograd, while they did not enter the government which would have beenunacceptable to the ranks of the "olshevik party and the working class of the city3,nevertheless gave support to the coalition government from the outside. Thisgovernment was similar to what became known later as the ’popular front’, whichderailed the $panish revolution of 79(9: and was employed by the $talinists in+rance and elsewhere.

!ro+isional go+ernment

Initially, the Getrograd workers and the rank(and(file "olsheviks were hostile to thecoalition, which had gathered power into its hands. "ut from the middle of March,under the influence of Lamenev, a leader of the "olsheviks, and $talin, who hadarrived from e!ile, the "olshevik party swung decisively to the right.

$talin wrote and saidC PThe Grovisional 4overnment must be supported because...PThis is very similar to the position of "ertinotti and other leaders of %ifondaHione

8omunista %83 in Italy in relation to the first ’Alive Tree’ coalition which e!isted between 77;(77?, which they initially ’supported’ from the outside.

The conse*uence was that the %8 leaders were covered with the odium arising fromthe attacks on the working class made by this coalition, which pursued neo(liberal

policies and paved the way for the "erlusconi government.

In opposition to such an approach, )enin telegraphed from $witHerland to the"olshevik leaders in GetrogradC PAur tacticD absolute lack of confidenceD no support tothe new governmentD suspect Lerensky especiallyD arming of the working class thesole guaranteeD immediate elections to the Getrograd EumaD no rapprochement with

other parties.P Then he pointedly declaredC PThe least support for the Grovisional4overnment is a betrayal.P

Capitalist coalitions

hat would he have said of his alleged ’heirs’ in the %8 and elsewhere today whonow support capitalist coalitions ’from the inside’, serving as ministers and embracingthe neo(liberal programme as, unfortunately, the %8 in Italy has done in propping upthe Grodi governmentS "ertinotti has shamefully taken the position of president of the8hamber of Eeputies, e*uivalent to the $peaker of the /ouse of 8ommons in "ritain.

/e did this while commenting that this was a position that he could Pno longer refuseP.


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hy could he not refuseS hen )enin arrived at the +inland station in Getrograd in#pril 7:, a young naval commander, speaking in the name of the service,Pe!pressed the hope that )enin might become a member of the Grovisional4overnmentP. This was treated with scorn by )enin who turned his back on thecoalition dignitaries and addressed the workers who had come to greet him, with the

wordsC PThe %ussian %evolution achieved by you has opened a new epoch. )ong livethe world socialist revolution@P

%omano Grodi, the Italian prime minister, himself declared from the outset hisintention to carry through drastic attacks on the living standards of the Italian workers,all in the cause of ’reforming’ the Italian state and renovating Italian capitalism.

Ket "ertinotti in #pril 200;, &ust after the elections, statedC Pe will support agovernment with %omano Grodi as prime minister and our party will take part in it. #very important step has been madeD we defeated "erlusconi. ow we intend to ruleItaly towards a change and to help the rise of a new political sub&ect of the alternative

left in Italy, which is now stronger after this election outcome and commits us to building an Italian -uropean left section.P

Independent policy

-vents in Italy in the last period are a direct refutation of this and other arguments of the %8 leaders &ustifying entry into a capitalist coalition government. They have triedto bolster this with the argument that they would be a Pcheck on the rightP and act inthe interests of the Italian working class. There is absolutely nothing new in theseargumentsD $talin and Lamenev supported the post(+ebruary coalition government

’critically’ with very similar arguments.

This was directly contrary to the position adopted by )enin and Trotsky in 7:.)enin’s policy led, nine months later, to the Actober revolution and the ’ten days thatshook the world’, the reverberations of Actober amongst the working classinternationally.

"ertinotti’s policy ( of acceding to Grodi’s attacks on the working class ( has alreadyled to the disenchantment of broad sections of the workers and young people. It iscertain to lead to disaster, the return of "erlusconi or something worse, unlesschecked by a revolt of the %8 members, combined with mass action by the Italian

working class.

'nlike the workers’ leaders today who are seduced and corrupted by the lure of easy popularity and ministerial careers, )enin was not afraid of being in a minority. The"olsheviks had 6 or 26 share of the vote in the soviets in +ebruary, and only


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of the 705(0: revolution they created their own independent class organisation in theform of soviets ( workers, soldiers and peasants’ councils.

In fact, a ’double sovereignty’ was created in %ussia in +ebruary 7: that lasted rightup to the Actober revolution. This ’dual power’ or elements of it is visible in all

revolutionary upheavals. An the one side, the ’government’ still retains state forces but it is challenged by the independent power and organisation of the working class.

The struggle between these forces constitutes the essence of the revolutionary andcounter(revolutionary processes between +ebruary and Actober 7:. )enin and the"olsheviks under his leadership strove to maintain loyalty to the revolutionary

programme, irreconcilable hostility to the capitalists and a decisive rupture with thosewho were not prepared to struggle to the end against capitalism and landlordism.

Re+olutionary programme

"ut this earned the "olsheviks the undying hatred of the capitalists and all those parties who wanted to remain within the framework of the system. The entire press,including the papers of the Mensheviks and the $ocial %evolutionaries, carried on avicious campaign against the "olsheviks, &ust as the "ritish media and press didagainst the miners in 7?


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Eemocrats. They are urged to give support by the likes of the %8 to Grodi in themistaken belief that future ’concessions’ can be e!tracted. This is, of course, only if they swallow the to!ic medicine today in the form of cuts and privatisation.

Vene7uela

The +ebruary revolution is also important in relation to the momentous events that areunfolding in )atin #merica today. In FeneHuela, following the victory of /ugo8hYveH in the presidential elections with more than two(thirds of the vote, theworkers’ movement has undoubtedly swung towards the left.

/ugo 8hYveH has praised Trotsky, claims to stand on Trotsky’s ideas of the’permanent revolution’ ( which in %ussia led directly from the +ebruary overturn tothe victory in Actober 7: ( and has proposed the nationalisation or partialnationalisation of the energy and other industries.

e and the left internationally support these steps of the FeneHuelan government and people. /owever, 8hYveH says that his government will proceed by what can only be perceived as ’instalments’ towards a break with capitalism at some unspecified futuredate. 4eorge 4alloway, commenting on this, mistakenly claimed in an article in theguardian that this represents a greater advance ( is more ’red’ ( then even the #llendegovernment in 8hile in the 7:0s.

/owever, in 8hile,


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'ltimately, the only way to defeat the threat of counter(revolution is to follow the policy of )enin after +ebruary ( intransigent opposition to capitalism and landlordismand decisive measures to break the power of big business.

The great events of +ebruary 7: are not dead history. e pay tribute to the

courageous working class of Getrograd in this great social overturn by learning thereal lessons of these events for today.

$pecial feature from The $ocialist, paper of the $ocialist Garty, -ngland and ales.

ames Conolly

,abour in Irish 8istory re+isited

902200

Ireland con+ulsed by economic crisis and sa+age austerity cuts % Time to

reconnect with Connolly’s socialist ideas

*iall +lholland (from Socialism oday)

9ames Connolly was a great 'ar:ist thinker and workers’ leader in Ireland3

4cotland and the #46 8e was e:ecuted by the *ritish state for his key role in

the 010; "aster rising in Dublin6 4ince then3 Connolly’s ideas of international3

working%class unity and socialism ha+e been distorted by those wishing to link

him with their banner6


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#lready ’power(sharing’ in the orth, $inn +ein agreed a budget package inEecember 200, along with their partners in the #ssembly -!ecutive, the Eemocratic'nionist Garty, that will see a huge J< billion worth of public spending cuts.

This approach is a million miles away from that of Oames 8onnolly, who was a

Mar!ist a revolutionary socialist and internationalist. #ll his adult life, 8onnollyresisted imperialism and sectarianism. /e fought for the unity of 8atholic andGrotestant workers and for socialism. +ollowing 8onnolly’s role in the 7; Eublin-aster rising, all shades of Irish nationalism and republicanism claim him as their own, often distorting his ideas to &ustify their political positions. Ket 8onnolly waswithering towards the nationalists’ call for a pan(class struggle to end "ritishimperialist rule in Ireland, which is echoed today by $inn +Vin.

)abour in Irish /istory was 8onnolly’s single most(important publication. In it, heapplied the ideas of +riedrich -ngels and Larl Mar!, whom he called Pthe greatest of modern thinkers and first of scientific socialistsP, to Ireland, particularly their view

that class struggle is the locomotive of history. ithout this understanding, 8onnollyremarked, PIrish history is but a welter of unrelated facts, a hopeless chaos of sporadicoutbreaks, treacheries, intrigues, massacres, murders, and purposeless warfareP.

#lthough a century old and not without weaknesses, )abour in Irish /istory can stillguide workers and youth today in the struggle to overthrow capitalism in Ireland andinternationally, particularly in the neo(colonial world.

"choes of Trotsky

8AA))K GAIT-E A'T that Irish history had always been written by thePmaster classP in the interests of that class. /e aimed to attend to the neglect of socialissues by official historians. )abour in Irish /istory was also written to challenge thenationalist myths about the Irish struggle for freedom from "ritish rule. 8onnollyshowed how the Irish capitalist class was always prepared to abandon and betray thestruggle for liberation if its fundamental economic and social interests werethreatened. /e warned radical nationalists that their policy of a 1union of classes’would lead to disaster. /e argued that Irish independence would bring little realfreedom and progress for the ma&ority of the Irish people unless it included afundamental change to the social system.

In his earlier pamphlet, -rin’s /ope ?7:3, 8onnolly drew the conclusion that theIrish working class was Pthe only secure foundation on which a free nation can be

builtP. This view was amplified and developed in )abour in Irish /istory. PTheshifting of economic and political forces which accompanies the development of thesystem of capitalist society leads inevitably to the increasing conservatism of the non(working(class element, and to the revolutionary vigour and power of the workingclassP, the author asserts in his introduction. The Irish middle and propertied classesPhave a thousand economic strings in the shape of investments binding them to-nglish capitalismP. 8onnolly concludes that Ponly the Irish working class remains asthe incorruptible inheritors of the fight for freedom in IrelandP.


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These words echoed the ideas of )eon Trotsky’s theory of the permanent revolution.Trotsky e!plained that the native capitalist class in the less(developed countries andcolonial world came late on to the scene of history. It was too weak as a class tofollow the e!ample of the bourgeoisie in the established capitalist countries and leadmovements to remove the remnants of feudalism and establish independent nation

states. These tasks fell to the working class which, in taking power, would carrythrough the unfinished tasks of the bourgeois(democratic revolution, going over uninterrupted to carry through the tasks of the socialist revolution. 8onnolly andTrotsky, therefore, shared the fundamental belief that it is the working class whichmust achieve independence. In the process, it will pass on to the struggle to establishsocialism.

"ut there were important differences. ot least, Trotsky had the huge advantage of thee!perience and lessons of the 705(0: %ussian revolution. This e!posed the cowardlyand inconsistent role of the %ussian bourgeoisie in the struggle against tsarist rule andshowed the high levels of militancy and self(organisation of the %ussian workers. This

provided the basis for Trotsky’s book, %esults and Grospects which became known asthe Germanent %evolution3, written in 70;.

orking in relative isolation from the other outstanding Mar!ist thinkers of his day,such as Fladimir )enin and %osa )u!emburg, and without direct access to Trotsky’swritings, 8onnolly’s analysis did not attain the full scope and precision of Trotsky’s

permanent revolution. evertheless, on the basis of studying the ideas of Mar! and-ngels, 8onnolly made an original contribution.

)abour in Irish /istory was an important counter argument to the mechanistic andstages approach that was dominant in the socialist $econd International. Its leaders,such as Larl Lautsky, who were based on a one(sided reading of Mar!, argued thatsocialism would have to await the development of full economic conditions in eachindividual country. The colonial world, therefore, would have to wait for socialistrevolution in the advanced capitalist countries. In )abour in Irish /istory, 8onnollydeparted from this prevailing orthodo!y and argued that the bourgeoisie in Irelandwas not willing or capable of leading a struggle for independence and the workingclass would have to put itself in the leadership of the fight to remove "ritishimperialist rule.

8onnolly’s achievement is all the more impressive when taking into account the very

difficult circumstances under which he produced )abour in Irish /istory. /ededicated the small book with the wordsC PTo that uncon*uered Irish working classthis book is dedicated by one of their numberP. Indeed, 8onnolly was born intoterrible poverty in -dinburgh, the son of unskilled Irish immigrants. #t ten, 8onnollywas forced to work in the printing trade. #ged


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recommending the book. -ven establishment newspapers, such as the Irish Times,+reeman’s Oournal and the Eaily /erald acknowledged the power of 8onnolly’s work on its publication in 70. "ut the &ournal of #rthur 4riffiths’ $inn +Vin partydismissed the socialist interpretation of Irish history, attacking its PmethodX lack of

perspectiveX dogmatismXand rhetoricP. $inn +Vin, 9 Eecember 703

"arly Irish history

#+T-% 8AA))K’$ )-#EI4 role in the 7; uprising and summary e!ecution by the "ritish state, nationalists of all stripes were *uick to place 8onnolly in the pantheon of nationalist martyrs. #t the same time, they sought to distort and rubbishhis Mar!ist ideas. They specifically ob&ected to 8onnolly’s definition of early 8elticsociety as a form of 1primitive communism’ before its demise at the hands of the#nglo(orman feudal system. In )abour in Irish /istory, 8onnolly anticipated theopinion of these commentatorsC PImbued with the conception of feudalistic or

capitalistic social order, the writers perpetually strove to e!plain ancientU Irishinstitutions in terms of an order of things to which those institutions were entirelyalienP.

8onnolly showed that the clan system was a system of what Mar!ists call 1primitivecommunism’. The basis of society rested upon communal ownership of land, with

production almost entirely for consumption by the producing community. It was asociety without private property or hereditary wealth. #s 8onnolly knew from hiswide studies, this was the nature of pre(feudal society, not &ust in Ireland but across-urope and the #mericas. In ?;7, -ngels referred to the clan system in Ireland as aPfeudal(patriarchal systemP. #lthough, in ??


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unsparingly upon the backs of the labouring peopleP. "y the end of the :th century,the con*uest of Ireland was complete. -nglish colonialism imposed a subservient andlargely toothless parliament based on a sectarian and class(biased franchise.

In re+olt

I # 8/#GT-%, Geasant %ebellions, 8onnolly notes that Pbefore long the Grotestantand 8atholic tenants were suffering one common oppressionP. This led to the creationof rural secret societies across Ireland, such as the hiteboys and Aakboys, and the$teelboys, in Eown and #ntrim, who were made up mainly of Gresbyterians and other 1dissenters’. The Pdispossessed people strove by lawless acts and violent methods torestrain the greed of their masters, and to enforce their own right to lifeP, wrote8onnolly, butC P4overnment warred upon these poor wretches in the most vindictivemannerC hanging, shooting, transporting without mercyXP Meanwhile, the 1Gatriots’either ignored this social in&ustice or, in one infamous e!ample in :;9, a member of

the Irish /ouse of 8ommons, Pfiercely denounced the government for not killingenough of the hiteboysP.

8onnolly goes on to make withering criticisms of nationalist heroes, such as /enry4rattan, who is associated with winning an independent Irish parliament. 8onnollyshows that 4rattan was a representative of an emerging Irish capitalist class, Phisspirit was the spirit of the bourgeoisie incarnateP, and he Pdreaded the people morethan they feared the "ritish governmentP. 4rattan opportunistically leaned on theFolunteer militia initially formed in response to a rumoured +rench invasion in ::?3to win constitutional and free(trade reforms from the -nglish parliament in :?2. Ketthe 1prosperity’ promised by the leaders was Ppurely capitalistic prosperityP. hen the

rank(and(file Folunteers called for popular representation in parliament, all theParistocrats, glib(tongued lawyers and professional patriotsP betrayed them and4rattan denounced the Folunteers as an Parmed rabbleP.

In contrast, 8onnolly celebrates the :7? revolution of the 'nited Irishmen and the?09 uprising led by %obert -mmet. The $ociety of 'nited Irishmen was at first anopen organisation, campaigning amongst the masses for a republic inspired by the:?7 +rench revolution. 8onnolly commends the bold revolutionary, Theobold olfeTone, a Grotestant, and other leaders of the 'nited Irishmen, who fought as democratsand internationalists, calling for full enfranchisement irrespective of religion, and whosought Pa successful prosecution of a class warXP They fought for a social and

political revolution, and understood that the PIrish fight for liberty was but a part of the worldwide march of the human raceP. Tone and other leaders allied themselves toPthe revolutionists of 4reat "ritain as well as those of +ranceP.

"ritish repression forced the 'nited Irishmen underground and the movement forgedan alliance with +rance against aristocratic -ngland. +rench ships and soldiers weresent to Ireland to assist an uprising in :7? but a number of factors, including the

betrayal by the Pmen of propertyP, saw all attempts fail and the rebels suffered terriblereprisals.

8onnolly describes the ?09 uprising led by -mmet, another Grotestant, as even moredemocratic and internationalist than :7? and, most importantly, more working class


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in character. Indeed, the most important fighting on the night of the uprising,8onnolly noted, took place in an area of Eublin inhabited by shoemakers, tanners andweavers.

-ineteenth century reaction

+A))AI4 T/- E-+-#T$ of :7? and ?09, 8onnolly describes Ireland and-urope in the first part of the 7th century in thrall to a Pperiod of political darkness,or unbridled despotism and reactionP. "ut in another chapter, The +irst Irish $ocialistC# forerunner of Mar!, 8onnolly also sheds light on the largely forgotten but highlyinfluential early socialist, illiam Thompson, from 8ounty 8ork. Thompson was Paneconomist more thoroughly socialist in the modern sense than of his contemporary'topian $ocialistsP. /e anticipated Mar!’s economic analysis, in particular, Mar!’sargument that the ultimate source of profit is the unpaid labour of the working class.

The 14reat )iberator’, Eaniel A’8onnell, the 7th century leader venerated bynationalists, is lacerated by 8onnolly as a reactionary bourgeois. A’8onnell at firstrelied on the organised trades in his campaign for the repeal of the 'nion but,afterwards, he Pceased to play for the favour of organised labour and graduallydeveloped into the most bitter and unscrupulous enemy of trade unionism Ireland hasyet producedXP 8onnolly cites A’8onnell’s opposition to legislation shortening thehours of child labour in factories in ?9?, as a supporter of the hig government inthe estminster /ouse of 8ommons. #s well as that, 8onnolly condemnsA’8onnell’s traducing of the revolutionary traditions of :7?, when he sowedsectarian divisions by seeking to link the nationalist movement to the 8atholic church.

#gain boldly breaking with the received wisdom of nationalist Ireland, 8onnollyassails the Koung Irelanders, who he describes as a watered(down version of the ?


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working masses. The +enian "rotherhood, established in ?5:, gained support fromworkers in cities and towns during a period of rising prices of food and other necessities.

=n republicanism and 8ome Rule

AT $'%G%I$I4)K, 8AA))K’$ interpretation of Irish history has come under criticism from all *uarters. Grofessor Eavid /owell # )ost )eftC Three $tudies in$ocialism and ationalism, 7?;3 and other commentators believe that 8onnollytended to be too uncritical of radical nationalism and republicanism. /owell makeshis criticisms in a somewhat abstract, one(sided manner, and without fully taking intoaccount the concrete conditions in which 8onnolly was attempting to develop a smallsocialist movement in colonial Ireland in the ?70s. evertheless, some of /owell’scriticisms hold a certain amount of truth.

/owell refers to 8onnolly glossing over attacks by the Irish radical nationalist, OohnMitchell, against the ?


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civil war. evertheless, neither in )abour in Irish /istory nor in his other writings did8onnolly ade*uately e!amine the reasons why big sections of the Grotestant workingclass adopted a strong anti(/ome %ule position.

8onnolly led important strikes in the north, courageously standing up against the

bosses and bigots on both sides of the sectarian divide. "ut he did not fully analysethe outlook and consciousness of Grotestant workers. The fears of Grotestant workersthat a /ome %ule parliament would work mainly in the interests of the smaller

businesses in the $outh, and that &obs in the heavily industrialised north(east would bethreatened by /ome %ule protectionist measures, were very real and needed to beanswered with socialist policies.

The "aster rising

A88#$IA#) #M"I4'ITK I 8onnolly’s writings on the character of radical

nationalism was compounded by his role in 7;. $ome on the left have used this toargue that the national struggle for independence is a 1stage’ towards socialism and to &ustify alliances with nationalists to achieve this. This was not at all 8onnolly’s real position. #long with )enin and Trotsky in %ussia, )u!emburg in 4ermany, OohnMc8lean in $cotland and a handful of other socialists internationally, 8onnollyopposed the imperialist bloodbath of the first world war and stood for workers’internationalism.

8onnolly correctly states In )abour and Irish /istory that Prevolutions are not the product of our brains, but of ripe material conditionsP. "ut in the lead up to -aster 7;, 8onnolly ignored his own good advice. /is impatience was borne out of his

isolation, and the fear that a renewal of class struggle across -urope would take toolong and that the "ritish authorities would introduce conscription in Ireland. 8onnollyconcluded that it was necessary to make an alliance between his Irish 8itiHen’s #rmyI8# initially formed as a workers’ defence force during the 79 Eublin lock(outwhich 8onnolly helped to lead3 with the middle(class nationalist Irish Folunteers andIrish %epublican "rotherhood, and to push for an uprising against "ritish rule. /ehoped that an uprising would Pset the torch to a -uropean conflagration that will not

burn out until the last throne and the last capitalist bond and debenture will beshrivelled on the funeral pyre of the last war lordP.

8onnolly undoubtedly acted from the most noble and self(sacrificing of motives.

evertheless, he made serious mistakes in entering his alliance with the radicalnationalists in 7;. Euring -aster week, no appeal was made for a general strike.The vast ma&ority of workers were spectators on the events. 8onnolly also made toomany concessions to programme, as can be seen from the te!t of the rebels’Groclamation.

8onnolly, however, was *uite clear about the class character of the nationalists hefought alongside, and also about their separate goals. /e always stood for the buildingof independent organisations of the working class and taught workers never to trustthe middle(class leaders of the nationalist movement. # few days before -aster week,he told the I8#C PThe odds are a thousand to one. "ut if we should win, hold onto


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your rifles because the Folunteers may have a different goal. %emember, we are notonly for political liberty, but for economic liberty as wellP.

The ideas of both 8onnolly and Trotsky were to be vindicated by eventsC positively inthe case of %ussia, negatively in Ireland. In %ussia, as Trotsky had predicted in his

theory of the permanent revolution, the working class, led by the "olsheviks,overthrew the tsarist regime in Actober 7:. The shockwaves of socialist revolutionspread across -urope. Ireland, too, was convulsed by these events. # favourableopportunity opened up for the working class to take power.

Tragically, 8onnolly was dead, e!ecuted by the "ritish in 7; cheered on by Irish bosses. The Irish working class was without their outstanding leader. 8onnolly hadspent his life heroically trying to build socialist organisations but, unlike )enin, he didnot construct a conscious revolutionary socialist organisation that could carry on anddevelop his work and legacy.

Two repressi+e states

#+T-% 8AA))K’s E-#T/, Irish labour leaders submitted to $inn +Vin’s dictumthat P)abour must waitP. They handed over the leadership of the anti(imperialiststruggle to middle(class nationalism. The potential for socialist revolution was lostand movement ended in partition and defeat for the working class. P# carnival of reaction both orth and $outhP, as 8onnolly had correctly predicted, that Pset back the Irish labour movementP.

Two sectarian, repressive and impoverished states were created, orth and $outh. The

last two decades or so of the 1peace process’ have not seen the underlying problemssolved. The truth is that the entire peace process has been mainly about cementingsectarian division, to carve up power, not to genuinely share power. The political

parties on each side of the sectarian divide thrive on and maintain sectarian division.1Irish unity’ or a 1united’ Ireland is further away than ever before@

#ll the main parties in the EYil the parliament in the Irish republic3 and the assemblythe government in orthern Ireland3 are wedded to the dictates of big business. Inthese times of capitalist crisis, working people face a future of rising unemployment,huge social cuts and attacks on working conditions. The orthern Ireland -!ecutivehas announced J< billion worth of cuts, on top of drastic cuts already made in public

services. $inn +Vin ministers are responsible for privatising all 1new build’ at schoolsin "elfast and have proposed privatising public transport. The 8onEem coalition"ritish government is enforcing unprecedented cuts. $inn +ein may verbally opposeP"ritish Tory cutsP but they have indicated they are *uite willing, along with the E'G,to carry them out. The resulting increased poverty and unemployment will only foster sectarian divisions and instability.

Many decades ago, 8onnolly warned about the character of administrations thataccept governing within the confines of capitalismC P...governments in capitalistsociety are but committees of the rich to manage the affairs of the capitalist classPIrish orker, 27 #ugust, 753. /e would have completely opposed the brutal anti(working class cuts policies practised by coalition governments today in Ireland, orth


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and $outh, including by nationalist and republican parties that seek to invoke hisname.

An ? ovember 200, as the IM+ and -uropean 8entral "ank arrived in Eublin toset new draconian austerity cuts in e!change for a new huge loan to stop bank defaults

in Ireland spreading to -uropean banks, the Irish Times, a &ournal of the Irish bourgeoisie, wrung its hand and askedC =Xis what the men of 7; died forC a bailoutfrom the 4erman chancellor with a few shillings of sympathy from the "ritishchancellor on the side. There is the shame of it all. /aving obtained our politicalindependence from "ritain to be the masters of our own affairs, we have nowsurrendered our sovereignty to the -uropean 8ommission, the -uropean 8entral"ank, and the International Monetary +undX>

The same newspaper vociferously opposed the 7; -aster %ising and demanded thatthe "ritish military authorities dealt with its leaders, including, of course, Oames8onnolly. Ironically, and from an opposite class standpoint, 8onnolly long ago

warned against the conse*uences of winning national 1independence’ without makingfundamental social and economic changeC

=If you remove the -nglish army to(morrow and hoist the green flag over Eublin8astle, unless you set about the organisation of the $ocialist %epublic your effortswould be in vain.

=-ngland would still rule you. $he would rule you through her capitalists, through

On the Evolution of Abuse

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