Despite more than 12 months of demonstrations, millions marching, and other actions, we are not seriously rupturing the hegemony of the prosecutors of any imperialist wars or of those complicit in the present Palestinian genocide. The liberal approaches inherent in too many demonstrations have failed and were always destined to be a failure. Calls for “an end to the war”, “stop the bombing” or even “peace now” are all easy for imperialists to achieve. Wars will end, bombings will stop and the “peace of power” will happen. It will only ever be a temporary lull in the plans the imperialists, the capitalists and the Zionists have for all of us. And the question in our minds must always be: who’s next?
Yes, you could argue that the US world order, imperialism, colonialism, and associated so-called “democracy” has been damaged by their actions in Gaza and Lebanon today. But they were “damaged” too after Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other war zones, all while millions demonstrated all over the world.
Even if “damaged”, they will not just sit back and allow their power to be threatened or overthrown. Historical evidence shows that fatal damage has not been inflicted on the “democratic” world order, imperialism or capitalism, even with worldwide street protests. And once the streets are empty again, any potential for danger to the ending of their power is seriously reduced.
So, what does this mean for our thinking, tactics, strategy and actions? We must always ask: what exactly is it we want? What are the ideological/political contexts, that we see our actions based on? Again, from history, it really doesn’t matter what type of action or actions you carry out, unless they are ideologically sound and based on a concrete analysis of reality, then they will fizzle out. Marching up to the top of the hill won’t cut it.
What is the “end game”? Wars and genocides, under imperialism, will come and go. The Palestinian genocide will pass too. Then what? Everybody goes home? Is that the outcome we want? As soon as imperialism and capitalism see fit, they will continue their genocidal wars. But more than that, they will continue their profiteering and exploitation of the poor and working poor, and their “culture of power” and ideology will prevail as per normal.
It will be crucial, therefore, to make clear connections between what imperialism and capitalism does anywhere in the world, with Ireland, and use it to highlight inequality and exploitation here. That means we have to infuse our actions and activists, with the reality of capitalism in their lives, and what it means, from the marauding of imperialism, capitalism and neo-colonialism anywhere in the world. If we are not basing our actions on a radical, revolutionary, political ideology, then we are doomed to follow the liberals’ agendas.
This Palestinian genocide has again exposed the depth of Western hypocrisy and the sycophantic obedience of the bourgeois political class, in the North and South of Ireland. It really kicked off around the Ukraine war. The reality of the Palestinian genocide again gives the revolutionary movement the space to outline their answers to Western hypocrisy and challenge its hegemony. We have to link this to people’s everyday struggles here. There’s a major publicity and education process needed around this.
As a central part of marches, pickets, direct action, speeches, social media, leafletting – whatever our actions are, big or small – it is vital that everyone, the working class especially, begins to understand that they are the majority and they hold the real power. A first step in that, is to begin to have dialogue around the decentralisation of democracy to build a radical and revolutionary people’s participatory democracy. The people are on the streets, at this time, for largely emotional reasons, are in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people. And it does allow many millions of people to express just that. Some may become more politicised, but to completely defeat imperialism, capitalism and colonialism, protests alone will not be enough.
We will have to find ways to easily explain and demonstrate the real cause of this genocide, and of all wars, and not just to deal with its consequences. Revolutionary and radical people’s community councils are the logical outcome of building such opposition to the power of the powerful and wealthy. Liberal bourgeois politics, protests, demos and reformism, will only perpetuate the system, here and internationally.
Our end game must be clear and unambiguous, based on a radical, revolutionary, class struggle that is people-powered, built around decentralised democracy and therefore, designed for power from the bottom up. No concessions to reformism or liberalism, but a class war to end all wars.
