In late March 2018 the president of the United States, Donald Trump, authorised a $20 million fund to support subversive actions against Cuba. The move, which is part of the permanent anti-Cuba policy, came after Trump himself had proposed eliminating such funds in May 2017. The money is specifically for […]
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Cuba: Continuation of the revolutionary process
On 11 March last just short of 4.7 million people—or almost 86 per cent of the registered electorate here—turned out to vote in the second and final stage of Cuba’s general election. It is noteworthy that, although well organised, supervised, and encouraged, voting is by no means obligatory. This remarkably […]
Universal basic fraud
“Universal basic income” is being suggested by many on the left, as well as the right, as a solution to world inequality and poverty. It’s been doing the rounds for a number of years now as a way of creating a fairer and more equal society. It has been tested […]
What is the “transformative strategy” the CPI talks about?
A friend asked me recently what this transformative strategy is that the CPI talks about. So I tried to answer. It is a strategy for advancing the struggle for socialism to replace capitalism. It is not a programme for alleviating the worst aspects of capitalism. It is not a ten-point […]
International Working Women’s Day celebrated in Dublin
On the 8th of March in the Liquor Rooms in Dublin the CYM and CPI held their first joint celebration of International Working Women’s Day, under the heading “A Different Perspective.” The night was kicked off by a brief introduction to the history of International Working Women’s Day as well […]
Monopoly capitalism protects cheating corporations
The centralisation and concentration of both capital and power means that corporations can withstand scandals and continue to retain the support of both the state and shareholders. It takes something really massive and rare for an Arthur Andersen, Enron or Lehman Brothers to happen. Here are a few recent scandals […]
Creating revolutionary mass media in a social-media world
“The purpose of our meeting today is precisely to ensure that literature and art fit well into the whole revolutionary machine as a component part, that they operate as powerful weapons for uniting and educating the people and for attacking and destroying the enemy, and that they help the people […]
Positive and active neutrality versus NATO and the EU
Statement by the Communist Party of Ireland 29 March 2018 The decision by the Government to expel a Russian diplomat as part of a co-ordinated response by EU and NATO member-countries is but another example of how far the Irish establishment has aligned this state with their military strategies. The […]
Creating a bogeyman in the East
Four days before the British general election of October 1924 the Daily Mail published a letter purporting to have been written by the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Comintern, Grigory Zinoviev. The paper claimed that the correspondence revealed a Bolshevik plot to plunge Britain into civil war, and […]
Capitalism knows a good thing when it sees it
Women’s pay When people talk about the pay gap they often cite the generally accepted figures of 10–14 per cent difference in pay between men and women, this gap being more noticeable in the higher echelons of business. Critics admit that the pay gap is real but explain away pay […]
Let’s produce essential drugs for all
We are awash with pharmaceutical companies in Ireland. Some of the high-end jobs are well paid, and that should be welcomed. But the global pharmaceutical industry provides one of the strongest illustrations of how the profit motive can misdirect humanity’s creativity and badly miscalculate resources, something we are all familiar […]
Profits before people, and the environment
Privatised refuse collection The privatisation of refuse collection is a complete failure. The CPI has called for all domestic refuse collection, including recyclable materials, to be brought back under public control and the responsibility of local authorities. It has been reported by Panda, one of the largest waste companies, that […]
Housing is a right for all
Universal public housing available to all is the only lasting solution to the housing crisis. The latest homelessness figures should be shocking and sickening for a civilised society. However, in modern Ireland they are just the latest in a long line of failures by this Government and its neo-liberal housing […]
James Connolly Festival, 2018
The James Connolly Festival (from Wednesday 9 May to Sunday 13 May 2018), now in its fourth year, is an annual community-centred celebration of music, films, theatre, and debate, with a radical twist. Since its foundation in 2014 the festival has aimed to bring together friends and supporters, critics and […]
What a parcel of rogues in a nation!
On 3 February a NATO submarine, part of the Dutch fleet, docked in Cork Harbour. While it was moored there, a Dutch seaman stood “guard” on the submarine, brazenly brandishing an automatic weapon. This was an exact repeat of a similar incident in 2017. The Gardaí refused to intervene, and […]
Clarification
In the February edition of Socialist Voice we published a discussion article headed “Beyond the National Health Service.” The article raised questions about the character of health systems under imperialist and capitalist conditions, in particular the British NHS, and what a health system in the interests of the Irish people […]