The Trade Union Left Forum correctly calls on trade unions to become radical or redundant. This slogan contrasts the pivotal role unions can play, the potential they possess, against their declining power and relevance to many workers. But what is radical? Because as communists, and Leninists in particular, we know […]
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On Chips
On 15 May 2023, an interview with the French ambassador in Ireland titled “Ireland must ‘pull its weight’ on increasing defence” was published in The Irish Examiner. Most of the interview focuses on the perceived need for the European Union to reduce its industrial and energy dependence on other global […]
Dollar Dominance
A recent article in Socialist Voice – entitled “Multipolarity and US Hegemony” – suggests that U.S. imperialism drives dollar dominance and that the dollar can only weaken by the political actions of countries like China. However, the risk to dollar dominance is unlikely to be determined in the last instance […]
Neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland
Neutrality and Irish republicanism have been connected throughout history. They go hand in hand and cannot be separated from one another but despite this, the so-called Republicans of Sinn Féin have seen it necessary to go to the British king’s coronation as if any Irish Republican should recognise such a […]
The three card trick: don’t ask, don’t hear
Simon Coveney, the Dublin TD, and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, was interviewed on RTÉ Radio 1 in late May about the loss of jobs at Meta, Facebook’s parent company, over the last few months. True to form, tongue in cheek, he regretted the job losses and vowed to […]
Council elections in the North: winning by fooling
There’s nothing like the craic on the street during election campaigning. Memorable quotes are born like: “we want real change not loose change”. But mostly there is a carnivalesque atmosphere around canvassing and people can appear to become interested in what the candidates are saying. You are told wonderful stories […]
Workers Pay the Price of Capitalism
Capitalism has survived despite a roller-coaster of crises for over two centuries. It uses many means to survive, but one of its greatest weapons is controlling the narrative and dividing the working class, to divert attention from the cause of all the crises faced by and paid for by the […]
On the Recent Council Elections in the North
Last month’s local government election results were even more significant than simply the storming performance by Sinn Féin. The outcome has underlined an inexorable direction of travel that points to the decline not just of unionist political hegemony, but of the very union itself. Not only is unionism losing out […]
The ruling class wants war
It is a truism that all wars must end. They can end either in a victory for one side, in a stalemate or sometimes with a political change if one of the protagonist countries pulls them out of the war, as happened in Russia following the October Revolution. In the […]
Housing activists occupy the Department of Housing
On Friday the 31st of March, the Community Action Tenants Union (CATU) occupied the Department of Housing at the Custom House on the Dublin quays, with the goal of delivering a letter of demands for tenants’ protection and public housing to Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien. The Socialist Voice spoke to […]
Varadkar Turns the Corner, Part 2
In part one last month[1] the government’s latest scheme — more like “scam” — to solve the housing crisis was highlighted. Local authorities are renting homes from investment funds for periods of between 10 and 25 years for an average of €2000 a month in Dublin. These houses are then […]
On the visit of Joe Biden
We could waste a lot of time speculating on the real purpose behind the Biden visit. Nevertheless it is worth reflecting on the nature and impact of his trip to Ireland and especially how the Irish establishment reacted to it. Ostensibly the US president was coming here to celebrate the […]
Statement on NATO & Irish Neutrality
War
The NATO proxy war against Russia grinds on with the capitalist “news” media full of stories and analysis of the expected Ukrainian offensive. Absent from all imperialist commentary are proposals for ending the war other than by the military, economic and political defeat of Russia. The peace proposals put forward […]
Photo – Haiku
ainneoin na caimiléireachta an ghrian ag taitneamh os cionn Bhleá Cliath in spite of corruption the sun shines over all of Dublin corupție—soarele tot strălucepeste Dublin Photo: Jason Symes Haiku: Gabriel Rosenstock Romanian version: Olimpia Iacob
Why do corporations want you to go back to office so badly?
Covid came and went but working from home is not going away, and yet, corporations are pushing their workers to go back to the office. Why? During Covid and the resulting lockdown, tech companies reaped record profits, especially the likes of Amazon, Netflix, Google and Facebook, or “FANG” for short. […]