My ten-year-old granddaughter announced to me recently that she was going on her first shopping trip with her mother. Apparently it was a counterbalance to a trip her younger brother had to Manchester to see Man U (as those in the know call them). I enquired, playfully, what type of […]
Political Economy
Health Service | Reaping the bitter fruit
As increased “lockdown” measures by the Government are on the horizon again, it appears that the extent of the bourgeois state’s ingenuity as regards battling the novel-coronavirus pandemic remains to repeat the same failed tactic over and over again: more vaccines and restrictions, no capital investment, no infrastructure, no sickness […]
Public Health | Cuba shows the way
We have two health services in Ireland, and both are on the verge of collapse. Since Covid exposed their existing inadequacies, very little capacity has been added to either service in preparation for the next wave. We should have been building and training staff for several new hospitals. In fact […]
Marxists, Campaigning Groups and the Destruction of Capitalism
The list of groups in Ireland, even today, that campaign, pressure, expose, support or oppose an endless list of issues is mind-boggling. In a lot of cases it is an industry grant-aided by the state – the so-called “third sector” of society. Community groups, social groups, pressure groups, protest movements, […]
Capitalism versus the people
The housing crisis has laid bare the ruthless nature of capitalism, its parasitic and exploitative nature. There is simply no lengths it will not go to to secure its interests, to secure profits and the further accumulation of capital. But the housing crisis has exposed not only the real nature […]
Electoral participation: Tactic or sell-out?
“Yes, friends, governments in capitalist society are but committees of the rich to manage the affairs of the capitalist class.” James Connolly The earliest recorded form of government is said to have been that of the Sumerians in fourth-century Mesopotamia (Iraq). This development led, in the fifth century in Athens, […]
Stop 67! Stop neoliberalism!
A pension propaganda war has broken out, with selective leaks from the soon-to-be published report of the Pension Commission. The first leak suggested that the increase in pension age to 67 and 68 would be delayed by seven years. This was followed by a suggestion in the submission of the […]
Ending the privileges of the elite
Katherine Zappone’s rejection, respectful or otherwise, of an invitation to appear before an Oireachtas committee investigating her irregular appointment was symptomatic of a wider phenomenon. It was an example of a sense of entitlement shared by all those in the well-to-do strata of this, our class-bound, class-divided society. This is […]
A sign of things to come?
Last month Kathy Sheridan, writing for the Irish Times, opined about the dilemma faced by Ireland’s middle class as they agonise over whether or not to vote for Sinn Féin. The problem, it would appear, relates to the fact that while the party is promoting progressive policies, it simultaneously glorifies […]
People and communities suffer as a consequence of the “sectarian game”
There was a great discussion recently with representatives of the Protestant/loyalist community about sectarianism and its roots, among other things, and the obvious effects on people and our society. That set me thinking about potential strategies. Socialists and republicans lay the blame for sectarianism at the door of British colonialism […]
Streamers v. socialism and media sovereignty
The “epic” battle being waged—or rather being reported on in the corporate entertainment press—is between streamers and cinemas, or between various streamers. However, this is a battle now being fought not just in the United States—Netflix is already losing American subscribers to its rivals Disney+ and HBO Max—but throughout the […]
An incremental shift in organising
As communists we understand the importance of the trade union movement. It is, first and foremost, simply the work-place or industrial collective organisation of the working class. Its most important function is as a working-class defence against the worst ravages and exploitation of employers and bosses. It is workers coming […]
Political power-brokers and avaricious corporations
While always having access to the coercive arms of the state, capitalists prefer to adopt less abrasive, more PR-savvy methods when possible. This is where Kelly and the Teneos of this world come in.
Why do we work? | Part 2
Work, like inequality, appears to be a permanent feature of human existence into the foreseeable future. Psychologically, humans do not feel well if they are not working. Or so the story goes. And work, as we said earlier, is continually reinforced by the language of power. “An honest day’s work […]
On the need for a focal point | Part 2
Continuing with the analogy established in the preceding article, we can think of the specific structure of capitalism as resting on three pillars: civil society, foreign capital, and domestic capital. If we think through this heuristic model we begin to realise the enormity of the task, but conversely we also […]
A house is not just a building
A house is not just a building made of bricks and concrete: it’s a nest made of dreams and memories. When such a place crumbles in front of one’s eyes it is heartbreaking. Approximately five thousand families have faced the heartbreak because of the mica issue, which caused cracks in […]