The deadly combination of Imperialism and Capitalism is clear for all to see in 2016 Ireland. Ireland a proud nation that once stood up and defended its people against the biggest Imperial power in the world, a nation that supplied generation after generation whose political thinking has been world renowned amongst global revolutionaries. This nation now lies politically, economically and socially crippled and isolated.
Our nation has become one of low wages, mass unemployment and mass emigration. The land which boasts a long history of revolution has become a land of zero hour contracts. Contracts designed to spread fear amongst the workers, to weaken trade union movements making it difficult to withdraw labour in any workers dispute. Zero hour contracts are the modern day slave shackles of the working class, shackles which send us to a lifetime of debt and pure reliance on corporate credit and landowners as the working people are in no financial position to own their own property. Ireland ranks second highest in the world in terms of percentage of the population deemed to be in a ‘low wage job’. Our highly skilled and highly educated youth are forced to work in minimum wage jobs in call centres and Poundlands, while some fight crippling student debt which destroys any hope of a safe personal financial future.
Mass unemployment and Emigration holds a crippling burden on the Irish Working Class. Recent estimates indicate that 22% of our youth across the 32 counties are unemployed while approximately 10% of the population as a whole are unemployed. These figures would be substantially worse if it wasn’t for the ‘Safety valve’ of mass emigration. Over 200,000 young people in Ireland have emigrated in the past 5 years. Emigration leaves our communities with huge socio-economic problems in now and in the future as our potential young highly skilled workforces are exported around the world. Our working class communities left socially empty, demoralized, divided and weak.
Irish Republican Socialism has always been embodied within the Irish Working Class, our ideology has always expressed, promoted and fought for real change in Ireland, this change is needed and more importantly wanted more than ever before. In recent months recent elections in Ireland have shown a swing of support of voters in support of left wing candidates both north and south. Even though our politics see this as a victory of sorts many of these candidates and parties cannot provide the real change in which Irish Republican Socialism can.
Irish Republican Socialists has always demanded that the Irish people have their right to National Self-Determination. While many politicians, socialist activists and parties shy away from this matter, national self determination is a pure class issue as it is a fundamental question which the Irish Working Class must face on its road to conquering power, it is a democratic demand pointing to the fullest democracy which creates the perfect conditions for the Irish Working Class struggle. Those who ignore this demand surrender this issue to the capitalist class leaving it open to their solutions. While this belief in National Self Determination may leave the Irish Republican Socialist movement vulnerable to those who believe in the idea of ‘labour must wait’, any socialist or ‘left winger’ must take the side of those opposed to imperialism and the oppressed as the belief in National Self-determination is the purest form of democracy and democracy is the only way to unite the working class.
Irish republican Socialists have never believed that the objective of the 32 county Socialist Republic can be achieved through sole individuals or as a party. Examples both in Ireland and worldwide have proven that you cannot change a system via their own political medium to those they exploit. Irish republican Socialists have always maintained the steadfast belief that the working class as a unit can only achieve this true objective. Our only allegiance is to the working class and our objective as a group is to help organise and politicise the Irish Working class to achieve our 32 county workers republic.
A 32 county socialist workers republic, created by the incorruptible Irish Working class would be a nation where the needs of the people come before the needs of the financial elite. A republic where the workers have seized the ‘levers of power’ and the means of production. The billions upon billions worth of profit created by Irish Workers which are today put into the pockets of a few individuals and exported to foreign banks are seized and put back into the nation. The Republic would provide true working health and education systems which provides for the people. Our National resources will be under the full control of the Irish people and not exploited by multi-national foreign billion dollar companies whose only intention is to exploit and maintain its global financial monopoly at the interest of the few.
The Irish Republican Socialist ideology provides the Irish Working class the answers to its ongoing devastating problems. Our politics offer true freedom in every sense of the word, a nation free from imperial and capitalist intervention, a nation free from exploitation and modern day slavery, a nation free from corporate greed and corruption. The power to achieve this objective lies solely with the working class and the ongoing tireless work of those whose only allegiance is to the protection, politicisation and organisation of the Irish Working Class.
