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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
— June - July 2010
Chomsky and ZNet (a
large left-wing website) for a socialist inter-
national. A new International should be
primarily concerned (at least) with:
economic production, consumption, and »
allocation, including class relations
kinship nurturance, socialization, house »
keeping, and procreation, including
gender, sexuality, and age
cultural community relations including »
race, nationality, and religion
politics including relations »
of law and legislation
international relations including matters »
of mutual aid, exchange, and immigration
ecology including relations with the »
natural environment and other species
The new International should address these
concerns without elevating any one focus above the
rest, since (a) all will critically affect the character
of a new world, (b) unaddressed each could subvert
efforts to reach a new world, and (c) the constitu-
encies most affected by each would be intensely
alienated if their prime concerns were relegated
to secondary importance.
Its vision for a Participatory Socialist future
should (at least) include that:
economic production, consumption, »
and allocation be classless - which
includes equitable access for all to quality
education, health care, food, water,
sanitation, housing, meaningful and
dignified work, and the instruments and
conditions for personal fulfillment
gender/kinship, sexual, and family »
relations not privilege by age, sexual
preference, or gender any one group above
others - which includes ending all forms
of oppression of women while providing
day care, recreation, health care, etc.
culture and community relations among »
races, ethnic groups, religions, and other
cultural communities protect the rights and
identity of each community up to equally
respecting those of all other communities
political decision-making, adjudication of »
disputes, and implementation of shared
programs deliver “people’s power” in
ways that do not elevate any one sector
or constituency above others - which
includes participation and justice for all
international trade, communication, »
and other interactions attain peace and
justice while dismantling all vestiges
of colonialism and imperialism
ecological choices should not only be »
sustainable, but care for the environment
in accord with our highest aspirations for
ourselves and our world - which includes
climate justice and energy innovation
Guiding values and principles include solidar-
ity, diversity, equity, peace with justice, ecological
sustainability and wisdom, “democracy” or “peo-
ple’s power” .
Members of the new International would be
political parties, movements, organizations, or
even projects.
Each member group would be strongly
urged to make its own operations consistent
with the norms, practices, and agendas of the
International,establishing solidarity but also
autonomy. For example: a new International might
call for international events and days of dissent,
for support campaigns for existing struggles by
member organizations, and for support of member
organizations against repression, as well as under-
take widespread debates and campaigns to advance
related understanding and mutual knowledge...
More ambitiously, an International might also
undertake, for example, a massive international
focus on immigration, on ending a war, on shorten-
ing the work week worldwide, and/or on averting
climatic catastrophe, among other possibilities.
Will it be around in five years? Yes
Likes to march? Yes
Kevin Myers or Vincent Browne? VB
Will it take over? Maybe
Electoral chances: is more of an alliance
Tips: modernise
Work campaign led recent Tuesday
evening marches in Dublin and elsewhere. It was
devised by Unite trade union and other action
groups, and smaller unions. The theme of the Right
to Work Campaign is “Enough is enough… ‘build-
ing solidarity between trade unionists, commu-
nity activists, the unemployed, students, migrant
workers, pensioners and those campaigning for
green jobs’’.
Aside from the Socialist Workers Party
(SWP), which spearheaded the minor assault
on the Dáil. There are the separate Socialist
Party (led by Joe Higgins, which condemns
The Alternatives
the CWCis to promote and support
community work to achieve positive social change
and to contribute to the creation of a more just and
equal society.
The objectives of the CWC are:
To ensure the inclusion of, and to bring about »
equality of outcome for, those currently
experiencing social exclusion and inequality.
To promote anti-oppressive, anti-sexist and »
anti-racist community work, with a particular
emphasis on the inclusion of women.
To develop partnership and co-operation »
within the community sector.
To seek to positively influence the »
economic and social development
policies of the State and its agencies
To seek to promote community work »
and influence policies at EU level.
To support the development of models and »
institutions of participatory democracy which
will enable the participation of marginalised
communities in planning, decision
making, implementation and evaluation
at local, regional and national levels.
To support the recognition and inclusion of »
the community sector as a social partner in
order to articulate the interests of those who
experience social exclusion and inequality.
To promote a global perspective »
on justice issues and seek to make
constructive links with the sector and
development issues in the ‘Third World’.
Will it be around in five years? Possibly
Likes to march? Will if asked
Kevin Myers or Vincent Browne? VB
Will it take over? Will be in touch with those who do
Electoral chances: not interested
Tips: doesn’t need many
other parties of the Left including Sinn Féin
for selling out by refusing to rule out coalition
with Labour and the rightist Fine Gael) and the
Workers Party – all part of the Right to Work
campaign. The SWP has been most prominent
in marches and demonstrations about pay cuts
in the last year or two.
The SWP has local branches, most of
which are in the Dublin region – and they meet
regularly. They also hold public meetings and
evening classes on the wider idea of anti-capitalism.
They want to see a movement of people power
to drive the government from office and to chal-
lenge the very system that has caused the problem.
Will it be around in five years? Maybe
Likes to march? Loves to
Kevin Myers or Vincent Browne? VB
Will it take over? Perhaps
Electoral Chances: Not bad for its component
members
Tips: Popularise and modernise the rhetoric
and agenda.
- , a former
editor of Village magazine, and now presenter
of successful TV flagship current affairs (and
lifestyle) programme, Tonight, has been pro-
moting dissent for some time and recently went
on George Hook’s radio programme to advo-
cate more anger and taking to the streets – in a
move that seemed more political than journal-
istic. He has been involved in discussions with
Richard Boyd Barrett, Kieran Allen, Kathleen
Lynch (professor in the UCD School of Equality
Studies where Browne is a student) and Niall
Crowley about forming a new political space
on the left. Allen in particular is keen to ele-
vate this in to a party that would be involved in
a political contest, but most of the attendees
wanted only a space – or maybe an alliance. And
no-one liked the SWP (Allen and Boyd Barrett)
attitude to storming the barricades, except per-
haps People Before Profit – i.e. Allen and Boyd
Barrett. The group met twice and split at least
three times. It’s all very secretive and confusing
which is a pity as the debate should be allowed
out in to the open, rather than in the nethers of
the Phoenix.
Will it be around in five years? May well be
Likes to march: Yes
Kevin Myers or Vincent Browne? VB
Will it take over? Doesn’t know if it wants to
Electoral chances: Split on elections
Tips: Should really have a pot at the next general
election
by David
McWilliams and run by former Apres Match man-
ager and Libertas bigshot, turned Lisbon enthu-
siast, Naoise Nunn.
Each month it takes a big topic, like Morality
and Money or Leadership, and gathers a panel of
the biggest and best - politicians, business people,
academics and writers - to hash it out on stage.
Past contributors include Michael O’Leary, Naomi
Klein, Sebastian Barry and Dara O’Briain.
Will it be around in five years? Hopefully
Likes to march? No – would interfere with the
drinking
Kevin Myers or Vincent Browne? Open-
minded
Will it take over? No
Electoral chances: not interested
Tips: just keep on growing
Vincent Browne
