Labhrás Ó hArgáinA few weeks back an online right-wing media site based out of the lofty halls of Trinity College Dublin published an article entitled “The Fall of Antifa: A message to Left Republicans”. 

This article provided a right-wing analysis on the state of the “left” in Ireland, those subscribing to the “antifa” label, and the position of republicans within this cohort. Central to this piece is the offering of an olive branch to the latter to join the “nationalists” in their onward march to a white ethno-state which will presumably abandon science and best medical practice, topple our health service with mass deportations of the non-native frontline workers and row back on the few progressive gains achieved over the past decade or so. Whoop it up for liberty!

Firstly from the outset I wish to stress the fact that Irish republicans have always been, and continue to be, the vanguard of the Left in Ireland. Our anti-colonialist nationalism is in no way contradictory to our internationalist socialism. You simply cannot be an Irish republican and refuse to show solidarity with those marginalised in our society, and you cannot be a socialist and ignore the centuries of colonial oppression our nation has suffered. The cause of Labour and the cause of Ireland are inseparable, and this truth is undeniable, despite how the aforementioned article attempts to paint it otherwise. But for all the fallacies within this article it does however offer a interesting critique of some of the faults within the anti-fascist movement in Ireland. A critique which is clearly framed in a class-focused manner, plagiaristically usurping the language of the Left, but offering some valid points nonetheless.

With rhetoric such as stating that “there’s no loyalty in bourgeoise capitalism and woke liberalism”, you’d almost be forgiven for thinking you are reading a socialist self-critique, which is no doubt an intentional ploy. When your ideology is based on ethic-supremacy, how else do you attract popular support but for drawing on the politics of working-class empowerment? But they do hit a few home truths with some of their analysis, particularly in presenting what they label the “new Left” as frail, weak, and treacherous – to both the working-class and those of us from the Fenian tradition. And the sooner the genuine anti-fascist Left collectively call-out these posers (ie those who developed their “socialism” on Twitter or Uni as opposed to the factory floor or the council estate) who are contributing to the isolation of left-wing politics among the working-class the sooner we can challenge the so-called ascendency of the Right.

Of course, this article isn’t entirely correct in its claims. There are, as mentioned above, a number of fallacies. Primarily the lie that the Left can’t match the Right on the streets or in a physical engagement. After all, the Left were central to the anti-water charge movement which harnessed the anger of the masses and brought a temporary halt to the neo-liberal plans of the capitalist parties only a few short years back. Apart from a number of catch-all protests which drew support from a lot of working-class people with genuine (though sometimes misplaced) concerns the Right has never actually had a significant show of strength. And apart from attacking smaller groups of well-intentioned but utterly unprepared anti-fascists, they have in no way proclaimed their dominance on the streets. Sure enough, the recent rallies orchestrated by the Right did draw respectable crowds, but they were organised under such emotive sloganism as anti-paedophilia, a stance which all decent people hold! However, they would never receive such support had their marching rally been “Send The Foreigners Home”, which we all know is central to their vision.

Unfortunately, from a Republican Left perspective, the Twitter brigades of the new Left played right into the hands of the Right by organising counter-demos to these events, and some got battered around the gaff for their efforts. I offer full solidarity to those victims of right-wing violence, but this is what inevitably happens when you keep reacting and playing on the enemy’s chosen field; you set yourself up for a loss every time. And what inevitably happens when you allow Yank-orientated middle-class university-based posers to present themselves as the face of left-wing politics; you push away the working-class. Many of these people on the new Left offer nothing to the working-class but contempt and derision and are exactly the reason why the working-class are buying the bullshit that the conmen on the Right are selling. Of course, the emerging Irish right-wing cabal, despite their attempts to present themselves as the face of the working-class, also offer nothing to those of us struggling under the weight of the capitalist boot. But they are claiming the causes that the liberals who front as socialists haven’t got the courage, or the care, to touch.

The new Left have inadvertently reduced socialism to a soft and fragile force, modelled on Yank campus politics, and focused mainly on identity issues with an almost complete abandonment of class-consciousness and empowerment. This is not to imply that being a “hardman” is the answer, but certainly, being able to handle yourself is a necessity for any genuine anti-fascist. And of course, being concerned with equality among those communities most oppressed in Ireland is not a problem. But being concerned Only with that, and telling the average working-class man that he cannot experience oppression under the capitalist system, is a problem. What has come to pass as the public face of the Left in Ireland today is truly pathetic at times. While they “cancel” working-class socialist heroes like Damien Dempsey on Twitter and spend more time calling out poor grammar on social media than classism in society, the Right are fronting as the protectors of the “ordinary man”. It is this absence of class politics among the new Left which is directly contributing to the rise of the Right, and until they acknowledge this and stand beside the working-class, they will not be able to mount any real opposition. So it begs the question: is the goal of the these people to truly represent the collective interests of the working-class? Or is their goal, if they honestly reflect deep within themselves, about individualist self-promotion for their own social status, within an exclusivist clique?

No doubt many will read this as an attack on the Left, I expect as much and welcome debate. But these are the harsh truths that we need to face if we are going to consolidate our strength and take back the ground conceded thus far to the Right. And we can only do that by taking back the ground conceded to the woke liberal “left”. Of course, these people are not the enemy, but they are an obstacle which needs to be addressed. Crucially, their importation of US “culture wars” politics into Ireland (much the same as what the new Right are doing) will ultimately only serve to weaken the Left by further driving a wedge between the working-class and socialist politics. For as history can profess, the importation of foreign solutions to indigenous problems is never widely accepted by the people.

We have a revolutionary political movement in this country which is centuries old, and no other political force in Ireland has the potential to unite the working-class. The Right know this, which is why they try to usurp the symbols and legacy of Irish Republicanism. But the Republic of Tone, of Connolly, of Miriam Daly offers no quarter to the ideologies of hate, and in the honour of “cherishing all the children of the nation equally” offers shelter and equality to All of the Irish people, who Connolly rightly defined as “the native-born Gaels and the strangers within our gates”. It is now time for the Republican Left to step up and recognise the dangers which are beginning to emerge. Actual fascists with links to British Fascism and Loyalism are marching down O’Connell Street with imposters leading colour parties under our Republican flag and violently dealing with anyone who opposes them.

This carnival of charlatans is without pedigree or legacy, and can only gain a foothold by unashamedly latching onto an ideology whose history of sacrifice is ingrained in the hearts and minds of the working-class. As socialists and republicans, our patriotism and our anti-fascism are not a conflict of interests, they are one and the same - for nothing is more patriotic than opposing the politics of hate. To be a patriot is to be anti-fascist, to be a patriot is to be anti-racist, to be a patriot is to be anti-imperialist, and to be a patriot is to stand in solidarity with the people of no property; the working-class. Beir bua!

⏩Labhrás Ó hArgáin is a socialist republican. 

A Carnival Of Charlatans – Patriotism, Anti-Fascism And The Republican Left

Labhrás Ó hArgáinA few weeks back an online right-wing media site based out of the lofty halls of Trinity College Dublin published an article entitled “The Fall of Antifa: A message to Left Republicans”. 

This article provided a right-wing analysis on the state of the “left” in Ireland, those subscribing to the “antifa” label, and the position of republicans within this cohort. Central to this piece is the offering of an olive branch to the latter to join the “nationalists” in their onward march to a white ethno-state which will presumably abandon science and best medical practice, topple our health service with mass deportations of the non-native frontline workers and row back on the few progressive gains achieved over the past decade or so. Whoop it up for liberty!

Firstly from the outset I wish to stress the fact that Irish republicans have always been, and continue to be, the vanguard of the Left in Ireland. Our anti-colonialist nationalism is in no way contradictory to our internationalist socialism. You simply cannot be an Irish republican and refuse to show solidarity with those marginalised in our society, and you cannot be a socialist and ignore the centuries of colonial oppression our nation has suffered. The cause of Labour and the cause of Ireland are inseparable, and this truth is undeniable, despite how the aforementioned article attempts to paint it otherwise. But for all the fallacies within this article it does however offer a interesting critique of some of the faults within the anti-fascist movement in Ireland. A critique which is clearly framed in a class-focused manner, plagiaristically usurping the language of the Left, but offering some valid points nonetheless.

With rhetoric such as stating that “there’s no loyalty in bourgeoise capitalism and woke liberalism”, you’d almost be forgiven for thinking you are reading a socialist self-critique, which is no doubt an intentional ploy. When your ideology is based on ethic-supremacy, how else do you attract popular support but for drawing on the politics of working-class empowerment? But they do hit a few home truths with some of their analysis, particularly in presenting what they label the “new Left” as frail, weak, and treacherous – to both the working-class and those of us from the Fenian tradition. And the sooner the genuine anti-fascist Left collectively call-out these posers (ie those who developed their “socialism” on Twitter or Uni as opposed to the factory floor or the council estate) who are contributing to the isolation of left-wing politics among the working-class the sooner we can challenge the so-called ascendency of the Right.

Of course, this article isn’t entirely correct in its claims. There are, as mentioned above, a number of fallacies. Primarily the lie that the Left can’t match the Right on the streets or in a physical engagement. After all, the Left were central to the anti-water charge movement which harnessed the anger of the masses and brought a temporary halt to the neo-liberal plans of the capitalist parties only a few short years back. Apart from a number of catch-all protests which drew support from a lot of working-class people with genuine (though sometimes misplaced) concerns the Right has never actually had a significant show of strength. And apart from attacking smaller groups of well-intentioned but utterly unprepared anti-fascists, they have in no way proclaimed their dominance on the streets. Sure enough, the recent rallies orchestrated by the Right did draw respectable crowds, but they were organised under such emotive sloganism as anti-paedophilia, a stance which all decent people hold! However, they would never receive such support had their marching rally been “Send The Foreigners Home”, which we all know is central to their vision.

Unfortunately, from a Republican Left perspective, the Twitter brigades of the new Left played right into the hands of the Right by organising counter-demos to these events, and some got battered around the gaff for their efforts. I offer full solidarity to those victims of right-wing violence, but this is what inevitably happens when you keep reacting and playing on the enemy’s chosen field; you set yourself up for a loss every time. And what inevitably happens when you allow Yank-orientated middle-class university-based posers to present themselves as the face of left-wing politics; you push away the working-class. Many of these people on the new Left offer nothing to the working-class but contempt and derision and are exactly the reason why the working-class are buying the bullshit that the conmen on the Right are selling. Of course, the emerging Irish right-wing cabal, despite their attempts to present themselves as the face of the working-class, also offer nothing to those of us struggling under the weight of the capitalist boot. But they are claiming the causes that the liberals who front as socialists haven’t got the courage, or the care, to touch.

The new Left have inadvertently reduced socialism to a soft and fragile force, modelled on Yank campus politics, and focused mainly on identity issues with an almost complete abandonment of class-consciousness and empowerment. This is not to imply that being a “hardman” is the answer, but certainly, being able to handle yourself is a necessity for any genuine anti-fascist. And of course, being concerned with equality among those communities most oppressed in Ireland is not a problem. But being concerned Only with that, and telling the average working-class man that he cannot experience oppression under the capitalist system, is a problem. What has come to pass as the public face of the Left in Ireland today is truly pathetic at times. While they “cancel” working-class socialist heroes like Damien Dempsey on Twitter and spend more time calling out poor grammar on social media than classism in society, the Right are fronting as the protectors of the “ordinary man”. It is this absence of class politics among the new Left which is directly contributing to the rise of the Right, and until they acknowledge this and stand beside the working-class, they will not be able to mount any real opposition. So it begs the question: is the goal of the these people to truly represent the collective interests of the working-class? Or is their goal, if they honestly reflect deep within themselves, about individualist self-promotion for their own social status, within an exclusivist clique?

No doubt many will read this as an attack on the Left, I expect as much and welcome debate. But these are the harsh truths that we need to face if we are going to consolidate our strength and take back the ground conceded thus far to the Right. And we can only do that by taking back the ground conceded to the woke liberal “left”. Of course, these people are not the enemy, but they are an obstacle which needs to be addressed. Crucially, their importation of US “culture wars” politics into Ireland (much the same as what the new Right are doing) will ultimately only serve to weaken the Left by further driving a wedge between the working-class and socialist politics. For as history can profess, the importation of foreign solutions to indigenous problems is never widely accepted by the people.

We have a revolutionary political movement in this country which is centuries old, and no other political force in Ireland has the potential to unite the working-class. The Right know this, which is why they try to usurp the symbols and legacy of Irish Republicanism. But the Republic of Tone, of Connolly, of Miriam Daly offers no quarter to the ideologies of hate, and in the honour of “cherishing all the children of the nation equally” offers shelter and equality to All of the Irish people, who Connolly rightly defined as “the native-born Gaels and the strangers within our gates”. It is now time for the Republican Left to step up and recognise the dangers which are beginning to emerge. Actual fascists with links to British Fascism and Loyalism are marching down O’Connell Street with imposters leading colour parties under our Republican flag and violently dealing with anyone who opposes them.

This carnival of charlatans is without pedigree or legacy, and can only gain a foothold by unashamedly latching onto an ideology whose history of sacrifice is ingrained in the hearts and minds of the working-class. As socialists and republicans, our patriotism and our anti-fascism are not a conflict of interests, they are one and the same - for nothing is more patriotic than opposing the politics of hate. To be a patriot is to be anti-fascist, to be a patriot is to be anti-racist, to be a patriot is to be anti-imperialist, and to be a patriot is to stand in solidarity with the people of no property; the working-class. Beir bua!

⏩Labhrás Ó hArgáin is a socialist republican. 

1 comment:

  1. Mention of the water charges debacle always increases the blood pressure ...... http://buncranatogether.com/home/2019/4/17/undeniable-proof-the-irish-people-were-sold-out-and-betrayed-by-r2w-unions-and-tds

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