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Irish Anarchist Review 5 - Summer 2012

category ireland / britain | miscellaneous | news report author Friday June 15, 2012 17:46author by Workers Solidarity Movement - WSM Report this post to the editors

Welcome to Irish Anarchist Review issue 5, produced by the Workers Solidarity Movement. In this magazine we look to explore theories, thoughts and ideas about political struggle. We set out to analyse where we are aiming for as a revolutionary movement and explore how we might get there. The purpose of ‘Irish Anarchist Review’ is to act as forum for a sharing of ideas about revolutionary struggle. Building a successful revolution demands genuine discussion, debate and sharing of ideas. We hope that the articles in here will help to stimulate discussion and provoke debate and perhaps even motivate some of our readers to respond with articles of your own.
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As we head into the second half of 2012, we have seen the awakening in Ireland of a renewed sense of political hope.  The campaign against the household tax has established itself firmly all across the 26 Counties and has brought large numbers of people never previously involved in anything into political organising.  In establishing local campaign groups in our areas, in discussing political and organisational ideas with our neighbours and in challenging the powers of the state, we are beginning to realise the strength we have in organising together and many of us are seeing for the first time the real truth behind the old Irish proverb ‘Ní neart go gur le chéile’ – There is no strength without unity.  Over the coming months, the Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes will face many battles.  It is by organising it on truly democratic and participatory lines that we can all ensure that it is strong enough to win those battles.

In Mark Hoskins’ article ‘Single Issue Campaigns, Community Syndicalism and Direct Democracy’, he explores what is meant by participatory or direct democracy  and how to make the demand for direct democracy relevant to the day to day struggles and campaigns that people are involved in.  As people get involved in struggles such as the campaign against the household tax they begin to see that the state apparatus is not on our side and neither is it a neutral intermediary between the haves and the have-nots.  Thus the necessity for building alternative forms of organisation becomes obvious.  Involvement in campaigns, participation in decision making and use of direct action tactics are all encouraged by anarchists both as the most effective way to advance particular struggles but also as a means by which people begin to get a real sense of their own power.

In communities across Ireland people who have got involved in the struggle against the household tax are beginning to get that sense.  For anarchists one of the challenges is to ensure that what Mark describes as ‘the battle….between democratic and authoritarian methods of organising’ is won by those who advocate true participatory democracy and that the campaign is not diverted down an electoral cul de sac by which all decision making is channelled through a local ‘leadership’.

In his review of Paul Mason’s book ‘Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere’, Andrew Flood looks at the concept of the ‘Networked Individual’ and explores the extent to which modern communications technology has impacted on people’s ability to organise in a non-hierarchical manner.  He goes on to look at the impact of this on the role of a revolutionary organisation and indeed on the type of revolutionary organisation needed in the era of the ‘networked individual’.  For example with the ease of one to many internet communications does the size of a revolutionary organisation matter any longer?  The coherent anarchist organisation, he concludes, “aims to be a scaffold along which many of the major nodes of a network can rapidly grow and link up as they are needed…”

Sean Matthews in his piece casts a critical eye over the contribution of workers’ co-operatives and social centres to the development of libertarian communist ideas.  Acknowledging that workers’ co-ops have always been championed by sections of the left, and that they can potentially provide a glimpse of “self-management, direct democracy and mutual aid in action…” he argues that we “should not be blinded by their contradictions and should query their effectiveness as a strategy for real revolutionary transformation.”

As we look to build a free and democratic future for ourselves and our children and grandchildren, it is useful to look back at where we have come from and to analyse the political ideas and struggles that have brought us to where we are.  As a contribution to such analysis, Fin Dwyer exposes the story of the early years of Ireland’s independence as being “…one of a dark authoritarian regime based on repression, discrimination and censorship where the elite of nationalist Ireland re-established control over a society that had teetered on the verge of revolution for years…” This is the first of a two-part series which will be continued in IAR6.

In a thought-provoking piece which challenges all of us to “… look at ourselves on a personal level, recognise privilege and develop a wider critique that is truer to our own politics…” Dónal O Driscoll explores “what it means to be anti-racist from an anarchist perspective.” He explores two important principles of anti-racism - the recognition that many of us have privileges simply because of our skin colour or ethnic group and the challenge of giving voice to the oppressed.

Linked to this, Aidan Rowe reviews “The Crises of Multiculturalism: Racism in a Neoliberal Age”, arguing that “a sophisticated understanding of how racism works under neoliberal governance is key if we are to win the ‘battle of ideas’ against those who would use racism to divide and control us….”  And Shane O’Curry reviews a film that he “approached ….with a lot of trepidation, putting off watching it for weeks”.  “Knuckle” is described as “an epic 12-year journey into the brutal and secretive world of Irish Traveller bare-knuckle fighting….” but Shane’s review concludes that it is “an absolutely captivating film, taking the viewer into spaces largely hidden from the outside world. Here, we are much more intimate with Traveller men than in any other film (that I have seen, anyway)…”

We hope that you, the reader, will find the articles in this magazine interesting and thought-provoking.  We hope that they will contribute to a further development and understanding of anarchist politics.  We don’t want the magazine to be a one-way street but would welcome feedback and comment on any of the articles or on any issues that you feel should be covered in future issues of Irish Anarchist Review.

Read and enjoy!

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Rioting erupted in ‘nationalist areas’ across the North on Tuesday after the annual Orange Order parades. The worst of the trouble was in Ardoyne in North Belfast which left 16 police officers injured and with over 60 lethal plastic bullets fired leaving many people injured. WSM member 'John Creagh' reports from the Ardoyne on the disturbances and what they tell us.

textWSM twitter live during Ardoyne Orange Order July 12th parade 09:57 Tue 12 Jul by Jack White 0 comments

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textN. Ireland: Politicians continue to ‘sponge’ off the system 22:54 Thu 23 Apr by Sean Matthews 0 comments

If truth be told, should we be surprised by revelations in recent weeks concerning the expenses of ‘our’ politicians?

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By Keith Hallack, published on April 4th, 2009

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The toys of the rich, Beacon Hospitals group, King Mawati III, Michael Fingleton, confidence in public health, Bank benefits

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Around 30 people met last Thursday 16th of October at the very heart of Dublin, the GPO, to stage a demo in solidarity with the Colombian popular and indigenous organisations in struggle for various demands, who have been met with full force by the repressive and dictatorial regime of Álvaro Uribe Vélez.

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In Ireland we like to think that we’ve long ago abolished the death penalty; that we’ve progressed beyond such primitive practices, that we’re too civilized for that. But Irish people are still being sentenced to death, and not even for crimes they have committed but for the crimes of our murderous health system.

textWSM coverage of Election 2007 in Ireland 18:24 Tue 15 May by Joe 0 comments

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The issue of Marriage Equality is to be debated for the fifth time in Stormont today (Nov 2nd). Yet again, however, the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) has launched a Petition of Concern to ensure that should the motion be successful its legal passing will be blocked.

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For the first time in the history of the Northern Irish state a majority of MLAs (members of the Parliament in the North of Ireland) have voted in favour of Marriage Equality. The motion, however, has fallen due to the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) launching a Petition of Concern which blocks any passing of the motion to law.

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imageCOVID-19: Not going back to “business as usual” May 12 0 comments

We might all have our own campaigns. Some may see disability rights as most important; some housing; others refugees. All are equally important. We don’t want a hierarchy of needs. Fight for your particular cause yes – but link up with others. An injury to one is an injury to all. The state always tries to divide us. Too often we fight amongst ourselves and miss the real enemy. We need to stick together because once Covid-19 is over the state will come for us like they have never done before. And we need to be ready and supporting each other.

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