Towards Division Not Peace

By Peter Hadden
Can the working class unite to build a real peace process.

The real ideas of James Connolly

This article is part of the series collected by the Socialist Party, the CWI in Ireland, on aspects of Labour History.

And 2 letters about Connolly and Religion

The real ideas of James Connolly

An article by Peter Hadden which appeared in Socialism Today, theoretical journal of the SP in England/Wales was followed by 2 letters on Connolly and Religion, issues 100, 102-103.

James Connolly was a Marxist, a revolutionary socialist and an internationalist. On the ninetieth anniversary of his execution, Peter Hadden reviews his life of unremitting struggle to advance the interests of the working class and overthrow the existing social order.

In 1910 James Connolly concluded his pamphlet, Labour, Nationality and Religion, in the simplest and most straightforward terms: "The day has passed for patching up the capitalist system, it must go". Ninety years after his death it is necessary to begin any true account of James Connolly’s life with reminders of what he really believed in, what he really fought for.

The struggle for socialism today

Written by Peter Hadden Friday, 05 February 2010 20:34

A reply to the politics of the Socialist Workers Party

A 1999 document by the Socialist Party in Ireland
Introduction by Tom Crean

This pamphlet, written in the form of an open letter, originated in correspondence between the Socialist Party in Ireland and the Socialist Workers Party [in Ireland - Ed], initiated by the latter. The SWP approached us with a view to having a bloc in the recent local elections. While we were willing to discuss this, we had severe reservations about the positions and methods of the SWP which we wished to discuss before considering an agreement.

The initial correspondence is reproduced as an appendix. After the SWP sent us a longer reply (also in the appendix) which raised a number of other issues including the attitude of Marxists to the former Soviet Union and to the national question in Ireland we decided to write a more thorough explanation of the nature of our differences. In order to follow the arguments it would probably be best for the reader to look at the appendix first, especially the SWP's letter of 11 January 1999.

It is not our normal practice to respond at such length to arguments raised by what in reality is an organisation with little weight within the working class. However, the issues raised go to the heart of what sort of party is needed today to lead the struggle for socialist change. In a sense by responding to the SWP at length, we have taken the opportunity to explain our ideas, our methods and our structure in a more developed way than we have for quite some time.

Of course, we hope that this will be read by serious members of the SWP who wish to understand our reasons for not accepting automatically the proposal for an electoral bloc. But we also believe that this pamphlet will serve to inform new members of our party and others on the left as to why there is more than one organisation in Ireland claiming to be Marxist.

We are confident that socialist minded workers and youth will agree upon examination that the ideas, methods and organisational structures of the Socialist Party - but unfortunately not those of the SWP - represent the genuine continuity of Marxism on this island.

Tom Crean,

On behalf of the National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party (CWI - Ireland)

Troubled Times - The national question in Ireland

Written by Peter Hadden Friday, 05 February 2010 15:31

How did Ireland's national problem arise? What was the reason for partition? Does the British ruling class really want to pull out? Must the working class always be divided on this issue? This landmark publication looks again at Irish history right up to the present. It refutes much of what has become the accepted wisdom of current academics who see no way of overcoming the sectarian division. It offers something unique - a programme on the national question to unite, rather than divide the working class. For those seeking ways in which the national problem can be overcome, this challenging book is a must. First published in 1995.

Beyond the Troubles?

August 31, 1994, and the IRA's announcement of a ceasefire, will go down as an historic date in Irish history. The ending of the IRA campaign was quickly followed by pressure from working class communities on the loyalist paramilitaries, the UDA and the UVF, to likewise call a halt. Six weeks later they also called off their campaigns.

Does this mean that after 25 years, over 3,350 dead and ten times that number injured, the Northern Ireland Troubles are over?