THE GEORGE FLOYD DEMONSTRATIONS IN IRELAND

These two articles from Socialist Democracy (Ireland) look at the response in Ireland (south and north) to the killing of George Floyd and then the response of the  PSNI and the Garda to these demonstrations. The first article argues for the power of solidarity in the face of shared exploitation and oppression rather the  ‘allyship’…

COVID-19 -JOHNSON’S CRIMINAL INCOMPETENCE

 Eddie Ford (CPGB-WW) argues that by global standards the UK government’s handling of the pandemic has been appalling.   COVID-19 -JOHNSON’S CRIMINAL INCOMPETENCE     Last week we reached the grim milestone of 40,000 officially certified deaths from Covid-19. Given that at the start of the pandemic there was talk of 20,000 being a “good result”,…

JUSTICE FOR GRENFELL

It is 3 years since the tragic deaths of 72 people at Grenfell Towers. This video Justice for Grenfell was produced by Edinburgh Trade Union Council, the FBU, UNITE and the Living Rent campaign.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiYXW4cT8vM&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR0JsCRIt7pVOzUjEYcqZQkEYjLWiyoRrVvxuoFDZLg2UZVuQmcjn8H5RD0   also see:- DEMOCRACY BURNS DOWN

FIGHTING COVID19 – FROM A NURSE IN NEW YORK CITY

This article is about workers on the frontline of the Covid19 pandemic in the USA.  It was written  by Jillian Primiano, a New York City nurse. and was first posted by Left Voice.   FROM ONE ESSENTIAL WORKER TO ANOTHER: DEMANDING SAFE WORKING CONDITIONS COULD SAVE MY LIFE     The walk-outs, die-ins, and strikes…

KEVIN KEATING – An Appreciation

It was with great sadness I learned of the death of Kevin Keating.  I first met Kevin and his partner, Anne Conway, at the Socialist Democracy (Ireland) weekend schools held near Kippure, in the upper Liffey Valley in the Wicklow Mountains, from 2007-9. The political debates  were of a very high standard, and the camaraderie…

TWO RESPONSES TO THE COVID19 PANDEMIC

Following from our earlier postings from Trade unionists, health workers, independence supporters and community activists and from Socialist Democracy (Ireland) (http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2020/03/26/fighting-the-covid-19-pandemic/), we are posting two further statements on the Covid19  pandemic, the first from Dumfries TUC , the second from SNP Socialists.     1. Dumfries TUC Co19 Statement

CAPITALISM AND WORKERS’ HEALTH – PLUS CA CHANGE

Karl Marx had something  to say about capitalism and workers’ health  in Capital, Volume 1. Chapter 15. (https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/Capital-Volume-I.pdf – page 316). We are posting this below. CAPITALISM AND WORKERS’ HEALTH  – PLUS CA CHANGE Nineteenth century factory Twenty first century factory What could possibly show better the character of the capitalist mode of production, than…

IDEOLOGY AND SCIENCE

In the political  climate since the 2008 Financial Crisis and now with  the Coronavirus pandemic, there has been a marked increase on anti-science thinking. Whilst particularly prevalent on the Far Right, such thinking has spread far wider. Thus article, first posted by Socialist Democracy (Ireland), examines this phenomenon in relation to the coronavirus pandemic.  …

INTERNATIONALISM FROM BELOW, Volume 4, part A

Allan Armstrong is in the process of writing Volume Four of the Internationalism from Below series. This volume is entitled, Communists, nation-states and nationalism during the 1916-21/3 International Revolutionary Wave’. Due to the Coronavirus lockdown, Allan has not been able to complete the research to finish this. However, the part which deals with the situation in…