The vote in Ireland on 22nd May to recognise gay marriage has been one of the most inspirational events this year. Ireland, once known as a bastion of social conservatism, has provided a beacon for all of us in these islands. Not least, the vote in the south led to an impressive demonstration of 10,000…
The Limits of Reformism and the Greek Crisis
Eric Chester gives his interpretation of recent events in Greece and the lessons to be learned. Recent events in Greece mark a turning point in the ongoing crisis of global capitalism. The Greek people are confronted with the stark choice of accepting a crippling austerity project or rapidly advancing toward a new society. For socialists…
Plane Wreck at Los Gatos
Words by Woody Guthrie, Music by Martin Hoffman The crops are all in and the peaches are rott’ning, The oranges piled in their creosote dumps; They’re flying ‘em back to the Mexican border To pay all their money to wade back again Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye, Rosalita, Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria; You…
Let them in
Mary McGregor outlines the humane response to the world’s migration crisis In this article, I intend not to use the following terms: migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. The media and establishment have successfully imbued each of these terms with negative connotations. They are conflated, misrepresented and fed into the narrative that this seeking to come…
The Royal Lion, the English Bear and the Scottish Fox
Steve Freeman, the Republican Socialist and Anti-Unionist candidate in the May election, considers the relationship of the Scottish and English left. The Scottish Left Project conference on 29 August provides us with an important opportunity to assess the state of the class struggle not only in Scotland but in England, Wales and Ireland. The prospects…
Why a Republican Perspective is Important
We are living in time of great change. The situation in Greece, the Indy result, the near wipe out in Scotland of established UK parties and the anticipated Holyrood victory for the SNP next May highlight great instability between the people and the powerful. Where there is opportunity there is also danger. The SNP are…
Support the struggle for meaningful self-determination in a Scottish Democratic and Secular Republic
The RCN has developed an Immediate Programme for the Movement for Scottish Self-Determination. In no way is this comprehensive. Both as whole, and as individual policies, such a programme needs to be augmented by discussion and debates with others, who can bring their own experiences to bear. These would fit very well into RISE’s Seven…
Internal Democracy is not a Luxury
Ian MacCorquodale explains why internal democracy is crucial to the success of RISE This article was written to encourage thought and debate about internal democracy within RISE, while there is nothing ground-breaking within the article and undoubtedly everything said in it has been said before. I strongly believe that the type of points I have…
RISE, Scotland’s Left Alliance – Completing Scotland’s Democratic Revolution
Starting a new political organisation, aimed at uniting the Left, is always a difficult process. Furthermore, the Scottish Left has still to fully recover from the last attempt to do this – the Scottish Socialist Party. The SSP imploded in 2004, just a year after registering real promise with the election of 6 MSPs –…
Emancipation & Liberation, Issue 24, Spring 2015
If you would like to buy this issue or subscribe, contact us. Comments are open, so until articles are online, feel free to discuss the articles below. When they are online you can discuss the article in it’s comment section. RISE, Scotland’s Left Alliance – Completing Scotland’s Democratic Revolution, Allan Armstrong Internal Democracy is not…