Emancipation & Liberation » Author: Allan Armstrong

Aug 17 2017

A CRITIQUE OF JEREMY CORBYN AND BRITISH LEFT SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, Part 3

Category: Capitalism and Communism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,How they are organised,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Radical Independence Campaign,Russia and ex-USSR,Scotland,The crisis on the Left,The EU,The global economy,UK state/British imperialism,US imperialism,What is communism? — RCN @ 7:30 pm

This is the third part of A Critique of Jeremy Corbyn and British Left Social Democracy, written by Allan Armstrong. The first part can be read at:- http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2017/08/09/a-critique-of-jeremy-corbyn-and-british-left-social-democracy/and the second part can be read at:- http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2017/08/11/a-critique-of-jeremy-corbyn-and-british-left-social-democracy-part-2/

3. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, OFFICIAL AND DISSIDENT COMMUNISM

AND A POLITICS BASED ON EMANCIPATION, LIBERATION AND SELF DETERMINATION

Contents of part 3

a. The limits placed on social democracy during a crisis of global capitalism

b. From revolutionary democratic social democracy to existing state-accommodating reformist social democracy

c. A further shift in the meaning of social democracy; the brief emergence of an alternative revolutionary democratic communism; and the descent to state-backed official communism and dissident communism

d. Social democracy and official communism morph into social neo-liberalism

e. From social liberalism to populism

_______________

a. The limits placed on social democracy during a crisis of global capitalism

i. We are living through a period of unprecedented global crisis – political, economic, social, and cultural. This means that ideas will be tested continuously. A class-based democratic party will have people from a whole number of tendencies – communist (as outlined 2.f.iii), republican socialist, social democratic, movementist, green socialist, socialist feminist, environmental, etc. Continue reading “A CRITIQUE OF JEREMY CORBYN AND BRITISH LEFT SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, Part 3”

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Aug 11 2017

A CRITIQUE OF JEREMY CORBYN AND BRITISH LEFT SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, Part 2

Category: How they are organised,Russia and ex-USSR,SSP and SWP,The crisis on the Left,The EU,The global economy,UK state/British imperialism — RCN @ 6:38 pm

This is the second part of A Critique of Jeremy Corbyn and British Left Social Democracy, written by Allan Armstrong. the first part can be read at:- http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2017/08/09/a-critique-of-jeremy-corbyn-and-british-left-social-democracy/

2. EMANCIPATION, LIBERATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION AND INTERNATIONALISM FROM BELOW

IN RESPONSE TO NATIONAL SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, AND OFFICIAL AND DISSIDENT COMMUNIST

INTERNATIONALISM FROM ABOVE

Contents of Part 2

a. Why did Corbynism and Left social democracy appear in the UK?

b. The rise and fall of proto-parties outside Labour

c. To party or not to party, that is the question

d. Autonomous organisations

e. International organisation

f. Labour bureaucracy or dissident communist sects – a false choice

______________

a. Why did Corbynism and Left social democracy appear in the UK?

i. One thing that needs explained is how did Corbynism and Left social democracy make a revival which nobody predicted? If we look to Greece, Spain, Portugal, France and Ireland, we can see well-supported independent Left organisations, which have developed outside the traditional social democratic parties. One answer to this question is the sheer resilience of conservative organisational forms in a state like the UK with such a long and deep-rooted unionist and imperial history. Continue reading “A CRITIQUE OF JEREMY CORBYN AND BRITISH LEFT SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, Part 2”

Tags: 'Spirit of 45', 1938 Transitional Programme, 1939-41 Hitler Stalin Pact, Anti Austerity Alliance, Anti-Globalisation Movement, Anti-Nazi League, Arthur Scargill, Author: Allan Armstrong, Bakunist, Bernie Sanders, Bolsheviks, Communist League, Counterfire, CPGB-PCC, CPSU, Crown Powers, CWI, Donald Trump, E&L, EACL, First International, Forward Wales, George Galloway, Globalise Resistance, GUE-NGL, International Revolutionary Waves, ISG - Scotland, ISN, IST, Jeremy Corbyn, John Marek, La France Insoumise, Labour Alternative, Labour Party, Lassallian, Left Bloc, Left Unity Party, Maoism, Marxist, Marxist-Leninism, Militant, movementism, NILP, Northern Ireland, Paris Commune, Party, People before Profit, PES, Podemos, Radical Independence Campaign, Respect, Right to Work, RISE - Scotland's Left Alliance, RS21, S&D, Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party, SDLP, Second International, SLP, Socialist Alliance, Socialist Democracy (Ireland), Socialist Resistance, Solidarity, SP, SPGB, Stand up to Racism, SYRIZA, Third International, Tommy Sheridan, Trotskyism, TUSC, Unite Against Fascism, USFI, USSR, Wales, WRP

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Aug 09 2017

A CRITIQUE OF JEREMY CORBYN AND BRITISH LEFT SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

Category: Against Unionism,England,How they are organised,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Ireland,Radical Independence Campaign,Scotland,The EU,UK state/British imperialism,Wales — RCN @ 3:32 pm

Socialists are now confronted with the unexpected rise of Jeremy Corbyn and the re-emergence of British Left social democracy. This first part of this article by Allan Armstrong will examine the significance of this and make a critical appraisal of their future prospects in the face of the current global multi-faceted political, economic, social, cultural and environmental crisis.

Contents of Part 1

1. From May 2007 to June 2017 – the SNP rules the social democratic roost in Scotland.

2. The rise of Jeremy Corbyn and British Left social democracy

3. The prospects for Corbyn and British Left social democracy when handling economic and social issues

4. The limitations of Corbyn and British Left social democracy when dealing with matters of state

A. Brexit

B. The National Question

a. Conservative, liberal and unionist attempts to maintain the unity of the UK state since the nineteenth century

b. Corbyn and the National Question in Ireland

c. Corbyn and the National Question in Scotland

d. Corbyn and the National Question in Wales

1. From May 2007 to June 2017 – the SNP rules the social democratic roost in Scotland

i. Following the demise of New Labour and its successor, ‘One Nation’ Labour, the SNP has been the most effective upholder of social democracy in the UK. In 2007, the SNP won 363 council seats; 425 in 2012, and 431 in 2017. In 2007, the SNP won 47 MSPs; 69 in 2011; and 63 in 2016, (still easily the largest party at Holyrood). In 2010, the SNP won 6 MPs; 56 out of 59 in 2015, but fell back to 35 in 2017 (still having the largest number of MPs from Scotland by some way). Continue reading “A CRITIQUE OF JEREMY CORBYN AND BRITISH LEFT SOCIAL DEMOCRACY”

Tags: 'Blatcherism', 'Butskellism', 'Devo-Max', 'English'-Welsh, 'One Nation Labour', 'Singapore with a union jack, 'Spirit of 45', 2007-8 Banking Crash, 2012 Welfare Reform Act, 2014 and 2016 Immigration Acts, 79 Group, Alex Salmond, Alex Tspiras, Alternative Economic Strategy, Author: Allan Armstrong, AWL, Bernadette McAliskey, Better Together, Brexit, British Left social democracy, British monarchy, Campaign for Socialism, Cardiff Bay, Chuka Umanna, Clive Lewis, Common Programme, conservtive unionism, CPB, CPGB, Crown-in-Westminster, cultural renaissance, David Cameron, Devolution-all-round, Duncan Smith, DUP, Ed Miliband, Emmanuel Macron, Empire2, England, Europhobic, Eurosceptic, Far Right, Federalism, Francois Mitterand, George Galloway, Good Friday Agreement, Gordon Brown, Grenfell Flats, Holyrood, House of Lords, IndyRef1, indyref2, Ireland, Irish Civil Rights Movement, Irish Republican Movement, Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, John Trickett, Kate Hoey, Kezia Dugdale, Kier Starmer, Labour Friends of Israel, Labour Party, language issue, Leanne Wood, Len McCluskey, liberal unionism, loyalists, Mhairi Black, Micael Gove, Militant, Momentum, Neil Findlay MSP, neo-Keynesianism, New Labour, New Unionism, Nicola Sturgeon, Nigel Farage, Norther Ireland, Orange Order, Plaid Cymru, PUP, Radical Independence Campaign, reactionary unionism, Scotland, Scottish Labour Party, SDLP, Seamus Milne, Single Market, Sinn Fein, SNP, Social Chapter, St. Andrews Agreement, Stormont, Stormont Agreement, SWP, SYRIZA, Theresa May, Tommy Sheppard, Tony Benn, Tony Blair, Tory Right, Trident, TUV, UDA, UK state, UKIP, unionist state, UUP, UVF, Vladimir Putin, Wales, Welsh-British, Welsh-Welsh, Westminster

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Aug 06 2017

TRUMP SAYS, “SCOTLAND JUST WENT THROUGH HELL”

Category: Against Unionism,Russia and ex-USSR,Scotland,The EU,US imperialism — RCN @ 7:03 pm

The following article by Allan Armstrong was a first posted on the bella caledonia blog at:- http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2017/08/04/trump-says-scotland-went-through-hell/

TRUMP SAYS, “SCOTLAND JUST WENT THROUGH HELL”.
BUT THAT NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT HE HAS PLANNED FOR US

Trump has tweeted his opposition to Scottish independence. “Is Scotland going for the vote, by the way. It would be terrible. They just went through hell”. Hell being IndyRef1, and not the Brexit campaign that contributed to the murder of Jo Cox MP, and Jacub Rusiecki, factory worker, or the suicide of 16 year old Dagmara Przybysz after racist bullying; nor the spike in physical attacks and racist harassment following the Brexit vote, Trump supported Brexit and saw his own election to the US presidency as ‘Brexit plus, plus, plus’. Continue reading “TRUMP SAYS, “SCOTLAND JUST WENT THROUGH HELL””

Tags: "Brexit Plus Plus Plus", Albania, Ataka, Author: Allan Armstrong, Bella Caledonia, Brexiters, China, Dagmara Przybysz, Democrat Party, Donald Trump, Empire2, EU, Far Right, Fox News, Geert Wilders, Germany, Golden Dawn, Hilary Clinton, IndyRef1, Jacob Rusiecki, Jeremy Hunt, Jo Cox MP, Jobbik, Marine Le Pen, Michael Pence, Montenegro, Polish Law and Justice Party, Republican Party, Right populism, Russia, Russia Today, Sarah Palin, Tory Right, UK, UKIP, Vladimir Putin

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Jul 07 2017

ADDRESS TO THE LEFT UNITY CONFERENCE ON JUNE 24th

Category: Against Unionism,England,For Liberation: Struggles against Oppression,How they are organised,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Ireland,Political Campaigns,Radical Independence Campaign,Scotland,SSP and SWP,The crisis on the Left,The Socialist Republican Break-up of the UK,UK state/British imperialism — RCN @ 3:18 pm

Allan Armstrong was delegated at the RISE National Forum held in Edinburgh on 8th April to be its representative at the LUP conference on May 20th. Due to the General Election this was postponed to June 24th. Attached is the full version of the talk he prepared for the conference held in London. In the event, because of time constraints, the oral version was slightly abridged.

This was first posted on the LUP blog:- http://leftunity.org/rise-speaker-addresses-lu-conference/

ADDRESS TO THE LEFT UNITY CONFERENCE ON JUNE 24th

I would like to thank the LUP for providing me with the time to address your conference as a visiting representative from RISE.

Many of you here today are old enough to remember the heyday of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), which had a considerable impact throughout the UK. The SSP united the overwhelming majority of socialists in Scotland and at its height had 6 MSPs. It inspired the Socialist Alliance (SA) in England and Wales. Although the SP and the SWP managed to sabotage the SA the SSP’s downfall was an almost entirely Scottish affair. This can be largely laid at the feet of a certain Tommy Sheridan.

After 2004, socialists in Scotland were very divided. IndyRef1, though, provided an opportunity for socialists to regain political influence. Young socialists, largely unaffected by ‘Tommygate’, initiated the Radical Independence Campaign (RIC) in 2012. This coalition, or united front, brought together, not only many of the previously divided socialists, but the Left in the SNP and the Greens and a majority not involved in any party. Continue reading “ADDRESS TO THE LEFT UNITY CONFERENCE ON JUNE 24th”

Tags: 'Tommygate', 2017 Labour Manifesto, Author: Allan Armstrong, Brexit, David Miliband, Dennis Canavan, DUP, Glastonbury, Greens, Holyrood, House of Lords, IndyRef1, Jeremy Corbyn, Left Unity Party, Len McCluskey, London Peoples Assembly, Nicola Sturgeon, Northern Ireland, Privy Council, Radical Independence Campaign, RISE - Scotland's Left Alliance, Scotland, Scottish Labour Party, Scottish Socialist Party, Shami Chakrabarti, Sinn Fein, SNP, Syrian War, The National Question, Theresa May, Trident, UNITE, Westminster General Election 2017

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Apr 07 2017

SOME OBSERVATIONS UPON ‘THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND’

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,England,Ireland,Russia and ex-USSR,Scotland,UK state/British imperialism,Wales — RCN @ 6:56 pm

Allan Armstrong makes some observations on The Commonwealth of England written by Steve Freeman (see http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2017/04/07/the-commonwealth-of-england/). He examines the likely role that federalism will play in IndyRef2, drawing on the historical precedents for its use in the UK and USSR.

SOME OBSERVATIONS UPON THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND

There is a great deal I agree with in Steve’s article. In a later contribution to this discussion I would like to develop Steve’s historic analysis, going back to the days of the Levellers, through the Chartists and on to the Suffragettes. However, in these observations, I will confine myself to the issue of federalism.

The politics of federalism, whenever it has been raised within the UK, has always represented a last ditch unionist attempt to preserve the UK. The political origins of the idea of British federalism go back to the first attempts to hold together the British Empire in North America, when faced by the challenge of American republicanism. It failed. A federal UK has been Liberal Party policy for over a century, with no obvious effect on the UK constitution. The challenge of Irish republicanism and the War of Independence from 1919, led to a Westminster Speakers’ Conference. This recommended a federal solution for the UK. It too failed. Although the UK state did instead, after Loyalist pogroms and reactionary Partition, come up with the earliest form of political Devolution in the UK – Stormont. No wonder it was difficult for others later to win support for devolution in Scotland and Wales, when Stormont formed the precedent!
Continue reading “SOME OBSERVATIONS UPON ‘THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND’”

Tags: American republicanism, Author: Allan Armstrong, Commonwealth of England Scotland and Wales, Commonwealth of Independent States, Crown-in-Parliament, England, Federalism, Gordon Brown, Greater Englanderism, Irish Republicanism, Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, Kezia Dugdale, Liberal Party, liberal unionism, Little Englanderism, Mikhail Gorbachev, reactionary unionism, Stormont, Theresa May, Tony Benn, Union of Sovereign States, USSR, Westminster

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Mar 29 2017

PADDY BORT – 1954-2017

Category: Commemorations,Cultural Celebration,For Self-Determination: Struggles against Alienation,Ireland,Scotland — RCN @ 2:44 pm

Allan Armstrong writes about the contribution made by Paddy Bort, who died on February 17th, to our understanding of Scottish and Irish cultural and political links.

PADDY BORT – 1954-2017

Eberhard Bort, Germano-Scot and Germano-Irish by choice, “in essence the ultimate European”, and known to most acquaintances in Scotland and Ireland as Paddy, died unexpectedly on February 17th. Steve Byrne, founder member of the folk group, Malinky, and convenor of the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust, wrote what has become Paddy’s much circulated obituary. It begins with the strikingly appropriate words, “A hole the size of Arthur’s Seat is in the Edinburgh folk scene today.”
Continue reading “PADDY BORT – 1954-2017”

Tags: 'Anent Hamish Henderson', 'The Shamrock and the Thistle', 'Translations', Antonio Gramsci, Author: Allan Armstrong, Brian Friel, Carrying Stream Festival, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Festival of Ireland, Edinburgh People's Festival, Freedom Come All Ye, Hamish Henderson, Ireland, John Maclean March, Paddy Bort, Peadar O'Donnell, Ray Burnett, Royal Oak, Sandy Bells, Scotland, Steve Byrne, Tessa Ransford

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Dec 09 2016

BEFORE AND AFTER THE ‘RETURN OF THE BRUTE’

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,For Emancipation: Struggles against Exploitation,For Self-Determination: Struggles against Alienation,How they are organised,Independent class organisations,Ireland,Our History,Reviews,UK state/British imperialism — RCN @ 7:56 pm

As the official celebrations and the unofficial commemorations of the centenary of the First World War continue, many personal accounts, poems and novels written about this period have been published or republished. One novel, not yet republished, is Return of the Brute, written by Liam O’Flaherty. David Trotter, in The Cambridge Companion to The Literature of the First World War, argues that, unlike most British war novels, it was written by an author of proletarian origin. Whilst O’Flaherty was Irish, Trotter is right in considering Return of the Brute to be a British war novel. It is based upon the author’s experiences fighting in the British army on the western front. The novel “intended to do justice to the brute’s point of view” [1], where the “brute” stands for working-class soldiers. If so, the “brute” refers to atomised, alienated and demoralised workers, brutalised by life on the western front.
Continue reading “BEFORE AND AFTER THE ‘RETURN OF THE BRUTE’”

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Dec 08 2016

DEBATES AND DISCUSSIONS ON THE EMANCIPATION & LIBERATION BLOG ABOUT THE EU AND MIGRATION

Our Emancipation & Liberation blog has posted articles about the EU and Migration since it was set up. The earlier postings covered the Republican Communist Network’s involvement, when it was a platform in the Scottish Socialist Party. The first debate was in 2002 over whether the SSP should back joining the euro in the event of a referendum over the issue. The majority in the SSP was anti-euro, although there was a small pro-euro minority. The RCN formed another minority, which was for a campaign of active abstention.
Continue reading “DEBATES AND DISCUSSIONS ON THE EMANCIPATION & LIBERATION BLOG ABOUT THE EU AND MIGRATION”

Tags: 'It's a Free World', 1993 Lisbon Treaty, 2009 Lisbon Treaty, 2016 Euro-referendum, Angela Merkel, Another Europe Is Possible, Anther Europe Is Possible, Apple and Ireland, Author: Adam Majos, Author: Allan Armstrong, Author: Bill Scott, Author: Corina Lotz, Author: Eric Chester, Author: Mary McGregot, Author: Matthew Jones, Author: Murdo Ritchie, Author: Sharat G Lin, Author: Steve Freeman, Battlefield Band, Brexit, Campaign for a European Republican Socialist Party, Catalunya, CUP, David Cameron, debate over euro currenct, DiEM25, Donald Trump, European Anti-Capitlist Left, European democratic revolution, European Economic Community, European Union, German CDU/SDP coalition, Gordon Brown, Greece, Ken Loach, Left Unity Party, Lexit, Manu Chaio, Marine Le Pen, migrant rights, National Front, Nigel Farage, No One Is Illegal, No2EU, Radical Independence, Republican Communist Network, RISE, Socialist Democracy (Ireland), Socialist Party of England and Wales, Socialist Party Scotland, Socialist Workers Party, SSP, SYRIZA, The Campaogn for a European Republican Socialist Party, UK, UKIP

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Dec 07 2016

BUILDING AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN RISE AND LEFT UNITY

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,England,Ireland,Scotland,The crisis on the Left,Wales — RCN @ 1:09 pm

RISE held a national members’ meeting in Glasgow on saturday 3rd December. The leaflet ‘Building an alliance between RISE and Left Unity’ was circulated. Steve Freeman and Allan Armstrong (of the Republican Socialist Alliance – RSA) addressed the meeting. Steve has subsequently written a report for Left Unity. These two ianti-Unionist alliance items have been posted below.

This is followed by giving the links to articles on this blog which have argued for greater unity, on an anti-unionist basis, between the RSA , the Radical Independence Campaign, the Left Unity Party and RISE.

1. BUILDING AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN RISE AND LEFT UNITY

Steve Freeman speaking at first Left Unity Conference

Preamble

Left Unity was set up in 2013 to organise a party standing in opposition to neo-liberalism and the politics of New Labour. The party aimed to unite democratic socialists and communists into one party to resist austerity politics. The majority of LU members were in England with a small membership in Scotland and Wales. Left Unity had no policy on the national question until the Scottish referendum in 2014 when the party voted to take an abstention position.
Continue reading “BUILDING AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN RISE AND LEFT UNITY”

Tags: 2014 Scottish referendum, 2016 EU referendum, anti-Unionist alliance, Author: Allan Armstrong, Author: Steve Freeman, Donald Trump, Environment, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party, Left Unity Party, Momentum, RRadical Independence campaign, SNP, SSP

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