Socialists Against Nationalism
| Date: | 1979 |
|---|---|
| Organisation: | Socialists Against Nationalism |
| View: | View Document |
| Discuss: | Comments on this document |
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Commentary From The Cedar Lounge Revolution
14th July 2008
All the greats - eh? A short document this week only four pages long. Socialists Against Nationalism, a ‘campaign’ group established in the late 1970s/early 1980s by the Socialist Party of Ireland (not, I hasten to add the current SP), the British and Irish Communist Organisation, the Limerick Socialist Organisation and ‘individual socialists’. As far as can be determined this was the precursor of the Democratic Socialist Party, led by Jim Kemmy, which later merged with the Labour Party.
As a campaign how long it lasted and how successful it was is unclear. Although as regards the latter point it is worth reflecting on how many a left (or later liberal or right-wing) Irish political career clearly drew a degree of inspiration from the sort of analysis put forward here, that the only way to working class unity was by eschewing the ‘call for a 32 county Socialist Republic [which] is nothing more than the old nationalism newly dressed in a socialist guise’. Actually that in itself is a remarkable statement from an avowedly left-wing body given the longevity of the socialist Republican approach in Irish politics during the 20th century.
But then again, considering issues of success or failure, some the central ‘demands’ in the leaflet have been fulfilled - look at the list on page 3- although their avowed aim of extirpating ‘nationalism’ has not. But then consider again the image on page 1 which makes a clear visual linkage between the most extreme form of ‘nationalism’ and Irish nationalism. Hard in that context to take entirely seriously their idea that they wanted to ‘organise public debates with socialists and others who still hold the traditional nationalist viewpoint’, or indeed that ‘traditional nationalism’ equated with what appears to be a pogrom. And consider again the viewpoints expressed in the recent past on various historical issues which chime with that sort of viewpoint.
I can find reference to them in Seanad debate here (John A. Murphy giving an interesting analysis) and here .
Any further information on this campaign would be of considerable interest, as would any material from the DSP.
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By: WorldbyStorm Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:51:22
To put it mildly.
Reply on the CLR
By: Ken MacLeod Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:41:56
Starkadder # 17: I don’t think COBI was strictly De Leonist. They admired the early-20th-century British SLP as sort of proto-Leninists, and reprinted William Paul’s _The State: its Origin and Function_. (William Paul was an SLP and later CP member.) But COBI kept a lot of BICO’s ‘anti-revisionist’ politics and added some oddities of their own. A somewhat less strange goup called Communist Formation may have come out of COBI. I guess Paul Cockshott is the guy to ask about all this.
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By: Ken MacLeod Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:00:38
I should add that Paul Cockshott’s political and economic ideas are elaborated here and are of great interest and originality.
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By: Starkadder Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:42:23
Thank you for the information, Ken. According to
Wikipedia, the noted Welsh historian Gwyn Williams
(aka Gwyn Alf Williams) was a
COBI member as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Organisation_in_the_British_Isles
I knew of Williams from his book “When was Wales?” and
his BBC documentaries on King Arthur.
I have read some of Cockshott’s work and agree that
it is interesting and well-written.
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By: Paul Cockshot Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:32:54
Gwyn WIlliams was a member of COBI, as were my recent co-authors Allin Cottrell and Greg Michaelson. The split leading to Communist Formation occured over whether it was correct to enter into alliance with Big Flame to stand candidates against the Labour Party in elections. Those of us who went into CF thought it was worth doing, but the huge gap between our Leninism and Big Flames ideology meant that the project eventually foundered.
http://reality.gn.apc.org/polemic/leninsm.htm
was the document which codified our differences with COBI
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By: Starkadder Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:15:17
Thanks for giving us some information about the
little-known COBI, Mr. Cockshot.
I known some members of the Big Flame group were
later involved in the unsuccessful left-wing
newspaper “News on Sunday”.
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By: WorldbyStorm Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:27:46
Thanks Paul. Big Flame are sort of mythic figures on the left, rightly or wrongly 🙂 . Great link too… Much appreciated. Still, that’s some gap you guys tried to bridge…
I have that book on the News on Sunday, can’t remember who wrote it, and I’m not certain as to its accuracy, but it’s a great read and does get a real flavour of the time… if you want Starkadder I can send it to you…
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