DOCSLIB.ORG

Intercontinental Press

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Intercontinental Press Intercontinental Press Asia Europe Oceania the Americas I Mi mms mm 1 Ki ^pi; ■ii demands for raises have generally been exceeding that level. The Communists say that raises should be held below 30%, but they don't commit themselves to any figure. Mr. Cunhal shakes his head over demands that might strain the economy. 'The strike The Threat of U.S. Intervention In Portugal weapon,' he says, 'is most efficient if it isn't used too often.'" In an editorial February 17, the New York vague phrase "leftist street violence." How The vague references of the editors of the Times, an authoritative voice of American ever, this was put in a context that would New York Times to "leftist" street violence, ruling circles, threatened U.S. intervention give the impression that these demonstra however, are an indication that any mass in Portugal. tions were part of a Communist party actions that "go too far" will be interpreted The editors claimed that the danger of a offensive. by U.S. ruling circles as part of a Com Communist party "takeover" in Portugal The fact seems to be that the Communist munist party "coup" to block the elections. had been increased by the prospect of party's bureaucratic and class- And even after the vote is held, they will elections in April: collaborationist method of defending its not be reassured: "If, as pledged, these turn out to be positions in the trade-union movement "The military junta, with Communist Portugal's first free elections in a half- simply provided a handy means to the encouragement, shows less and less century, polls suggest that the Communists capitalists for portraying it as a dangerous inclination to yield its present supervisory will do poorly. Having failed in their efforts power machine. role and is expanding its powers. These to force postponement of the elections, the What the U.S. capitalists actually think trends have led the Popular Democratic indications are that they will now encour about the Portuguese Communist party is leader, Francisco Sa Cerneiro [Carneiro], to age more leftist violence and intimidation probably much more accurately reflected in argue that elections will be academic if the in hopes of altering the outcome or even of the Wall Street Journal, which is written centers of power are 'occupied' beforehand." preparing the way for a coup." specifically for business circles. In an Such Communist party influence in the While raising a hue and cry over the article in the February 20 issue of this junta, the New York Times said, was giving alleged possibility of a Communist party- publication, staff reporter Ray Vicker wrote: rise to "intolerable dangers." It invoked the backed coup, however, the New York Times "In Portugal, Italy, France and Greece familiar "domino theory": gave its blessing to the actual attempted the Communists no longer threaten revolu "These [dangers] go beyond the obvious coup by General Spinola in September 1974: tion, promote violence, advocate political stategic threat of a Soviet ally athwart the "At the time of the military revolt last strikes. When violence comes from the left American naval lifelines to the Mediterra April that overthrew the Salazar-Caetano today, it usually comes from Maoist fac nean and NATO Europe. A forcible Com dictatorship, the Communists, as the only tions or from splinter Communist groups munist takeover in Portugal might encour organized political opposition in Portugal, that have severed connections with the age a similar trend in Italy and France; secured key posts as advisers to some of the Moscow line. A low profile also is main create problems in Greece and Turkey; rebel military leaders. They bid successfully tained so as not to arouse any opposition affect the succession in Spain and Yugo for influence in local governments, and from the religious, or from a middle class slavia and send tremors throughout West- obtained controlling positions in the news that might feel endangered by radicalism. em Europe. media, student organizations and labor The edtorial in this way echoed the unions, which they have since strength "Sometimes Mr. Cunhal [the CP general themes sounded by capitalist repesentatives ened. secretary] sounds so moderate that you when they opened the cold war and again "In September, Gen. Antonio de Spinola have to recheck his history to make sure he when Washington intervened in countries was forced out of the Presidency when he doesn't belong to some middle-class party. like Korea and Vietnam. sought to resist this trend." He talks of seeing a place for private "Detente, of course, would be the first Since Spinola's ouster, the editorial con enterprise in Portugal's future. He discour casualty, as Moscow should note, if the tinued, the parliamentary conservatives ages strikes, mutes any criticism of NATO, close relationship between the Portuguese and even the "democratic left" have also avoids vitriolic propaganda and extends a Communist party and the Soviet Union— gone down under the Communist steamrol hand toward America. which maintains a large, active embassy in ler. "Last month, in a second major crisis, "Moreover, he doesn't take a dogmatic Lisbon—is a factor in promoting a forcible the Communists prevailed upon the position on the nationalization of industry. takeover. It would not be in the interest of military—over Socialist opposition—to ap 'Certain sectors such as transport already either the Russian or the Portuguese people prove a law providing a single labor are nationalized,' he says, 'and perhaps in to have the popular will in Portugal denied confederation. Their control is assured in the future those elements in basic industry free expression."(Emphasis added.) advance, since they already run most of the also should be state-controlled. At the In present conditions, U.S. ruling circles federations that will be joined. moment, however, the government policy is are not likely to relaunch the cold war. "Through Communist maneuvers. So to seek economic stability, and this involves However, direct or indirect intervention in cialist protest demonstrations have been continuation of the private sector in opera Portugal is all too likely. A much gentler banned; leftist street violence has been used tion of factories. We support that policy at warning was issued by the New York Times to break up the organizing convention of this time because we favor economic stabil to the Allende government after the March the country's main conservative party." ity.'" 1973 elections in which the right was A publication with the news-gathering As for Communist party influence in the defeated. Such an intervention could, how staff and resources of the New York Times trade-union movement, Vicker indicated ever, generate international tensions; and, could not be unaware that the demonstra that its effects were not all bad from the in order to justify it, the Western capitalist tions against the so-called SocialDemocratic capitalist point of view: powers would have to resurrect the "Com Center party in Oporto were not backed, but "Currently the Communist Party even munist menace" to some extent, with some were in fact opposed, by the Communist preaches moderation to unions. The annual implications for relations with the Soviet party. That, apparently, is why it used the inflation rate is estimated at 30%, and Union. Intercontinental Press In the context of the detente, this warning serves the purpose of putting the Soviet Union on notice that the White House will not accept significant CP influence in any West European governments, no matter how well-behaved the CPs in question may In This Issue Closing Date: February 24, 1975 be. It puts both the Portuguese goverment and the CP on notice that if they cannot keep the mass movement within what the U.S.A. 292 The NAAGP's Call for a May 17 Antiracist United States considers acceptable limits, dire consequences will ensue. Demonstration in Boston It is essentially the mass upsurge in —by Michael Baumann Portugal that frightens the U.S. capitalists, not the CP. This is indicated by the 294 Firm Offers Assassination Equipment formulation that puts all street demonstra VIETNAMiTNAM 295 Thieu Cracks Down on Saigon Opposition tions and labor actions under the general heading of an alleged Communist party- —by Peter Green planned coup. BRITAINRITAIN 296 Attack on Russell Foundation Protested The same type of thinking was evident in the case of Chile. It was not the Allende PAPUA NEW GUINEAUINEA 297 Separatists Demand Independent Republic government and the Communist party as —by Sol Salby such that prompted the violent U.S. inter vention through a brutal military coup and AUSTRALIA 298 Why Whitlam Banned the PLO wholesale massacres of workers; it was the —by David Nizoz inability of these forces to restrain the mass movement, which was carrying out more IRELANDELAND 300 "Officials" Turn Against Their Own Past and more seizures of factories and big —by Gerry Foley estates and undermining the basis of capitalist property and bourgeois society. ARGENTINA 320 Police Kill LOR Member What really worries U.S. ruling circles is peasants seizing estates despite the Com DOCUMENTS 312 March on Boston May 17! munist party's appeals to them to wait for 314 The Workers League and the International government action, and in particular, armed forces units showing solidarity with Committee—by Tim Wohlforth leftist demonstrators. It was the beginning 318 Liga Socialista's Stand on Take-over of of left-wing organization in the armed forces in Chile, for instance, that most Venezuela's Iron-Ore Industry directly sparked the decisive confrontation 319 The NATO Maneuvers in Portugal there. Chile, moreover, was only the most recent NEWS ANALYSIS 290 Threat of U.S.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Irish Responses to Fascist Italy, 1919–1932 by Mark Phelan
    Provided by the author(s) and NUI Galway in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite the published version when available. Title Irish responses to Fascist Italy, 1919-1932 Author(s) Phelan, Mark Publication Date 2013-01-07 Item record http://hdl.handle.net/10379/3401 Downloaded 2021-09-27T09:47:44Z Some rights reserved. For more information, please see the item record link above. Irish responses to Fascist Italy, 1919–1932 by Mark Phelan A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Supervisor: Prof. Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh Department of History School of Humanities National University of Ireland, Galway December 2012 ABSTRACT This project assesses the impact of the first fascist power, its ethos and propaganda, on key constituencies of opinion in the Irish Free State. Accordingly, it explores the attitudes, views and concerns expressed by members of religious organisations; prominent journalists and academics; government officials/supporters and other members of the political class in Ireland, including republican and labour activists. By contextualising the Irish response to Fascist Italy within the wider patterns of cultural, political and ecclesiastical life in the Free State, the project provides original insights into the configuration of ideology and social forces in post-independence Ireland. Structurally, the thesis begins with a two-chapter account of conflicting confessional responses to Italian Fascism, followed by an analysis of diplomatic intercourse between Ireland and Italy. Next, the thesis examines some controversial policies pursued by Cumann na nGaedheal, and assesses their links to similar Fascist initiatives. The penultimate chapter focuses upon the remarkably ambiguous attitude to Mussolini’s Italy demonstrated by early Fianna Fáil, whilst the final section recounts the intensely hostile response of the Irish labour movement, both to the Italian regime, and indeed to Mussolini’s Irish apologists.
    [Show full text]
  • Miscellaneous Notes on Republicanism and Socialism in Cork City, 1954–69
    MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ON REPUBLICANISM AND SOCIALISM IN CORK CITY, 1954–69 By Jim Lane Note: What follows deals almost entirely with internal divisions within Cork republicanism and is not meant as a comprehensive outline of republican and left-wing activities in the city during the period covered. Moreover, these notes were put together following specific queries from historical researchers and, hence, the focus at times is on matters that they raised. 1954 In 1954, at the age of 16 years, I joined the following branches of the Republican Movement: Sinn Féin, the Irish Republican Army and the Cork Volunteers’Pipe Band. The most immediate influence on my joining was the discovery that fellow Corkmen were being given the opportunity of engag- ing with British Forces in an effort to drive them out of occupied Ireland. This awareness developed when three Cork IRA volunteers were arrested in the North following a failed raid on a British mil- itary barracks; their arrest and imprisonment for 10 years was not a deterrent in any way. My think- ing on armed struggle at that time was informed by much reading on the events of the Tan and Civil Wars. I had been influenced also, a few years earlier, by the campaigning of the Anti-Partition League. Once in the IRA, our initial training was a three-month republican educational course, which was given by Tomas Óg MacCurtain, son of the Lord Mayor of Cork, Tomas MacCurtain, who was murdered by British forces at his home in 1920. This course was followed by arms and explosives training.
    [Show full text]
  • What Happened to the Workers' Socialist League?
    What Happened to the Workers’ Socialist League? By Tony Gard (as amended by Chris Edwards and others), September 1993 Note by Gerry D, October 2019: This is the only version I have of Tony Gard’s docu- ment, which contains the unauthorised amendments as explained in the rather tetchy note by Chris Edwards below. [Note by Chris Edwards (May 2002). War is the sternest possible test for any Trot- skyist organisation. While many British organisations failed this test in the case of the Malvinas/Falklands War (e.g. the Militant group with its “workers war” against Argen- tina position), the British proto-ITO comrades did attempt to defend a principled posi- tion against the bankrupt positions of the leadership of their own organisation, the British Workers Socialist League (WSL). This is an account of the tendency struggle over the Malvinas war and many other is- sues to do with British imperialism. This document was written with the stated purpose of being a “balance sheet” of the tendency struggle. It was somewhat ironic that, Tony G, the author of most of this document, and the person who had played the least part in the WSL tendency struggle during 1982-3, felt himself most qualified to sit in judge- ment on the efforts of those who had been centrally involved in the tendency struggle. This was despite his insistence that he did not wish to do so at the beginning of this ac- count (see below). In fact, one of the barely disguised purposes of this “balance sheet” was to rubbish and belittle the efforts of the comrades who had been centrally involved in the tendency struggle.
    [Show full text]
  • League of Socialist Workers
    A JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL MARXISM VOLUME 13 NUMBER 2 AUTUMN 1986 Fourth EDITORIAL BOARD: David North, editor Peter Schwarz Chris Talbot Nick Beams International Keerthi Balasuriya Editorial 5 A Contribution to a Critique of G. Healy's "Studies in Dialectical Materialism" by David North October 7 - November 7, 1982 13 Letter from Cliff Slaughter to David North December, 1983 26 Letter from David North to Cliff Slaughter December 27, 1983 29 Letter from David North to Mike Banda January 23, 1984 34 Political Report by David North to the International Committee of the Fourth International February 11, 1984 39 Letter from Aileen Jennings to the Workers Revolutionary Party Political Committee June 30, 1985 47 Letter from Cliff Slaughter to Sections of the ICFI October 5, 1985 48 Joint Communique from the Greek and Spanish Sections of the ICFI October 21, 1985 49 Resolution of the International Committee of the Fourth International on the Crisis of the British Section October 25, 1985 50 Statement of the International Committee of the Fourth International on the Expulsion of G. Healy October 25, 1985 52 Special Congress Resolution of the Workers Revolutionary Party (Healyite) October 26, 1985 53 "Split Exposes Right-Wing Conspiracy Against Party" Statement by the Central Committee of the Workers Revolutionary Party (Healyite) October 30, 1985 54 "Morality and the Revolutionary Party" News Line article by Michael Banda November 2, 1985 55 Letter from the International Committee to the Central Committee of the Workers Internationalist League, Greek Section of the ICFI November 9, 1985 57 Letter from the Workers League Central Committee to the Workers Revolutionary Party Central Committee November 21, 1985 59 Letter from Cliff Slaughter to David North November 26, 1985 63 "Revolutionary Morality and the Split in the WRP" News Line Report on November 26 London Public Meeting November 29, 1985 70 Letter from Peter Schwarz to the Central Committee of the Workers Revolutionary Party December 2, 1985 73 "Nothing to hide..
    [Show full text]
  • Trotskyists Debate Ireland Workers’ Liberty Volume 3 No 45 October 2014 £1 Reason in Revolt Trotskyists Debate Ireland 1939, Mid-50S, 1969
    Trotskyists debate Ireland Workers’ Liberty Volume 3 No 45 October 2014 £1 www.workersliberty.org Reason in revolt Trotskyists debate Ireland 1939, mid-50s, 1969 1 Workers’ Liberty Trotskyists debate Ireland Introduction: freeing Marxism from pseudo-Marxist legacy By Sean Matgamna “Since my early days I have got, through Marx and Engels, Slavic peoples; the annihilation of Jews, gypsies, and god the greatest sympathy and esteem for the heroic struggle of knows who else. the Irish for their independence” — Leon Trotsky, letter to If nonetheless Irish nationalists, Irish “anti-imperialists”, Contents Nora Connolly, 6 June 1936 could ignore the especially depraved and demented charac - ter of England’s imperialist enemy, and wanted it to prevail In 1940, after the American Trotskyists split, the Shachtman on the calculation that Catholic Nationalist Ireland might group issued a ringing declaration in support of the idea of gain, that was nationalism (the nationalism of a very small 2. Introduction: freeing Marxism from a “Third Camp” — the camp of the politically independent part of the people of Europe), erected into absolute chauvin - revolutionary working class and of genuine national liberation ism taken to the level of political dementia. pseudo-Marxist legacy, by Sean Matgamna movements against imperialism. And, of course, the IRA leaders who entered into agree - “What does the Third Camp mean?”, it asked, and it ment with Hitler represented only a very small segment of 5. 1948: Irish Trotskyists call for a united replied: Irish opinion, even of generally anti-British Irish opinion. “It means Czech students fighting the Gestapo in the The presumption of the IRA, which literally saw itself as Ireland with autonomy for the Protestant streets of Prague and dying before Nazi rifles in the class - the legitimate government of Ireland, to pursue its own for - rooms, with revolutionary slogans on their lips.
    [Show full text]
  • Northern Ireland •
    No 47 February 1983 20p BRITAIN • Northern Ireland • - I Northern Ireland 1983 presents a grim picture. British imperialist terror stalks the streets, as the Royal Ulster Constabulary carries out a '?hoot Or! s~Z~-t:' ~1,~~cl?-: 1?~·.~~Qi:~n ??:Q~ !H~t P('-::~l~] ;.c~n a-c·t~ \"! sts. The Catholic ghettos are hellholes of despair and oppression; the Protestant working-class areas scarcely better off. Against a backdrop of social deprivation, 25 per cent official unemployment and army/police re­ ",~~«.;d pression, the interpenetrated Catholic and Protestant communities are Top: British troops terrorise Belfast. Bottom: Droppin well after INlA bombing. locked into sectarian antagonisms which only seem to harden by the month. The conflicting claims of the Irish Catholic and Ulster Protestant peoples, two distinct communities sharing and contesting the same terri­ tory, cannot be democratically resolved within the framework of capital­ ipm. Every day the British army remains, it simply exacerbates the op­ pression of the Catholic masses and deepens the communal divisions. It is Troops out now - an elementary duty for proletarian revolutionists to demand their im­ mediate, unconditional withdrawal. But the Republican programme of forcible reunification of the Thirty Two Counties would simply reverse the current terms of oppression between Protestant and Catholic. There can be no solution to social oppression and the conflicting national/ smash the RUC/UOR! communal ciaims in Northern Ireland other than through the perspective of proletarian revolution, forging class unity between Catholic and Protestant workers in struggle against the common enemy. The gelignite bomb planted by the Irish National Liberation Army in a crowded pub in Ballykelly early last December, which killed six Prot­ Not Green against Orange estant civilians and eleven British soldiers, served only to deepen the sectarian hatred.
    [Show full text]
  • Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-15535-0 — Contesting Economic and Social Rights in Ireland Thomas Murray Index More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-15535-0 — Contesting Economic and Social Rights in Ireland Thomas Murray Index More Information INDEX abortion, 121, 151, 171, 175, 179, 182, 183 Ballinrobe, Co., 78 Age of Revolutions, 25 Ballymun Tenants’ Association, 302 agrarian Bolshevism, 73, 108 banking cartel, Irish, 52, 96, 116, 117, 118, Airey v. Ireland (1979), 206 122, 126 Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education Bar Council, 61, 202, 203, 207 (1969), 170–1 Bar Library, 189 Alexandra College, 281 Bar of Ireland, 194 Algeria, 164 Barrington, Donal, 226, 283, 315 Amalgamated Transport and General Workers barristers, 59, 201–2 Union, 234, 314, 315–16, 317 Bartholomew, Paul, 279, 280, 288 American Committee for Relief in Ireland, Bartley, Patrick, 131 72, 85 Barton, Robert, 80 American Federation of Labour, 84 Beard, C., 17 Amnesty Ireland, 193 Belton, Paddy, 129 An Phoblacht (newspaper), 124 Bennett, Louie, 147 Anglo-Irish Economic War (1932–8), 117, Binchy, Daniel, 283 119–20, 150 Binchy, William, 287 Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921), 80, 87, 93, 116 Birmingham, Willie, 321 Anti H-Block campaign, 317 Blacam, M. de, 266 apartheid, 179 Blake v. Attorney General (1982), 211, 214, Aran Islands, The (Synge), 67 217–18, 222, 227, 276, 319, 320 Arbitration Board, 139–40, 232 Blueshirt Constitution, 114 arbitration courts, 49, 66 See also courts Blueshirts, 127 in 1880s, 77–8 Blythe, Ernest, 103 creation of, 73 Bolivia, 11, 347 replacement with Dail´ Courts, 79–80 Bolshevik Revolution, 30, 68 restructuring of, 106–7 boom-bust cycle of property speculation, 178 in West of Ireland, 106–7 Bourdieu, P., 1–47 Archdale, Betty, 142 Boyle, Hilary, 307 Argentina, 153 Brady, James, 284, 285 Army Comrades Association, 114, 127–8 Brady, Patrick, 306 Arrighi, G., 27 Brazil, 52, 153 Artisan Dwelling Company, 79 Brennan v.
    [Show full text]
  • Intercontinental Press
    Intercontinental Press Africa Asia Europe Ocean/a the Americas Vol. 13, No. 7 CD1975 by Intercontinental Press February 24, 1975 Fighting in Cambodia Pentagon Doubles Airlift Operation to Pnompenh LON NOL; Are you ready to die for him? French Army Draftees Fight for Rights 'Irish Republican Socialist Party' Formed 'Officials' Split Over Stalinist Power Play t Troops Out of Ireland,' Say London Marchers Tim Wohlforth Workers League and the International Committee Out to Lick Inflation In This Issue Closing Date: February 17, 1975 Ford WINs Queen BRITAIN Ford WINs Queen 600 Protest Threat to Abortion Law President Ford's canipaign to Whip —by Phyllis Hamilton and Bridget Lux Inflation Now (WIN) never got off "Troops Out of Ireland," Say Marchers the ground in the United States. But Russell Foundation Under Attack Immigrant Worker Wins Victory it seems to have swept the Queen of —by Kevin Thomas England off her feet. The royalclothes- FRANCE Draftees Demand Rights—by F.L. Derry horse asked Parliament on February LOR Holds First Congress 12 to boost her living allowance by SINGAPORE Tan Wah Plow Victim of Frame-up Charges $1 million a year. —by Peter Conrick Inflation, according to the queen, IRELAND "Officials" Split Over Stalinist Power Play—by Gerry Foley has eaten into her annual$2.35 million MOZAMBIQUE Thousands Face Famine budget to such a degree that she can ITALY Reveal Truman Readied Troops In 1948 to no longer make ends meet. The so Block Electoral Victory of CP —by Dick FIdler lution? WIN, obviously. Dock Workers Win Partial Victory Prime Minister Harold Wilson told —by Sharad Jhaverl the House of Commons that the queen CAMBODIA Pentagon Doubles Airlift to Lon Nol needed the dough.
    [Show full text]
  • Detlef Murphy Die Entwicklung Der Politischen Parteien in Irland
    Detlef Murphy Die Entwicklung der politischen Parteien in Irland Sozialwissenschaftliche Studien Schriftenreihe dar sozialwissenschaftlichen Institute der Universitat Hamburg Herausgegeben von M.-E. Hilger, J. Kob, W. Steffani Heft 19 Detlef Murphy Die Entwicklung der politischen Parteien in Irland LESKE VERLAG + BUDRICH GMBH, OPLADEN 1982 Die Entwicklung der politischen Parteien in Irland Nationalismus, Katholizismus und agrarischer Konservatismus als Determinanten der irischen Politik von 1823 bis 1977 DETLEF MURPHY LESKE VERLAG + BUDRICH GMBH, OPLADEN 1982 Meiner Mutter meinem Vater und Monika Cip-Kurztitelaufnahme der Deutschen Bibliothek Murphy, Detl8f: Die Entwicklung der politischen Parteien in Irland: Nationalismus, Katholizismus u. agrar. Konv8rvatismus als Determinanten ir. Politik von 1823-1977 / Detlef Murphy. - Opladen: Leske und Budrich, 1982. (Sozialwissenschaftliche Studien; H. 19) ISBN 978-3-8100-0398-0 ISBN 978-3-322-93730-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-322-93730-8 NE GT (c) Leske Verlag + Budrich GmbH, Opladen 1982 Gesamtherstellung: Hain Druck GmbH, Meisenheim/Glan I N HAL T EINLEITUNG 14 A. THEORETISCH-METHODISCHE GRUNDLEGUNG 27 1. Die Republik Irland in der vergleichenden Parteienforschung: Der permanent abweichende Fall 27 2. Zum Forschungsstand: Ein Parteiensystem sui generis? 39 3. Zur BegrUndung des historisch-genetischen Ansatzes: Das Parteiensystem als Endprodukt des Kampfes urn nationale Souveranitat 52 4. Zum Phasenmodell 64 B. HISTORISCHE VERLAUFSANALYSE: IRISCHE PARTEIPOLITIK 1M 19. UND 20. JAHRHUNDERT 74 1. DIE HISTORISCHE AUSGANGSSITUATION: IRLAND BIS ZUR UNION VON 1800 74 1.1. Die Union von 1800 als Ausgangspunkt des modernen irischen Nationalismus 75 1.2. Das keltische Irland 76 1.3. Der Beginn der britischen Herrschaft in 1rland 77 1.4. Okonomische Ausbeutung und religiose Verfolgung 78 1.5.
    [Show full text]
  • Minor Parties in Irish Political Life, 1922-1989
    The Economic and Social Review, Vol. 21, No. 3, April, 1990, pp. 269-297 Minor Parties in Irish Political Life, 1922-1989 JOHN COAKLEY* University of Limerick Abstract: This article examines the role in Irish politics of parties other than the three "permanent" ones with a view to filling a recognised gap in political research. Minor parties are grouped into four loose categories on the basis of comparative studies of party systems: nationalist, agrarian, left-wing and right-wing parties. Following a profile over a 67-year period, the characteristics of minor parties are examined. The most important category in electoral terms, that of agrarian parties, consists mainly of parties that sought to mobilise the electorate on a new, alternative political issue. Nationalist and left-wing parties, by contrast, typically sought to challenge existing parties on traditional issues, alleging that the latter had deserted the causes they had originally claimed to serve. The right-wing category consists of parties which related in more diverse ways to the established party system: some sought to mobilise voters on alternative political issues, some sought to publicise a cause even if there was little prospect of electoral success (a type of motivation also to be found in the nationalist and left-wing categories) and some constituted essentially machinery of convenience for individuals. I INTRODUCTION he sudden entrance onto the Irish political stage of the Progressive Demo- A cratic Party in 1987 and its more recent role in altering the pattern of Irish government formation draw attention to the series of minor political groups which have appeared at crucial periods in the state's history and many of which have, at least temporarily, held a pivotal position.
    [Show full text]
  • Left Pamphlet Collection
    University of Sheffield Library. Special Collections and Archives Ref: Special Collection Title: Left Pamphlet Collection Scope: A collection of printed pamphlets relating to left-wing politics mainly in the 20th century Dates: 1900- Extent: over 1000 items Name of creator: University of Sheffield Library Administrative / biographical history: The collection consists of pamphlets relating to left-wing political, social and economic issues, mainly of the twentieth century. A great deal of such material exists from many sources but, as such publications are necessarily ephemeral in nature, and often produced in order to address a particular issue of the moment without any thought of their potential historical value (many are undated), they are frequently scarce, and holding them in the form of a special collection is a means of ensuring their preservation. The collection is ad hoc, and is not intended to be comprehensive. At the end of the twentieth century, which was a period of unprecedented conflict and political and economic change around the globe, it can be seen that (as with Fascism) while the more extreme totalitarian Socialist theories based on Marxist ideology have largely failed in practice, despite for many decades posing a revolutionary threat to Western liberal democracy, many of the reforms advocated by democratic Socialism have been to a degree achieved. For many decades this outcome was by no means assured, and the process by which it came about is a matter of historical significance which ephemeral publications can help to illustrate. The collection includes material issued from many different sources, both collective and individual, of widely divergent viewpoints and covering an extensive variety of topics.
    [Show full text]
  • THE MAKING of a PARTY? the International Socialists 1965-1 976
    THE MAKING OF A PARTY? The International Socialists 1965-1 976 Martin Shaw The history of organised marxist politics in Britain, for almost a century, is one of continuous marginality. The number of people involved in marxist parties and organisations of any description has never exceeded a few tens of thousands at any one time. The problem of creating a socialist organisation of real political weight, to the left of the Labour Party, might well seem insoluble. Many have concluded, indeed, that this is so; from the leadership of the Communist Party, with its desire for long-term merger with Labour, and the deep-entry trotskyists of Militant to the thousands of ex-Communists and revolutionary socialists who have joined the Labour Party as individuals. The overall record of failure should not blind us, however, to the real opportunities which have been lost due to the inadequacies of the marxist left itself. To give only the most important example, early British marxism was dominated by a sectarian propagandist tradition, which greatly militated against its achieving any decisive influence, either in the formative period of the modern labour movement, or in the great industrial upheavals just before, during and after the 1914-18 war. Nor should this record allow us to assume that the underlying features of British working-class politics, which have made for the unique dominance of Labourist reformism in the last three-quarters of a century, will never change. On the contrary, there are reasons for believing that they have already begun to be transformed. The 1945-51 period of Labour Government was, in fact, a watershed in working-class politics.
    [Show full text]