The Blanket

The Blanket - A Journal of Protest & Dissent
Republicanism: Relevant and Not Going Away
TJ O Conchuir • 20.10.03

I am consistently amazed at the quality of each issue of the Blanket. I was really impressed by the article on the Marxist philosopher attempting to expand the borders of orthodox Marxism. In fact, the "orthodox" interpretation actually ignores the dialectic of "base" and superstructure central to Marxist thought.

It's ironic and amusing that the same republicans often dismissed by trots and anarchists are putting into practice with the Blanket what radical socialists merely preach about.

A comment on the strange article by Newton...are you actually arguing that Loyalists attack Catholics because they don't participate in your beloved authoritarian police institutions?!?!?! Please say it ain't so or I'll die of laughter. And Loyalism is the protestant equivelant of Republicanism? Did you know that republicanism was started by protestants...or that true protestants can't be loyalists and vice versa since protestentism is a dissenting tradition? How does armed support of a monarchy in any way equate to attempting to create a democratic socialist republic??

The most important reason I wanted to write in was to say that I was glad for the article by Liam O Comain. A new false dialectic has been advanced by some self appointed Marxist leaders and burgesoie counter-revolutionaries. This theory goes that a republican campaign could never win, republicanism equals authoritarian coercian, etc. The other half of this story is that if you simply convince the protestants that they're wrong they'll flock to a working class revolution and there won't be any of that nasty fighting stuff. And the forces of occupation...I guess they'll just bugger off back to England...

Naturally those who don't actually advocate a platform or attempt to implement any ideas see themselves as the only ones who can actually create a better society. Maybe if more "radicals" had gotten involved, the IRA wouldn't've morphed into the AOH with armalites. Maybe people like Ivor Bell would not have been isolated and their arguments for enlargening the struggle into an outright revolution would've carried farther.

"You'll never understand," so the song goes. the Irish aren't fighting for their national rights just because they were stolen. Ireland's native institutions were democratic and communist. Our nationhood does symbolize our freedom and the opportunism of some politicians won't erase that. Even the supposedly ultra conservative leaders like Mac Stiofain pointed to the fact that both the English workers and the oppressed Irish had a common enemy. Adams and McGuinness aside, the republicans tried repeatedly to forge relationships across the sectarian divide (don't say they didn't - it's actually documented). It's not our fault they preferred "cracking taigs" to gaining their freedom.

New evidence has shown that the campaign could've been run much better; it was actually put down from within. I'm not saying I completely or even mostly agreed with the IRA's actions...but I don't believe that the failure of a terrorist-nationalist group discredits republican guerillaism.

Republicanism isn't irelevent nor will it go away; it's not doomed to failure and it's actually the greatest potential there is for a genuine revolution (especially if it were to link up with radical movements in Wales, Scotland and England). But that won't matter to the ahistorical radical cliques...they'd rather sit it out and criticize actual struggle.



 

 

 

 

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The Blanket - A Journal of Protest & Dissent



 

 

All censorships exist to prevent any one from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress is the removal of censorships.
- George Bernard Shaw



Index: Current Articles



20 October 2003

 

Other Articles From This Issue:

 

The Big Fella and the Big Lad
Breandán Ó Muirthile

 

Sabotaging the Fight for Freedom
Liam O Comain

 

Republicanism: Relevant and Not Going Away
TJ O Conchuir

 

Anti-Racism Network Statement for Endorsement
Davy Carlin

 

From Where Springs Hope
Anthony McIntyre

 

Trashing Free Software
Toni Solo

 

18 October 2003

 

Hold Onto Your Guns
Liam O Comain

 

Loyalist Violence
Newton Emerson

 

Sleeping With the Enemy
Kathleen O Halloran

 

Whatever Happened to the Anti War Movement?
Brendan O'Neill

 

Free Joe & Clare
Davy Carlin

 

Theodor Adorno
Liam O Ruairc

 

The Desaparecidos
Anthony McIntyre

 

The Letters Page has been updated.

 

 

 

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