Europe

The Irish Republican movement has been struggling for a united Ireland for decades. Today it is no nearer this objective than when it was founded. Marxists understand that a united Ireland can only be achieved on a socialist basis. So long as capitalism dominates Ireland there will be division and strife. Therefore it is time to take stock of the past of the Republican movement and to draw a balance sheet. Only by such means can we build the revolutionary movement urgently needed to prevent a further descent into sectarian chaos and achieve instead the historic task of overthrowing capitalism and constructing the 32 county Socialist Republic.

Pierre Broue is internationally renowned for his tireless work as a historian of the international revolutionary movement. His histories of the Bolshevik Party, the Communist International, the Spanish Revolution, and above all his recent Life of Trotsky have been widely admired. His latest book on the Left Opposition is yet another major contribution by this outstanding Trotskyist writer, who has dedicated his life to the fight for international socialism.

Ten years ago this month in Moscow (on October 3 and 4) the “White House” (as the Russian Parliament building is known) was bombed, and hundreds of people were killed. This was the civil war between President Yeltsin and the Parliament (the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation). Today the Russian authorities prefer not to remember those events, not just because of the bloody nature of what happened, but also because what happened back in 1993 questioned the legitimacy of the present Russian system.

It is rare, these days, to see the bloodhound like features of John Pilger on television - rare, but welcome. Occasionally ITV let him out of his kennel and nervously let him off the leash for a short run. For John Pilger made his name as a crusading, left journalist, exposing the truth from the perspective of the poor, the oppressed, and the exploited, especially focussing on the victims of American imperialism such as Vietnam and Cambodia.

Greenland is not renowned for its warm climate. Indeed, to the outside world it is generally regarded as a cold, ice-covered and isolated landmass, inhabited by a supposedly happy people who get on with their fishing and live in a beautiful environment. But recently things have been heating up in the country. We are referring to the class struggle, that is. The unskilled workers were recently on strike, a strike which ended with a victory for the workers. And now the nurses may be about to take the same road. This shows that the general crisis of world capitalism reaches every corner of the globe and the workers everywhere are reacting in a similar fashion, with a fightback against the

...

All over Europe national governments have plans to severely cut back on the pension systems. Denmark is no exception to this. There is a lot of talk in the media about this. The politicians are constantly harping on about the fact that "reform is necessary". But what they mean by "reform" is actually the opposite of what anyone would understand from this word. Instead of "reform", what they mean is "counter-reform", i.e. cuts.

The referendum held in Sweden on Sunday (September 14) on whether or not to join the euro has upset the plans of Swedish big business. But its impact goes beyond the borders of Sweden and is being discussed seriously in other countries, especially in Britain where Blair is finding it difficult to convince the people of the "benefits" of adopting the euro.

Earlier this year we witnessed the reawakening of the Austrian working class in a series of huge mass mobilisations. The bureaucratic leadership of the unions called off the movement without having gained any major concessions. If they think that was the end of it then they have surprises coming their way.

The British TUC (Trades Union Congress) Congress opens up today. NUJ General Secretary and TUC  General Council member Jeremy Dear spoke to Socialist Appeal about the tasks and perspectives for the trade union movement

Unprecedented attacks on so-called "old fashioned" unions and "stubborn" and "hardline" union officials who allegedly are out to sabotage the "modernisation" and "flexibilisation" of the economy, have been stirred up by Germany's mass media in recent months. IG Metall, the world's biggest industrial union with a membership of 2.5 million, has been passing through a major crisis this summer.

In the nine months since the publication of our perspectives' document, The New Situation in Britain, events internationally and here in Britain have continued to accelerate.  The consequences of the imperialist adventure in Iraq have had an even greater impact in Britain than in the US. Here the furore over the death of weapons inspector Dr. David Kelly and the Hutton inquiry represent the most important crisis faced by Blair to date. It is clear that the new situation in Britain is part and parcel of a new, profoundly unstable and tumultuous period in world history.

In Part one of his article Phil Mitchinson looked at the world situation and how this affects Britain. In this second part he looks at the devastation of British manufacturing over a period of decades as shown by the investment and output figures he provides. He goes on to chart the degeneration of the British ruling class, from its far-sighted predecessors to the current degenerates who can't see past their bank balances. This reflects itself in the present mess the Tory party finds itself in.

The forthcoming elections in AMICUS to elect the 48 lay member executive for the newly formed union of 730,000 members will be the beginning of a new era for workers in a whole range of industries. For many on the left over the years, the prospect of electing a leftwing executive committee to the former AEEU could only be a wild dream from which they would have expected to wake up at any minute. Yet the prospect is now very real.

A general perspectives document on the economic, social, political and trade union position in Britain, produced at the beginning of 2003 by the Socialist Appeal Editorial Board.