Left Unionism

We are currently witnessing our comrades in Catalonia experience yet another wave of crackdowns, imprisonments and what seems to be a complete oblivion to the mandate given for an independence referendum in this month’s election. However, this time it is not the right-wing Partido Popular, the modern day descendants of Franco, who are suppressing democracy and refusing to acknowledge Catalonia’s existence as a nation. It is Spanish ‘socialists’, the descendants of those who fought for democracy against the fascist forces during the Civil War almost 90 years ago. How can this be? How can the inheritors of such a noble tradition of resistance, the Spanish left, be conspirateurs in the abomination we are currently seeing? Why is it that certain left groups throughout Europe and the world see a conflict between national and economic aspirations? In this article, I hope to explore why these left groups in Spain,Britain, Ireland and ar fud na cruinne blush at the mention of nationalism, and I will try to show that national liberation does not only compliment democratic socialism, but is the basis of any equal society.

The Right

Though the right are often labelled ‘nationalist’, such as European fascism of the 1930s, this is incorrect. These groups are ethnic supremacists, and ignore the true purpose of nationhood in order to further their own murderous ideologies. Though fascists are now a small minority in the right, it is no surprise that across the world, the neoliberal wing of the right are unapologetically and ruthlessly opposed to the empowerment of small nations. They oppose, for example, the people of Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia taking back power from US corporations and restoring it to the democratic institutions of their own countries, a recognition that it is not for US imperialists to rule their land, but themselves. The right has opposed this, and continues to oppose this, as their aim is not preserving national identity and ‘tradition’ as they like to claim, but the complete opposite. The modern right has never abandoned their connection to colonialism, and what we see today is the 21st century manifestation of colonialism - globalisation. The United States, Britain and many of the European superpowers are not ‘postcolonial’ as they like to think. They are responsible for the ongoing lagú of nations in order to advance their vision of a single world market, where corporations need not worry about the ‘trade barriers’ of workers’ rights, environmental rights and citizens’ rights. They fear peoples reclaiming power, as has been accomplished so successfully in the aforementioned Latin American countries, as this stands in the way of the realisation of their spriocanna. So we understand why the Tories stand against Irish, Welsh and Scottish freedom, and why the Spanish right continues to march in their long tradition of suppressing the Basque, Galician and Catalan nations. This is not in question. What is in question, however, is why the people who should be our allies wish to be our enemies - why the ‘left’ sides with the right against their own interests.

The Left

We all understand why there are many iterations of ‘the left’ in global politics, and that being left-wing is an extremely general term that can mean anything from worshipping Stalin, to joining Fianna Fáil (the party of Bertie Ahern, who once described himself as a ‘socialist’). In general, however, the modern, conventional left (in which I include the likes of Sinn Féin, PBP, SocDems, Scottish Greens, Esquerra Republicana, the PSOE, the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party etc.) all stand for similar social and economic goals, such as free education, healthcare, advancing our societies towards equality of opportunity, greater emphasis on worker-run cooperatives, a more profound feasacht chomhshaoil, rights for minorities and so on. The main difference between many of us, Esquerra Republicana and the Spanish PSOE for example, is our desired methods for achieving those aims. As Irish Republicans, we believe that Ireland will never be truly saor until we are an independent nation. It is then that bringing about democratic socialism becomes possible. This view is shared by other left-nationalists, who see national independence as a prerequisite (réamhriachtanas) for the other changes we wish to see. The other left, however, in which I include the likes of People Before Profit, the PSOE and English Labour, see the national questions as a distraction, or even worse, as a hindrance to the socialist project. 

Here is my thesis: nations are not a hindrance to socialism, but the tools by which it can be achieved.  A nation, firstly, is not an invention, an artificial line drawn on a map. Nations are often ancient peoples who have survived adversity and bring with them millenia-old languages and traditions that guide them in the present day, and define them. Nations are people, not just living but the heritage of those who once walked our land, who share common físeanna. Nations are not based on ethnicity, and all those who are born in, come to, or leave a nation are as much a part of them as anyone else. In the same way that the family is seen as the cell of a society, nations are the cells of the world. They are the most effective media through which social change can be brought about. Cuba was the brothel of the United States, the playground of the American boic mhóra, until they rediscovered their nationhood under Fidel Castro. Through that revolution, Cuba was able to bring about the most successful changes witnessed anywhere in the Americas, in spite of the great challenges which they faced. Similarly, when Venezuela chose to leave behind its imperial heritage by electing Hugo Chávez, it witnessed the fruits of nationhood first hand. 

The argument used by those on the left who oppose nationhood is that of ‘unity’. George Galloway is a perfect example of this - when asked why he supported a United Ireland but opposed Scottish independence, he said the reason was simple: he wanted a United Ireland and a United Britain. I have been told before by Spaniards that if they support Irish Unity, why can’t I support Spanish unity? The argument is obviously childish and only works as it is a play on words. Ireland shouldn’t be united for the sake of it or for the ‘practicalities’ of it. We should be free because we are a nation. Similarly, Catalonia and the Basque Country and Scotland and Wales should be free as they are nations - ‘Britain’ is not a nation, nor is the Spanish state. They fear that a breakup of these artificial ríochtanna will reverse any potential for positive change. This is why English Labour and Spanish socialists are so stringently opposed to the national movements in their states. They have fallen into the trap right has set. They believe that nations are what will stop socialism, when in fact it is the erosion of nations that will permit globalisation.

There is also the cultural question. There are some on the left who see cultural nationalism as being akin to ethnic nationalism. This, of course, could not be further from the truth as a nation’s culture is blind to ethnicity, and should be there for a whole people to enjoy. Gael is ea Gael, dubh, bán nó riabhach.

Focal Scoir

Mar fhocal scoir, there are those who believe that if the ‘workers of the world’ are to unite, nations must fall . I believe, however, that if the workers of the world are to unite, a peaceful harmony of nations who respect each other's right to independence and existence, who cooperate on matters of common interest and who do not engage in the politics of ethnic supremacy, is the way to go. We know for a fact that as long as Sasana has a say in our affairs we will never see an Phoblacht. We know that as long as Franco-descendants or faux socialistes have a say in Catalonia or the Basque Country’s destiny, they will never bring about the republics they wish to see. We know that if the United States continues to rule over the peoples of South America with a not-so-invisible hand, they will be kept in the limbo to which they are currently confined indefinitely.

This is why those who claim to be left must wake up to the reality that as long as they laugh at, ignore or repress the right of a nation to decide its own destiny, the end goal we all wish to see will remain an unreachable ideal, scorned at by our enemies as a Utopia, a fantasy. 

Freeing people begins with freeing peoples.

Guím gach rath ar mhuintir na Catalóine ina streachailt, agus bíodh a fhios agaibh go seasfaidh poblachtánaigh na hÉireann libh go dtí go dtiocfaidh bhur lá. 

Gluais/Glossary

Lagú - weakening

Fís(eanna) - Vision(s)

Sprioc(anna) - aims

Feasacht Chomhsaoil - environmental consciousness

Réamhriachtanas - prerequisite

Boic mhóra - elites

Ríocht(aí) - kingdom(s

Gael is ea Gael … - A Gael is a Gael, black, white or striped

Sasana - England

Focail Scoir - Final word, in conclusion

(An) Phoblacht - (The) Republic