SVSocialist Voice

THERE IS not a town or city in thiscountry that is not experiencingincreased homelessness. Walk

down any street and you will see at firsthand the growing problem of individualsand whole families sleeping rough orwandering around the streets, as theyhave to leave a hostel or B&B duringthe day.

Homeless families are being placed insub-standard accommodation while rentallowances continue to be cut.Meanwhile rents, particularly in theDublin region, continue to spiral—up 11per cent in 2013 alone—beyond thereach of thousands of people seeking aroof over their heads.

continued overleaf

HOUSING IS A RIGHT AND NOT A PRIVILEGE

Reaction Page 10“The Germans were down andout, had lost confidence inthemselves . . . had no hope ofrevival. Now all that hasdisappeared. There is no doubtwhatever that Adolph Hitler hasdone some great things for theGerman people. Germany was asecond, or even third rate power. . . now she is one of thestrongest countries in theworld.” Irish Times 6 November 1936.

Socialist Voice 43 East Essex Street Dublin 2(01) 6708707

Communist Party of IrelandPáirtí Cumannach na hÉireann Páirtí Cumannach na hÉireann Partisan Patriotic InternationalistNumber 115 July 2014 €1.5

In this issue

Anti-clericalism Page 2Republican Congress Page 4Workers in struggle Page 6Water is a human right Page 8Gharda Síochána Page 9Réabhlóid na Fraince Page 10Economics and the euro Page 12Jimmy’s House Page 16

Housing is a basic right foreveryone. It cannot and should notbe left in the hands of privatedevelopers or rackrenting landlords,who are all too willing to get rich onthe backs of working people lookingfor a place to live. Twenty landlordsalone receive €5 million a year inrent allowance payments from thestate.A recent report claims that one in

five Irish families now live in privaterented accommodation, with many ofthese reporting sub-standardaccommodation as a major problem.At any given time there were 75,000to 77,000 people receiving rentsupplement, about 30,000 of these inthe greater Dublin area.

There are about 100,000people on the housing list atpresent, meaning that 5,000houses or flats would have to bebuilt every year for the nexttwenty years. In fact Dublin CityCouncil built a grand total of 29houses in 2013.If we look at the figures for home

ownership in 1961 we see that only25 per cent of the population in urbanareas lived in private housing; by 1986this figure had trebled to 75 per cent.This has been a deliberate policy bythe state to force people into privatehome ownership, thereby shacklingthem with massive lifelong debt, but isalso a source of massive and steadyprofits, enriching the banks andfinance houses.The talk about building more “social

housing” misses the essential pointthat under the existing economicsystem, basic human needs—forshelter, food, water, and medicalservices—are being and will continueto be commodified and privatised.Housing is a right, and it is the

responsibility of the state to providedecent housing for everyone. It is notacceptable that homes are reduced toa commodity that only those who canafford it can avail of.

The state will take notice ofthe housing crisis only when westop reducing the crisis to ademand for social housing andinstead claim housing as a right,not as some economic privilege.[EMC]

Socialist Voice

Ireland

page 2

THE RECENT revelationsregarding the finding of upto eight hundred infant

bodies buried in what were thegrounds of a children’s home inCo. Galway hit the headlines andled to much ill-informedspeculation, spurring renewedanti-clericalism by theestablishment media.While the numbers and the causes

of death are still not clear, this has notprevented the state-controlled RTE andthe corporate media from engaging inwild speculation.The churches, both Catholic and

Protestant, certainly have much to beheld accountable for over the decades,including the protection of child-abusing clerics and others in authority,the savage abuse meted out daily inindustrial schools, and their control ofchildren’s homes, such as the BonSecours Mother and Baby Home inTuam and Kincora Boys’ Home inBelfast.But what is missing is any criticism

of the ideological and political roleallocated to the churches, bothCatholic and Protestant, north andsouth, by the Free State governmentin the South and by the Orange statein the North.The Free State government

instituted a policy—carried on by

Fianna Fáil and all othergovernments—of handing overcomplete control of education, healthand social services to religiousinstitutions. This control spread beyondthese central areas into culture,sports, and practically every otheraspect of people’s lives.They adopted the instruments of

control established by the British stateto control the people. For centuries theBritish government in Ireland usedreligious tensions to sow division andprevent the emergence of a unitedopposition to occupation andcolonialism.The Catholic seminary at Maynooth

was established by the British state in1795 to ensure that Catholic priestswould be trained under their influenceand control, rather than in Spain orFrance, Britain’s traditional enemies—particularly France after the Revolution,where democratic ideas had developedand had become a powerful force. Thisensured that by the mid-1800sBritish-approved Catholic clergy andhierarchy had secured a firm grip. Afterthe Great Famine of 1845–1852 thisgrip was tightened even further.Mainly, though not exclusively,

operating in the north of the country,the Orange Order was established in1795 and encouraged by the Britishso as to shackle the Protestant people

St. Patrick’sSeminary,Maynooth, Co. KildareDesigned byAugustus WelbyNorthmore Pugin

The anti-clericalism ofthe chattering classes

page 3 Socialist Voice

and to secure the domination of theestablished church, allowing them towhip into line all dissentingcongregations and winning theallegiance of sections of the Protestantpeople with beneficial contracts forsupplying the burgeoning Britishempire.Orangeism was not just for

oppressing Catholics but also forcontrolling the Protestant people. Alllocal lodges had to have theProtestant clergy as part of theirmanagement structures. At the annual12th of July celebrations the platformswere dominated by the local clerics,rubbing shoulders with Stormontpoliticians and Orange bosses. Whenthe Northern statelet was establishedin 1921 all social, cultural and sportsevents had to conform to theProtestant and Orange ethos.Unionism was happy to see

education under the control of theCatholic Church in the North, as itknew that the church was onlyinterested in producing conformingCatholics—as it did under direct Britishrule: it was not going to turn outrepublicans for the educationalsystem. The Catholic Church did little ifanything about the repression anddiscrimination against Catholics, asthis reinforced its grip on the Catholiccommunity. That is why the Catholichierarchy had little interest in, and didnot support, the civil rights movement.When the British state formally

withdrew from Ireland in 1922 it leftbehind a network of control, which waseasily modified and adapted by bothpolitical entities.The Irish Free State was politically

and economically weak, while theNorthern statelet, though economicallystronger, was also politically weak andwas shaped by what it considered theCatholic “enemy within.”The Free State used the Catholic

Church to batter down all and everyexpression of opposition and dissent.Anti-communism took the form ofclerical reaction, and the people’sreligious beliefs were exploited forcrude anti-communism. Under thisideological onslaught and theconsolidation of partition, many ran forcover, including almost all tradeunions, the Labour Party, and theoverwhelming majority of republicans.For decades the Communist Party

bore the brunt of these attacks andthe resulting marginalisation. Then, asnow, anti-communism was not just forisolating communists but for isolatingall the left.The scandals that have emerged,

and will continue to emerge, about theindustrial schools and mother-and-baby homes are a product of the classnature of the two political institutionsthat the British state imposed on ourpeople.The industrial schools were prisons

for the children of the poor, establishedto oppress, subdue and discipline theworking class. The mother-and-babyhomes were internment camps for thedaughters of the working class and therural poor, many of whose pregnancieswere the result of rape or domesticabuse, when thousands of youngwomen could find work only asdomestic servants in the homes ofwealthy business people or wereexploited day and night by big farmerswho saw them as of less value thantheir livestock.These institutions also had the

political purpose of beating womenback. Women had played an importantrole in the struggle for nationalindependence; many understood thattheir liberation was linked to theachievement of national freedom.The Irish capitalist class, both

nationalist and unionist, treatedworking people with contempt. Themass media, which have suddenlydiscovered clerical abuse, werecheerleaders for past and presenteconomic and social policies; theywere promoters of the ideology thatpoverty and inequality were and arethe natural order. None raised theirvoices, as it was not in their classinterests to do so, when the CatholicChurch was a real power in the land,when it was central to the needs ofthe ruling class.And all this new-found anti-

clericalism is just an attempt to covertheir own complicity in the reign ofterror that had its roots in partition: asJames Connolly put it, the partition ofIreland would lead to a “carnival ofreaction,” north and south.No, the Irish Times, Irish

Independent, RTE and the rest of theestablishment media can keep theircrocodile tears.If instead you look through the

papers published by Irish communistssince 1921 you will find many articlesabout the industrial schools, the babyhomes and orphanages; you can readthe sharp words, the passion and theanger against these institutions andtheir paymasters. You will not findcrude anti-clericalism but instead thedefence of the working class andopposition to the class war waged,then and now, against the Irishworking class, north and south. [EMC]

140 Reasons to Feel Better

Is this paradise by the DUP’s dashboard light,as we look in the rear-view mirror, are we oneoccasional explosion away from bombing ourselvesback to the Stone Age? Your next-door Neolithic

neighbourbeaten to a pulp, the chip shop robbed with one

confident gulp,Britain and Ireland are open for business, and capitalism

never stops,While I’ve moved into the local charity shops, it’s time to

turn off Hailo,Your World of Warcraft, and realise the lies, to wake up

and see the sky,What’s been done, in your name. Take back the streets,

play a new game.The world will for ever be the same the same when we’realways content with the illusion of change.We’re told it’s better so that it must be,Martin tweets for everyone to see.One hundred and forty reasons for you to feel betterAren’t you glad you weren’t in the Everglades lobby

reading a letter?

An Ode to UncertaintyRichard B Strabane

I sing of uncertainty,of constant questioning,the physical embrace of doubt,a rejection of surety,and to condemn the fools who’ve figured life out.I sing not of walking in my shoes,but going barefoot each day, I chooselife without knowing the certain place,from where might arrive my saving grace,will there be money for water or coal to burn?Who could help you in the economic downturn?Each day on the telly, I’m told things are better,but up to now, I have yet to receive my upturn letter.Am I blind and dumb to the world’s unfolding collage,the shuttered textile factory next door is surely a mirage.For nothing is as it seems, in the land of the Queen,Cameron, and Coronation Street in the year 2014.

Venezuela: What’sreally happening

A talk followed by Q&A with Alvaro SanchezCharge d’Affaires Venezuelan embassy to Ireland and the UKIntroduced by Jack O’Connor General President SIPTU

14 July 2014 7pm Liberty Hall, Dublin

Socialist Voice

Our history

page 4

CONTRARY TO the commonperception, history rarelyrepeats itself, and never in

exactly the same fashion asbefore. Conditions andcircumstances change constantly,and so therefore does the story.Nevertheless, certain episodesfrom the past provide valuablelessons, offering important ideasor crucial insights.Eighty years ago the brief but

significant flourishing of a RepublicanCongress afforded us one suchhappening. Perhaps because of itsbrevity and an understandable butdistracting emphasis on some of itsmore romantic moments, the efforts ofhard-headed and pragmatic republicansand left-wing activists to build a radical,anti-imperialist working-class movementin Ireland have all too often beenmisunderstood and the reasons for theCongress’s failure misinterpreted.Southern Ireland of the early 1930s

was a volatile and precarious state.During the previous two decades thecountry had experienced extensive tradeunion activity, divisive participation in aworld war, Black and Tan outrages, anda bitter civil war. Many veterans of thesecampaigns were still energetic men andwomen in the prime of their lives, withrecent experience of having witnessedand participated in the changing ofhistory. Against this social backdrop,three important factors emerged tocause the organising of a RepublicanCongress.The Great Depression, precipitated by

the Wall Street crash of 1929, hadexacerbated the already dire plight ofIreland’s poor and less well off. To left-leaning republicans and communists ofthe time, this made the case forbuilding a workers’ republic not justcorrect but an urgent requirement.Closely linked to economic depression

was the threat of fascism then engulfingEurope and stretching its tentacles toIreland through Eoin O’Duffy and hisBlueshirts. As a former head of theGarda Síochána, and with contactsamong the wealthiest in the country,O’Duffy and his supporters constituted areal threat to democracy and toworking-class organisations.The most decisive factor, however,

was the rise of Fianna Fáil as a politicalforce content to co-exist with capitalismand, by extension, with Britishimperialism. For a few years after theCivil War the IRA had acted as acommon meeting-ground for anti-imperialist activists. This began tochange, though, with the founding andgrowth of Fianna Fail, particularly after it

gained governmental power. Fearing deValera’s influence over its members, theIRA leadership curtailed any form ofsocial or economic agitation that mightembarrass Fianna Fáil. By preventingIRA participation in economic struggle,the organisation effectually became, bydefault, fellow-travellers with the “LongFellow’s” programme.In an attempt to prevent Fianna Fáil

colonising the high ground of Irishpolitics and defining the narrativearound republican principles, leadingleft-wing republicans and others involvedin organised labour issued a call in April

1934 to form a Republican Congress.History tells us that the meetingconvened in September 1934 toarrange the format of the Congressended in a debilitating split. The slightlysmaller faction walked out as a result ofdisagreements over organisationalrather than policy matters.The weakened Congress that

emerged limped along for another fewyears, but in spite of displaying potentialit never gained sufficient momentum tobecome a significant political force.When many of its better-known andmost energetic members went to

Lessons of theRepublican Congress

TopShankillcontingent atBodenstown1934AboveBoycott Britishpicket

page 5 Socialist Voice

defend the Spanish Republic, themovement petered out, and by thebeginning of the Second World War ithad ceased to operate.If the story of the Republican

Congress were only of academicinterest, or a source of inspiration forbringing a contingent from the ShankillRoad in Belfast to a Wolfe Tonecommemoration, then we might finishhere and end with a salute to the past.That, however, is very much not thecase; because while times havechanged, important questions facedthen are still relevant.The Republican Congress was

confronted initially with two challenges.On the one hand it had to define thestage and nature of the struggle itfaced, and thereafter it had identifyappropriate organisational structures fordealing with those issues. These areuniversal tasks confronting politicalactivists in any era and are certainlypertinent today.Defining the problem we now face is

a critical step towards finding a solution;and pretending that Irish working peopleare not victims of imperialism (financialand colonial) is either naïve orduplicitous, or both.When, in 2010, the European Central

Bank blocked Ireland from imposinglosses on senior bondholders of its bustbanks, so as to protect the widerEuropean Union banking system, deValera’s political creation, Fianna Fáil,capitulated. In doing so it reduced DáilÉireann to the status of debt-collectorfor absentee bondholders.Furthermore, Michael Noonan’s boast

last December that Ireland had regainedits economic sovereignty was simplyuntrue. Noonan’s state will still besubject to two surveillance visits by thetroika each year, along with regularinspection by the EU Commission tocheck on its finances. Dublin will alsohave to submit its annual budget toBrussels for scrutiny and approval.Therefore, any analysis that attempts

to interpret these problems as merelythose of mismanagement, as distinctfrom a fundamentally flawed system, isconsigning the people to somethingworse than failure, because it will simplyprolong this failed state and itscalamitous practices.Significantly, recent election results

show evidence of a growing realisationamong working people of a need fordeep-running change. No matter howone cares to interpret the large vote forSinn Féin and independent candidates,the political landscape of SouthernIreland is no longer set in Civil Warpolitical permafrost. Fianna Fáil is a

shadow of its former self, the LabourParty is in disarray, and Fine Gael isleaking members to its rival, the ReformAlliance.There is, nevertheless, no broadly

based and coherent movement workingfor the type of radical transformation ofsociety that is required; instead we havesingle-issue campaigns, radicalindependents, small left-wing groups,and the overwhelming presence of SinnFéin. These groups draw the bulk oftheir support from working-classcommunities, and all meet a need inone fashion or other. Yet single-issuecampaigns can be isolated,independents and small groups havelimited impact at best, and Sinn Féin, ifgiven the field, is vulnerable to makingthe mistake of believing that being inoffice is equal to the working classwinning state power.It is obvious that there is a need for a

confluence of radical forces dedicatedto the creation of a new and bettersociety. Yet it would be wrong to callmechanically for a republican congressand possibly risk dong more harm thangood. Time has moved on, and the verytitle may no longer even be appropriate.A major lesson from 1934 is that

good intentions are of little use in theabsence of adequate preparation andconsensus. A second lesson is thatclarity on the nature of struggle isessential, and agreement onorganisational structures is aprerequisite.George Gilmore, secretary to the

Republican Congress, wrote towards theend of his life:It was an attempt to gather together

in action the forces necessary, in thesituation that then existed, to create amovement capable of winning andmaintaining the independence ofIreland as a republic. Like so manyother efforts that have been madetowards that end the RepublicanCongress was a failure. After a hopefulstart it split in two and floundered, andstill it may be that the theory uponwhich it was founded is worthy ofsome study by those among us whoare still hopeful of achieving thatobjective.Eighty years have passed since the

Republican Congress was launched, andundoubtedly commemorative events willbe organised to mark the anniversary.Looking back with pride is good, butwhat is really necessary is that we taketo heart the words of the veteranGilmore and study the theory uponwhich it was founded and learn thelessons of its collapse. [TMK]

Appearances byAlexander SuárezMéndez, CubanpiperMany thanks to all the people whosupported the fund-raising concert forpipers in Cuba at the Grand Social on 1May. The support of artists whoperformed, the owners of the venue andstaff and those who made donations isgreatly appreciated. There was a secondconcert in Tramore, which was of greatassistance also. The great news is thatpassport, visa, flights and all the otherarrangements are now complete, andAlexander will arrive in Ireland onThursday 3 July. For those who areinterested in meeting Alexander, hearinghim play and having a few tunes withhim, he will be attending at the followingvenues and dates:

Wednesday 9 July Scoil Samhraidh WillieClancy, Milltown Malbay, Co. ClareWednesday 16 July Clé Club, Liberty Hall,DublinFriday 18 July (session): the Cobblestone,North King Street, DublinSaturday 19 July (session): Hughes’s Bar,Chancery Street, DublinFriday 25 July Joe Mooney Festival,Drumshanbo, Co. LeitrimSaturday 26 July Port Laoise, Co. LaoisSunday 27 July Canon Goodman Festival,Skibbereen, Co. CorkMonday 28 July (session): Kinvarra, Co. Gal-wayTuesday 29 July Scoil Acla, Achill, Co. MayoFriday 1 August An Droichead, CookeStreet, BelfastTuesday 5 August (session): the Cobble-stone, North King Street, Dublin

“Fearing deValera’sinfluence overits members,the IRAleadershipcurtailed anyform of socialor economicagitation thatmightembarrassFianna Fáil’

Socialist Voice

Workers in struggle

page 6

Block a return toslave wages andconditions

THE PRIVATISATION of the collection of householdrefuse has led not just to chaos in housing estateswith the duplication of collection services but to

ever-increasing charges on working people for thecollection of their black, green and brown bins.

Privatisation has also resulted in poor working conditionsfor the workers hired by the new private companies. Goneare the reasonable working conditions secured by public-sector cleansing workers.

Recently the management of one of the large privatewaste management companies, Greyhound, arbitrarilyissued its workers with a demand for cuts in wages of up to35 per cent and changes to their conditions of employment.

These are the real reasons behind the drive towardsprivatisation: increased profits and poor wages and workingconditions in order to break workers. More than seventySIPTU members are now on strike (early July) in defence oftheir wages and conditions. The company is attempting tobreak the strike by using scab labour. Messages and actionsof solidarity with these workers are urgently needed.

Greyhound Waste is an unlimited company registered inthe Isle of Man. Its accounts are not made public. If theowners are resident in the Isle of Man they pay tax on theirincome there, while under a double-tax agreement thatIreland has with this tax heaven only 12½ per cent is taxedhere!

It will be your wages and conditions on the chopping-block next as the bosses drive workers back to acceptingprecarious employment and existing on starvation wages.

Margaretta D’Arcysentenced again

Margaretta D’Arcy and Niall Farrell have beengiven two-week suspended sentences by JudgePatrick Durcan following their conviction for

“interfering with the proper use of an airport.”In September 2013 both peace activists had carried out

a protest by going onto the runway at Shannon Airportwearing bright orange suits resembling those worn byinternees at Guantánamo and carrying placards thatdeclared their objection to a prospective invasion ofSyria. They were then detained by the Airport Police andhanded over to the Gardaí, who charged them undersection 4.1 of the Airport By-Laws (1994). Since the conclusion of the case, Ireland's state

broadcaster and our national print media have reportedthe sentence handed down to the activists and distributeda few selected quotations from the case. No attention hasbeen paid to the highly important evidence presented inEnnis Courtroom of the extreme misuse of ShannonAirport by the US military, facilitated by a series of IrishGovernments. � Full details: www.shannonwatch.org/blog.

WORKERS At Bausch and Lombin Waterford voted last monthto accept the deal proposed by

Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The SIPTUvote was 563 to 107.

Although the union made norecommendation, members were left inno doubt that a “no” vote would close thefactory, with the loss of all 1,100 jobs. Thesame happened at the TEEU ballot, wherethe vote was 68 to 23 for acceptance. Ineffect there was no choice: you eitheraccepted or lost your job.

The deal means a cut in pay and theending of bonus payments and shiftallowances as well as two hundredredundancies. The redundancy package isrestricted to a maximum of two years’wages.

Part of the deal is that there will becompensation for the pay cuts, spreadover two years, after which the pay cutswill kick in. The Government, through theIDA, has pumped a few million into thecompany to upgrade the plant. This willinevitably lead to further job losses downthe road. In effect, the whole thing hasbeen a win-win situation for Valeant.

The problem with the pay cuts, ofcourse, is that although they are supposedto be 14 per cent, when we take intoaccount the fact that there are many caseswhere both wage-earners in a family areworking for the company, the householdincome will be cut by 28 per cent.Likewise, where workers took onborrowings on the understanding that thecompany was regarded as secureemployment (even by banks), given thelength of its establishment here, they arenow caught in a situation of onerous debt,through no fault of their own.

The capitalist system does not takeinto account the individual misery itcauses: it functions in an inhumanmanner and treats workers as no betterthan the capital assets of the company,such as the plant and machinery; insteadof looking at workers as individuals ittreats them as an amorphous group—aclass.

There have been numerous cases likeBausch and Lomb where there is acompany takeover. It won’t be the last. Inorder to recoup their investment,companies like Valeant operate asvultures. Instead of trying to grow thecompany and find new markets, it willrecoup the cost by savage cuts in the workforce and stripping the value the workersput into the company. In this way it willimprove the balance sheet and improvethe profitability ratios for investors.

“Cutting costs” is bookkeeper jargonfor redundancies, pay cuts, and replacinga defined-benefit pension scheme with adefined-contribution scheme. The latterscheme has no implications for thebalance sheet, as the liability is transferredto the worker. The character GordonGekko in the film Wall Street gave a fairlyaccurate portrayal of how the systemoperates. Profits and share price takeprecedence over individual workers, whoare treated as assets or liabilities of thecompany.

The bourgeois press constantlyhammers home the message that thecapitalist system creates wealth foreveryone, and that there is no alternative.A new book, Capital in the Twenty-FirstCentury, by Thomas Piketty, a Frencheconomist, has exposed this lie. Piketty isnot a Marxist and in fact is a supporter ofcapitalism, but what he did was he tookthree hundred years of data from themain capitalist countries to see whethercapitalism was working for everyone.

What he found was that capitalism isenriching a minority and creating evengreater disparities of wealth. In otherwords, Piketty’s data bears out Marx’sthesis in Capital (1867), with the benefit ofan extra 150 years of data.

Piketty’s solution is to tax wealth. Inthe Communist Manifesto,Marx andEngels had already attacked inheritedwealth, but Piketty does not acknowledgethis. Even capitalists like Warren Buffet areso embarrassed about how little tax theypay that they have resorted to givingmoney to charities. (This usually earnsthem tax relief.)

Trying to tax wealth is hardly going tobe a runner when the state acts to supportthe capitalist system through its laws,courts, and state institutions. Looking atIreland, most of the taxes are from incometax or consumption taxes, such as VAT.There are no taxes on assets, only on thegains from the disposal of assets. A wholeindustry of tax planners exists to minimisethe impact even these meagre taxes haveon assets. Trying to reform capitalismthrough taxation will not be effective.

One of the main pluses of Piketty’sbook is that it brings economics back toquestions about wealth and equality.Textbooks on economics had degeneratedinto obscurantist treatises on thetechnicalities of economics and hadbecome disconnected from the reality ofcapitalism as experienced by workers inBausch and Lomb, where pay is cut just tomaximise a balance sheet.

[NOM]

Bausch and Lomb sequel

page 7 Socialist Voice

THE AUSTERITY attack by thisGovernment and its ally, theEuropean Union, continues to

affect the many thousands of ourpeople who are still suffering not onlyausterity but, equally important, theanxiety and stress that this causes tothe general health of our people. But clear evidence (if ever evidence

was needed) has emerged that now ourchildren are being targeted by thetroika, and in turn there is a doublewhammy for their parents, for thosethat can afford to send their children tothird-level education.The first report on the performance

of the higher education system, 2014–16, reveals the disgraceful statisticsemerging that state funding has beenslashed by a quarter since 2007/08. At

that time the state’s funding for third-level education was 76 per cent; for2015/16 it will drop to barely 51 percent. All of us know that educationempowers everyone and gives theworking class the means to enrich theirlives, be it academically or throughsport, music, or the arts.The present Labour Party’s minister

for education speaks with the mantrathat they have kept the wolves at bay, beit in funding for education or for socialwelfare. They have learnt well from theprevious Government that if you repeata lie often enough it becomes a fact.It is well known throughout the

education system that the CEOs orpresidents of these third-level collegesare also systematically attackingparticular fields of education. If they

help young people from working-classcommunities, then they have noearning value. Take, for example, thesocial justice courses in UCD: they areconstantly being attacked, and the newpresident would like to see thesecourses disappear.These attacks on education will

continue unless and until our unionstake a stand, not just at their yearlyconferences but at the front line.Unfortunately the unions are notbringing the people along with them intheir battle, and they need to look againat their present strategy.Communication and transparency

are vital tools in the struggle to ensurethat the continued privatisation of allaspects of the educations system isblocked. [PD]

Education under attack

WHEN GOVERNMENT ministerswax lyrical these days about“recovery just around the

corner,” “green shoots,” and “light at theend of the tunnel”—beware! They arefar from talking about a return to the“good old days” of the Celtic Tiger, whenthe Irish capitalist economy boomed(for some).

What they are talking about is theprolongation, if not intensification, of thisera of super-exploitation, when theresulting super-profits are to be divviedout among our rulers’ parasiticsociopathic pals: the super-rich.

As the International LabourOrganisation points out in a recentreport, never was wealth more unequallydistributed. At present 0.5 per cent of theworld’s population possess a third of theworld’s wealth, they say; and thissituation is deteriorating. The ILO warnsthat we are facing a serious risk of amacro-economic recovery without arecovery of either employment oradequate salaries.

This is the kind of recovery that Kenny,Noonan and Co. are touting. Since 2008workers know that the internationalfinancial collapse has eroded the greaterpart of the social gains made throughgenerations of working-class struggle.Our present rulers are far from planningto bring them back in the sort of“recovery” they have in mind.

In fifteen of the economicallyadvanced countries the ILO points to an

increasingly unequal and unfavourableremuneration of labour, in spite of thefact that there was an appreciable marginthat could have been used to increase thequality of jobs created in that period andso reduce the gross inequality that has infact resulted.

From the ILO’s viewpoint, theprospects for the world’s working classlook bleak. According to their data andcalculations, in 2012 the number ofunemployed was 197 million; now it hasrisen to 202 million—including 74 millionyoung people—and in 2018, following thepresent tendency, it will have risen to 221million. The outlook is clear: existinginequalities will grow and sharpen.

At the same time, more than half theworld’s population now has no socialprotection, and only a fifth of the world’slabour force has adequate cover.

The ILO draws attention to theproblem of child labour, an activity thathas entrapped 168 million boys and girlsaround the world. More than half ofthese, according to ILO data, areemployed in dangerous work, in mines, inworkshops, or on farms, with ruinouseffects on their health and danger to theirlives. One out of nine minors in the worldis now working.

However, the ILO sees as positive theapparent fact that the number ofenslaved youngsters has been decreasingover the last ten years. In 2000 up to 246million child workers were recorded. TheILO aims to eliminate this practice as

soon as possible; but, given the globalreach of an increasingly profit-hungrycapitalism, this is more easily said thandone.

On the other hand, the ILO reportpoints to the emergence of a generationof youth “marked by a dangerousmixture”: high unemployment, growingidleness and precarious work in thedeveloped economies and an increase inthe number of impoverished workers inthe so-called developing world.

This is a result of the fact thatcapitalism in this so-called developedworld can only reboot itself by screwingproduction costs (including wages)downwards to match those of thedeveloping world. North Africa, theMiddle East and the European Union(including Ireland) are the areas with theworst prospects in this regard, the ILOsays.

These are thoughts to be borne inmind as Kenny, Noonan, Gilmore and Co.try to lull us with promises of pulling outof the recession and with the mantra thatwith a little patience and sacrifice thegood ship Ireland will soon leave theharbour under full sail. Maybe; but theworking class won’t be aboard on thatjourney to the promised land of macro-economic recovery.

Employment, job security and anequal slice of the social product, ratherthan this diet of empty promises, is whatevery worker needs—needs that can onlybe met by socialism. [TOM]

Inequality to continue?

MadgeDavison: RevolutionaryFirebrandLynda Walker(editor), (Belfast: ShanwayPress 2011£6 (includingpostage) fromUnity Press POBox 85 BelfastBT1 1SRCheques payableto Northern AreaTrading.

The Challengefor TradeUnionism€4 (£3) Postagefree withinIreland, from ConnollyBooks

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target of 1 million has been reached.How does the privatisation of water

and sanitation fare in other corners ofthe neo-liberal “First World”? Let’s goto the United States, where theDetroit Water and SewerageDepartment may become the largestwater system to be privatised inAmerican history. Privatisationproposals are coming in as thisbankrupt city cuts off consumers fromwater every week, targeting many ofthe approximately 150,000 residentswho are behind with their bills.To attract investors, almost 4,000

have already been cut off; a further40,000 have been so threatened.People hit by the cut-offs were givenno warning and had no time to fillbuckets, sinks and baths before theirwater was cut. In some instances thecut-off occurred before the announceddeadline. Sick people were left withoutrunning water and working toilets.People recovering from surgery cannotwash and change bandages. Childrencannot have a bath, and parentscannot cook. Is this misery an omenof things to come in Ireland?The privatisation of water systems

typically leads to large price increasesand the deterioration of infrastructure.Around the world, transnationalcorporations seize control of publicwater resources and give priority toprofits for their shareholders andexecutives over the needs ofconsumers. Poor and working-classdistricts in Detroit, whereunemployment is almost universal,can expect to lose service if theirmunicipal system is privatised. Water-for-profit pirates tend to avoid suchareas.Any enactment of a threat by Irish

Water to deny a citizen access toclean water and sanitation would be indirect contravention of internationallaw, according to the United Nations.However, as this UN legislation clearlycontradicts the Irish state’s currentcommercial ethos, it remains to beseen what effect an appeal to bindinginternational legislation would have.In the meantime, as Irish Water’s

metering proceeds, socialists mustnow press for free access by allindividuals to an agreed weeklyvolume of water, based on reasonabledomestic usage. Such a measurewould eliminate the trauma of cut-offsand Detroit-like situations and wouldenable Ireland, unlike the state ofMichigan, to meet its obligationsunder international law to all itscitizens. [TMS)

Socialist Voice

Politics

page 8

WHAT WILL happen whenan unemployed worker,pensioner or single

mother is unable to pay a waterbill? Will our privatised water andsewage-disposal service, IrishWater, be willing to meet in fullits obligations to all citizens? Orwill it threaten to cut off thewater supply of those who arebehind with their bills?If they do the latter they will be in

contravention of a UN human rightsdirective that dictates that states havethe duty under international law toensure that all citizens, irrespective oftheir ability to pay providers, haveaccess to clean water and sanitation.In July 2010 the General Assembly

passed Resolution A/HRC/RES/15/9,which recognises that clean drinking-water and sanitation are essentialhuman rights. Further resolutions callupon states and internationalorganisations to provide safe, clean,accessible and affordable drinking-water and sanitation for all.Thence the UN Human Rights

Council affirms that the right to waterand sanitation are part of existinginternational law and that these rightsare legally binding upon states.The surge in water privatisations

occurring globally is a barbaric socialregression that infringes, in practice,the socialist spirit and letter of thisbinding UN legislation. Remember thatpublicly controlled water systemsbegan to supplant private ones duringthe nineteenth century in response tothe failure of private water companiesto make necessary investments and

provide services for all citizens.Sanitary urban conditions and accessto water for the mass of urbanworkers became possible only on thebasis of socialised ownership.However, in these harsh neo-liberal

times, as the means of productionbecome concentrated in fewer andfewer hands, new forms of privateproperty are created through thetransformation of formerly public andsmall-scale private services andindustries into fiefdoms of thecorporate sector. Thus, fields formerlyexcluded from the logic of profit—suchas education, health, energy, and ofcourse water supply and disposal—areprivatised.Suddenly, here in the “First World,”

the resource war becomes part of theclass war.Since the 1990s, as part of the

right-wing policy agenda, privatelyowned water systems haveproliferated. In 1989 Thatcher’sgovernment privatised the public waterand sewage systems of England. Parisand Berlin privatised waterinfrastructure during the 1990s. Theneo-liberal Spanish government,strapped for cash, has just announcedthe privatisation of 104 dams andreservoirs, all at knock-down prices.The privatisation of water is often a

condition of IMF, World Bank and ECBloans. Pressures from this infamoustroika led to the establishment of theprivatised Irish Water in the WaterServices Act (2013). Irish Water hasalready contracted for the installationof meters and will install an optimal27,000 of them a month until their

H2ours

Clean water is a human right

‘Theprivatisationof watersystemstypically leadsto large priceincreases andthedeteriorationofinfrastructure’

page 9

Politics

Socialist Voice

An Garda Síochánascriosta le polaitíocht

Ní inné ná inniu a tháinigceisteanna chun cinn faoifheidhmíocht nó ionracas

an Gharda Síochána. I gcónaíriamh ba “phoblacht neamh -spleách” é taobh istigh den stát,agus níor leasc le go leor de nabaill, an cheannasaíocht sanáireamh, gníomhú taobh amuighden dlí.Níorbh é Martin Callinan an chéad

duine a díbríodh as post anchoimisinéara. Briseadh Eoin O’Duffy asoifig i 1933 tar éis do rialtas FhiannaFáil teacht ar fhianaise go raibh sé taréis tathant ar cheannairí Chumann nanGaedheal coup d’état a chur ar bunan bhliain roimh ré. Ina dhiaidh sinchuaigh O’Duffy i gceannas ar na LéinteGorma, agus ba é an t‑uachtaránbunaidh é ar Fhine Gael.D’eagraigh sé buíon mhíleata a

chuaigh go dtí an Spáinn i 1936 letacú le faisistigh Franco, agus níosdeireanaí thairg sé do na Naitsithe gon‑eagródh sé “briogáid Éireannach” letroid in aghaidh na Sóivéadach ar anbhfronta thoir. Go dtí go bhfuair sé básbhí go leor de bhaill an GhardaSíochána a bhreathnaigh air marchoimisinéir ar deoraíocht.Ach níorbh aon dóichín é an

coimisinéir a tháinig ina dhiaidh, NedBroy. D’eagraigh seisean díorma ar leithde phóilíní polaitiúla a raibh droch-chlúorthu faoin leas ainm “Broy Harriers.”Earcaíodh iad seo ó lucht tacaíochta deValera; agus cé gur throid siad naLéinte Gorma ag an tús, dhírigh siadina dhiaidh sin ar phoblachtaigh agussóisialaithe a chur faoi chois. Ba iad achráigh lucht tacaíochta Chomhdháil naPoblachta agus an Pháirtí Chumannaighsna 1930í.Ba é Ned eile, Ned Garvey, an

coimisinéir ba mhó a chomh oibrigh lefórsaí na Ríona sa Tuaisceart agus thartfán teorainn. Creidtear gur thug sé go

leor eolais agus cúnaimh dóibh i nganfhios dá rialtas féin. Ba lena linn (agusPaddy Cooney ina aire dlí agus cirt) atugadh cead a gcinn don “HeavyGang,” a raibh an cheastóireacht inahuirlis straitéiseach acu. D’athraighGarvey na rialacha inmheánacha sachaoi is gur leagadh cúraimí polaitiúlaar na gnáth-aonaid bhleachtaireachta.Fós féin ní fios go poiblí cén ceangal godíreach a bhí aige le lucht faisnéiseLondan; ach bhraith an Rialtas gurbhéigean é a bhriseadh i 1978.Agus, ar ndóigh, briseadh an té a

tháinig i gcomharbacht air, PatrickMcLaughlin, as a pháirt i gcúl éisteachtle gutháin iriseoirí. Duine dáchoimisinéirí cúnta, “Two Guns”Ainsworth, a d’eagraigh é sin i gcomharleis an aire dlí agus cirt, Seán Doherty,iar-bhall den Bhrainse Speisialta. (Bhísé sin suimiúil ó bhí na Gardaí ag cúl -éisteacht go mídhleathach le gutháinsaoránach ó thús chomh maith lelitreacha a léamh agus, na laethantaseo, téacsanna agus ríomh phost ascrúdú.)Ar ndóigh, is í an fhoinse éillitheachta

is measa sa Gharda Síochána anBrainse Speisialta. Bíonn tuiscint ann imórán gach stát go n‑oibríonn póilínípolaitiúla ar imeall an dlí, agus nuair athéann siad taobh amuigh de dúnannlucht polaitíochta agus na meáin nasúile.Níl Éire difriúil sa mhéid sin. Is club

iad baill agus iar-bhaill an Bhrainsetaobh istigh den Gharda Síochána,agus tugann siad aire do dhroma achéile. Is acusan is fearr a bhíonn nateagmhálacha polaitiúla nuair a bhíonnardú céime ar íor na spéire. Ní bheidhan Garda Síochána saor ó éilitheachtfad is a bhíonn an Brainse Speisialtaann. Tá an mí-iompar ar fad atá faoichaibidil leis na blianta fada anuasbunaithe ar chleachtais atá sean -bhunaithe sa Bhrainse céanna. [CDF]

Dundalk study circleIn recent months the CPI has held three talks for activistsin Dundalk and the surrounding area covering class,imperialism and the state. Those attending agreed thatmaintaining and developing political education in the Orielregion was essential to building up the communist and leftforces in the area.It was agreed to establish the Connolly Study Circle and

begin a systematic study of the writings of James Connolly,beginning with Labour In Irish History, followed by importantworks of Connolly; then the writings of Marx, Engels andLenin as study materials and guides to action.To get involved e-mail studygroupd@outlook.ie. It is

planned to meet at least monthly in Dundalk.

Socialist Voice

Politics

page 10

Ba í Réabhlóid na Fraince antréimhse staire ba mhótionchar ar pholaitíocht

agus idé-eolaíocht na hEorpasna trí haois dheireanacha.Leath tionchar na réabhlóide go dtí

gach críoch ar domhan, agusroghnaíodh tríd hathacha marshuaitheantas beagnach gach náisiúna lorg neamh spleáchas, múnlaithe aran mbun-leagan Francach. D’iompairRéabhlóid na Fraince an caipitleachasmar chóras eacnamaíoch go hilchríochna hEorpa céad agus ceathrachabliain tar éis gur thosaigh an próiseascéanna ar an taobh eile de MhuirnIocht le tús Cogadh CatharthaShasana sa bhliain 1642.Scaip lucht leanúna na réabhlóide

teagasc an daonlathais, ach bunaíodhimpireacht Francach in 1804 agustharla athghairm in 1814. Ní móranailís a dhéanamh ar na hathruithebhuana a tharla do shochaí na Fraince

agus sochaí na hEorpa chun iarmhairtína tréimhse sin a mheas.Bhí córas feodach talmhaíochta fós

i bhfeidhm sa Fhrainc ó thús an ochtúhaois déag, agus bhí dhá thriain dentalamh arúil roinnte idir an Eaglais, anuasaicme, agus roinnt ceannaithesaibhre. Faraor, thosaigh córascaipitleach talmhaíochta ag teacht aran bhfód taobh leis an gcóras feodachi dtuaisceart na Fraince amháin.Chuaigh líon na “grandes fermes” iméid, agus bhí saothraithe á bhfostúar na feirmeacha móra sin.D’fhás aicme d’fheirmeoirí saibhre,

an bourgeoisie tuaithe, a d’éiligh saor -thrádáil i gcás gráin, rud a mhéadódha mbrabús mar gheall ar a modhannanua-aimseartha ach a dhéanfadhdochar d’ioncaim an uas aicme.Chothaigh an aicme seo ath chorraíl imeasc na saothraithe agus nadtuathánach le linn na réabhlóide.Faraor, bhí an iomarca tuathánaigh

sa tír fós ag cleachtadh feirmeoireachtleor chothaitheach, rud a chuir bac arthráchtálú na talmhaíochta.Theastaigh ón bourgeoisie uirbeachagus tuaithe go rachadh natuathánaigh ar imirce go dtí na bailtemóra chun soláthar saothair a chur arfáil don tionsclaíocht, agus margadh achur ar fáil don táirgíochttalmhaíochta.Ba í an bourgeoisie uirbeach (lucht

na ngairmeacha, tionsclaithe,ceardaithe saibhre agus úinéirí talún)a d’imir an pháirt ba mhó le linn naréabhlóide. Mhéadaigh líon na trádálaeachtraí faoi thrí idir 1716 agus 1770mar thoradh ar easpórtálacha go dtína coilíneachtaí. Tháinig borradh faoichalafoirt ar an gcósta Atlantach, arnós Bordeaux. Dhúbail méidgeilleagair na Fraince laistigh desheachtó bliain san ochtú haois déag.In 1786 síníodh Conradh Eden,

conradh saorthrádála idir an Fhrainc

Réabhlóid na Fraince agus apolasaithe eacnamaíocha

s MaximilienRobespierre agusroinnt dá luchttacaíochta á gcurchun báis,28 Iúil 1794. TáRobespierre lefeiceáil ina shuí aran gcairt, igcóta donn, hataá chaitheamhaige, agus ciarsúrá choinneáil ag abhéal.[BibliothèqueNationale deFrance]

page 11 Socialist Voice

agus an Bhreatain, chun trádáil aspreagadh trí taraifí a laghdú. Bhíiarmhairtí uafásacha ag an gconradhdon Fhrainc, toisc go raibh easpaéilimh sa mhargadh náisiúnta, agusthosaigh tíortha eile ag dul i dtreo anchosantaíochais. Ní raibh sé archumas na dtionsclaithe Francachateicneolaíocht nua a fhorbairt chun dulin iomaíocht leis an mBreatain.Sa bhliain 1789 bhí inneall gaile ag

cuideachta amháin sa Fhrainc uile,rud a léiríonn an easpateicneolaíochta sa tír. Chuir anmhonarcacht agus an córas feodachconstaicí ar dhul chun cinn anbourgeoisie.Léiríonn Bunreacht 1791 dúinn go

soiléir gur réabhlóid bourgeois íRéabhlóid na Fraince go dtí sin. Inainneoin gur socraíodh toghcháin donChomhthionóil Náisiúnta, roinneadhna saoránaigh ina dhá n�aicme:gníomhach agus neamhghníomhach.Tugadh “saoránaigh ghníomhacha”orthu siúd a raibh cáilíochtaímeasartha maoine acu nó a d’íoc rátaard cánach don rialtas, agus tugadhan vóta dóibhsean amháin.Feictear tionscnaimh an

Chomhthionóil chun tionsclaíocht aspreagadh trí shaorthrádáil a bhunú samhargadh náisiúnta, a thosaigh in1789. Cuireadh córas caighdeánachmeáchan i bhfeidhm, cuireadhdeireadh leis na dolaí arda, agusdíbríodh na smachta a bhíodh ibhfeidhm ar tháirgeacht ábhairmonaraithe. Socraíodh na beartais

seo chun an bourgeoisie a shásamh.Spreagadh indibhidiúlachteacnamaíoch le Dlí Allaire, a churdeireadh leis na cuideachtaí móra achur i gcoinne an iomaíochta. Bhí anceart ag cách gnó a bhunú.Bhain na Jacobins cumhacht amach

sa Chomhdháil Náisiúnta in 1793.D’fhabhraigh na Jacobins rialtasláraithe, agus cuireadh ancosantaíochas i bhfeidhm goforleathan sa gheilleagar. Theastaigh óna Jacobins tionscal na Fraince a churfaoi smacht iomlán an rialtais agus éa chosaint ar iomaíocht eachtrach.Thug an tAcht Loingseoireachtamonaplacht iomlán don rialtas ar anearnáil seo. Rinneadh an rud céannale tráchtáil iasachtach uile in 1794.Bhí géarghá le soláthraí don arm,

agus fógraíodh “slógadh náisiúnta” taréis gur tháinig na Jacobins igcumhacht. Ba bheartas lárnach dechuid na Jacobins é an maximumgénéral nó uasluach ginearálta, acuireadh i bhfeidhm ar an 29ú lá deMheán Fómhair. Léiríonn an cinneadhseo tionchar na n�aicmí oibrithe igceantair uirbeacha, grúpaí ar bhraithna Jacobins orthu i gcomhairtacaíochta. Ba bheartas nuaeacnamaíoch é seo chun bac a churleis an bhforbhoilsciú.Tugadh “Éirí Amach Thermidor” ar

eachtraí an 28ú Iúil 1794. D’fhógairceannairí an éirí amach “Poblacht nanDílseánach,” ach tugtar anDireachtóireacht ar an réim seo idir1794 agus 1799. Dhaingnigh an

Direachtóireacht dul chun cinn anbourgeoisie, agus mhair sí le tacaíochtna dtuathánach saibhir agus anbourgeoisie uirbeach. Laghdaíodh arbheartais chonsantaíochais naJacobins; ní raibh saorthrádáil ag curas do chách. Cruthaíodh monaplachtaípríobháideacha, a mhair ar chonarthaístáit agus a raibh tionchar orthu arbheartas eacnamaíoch an stáit.Díoladh talamh a náisiúnaíodh faoi naJacobins do na haicmí ba shaibhre.Socraíodh córas indíreach toghcháin aláraigh an chumhacht i láimhe thart fá30,000 úinéir maoine mhóra.Ba thréimhse míshocair

eacnamaíoch í an Direachtóireacht.Bhí teannas idir na monarcaithe agusan eite chlé (na Jacobins agus nasans-culottes), agus bhuail géarchéiman tír in 1799: meascán de chogadh,spealadh tionsclaíoch, agus easpa bia.Ghlaoigh an Direachtóireacht ar anarm chun cur i gcoinne na bagartharéabhlóidí, agus bhain NapoléonBonaparte cumhacht amach tar éiscoup an 18 Brumaire in 1799.”Bunaítear an Réabhlóid ar na

prionsabail a chur tús léi: tá sécríochnaithe,” a d’fhógair bunreachtCaesarach Napoléon. Bhí deireadhtagtha leis an tréimhse réabhlóideach.Dhaingnigh riail Napoléon anchaipitleachais sa Fhrainc, agusscaipeadh ar fud na hEorpa é chomhmaith. Bunaíodh Banc na Fraince in1800 chun creidmheas a chur ar fáild’fhiontraithe. D’fhorbair tionsclaíochtsa tuaisceart, agus cruthaíodh margaíolla agus cadáis. Bhunaigh Napoléonan “Córas Ilchríochach,” rud achruthaigh éileamh ar tháirgíFrancacha i measc na himpireachtaagus a chur deireadh le himeachtaíShasana ar an Ilchríoch.D’ardaigh praghsanna, tuarastail

agus rátaí brabúis dá bharr; agus cégur bhain bourgeoisie na Fraince anméid is mó leas as, d’fhorbairtionsclaíocht sa Bheilg, sa Sacsain,san Eilbhéis agus i nDúiche na Réine ingeall an chosantaíochais a cuireadh ibhfeidhm leis an “gCórasIlchríochach.” Chuimsigh na tosca seoiarmhairtí eacnamaíocha naRéabhlóide ar fud na hilchríche.[SOD]

FoinsíKenneth Neil Cameron, Humanity andSociety.Henry Heller, The BourgeoisRevolution in France, 1789–1815.Eric Hobsbawm, The Age ofRevolution, 1789–1848.George Rudé, The French Revolution.

s Scigphictiúr leJames Gillray agsúil le coimhlint ibParlaimintShasanafaoi ChonradhEden, a nglaoitearConradh Tráchtálana Fraince airanseo.

Socialist Voice

Economics

page 12

The economic philosophy behind the euro

IN 1979 Margaret Thatcher was the firstEuropean prime minister to introduce the neo-liberal agenda. She was soon followed by

Ronald Reagan in the United States, and theEuropean Union formally adopted the neo-liberalideology in the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.The agenda emphasised the free-market monetarist

policies espoused by right-wing think-tanks such as theLibertas in Ireland, the Cato Institute in America, the AdamSmith Institute in Britain, and the Copenhagen Institute inDenmark. These are all funded by millionaires to promotethe interests of rich people. The Republican Party in theUnited States and the Tea Party (where the Taoiseachattended a fund-raising function during his visit for StPatrick’s Day) also support these policies.Milton Friedman implemented these policies in Chile

when the dictator Pinochet was in power, arguing thatinflation is always linked with excessive monetary policies.To offset this he advocated cutting public expenditure andprivatising public utilities.These policies became known as the Washington

Consensus in 1990, from the multilateral agencies basedin Washington. Robert Gwynne, cited by Peadar Kirby in hisbook Introduction to Latin America (2003), described theseobjectives as follows:. . . trade liberalisation and easier foreign directinvestment . . . Reduce direct government intervention inthe economy through privatisation, introducing fiscaldiscipline, balanced budgets, and tax reform . . .Increase the significance of the market in the allocationof resources and make the private sector the maininstrument of economic growth through deregulation,secure property rights and financial liberalisation.The agenda advocates free trade, and the euro is an

extension of free trade. But free trade, or the euro, givesaccess for transnationals from the larger states to themarkets of the smaller states. For example, Lidl and Aldiare grabbing a growing share of the Irish grocery market,and they are doing the same throughout the euro area.The underlying assumption of this economic ideology (an

assertion that is more like a mantra than reality) is that thepublic sector is inefficient and the private sector (themarket sector) is more efficient. It is argued by theproponents of these policies that the state sector should bereduced. Yet the state-controlled French railway systemSNCF is far more efficient than the privatised British railwaysystem.With the reduction in the role of the state, more of the

economy would be controlled by monopoly capital.Nowadays most branches of the economy are controlled bya small number of firms (oligopolies), which make excessprofits for their rich shareholders by charging high prices.These firms do not compete on price, because it wouldreduce their profits and consumers would be the winner:they use advertising and other non-price competition togain a larger share of the market. They act, to all intentsand purposes, as monopolies.This ideology was written into the Maastricht Treaty in the

form of the “fiscal rules”:1 The excessive government deficit (excess of governmentspending over revenue) should not exceed 3 per cent ofgross domestic product (GDP).

2 Government debt should not exceed 60 per cent of GDP.These rules were reinforced by a change in the German

constitution that made it compulsory to balance the statebudget. Germany got the other countries that use the euroto adopt the Fiscal Stability Treaty. Under these new rules(1) the deficit has to be reduced to 0.5 per cent of

structural GDP (i.e., the budget must be balanced);(2) if the ratio of debt to GDP exceeds 60 per cent it

must be reduced to 60 per cent over twenty years.These rules were set up to protect the interests of

investors who buy government bonds. These people areshareholders in banks that hold bonds—very wealthypeople and hedge funds that manage the funds of wealthypeople. The last thing the neo-liberals want is for agovernment in the euro zone to default.

Mario Draghi, president of the European CentralBank, formerly worked as an economist forGoldman Sachs. This is a bank that looks after theinterests of wealthy people. Draghi is independentof national governments but is not independent ofthe ideology of his former employer.Over time, these rules will reduce taxes and the role of

government. The rich pay less tax so they will be better off,while the less well off, who use government services, willbe worse off. This will cause a transfer from the poor to therich.

The fiscal deficits, 2009–15Following the worldwide recession that occurred in 2008,

caused by the failure of an American bank, LehmanBrothers, all twelve countries that we are analysing had afiscal deficit in 2009.The roots of the collapse of this bank go back to 1985,

when Margaret Thatcher deregulated the banking system.The chancellor of the exchequer (minister for finance),Nigel Lawson, who introduced deregulation (the “bigbang”), put forward the view that this was the cause of thecrash in 2008.The EU followed suit and deregulated the banks as part

of the Single European Act in 1987, and the United Statesderegulated in early 2000s. The American deregulation wasto lead to a massive expansion of mortgage credit, whichwas used to finance speculative house-buying and “sub-prime” (more risky) lending. This ended in a housing bubblethat collapsed and caused the great recession. A similarbubble happened in Ireland and Spain.We divide the countries into three groups, but this time

the debtor-countries are taken first.

Fiscal deficits, 2009 and 2015 (forecast)In a recession such as the one that began in 2008,

output falls; then spending, incomes and employment fall.As a consequence, unemployment increases, sogovernment spending on the unemployed increases, andtax revenue decreases. This increases the fiscal deficit.Before the Maastricht Treaty (1992), European

governments would increase their spending and cut taxes.The tax cuts would increase take-home pay, and this wouldincrease consumer spending, so leading to increasedoutput (growth) and lower unemployment. This wouldcounteract some of the effects of the deficit; but it wouldlead to an increase in the deficit.

page 13 Socialist Voice

The neo-liberals at the heart of the IMF, the EUCommission, the European Central Bank and Germany arehorrified by this, as it might put the funds of lenders (richpeople) in danger. Mario Draghi, in an interview with theWall Street Journal (24 February 2012), “warnedbeleaguered euro-zone countries that there is no escapefrom tough austerity measures and that the Continent’straditional social contract is obsolete.” The social contractmeans full-time jobs, which he wants to be replaced withpart-time, temporary and contract jobs. This is the agendaof Merkel and of ISME and IBEC.

In table 1 the deficits of the debtor-countries are shown.

Table 1: Debtor-countries

*The EU Commission has given Spain an extension to2016 to meet its deficit target.†Programme (1) Includes interest (about €2.7 billion) onthe €64 billion bank debt foisted on Ireland by the Troika.

The EU Commission forced these governments to reducetheir deficit towards 3 per cent of GDP (output) by 2015,causing austerity. Ireland, Portugal and Greece were putinto “bail-out” schemes, and the Troika (ECB, EUCommission and IMF) took over their budgets and cut thedeficit year by year to reach 3 per cent. The other countriesoperated under country-specific recommendations made bythe EU Commission.The achievement of the 3 per cent ratio took precedence

over any services provided by governments. This forcedthem to increase taxes. Expenditure on health, educationand social welfare was cut. This reduced spending in theeconomies, reduced growth, and increased unemployment.In Ireland’s case, tax increases and cuts in expenditure

of $31 billion were taken out of the economy in budgetcuts between July 2008 and 2014. The cuts in expenditurehit low and middle-income earners most, and the increasesin taxes were regressive, again hitting those on low andmiddle incomes. The rich got away unscathed.Each of the countries had a massive increase in

unemployment and a substantial fall in their standard ofliving. All this was to keep the “markets”—the seriously richpeople—happy.

Table 2: France

*Revised according to information from EU Commission,March 2014.

Change as % ofGDP

3%4.5%14.6%7.7%10.7%5.2%

ItalySpain*Greece†Portugal†Ireland†(1)Averagepopulationweights, 2012

Forecast fiscaldeficit as % of GDP2015 –5.5%–11.1%–15.7%–10.2%–13.7%–9%

Fiscal deficit as %of GDP, 2009

–2.5%–6.6%–1.1%–2.5%–3%–3.8%

Deficit aspercentage ofGDP, 2009–7.5%

Forecast deficit aspercentage ofGDP, 2015–3%*

Change aspercentage ofGDP4.5%

France will have reduced its deficit by 4½ per cent ofGDP by 2015. It will have to reduce government spendingor increase taxes. Its deficit will have fallen nearly as muchas the debtor-countries: 4.5 per cent, compared with 5.2per cent between 2009 and 2015. This has a major effect(reduction) on growth and on unemployment (increase)over the period.

Creditor-countriesHalf the creditor-countries—the Netherlands, Belgium,

and Austria—had a deficit of more than 3 per cent in2009; the rest were at or below 3 per cent. (Germany wasat 3.1 per cent.) Yet the governments in most of thesecountries introduced “austerity” under the neo-liberalagenda of the EU Commission. The average drop in thedeficit would be 2.6 per cent of GDP if the forecasts arecorrect. These governments, especially Germany, either cutspending or increased taxes when there was no need to doso; and Germany went so far as to amend its constitutionto make it compulsory that it balance the state budget.The debtor-countries suffered twice as much austerity as

the creditor-countries, because 5.2 per cent on average isbeing taken out of their economies, compared with 2.6 percent in the creditor-countries. So Draghi intended that hismedicine was mainly for the peripheral (debtor) countries;but it also affected the core (creditor) countries, becausethey had right-wing governments.

Table 3: Creditor-countries

Growth in the euro areaThe twelve countries of the euro area had two periods of

recession between 2008 and 2013. The first was causedby the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, when outputin these countries fell by 4.4 per cent (Eurostatcalculation).A second recession occurred in 2012 with a fall of 0.7

per cent and in 2013 with a fall of 0.4 per cent. This wascaused by the policy of reducing the deficit to 3 per cent ofGDP adopted by the Troika in the programme countries andby the country-specific recommendations coming from theEU Commission. The Commission showed at this point thatthe only thing that was important was adherence to theMaastricht rules. Growth in GDP and employment are nolonger a priority. Now 2 per cent inflation is at the top ofthe agenda.These policies caused a double-dip recession in the euro

countries in 2012 and 2013. Altogether, GDP in the areafell by 1.9 per cent between 2008 and 3013.

Growth, debtor-countriesThe debtor-countries experienced a fall in output in most

of the years between 2008 and 2013. Italy had a drop inoutput in four of the six years. Spain’s and Portugal’s

GermanyNetherlandsBelgiumAustriaFinlandLuxembourgAverage populationweights, 2012

Deficit aspercentage of GDP,2009–3.1%–5.1%–5.6%–4.1%–2.5%–0.7%–3.6%

Forecast deficit aspercentage of GDP,2015–0.2%–3%–2.5%–1.5%–2%–2.7%–1%

Change

2.9%2.1%3.1%2.6%0.5%–2%2.6%

Socialist Voice

Economics

page 14

experiences were similar.Greece experienced a fall in each of the years, and Ireland

experienced a fall in three years. Between 2008 and 2013output fell by 8.6 per cent in Italy, 3.7 per cent in Spain,23.2 per cent in Greece, 7.2 per cent in Portugal, and 9.2per cent in Ireland.The decrease of 23.4 per cent in Greece between 2008

and 2013 was the highest in living memory in westernEurope. The average fall in this period for the debtor-countries, 8 per cent, was more than four times the averagefall for the twelve countries of the euro area (1.9 per cent),as calculated by Eurostat. In the same period theeconomies of the creditor-countries grew by 2.7 per cent.Each of these countries, except Ireland, suffered a

double-dip recession in 2012 and 2013. (See note withtable.)

Table 4: Annual change in output (GDP), debtor-countries

Falls in GDP are highlighted.*Growth in Ireland is measured in terms of gross domesticproduct (GDP), which includes the profits of transnationalcorporations. The size of GDP goes up and down as profitsare moved into and through Ireland for tax purposes. Thismakes the GDP figures unreliable as a measure of Ireland’soutput.

FranceThe French economy experienced only two years of falls in

GDP and grew by 1.6 per cent over the period 2008–13.France’s experience was more like that of the creditor-countries, but there was slow growth in the years in which ithad growth.

Table 5: Annual change in output (GDP), France

Creditor-countriesThe creditor-countries only experienced on average a fall

in GDP in one year: 2009. Germany and Austria had a fallonly in 2009. Belgium and Luxembourg had a fall in twoyears: 2009 and 2012. The Netherlands and Finland had afall in three years: 2009, 2012, and 2013.In the debtor-countries GDP fell in more years than in the

creditor-countries. Germany’s GDP grew by 4.1 per centbetween 2009 and 2012 on the back of massive tradesurpluses. This growth was greater than all the othercountries in the euro area. These surpluses and exports giverise to increased output and lower unemployment inGermany; but they cause lower growth and higherunemployment in the countries that import from Germany.

Growth in output (percentage of GDP), creditor-countriesTable 6: Annual change in output (GDP), creditor-countries

Unemployment rate, debtor-countriesIn table 7 the unemployment rates of the debtor-

countries are shown. The average unemployment rateincreased from 7.2 per cent to 18.9 per cent between2007 and 2013.While in 2007 all the countries were close to the

average, by 2013 there were massive variations betweenthe countries. Spain and Greece have more than a quarterof their work force unemployed. Italy’s and Portugal’s ratesdoubled, to 12.2 per cent and 17.4 per cent, respectively.Ireland’s rate trebled, despite the fact that about 100,000people have emigrated since the crisis, and theGovernment has more than six schemes, including JobBridge, for getting people off the dole and so reducingunemployment figures artificially.But the real sufferers in this crisis are young people, as a

consequence of the policies adopted by the Troika inIreland, Portugal and Greece and those adopted by the EUCommission in Italy and Spain. In 2012 nearly half of allyoung people in the EU (45 per cent) were unemployed. Ofthese, Spain and Greece had over 50 per cent, Italy andPortugal had over 35 per cent, and Ireland had nearly 30per cent.

Table 7: Unemployment rate, debtor-countries

*Source: Eurostat.

FranceUnemployment in France rose from 8.4 per cent in 2007

to 11 per cent in 2013, but youth unemployment in 2012rose to 26.4 per cent in 2012. This increase in youthunemployment is a damning indictment of EU policies.

ItalySpainGreecePortugalIreland*Average growthweighted bypopulation, 2012

2008

–1.2%2.9%–0.2%0–5.5%0.6%

2009

–5.5%–3.5%–3.1%–2.9%–5.4%–4.4%

2010

1.7%–0.2%–4.9%1.9%–1.1%0.4%

2011

0.5%0.1%–7.1%–1.3%2.2%–0.4%

2012

–2.5%–1.6%–6.4%–3.2%0.2%–5.5%

2013

–1.8%–1.3%–4.0%–1.8%0.3%–1.7%

2008–2013

–8.6%–3.7%–23.2%–7.2%–9.2%

Changein GDP

2008–0.1%

2009-3.1%

20101.7%

20112.0%

20120.7%

20130.5%

2008/131.6%

GermanyNetherlandsBelgiumAustriaFinlandLuxembourgAveragepopulationweights, 2012Average growthfor debtor-countries

2008

0.9%1.8%1.0%1.4%0.3%–0.7%1.0%

0.6%

2009

-5.1%–3.7%–2.8%–3.8%–8.5%–5.5%–4.8%

–4.4%

2010

4%1.5%2.3%1.8%3.4%3.1%3.3%

0.4%

2011

3.3%0.9%1.8%2.8%2.7%1.9%2.8%

–0.4%

2012

0.7%–1.2%–0.1%0.9%–0.8%–0.2%0.3%

–5.5%

2013

0.5%–1.0%0.1%0.4%–0.6%1.9%0.2%

–1.7%

2008–134.1%–1.8%2.2%3.4%–3.9%0.3%2.7%

–8.0%

ItalySpainGreecePortugalIreland*Average ratepopulationweights, 2012

2007

6.1%8.3%8.3%8.9%4.7%7.2%

2013

12.2%26.6%27.0%17.4%13.3%18.9%

Youth unemploymentrate, fourth quarter2012*36.9%55.2%57.9%38.4%29.4%44.9%

page 15 Socialist Voice

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Table 8: unemployment rate, France

Creditor-countriesAverage unemployment in the creditor-countries actually

fell over the period. Average youth unemployment was 10per cent; in Germany it was 7.9 per cent, and onlyBelgium, at 22 per cent, exceeded 20 per cent.

Table 9: Unemployment rate, creditor-countries

Table 10: Average rates of unemployment (using2012 weights)

2007

8.4%

2013

11%

Youth unemployment rate, fourthquarter 201226.4%

GermanyNetherlandsBelgiumAustriaFinlandLuxembourg

Unemploymentrate, 2007

8.7%3.6%7.5%4.4%6.9%4.2%

Unemploymentrate, 2013

5.4%7.0%8.6%5.1%8.2%5.7%

Youth un -employ mentrate, fourthquarter 20127.9%9.8%22.0%8.7%19.3%18.5%

Creditor-countriesEuro-area averageweights (Eurostat)Debtor-countries

7.5%7.6%

7.2%

6.0%12.3%

18.9%

10.0%27.2%

44.9%

Summary of unemployment dataUnemployment rates were around 7½ per cent in the

twelve countries of the euro zone in 2007, but there was amassive divergence by 2012 and 2013. The average totalunemployment rate in the debtor-countries was three timesthe rate in the creditor-countries in 2013, while youthunemployment in the debtor-countries was more than fourtimes the rate in the creditor-countries. This is a scandal.

ConclusionThis article shows that ordinary people in the peripheral

countries had to endure massive hardship in recent years.In Ireland there were cuts to government services, such aseducation, health, and social welfare, and increased taxes,such as the universal social charge, property tax, and watertax. Workers’ wages were cut throughout the periphery.Output fell and unemployment rose dramatically,

especially for young people. At this point the EUCommission is offering a “youth guarantee” of training,whereas it was responsible for destroying millions of jobs inEurope since 2007.The crisis in 2008 was a crisis of financial capital, which

occurred because of the deregulation of banks in Britain in1985, followed by the deregulation of banks in Europeunder the Single European Act and then in the UnitedStates in the early 2000s. Deregulation meant that retailbanks became casino banks, and this led to the crash.The EU was partly responsible for the crisis in 2008. It

imposed “austerity” after 2008, and ordinary people havehad to bear the burden of its mistakes.And the crisis is not over in Ireland, as the Government

still has to reduce the deficit by approximately €4 billionbetween 2016 and 2018. So austerity will continue untilthen.[KC]

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Socialist Voice

Politics

page 16

Cinema

JAMES GRALTON was the onlyIrish person (so far) to bedeported from the country of

his birth as an undesirable alien.The deportation was ordered onthe grounds of dubious logic andequally dubious legality, whichclaimed that because he hadadopted American citizenship hewas a foreigner.Gralton’s story is told in Ken Loach’s

film Jimmy’s Hall, with many vignettesof life in 1930s Ireland. In the 1920sand early 30s the counter-revolution of1922 was enforced by the guns of theFree State army, the batons of theGarda Síochána, the excommunicationthreats of the Catholic Church, thecredit control of the gombeen-men,and later the knuckledusters of theBlueshirts.Republicans were forced to emigrate

in their thousands to avoid repressionand planned discrimination inemployment. It was a period of utterconfusion in the republican movement,and of Fianna Fáil opportunism, whicheventually led down the slippery slopeto full collaboration with imperialism.The film touches on many aspects of

life at the time, such as the lack ofrecreation facilities as well asunemployment and the puritanism ofthe time (which, let us not forget,permeated all of society, including theworking class). Dancing at crossroads,a traditional communal pastime, wasliable to be broken up by morality-enforcers armed with nasty clubs, onthe grounds that such events were“occasions of sin.”The Catholic Church had played a

leading part in the destruction of theincipient republic in 1922 and hadstrengthened its position in 1929 with

huge ceremonies celebrating thecentenary of Catholic Emancipation.Then came the Eucharistic Congress of1932, a display of ecclesiasticaltriumphalism that exploited thereligious beliefs of the majority to fortifythe established social order. Indeed itwas believed by some that religion andnationality were coterminous, or oughtto be.There were, of course, such priests

as Father Michael O’Flanagan, whosupported republicanism in Ireland andin Spain, but they were a smallminority.Some aspects of the period will

appear both funny and scary to thepresent generation, such as thecampaign against jazz. Hundreds ofthousands of people took part in thatcampaign, although most of themprobably had never heard jazz.Other events are recalled in the film,

such as the “outdoor relief riots” of1932 in Belfast. This was a campaignfor an increase in the dole, in whichcommunists played a leading role andwhich united Catholic and Protestantworkers—something that terrified theOrange oligarchy. It is suggested thatthe exclusion of the English communisttrade union leader Tom Mann fromNorthern Ireland and his “extradition”to Britain put the idea of expellingGralton from Ireland into the minds ofhis enemies.The question arises, Why was James

Gralton (1886–1945) such a hatefigure for the powers that be? FiannaFáil could handle radicals; de Valerahad a few around him (mainly female),for a while at least. Gralton was acommunist, in ideology and affiliation,and a communist known, liked andrespected in his own community of

small farmers and agriculturallabourers. Worse, he had renovated thePearse-Connolly Hall in Effrinagh, fivemiles from Carrick-on-Shannon, Co.Leitrim, not merely as a meeting-placeor a recreation hall but as a centre foradult education. Now, that was reallydangerous. (At about the same timethe communist professor of Greek atUniversity College, Galway, GeorgeThomson, pioneered extra-muralcourses open to all in Irish towns. Thatscheme too came under suspicion andwas eventually terminated, and a sighof relief no doubt went up fromsupporters of the ruling class when hereturned to his native England in1934.)This is one of Ken Loach’s best films.

He is a brilliant film-maker, though hisbrilliance is sometimes dimmed by hisultra-leftist prejudice against organisedcommunism. This film is free of that.Even his distinctive discussion scenesin Jimmy’s Hall are, for once, realisticand untiring.On his return to Ireland in 1932

Gralton joined the Leitrim RevolutionaryWorkers’ Group. These groups were thesuccessors of the first Communist Partyof Ireland of 1921–23 and became thecore of the Communist Party refoundedin 1933 under the leadership of YoungJim Larkin and Seán Murray. From hisdeportation to his 1945 death fromcancer in New York, Gralton was anactive member of the Communist Partyof the USA. He became a trade unionorganiser and was involved in fund-raising for the International Brigades inSpain.Irish communists and the left in

general belong to a great nativetradition, in which Jim Gralton is ashining light. [CDF]

The Hall that Jimmy built

DeportedJimmy GraltonAn UndesirableAlienby Des Guckian,first published in1986, has beenre-printed by theCommunist Partyof Ireland and isavailable fromConnolly Books,43 East EssexStreet Dublin 201-6708707connollybooks@eircom.net