This article by Eoin Ó Murchú first appeared in Unity, the weekly publication of the Irish Communist Party.
NORTH and South we are going backwards. Instead of things improving the crises in housing, health, employment and cost of living continue to get worse and worse.
Democracy is supposed to be about accountability, but the government in Dublin ignores the needs of the citizens and devotes its energies to making sure that the rich, the investors, the vulture funds and the speculators do well. And the voters let them away with it.
Despite the manifest discontent with how everything is mismanaged there is little sign in the opinion polls that they will be turfed out. The Left has not yet convinced the electorate that it will deliver and that it will make a reality of its rhetoric for change.
In the North, the situation is even worse. The Executive just doesn’t function in any real way. Power-sharing, which was meant to ensure equality, has just resulted in paralysis.
Of course, the North does not have revenue raising powers or the right to effect a transfer of wealth from the rich to the poor. It is totally dependent on Westminster for its financing, and Westminster, like Dublin, is only interested in making things go well for the rich and the owners of capital. Irish communists repeat that all the failures of the present system come from the very nature of capitalism. That nature is to use resources for the rich and privileged, and to let the smallest amount possible trickle down to the working class whose labour actually creates the wealth of any society.
What are we to do? If we, the workers, remain passive on the side-lines nothing will change. We need to aim to take power for our class, away from foreign investors, away from compliant capitalists and use the wealth of the country for the needs of the many.
The first step in that is to get involved. Our unions and community organisations are places where workers can organise active involvement to bring our needs and demands to the fore. This is the context in which we can approach the divisive issue of national unity. What communists look for is a new order in all of Ireland in which workers from whatever background share the wealth in common.
Catholic and Protestant, and people of no religion, together with the indigenous and immigrant communities have common interests. Instead of fighting each other we need to fight with each other against our common capitalist enemy. The unity of Ireland that we call for is certainly not Rome Rule. Nor is it British rule, nor European rule, nor middle class rule, but a unity in which we the working class rule. To do that we must begin the process of working together.
The parties in the executive must be pressured to set aside sectarian differences – even on vital issues such as national unity – and find areas where we can work together. How much stronger will our voice be if Sinn Féin and the DUP were genuinely to combine to demand from Britain the resources we need to build a decent society with proper social services and with real attention paid to the issues of climate change and economic development. But they will not do this, unless we, the voters, use our combined strength to make them.
In nationalist areas, we should demand serious action from Sinn Féin and in Unionist areas the same should be demanded of the DUP. We cannot let the parties paddle their own canoes, and leave us stranded and waiting.
Already there is barely any confidence that the institutions are of any use.
The only thing that keeps them is that direct rule from Westminster would be even worse.