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A
number of contributors to the Blanket have raised
issues concerning political disunity, sects and political
sectarianism etc. In this article I will attempt to
give a honest practical and ideological assessment
and reasoning on the issue of political sectarianism
and how it can possibly be combated.
After
approximately five years of being involved in a revolutionary
socialist party I have learnt and begun to understand
much in relation to the politics of the Left. Writing
from the experience as a member of the Belfast SWP
- an organization which is relevant despite its still
small size - which has developed to become the most
active and influential socialist organization in Belfast.
Apart from two unprecedented events in the last year
or so of both initiating several hundred anti-capitalist
and then several hundred anti-war activists on to
the streets of Belfast we are presently involved in
several successful ongoing campaigns in cooperation
with others. Yet it is the situation by groupings
on the left in the North and the political sectarianism
within them which I will attempt to address. I firmly
believe that there still genuine forces active within
them.
My
starting point is simple in that it is not how relevant
you perceive yourself to be are but the actuality
of that relevancy both to and within the working class.
Yet unless even in an initial small way you begin
to deliver in practice that which you talk of in ideas
then your inactions will lead to the continual concretizing
of both your perceived and real irrelevance to wider
society. My early experiences with some of the groupings
on the left and their lack of development over those
five years has lead to an understanding to that lack
of growth. I believe the failure to develop lies at
the door of four root causes inherent within these
groupings: political sectarianism, ideological internalism,
abstraction and protectionism.
Firstly
the issue of sectarianism where the main problem for
the particular grouping lies not at the foot of capitalism
but perceived to be at the foot of other organizations
on the Left. So then on many occasions both their
energies and political development are focused blindly
in that direction.
A
recent practical example of this is at the recent
NIPSA trade union conference where a socialist organization
which have been building there for many years did
everything in their power to attempt to hamper a differing
socialist organization’s fringe meeting. Despite
doing this the meeting by young SWP union activists
attracted around forty people - about twice the delegates
of the other organization. The reason why I raise
this is that it is important to learn lessons and
it was because that on this occasion - which is now
being repeated frequently - that non-party aligned
individuals felt the need to approach us as the sectarianism
towards us was so obvious.
So
despite their attempts to hamper us through open sectarianism
and in spite of the rhetoric our work on the ground
within the union meant that people both during and
after the conference were pulled in our direction.
As one non-party aligned delegate recently told me,
'two hours cornered in the bar of anti-SWP ranting
and ear bashing simply because I was seen talking
to you.' So yet another has had their eyes opened.
While our growing numbers of young union activists
can deal with this type of political immaturity a
more serious aspect of sectarianism manifested itself
only a few days later, which potentially has wider
repercussions.
A
picket on the night of Alex Maskey’s election
as mayor was called by NIPSA in support of a sacked
union colleague. When a member of the press arrived
whom I know, a leading union activist of that said
organization grabbed the journalist’s arm while
he was talking to me and said, 'fuck that, don't talk
to him'. I presume 'him' was meant in the context
of seeing me as SWP rather than a leading NIPSA branch
officer of the largest civil service branch who was
there to both show solidarity and representation on
behalf of my branch to a colleague. This, again obvious
sectarianism only days after the previous incident,
did two things. Firstly the journalist has now realized
the sectarian nature of that organization as he felt
moved to contact me on the issue. Yet secondly it
carves out a more serious matter: because of that
sectarian outburst it means that persons from that
guys branch will go away seeing or hearing of that
disunity and take it back to their branch just before
they are to vote for strike action in support of him.
How many will vote for action of support when they
have seen such sectarian disunity?
I
believe that outburst scrapes the bottom of the pile
and unfortunately may impact on a colleague’s
chances of re-instatement. So in effect his sectarianism
towards the organization of which I am a member was
of greater importance to him that the unity we had
collectively shown for our colleague. While the SWP
will deal with the sectarianism of some towards us,
it is when it effects a working colleague then it
becomes increasingly sad and further sinks into the
cesspool of sectarianism. For the record to that union
colleague from the Socialist Party all I can say is
shame, shame on you.
So
where does this come from, it comes from firstly ideological
internalism, where the party increasingly looks inwards
and so the practical and ideological aspects of the
party and its limited internal networks becomes the
perceived instrument for change rather than the working
class. It progresses to where the party continually
sees others on the Left as the problem rather than
the system it theoretically opposes. This leads to
its theory and its limited practice becoming continually
defensive, with theory ever ascending over practice.
This leads then on to protectionism which due to the
party becoming ever more internal they then viciously
hold on to that what they perceive they have. In doing
so the party becomes ever more protectionist which
we will see both practically through increased sectarianism
and ideologically through increased ideological internalism.
In effect as the protectionism ultimately increases
the party will further bend towards authoritarianism.
What
I have also found becoming an increasing feature is
that the more a party becomes internal the more abstract
it tends to become. This is because it attempts to
theoretically change the world to suit themselves
rather than putting ideas into practice to attempt
to bring change to the world. An example of this was
the Short Strand. While we in a small way worked behind
the scenes for a resolution, we also answered the
call for solidarity for an
anti-sectarian rally from the residents against the
nightly attacks. While our trade union representatives
from UNISON, NIPSA, ATGWU, NASUWT etc were at the
rally we witnessed both bomb attacks by loyalists
and a young man next to us shot in the chest by the
PSNI. So, as we did several months prior, we began
to put pressure on the trade unions while in tandem
launching a network petition for solidarity. The 'left'
were noticeable by their absence as one grouping had
called for an immediate socialist revolution pitting
themselves as the vanguard, while a larger socialist
party were reluctant to take a position on the increasing
nightly attacks on the small nationalist enclave in
fear of alienating the protestant working class by
being seen to support the catholic working class?
Such
abstraction comes from internal politics concentrated
on purity of theory. This purism is absolute over
the conditions for and the relation to practice at
a given time, thus leading to isolation from the instrument
of change as defined by Marx. So rather than burying
your head in the sand, reverting to abstraction or
vocal armchair observations, when sectarianism raises
its head you need to stand firm at the forefront with
working people against repression. It amuses me at
times when we take a lead that these groupings shout
from the back or sides 'SWP front' - 'sectarians'
etc. It does not matter if we have just mobilized
hundreds of people onto Belfast's streets those groupings,
through an internal clone-like mindset, feel the need
to shout such. I remember once the same group that
were sectarian to us at the NIPSA conference sent
along their Northern organizer to one of our campaigns.
About forty people sat in the room; many non party
aligned and all were discussing the ongoing campaign.
This person when afforded the right to speak spoke
for fifteen minutes solely against the SWP and its
politics, never once mentioning the campaign. He then
called for a new campaign under a different name which
he would set up and that people should see him afterwards.
To be honest some people thought he was just a nutter
while once again everyone realized that organization
sectarianism which was reflected in the fact by how
people positioned themselves to avoid contact with
that solitary figure at the end of the meeting. When
I state such instances now amuse me while before they
annoyed me they do also still sadden me as these organizations
do hold some genuine activists and socialists which
if afforded the opportunity would work fraternally
with others.
So
then as with the Short Stand issue it is important
to put ideas into practice. This means that when sectarianism
rises it is important to show that unity is possible.
For example while working around the Short Strand
issue we also are trying to build support for the
sacked airport strikers. So this week around twenty
people worked on our central Belfast stall including
five strikers as well as comrades at the West Belfast
stall and in Corn Market. On a wet afternoon in the
space of one and a half hours we both raised awareness
and almost three hundred pounds from our supporters
for the strikers. We also took them around some of
Belfast's largest union branches in which our members
sit to again gather support. So the ideas of working
class unity was put into practice against the backdrop
of sectarian violence, thus the practical relevance
of our voiced ideas.
The
question then of how one relates to the working class
is by putting those ideas into practice yet some have
raised the issue of the practicalities of our stalls
and whether or not it helps or hinders our politics.
The stalls or sales as seen with the airport strikers
are merely a part tactical means to a platform not
usually afforded to those on the far left, which may
move to a differing tactical approach as influences
grows.
So
in conclusion there are a number of points I have
learnt through these first few years. Firstly that
those who genuinely attempt to relate to the working
class tend at times to be more genuinely interested
in working with other forces to fight for class issues.
Secondly that the political sectarianism in Belfast
once constantly put against us in the years prior
is increasingly becoming isolated and concentrated
within those internalized groupings. This is to a
large part due to us increasingly finding ourselves
working with larger and more representative forces
where the priority lies within the campaigns and not
within differing politics. Thirdly political sectarianism
within the left is defeated not by the methods of
those who embrace it but by relating ideologically
and practically to wider relevant layers. Through
this both the sectarianism and indeed those groupings
I have found will become increasingly irrelevant as
they sink through their sectarianism into ever more
internalism and wilder abstraction.
Finally
the SWP have and will work with all those genuine
forces on the left in Belfast of which I know of quite
a few yet we look also to the layers in wider society
who wish to fight for working class issues. May it
be in the unions or those attempting to establish
union recognition, or those in campaigns or those
wishing to initiate one. As the SWP in Belfast moves
to a new stage in its development we believe socialists
and like minded people can begin to develop a growing
alliance of individuals, groups and organizations
around N. Ireland for collective support and the development
of campaigns and long term alliances. We need also
to pool our ideas and forces collectively to fight
on working class issues, whether in the workplace,
communities or tactically within elections. Those
who know me know I argue to work fraternally with
others if others are prepared to also work fraternally.
They would also know that I have always said it as
I see it as I believe there is no point in talking
the talk without taking a lead in walking the walk.
So on that note for those who want to attempt to put
class politics back on the map or are just interested
in the initial sharing of such ideas contact me for
discussion at carlindavid@hotmail.com
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