The CPI defied its own Constitution (Part 3)
In Part 3 we argue that the current state of affairs in the CPI is not just the result of negligence or inexperience, but of deliberate and callous actions designed to satisfy the fearful minds of the leadership – over generations. Fearful minds who saw ‘threats’ in every word and action of members who did not show sufficient deference to their betters.
Just like most liberals will let you down just when you need them the most, the Communist Party of Ireland too will let you down when you need it the most. The world is in turmoil, capitalism is in turmoil and naturally, instead of being organised and disciplined, the CPI is in turmoil.
Our exposé of the inner workings of the CPI in our previous posts has remained unanswered and undisputed just like all the other accusations we have levelled against the Party for more than two years.
Either the accusations are true or they are not. If they are not true, then the CPI should have defended itself and its reputation. It is of little consequence who is making the accusations – the only issue is the accuracy or otherwise of the accusations.
Our previous observations that the CPI cannot defend itself appear to be accurate also. The Party has exposed its soft underbelly and is now open to legitimate probing from friend and foe alike. To place itself in such a position, to paralyse any capacity to defend itself, to leave itself open to ridicule would be tragic if all that was the consequence of negligence or inexperience.
However, the actions that have brought us to this state of affairs were not the result of negligence or inexperience alone, they were deliberate and callous actions designed to satisfy the fearful minds of successive leaderships. Fearful minds who saw ‘threats’ in every word and action of members who did not show sufficient deference to their betters.
Which naturally brings us back to the membership – a membership that has learned its proper place in the whole scheme of things in order to be able to remain in the Party and live out their political fantasies in relative peace. The fact that there is no real unease within its ranks shows the acceptance by the membership of the leadership and their disastrous actions.
“Members of the upper class clearly enjoy their own ideology because it validates their social superiority. Primarily, however, ideology serves to confuse and pacify the lower classes. They will accept their misery and remain docile if they are convinced the class structure is just and proper.” Karl Marx
Unfortunately, this principle has been adopted by members of the CPI – they accept their misery and remain docile if they are convinced that the leadership – irrespective of all contrary evidence – is acting in the best interests of the Party.
It is also clear that the membership has no concept of the consequences of those actions. Actions that debased the Party and contaminated everything the Party is supposed to stand for. Actions that have rendered the Party defenceless and impotent.
What sort of communists are these? The sort of communists we can rely on to oppose capitalism, to fight for justice, to wage class war? Is it reasonable to think that communists who are unable to defend the rules and Constitution of their own Party, communists who sat silent while other members were being hounded out of the Party, communists afraid to open their mouths against injustice in the Party could be reliable leaders or partners in the struggles for socialism outside the Party?
How are people to be convinced of the moral, social and ethical characteristics of socialism by a Party that first, offended all those principles, then flatly refused to correct itself and which is burdened with a weak and obedient membership base?
Again, if all this sounds harsh, then we have to consider how leadership at all levels within the Party thought they could get away with all the breaches described in these posts. They thought they could get away with it because they were sure that most of the membership would not put up any resistance – and on this they were absolutely correct
Groucho Marxists
A combination of small minds with a little power and enormous egos, combined with no ambition, no direction and no strategy resulted in officers and entire committees at branch, regional and national levels assuming dictatorial powers. They then accused members who declined to accept such aberrations as being disruptive. They then went on to abuse the assumed powers even further to expel, by one means or another, under one pretext or another, members who even questioned this overt abuse of power.
The big cry since the collapse of the Soviet Union and socialism in eastern Europe was that the CPI had not turned eurocommunist or indeed, dissolved. There is a certain truth to this. However, there is no question that the Party rested on its laurels for having successfully cleared the first hurdles.
What was the point of this if it then went on to run itself into the ground via the old roads of complete lack of organisation or purpose, espousing exceptionalism and naked sectarianism, and always putting on display its inability to sustain a single political campaign? What was the point of imposing a cult-like obedience from members towards the leadership and the various committees? And what accounts for its complete inability to properly assess its actual standing in the working class movements and in the political reality of the country?
Having remained ‘pure’ initially, the CPI is now a Groucho Marxist party – to paraphrase that other great Marxist thinker – ‘these are our principles, and if we don’t like them….. well, we have others.’
Part 4 will look at some possibilities for the future of the CPI
The CPI defied its own Constitution (Part 1)