Socialist Voice Review:
May – 2023
At last, an article on the war in Ukraine and an article on multipolarity.
War is an accurate and succinct overview of the war in Ukraine and correctly includes references to Irish neutrality. However, it should have been left at that. Unfortunately, it turns into a mix of subjects none of which gets the necessary attention they deserve. There was and is no need to embellish commentary with calls for “Irish progressive and democratic forces must rally…….” to do this or that. When the CPI actually has a plan for what to do then would be the time to include such calls.
Multipolarity and US Hegemony is to be welcomed as a first effort by the CPI to inform its readers on political and economic developments taking place in the world. While it is not very deep it lays out some of the issues. Rather than concentrating on some examples of new developments it would have been more useful to present a tighter overview, a critical assessment and start to address how we should respond to these developments.
On the same subjects, War and peace in a shifting global political environment is another thoughtful article.
“As the contradictions underpinning the global order continue to heighten, so too does the contradiction between war and peace”.
Once again though, there are a number of calls for very sensible actions but unfortunately no hint as to how anyone might start to achieve them. Sometimes commentary is enough: this is particularly true if the author or the organisation is not in a position to advance the issues further. Not every author or organisation has to be or needs to be in such a position. Debate and education can be legitimate activities in their own right.
But making calls for this or that when there is no intention or possibility of initiating or developing the groundwork to achieve such actions is pure nonsense and exposes a lack of clarity in the intentions of the author. This is a common feature in other articles in this issue of Socialist Voice and in previous issues.
There is one article that is quite puzzling: Why do corporations want you to go back to office (sic) so badly? There are many positions and points of view on the issue of working from home and some of them are addressed here and many are not. However, the most glaring omission is in relation to the organisation/organising of labour. There is not a single reference to any possible implications for trade unionism or the known propensity of workers to be more tied to their work and put in longer hours. Ultimately, the employers will do what’s good for profit, not caring one whit about the workers. This article adds nothing to the debate.
On the visit of Joe Biden is worth a read if for nothing else the very clear appraisal on the antics of Sinn Féin.
Meanwhile, over on the CPI website things going from bad to worse. Completely devoid of any meaningful content – not to mention any source of inspiration – the bleakness of the state of the Party is laid bare. Despite numerous calls for the Party to stop showing everyone just how small it is, it insists on reminding us at every opportunity.
Photos from the Party’s involvement in May Day marches in Dublin and Belfast and a protest against the British coronation adorn the main page. If one photo was not enough to convince people that the Party is very small then there were many more to choose from to drive the fact home. Why? An absence of inspiration of any sort completes the picture. Is this the best the CPI can do?