World Socialist Party (Ireland)

Political party in Ireland

World Socialist Party (Ireland)

Leader| None
Founded| 1949
Dissolved| 1990s
Headquarters| Donegall Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Newspaper| Socialist View
Ideology| Impossibilism
Classical Marxism
Socialism
International affiliation| World Socialist Movement
Colours|  Red

* Politics of Ireland
* Political parties
* Elections

The World Socialist Party (Ireland),[1] founded as the Socialist Party of Ireland in 1949 before changing its name a decade later,[2] was a Marxist political party in the impossibilist tradition. It was a companion party of the World Socialist Movement (WSM) and was closely connected to the Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB).[3] The party's offices were in Belfast and it was most active in Northern Ireland, although it was also active in the Republic of Ireland. The party participated in elections in Northern Ireland, but without success.[4] Socialist View was the party's newspaper. The party disbanded in the 1990s.[5]

## Political positions

[edit]

As with all parties in the WSM, the object of the World Socialist Party of Ireland was "[t]he establishment of a system of society based upon the common ownership and democratic control of the means and instruments for producing and distributing wealth by and in the interests of the whole community.[6]

The party was staunchly anti-Leninist. Along with its companion parties in the WSM, it believed that socialism could only be established when the majority of the population decided that socialism was in their best interests, not through a revolutionary vanguard.[6] The party held that parliament could and should be used in the course of establishing a socialist society.

The party stressed the limited nature of any reform within the capitalist system, saying of the Irish Labour Party that it "serves capitalism just as faithfully as the other political parties, and as you cannot serve capitalism and the majority of the people at the same time, the Labour Party is as much to be condemned from the workers' viewpoint as the others. It does not and cannot act in the interests of the Irish working class".[7]

The party articulated its views on Northern Ireland and the Troubles in two documents, Ireland: Past, Present and Future (1983) and The Anglo-Irish Accord and Its Irrelevance for the Working Class (1986). Like other Marxist parties, it believed that the origins of the conflict lay in divide and rule tactics of the ruling class, of privileging Protestant workers over Catholic ones.[8] Unlike many other parties of the left, it also believed that nationalism and identity politics were no solution. Indeed, it was argued that this focus stood in the way of achieving socialism and therefore both republican and loyalist paramilitaries were considered to be "fighting the bosses' battles".[9] The British government was denounced for participating in political terrorism while claiming to oppose it.[10] The Catholic civil rights campaign was also seen as amounting to nothing more than an insistence that the miseries of capitalism be distributed equally among the working class without regard to religion while something better could be created.[10] The party did claim to oppose partition but only the partition "between the rich and the poor, between the capitalist class and the working class".[11]

The party viewed the Irish War of Independence in much the same light as it viewed the later conflict in Northern Ireland, saying that as far as the working class was concerned, it only amounted to a change in masters.[12]

## Publications

[edit]

* Manifesto of the Socialist Party of Ireland. 1949. OCLC 939655771.
* Ireland: Past, Present and Future. 1983. OCLC 30917390.
* The Anglo-Irish Accord and it's Irrelevance for the Working Class. 1986.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ The Anglo-Irish Accord and Its Irrelevance for the Working Class (1986). Alternatively referred to as the World Socialist Party of Ireland.
2. ^ "Discussion between Richard (Dick) Montague and Ciaran Crossey" (21 November 1987). Retrieved 1 July 2018.
3. ^ Ireland: Past, Present and Future (1983).
4. ^ Richard Montague (2004). "Northern Ireland: Our first election campaign". Published in Socialist Standard. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
5. ^ David Marlborough (2007). "Obituary: Sean Doherty". Published in Socialist Standard. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
6. ^ a b Manifesto of the Socialist Party of Ireland (1949).
7. ^ Manifesto of the Socialist Party of Ireland (1949). p. 13.
8. ^ The Anglo-Irish Accord and Its Irrelevance for the Working Class (1986). p. 6.
9. ^ Ireland: Past, Present and Future (1983). p. 25.
10. ^ a b Ireland: Past, Present and Future (1983). p. 16.
11. ^ Socialist Standard (1999). "50 Years Ago: A Letter from Ireland". Retrieved 16 September 2014.
12. ^ Manifesto of the Socialist Party of Ireland (1949). p. 7.

## External links

[edit]

* Manifesto of the Socialist Party of Ireland (1949).
* Ireland: Past, Present and Future (1983).
* The Anglo-Irish Accord and it's Irrelevance for the Working Class (1986).
* Archive of Socialist View newspapers from the late 1980s.

* v
* t
* e

Defunct political parties in Ireland

to 1918|

| Home Rule/Nationalist|

* All-for-Ireland League
* Catholic Union
* Healyite Nationalist
* Home Government Association
* Home Rule League
* Independent Irish Party
* Irish National Federation
* Irish National League
* Irish Parliamentary Party
* Irish Patriot Party
* Irish Reform Association
* Irish Socialist Republican Party
* Repeal Association
* United Irish League

|

Unionist|

* Irish Conservative Party
* Irish Liberal Party
* Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union
* Irish Metropolitan Conservative Society
* Irish Unionist Alliance

Pan-UK parties|

* Radicals
* Tories
* Whigs

post 1918|

| Communist and far-left|

* British and Irish Communist Organisation
* Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist–Leninist)
* Independent Socialist Party
* Irish Worker League
* Irish Workers' Group
* Irish Workers' Party (1926)
* Irish Workers' Party (1948)
* League for a Workers' Republic
* Vanguard Movement
* Republican Congress
* Revolutionary Workers' Groups
* Saor Éire
* Socialist Party of Ireland (1904)
* Socialist Party of Ireland (1971)
* Workers League
* World Socialist Party

|

Socialist and left-wing|

* Cork Socialist Party
* Democratic Left
* Democratic Socialist Party
* National Labour Party
* National Progressive Democrats
* Sligo–Leitrim Independent Socialist Organisation
* Socialist Labour Party
* United Left
* United Left Alliance

Republican and nationalist|

* All Ireland Anti-Partition League
* Anti H-Block
* Aontacht Éireann
* Clann Éireann
* Clann na Poblachta
* Cumann na Poblachta
* Cumann Poblachta na hÉireann
* Independent Fianna Fáil
* Irish Anti-Partition League
* Irish Independence Party
* National Party (1924)

Liberal|

* Community Democrats of Ireland
* Liberal Party of Ireland
* Progressive Democrats
* Women's Social and Progressive League

Agrarian|

* Clann na Talmhan
* Farmers' Party
* National Democratic Party

Conservative and right-wing|

* Business and Professional Group
* Cork Civic Party
* Cumann na nGaedheal
* Libertas
* National Centre Party
* National League Party
* Social Credit Party

Christian right|

* Catholic Democrats
* Christian Centrist Party
* Christian Democrat Party of Ireland
* Christian Solidarity Party
* Muintir na hÉireann
* Poblacht Chríostúil

Unionist|

* Donegal Progressive Party
* Irish Centre Party
* Irish Dominion League
* Unionist Anti-Partition League

Far-right|

* Ailtirí na hAiséirghe
* Córas na Poblachta
* Identity Ireland
* Immigration Control Platform
* Irish Monetary Reform Association
* Lia Fáil
* National Corporate Party
* National Socialist Irish Workers Party

Other|

* Fathers Rights-Responsibility Party
* Independent Health Alliance
* Irish Democratic Party
* Irish Monarchist Society
* Natural Law Party
* New Vision

* Politics of the Republic of Ireland
* Current political parties in the Republic of Ireland
* Elections in the Republic of Ireland
* List of political parties by country

* v
* t
* e

Defunct political parties of Northern Ireland

Unionist / Loyalist|

* Commonwealth Labour Party
* Independent Unionist Association
* NI21
* Northern Ireland Unionist Party
* Protestant Unionist Party
* UK Unionist Party
* Ulster Constitution Party
* Ulster Democratic Party
* Ulster Popular Unionist Party
* Ulster Progressive Unionist Association
* Ulster Unionist Coalition Party
* Ulster Unionist Labour Association
* Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
* United Ulster Unionist Council
* United Ulster Unionist Party
* United Unionist Coalition
* Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party
* Volunteer Political Party

Nationalist / Republican|

* All Ireland Anti-Partition League
* Federation of Labour
* Fianna Uladh
* Irish Anti-Partition League
* Irish Independence Party
* Irish Union Association
* National Democratic Party
* Nationalist Party
* National League of the North
* National Unity
* Northern Council for Unity
* Official Sinn Féin
* People's Democracy
* Red Republican Party
* Republican Socialist Collective
* Saor Éire
* Socialist Republican Party
* Unity

Left-wing1|

* Belfast Labour Party
* Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist–Leninist)
* Communist Party of Northern Ireland
* Democratic Left
* Dock Labour Party
* Independent Labour Group
* Independent Socialist Party
* Labour coalition
* Labour Party of Northern Ireland
* Labour and Trade Union Group
* League for a Workers' Republic
* Northern Ireland Labour Party
* Republican Labour Party
* Socialist Labour Alliance
* Socialist Party of Northern Ireland
* United Labour Party
* Workers League
* World Socialist Party

Ulster nationalist|

* British Ulster Dominion Party
* Ulster Independence Movement
* Ulster Independence Party
* Ulster Movement for Self-Determination
* Ulster Third Way

Others|

* Democratic Partnership
* Natural Law Party
* Newtownabbey Ratepayers' Association
* Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
* Ulster Liberal Party
* Unbought Tenants' Association

1 Excluding those left-wing parties avowedly nationalist / republican or unionist / loyalist.

* v
* t
* e

World Socialist Movement

Companion parties|

* The Socialist Party of Great Britain
* The Socialist Party of Canada
* World Socialist Party of the United States
* World Socialist Party of India
* World Socialist Party of New Zealand

Defunct companion parties|

* World Socialist Party of Australia
* World Socialist Party (Ireland)

Notable members|

* Jack Fitzgerald
* Thomas A. Jackson
* Albert E. Jacomb
* Edgar Hardcastle
* Tony Turner
* Jim D'Arcy
* Harry Young
* Harry Baldwin
* Robert Barltrop
* Cyril May
* Adam Buick

Official publications|

* Socialist Standard (SPGB)
* Western Socialist (WSPUS)
* Imagine (SPC)
* World Socialist Review (WSPUS)
* World Socialist Journal (WSM)
* Forum Journal (SPGB)
* Socialist View (SPI)
* Socialist Review (SPNZ)
* Socialist Comment (SPA)

Breakaway groups|

* Socialist Propaganda League
* Social Science Association
* Libertarian Communism (journal)
* Spanner (journal)
* Socialist Studies (1989)
* World Socialist Party of Canada
* Socialist Party of North America (1911)
* Bund Demokratischer Sozialisten (Austria)

Related|

* Socialist Party of Canada (non-WSM)
* Proletarian Party of America (adopted principles of SPGB)
* Radio Imagine
* Social Democratic Federation
* Socialist Party of America
* Socialist Party of Great Britain debates
* Winnipeg general strike
* Western Clarion (carried a regular column from WSM)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Czech Republic

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