EDITORIAL
WorkersRepublic. Summer 2007, V.1 No.2,
This issue of the Workers’ Republic will appear to many readers to be a radical departure from the initial edition of our periodical. Accordingly, we take this opportunity to explain the perspective of the International Republican Socialist Network concerning the function of Workers’ Republic.
Stated in the simplest terms, we see Workers’ Republic as a propaganda vehicle. That is, it is a public forum for the IRSN to advance its analysis on world events of importance to the working class struggle, in general, and the republican socialist struggles of those nations where that analysis is most germane, in particular.
We have no illusions about our preparedness to publish on a weekly, monthly, or even consistently on a quarterly basis at present, nor do we wish to make pretense as to our abilities. Certainly, it is our objective to steadily increase the frequency of publication as our network grows and develops, but our chief concern is ensuring the articulation of a consistent, revolutionary, republican socialist analysis and until we possess the resources to facilitate frequent publication, we will not be driven to it prematurely.
Because our publication schedule will, for the present, be quarterly at best, we cannot hope to serve as a primary source for breaking news or make topical considerations a primary focus for editorial decisions.
Another factor that greatly affects our approach to Workers’ Republic’s content is the reality that the level of struggle in the various nations we believe are best served by a republican socialist analysis (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Puerto Rico, Brittany, the Basque lands, Catalonia, Quebec, and Man) are far from equal. Moreover, at present, the IRSN’s level of contact with the leading republican socialist activists in these various nations are equally uneven. Accordingly, we cannot hope, on a regular basis to duplicate the approach taken in our initial issue of including updates on all of these struggles. Ireland remains a leading focus today, despite the clear defeat of the revolutionary movement for the present, but Scotland is rapidly moving to overtake it in contemporary importance. Likewise, though chiefly taking the form of extracting the lessons from a period of contemporary set backs, the struggle in the Basque lands remains important, but stirrings in Quebec may signal that struggle swiftly moving towards the center of our focus and it is possible the general renewal of revolutionary politics in Latin America that has followed in the train of the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela may give fresh impetus to the struggle of the Puerto Rican working class in the near future.
Toreiterate what we said in our editorial last issue, Workers’ Republic will focus on (1) building awareness of and support for contemporary republican socialist struggles being waged; (2) providing a forum for preserving the revolutionary traditions of republican socialism, (3) encouraging the continued development of a specific republican socialist analysis; and (4) critiquing contemporary movements struggling under the banner of republican socialism.”
We remain faithful to the tasks we set for ourselves at that time with this issue, but our focus has been shifted towards the latter three areas of concern, though we have not completely forsaken the first. We want to be clear, however, that it is not our intent that this should consistently be the case. Instead, we plan to provide our readers with what we feel is our most valuable contribution to the republican socialist struggles around the globe at the time we head to press. For this issue, we feel proud in providing what we believe are important and insightful articles by a number of our comrades, grappling with some of the defining elements of republican socialism. In the future, we hope to provide coverage of equal value assessing some of the leading groupings involved in the national liberation and socialist struggles currently moving to the center of the world stage, those in Scotland and Quebec. As we enhance our networking with activists in Brittany and Catalonia, we will also look forward to providing improved coverage of these less well know struggles for national liberation and socialism.
In closing, we will use the same words with which we ended our editorial in our first issue: We hope you will find Workers’ Republic informative and a source of greater understanding of the republican socialist tendency within the international revolutionary movement and a growing appreciation of the unique and profound contribution that has been made to international socialism by the leading theorists and activist comrades of our tendency.
This issue of the Workers’ Republic will appear to many readers to be a radical departure from the initial edition of our periodical. Accordingly, we take this opportunity to explain the perspective of the International Republican Socialist Network concerning the function of Workers’ Republic.
Stated in the simplest terms, we see Workers’ Republic as a propaganda vehicle. That is, it is a public forum for the IRSN to advance its analysis on world events of importance to the working class struggle, in general, and the republican socialist struggles of those nations where that analysis is most germane, in particular.
We have no illusions about our preparedness to publish on a weekly, monthly, or even consistently on a quarterly basis at present, nor do we wish to make pretense as to our abilities. Certainly, it is our objective to steadily increase the frequency of publication as our network grows and develops, but our chief concern is ensuring the articulation of a consistent, revolutionary, republican socialist analysis and until we possess the resources to facilitate frequent publication, we will not be driven to it prematurely.
Because our publication schedule will, for the present, be quarterly at best, we cannot hope to serve as a primary source for breaking news or make topical considerations a primary focus for editorial decisions.
Another factor that greatly affects our approach to Workers’ Republic’s content is the reality that the level of struggle in the various nations we believe are best served by a republican socialist analysis (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Puerto Rico, Brittany, the Basque lands, Catalonia, Quebec, and Man) are far from equal. Moreover, at present, the IRSN’s level of contact with the leading republican socialist activists in these various nations are equally uneven. Accordingly, we cannot hope, on a regular basis to duplicate the approach taken in our initial issue of including updates on all of these struggles. Ireland remains a leading focus today, despite the clear defeat of the revolutionary movement for the present, but Scotland is rapidly moving to overtake it in contemporary importance. Likewise, though chiefly taking the form of extracting the lessons from a period of contemporary set backs, the struggle in the Basque lands remains important, but stirrings in Quebec may signal that struggle swiftly moving towards the center of our focus and it is possible the general renewal of revolutionary politics in Latin America that has followed in the train of the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela may give fresh impetus to the struggle of the Puerto Rican working class in the near future.
Toreiterate what we said in our editorial last issue, Workers’ Republic will focus on (1) building awareness of and support for contemporary republican socialist struggles being waged; (2) providing a forum for preserving the revolutionary traditions of republican socialism, (3) encouraging the continued development of a specific republican socialist analysis; and (4) critiquing contemporary movements struggling under the banner of republican socialism.”
We remain faithful to the tasks we set for ourselves at that time with this issue, but our focus has been shifted towards the latter three areas of concern, though we have not completely forsaken the first. We want to be clear, however, that it is not our intent that this should consistently be the case. Instead, we plan to provide our readers with what we feel is our most valuable contribution to the republican socialist struggles around the globe at the time we head to press. For this issue, we feel proud in providing what we believe are important and insightful articles by a number of our comrades, grappling with some of the defining elements of republican socialism. In the future, we hope to provide coverage of equal value assessing some of the leading groupings involved in the national liberation and socialist struggles currently moving to the center of the world stage, those in Scotland and Quebec. As we enhance our networking with activists in Brittany and Catalonia, we will also look forward to providing improved coverage of these less well know struggles for national liberation and socialism.
In closing, we will use the same words with which we ended our editorial in our first issue: We hope you will find Workers’ Republic informative and a source of greater understanding of the republican socialist tendency within the international revolutionary movement and a growing appreciation of the unique and profound contribution that has been made to international socialism by the leading theorists and activist comrades of our tendency.
