IRSN Statement to the SRSM Ard Fheis
2 Jan 2011
The comrades of the International Republican Socialist Network send revolutionary greetings to the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement on the occasion of their Ard Fheis.
The wisdom of John MacLean remains as pertinent today as it did at the close of the First World War and continues to point the way forward for Scottish working people--their liberation as a class remains tied to the national liberation of Scotland itself. As in MacLean's day, this remains true because the level of class consciousness within the Scottish working class still surpasses that of their class sisters and brothers in England, making the prospect for successful class struggle greater in an independent Scotland than it would be for the combined working class of the island of Britain as a whole. Beyond this, any successful dismantling of the Ancien Regime that the so-called 'United Kingdom' represents, aids in undermining the British government's ability to maintain its oppressive role as an imperialist power in the world at large, and therefore presents improved circumstances not only for the working class of Scotland, but for the Irish and Welsh working classes and t!
he working class throughout the world struggling against imperialist oppression.
While Scottish national liberation is, therefore, still a vital task of the Scottish working class, we in the IRSN recognise that there can be no serious discussion of national liberation in today's world of globalised capitalism, without that national liberation occuring within the context of the class struggle of that nation's working people. Only a Scottish workers' republic has the capacity to provide liberation to the masses of Scotland, who are its working class and only a Scottish workers' republic has the capacity to disengage itself from those shared interests that wed the Scottish bourgeoisie with the imperialist ruling class of Britain, Europe, and North America and thereby enable the achievement of true national liberation.
The International Republican Socialist Network recognise the SRSM as having kept the banner of republican socialism aloft in Scotland for over 30 years now, helping to point the way forward for Scottish working people and keeping alive the memory of John MacLean and the revolutionary tradition for which he remains a leading figure. We salute the continued dedication of the comrades of the SRSM and urge them to stand firmly behind the position that there can be no successful working class revolution in Scotland today outside of the struggle for Scottish national liberation and that Scottish independence outside of the context of the proclamation of a Scottish workers' republic means nothing to Scottish workers. The twinned struggles for class and national liberation in Scotland cannot be severed, but must be waged as a single, republican socialist struggle for the liberation of the Scottish working class.
The comrades of the International Republican Socialist Network, some of whom have struggled arm-in-arm with comrades of the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement throughout the past three decades, remain committed to building recognition of, and support for, all republican socialist organisations throughout the world today and of building and strengthening ties of solidarity amongst all organisations and individuals engaged in struggle who are guided by the analysis of republican socialism. As such, we embrace the SRSM as comrades, applaud their long service to the Scottish working class, and renew our bond of solidarity with them as the march forward.
All Hail the Scottish Workers' Republic!
Peter Urban
Comrade, International Republican Socialist Network
The comrades of the International Republican Socialist Network send revolutionary greetings to the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement on the occasion of their Ard Fheis.
The wisdom of John MacLean remains as pertinent today as it did at the close of the First World War and continues to point the way forward for Scottish working people--their liberation as a class remains tied to the national liberation of Scotland itself. As in MacLean's day, this remains true because the level of class consciousness within the Scottish working class still surpasses that of their class sisters and brothers in England, making the prospect for successful class struggle greater in an independent Scotland than it would be for the combined working class of the island of Britain as a whole. Beyond this, any successful dismantling of the Ancien Regime that the so-called 'United Kingdom' represents, aids in undermining the British government's ability to maintain its oppressive role as an imperialist power in the world at large, and therefore presents improved circumstances not only for the working class of Scotland, but for the Irish and Welsh working classes and t!
he working class throughout the world struggling against imperialist oppression.
While Scottish national liberation is, therefore, still a vital task of the Scottish working class, we in the IRSN recognise that there can be no serious discussion of national liberation in today's world of globalised capitalism, without that national liberation occuring within the context of the class struggle of that nation's working people. Only a Scottish workers' republic has the capacity to provide liberation to the masses of Scotland, who are its working class and only a Scottish workers' republic has the capacity to disengage itself from those shared interests that wed the Scottish bourgeoisie with the imperialist ruling class of Britain, Europe, and North America and thereby enable the achievement of true national liberation.
The International Republican Socialist Network recognise the SRSM as having kept the banner of republican socialism aloft in Scotland for over 30 years now, helping to point the way forward for Scottish working people and keeping alive the memory of John MacLean and the revolutionary tradition for which he remains a leading figure. We salute the continued dedication of the comrades of the SRSM and urge them to stand firmly behind the position that there can be no successful working class revolution in Scotland today outside of the struggle for Scottish national liberation and that Scottish independence outside of the context of the proclamation of a Scottish workers' republic means nothing to Scottish workers. The twinned struggles for class and national liberation in Scotland cannot be severed, but must be waged as a single, republican socialist struggle for the liberation of the Scottish working class.
The comrades of the International Republican Socialist Network, some of whom have struggled arm-in-arm with comrades of the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement throughout the past three decades, remain committed to building recognition of, and support for, all republican socialist organisations throughout the world today and of building and strengthening ties of solidarity amongst all organisations and individuals engaged in struggle who are guided by the analysis of republican socialism. As such, we embrace the SRSM as comrades, applaud their long service to the Scottish working class, and renew our bond of solidarity with them as the march forward.
All Hail the Scottish Workers' Republic!
Peter Urban
Comrade, International Republican Socialist Network