IRSN: May Day 2008
Comrade Peter Urban
The comrades of the International Republican Socialist Network
extend solidarity greetings to all those around the world engaged
in struggles and against capitalism and imperialism.
We send special greetings to all those engaged in struggles for national
liberation and socialism in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Man, Brittany,
Catalonia, the Basque lands, Puerto Rico, and Quebec, as individuals
or in specifically republican socialist organizations. It is time to
recognize one-another as comrades and move forward together,
rather than being mislead by sectarianism.
This is a time of dire circumstances for many, but of great opportunity
for the working class in its historic battle to overturn the capitalist
system and erect a new order based on the needs of working people.
It is a time when we must reject the siren song of reformism and restore
socialism to our immediate agenda.
The sole remaining imperialist superpower, the United States, is entering
a period of severe crisis and it is important that revolutionaries prepare to
seize upon this opportunity to press forward. It is also a period of renewed
hope, as throughout most of the Western Hemisphere the forces of the
working class are advancing, making significant advances in Venezuela,
Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, and elsewhere.
The American imperialists are pinned down in Iraq and cannot seriously
hope to start new military adventures, despite their increasing bellicous
tone. Ireland's 'Celtic Tiger' is stalled, as international corporations begin
to move into Eastern Europe and a number of organizations have now
joined in the struggle for socialism there. The British Labour Party is
increasingly discredited and Scottish workers are increasingly recognizing
that their interests lie in the dismantling of the imperialist British state.
Around the globe revolutionaries are struggling to learn from the past
mistakes of the Left and to re-orient themselves in meaningful ways
to address the needs of the working class. Those who are serious about
revolutionary struggle must either join in this process or be left behind
as our class moves forward. More than ever it is being recognized that
the socialist revolution will be the task of the working class and those
parties who would claim to lead our class must either demonstrate
that they understand the pressing need to arm the class through
engaging in efforts to build working class consciousness or expose
their cowardice and opportunism.
The same two choices that have long confronted us: socialism or
barbarism have become all more clear as capitalism spirals out of
control around the globe. This is not a time for faint hearts. It is not
a time for advancing tired minimum programmes any longer. We must
draw inspiration from the heroes and martyrs of past struggle and steel
ourselves for the fight to come. We must demonstrate the way forward
or get out of the way. It is long past time to end this system of exploitation
and oppression and restore a vision of socialism that uplifts and empowers
working people to draw upon their skills and intelligence.
The working people of the world create all of its enormous wealth. It is
we who plow the fields of the earth, construct its buildings, manufacture
those things that bring quality to life; who plan production and execute it;
who provide all of the world's goods and services. We working people are
boundlessly creative and immensely powerful--we have lacked only the
belief in our own capacity to create and the will to transform the world
around us. Accordingly, May Day is not just a tradition of the Left, it is
an appropriate celebration of our class; of all that it has been and all
that it can be.
This May Day, we again raise our scarlet banner, dyed with the blood
of our martyrs and held aloft in the collective grasp of our mighty hands.
Let this act not be a mere repetition of ritual, but make of it a new
assertion of the pride we have as working people in ourselves and of
our determination to take hold of this world for ourselves.
We working people don't need others to provide us with leadership,
our liberation can only be won by ourselves.
We are tired of being asked to accept crumbs from the master's
table. We have created all of the wealth in this world and it is time
for us to claim it as our own!
As the great Marxist James Connolly said, "Our demands most
humble are, we only want the earth."
The comrades of the International Republican Socialist Network
extend solidarity greetings to all those around the world engaged
in struggles and against capitalism and imperialism.
We send special greetings to all those engaged in struggles for national
liberation and socialism in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Man, Brittany,
Catalonia, the Basque lands, Puerto Rico, and Quebec, as individuals
or in specifically republican socialist organizations. It is time to
recognize one-another as comrades and move forward together,
rather than being mislead by sectarianism.
This is a time of dire circumstances for many, but of great opportunity
for the working class in its historic battle to overturn the capitalist
system and erect a new order based on the needs of working people.
It is a time when we must reject the siren song of reformism and restore
socialism to our immediate agenda.
The sole remaining imperialist superpower, the United States, is entering
a period of severe crisis and it is important that revolutionaries prepare to
seize upon this opportunity to press forward. It is also a period of renewed
hope, as throughout most of the Western Hemisphere the forces of the
working class are advancing, making significant advances in Venezuela,
Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, and elsewhere.
The American imperialists are pinned down in Iraq and cannot seriously
hope to start new military adventures, despite their increasing bellicous
tone. Ireland's 'Celtic Tiger' is stalled, as international corporations begin
to move into Eastern Europe and a number of organizations have now
joined in the struggle for socialism there. The British Labour Party is
increasingly discredited and Scottish workers are increasingly recognizing
that their interests lie in the dismantling of the imperialist British state.
Around the globe revolutionaries are struggling to learn from the past
mistakes of the Left and to re-orient themselves in meaningful ways
to address the needs of the working class. Those who are serious about
revolutionary struggle must either join in this process or be left behind
as our class moves forward. More than ever it is being recognized that
the socialist revolution will be the task of the working class and those
parties who would claim to lead our class must either demonstrate
that they understand the pressing need to arm the class through
engaging in efforts to build working class consciousness or expose
their cowardice and opportunism.
The same two choices that have long confronted us: socialism or
barbarism have become all more clear as capitalism spirals out of
control around the globe. This is not a time for faint hearts. It is not
a time for advancing tired minimum programmes any longer. We must
draw inspiration from the heroes and martyrs of past struggle and steel
ourselves for the fight to come. We must demonstrate the way forward
or get out of the way. It is long past time to end this system of exploitation
and oppression and restore a vision of socialism that uplifts and empowers
working people to draw upon their skills and intelligence.
The working people of the world create all of its enormous wealth. It is
we who plow the fields of the earth, construct its buildings, manufacture
those things that bring quality to life; who plan production and execute it;
who provide all of the world's goods and services. We working people are
boundlessly creative and immensely powerful--we have lacked only the
belief in our own capacity to create and the will to transform the world
around us. Accordingly, May Day is not just a tradition of the Left, it is
an appropriate celebration of our class; of all that it has been and all
that it can be.
This May Day, we again raise our scarlet banner, dyed with the blood
of our martyrs and held aloft in the collective grasp of our mighty hands.
Let this act not be a mere repetition of ritual, but make of it a new
assertion of the pride we have as working people in ourselves and of
our determination to take hold of this world for ourselves.
We working people don't need others to provide us with leadership,
our liberation can only be won by ourselves.
We are tired of being asked to accept crumbs from the master's
table. We have created all of the wealth in this world and it is time
for us to claim it as our own!
As the great Marxist James Connolly said, "Our demands most
humble are, we only want the earth."
