Join the real Scottish Republican Socialists
To join Scotland's real republican socialists send an email to redlarry1962@googlemail.com and provide your real name, trade union organisation if any and political affiliation or belief.Also we need to know the town or city you live in. Or join our news and debate forum on.
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/scotsocialistfreedom/
The Scottish Socialist Freedom Group is the only genuine republican socialist organisation in Scotland. Unlike others we have not sold out to the constitutionalist SNP and remain true to Scottish Republican Socialism by revolutionary means through political activity.
Our current aim is to recruit new members in Scotland committed to independence and socialism. We can meet up and formulate aims and our strategy over the coming months. Target areas remain Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee but will accept members to communicate whatever location or country they reside.
Don't get mad get even and join us today
www.ssfg.weebly.com
Thursday 12 March 2009
Wednesday 11 March 2009
Re: Federal Republic of Scotland?
The Republican Socialist analysis in Ireland of Eire Nua's federalist advocacy (that is, the position of the IRSP, when this position was first advanced) was that it was a sop to the loyalist/unionist community of the six counties and was contrary to the realities of contemporary Irish society and potentially harmful to the nationalist communities of the six counties.
By advocating a four province, federal state, Sinn Fein seemed to think, the loyalists might perceive themselves as retaining significant influence within the province of Ulster, even were the province restored to its original nine county status, instead of the abbreviated six counties retained by Britain in order to gerrymander a loyalist majority. Insofar as the loyalists had since the creation of the six county statelet used their dominance to oppress and terrorize the nationalist population, advocacy of anything resembling a continuation of this situation could be called reckless at worst and ill-conceived at best.
While Scotland has experience of the sectarian 'orange and green' divide, it is one that immigated to Scotland along with the Scotish populace formerly resident in Ireland and lacks the geographic concentrations that exist in Ireland. Were there a sectarian community resident in the highlands or islands hostile to the populace of the central belt, for example, one might be able to see why such a proposal was being advanced, but the reality is that to the extent a sectarian divide exists within the Scottish populace, both sides of that sectarian divide are more likely to be found in Glasgow than in any hinterlands of the nation.
An argument could be advanced that the divide between the speakers of Lallans and the speakers of Scot's Gaelig (essentially a lowlands/highlands divide) or the division between the pockets of Scottish Catholicism and the Kirk (essentially a division between small pockets in the islands and the mainland of Scotland) could provide a basis for some form of federalism. However, in the latter instance, there are probably far more Catholics in Glasgow than in the rest of Scotland combined and, in regard to the former, the extent to which the gaelig-speaking communities remaining in Scotland provide a viable base for federal division is clearly open to debate.
When one considers the significant difference that still exist between the highlands and islands and the lowlands, a strong case could be made that the populace of the highlands and islands might benefit from some constitutional protections being erected to secure their interests from being trampled upon by the far larger populace of the central belt and southern lowlands, but this doesn't necessitate the move to federalism to ensure. Scots should bear these legitimate concerns of those living in the highlands and islands when drafting a constitution after winning an independent Scottish workers' republic, however--even within a workers' republic the cultural, geographic, and historic differences between Scotland's highland and lowland populace argue for safeguards that will protect those characteristics most desirable, without preserving the reactionary attributes that have sometimes accompanied them.
More important than consideration of whether or not to adopt a federal approach to Scottish independence is consideration of the class orientation followed towards Scottish independence. Scottish independence must reflect a genuine national liberation for it to have meaning for the masses of the Scottish people and in contemporary times real national liberation is impossible without breaking the fetters of imperialism and globalized capitalism that undermine the national sovereignty of all peoples. For Scottish workers to remain oppressed by foreign imperialists and native capitalists in an independent Scotland is to have won nothing worth having. The imperative of Scottish national liberation is rooted in the reality that it is only through the break up of the archaic British state that the working class of all the nations of the islands or Britain and Ireland will be able to win their liberation as workers and as human beings. That said, the Scottish working class would be fool-hardy to support any two-stage argument that calls upon them to support the creation of an independent capitalist Scotland as an intermediate step towards building socialism.
The central tenet of the republican socialist tendency, that the struggles for national liberation and socialism are inseparablly intertwined remains as true today as it did in the time of James Connolly or John MacLean. The majority of Scotland's people are workers and those Scottish workers must insist that the creation of an independent Scottish republic is also the creation of a workers' republic.
Peter Urban
International Republican Socialist Network
By advocating a four province, federal state, Sinn Fein seemed to think, the loyalists might perceive themselves as retaining significant influence within the province of Ulster, even were the province restored to its original nine county status, instead of the abbreviated six counties retained by Britain in order to gerrymander a loyalist majority. Insofar as the loyalists had since the creation of the six county statelet used their dominance to oppress and terrorize the nationalist population, advocacy of anything resembling a continuation of this situation could be called reckless at worst and ill-conceived at best.
While Scotland has experience of the sectarian 'orange and green' divide, it is one that immigated to Scotland along with the Scotish populace formerly resident in Ireland and lacks the geographic concentrations that exist in Ireland. Were there a sectarian community resident in the highlands or islands hostile to the populace of the central belt, for example, one might be able to see why such a proposal was being advanced, but the reality is that to the extent a sectarian divide exists within the Scottish populace, both sides of that sectarian divide are more likely to be found in Glasgow than in any hinterlands of the nation.
An argument could be advanced that the divide between the speakers of Lallans and the speakers of Scot's Gaelig (essentially a lowlands/highlands divide) or the division between the pockets of Scottish Catholicism and the Kirk (essentially a division between small pockets in the islands and the mainland of Scotland) could provide a basis for some form of federalism. However, in the latter instance, there are probably far more Catholics in Glasgow than in the rest of Scotland combined and, in regard to the former, the extent to which the gaelig-speaking communities remaining in Scotland provide a viable base for federal division is clearly open to debate.
When one considers the significant difference that still exist between the highlands and islands and the lowlands, a strong case could be made that the populace of the highlands and islands might benefit from some constitutional protections being erected to secure their interests from being trampled upon by the far larger populace of the central belt and southern lowlands, but this doesn't necessitate the move to federalism to ensure. Scots should bear these legitimate concerns of those living in the highlands and islands when drafting a constitution after winning an independent Scottish workers' republic, however--even within a workers' republic the cultural, geographic, and historic differences between Scotland's highland and lowland populace argue for safeguards that will protect those characteristics most desirable, without preserving the reactionary attributes that have sometimes accompanied them.
More important than consideration of whether or not to adopt a federal approach to Scottish independence is consideration of the class orientation followed towards Scottish independence. Scottish independence must reflect a genuine national liberation for it to have meaning for the masses of the Scottish people and in contemporary times real national liberation is impossible without breaking the fetters of imperialism and globalized capitalism that undermine the national sovereignty of all peoples. For Scottish workers to remain oppressed by foreign imperialists and native capitalists in an independent Scotland is to have won nothing worth having. The imperative of Scottish national liberation is rooted in the reality that it is only through the break up of the archaic British state that the working class of all the nations of the islands or Britain and Ireland will be able to win their liberation as workers and as human beings. That said, the Scottish working class would be fool-hardy to support any two-stage argument that calls upon them to support the creation of an independent capitalist Scotland as an intermediate step towards building socialism.
The central tenet of the republican socialist tendency, that the struggles for national liberation and socialism are inseparablly intertwined remains as true today as it did in the time of James Connolly or John MacLean. The majority of Scotland's people are workers and those Scottish workers must insist that the creation of an independent Scottish republic is also the creation of a workers' republic.
Peter Urban
International Republican Socialist Network
Saturday 7 March 2009
Federal Republic of Scotland?
I have received an email about a Federal Republic of Scotland and the position of Scottish republicans. I am not an expert on federalism so could only give a general reply.
Hi, I wanted to ask a question regarding your movement. Is a "Federal Republic of Scotland" being advocated for or against by the Scottish republican movement, and what is the opinion of the Scottish republicans regarding intra-Scotland federalism?
I wanted to ask this because this was put forth by Irish republicans as part of an "Éire Nua" proposal ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89ire_Nua ), although the Éire Nua is controversial among Northern Irish republicans like Sinn Fein because of its concessions to Northern Irish protestants (who desire no less than a pronounced degree of autonomy, preferably, in protestant eyes, under a Protestant ruler than a Catholic one) in a United Ireland; outside of the republican movement, a federal republic of Ireland has also been proposed for pragmatic, local reasons, including the geopolitical distance between the services of the government in Dublin and the needs of local governments in other areas.
My supposition is that a federal republic of Scotland would address concerns regarding social self-governance at the local and regional levels better than a unitary, Glasgow-centric republic would post-independence. Furthermore, it would give greater political flexibility to local areas of Scotland in the same way that devolution and further future liberalizations of Westminster's hold over Scotland have for the political and economic viability of the country.
So, what is the opinion of the Scottish republican movement regarding a "Federal Republic of Scotland?"
Rayne
USA
And my reply:
Hi
The concept of federalism has never been debated by Scottish Republicans or Scottish Republican Socialists that I am aware of.
The Eire Nua model as advocated by Republican Sinn Fein and dropped by Gerry and his Provos is probably one of the most workable constitutional arrangements for a United Ireland. This is because the island is made up of 4 provinces one of which Ulster remains in the chains and bondage of British imperialism. I have a lot of respect for RSF's Eire Nua programme.
In Scotland the regions are different so where would we place the devolved parliaments? Or should our regions eg: Highland's & islands, Strathclyde, Tayside etc..become federal states within an independent Scotland?
You raise interesting questions on federalism of which I am not an expert on these matters.
As for a unitary state as an independent Scotland the parliament is likely to be situated in Edinburgh and yes it would be true to say Scotland is no different than any other country that the regions have specific issues and problems where a federal solution within independence could be an interesting programme to implement.
What we do not support is preservation of the union with Britain so would not be happy to settle with a Federal state within the UK.
Saying all this the pressing matters for republicans in Scotland has been the independence arguments and the need for a referendum to settle the matter for time being.
It would be interesting to debate the merits of federalism within an independent Scotland if I knew what forum would debate this I would be glad to hear about it. So far the independence movement have not been known to debate the merits of federalism within an independent Scotland.
Slainte
LM
Hi, I wanted to ask a question regarding your movement. Is a "Federal Republic of Scotland" being advocated for or against by the Scottish republican movement, and what is the opinion of the Scottish republicans regarding intra-Scotland federalism?
I wanted to ask this because this was put forth by Irish republicans as part of an "Éire Nua" proposal ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89ire_Nua ), although the Éire Nua is controversial among Northern Irish republicans like Sinn Fein because of its concessions to Northern Irish protestants (who desire no less than a pronounced degree of autonomy, preferably, in protestant eyes, under a Protestant ruler than a Catholic one) in a United Ireland; outside of the republican movement, a federal republic of Ireland has also been proposed for pragmatic, local reasons, including the geopolitical distance between the services of the government in Dublin and the needs of local governments in other areas.
My supposition is that a federal republic of Scotland would address concerns regarding social self-governance at the local and regional levels better than a unitary, Glasgow-centric republic would post-independence. Furthermore, it would give greater political flexibility to local areas of Scotland in the same way that devolution and further future liberalizations of Westminster's hold over Scotland have for the political and economic viability of the country.
So, what is the opinion of the Scottish republican movement regarding a "Federal Republic of Scotland?"
Rayne
USA
And my reply:
Hi
The concept of federalism has never been debated by Scottish Republicans or Scottish Republican Socialists that I am aware of.
The Eire Nua model as advocated by Republican Sinn Fein and dropped by Gerry and his Provos is probably one of the most workable constitutional arrangements for a United Ireland. This is because the island is made up of 4 provinces one of which Ulster remains in the chains and bondage of British imperialism. I have a lot of respect for RSF's Eire Nua programme.
In Scotland the regions are different so where would we place the devolved parliaments? Or should our regions eg: Highland's & islands, Strathclyde, Tayside etc..become federal states within an independent Scotland?
You raise interesting questions on federalism of which I am not an expert on these matters.
As for a unitary state as an independent Scotland the parliament is likely to be situated in Edinburgh and yes it would be true to say Scotland is no different than any other country that the regions have specific issues and problems where a federal solution within independence could be an interesting programme to implement.
What we do not support is preservation of the union with Britain so would not be happy to settle with a Federal state within the UK.
Saying all this the pressing matters for republicans in Scotland has been the independence arguments and the need for a referendum to settle the matter for time being.
It would be interesting to debate the merits of federalism within an independent Scotland if I knew what forum would debate this I would be glad to hear about it. So far the independence movement have not been known to debate the merits of federalism within an independent Scotland.
Slainte
LM
Friday 6 March 2009
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