Catalyst, No. 2
| Date: | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Organisation: | Socialist Alternative |
| Publication: | Catalyst [SA] |
| Issue: | Number 2 January '03 |
| Type: | Publication Issue |
| View: | View Document |
| Discuss: | Comments on this document |
| Subjects: | Shannon Airport (Military Use) Iraq War, 2003 |
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Commentary From The Cedar Lounge Revolution
16th April 2012
For this donation to the Archive many thanks to Alan Mac Simoin [and good to mention again too the excellent WSM Archive taking shape here which has significant volume of Irish anarchist related materials].
Here’s an interesting document from Socialist Alternative [a name also used at times elsewhere including the UK by the CWI], a group that had been part of the SWP previously. It is an intriguing blend of anarchism, direct action and Leninist thinking. Note the listing under ‘Events and Demos’ of the Anarchist Federation Conference in Belfast which notes ‘talks will be held on topics such as autonomist Marxism and council communism’.
And in the text, and in particular on the issue of squatting the document notes ‘One of the problems for those trying to organise campaigns outside of the ‘twin towers’ of the Socialist Party and Socialist Workers Party, will be aware that one fo the difficulties faced is a lack of resources and facilities to kick-start. The creation of such an autonomous zone in Dublin would greatly facilitate the development of campaigns, providing education resources for the activist community and general public and a centre for organisation.’
The contents is fairly varied, albeit the political orientation is not clearly described. There are pieces on Carrickmines Castle, sport for direct action at Shannon - where a large protest had been held in January of 2003, and descriptions of various marches against the Iraq War world wide. This draws connections between ‘cutbacks at home [in Ireland] and violence abroad’.
Any further information on the development of this formation would be very welcome.
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By: WorldbyStorm Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:29:34
In reply to Ed.
Sorry, just to be clear all errors are my own, not Alan’s. I wrote the above. I’m trying to work out why I thought it was Leninist, but it’s a while since I read and wrote the piece.
Thanks to all of you, particularly admin, e and Ed, for the information, it’s really appreciated.
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By: WorldbyStorm Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:30:08
In reply to NollaigO.
Is there a way of reworking a Facebook post?
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By: Mark P Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:34:10
In reply to Ed.
Hi Ed,
Were there more than the five people I remember active in Socialist Alternative? And did they end up in 2 in the ISN, 2 in the WSM and 1 in Labour?
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By: Admin Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:11:55
In reply to Mark P.
Out of the 5 UCD SWSS Branch Committee members hat split, 3 went on to join WSM, 1 joined the ISN, and 1 joined Labour.
There were a handful of others who joined SA, but they probably never had more than 10 active members. A couple of those other members joined WSM, 1 joined ISN, and a few never joined any other organisation (AFAIK).
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By: Ed Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:55:57
In reply to Admin.
Yeah that’d be about right, 10 or so altogether – thinking back now, there were a few people who said they wanted to join SA but in practice that probably amounted to coming to a couple of meetings, we were all so busy with stuff like the CFE and the anti-war movement we didn’t do that much activity that was specifically SA activity. A couple of others would have been involved on a more regular basis, apart from the original members.
In hindsight we probably should have set it up as a ‘Socialist Society’ or something like that with a range of viewpoints (I think there was something along those lines in Trinity in the 90s); we started out with the idea of having a group with a defined programme but it turned out there were a couple of distinct views of what that should be, some more anarchist, some more Marxist. For example if the ULA had been around then I think some would have been in favour of joining it, others probably not.
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By: The Weekly Archive Worker … towards the Daily Archive Worker? « Entdinglichung Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:35:06
[…] – Socialist Alternative: Catalyst, Nr. 2, Januar 2003 […]
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By: Anarchists- who we are and what we are up to-public meeting in Belfast « seachranaidhe1 Thu, 10 May 2012 15:03:06
[…] Left Archive: Catalyst – Socialist Alternative [splinter from SWP – Belfast], 2003 (cedarlounge.wordpress.com) […]
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