Workers Solidarity Movement

In a period of mass unemployment in 1920's Germany fascism came to power despite not only the presence of mass Communist and Social Democratic parties but also of significant anti-fascist street fighting. Why did the left fail and what was the attraction of fascism. What about fascist movements today, do they represent a similar threat? Can we even agree a single definition of what fascism is?

The self congratulatory waffle of business men, the press and politicians continues even though we are hearing a lot less about the “Celtic Tiger”. After almost fifteen years of economic boom we are able to look around and think about what we are left with. Access to decent and affordable housing, one of the most fundamental issues effecting working class people, is an impossibility for many of us. For most young people growing up in Ireland today the possibility of owning a house is outside our reach and keeps us at the mercy of rack renting landlords.

For the past eight years the people of Rossport in North West Mayo have been struggling against an at- tempt by Shell and other companies to build a dangerous and destructive gas processing terminal near to their homes and their community. This development would benefit no-one but wealthy shareholders as the Irish Government handed over the extraction rights to the oil companies in the 1980s and 1990s.

Looking around the world today it can be difficult to imagine how the society that we want to see can be created. But rather than sitting back and waiting for capitalism to collapse, or for the revolution to come, we believe in organising in the here and now.

During March and early April a wave of protests and occupations gripped France. On March the 7th over one million people protested against the French government’s attempt to introduce the C.P.E., a new law that reduced the rights of young workers.

This March marks the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Everyday we see the result; bombings, killings, torture and other atrocities. There are no reliable estimates for those who have died but most put the figure at 100,000 or higher. It’s clear that the invasion didn’t help the people of Iraq and it is equally clear that the occupation is making the situation worse.