RISE convention on Ukraine
A failed debate
6 December 2022
On Sunday 4th December the Irish group RISE held an International Zoom debate on: "Ukraine - how should socialists respond?"
RISE are to be congratulated on mobilising over 160 activists for this discussion, however the discussion ultimately failed.
The speakers were:
Paul Murphy TD, People Before
Profit & RISE network (Ireland)
Andreu Coll, Anticapitalistes
& member of the Fourth International bureau (Spain)
Aaron Amaral, Tempest Collective
(US) Bruno Magalhães, member of the International Commission of
the MES/PSOL in Brazil.
The immediate problem was the structure of the debate. There were four speakers who were then immediately given time to reply to each other. No-one did so, merely repeating earlier arguments, so only a small number of comments were taken from the audience and therefore there was almost no debate.
Another problem was that only one speaker, Andreu Coll, focused on the issue of the imperialist aims of the US and NATO, with the other 3 speakers expressing variations on a theme, and this seriously skewed the narrative.
However, the biggest problem was the constraints placed on the discussion by the lead speaker, Paul Murphy. We all agreed, he announced, that the war was an inter-imperialist war and that Ukraine had an absolute right to self-determination.
Both Ukraine and Russia are capitalist powers and there is no requirement for socialists to take sides. There is no evidence that the Zelensky regime has the "generally democratic content" that Lenin used to support national liberation. By explaining Russian actions as imperialist, we obscure their motives for launching the war and we go along with the Fourth International majority in dismissing US imperialism as a background issue.
The evidence for US and NATO attempts to reassert global hegemony and direct result on the working class across Europe cannot be pushed aside.
One aspect of the meeting that should not be ignored is the real-life reaction of People before Profit. One contributor, John Molyneux, asked what people thought of PbP TDs refusing to stand or to clap Zelensky in the joint session of the Irish Parliament. The answer is not very much. By and large the left have gone underground, while a section of their members and supporters are frantically active in supporting NATO intervention and the further militarisation of the Irish state.
The suspicion must be that the meeting was largely cosmetic, putting a theoretical gloss on a poor record.
This is the second large international meeting organised by RISE. They should be given credit for the size of the audience, but we should look for a more productive discussion and for a concrete advance in our activity.
This report should not end without acknowledging the attempt by RISE to force Trans pronouns on the contributors. The attempt failed miserably, indicating that the socialist movement, both here and abroad, are far less woke than they imagine.