The regular meetings of the Group of Eight at different points in the globe are largely theatre. All the major strategies in defence of capitalism are decided in the shadows in ongoing meetings between members of the diplomatic corps. 

Now and again the leaders, led by the USA, step out of the shadows, partly to remind us that we are the subjects of capital, more recently to reassure us that they can bring stability to a chaotic market system. The reminder is given greater force by the wholesale mobilization of the police state that accompanies the meetings. 

Ever since the Seattle protest of 1999 the G8 has had a counterpoint of mass protest. Many resent the assertion of unrestricted capitalist rule and the disruption and poverty being forced upon them. 

The problem for socialists is to move beyond protest towards opposition, to move beyond groups like the black block on the one hand and lobbyists calling for a gentler form of capitalism and imperialism on the other. 

The formula for building such an opposition is quite simple. It is to state, as simply and clearly as possible, what needs to be done to protect the interests of the working class. 

That means ending imperialist rule in Ireland, expelling the Troika, the IMF and ECB, closing the corrupt circus at Stormont and tearing up the bills presented to workers on behalf of the bankers and speculators. 

Turning the formula into reality will be difficult. It requires action by the working class itself, independently of traditional leaderships and structures, organising across the globe and in the face of capitalist oppression. 

The day when we see such a movement can be brought closer if we join together in a revolutionary socialist party advocating an end to capitalism and the emancipation of the working class.