Correspondence: PbP disavows Marxism
27 August 2024
Dear SD,
I am writing to express my dismay at the response from PbP to a commentary piece by Irish News columnist Brian Feeney in which he compared the party to the TUV. Fenney’s red-baiting article, which accused PbP of being “Trots”, was worthy of rebuke but the statement from Matt Collins of PbP, which disavows any connection to revolutionary socialism, represents more of a retreat than a rebuke. A significant portion of the statement replicates the mendacity of Feeney by comparing him to the loyalist activist Jamie Byson. However, this is just a side note. The substantive point made by Collins is that PbP is not guided in any way by Marxism. This is not made explicit but what else can be inferred by the assertion that PbP “is not interested in rehashing historical arguments that have long been debunked.” What are the historical arguments - the argument for proletarian revolution and the construction socialist alternative to capitalism? Do these arguments relate to actual historical events such as the October Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union? Does PbP really believe that all this is irrelevant and debunked? If they do, why does their statement include a claim to stand in the “international socialist tradition of James Connolly.” The record shows that Connolly was a Marxist, and in the period following the outbreak of WWI, was part of a left current that included the Bolsheviks.
PbP seems to take offence at being labelled “Trots”. It may be intended as an insult but what lies behind this label, when you clear away all the rubbish, is the historical figure of Leon Trotsky and the October Revolution. Why are PbP running away from the event that marked the greatest ever advance for the working class and for socialism? The reaction to red baiting reveals the true nature of PbP as a completely reformist organisation. Its core group of the SWP may gesture towards Marxism but in no way are its politics or activity informed by revolutionary socialism. Towards the end of their statement PbP accuse Feeney of “espousing a conservatism that is largely interested in maintaining the existing social and economic order”. This is true but it is also true that those who favour the status quo have little to fear from the PbP.
Yours in comradeship,
Belfast Red