Irish, EU & international politics & economics
By Lisbeth Latham. Radical Left movements across the globe face multiple challenges that place human survival at stake. At the same time, our movements are currently not strong enough to effectively challenge capitalism and the determination of the capitalist class and their representatives to prioritise profits over human life and […]
By Lisbeth Latham. The central driver of the capitalist system is the drive for capitalists to constantly increase profits – failure to do so can be a trigger for a crisis within the capitalist system. Since the end of the long boom in the early 1970s, capitalism, particularly in the […]
By Lisbeth Latham. Triumphalist comments about the end of capitalism or neoliberalism abounded in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008, just as there are many people today who believe that the current crisis is the end of neoliberalism or capitalism. Unfortunately, neoliberalism and – more importantly – […]
By IBL team. A new podcast series aims to provide an overall view of the historical development of the capitalist system – a ‘people’s history’ of the world. Trademark Belfast is the anti-sectarian unit of the Irish labour movement, which has carried out political education for trade unionists and workers […]
By Conor McCabe. This is the fourth and final article in a series adapted from the Unite union’s policy document, Hope or Austerity: A Road Map for a Better, Fairer Ireland After the Pandemic, written by Conor McCabe. The current crisis is an interplay between Covid-19 and the deep-rooted inequalities and structural […]
By Lisbeth Latham.Since December 5, France has been gripped by ongoing strikes and mobilisations by a coalition of trade unions, high school and university student unions, as well as the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) to defeat the attack by the government of President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Édouard Charles […]
By Michael Taft. “It is the supreme paradox of democracy that every man is a servant of the matters of which he possess the most intimate knowledge, and for which he shows the most expert proficiency; namely, the professional craft to which he devotes his working hours; and he is […]
By Marie Sherlock. Looking from the outside in, the Irish economy is performing really well at the moment – on course to have the second-highest GDP growth across the European Union (EU) this year. Malta and Ireland have alternated positions at the top of the EU28 scoreboard for GDP growth […]
By David Gibney. Ireland has a very serious low pay problem, and a corresponding problem with poverty. We have the highest prevalence of low-paid jobs in the EU. Only a matter of weeks ago St Vincent de Paul stated that almost 800,000 people live in poverty, including 230,000 children. Finding […]
By Ruairí Creaney. Irish unity is on the agenda. Across Ireland, it is being discussed in the media, at dinner tables and workplaces on a daily basis. While the endless calamity of a Brexit led by hard-right Tories, and the possibility of a hard border being imposed on our country […]