Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 08:16:38 +0000 From: James Heartfield <James-AT-heartfield.demon.co.uk> Subject: Re: Reply to Heartfield, challenge to ShaneRe: M-I: on nation building In message <3.0.5.32.19980303143106.00b09cb0-AT-pop.qut.edu.au>, Gary MacLennan <g.maclennan-AT-qut.edu.au> writes >This is hopeless. At one level the epoch of anti-imperialist struggles is >over and at another it is "in abeyance." It can't be both. Forgive me for being inexact. My only point is that the epoch of anti- imperialist struggles is not dependent just on the state of imperialism, but also on the subjective state of those movements. On the historical point Gary is right to reject the argument that the Unionists are a mojority in NI, on the grounds that the border was imposed artificially to meet that condition. The border denied the Ireland as a whole its sovereignty. But where Gary gets it wrong is to say that the whole of the Irish population is anti-imperialist. That's just silly. If you mean that the whole of the Irish population has an interest in fighting imperialism, you should add the British population also has such an interest. If you mean that the Irish population is consciously galvanised against imperialism, or even generally anti-imperialist in its outlook, then you are wrong. Everywhere you go in Africa, the missionaries are Irish. Irish aid workers are running projects with bigger budgets than the governments of those countries. Mary Robinson's move to the UN is no incidental. Ireland has carved out a role for itself as second fiddle in the imperialist orchestra. National aspirations in Ireland have been redirected into a pride in Ireland's international standing. Indeed, republicanism as a whole is effectively finished, because its main representatives, Sinn Fein have moderated their demand for independence in favour of 'parity of esteem' and dumped the slogan 'no British solution' in favour of a demand that Britain act as honest broker between the nationalist and unionist populations of NI. The Irish war is over. Fraternally -- James Heartfield --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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