From: jbm7-AT-tutor.open.ac.uk (Jim Monaghan) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 11:47:00 -0000 Subject: M-I: Nation Building I have always though that many have a static concept of national liberation struggles.Oppression though usually class based is sometimes disguised as on race, ethnic , religious, caste etc grounds.On many occassions pre capitalist forms of oppression continue on and accentuate class oppression. Puerto Rican struggles. This is two fold, the national liberation struggle in Puerto Rico proper and the struggle for national rights (eg language) by the Puerto Rican minority in the USA. The position of other minority nationalities in the USA is similar, chicanos, native Americans, African Americans.Th old American SWP had some interesting insights to the role of national struggles in the American revolution.The imposition of English as a state language must be opposed by democrats (not members of the party of that name) and socialists. In New Zealand the striuggle of the Maori people must be integrated into the programme of any socialist party worh the name. There is also a national element in the struggle of Turkish people in Germany for their democratic rights.Besides the legitimate claims of emigrant national groups such as th Turks and Kurds in Germany there are also the rights of old nationalities such as the Bretons, Corsicans, etc. How firs the Wends in the united capitalist Germany In Ireland a part of the national territory was sundered with the maximum land area that could provide a secure majority. The extremist Africaans were plotting the same manouvre in South Africa.This had a crippling effect on both parts of the country ushering in Connolly`s prediction of a carnival of reaction.It is interesting that the small groups of progressive people of a protestant background usually have a pro nationalist outlook. The dominance of the Republican movement which with all it`s faults is a consciously secular movement gives hope for the future. An explicitely catholic reaction to oppression has failed to develope Republican Socialists consider that a nation has not yet been built due to the failure to complete the democratic tasks of the national struggle.In contrast in Palestine the capitulation of the secular nationalists of the Arafat group has strengened the islamists. I feel that it is necessary to give attention as well to questions of regional oppression caused by amongst other things the anarchic developments of capitalism, eg no land for housing in the large urban centres while an exodus occurs elsewhere. --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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