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Marsden
21st February 2010, 22:18
Hello everyone,

My name is Marsden, I just found the site a few minutes ago and thought that I would join. :)

I'm not very experienced with these forums so apologies in advance for any mistakes on my part.

- Where are you from, whats the leftist scene there like?
I come from Northern Ireland. For those unfamiliar with it we are a heavily divided community of Irish Nationalists and British Unionists. Irish Nationalists (composing 40% of the population) wish to see Northern Ireland reunited with the Repubic of Ireland. British Unionists (composing 56% of the population) wish to remain in union with thr United Kingdom. So there isn't really a left/right divide over here, it is actually quite close to two nationalist groups.

The Nationalist parties tend to be affiliated more with the left wing and the Unionist parties the right, but they do not set their policies in stone and will frequently change to suit the interests of their national affiliation.

People with true left/right beliefs are few and far between over here.

- What branch of leftism do you subscribe to?

I am a strong socialist, I believe in the state ownership of industry; the disarmament of all military forces and the money to be distributed into education and healthcare; the banning of racist/sectarian organisations and a world without borders.

- How did you become a leftist?

There are several events in my life which have influenced my political thinking. Initially I was fairly neutral on the political spectrum however, over time I was radicalised by what I saw as injustices in the capitalist system.

Following our elections over here a radical fundamentalist right wing party, the DUP, won First Minister. One of their candidates publicly insulted the homosexual community calling them "disgusting abominations"

I have always believed that everyone is equal and deserving of respect, so in all circumstances I tend to remain fairly neutral unless someone is being victimised.

I have been co-running a website for several years now. During that time I have wittnessed facists try to seize power and abuse other members.

It has been my time on this website and the facists that have come along that has strengthened my beliefs in the left.

Initially, following the strengthened beliefs I came up with the idea of socialism for one country, an isolationist principal. However, following the attacks upon innocent people I have seen I believe that socialism needs to be proactive and interventionist in its focus to protect others and bring about a global revolution.

Sorry if I rambled on a bit.

Marsden

red cat
21st February 2010, 22:25
Welcome to Revleft. :)

What if the state is controlled by a bureaucracy ?

What is the use of having a state if there are no national borders and armed forces ?

Marsden
21st February 2010, 22:35
First off; thank you for your reply.

I'll attempt to answer your questions as best I can.
What if the state is controlled by a bureaucracy ?

If the state is owned by a bureaucracy then I would view it as the state going through the transitionary period from capitalism to a true classless society. If it doesn't seem to be progressing, well... a little bit of revolution can always keep the beaucrats on their toes. :)

What is the use of having a state if there are no national borders and armed forces ?

I think that first and foremost comes the needs of the people, over here we have an underfunded National Health Service, disarmament of the military and reallocation of ex-soldiers into new areas of work would enable more funds to be directed into more immediate issues.

A world without borders will come if there is a global revolution of socialism. People will hopefully set aside their differences and we will finally be able to close the state.

Sorry if the answer is a bit wishy-washy there isn't much opportunity for sensible political debate over here.

red cat
22nd February 2010, 00:44
The problem is that when only a few bureaucrats control the state, they might restructure the state in such a way that exactly capitalist relations of production pop up, with the only difference being private ownership being implemented through bureaucratic hierarchy.

Q
22nd February 2010, 02:07
Welcome :)