The 2024 general election has come and gone, with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael continuing their century-long dominance, now propped up by the corrupt Michael Lowry and various self-serving independents. Sinn Féin’s meteoric rise in 2020 appears to have fizzled out, and the socialist left’s presence in the Dáil has diminished. The low level of class struggle, Ireland’s status as a tax haven and various other difficult objective factors place socialists in a challenging position. The question of how to break out of this situation, build a winning strategy, and forge a socialist republic remains a difficult one.

One proposed solution has gained traction on the socialist left: the idea of a “Left Government” that challenges capitalism and mobilises “people power” to bring about transformative, socialist change. People Before Profit (PBP) has been at the forefront of this strategy, advocating for a radical left government in the south of Ireland that would break with the decades-long dominance of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The pamphlet, The Case for a Left Government,¹ outlines a programme of ambitious demands and envisions a government that, supported by a mobilised working class, could push back against capitalist reaction and lay the foundations for a socialist Ireland.

While this vision has clear merits, it also raises important questions. Does this strategy fully address the challenges of the national question, the international nature of the capitalist system? And crucially, does it adequately prepare the working class for the revolutionary task of dismantling the capitalist state and building a socialist republic? It would be wrong to place the blame for the relative stagnation of the socialist left solely on the concept of ‘left government,’ given the difficult conditions and the overdetermining factors at play. This article doesn’t look to present a “silver bullet” for instant success; instead, by engaging with PBP’s pamphlet, I want to challenge the theoretical foundation of this strategy, rather than specific tactical applications and point towards potential alternatives.²

Socialists and elections 

In general, elections draw a greater proportion of the population into politics than are usually engaged. It is important in our work at election time to have concrete answers about what we would do if we were to win a majority. This is a positive of the left government position, it opens up the possibility for engagement around the question of state power and gives an opportunity to communicate to a wider audience what exactly our positive vision for societal transformation is. It’s a chance for socialists to go beyond campaigning as simply “anti-establishment fighters” and gives us a way to present a clear alternative vision.

This is important as it pushes us away from the hand waving around these questions that is too common among the socialist left. We need to seriously reckon with how we communicate our vision of a socialist future. This is not to present a schema of electoral victory for socialists as our only route to power, or even as a feasible one. It is about using the opportunities presented by elections to popularise a vision for socialism and to make clear the limitations of our existing state. Elections are a crucial tool to aid us in our work towards building mass support for an opposition to the capitalist states on our island. We won’t win by playing politician and promising a modest vision, but by building a powerful alternative that can engage the large section of working class people who don’t turn out to the ballot box.³

The Left government strategy unfortunately fails to do this. It places the emphasis on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and pushes the task required of socialists to build power in opposition to the capitalist state into the future. The focus is not on a “socialist republic” or the smashing of the partionist order, the strategy instead focuses its energy on the goal of a progressive left government in the south. With such a government basing itself on the spontaneity of the working class to carry the revolution to the end.

This strategy is outlined in the pamphlet “The case for a left government”.⁴

The Pamphlet

The actions advocated by PBP’s pamphlet itself can be broadly divided into two sections. Firstly a series of demands that amount to a programme that will serve as redlines for entrance into any government in the south of Ireland. Secondly, the actions that a left government and the mobilised working class “people power” must take to fight back against the reaction of the state to build a “Socialist Ireland”.

These first demands laid out in chapter three of the pamphlet are introduced with:

“We, therefore, need a real left-wing government that is willing to uproot the privileges the wealthy have enjoyed. Here are the type of policies that a left government could adopt.”⁵

The demands presented in this section are ambitious. It is a sweeping radical programme, attempting to address housing, public services, workers rights, the environment and partition amongst others. This programme would take on capitalists and landlords and reduce their power. It would stretch the capitalist state to its absolute limits and possibly generate a vicious counter reaction. A view of how this tactic was communicated to a wider audience during the recent elections can be seen in an article from PBP TD Paul Murphy in The Irish Times. He expresses the vision for a left government as such:

“To overcome their opposition and actually implement the ecosocialist change necessary to resolve the crises faced by people would require a left government basing itself on people-power mobilisation from below. It would require a commitment to implement measures such as public ownership of the private hospitals in order to build a National Health Service, the development of a State construction company to replace reliance on the private market and build 150,000 social and genuinely affordable homes, and an end to the use of Shannon Airport by the US military.”⁶

It’s clear this programme does not go far enough (as the pamphlet itself acknowledges). The partitionist order remains intact, still defended by the state bureaucracy, armed forces, and the Gardaí, all codified in Bunreacht na hÉireann. If our goal is to build a Socialist Ireland, how do we move from the election of a left government to achieving that goal? This question about the strategy’s relationship to the state is acknowledged in the pamphlet, and is addressed through the concept of “people power”.

People Power? 

The basis of the “people power” argument is that, with the election of a left government and the inevitable swing of reaction against it, the working class will be moved to defend its hard earned gains, and in the midst of struggle establish the basis of a new state. Such a state would be built upon people’s assemblies and a new constitution with the left government actively propelling this process.

The pamphlet puts a great emphasis on how inspired the working class will be by the rise of a left government:

“Now imagine the reaction in Darndale or Crumlin, working-class suburbs in Dublin. There is celebration and delight. A feeling that against all the snobs and ‘experts’, they have elected THEIR government and that real change is coming. Housing lists can be cleared; wages will be increased; the class-ridden health system is going to be reformed. To put it mildly, expectations have grown and the old mood of ‘sure what can you do’ has dissipated.”⁷

It is this energy and its resistance in the face of counter reaction that will organise against the old state and through struggle forge a new, Socialist Ireland. This vision is unfortunately based on flawed logic—while a situation like the scenario outlined would likely change people’s perspectives, they generally only do so in ways guided by peoples pre-existing beliefs and experiences. To take one of Marx’s most famous quotes;

“Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living.”⁸

A government elected in Ireland on the basis of “people powered” radical left government agitation cannot be expected to have an organised working class base aware of its task of pushing forward to forge a socialist republic. The duty of making the working class conscious of that task falls on us in the here and now. The pamphlet correctly acknowledges that a left government which wants to end capitalism must rely on a power outside of itself to finish the revolution, what isn’t acknowledged is that we have to take on the mission of tearing down peoples pre-existing beliefs and constructing a revolutionary class consciousness before taking state power. The energy of our class following the election of a left government may well not be enough.

The Syriza experience in Greece can be an important example; It shows us the risks of relying on a left government without a mass, class-conscious base capable and aware of its task of dismantling the capitalist state and creating a worker state. In this case, the revolutionary left was too fragmented and marginal to intervene decisively, the years of groundwork of building a mass vanguard party that was completely disloyal to the state with genuine mass support among the working class had not occurred.

A comparison to the success of the Russian Revolution may be useful here. In Russia, the crisis was not triggered by a left government but by a collapsing Tsarist regime that was losing a war and crumbling under the weight of its contradictions.⁹ The Bolsheviks were able to seize power in this context, by winning majorities in the soviets and ultimately toppling the provisional government.¹⁰ While this was propelled by the nature of the crisis and broader layers of the working class being drawn into struggle, seizing state power was only possible because they built a base who had no illusions in the provisional government through revolutionary agitation and patient explanation.¹¹

As an example; the Bolsheviks before the revolutionary upsurge caused by the war had previously secured the majority of votes in the workers’ curiae in the 1912 Duma elections.¹² The current socialist left in Ireland is obviously in a much weaker position. Much work is to be done before the socialist left reaches a point of such widespread support. Crucially that support has to be grounded in a workers’ movement in complete opposition to the Irish state.

The Bolsheviks contested these elections on a programme that was completely disloyal to the absolutist Tsarist order. Their shortened demands, commonly referred to as the “three whales of Bolshevism” were: an eight-hour workday, land reform; and a constituent assembly to create a democratic republic.¹³ A constituent assembly would create a complete break with the pre-existing order. Left government places us within the logic of governance rather than openly advocating slogans for a complete alternative – a socialist republic.

Following the February revolution and the rise of the provisional government, the Bolsheviks adapted their slogans again to be in clear opposition to the current order. The slogans of the October revolution “peace, land, bread” and “all power to the soviets” drove this to the fore, the provisional government had to be completely replaced by a revolution that put the workers and peasants in power. The Bolsheviks had the support and trust of a large proportion of the class conscious working class and this was ultimately a key determining factor that made them capable of winning majorities in the soviets and carrying the revolution to its end.¹⁴

The point here is that the Bolsheviks continuously placed themselves at odds with the state itself, its institutions, its lack of democracy and its class structure. A slogan of “Left Government” does not make clear enough the need for this disloyalty, this clear break – references to people power are not enough. It places the onus on our class to completely transform their understanding of the state in the pivotal moment rather than baking state dis-loyalism into all of our agitation.

International People Power? 

The pamphlet briefly touches on the need to internationalize the revolution. Its scenario hinges on the idea that a revolution in Ireland, spurred by the election of a left government, would inspire the international working class to rise up. As the pamphlet puts it:

“By its very nature, people power contains an international dynamic. When Irish people watch French workers stage general strikes or see Sri Lankan workers occupy presidential palaces, they are inspired to think beyond passivity. Similarly, real people power in Ireland can inspire many others across the world to tackle the mysterious power of capital. Once we start doing it, we shall discover that behind the mystery there is a great weakness. Their power derives only from our passivity.” ¹⁵

The reality is more complicated. An isolated revolution in Ireland is more likely to become a cautionary tale for the international working class. Ireland is a small economy deeply embedded in the global capitalist system, it would face immense challenges if left to stand alone for even the briefest of periods. Among possible consequences: economic warfare, capital flight, expulsion from the EU, the reimposition of a hard border in the North, food insecurity and sanctions would quickly erode popular support for a radical left government. This could force the government into either anti-democratic measures to retain power—leading to its degeneration—or a retreat into concessions to capital, as we saw with Syriza in Greece.¹⁶

This isn’t to say the basic premise of the pamphlets statement is incorrect. The example of the working class throwing off their chains and seizing power can of course serve as a source of international inspiration but we have to seriously reckon with how we operate in the here and now (at a point of relative weakness of the socialist movement) to best increase the possibility of any socialist nation’s success. For a sustainable Socialist Ireland we would have to be able to rely on the aid of other socialist organisations in Europe seizing power to make a victory at all sustainable. We can’t simply rely on “people power“ to come to resolve this.

A potential solution would be acting on an internationalist strategy in the medium-term. Building alliances with other European socialist parties, contesting EU elections seriously, and rejecting the false binary between isolated “sovereign” states and the imperialist Fortress Europe. We could raise the call for a Socialist Europe and work toward forging the regional and international ties necessary to make this vision a reality. A regional revolution can realistically challenge global capitalism and forge a beachhead of Socialism capable of offering a positive example to the international working class. 

Partition

The idea that a 26-county Left Government could trigger a wider socialist revolution is particularly flawed when it comes to the national question.

The pamphlet makes two mentions of the national question:

• On Partition: “A left government would openly declare its intention to establish a constituent assembly to found a Socialist United Ireland.”¹⁷
• On Church and State: “A left government would convene a constitutional convention to draft a new secular constitution for a 32-county Ireland… Alongside this, it would campaign for a border poll to end partition.”¹⁸

A border poll; controlled by the “Secretary of State for Northern Ireland” keeps the struggle for a “Socialist united Ireland” within bounds set by Britain.¹⁹ It assumes unity can be achieved through the consent of Britain rather than through a working-class-led struggle. In a Left government scenario, capital flight, economic sanctions, and the threat of violence could undermine a border poll, on the off chance it could occur. That said, it would be wrong to advocate for total abstention. If a border poll is called, a ‘Yes’ vote could be supported, but only as part of a broader strategy to place a working-class alternative on the agenda. 

A Socialist Republic cannot be built without winning over sections of the presently unionist working class to the vision of a socialist republic. The working-class population in the North is divided along sectarian lines, and any socialist strategy must address the material foundations of unionist ideology. A ‘secular constitution’ introduced by a left government may address certain religious concerns but would fall short of presenting a strong challenge to the ideological structures that sustain unionism.

Instead of placing our trust in a border poll, Socialists should actively build working-class power on both sides of the border (as PBP currently does). This involves socialist agitation against all forms of oppression, to challenge the reactionary nature of unionism and to provide a strong political alternative. To achieve this, we have to engage with the hard task of winning over trade unions, tenant organizations, and community groups to the political struggle for a Socialist Republic, while building new forms of grassroots power where needed. By developing independent radical working-class institutions we can forge an alternative to sectarian division. Crucially these organisations under socialist leadership can act as an alternative to crisis-ridden partition and provide a foundation for a Socialist republic when crisis arises.

Recent struggles, such as the 2024 public sector strike and the anti-racism mobilizations in Belfast following the race riots in mid-2024,^{20 21}demonstrate how working-class unity can partially cut through sectarian divisions and provide living examples of solidarity. While these struggles are valuable, socialists must avoid an opportunist approach that sidesteps the need to directly confront unionism in the name of class unity. The goal must be to unite the working class not just around immediate economic interests or single social issues but on key political questions that challenge the structures of partition.

Unification cannot be reduced to a legalistic demand within the logic of the Good Friday Agreement nor can we presuppose working-class power in the south will resolve the national question. There are no shortcuts. Unity has to come from the organised political action of the working class, which requires breaking down sectarian divisions, sharply differentiating our strategy from the legalistic approach of Sinn Féin and winning workers to the cause of the working class – the socialist republic.

A Different Way Forward

To break away from the weaknesses of the Left Government strategy, we should openly express our complete disloyalty to the capitalist state, this includes an open and public rejection of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the Good Friday Agreement, and partition. These structures are not neutral; they are integral to maintaining capitalism and the division and weakness of the working class. We should also go further by presenting a concrete alternative that challenges these divisions and sets the stage for a Socialist Republic.

Neither can we afford to retreat into economism. Simply building trade unions, workers’ organizations, and social movements without a united political vision will not be enough. While these are crucial components, they must be part of a broader strategy that actively seeks to expose and challenge the capitalist state. We need to intervene in elections—not just to win seats, but to carry out a “strategy of patience” in parliament – Rejecting coalition and consolidating our support until the opportunity for a socialist government to dismantle the partionist order and usher in a Socialist republic.

Ultimately, it will not be the election of a Socialist majority in parliament that brings about a Socialist Republic, but the organized and conscious working class that stands behind it. Our goal should be to rally the radical left and advanced workers around a revolutionary party project with a serious commitment to dismantling the partitionist order and laying the foundations for a Socialist Republic. This cannot be achieved through reforms alone, but through a relentless struggle that unites the working class, builds political power, and breaks decisively with the capitalist state.

By fighting for these positions, both within people before profit and the broader workers movement, we can begin the difficult but necessary work of forging a new political reality—one rooted in the power of the working-class and guided by the vision of a 32-county Socialist Republic in a Socialist world.

If you want to get in contact with a a submission or a response to the above article reach out at contact@horizonmag.ie

1. People before profit, The case for a Left Government, https://www.pbp.ie/content/files/2024/11/The-Case-for-a-Left-Government—Getting-Rid-of-Fianna-F-il-and-Fine-Gael.pdf ↩︎
2. Note: It’s important to acknowledge the limitations of using the pamphlet as the main source here (none more than it being written for a now-passed election cycle). While more detailed defenses of this position exist in explicitly Marxist terms. I have chosen to focus on the pamphlet because crucially it aims to provides a publicly presented outline and explanation. I do here put forward alternative strategies that are not explicitly detailed in the pamphlet—not because they are necessarily absent from the party’s approach, but because they may have been omitted for brevity or to maintain the pamphlet’s popular format. Rather than treating the pamphlet as exhaustive, I want to use it as a tool to introduce an alternative political strategy and to highlight questions I believe need to be brought to the fore. ↩︎
3. Sandra Hurley, “Low turnout an issue in Exit Poll data – polling company,” RTE, December 1, 2024, https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/1201/1484076-exit-poll-general-eleciton-2024/ ↩︎
4. People before profit, The case for a Left Government. ↩︎
5. Ibid. ↩︎
6. Paul Murphy, “Time for a new united left alliance to topple Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael,” The Irish Times, July 1, 2024, https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2024/07/04/paul-murphy-time-for-a-new-united-left-alliance-to-topple-fianna-fail-and-fine-gael/ ↩︎
7. People before profit, The case for a Left Government. ↩︎
8. Karl Marx, “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte,” https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1852/18th-brumaire/ ↩︎
9. Louis Althusser, “Contradiction and overdetermination“, in For Marx, https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/althusser/1962/overdetermination.htm ↩︎
10. Paul Le Blanc, Lenin and the revolutionary party (Haymarket Books, 2016), 252-253. ↩︎
11. Lars Lih, “The Ironic Triumph of Old Bolshevism: The Debates of April 1917 in Context,” Brill. ↩︎
12. August H. Nimtz, The Ballot, the streets or both? (Haymarket Books, 2019), 292-293. ↩︎
13. Ibid, 281. ↩︎
14. Le Blanc, Lenin and the revolutionary party, 252-253 ↩︎
15. People before profit, The case for a Left Government. ↩︎
16. Panagiotis Sotiris, “Why Syriza’s defeat still haunts the left”, Jacobin, February 18, 2020, https://jacobin.com/2020/02/syriza-greece-left-troika-brexit-eu-gramsci ↩︎
17. People before profit, The case for a Left Government. ↩︎
18. Ibid. ↩︎
19. “The Good Friday agreement,” Citizens Information, https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government-in-ireland/ireland-and-the-uk/good-friday-agreement ↩︎
20. Freya McClements, “Northern Ireland comes to ‘unprecedented’ standstill as public sector workers strike,” The Irish Times, January 18, 2024, https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/01/18/northern-ireland-comes-to-unprecedented-standstill-as-public-sector-workers-strike/e ↩︎
21. The Irish times, “‘Stand up, fight back’: Some 15,000 march in Belfast anti-racism rally”, August 10, 2024, https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/08/10/belfast-will-not-bowed-by-racist-hate-anti-racism-rally-to-be-held-in-city-after-week-of-disorder/ ↩︎