Ireland's OWN: History

 

John MacLean (1879-1923)* Let me address myself to Scots people particularly at this critical  juncture in the world's history -- just as critical as in August, 1914 --  to save Ireland from a tragedy that is bound to come if a stop is not put  to the bloody career of the present Coalition gang of unmitigated scoundrels. John MacLean  was a Scottish schoolteacher and Marxist educator. His Marxist evening-classes produced many of the activists who became instrumental in the Clyde revolts during and after WWI. MacLean was appointed both an Honorary President of the first Congress of Soviets and Soviet Consul to Scotland in recognition of his consistent socialist position on the imperialist war and his tireless work in support of the Bolshevik revolution.  MacLean was at odds with much of the British left and dismissive of the newly-formed Communist Party of Great Britain.  He had already turned his back on economism and the syndicalism favoured by the Clyde Workers' Committee, had recognised the nature of British imperialism and come to the conclusion that revolution could only come about through the destruction of the British Empire.  He died on 30th November, 1923.  *From the John MacLean Commemorative Collection November 2001 IRSP Message to the John MacLean Commemoration Greetings of solidarity from the Irish Republican Socialist Party and the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America on the occassion of this celebration of the contribution of that towering figure of Scottish socialism, John MacLean. Too often in recent times, MacLean has been either dismissed, slandered, or misrepresented by those who would prefer to silence his position that it is Scotland's continued union with England that stands as an obstacle to the achievement of socialism by Scottish workers. Yet MacLean's insight on this issue should not be forgotten, for it remains true today, as it did in MacLean's time, that the Scottish and Welsh working classes continue to find themselves restrained by English workers whose class consciousness has undergone the inevitable stunting that accompanies association with the imperialist strivings of the ruling class, while the Irish working class remains impeded by the forced partition and occupation of Ireland by British imperialism. The revitalised struggle for an independent socialist republic of Scotland, if it succeeds, may have more than the liberation Scottish workers to offer to the world. This national liberation struggle, grounded in working class consciousness, also offers the opportunity for workers with the unionist community of Ireland's occupied six counties — who have long more closely identified with Scotland rather than England — to come to a recognition that the sundering of Britain is not to be feared, but welcomed. It holds the potential to assist these women and men who see themselves as a British working class in Ireland, to recognise that their traditional association with British imperialism is an obstacle to their own liberation and with that recognition, to recognise that their greatest ally, as workers in Ireland, is the Irish working class; to move beyond the confusion of the PUP, who want to be socialists, yet embrace the feudal anachronism of the British monarchy and the imperialist monster that is the British Army. If Scottish workers can show the way to liberation to their class sisters and brothers accross the Irish Sea, they will not only move towards their own liberation, but will provide a service to the revolutionary movement in Ireland beyond estimation. What remains certain — as MacLean recognised long ago — is that without breaking the connection to Britain, Scottish workers are burdened by circumstances outside of their own control, which will hold back the fight for socialism immeasurablly. In striving for an independent Scottish workers' republic, Scottish socialists do not abandon their sisters and brothers in the English working class; rather they advance the struggle for socialism on the island of Britain and speed the collapse of the ancien regime known as the "United Kingdom" or "Great Britain", which perpetuates institutions that should have fallen with feudalism. Such developments cannot fail to pull behind them the struggle for socialism in England, in a way that they could not hope to accomplish in continued union. Today, the members of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement join you honouring John MacLean, who like that other Scottish born socialist leader, James Connolly, provided the working classes of these islands with two of the greatest figures of their day within the world socialist movement. The Bolsheviks recognised MacLean's revolutionary prominence and often mentioned him in the company of other leading Marxists of his day, such as Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. In the IRSP, we have recently recognised the Revolutionary Shop Stewards movement he helped to foster as a shining example for trade union work today. It is only appropriate that John MacLean be given the recognition he deserves by those who remain committeed to socialism in his native land and we join with you in celebrating his contribution to revolutionary socialism today. Long Live the Memory of John MacLean and James Connolly! Long Live the Solidarity Between the Irish and Scottish Working Classes!  See Also: The Irish Tragedy: Scotland's Disgrace by John MacLean Page updated 18 Aug 2008 Ireland's OWN Logo by Eamann Website Design and Celtic Background by Míchealín Daugherty Copyright © 2008 Ireland's OWN All Rights Reserved.