SOCIALIST VOICE

The August Socialist Voice is now available online: https://socialistvoice.ie

Contents:

No Basis for Wage Restraint in This Economy by Niall Cullinane

Recent reports on the Irish economy show that Modified Domestic Demand, a better estimate of economic activity than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Ireland because it strips out some of the distortions caused by foreign multinational activity, rose by 0.3% between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, spurred by personal spending […]

The Anti-Migrant Argument: Deporting the Workers We Depend On by Eoghan O'Neill

Across Ireland, north and south, immigration has become one of the defining political issues of recent years. From the racist violence witnessed in Belfast to protests outside accommodation centres and anti-immigration demonstrations across the country, a familiar political argument is repeatedly advanced. Migrants are blamed for housing shortages, overstretched public […]

The Technological Republic? by Sajeev Kumar

The 22-point ‘manifesto’ of the Epstein class has been floated by Alex Karp, the CEO of the tech giant Palantir—the company that provided the AI system called Movan Smart Systems, which killed 167 children in a girls’ school during the Iran war and helped orchestrate the genocide in Gaza. The […]

Trump Is Not an Aberration but the Continuum by Tommy McKearney

A question for our readers. Is the Trump presidency an aberration in an otherwise properly functioning governmental structure, or is this bizarre regime symptomatic of a deeper malaise? Let us examine the situation. Donald Trump is an obnoxious, unscrupulous, vainglorious, unprincipled thug. He is also a convicted felon who, as […]

“NATO must become more European to remain transatlantic” by Fionn Wallace

Elbridge Colby, the US Under Secretary of War for Policy, took to Twitter in April to celebrate the EU stepping up to the plate, declaring that “NATO must no longer be a paper tiger”. He said: “Germany is now taking the leading role in this. After years of disarmament, Berlin […]

The People’s Game / The Ruling Class’s Spectacle: The 2026 World Cup in Retrospect by Tomás Ó Braonáin

Football is the global language of ordinary people. It is played on any suitable surface (and many unsuitable surfaces) by working people in every corner of the world. But the World Cup stands above this mass, democratic experience, a political and economic spectacle, a plaything of FIFA, multinational corporations, broadcasters […]

Government’s Summer Economic Statement by Niall Cullinane

The Government’s Summer Economic Statement sets Budget parameters for 2027: an €8.5 billion package, involving €7 billion above the 2026 expenditure ceiling and €1.5 billion of tax measures. The €1.5bn announced for tax measures likely signals changes to income-tax bands, thereby preventing what is known as ‘fiscal drag’ – when […]

Aer Lingus Job Losses Expose the Cost of Economic Dependence

The Communist Party of Ireland expresses its solidarity with the workers and families affected by the announcement that up to 500 jobs are to be cut at Aer Lingus. The Communist Party supports trade unions in opposing compulsory redundancies but urges unions to demand nationalisation. These proposed redundancies are not […]

The Politics of Power: Part 1 – Rights, Power, and Imperialism by Eoghan O'NeillThis is the first in a five-part series on the politics of power. It begins by asking what makes rights and freedoms real. Later articles will examine the hierarchy among them, the machinery that sustains it, its international organisation through imperialism and dependency, and how working people can build counter-power. […]

Cuba’s Extraordinary Resistance Against US Imperialism by Gearóid Ó Machail

Last month, the Communist Party of Ireland commemorated the 1953 revolutionary assault by El Movimiento 26 de Julio on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba with a solidarity vigil on Ha’penny Bridge, Dublin and a Cuban Film Festival in the New Theatre, Temple Bar. Moncada was not merely a […]

Enshittification by Peter Foley

My first car was a 1990 Mitsubishi Colt, which I picked up for €500. Although I did not love it at the time, I have recently been reminiscing about it. With comfortable seats, an ergonomic design and a reliable engine, I even remember the smooth motion of the door as […]

Film review: Odyssey by Tomás Ó Braonáin

In this sprawling epic, Christopher Nolan takes Odysseus, the Trojan War veteran of mythic poetry, and fashions him into the everyday used-up soldier who has survived the imperial misadventure; left living with guilt over foul deeds committed in battle, and the ache of lost and betrayed comrades. Without abandoning its […]