Marx on England & Ireland
to whst sititude
(As part of the
towarda the atruggle of socialists should take
the Iriah people in Northern Treland we sre printing a letter by Marx to Meyer and Vogt.
two German membere of the North Amof the Pirat Internstionel living
proletarian revolution in England: In New York, The letter waa dated 9 April, 1870)
deatruction of the English landed azistcarapy in
that there have been
(Ne, of couree, recognise
Ireland in an infinitely esaier operation than in
the LAND QUESTION has
great changes in the situstion since this letter
England Itself, because
of the social
was written, Moreover, we
hitherto been the EXCLUSIVE form
reiteration of everything Kerx, Engela,
quention in Ireland, because it le s question of
But what concerna un 15
Lenin and Trotaky wrote.
exiatence, of WIFE AND DEATH, for the
concrete appliostion of
Marx's nethod.
of the Iriah people and beascue it is at
majority
*The revolution muat be nede with Marx's dictum:
the same time inseparable from the NATIONAL queasolidarity; we learn this from the Paris Commune,
Quite sport from the pensionste charscter which only fell because just this aolidarity wue
of the Irish and the faot that they are more revlacking among the workers of the other countries."
olutionary than the English. (VOLKSTAAT, October 2, 1872).)
As for the English BOURBOISIE, they have In the
that much which passes
(We are firmly convinced
first place a conmon interest with the aris tooracy
utterly rejected by
for narxism today
in traneforming Ireland Into s mere pasture land
in Britain
Marx, were he alive today.
provides the English market with meat and must learn the beelo approsch of Marx; otherwise
wool at the cheapest possible prices. Hence trey It will nake many mistakes, and not only on Ireare interested in redoing by expropriation sno land.)
forcible enigration, the Iriah population to much
small number that ENGLISH CAPTEAL, Invested In
nyaalf with the Irish question After ocoupying
Land lensed for forming, can funotien with "secusame interest in CIEARING
lor many reare I have come to the conclusion that
blow againat the English ruling the decisive
THE ESTATE OF IRELAND sa they had in clearing the classes (and it will be docisive for the workers'
agricultural diatriots of England and Bootland, movement all over the world) cannot be delivered
The £6,000-E8,000 shentee and other Irish revOn December 1,
ENGLAND BUT ONLY IN INKLAND•
at present flow senually to london 1869, the General Coanoil* issued a oonfidential
have likewiee to be telen into account. (Editorin French (for the resotoirculer drawn up by me
apparently refeze to the aversge
ial note: thie
ion upon England only the French, not the fermen
Ineome of an absentee landlord.)
inportant), on
papers, are
national atruggle to the esancipation of
bourgeoicie has aleo much more
the Engliah
and therefoze on the attitude
important intereata in the present Ivian regime.
Internstional Workingmen's Anaociation
to the constantly incresaing concentration should take towards the Irish queetion.
supplies its om surplue to
farming, Ireland
the Engliah Isbour market and thia forcee I will here only give you quite shortly the deoand material position
wages and lowere the moral isive points.
of the Engliah working clase, And most important:
of all: every industrial and commerciel centre in
"LANDED
bulwark of
the English
England now poaseuses a working cises population
The exploitation of thie country is
ARTSTOCRACY.
DIVIDED into two HOSTII campa, Engliah proletarnot only one of the main gources of their material
iana and Irish proletarians. weslth, It is their greatest MORAL strength. They, in faot, represent the DOMINATION OF ENGLAND OVER
workers hetee the Irish
The ordinars English
Ireland ia therefore the grest mesma by
cho lowers hia atonia competitor
the English aristocraoy maintains ITS DOMad of life. In
INATION IN ENGLAND itself.
kers he feels himeelf a zember of the
tume himself into a tool
ing nation
If, on the other hand, the English army end police
the ariatocrate and copitaliate AGAINST IRELAND, were withdrum tomorrow, you would at once here en
thus strengthening their domination OVER HIASELF. agrarian revolution in Ireland. But the overthron
cherishes religiou, eociel and nstional proHie attitude
of the English ariatocracy in Ireland involvee and
judices agsinst the Irish worker. hae aB 9
necessary consequence its overthrow in
towards him is much the seze as that of the "poor
would fulfil the prereguiette
And thie
--'-
socisl conflict by their mutual thrests and if whitea" to the "niggers" in the former slave
war with one another.
need by
The Irishman pays him beck states of the U.S.A.
the
He regarde
with interest in his own coin.
England, as the metropolis of
capital, so the
an both sharing in the guilt for English worker
pover
which has hitherto zuled the world market, the Engliah domination in Ireland and at the same
is for the time being the most important country time aerving as ita stupid tool.
and mozeover the
for the workera'
revolution,
This antagoniem ia artificially kept alive and
ONIY country in which the material conditions [cr intensified by the
this revolution have developed up to a certain
press, and pulpit, the comic
point of maturity, Therefore to hasten the social papers, in short by all the means at the diaposel
the
of
It is the secret of the
ruling classes.
revolution in England 1a the most important objeot
of
the English working clean, despite impotence of
Internationsl Workingmen'e Association, their
organisation.
It
the secret by which
The sole meins of hastening It is to make Ireland the
And of thie
capitalist maintsine ito power.
independent. that olans 1s well aware.
Hence the task of the "International" is everythe confliot between England and
evil does not atop here, across the ocean.
Ireland in the foreground, end everyahere to aide
antagoniam between English
task of the
openly with Ireland,
The special
Central Council in London is to assken a conscthe United States and England. It makes
louanese in the English workere that for them the
and serious co-operstion between the
classes of the two countries imposaible.
NATIONAL ENANCIPATION OF IRELAND Le no question
governmenta
or human aympathy but the
of both countries,