Socialist Democracy is the successor to People's Democracy, a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

current which emerged in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

in 1968 during the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

movement in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. During the 1970s it evolved towards

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

positions and, by merging with the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

-based Movement for a Socialist Republic, became a section of the

Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) is a revolutionary socialist international organization consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky, also known as Trotskyists, whose declared goal is the overthrowing of global capitalism and the establishment of wor ...

. After the hunger strike campaign Peoples Democracy shrank in size with some leading members joining

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

when it began to take more explicit left-wing positions. In the early 1990s the remaining members of People's Democracy initiated the Irish Committee for a Marxist Programme as an attempt to regroup

socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

and left-wing republicans. This project ended in 1996 when PD dissolved and reconstituted itself as Socialist Democracy, adopting the programme put forward by the ICMP. The party is opposed to the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

which is regards as "...an attempt to strengthen imperialist rule, reinforce

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

and bolster the

sectarianism Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...

that helps prevent the unity of the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

.". Socialist Democracy has a small membership mainly based in

. In 2004 it fused with the International Socialists, a group of former members of the Socialist Workers Party in that city. It has not often contested elections, but one of its members stood in the Northern Ireland Assembly election of May 2011. It remains affiliated to the Fourth International. It is the sympathising Irish section of the International, within which it has been critical of tactics undertaken by its sister organisations in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Like the majority in the Fourth International, it was critical of the evolution of the

Socialist Democracy Socialist democracy is a political system that aligns with principles of both socialism and democracy. It includes ideologies such as council communism, democratic socialism, and Soviet democracy, as well as Marxist democracy like the dictatorsh ...

current of the Workers' Party in Brazil. It was also critical of the Revolutionary Communist League's call for a vote against Le Pen in the

2002 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 21 April 2002, with a runoff election between the top two candidates, incumbent Jacques Chirac of the Rally for the Republic and Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front, on 5 May. This presidential ...

, rather than for a

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

. The party is opposed to Transgender rights and Queer Theory. Socialist Democracy (Ireland) left the Fourth International in December 2022.

Pamphlets

Socialist Democracy also publishes a series of pamphlets on left-wing subjects, including: *''Ireland: The Promise of Socialism'' by Joe Craig, John McAnulty and Paul Flannigan (1996). *''The Real Irish Peace Process'' by Joe Craig, John McAnulty and Paul Flannigan (1998). *''Prisoners of Social Partnership'' by Joe Craig (2002) *''Marxism and the National Question'' by Pietro Tresso (Blasco) –(Introduction and Notes by D. R. O'Connor Lysaght (2006)). *'' The Soul of Man under Socialism'' by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

(Introduction and Notes by Lysaght (SD 2005)). *''The Great Irish Revolution: Myths and Realities'' by D.R. O’Connor Lysaght (A Marxist critique of R. F. Foster and other Irish historians in the revisionist movement (2006)). *''Ireland's Credit Crunch'' by Kevin Keating, Jonathan Morrison, Joe Corrigan. (2010). Publisher: IMG Publications

References

External links

Socialist Democracy website
1996 establishments in Ireland All-Ireland political parties Far-left politics in Ireland Fourth International (post-reunification) Irish republican parties Political parties established in 1996 Political parties in Northern Ireland Socialist parties in Ireland Trotskyist organisations in Ireland Trotskyist organisations in Northern Ireland {{UK far left