Guerrilla Communists
Socialist Voice Review
January 2026
While we modestly pride ourselves on being able to mount a sustained campaign (the leadership of the CPI knows what we mean), the fact is that we lost our way in 2025 with just one review of Socialist Voice for the whole year.
An overview of Socialist Voice during 2025 amounts to another year of lost opportunities. The first observation is that Socialist Voice hasn’t a clue what it is supposed to be. While that problem could be solved with a little dedicated attention and a functioning editor, the second observation reveals a much more serious problem – issues of social justice have disappeared entirely from its content:
the fact is that the CPI dare not approach such issues within Socialist Voice, as its hypocrisy would be exposed on the spot
it cannot deal with any organisational issues as it has no organisational capabilities – least of all within the party itself
it cannot offer any leadership on any issue as it has neither the experience nor the organisational abilities
it cannot offer any strategic advice as it does not even know the meaning of strategic planning
above all, there is no sustained focus on anything
So, what does the CPI, through Socialist Voice offer? Some useful and interesting articles, just as many that could be published in any ‘progressive’ outlet, a lot of historical features and book reviews galore. Plus, (still) plenty of ‘should’ and ‘must ‘– mostly directed at other entities.
The CPI website has a similar shortcoming: it leaves its readers nowhere to turn, nowhere to direct any energies they may want to expend. It is frequently out of date – between 30 November 2025 to the date of this post (21 January 2026) there has been just a single update on 12 December 2025.
Specifically, on the January 2026 edition we have already done a partial review: Operating in a bubble.
A short perusal of the remainder of the edition reveals more of the same. Even when the articles are relevant there is a distinct lack of any means of developing the ideas further or presenting opportunities for readers to get involved.
Niamh Lawlor has a very good piece on war: War, What is it Good for? However, it ends as follows: “It is vital we continue to resist Ireland being pulled more and more into wars of a nefarious class nature often waged to maintain dominance, control, secure resources, sell weapons, open markets etc.”
It’s not Lawlor’s fault that the article ends there – how is she supposed to develop it?
The CPI official position is that the struggle should be waged by the trade union movement, as the party itself has no means to develop it and there is more death evident in the vacant abyss of the website of the Irish Anti-war Movement than in any modern battlefield.
Barry Murray makes a reasoned case for bringing about some focus within the party: From Solidarity to Strategy: Building Power for a 32-County Socialist Republic. He sensibly argues that “Rather than acting on issues in an ad hoc fashion, we need the ‘psychological driver’ of a single goal…” However, his proposed solution is problematic. “By our actions today, we must build the defences of tomorrow…..” as we would caution that it is the decisions of yesterday that need attention before looking too closely at today.
Even more problematic are the other proposed solutions. “To achieve this, we must be involved in people’s lives at every possible level.” And “But none of this will happen if we do not push ourselves out among the people. We must live what we know works; theory and practice are the basis of praxis. This, too, is not new.
“For those who know, more is always possible. For those who don’t, our praxis is necessary”.
However, there is nothing new in this conclusion – it is what the party has always done or tried to do. By any rational assessment it is clear that it has never worked and never will until the most important element is completely and securely in place: a functioning party to lead it and nurture it.
It is clear that members of the party like Murray and other contributors in the January edition are trying to get the party to focus on something, anything.
As always, an immovable object is standing in their way – a leadership that will continue to bring the party to its knees rather than allow a single deviation from the disastrous path it endures under their direction.
Past and current leaders of the party have brought it to the pitiful state it is today and there is no evading their responsibility for that. Are enough party members even interested in stopping the rot? If not, they have no business calling themselves communists.