BOOK REVIEWS

RMTnews :: december 2006 :: www.rmt.org.uk 34 W hen RMT’s annual general meeting bestowed the rare distinction of an honorary union membership upon Bob Doyle (right) earlier this year in Dublin, it was in recognition of an extraordinary life spent battling injustice. In his conference speech Bob, a former member of the National Union of Seamen, recounted his experiences as a volunteer with the legendary International Brigades, fighting to defend Spain from fascist rebellion. This year marked the 70th anniversary of that epic battle for democracy – a story retold in Bob’s gripping autobiography, published to coincide with the commemorations. Born into a Dublin slum in 1916, Bob experienced extreme poverty and saw the harsh injustices endured by working people in their daily struggles to survive. Bob’s political awakening came when he witnessed the brutal rise of the Blueshirts – Ireland’s fascists of the 1930s, who were backed by the rich, the police and the church hierarchy. “Every bullet I fired in Spain would be against the Dublin landlords and capitalists,” he says of his decision to join the International Brigades – volunteers from across the world who fought on the side of the Spanish Republic against the fascist aggression of Franco, Hitler and Mussolini. Bob was captured in battle and held in a concentration camp where he endured months of beatings and torture before his eventual release in a prisoner exchange. He soon settled in London, throwing himself into trade union activity, left-wing politics and the fight for peace and justice, making him a familiar face at meetings and demonstrations in this country over the past 60 years. But Bob never forgot his duty to Spain, returning to the country incognito on numerous occasions, and at great personal risk, to smuggle and distribute anti-fascist propaganda up until the restoration of democracy in 1975. Every RMT member should find inspiration in this book detailing the exemplary life of Bob Doyle – seaman, trade unionist and anti-fascist. Chris Kasrils T his important book by Joe Harris, with some wonderful illustrations, offers the general reader a unique opportunity to read a condensed history of the plight of the old, many of whom are still treated as second-class citizens, dependent on means- tested benefits. The issues raised at every stage in that history are still with us today to remind us all that every generation has to fight and win the same battles for justice. But it would be a great mistake to think that this is only about problems facing the old, because it is really about wealth and poverty more generally and has a strong class element in it at every stage. The rich have always had enough to manage on but, when asked to contribute to help the poor, they have resisted by classifying those in need as "deserving" or "undeserving" to justify their meanness. Parish relief, the law against helping beggars, the workhouse and all the injustice bear a startling resemblance to some of the same arguments used today to restrict the payment of what is needed. The turning point in making progress came after the Chartists campaigned for the vote. The advance of democracy allowed the poor to use their vote to "buy" the services that were needed and local government began to provide municipal services for health, education and even some welfare. Indeed, the importance of political democracy lies in the fact that it transferred power from the marketplace to the polling station, from the wallet to the ballot and the Lloyd George pension scheme was a forerunner of the welfare state built after 1945. I remember Barbara Castle's speech well in the Cabinet: "The wealth that we enjoy was earned for us by those who have now retired and we owe it to them to see that they enjoy a fair share in the wealth which we create." It was a phrase that ushered in the pensions link with earnings which Thatcher abolished. Indeed, we are back to a means test now dressed up as a "minimum income guarantee," which is seen by many pensioners as too humiliating to claim. Joe Harris's great book should be read by all activists for it provides the ammunition we need to win the arguments that must be won. Tony Benn BOOK REVIEWS BRIGADISTA: AN IRISHMAN’S FIGHT AGAINST FASCISM by Bob Doyle CURRACH PRESS ISBN: 1-85607-939-2 PAUPERS PROGRESS: FROM POOR RELIEF TO OLD AGE PENSION by Joe Harris NATIONAL PENSIONERS CONVENTION ISBN 1-902245-20-2