Tomás Ó Flatharta

Duncan Chapel, a revolutionary socialist based in Scotland, hosts a blog which explores big political and social changes in the world we live in.

The article below addresses many troubling developments on the left which have erupted in the 21st century. These trends exist everywhere – Duncan is very familiar with awful examples from the British state.

Readers on the left in in Ireland may be familiar with the example of “Counterfire” which is degenerating rapidly :

The rise of the far-right across Europe and North America has prompted urgent soul-searching on the left. From Trump’s return to power to the growth of Alternative for Germany (AfD), from Giorgia Meloni’s ascendancy in Italy to the surge of Reform UK, reactionary forces are capitalizing on widespread social discontent. Yet a troubling phenomenon has emerged alongside this rightward shift: sections of the left itself have begun adopting positions that sound suspiciously similar to those of their supposed political opponents.

Source :
Mapping the Conservative Left – Why Some Socialists Sound Like the Right

This “conservative left” represents a fundamental betrayal of socialist principles. Rather than offering a genuine alternative to capitalist crisis, these currents have absorbed key elements of right-wing discourse—from economic nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment to cultural traditionalism and geopolitical authoritarianism. Understanding this phenomenon is crucial for any socialist strategy that seeks to build genuine working-class unity against our real enemies: the capitalist class and their political representatives.