Plaid Repwblic?

Plaid are still struggling to come to terms with their commitment to Independence – part of the problem is that when Wales achieves independence then there would be little point to Plaid as a separate political force – a bit like turkeys voting for Christmas. Plaid also have a problem with their commitment to ‘Community Based Socialism’ – a term which means different things to different people within the party and almost nothing to the voters.

Maybe it is time to dust off the party’s Republican commitment - I have previously suggested that an Independent Wales should be a republic based on the values

Rhyddid – Tegwch – Cymuned.

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I suggest that if Plaid adopted these republican values, it could square its circular commitments to independence and socialism much more easily, and give itself a much stronger ‘raison d’etre’.

Rhyddid – while standing for Freedom in the form of Welsh Independence, this also stands for Liberty or personal freedom. Plaid should campaign for a Bill of Rights which would give individuals a set of inalienable rights – rights which can not be taken away by others. An example to put this in context could be that individuals would have the right to communicate in Welsh – a right that could not be voted away by a majority English speaking electorate. It would also give the Welsh electorate the sovereign right to determine the best form of government for itself.

Tegwch – In the American Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson (a proud Welshman) stated that ‘all men are created equal’, and equality is one of the guiding values of the French Republic, and most modern democracies. But being born equal and being treated equally in life is not the same thing, and I suggest that a better principle to follow would be Fairness. Everyone in Wales, regardless of gender, nationality, language or religion, should have the right to be treated fairly.

Cymuned – The Welsh people are all citizens of the Community of Wales. We will not agree to be subjects of the monarchy or aristocracy or any other form of inherited political power, including from the military, churches, trade unions, etc. All political power should be democratically vested in the people, who are expected to actively use this power and to participate in civic duties. Maybe this is what Plaid had in mind with its ‘community socialism’, but I think that it is time to drop the S word and concentrate on the C.

And yes – Republican means anti-monarchy and Plaid should not be afraid of standing up and announcing this loudly and clearly. There is nothing to fear from alienating the dwindling band of royalists in Wales, and much to gain by giving Plaid another clear USP which will find a lot of willing support particularly among the young.

Ymlaen Y Repwblic

Y Repwblic

For those of you interested in Welsh Republicanism, there is a new forum that has been established to replace various older forums. It is still being tidied up but it is worth visiting as there is a lot of interesting information in the archives.

Go to: http://repwblic.informe.com and sign up to join the debate.

A Welsh Republic

A lot has been said and written over the last few months about the WA election and its eventual outcome, and it wont be long before we start all over again discussing the possible strategies and outcome of a referendum on a Welsh Parliament. So I thought it was about time that we got back to discussing Welsh Independence - in particular, what form a future Welsh state might take.

I personally believe that we should be aiming to create a Republic but the use of the term Republican often solicits a negative response. To most people the term is simply anti-monarchist, and provokes unionists to start weeping nostalgically about the Royal Family, the loss of the British Empire, and Britishness (whatever that is Mr Brown). To others the term is associated with Irish Republicanism and they immediately start to make comparisons with Sinn Fein and the IRA and other assorted terrorists.

But republican ideals are the basis for many modern democracies, most notably the American & French Republics, and their guiding values are simple:

Republicanism stresses personal liberty, and gives all individuals inalienable rights – rights which can not be voted away. In our context, individuals would have the right to communicate in Welsh – a right that could not be voted away by the majority English speaking electorate

Republicanism establishes that we are not subjects, but citizens. It rejects the monarchy and aristocracy but also all forms of inherited political power, including from the military, churches, trade unions, and lobby groups such as CBI. Instead all political power is democratically vested in the people, who are expected to actively use this power and to participate in civic duties.

Abraham Lincoln defined republicanism in terms of Freedom, Equality & Democracy and described ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’.

Surely these would be excellent ideals for a new Welsh democracy, and we should not be afraid to promote the cause of a Welsh Republic.

Many people are not aware, but much of the inspiration for the American & French republics actually came from Wales. On his blog, Adam Price has been recently quoting the Italian political thinker Antonio Gramsci – but he should look nearer to home for inspiration, and look up the work of his namesake Richard Price. Born in Llangeinor, Bridgend in the 18th century he was in regular correspondence with Benjamin Franklin and his writings proved to be inspirational in the American and French revolutions, and could be considered to be the father of a Welsh republican ideal.

The French Republic has as its motto

Liberté - Egalité - Fraternitié.

I suggest that we should develop this into a Welsh context and suggest our own motto of:

Rhyddid – Tegwch - Cymuned

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I guess we can have our own TRILLIW as well.