SO151 Essay: Colonialism as a Social Process in Irish Society

This essay examines colonialism as a social process that deeply penetrated all aspects of Irish society. It analyzes the historical context of British rule in Ireland, highlighting the economic exploitation and the creation of a landlord caste as a key mechanism of control. The essay discusses how this process, informed by Marxist perspectives, led to the 'metabolic rift,' disrupting the existing social order and transforming the relationship between the Irish people and their land. It explores the impact on agriculture, social structures, and the emergence of new class divisions, ultimately arguing that colonialism in Ireland was not merely economic but a multifaceted social process that reshaped the nation's identity and development. The essay references various scholars and their viewpoints to support its arguments, emphasizing the long-lasting consequences of colonialism on Irish society.

Running head: IRELAND AND COLONIALISM
COLONIALISM AS A SOCIAL PROCESS PENETRATED INTO ALL ASPECTS OF
IRISH SOCIETY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1IRELAND AND COLONIALISM
As stated by Slater (2018), colonialism is the process or the policy which enabled the first
world nations to acquire partial or complete political control of the different third world nations
and exploit the same economically. Cox, Nilsen and Pleyers (2017) are of the viewpoint that the
along with the political and the economic impacts that the process of colonialism had left on the
colonized nations it had been seen that the colonialism had left a deep or lasting imprint on
almost all aspect of the lives of the individuals of the colonized nations. The resultant effect of
this that unlike the earlier times wherein colonialism was being largely considered as a political
or an economic process presently it is seen that colonialism is being seen as a social process
(Midgley 2017). In this regard, mention needs to be made of the nation of Ireland which had
been under the colonial yoke of British rule for such a long time that the impact of the same is
perceptible with the societal framework of the concerned nation and also on the lives of the
common people of the nation as well. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the manner in
which colonialism as a social process had penetrated within all aspects of the Irish society.
Slater and McDonough (2008) are of the viewpoint that an analysis of the relationship
between the Irish society and the process of colonialism had inevitably incurred comparisons of
the relation of the different colonized nations with the same process. Adding to this, Coakley and
Gallagher (2017) have noted that an important reason for this can be attributed to the fact that the
process of colonialism in the present times is largely being analyzed through the usage of the
discipline of Marxism and the dependency theory so as to quantify the damage that colonialism
caused to the colonized nations. More importantly, recent researches have clearly revealed the
fact that an important factor the under-development of the different colonized nations can be
attributed to the integration of their economy with the capitalism world economic system
(Bannerji 2017). The resultant effect of this is that almost all the colonized share a history which

2IRELAND AND COLONIALISM
is redolent with the aspects of dependency on the colonizer nation and its exploitation by the
same. As a matter of fact, some of the individuals even hold the idea that the economic growth as
well as development that the different first world nations of the world had been able to attain is
largely due to economic exploitation that they undertook in the nations which were their colonies
(Moran 2018). England is an important example in this connection since till the middle of the
20th century the concerned nation had a large number of colonies like India, Ireland, Arab and
others (Ohlmeyer 2018). An interesting fact to note in this relation is that whereas these nations
are still struggling for the development of a stable economy England presently boasts of one of
the most stable as well as thriving economies of the world (Smith 2019).
According to Slater (2018), an important feature of the process of colonialism which was
undertaken by England within the nation of Ireland can be attributed to its similarities with the
ideas articulated by Karl Marx in the 19th century. Adding to this, Slater and McDonough (2008)
have noted that the process of colonialism which was undertaken by the nation of England rather
than being a simple exploitation can be seen as a multifaceted process which penetrated with all
aspects of the Irish life and its society. The resultant effect of this was the fact that not only the
economic growth or the development of the concerned nation got thwarted on the score of the
same but also the other important social processes that made up the social organic totality of the
nation also got adversely affected on the score of the same (Smith 2016). Talking about this
capitalist as well as the social aspects of colonialism which manifested itself within the nation of
Ireland, Marx stated that the process of colonialism within the nation of Ireland had created
abominable conditions of existence for the colonized people of the nation under discussion here
(Slater and McDonough 2008). In particular he referred to the landlord caste which was created

3IRELAND AND COLONIALISM
by England within the nation of Ireland for facilitating its colonial rule within the concerned
nation.
As discussed by Ansprenger (2018), the landlord caste was created by the English
soldiers and its diplomats within the nation of Ireland so as to use them as mediators between the
English soldiers and the Irish people and also to facilitate the economic exploitation or Ireland.
Aning et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that an important reason which had propelled individuals
to look upon the process of colonialism which was undertaken by the nation of England in
Ireland can be attributed to the creation of the landlord caste within Ireland by England which in
turn exploited the working class. More importantly, it had been seen that the members of this
landlord caste displayed all the features or for that matter the attributes of the rich capitalist
people and thus their sole focus was on the exploitation of the common people or the working
class individuals (Drapeau 2019). However, at the same time it needs to be said that an important
difference between the capitalists and the landlord caste within the nation of Ireland was capital
was the main driver of the coercion or for that matter the exploitation undertaken by the
capitalists whereas the different rental forms were the drivers of the same in the particular
context of the landlord caste within the nation of Ireland (Sen 2017). This particular aspect had
influenced many people to consider the colonialism within the nation of Ireland as the one which
is completely devoid of capitalism despite the fact that the colonizer itself was the capitalist
British whose primary focus behind the acquisition of the different colonizers was to undertake
the economic exploitation of the same.
Karl Marx talking about the state of colonialism within the nation of Ireland in the year
1867 said that “Capitalism……is an essentially dynamic system, which grows at the expense of
the noncapitalist world. The ultimate tendency of this “metabolism” with the outside world is to

4IRELAND AND COLONIALISM
break down the barriers that keep capital at bay” (Slater and McDonough 2008). This statement
of Marx goes a long way to explain why the majority of the scholars over the years have
considered the colonialism within the nation of Ireland a social process which had penetrated
deeply into all the aspects of the Irish society and also into the lives of the common people of the
concerned nation. In this relation, it needs to be said that Ireland prior to its colonialism was a
non-capitalist nation whereas the nation of England was a capitalist nation and this becomes
apparent when the economic exploitation undertaken by the same in its different colonies is
being taken into account. More importantly, for the purpose of creating an effective capitalist
colony within the nation of Ireland, the concerned nation firstly needed to break down the
different aspects or the attributes of Ireland which in turn helped it keep capitalism at bay over
the years (Breen et al. 2016).
As a matter of fact, over the years it had been seen that agriculture had formed the
backbone of the nation under discussion here and the majority of the people of the concerned
nation cultivated their own crops which in turn helped them to sustain themselves (Heller and
McElhinny 2017). Furthermore, prior to it becoming a colony there were very industries or
companies within the concerned nation and the people who did not had any land they simply
worker on the lands of farmers and in exchange for their labor received a share of a agricultural
produce (Moran 2018). This as a matter of fact was the most important factor which helped the
nation of Ireland to keep the evil of capitalism at bay over the years. However, Britain releasing
the fact that this was the most important barrier that needed to remove so as to undertake the
economic exploitation of the concerned nation introduced the landlord caste within the
concerned nation (Smith 2019). The introduction of the landlord caste was not only important

5IRELAND AND COLONIALISM
since it paved the way for the economic exploitation of Ireland but also on the score of the fact
that it substantially changed the social structure of the concerned nation.
Byrne, Clarke and Rahman (2018) are of the viewpoint that the members of the landlord
caste despite being Irish themselves were primarily the puppets of the British and thereby
inflicted undue torture as well as pain on the Irish people when they failed to offer the required
rent to the British. Adding to this, Cox, Nilsen and Pleyers (2017) have noted that this in turn
created the “abominable conditions of existence” wherein the older order followed by the Irish
people crumbled and the values brought on by the colonists formed the new order which started
to be followed by the people of the under discussion here. The term ‘metabolic rift’ adequately
sums up the condition that the nation of Ireland and its people experienced after being colonized
by the nation of England (Slater 2018). As a matter of fact, it was seen that unlike the earlier
times wherein the farmers were owners of the crops cultivated by them now it was seen that the
landlords or for that matter Britain was the owner of the same (Aning et al. 2018). Thus, in a way
it can be said that just like within the process of capitalism the workers are isolated from the
production thus in the particular context of the nation of Ireland also the farmers were being
isolated from their production, that is, their crops. This in turn adversely affected the societal
structure of the nation under discussion here since in the earlier times the people were grouped
into two categories, namely, the landowners and the ones who worked on the lands of the other
farmers (Heller and McElhinny 2017). However, presently it was seen that because of the
isolation of the farmers from their production they soon lost their interest in the same and thereby
started to look for other areas of employment (Coakley and Gallagher 2017). This in turn created
different classes within the concerned nation yet a common aspect among all these classes was
the fact that all of them had to face exploitation at the hands of Britain on the score of the policy

6IRELAND AND COLONIALISM
of capitalism followed by it (Smith 2019). In the light of these aspects, it can be said that the
colonialism undertaken by the nation of England in Ireland rather than focusing on the mere
economic exploitation of the concerned nation was a social process which permeated within all
aspects of the Irish society.
To sum up, Marxist interpretation of the process of colonialism undertaken by the
different nations clearly reveals that it was completely based on the idea of capitalism. This
becomes apparent when the colonialism undertaken by England in Ireland is being taken into
account. For example, to facilitate the economic exploitation of the concerned nation, Britain
introduced the landlord caste within Ireland, which was primarily responsible for collecting rents
from the farmers. However, this particular caste created by Britain led to a subsequent
restructuring of the entire social order of the nation under discussion here on the basis of the
process of capitalism which was being followed by Britain. This social restructure while
adversely affecting the nation of Ireland actually helped Britain and facilitated the economic
exploitation of Ireland. It is in the light of these aspects that the colonialism within Ireland is
considered a social process which penetrated into all aspects of the society of the concerned
nation. These aspects of colonialism within the nation of Ireland become apparent from the
above discussion of the same.

7IRELAND AND COLONIALISM
References
Aning, K., Brown, M.A., Boege, V. and Hunt, C.T. eds., 2018. Exploring peace formation:
security and justice in post-colonial states. Routledge.
Ansprenger, F., 2018. The dissolution of the colonial empires. Routledge.
Breen, R., Hannan, D.F., Rottman, D.B. and Whelan, C.T., 2016. Understanding contemporary
Ireland: state, class and development in the Republic of Ireland. Springer.
Byrne, S., Clarke, M.A. and Rahman, A., 2018. Colonialism and Peace and Conflict
Studies. Peace and Conflict Studies, 25(1), p.1.
Coakley, J. and Gallagher, M. eds., 2017. Politics in the Republic of Ireland. Routledge.
Cox, L., Nilsen, A. and Pleyers, G., 2017. Social movement thinking beyond the core: theories
and research in post-colonial and postsocialist societies. Interface: a Journal for and about
Social Movements, 9(2), pp.1-36.
Drapeau, T., 2019. ‘Look at our Colonial Struggles’: Ernest Jones and the Anti-Colonialist
Challenge to Marx’s Conception of History. Critical Sociology, 45(7-8), pp.1195-1208.
Heller, M. and McElhinny, B., 2017. Language, capitalism, colonialism: Toward a critical
history. University of Toronto Press.
Midgley, C., 2017. Introduction: Gender and imperialism: mapping the connections. In Gender
and imperialism. Manchester University Press.

8IRELAND AND COLONIALISM
Moran, S.F., 2018. The Ideal Irish Male and the New Irish Nation-State. Irish Literary
Supplement, 37(2), pp.20-22.
Ohlmeyer, J., 2018. Eastward enterprises: colonial Ireland, colonial India. Past and
Present, 240(1), pp.83-118.
Sen, A., 2017. The State, Industrialization and Class Formations in India: A Neo-Marxist
Perspective on Colonialism, Underdevelopment and Development (Vol. 23). Routledge.
Slater, E. and McDonough, T., 2008. Marx on nineteenth-century colonial Ireland: Analysing
colonialism as a dynamic social process. Irish Historical Studies, 36(142), pp.153-172.
Slater, E., 2018. Engels on Ireland’s Dialectics of Nature. Capitalism Nature Socialism, 29(4),
pp.31-50.
Slater, E., 2018. Marx on Colonial Ireland: A Dialectical Inquiry. History of Political
Thought, 39(4), pp.719-748.
Smith, A.K., 2019. Creating a World Economy: Merchant Capital, Colonialism, and World
Trade, 1400-1825. Routledge.
Smith, B.C., 2016. Understanding Third World politics: theories of political change and
development. Macmillan International Higher Education.