Dear comrades,

We were saddened to wake to the news of the passing of John Molyneux. While few of us knew John personally, his remarkable role in constructing the theoretical basis for our shared political tradition means we feel his loss keenly. John’s writing is a joy to read, whether for the first or tenth time. His work is accessible in style and expansive in content, generous in dealing with rival currents but forceful when it comes to important debates. His books on the Real Marxist Tradition and Anarchism have been of great use to us in educating new generations of socialist activists in the politics of socialism from below, as have his writings on the party, philosophy and other topics. 

It seems to us that John was perpetually seeking to deepen the socialist movement’s engagement with new ideas and issues, most recently through his work on the Irish Marxist Review, always with the goal of strengthening our collective capacity to shape the development of the workers’ movement and the left. He leaves behind a worthy legacy: invaluable contributions to Marxist theory paired with a lifelong determination to build socialist organisations that can one day overthrow this increasingly barbaric system. Please share our sincere condolences with his comrades, friends and family. They should be proud to have known such a revolutionary.

Omar Hassan for Socialist Alternative’s (AU) National Executive