Is Wales' left-leaning nationalism a contradiction?

After the lockout in 1913, James Connolly realised that Irish independence was necessary to build a state on socialist principles.

I'll be a nationalist, separatist and socialist until Independence Day plus 1. Then I'll resume being an internationalist and socialist.

It's Karl Marx and not Carl Marx. Proof-reading is needed before posting. Welsh nationalism is not "a nationalism choosing love" because those who claim to be 'Welsh nationalists' constantly verbalise their hatred towards the English and anyone who doesn't agree with them. Anyone who listens to the 'nationalists' can hear or read it. It's more akin to national socialism of Nazi Germany and their hatred of Jews, Slavs, Romany, Sinti, etc. It's because of the nationalist's internationalism that is taking their attention away from putting Wales and the Welsh language and culture first. They have been putting others first for a century and half. History shows that Communism doesn't care about language and culture as it puts ideology first. What 'culture' they do produce is nothing more than propaganda because freedom of creativity is restricted. The great Russian works by Dostoevsky, Pushkin, and Tolstoy were written in czarist Russia. What does that say? Think about it! Wales needs a nationalism that puts Wales first and protects its language and culture. That doesn't mean it's an excuse to hate our neigbours or have a class war.

Policies from the "non-nationalist" party: British jobs for British workers Controls on immigration No return to Freedom of Movement

Has anything held back Wales as much as Nationalists' childish fear of being anything like the big, bad sinful Tory boogy man scarecrow? Come on fellow Welsh, be bad.

Really pleased we're being lectured about our own country by someone who lives in New Zealand

An excellent read - as a lifelong socialist and a lifelong supporter of welsh independence im pleased to see Hayden Williams demonstrate how there is absolutely no contradiction between the two. But i think Hayden's piece also helps explain why there's always been a heavy dollop of british chauvinism running thru the british left and why the british left (whilst always claiming to be 'internationalist') has always had a blind spot when it comes to welsh and scottish nationhood

Who are Carl Marx and Engles? I'm assuming they are not to be confused with those 19th century political philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

What I also find fascinating on this subject is the fact that there is only one (nationalist) party in Wales. That's something which usually occurs only in totalitarian countries, 'the unique party'... However, comparison is not reason and it works remarquably well for Wales, and it does not keep its supporters to be open, humanist and democratic, the contrary. That's quite unique (is it the same for Scotland and Ireland?). It means that the majority of these Welsh patriots, somehow, have the same political sensibility. How is that even possible? In Brittany, there is now about six or more nationalist parties, asking more or less the same things. So, instead of uniting together in order to get honorable results in the elections, we divide our strenght...

We now have an authoritarian "left" leader who's even abandoned liberal "free speech", as in his Covid rules and refusal of a Welsh Covid inquiry. As it would have exposed his errors

If Wales returns a Labour government in 2023/4, it will be the first time the people have returned a conservative majority. Read that again.

It probably is.Does it harm us ,probably not however voting Labour most certainly is.

No contradiction. Nationalism is left wing when the nation is not independent. Right wing for when it is established

Welshness by definition is an oxymoron statement when applied to those of Cymru. Especially seeing how we aren’t foreign to Britain and the term British directly comes from the British language, a language English speakers call Welsh. We are being disingenuous and lied to every time we call ourselves Welsh over Cymric, or even British. We will never gain independence while we 1. Ignore our own history and self identity, and 2. allow someone else to benefit of said History, as the English are currently doing.

Welsh nationalism should be neutral when it comes left/right politics. There is an automatic assumption that Wales is a left leaning simply because we compare ourselves to England

The last thing Wales needs is to become a communist country. Ask anyone who's ever lived in one.

This article should have been titled "The Main Reason Wales won't Achieve her Freedom" This is another classic Marxian game of "let's take definitions because they have a degree of popularity and actually mean something else". Nationalism is to believe in the concept of the nation state and to prefer the interests of one's own nation in her governance - to claim that Marx, Engles or even the more insular forms of Marxists like Stalin and Mao were 'nationalists' is, at best, ignorant and at worst, another favourite game played by Marxists - avoid responsibility for our many failures. All 300,000,000+ of them. When a Marxist says 'conservative' or 'democracy' or 'republic', be assured that the very special, 'you gotta be one of us to understand' definition of the word is used. Equality, love, freedom - these concepts have veeeery different meanings when playing the Marxian language game. They are using the idea of a separate state for Wales as a means to a very different end. Their 'nationalism' is nationalism for now, and then they take the power for themselves, as with every single Marxist project ever. Those who agree to the claim (and ignorant to the praxis that underlies it) are useful idiots. Until their utility is exhausted, or they get a bit lippy. I am not a nationalist of any description; rather a patriotic separatist first and a Liberal republican second. Plaid's current (suuuper popular) position of post-modern intersectional socialism allows for a large cohort to claim they want indy with very strict parameters, or not be in favour of independence at all without collapsing in on itself as an incoherent mess... for now. Indeed, the dubious goals (both morally and in terms of feasibility) of the contemporary forms of Marxism seem to be prime for Plaid's politicians and the functionaries, far above the only reason Plaid was brought into existence - our emancipation from English-led rule. The idea that our 'nationalism' is better because it is nice can be easily countered by 'it is useless in achieving anything because it is nice'. But that's the thing, it's not nationalism. Dictionaries on doublespeak should be printed. Bigotry and exclusivity are not the sole preserve of the Right, either. In fact, there are plenty who are of the opinion that Plaid Cymru have quite the problem with some very old forms of bigotry (anti-semites being put forward as candidates, anyone?) Was that in the spirit of kindness and love? The amount of internecine fighting between the various small factions within the broader socialist left is also replete with accusations of 'bigotry' and 'hate speech' - I used to hate the claim that 'the Left will always end up eating itself' until they started tucking in to us and the rest. The hubris and, conversely, intellectual paucity in our 'nationalist' party is why we are a perpetual laughing stock (if given any attention at all). No to this murderous ideology and its newest breed of acolytes who, luckily for all of us, are among the least talented and convincing people on Earth. Dewiswch gwell a byddwch yn callach, Cymru fach - gwrthodwch y gormes tu ol y mwgwd empathetig, peidiwch gwneud yr un hen camgymeriadau.

You have to be a nationalist to be an internationalist. Internationalism is the interaction of nationalists. Many on the left, who bang on about hating nationalism, do not realise this, or ignore it.