This pamphlet is about nations and nationalism in Britain* today and is written from a Marxist position. It examines how Marx understood nations in their historic development and the way nations and nationalism relate to class power – both that of a ruling class and that of any class that seeks to contest it. It argues that in the current acute crisis the working-class movement has a duty to take forward national rights in a way that enhances overall class unity against the banks and monopolies that dominate our lives.

* This pamphlet examines only the constituent nations and nationalities of Britain itself. Since its foundation in 1920 the Communist Party in Britain has supported the independent unity of the island of Ireland – a land conquered and colonised by Britain.