Pitmatic

Pitmatic is a political ideology which first emerged in the Kingdom of Sorrenia advocating for revolutionary struggle led by the 'old proletariat', present mostly in the pit villages and cities of the north-east region of Sorrenia. Many see Pitmatic as the extension of Northumbrianism into an explicitly socialist, revolutionary ideology. Adam Scargill is usually attributed with creating and naming the Pitmatic tendency, seeing it as the application of Marxism-Leninism to the unique conditions of Northumbria. Since then however, Pitmacs have abandoned much of their Marxist-Leninist baggage, instead evolving in an anarcho-syndicalist direction.

Etymology

Pitmatic refers to the northern dialect historically present in the English counties of Northumberland and Durham. Although linguistically distinct from the nearby dialects of Geordie and Mackem, the modern Pitmac dialect is influenced by said dialects.

Politically, Pitmatic was used to refer especially to working-class communities found in the North East, usually centred around pit villages, seaside towns and the cities of Durham, Newcastle and Sunderland. The areas described as 'old proletarian' by Pitmacs do not perfectly align with the areas traditionally associated with the Pitmatic dialect however, as the political usage of the term includes many living in cities such as Sunderland which have their own distinct dialectal history.

History

Kingdom of Sorrenia

During the popularisation of 'Northumbrianism' - a political movement which sought to redefine the Kingdom of Sorrenia as a culturally Northumbrian entity - many within the Sorrenian left sought to emphasise the North East of England's historic role in British trade unionism and its socialist movement. Its industrial history, as well as important events such as the Jarrow March and the 1984-85 miners' strike were cited as justification for portraying Northumbrian culture as a distinctly working-class one. Pitmatics argue that this left-wing history remains alive within the North East, as demonstrated by events such as the yearly Durham Miners' Gala (the largest socialist/trade unionist meeting in all of Europe) and the North East's voting habits, having broadly supported the British Labour Party since the 1930s.

The extension of Sorrenia's borders during the Great Expansion included many new areas with altogether distinct socio-political histories. Many figures within the left-wing Republican Party sought in turn to re-emphasise the importance of the North East and its working-class identity, and began to agitate for a greater focus on the material interests of those living in the pit villages of the North East.

Adam Scargill was the first to use the term 'Pitmatic' to refer to a belief in the revolutionary capabilities of what he termed the 'old proletariat', those living within parts of the North East with a strong industrial background; and especially those with experience personally either in industrial labour or in the trade unionist movement. He suggested that Pitmatic was the application of Marxism-Leninism to the Northumbrian experience, and established the People's Republic of Horden, a continuation of the Socialist League which was forced to retreat to Horden in Dradelia after their defeat.

Pitmatic was especially popular in southern and eastern Durham. Scargill's writings appealed to a number of politicians within the Republican Party, who feared that the influence of their counterparts in other parts of Sorrenia would confuse the overall identity and direction of the party. Pitmatic was explicitly mentioned in the constitution of the Communist Party of Horden, a party headed by Scargill; and though it was never formally introduced into the Republicans' constitution, Pitmatic left a strong impact on the broader Sorrenian left-wing, especially those of a far-left disposition.

Kingdom of Northumbria

After the creation of the Kingdom of Northumbria, Scargill officially dissolved the People's Republic of Horden and applied for Northumbrian citizenship. He briefly joined the big-tent National Democratic Party, hoping to use the NDP to take over the Northumbrian state apparatus and abolish the monarchy, replacing it with a workers' republic. He ultimately found however that the NDP were too firmly supportive of the Northumbrian monarchy, aristocracy and clergy, and so after a wave of democratising reforms in January 2021, he left the NDP and joined the Socialist Party.

Scargill reiterated his firm commitment to Pitmatic, and has continued to encourage the Socialist Party to come out in support of the abolition of the monarchy. Unlike his earliest manifesto however, Scargill's writing on Pitmatic have developed in an anarcho-syndicalist direction; whereas initially Scargill emphasised the need for a vanguard party to direct the actions of the old proletariat, it is now suggested that the trade unionist form of organisation can itself act as the principal vehicle through which the proletariat can seize the means of production and abolish the monarchy.

Concepts

The most notable concept distinguishing Pitmacs from other left-wing revolutionary ideologies is their concept of the 'old proletariat', a class identified as 'those workers traditionally employed in the industrial sectors of the Northumbrian economy, and who participated in the organisation of labour in the trade unionist movement'. Though mostly de-industrialised today, Northumbria has a long history of coal mining, shipbuilding, munitions production and other related heavy industry, and many people involved in working-class resistance movements in the latter half of the 20th century remain alive and politically active today.

Key to the Pitmatic ideology is also the belief that Northumbrian culture should be understood first and foremost as a proletarian culture, and one which can be told as a story of struggle to secure rights for workers; far greater emphasis is therefore placed on Northumbria's industrial heritage and its role in British trade unionism than, say, its medieval or religious history. Resembling somewhat a Gramscian analysis, Pitmatics suggest that the re-imagination of Northumbria as a project of workers' liberation is key to creating and maintaining class consciousness.

Though originally presented by Scargill as the application of Marxism-Leninism to the Northumbrian context, Pitmatic has shed most of its Marxist-Leninist origins, developing into a form of anarcho-syndicalism, wherein the trade union is interpreted both as the key vehicle through which to achieve revolution, and also as a model for what the organisation of a socialist society is to look like.

Criticisms

Most criticisms levied against Pitmatic in particular are sourced from the left-wing. Some suggest that Pitmatic presents an overly romanticised interpretation of Northumbrian history, and offers an archaic understanding of the demographic makeup of the Northumbrian proletariat. Scargill himself was accused of ignoring the significant developments away from heavy industry and towards service-sector labour witnessed in the North East of England in the last several decades. Scargill's decision to identify within the 'old proletariat' a distinct capacity for revolution is accused by many of being entirely unwarranted and based far more on Scargill's cultural affinity with Northumbria's socialist heritage far more than a material analysis of the conditions of the working class in the North East.

In a similar fashion, leading figures within the Socialist Party have steadfastly rejected Scargill's call to adopt republicanism, arguing that such a move would alienate voters and would not meaningfully advance the interests of the working class in Northumbria.