The anti-war movement has arrived at a somewhat novel situation.
For years socialists have argued that wars are fought for the economic reasons. War happens when the economic competition between gangs of capitalists takes the form of a violent confrontation and contest over whom will have the right to an exploitable wealth.
In the present case it is over who is to have the right to control and exploit the oil in Iraq and the region as a whole. The real reasons for war would never have been sufficient to inspire the whole of the working class to fight. Hence the reasons given for wars have always been a tissue of lies and falsehoods. As in the present case.
The strength of the present anti war movement rests on the fact that many have now perhaps for the first time understood the real reasons for war and object to it on that basis in what looks for all the world like international working class solidarity.
The question is, can this movement stay the hands on the levers of power?
So far the anti-war movement has only understood the nature of the problem, the solution it seems to be proposing is nothing more than an appeal to those in power to stop.
To some extent this has possibly already been partially successful, without the present level of consciousness of the working class they might have already bombed Iran into oblivion.
However the prospect of the US capitalist class losing control of Middle Eastern oil to another economic power bloc may be more than they can endure under any circumstances. Given the inevitable catastrophic consequences of a war with Iran an outraged domestic population may be the least of their concerns.
If they become desperate enough they still might bomb Iran and be damned to all the consequences, and to a united anti war movement. In a way the capitalists are no more in control of the system than we are, which is why we need to get rid of it.
Protesting against the system without a programme for getting rid of it is as futile as howling at the moon and voting for the `Democrats' on an anti-war ticket.
It is the capitalist system itself, while it is left in place to run its own course that will dictate events.
It isn't the revolutionary socialists who are praying, praying to the powers above that have already slid back the bolt, not to kick open the gates of hell.
DB
4 comments:
I agree that the war is economic.
But I'm not so sure that oil is the prime issue.
Drilling and distributing oil is a difficult business.
Arms and reconstruction contracts are the easy short term pickings.
Have a war and the government has a blank cheque to order an infinite supply of weapons from its friends the arms manufacturers.
And that helps to sustain the isolationist economies that are both the US and the UK.
And then businesses owned by the same people who make the weapons get to repair the damage their arms have caused.
It is genius.
I'm not so sure about this. Where would the government get the money to pay the arms manufacturers if not from taxing some other section of the capitalist class? I can't see the other capitalists agreeing to finance a war just to benefit the arms manufacturers.
"Where is the anti-war movement going?"
Come on that's obvious, it's going to Trafalgar Square to listen to Tony Benn, George Galloway and some guy from a dodgy Islamist outfit tell us that war is bad, really bad.
Placards at the ready! On my word, Wave!
That should be easy to see, londonsocialist. When the arms blast their way through, regions that previously banned McDonald's for example, are obliged to accept them. The arms manufacturers blast open the door for the other capitalists to get through and set up shop there. Everybody wins, every capitalist, that is.
Sometimes even capitalists get together to cooperate when subduing the working class gets too difficult. Gotta admire them for that at least.
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