Merchants of Death

The world's arms industry is descending on London in the next week. From 13-16 September, acres of weaponry, from fighter jets and battleships to drones and tear gas, will be on display to thousands of visitors in an immense arms dealing extravaganza. The biannual Defence and Security Equipment Interntional (DSEI) exhibition, which will take place in London's Docklands, claims to be the world's biggest combined defence and security exhibition. Thousands of delegates from around the world will gather to see the latest technology, from tanks and missiles to body armour. Among the exhibitors are the likes of BAE Systems and Boeing Defence.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox will say at an arms exhibition he is "proud" that the UK is the world's second biggest defence exporter and that helping the firms prosper is in the national interest. He is also expected to stress the industry's importance in stimulating economic growth. Fox will say the companies "play a key role" in promoting foreign policy objectives and furthering what he calls "enlightened international engagement" - a new euphemism for war.

While financial institutions (and even whole countries) teeter on bankruptcy, one global industry is still drawing plenty of high-end trades and profits - weapons.

The UK defence and aerospace sector employs an estimated 300,000 people. Those who work in arms factories, designing and making guns, bullets, missiles and bombs means making ways of killing and maiming other human beings. Socialist society will know no wars or armed forces, so using and making these weapons — probably the dirtiest work that can be conceived of — will simply not take place. Work which produces genuinely useful things is bound to be more satisfying than work which is anti-human with the purpose to kill and damage people.

Fox will acknowledge the need for strict controls and say that respect for human rights is important when considering arms sales. The cross-party Committees on Arms Exports Controls accused ministers of "misjudging" the risk that the weapons might be used for internal repression. Countries recently sold UK arms include Libya, Egypt and Bahrain.As recently as last year, the UK approved arms exports to regimes that have used force to confront popular uprisings. Ammunition and tear gas were sold to Libya, with sniper rifles, sub-machine guns and CS grenades exported to Bahrain.

The ruling generals at the arms show to buy the guns and tanks they need to maintain their grip will be requested by an ethically-minded diplomat "Please don't use these weapons against your own people." "Wouldn't dream of it," will reply the generals. "That's all right then," the diplomat will say. When later confronted with evidence that the generals were using British weapons for internal repression, a British Minister will no doubt answer, "If we hadn't sold them arms, then the French would have."

What a joke! "Obtain profits or die", that is the economic law governing the conduct of states under global capitalism. And it cannot be otherwise for as long as global capitalism lasts.