Celebrating War !

It’s unbelievable. They are planning to “celebrate” in August 2014 the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Of course we should remember the millions of our fellow workers who were slaughtered in this war between rival imperialist powers blocs seeking to protect and further their business and strategic interests.

But this is not what is planned It is, rather, a festival of nationalism. As Cameron has put it:

“Our ambition is a truly national commemoration worthy of this historic centenary - a commemoration that captures our national spirit in every corner of the country, from our schools and workplaces to our town halls and local communities“ (Times, 12 October)

That’s the same nationalism, which all the warring states invoked, to get their populations to support and take part in the slaughter.

It gets worse. According to the London  Evening Standard (11 October), schoolkids are to be involved in this indoctrination of “our national spirit”:

“Groups of children from every secondary school will visit First World War battlefields under plans to commemorate its centenary announced by David Cameron today. The education programme, costing £5 million, will be at the heart of events designed to ensure future generations do not forget the sacrifice made by millions.”

It was all very different on the 50th anniversary in 1964. Then, it was generally admitted that the War had not solved any problem and that its aftermath had led to the Second World War and its horrors, that in fact the millions had been sacrificed in vain. But at that time British troops were not actually fighting a war and getting killed as they are now, so militarism and nationalism didn’t need so much boosting.

Having said this, August 2014 will also provide Socialists with an opportunity to explain the cause of war - conflict between rival capitalist states over sources of raw materials, markets, investment opportunities and trade routes for their capitalists, and strategic places to protect these - and use the “war poets” and authors to bring out the horror of war and make the point that the First World War was fought by workers in the interests of capitalists.

Adam Buick