war

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WHY HE WON AND WHAT HE WILL DO


Anger over the increased cost of living, opposition to wars, the sense of being threatened, fear of chaos and insecurity, all contributed to the election of a (not so) new US president who will increase the cost of living, prepare for more war, accelerate the threats to life on this planet and sow plenty of chaos and insecurity.

The election of a man who can’t utter a paragraph without lying and spewing hate came as a shocking surprise to many. It shouldn’t have. In almost all elections in recent years, the opposition has won. Sometimes the left won, like in the UK, sometimes the right won, like in Argentina, sometimes both left and right won, like in France, but the ruling party or parties lost time and again. This trend reflects a general, worldwide discontent. The ruled become increasingly resentful of the rulers. With good reason. Inflation has raised the costs of living, wars multiply and are ever more destructive, climate disasters worsen, war, disasters and poverty make millions flee their homes, international tension is building, people are afraid of what’s coming…

In his “Totem and Taboo” Sigmund Freud writes that primitive kings were thought to possess powers to control the weather.  

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CAPITAL BEATS THE WAR DRUMS… PRO-REVOLUTIONARIES GATHER AGAINST IT

The worsening climate disasters and the brutal wars now raging in Europe, Africa and the Middle East show that capitalism’s tendential destruction of our future is accelerating. Furthermore, the wars are used, not just in the conflict zones themselves but all over the world, for massive propaganda for nationalism, for drumming up support for the expansion of the repressive powers of the state, for war preparation.

This acceleration of history puts the political groups and individuals who oppose supporting any side in these wars between capitalists nations in which the working class is always the victim, and who want to expose the system’s drive towards destruction and the possibility to end capitalism, before a challenge. If they really want not only to interpret the world but to change it, to paraphrase Marx, now, more than ever, they need to find ways to speak louder and with more clarity, and in order to do so, they must seek to communicate and collaborate.

So it is a positive sign that there were several pro-revolutionary encounters this year in which the question how to understand and oppose capitalism’s war drive was at the top of the agenda. The Beach Communists, who organized such a meeting, a week-long ‘summercamp’ in Poznan (Poland) published a list of them (not all on the subject of war alone).  

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AN INTERNATIONALIST STATEMENT ON CAPITALISM AND WAR

Below we publish a statement on capitalism and war, adopted at an internationalist meeting in Arezzo, in which members of Internationalist Perspective participated. We will comment later on this and other pro-revolutionary internationalist meetings that ocurred this summer.

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While the global capitalist system is dragging the world into ever more war and misery, those who refuse to take sides in these wars and fight to end the system that causes them, are still few and far between. So it is a promising sign that this summer several extended meetings of internationalist revolutionaries from many different countries were organized in Europe. in early June, on the last day of the anti-war congress in Prague, we agreed on the need of a short statement on capitalism and war that expresses our common positions and can serve as a base for further networking and common action. This statement was drafted after the congress ended. It was discussed, amended and approved at the internationalist meeting in Arezzo where the hope was expressed that it will be further discussed by the participants of the Prague congress and those who will gather in Poznan later this month.

AN INTERNATIONALIST STATEMENT ON CAPITALISM AND WAR

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DECLARACIÓN INTERNACIONALISTA SOBRE EL CAPITALISMO Y LA GUERRA

A continuación publicamos una declaración sobre el capitalismo y la guerra, adoptada en una reunión internacionalista en Arezzo, en la que participaron miembros de Perspectiva Internacionalista. Comentaremos más adelante sobre ésta y otras reuniones internacionalistas pro-revolucionarias que tuvieron lugar este verano.

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Mientras el sistema capitalista global arrastra al mundo a guerras y miseria cada vez mayores, los que se niegan a tomar partido en estas guerras y luchan para acabar con el sistema que las causa, siguen siendo pocos y distantes entre sí. Por lo tanto, es una señal prometedora que este verano se hayan organizado en Europa varias reuniones ampliadas de revolucionarios internacionalistas de muchos países diferentes. A principios de junio, en el último día del congreso contra la guerra en Praga, acordamos la necesidad de una breve declaración sobre el capitalismo y la guerra que exprese nuestras posiciones comunes y pueda servir de base para nuevas redes y acciones comunes. Esta declaración fue redactada después de que terminara el congreso. Fue discutida, enmendada y aprobada en la reunión internacionalista de Arezzo, donde se expresó la esperanza de que sea discutida más a fondo por los participantes en el congreso de Praga y los que se reunirán en Poznan este mes.  

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PROCLAMATION INTERNATIONALISTE SUR LE CAPITALISME ET LA GUERRE

Nous publions ci-dessous une déclaration sur le capitalisme et la guerre, adoptée lors d’une réunion internationaliste à Arezzo, à laquelle ont participé des membres de Perspective Internationaliste. Nous commenterons plus tard cette réunion ainsi que d’autres réunions internationalistes pro-révolutionnaires qui ont eu lieu cet été.

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Alors que le système capitaliste mondial entraîne le monde dans des guerres et misères croissantes, ceux qui refusent de prendre parti dans ces guerres et luttent pour mettre fin au système qui en est à l’origine sont encore peu nombreux. C’est donc un signe prometteur que, cet été, plusieurs réunions élargies de révolutionnaires internationalistes provenant de nombreux pays différents aient été organisées en Europe. Début juin, le dernier jour du congrès anti-guerre de Prague, nous avons convenu de la nécessité d’une courte déclaration sur le capitalisme et la guerre qui exprime nos positions communes et pouvant servir de base à la poursuite d’un travail en réseau et d’une action commune. Cette déclaration a été rédigée après la fin du congrès. Elle a été discutée, amendée et approuvée lors de la réunion internationaliste d’Arezzo, réunion où l’on a exprimé l’espoir qu’elle soit discutée plus amplement par les participants au congrès de Prague et par ceux qui se réuniront ce mois-ci à Poznan.  

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LAS PROTESTAS ESTUDIANTILES: UNA SEÑAL MIXTA

La solidaridad de los estudiantes es bienvenida en Gaza

Las protestas estudiantiles son una señal mixta. Por un lado, es alentador que los estudiantes de más de 160 universidades de Estados Unidos protesten contra la guerra en Gaza, y lo hagan con pasión y coraje. Han inspirado a muchos otros en otros países y continentes a unirse a la lucha contra este escandaloso asesinato en masa. Como escribió recientemente el New York Times,  no sólo piensan en Gaza. Para muchos de ellos, también se trata del racismo, la brutalidad policial, el cambio climático y otros problemas que son síntomas de la etapa actual de decadencia del capitalismo. Están empezando a atar cabos. Son un reflejo de un estado de ánimo más amplio de resistencia que se está gestando. Lo cual es una buena señal. Apoyamos su resistencia contra la represión desatada en su contra. Los estudiantes han sido objeto de acoso, intimidación, vigilancia, vilipendio, suspensión, expulsión, desalojo, detención, gas lacrimógeno y paliza, pero esto no los ha detenido. Por supuesto, al Estado democrático no le importa que protesten, siempre y cuando lo hagan educadamente, sin crear ninguna perturbación en el orden social que causa estas guerras y que el sistema legal está diseñado para proteger.  

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THE STUDENT PROTESTS: A MIXED SIGNAL

The solidarity of the students is welcomed in Gaza

The student protests are a mixed signal. On the one hand, it is heartening that students in more than 160 colleges and universities in the US are protesting the war in Gaza, and do so with passion and courage. They have inspired many others in other countries and continents to join the fight against this outrageous mass murder. As the New York Times wrote recently, they think not only about Gaza. For many of them, it’s also about racism, police brutality, climate change and other issues that are all symptoms of the current stage of capitalism’s decadence. They are beginning to connect the dots. They are a reflection of a broader mood of resistance that is brewing. Which is a good sign. We empathize with their resistance against the repression unleashed against them. Students have been ‘doxxed’, harassed, intimidated, surveiled, reviled, suspended, expelled, evicted, arrested, teargassed and beaten but this has not stopped them. Of course, the democratic state does not mind them protesting, as long as they do so politely, without creating any disturbance to the social order which causes these wars and which the legal system is designed to protect.  

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Together against capitalist wars and capitalist peace!

From 20 to 26 May 2024, groups and individuals from different parts of the world will meet in Prague to coordinate anti-war activities, as part of a Week of Action which will include an anti-war congress from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 May. Internationalist Perspective supports and will participate in this pro-revolutionary event.

The organizers state:

We consider it necessary, in the process of resistance to war, to develop an anti-capitalist practice which seeks to preserve political autonomy. In concrete terms, this means that we want to organize outside the political parties, outside the structures of the states, and against all states. We are particularly interested in the ways how we can oppose all the harsh conditions to which we have been exposed and subjected during interstate wars and capitalist peace. We are interested in ways to sabotage wars, how to deprive our enemies of resources, how to undermine the ability of states and their armies to continue wars.

Which way to go and what is to be done? How to join forces and get organized? We will look for answers based on class, not national differentiation; answers that take into account the sheer contradiction between rank-and-file soldiers and officers, between wage laborers and bosses, between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.  

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Debate sobre el volante de PI sobre Gaza

Hace poco publicamos un volante denunciando la guerra en Gaza. La intención era distribuirlo en las manifestaciones como un medio para hacer participar a los presentes en la discusión. Después de su publicación en nuestro sitio web, fue criticado por algunos de nuestros miembros y por otros en el medio pro-revolucionario, por no ser lo suficientemente claro sobre el hecho de que la naturaleza interimperialista de la guerra en Gaza es primordial, y que solo la lucha de clases proletaria puede impedir y quebrar los conflictos y guerras interimperialistas endémicos del capitalismo.

Si bien estamos de acuerdo en estos últimos puntos, una revisión de nuestro folleto ha llevado a un desacuerdo centrado en el papel desempeñado por el creciente número de proletarios que se han vuelto superfluos para el capital, en el desarrollo de la crisis y las guerras capitalistas; y esta guerra en particular.

Creemos que es importante que los debates políticos sean abiertos y el lector puede esperar más artículos sobre estos temas en el futuro.

Mientras tanto, publicamos una serie de textos que se redactaron inmediatamente después del volante. Nuestra esperanza es que, al poner a disposición nuestra discusión y mostrar abiertamente la naturaleza de nuestro debate, otros se sientan alentados a contribuir.  

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A debate on the IP-leaflet on Gaza

We recently published a leaflet denouncing the war in Gaza. The intention was to distribute it at demonstrations as a means of engaging participants in discussion. After it was published on our website, it was criticized by some of our members and by others in the milieu for not being clear enough about the fact that the inter-imperialist nature of the war in Gaza is paramount, and that only proletarian class struggle can impede and break the inter-imperialist conflicts and wars endemic to capitalism.

Whereas we agree on these last points, a revision of our leaflet has led to a disagreement centered on the role played by the increasing number of proletariats who have become superfluous to capital, in the unfolding of capitalist crisis and war; and this war in particular.

We believe that it is important to have political debates in the open and the reader may expect more articles on these subjects forthcoming.

In the meantime we publish a string of texts that were produced in the immediate wake of the leaflet. Our hope is that by making available our discussion and openly showing the nature of our debate, others will be encouraged to contribute.

IP

The Gazan Inferno

For revolutionaries, the two most important statements to be made about this butchery are: that this is but the latest murderous eruption of global inter-imperialist antagonisms, and that the only solution for the proletariat is through class struggle.  

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