Orientation and Duties Against Imperialist War
In one of the darkest historical periods, humanity has to deal with the growing danger of a spread and generalization of war. The main cause is the enormous crisis, the explosion of contradictions in the capitalist/imperialist system, which brings at conflict: a) The “old” West Imperialists USA and EU, with USA, a force leading the block, struggling to retain its universal superiority, b) The “new” imperialists (China, Russia), with whom powerful or important “emerging” countries (BRICS+ etc.) are increasingly banding together. The fronts in Ukraine and Palestine/Middle East show that a World War III is beginning to unfold, while many more are still heating up (Taiwan/South East Asia and the Pacific, Caucasus, Eastern Europe, etc.).
The reactionary nature of the Greek bourgeoisie
Greek capitalism is not only «involved» but is one of the most active allies of the US-NATO-EU: bases, military equipment, all kinds of aid (material, training, propaganda, etc.) to the murderous Zionists and the half-fascist Zelensky regime. This warmongering adventurism does not show ‘subservience’ or selling out of ‘national interests’, as nationalists or Stalinists say. The Greek bourgeoisie counts on the “right side of history” – that is, above all, to have US-EU support against the working class and poor popular layers of society in order to hold on to power. The participation of Greek capitalism is a deliberate class policy and makes “our country” a reactionary appendage of the Western imperialists.
Why is an anti-war movement missing…
Obviously, the working class’, popular, youth movement is finding it difficult to develop the anti-war struggle. For Palestine and the Middle East, the mobilisations are occasional, without continuity, coordination, a clear plan and objective, often ending up as “anniversary” mobilisations. Worse still, on the issue of Ukraine there is chaotic confusion.
This is also a result of the crisis of the movement: traditions from earlier anti-war, anti-imperialist movements have been weakened or broken. The main responsibility lies with the reformists (KKE [Communist Party of Greece] and other forces) and the trade union bureaucracy. The same or a greater problem exists in European countries.
… and on what foundations to build it
This is why we need to clarify some fundamental points, which go deeper than a first “no engagement” slogan:
- Europe and Greece are not a neutral field or an amphitheatre, where we have the luxury of mainly academic debates on the exact nature of the conflicting states or “high level analyses” of geostrategy. They are fields of conflict, sown with NATO bases/troops (and nuclear weapons). Where reactionary bourgeoisies, imperialist or weaker, are aiming to fight alongside the “big boss”, the US. This is true to the superlative degree for the Greek bourgeoisie. Therefore, what is primary – and what can unite forces – can only be the following: Fight for the defeat of «our» US-NATO-EU imperialist camp, against any participation of the Greek bourgeoisie.
Any miss-recognition of this priority brings enormous confusion, paralysis or, objectively, something even worse: flirting with the US-NATO or submitting and joining their camp, under a supposedly leftist cloak. E.g. “self-determination of Ukraine”, “the right of countries to decide for themselves on their membership in NATO” (Finland, Sweden) or, more recently, celebrations against the “dictator Assad” (stance of the SEK [Socialist Working Party], Varoufakis’ statement).
The KKE slogan “we do not choose bandits” is thus a trap. Indeed, it is formally impeccable: we have no reason to embellish reactionary and/or imperialist regimes (Russia, China, Iran, etc.). But we do not make that “choice”, neither the working class, nor the poor popular layers, nor and the youth of the country! It has already been chosen for us by “our” bourgeoisie elite, integrating us deeply into the ranks of the US-NATO camp. This is our main enemy – and without bringing it to the forefront, we blather “revolutionary” (as the KKE constantly does to cover up its inertia, in fact, and reformism).
- There is no struggle against the war under the banner of “the sovereign rights of the country” or the repulsion of “Turkish aggression”. The entire political scene is stacked up against this bourgeois nationalism, from the openly neo-liberal and pro-imperialist parties (ND, PASOK, SYRIZA, etc.) to, with “touches” of differentiation, the KKE or “progressives” (Mera25, New Left).
The reactionary Erdogan regime, the multilateral strengthening of Turkish capitalism (to the limits of a regional power, a sub-imperialism) is indeed a serious danger for the peoples of the region. But this does not mean any exculpation for the Greek bourgeoisie, which is just as reactionary, dangerous and vile, as it has shown by supporting the Zionists in Israel in the massacre of the Palestinians, the frigates in the Red Sea, the members of Nazi orders of Azov, whom it brought to the Greek Parliament, etc.
“Sovereign rights” or “defence of (bourgeois) borders” means the continuation and worsening of the exploitative, oppressive regime inside the country at the expense of the working clash, the poor population and the youth – either with gains or losses for Greek capitalism on “national issues”. It means surrendering class independence, submission of the working calss movement, turning it into a tail of the bourgeoisie and thus preparing it to be raw meat for the war slaughterhouses.
- It is not enough to invoke “peace”. The poor population yearn for peace, to live in dignity, without hecatombs– but the question is how this is to be enforced against the imperialist and bourgeois monsters. This can not be done with pacifist manifestos that numb the understanding of the causes of war, the determination of the masses to fight. Our central slogan: WAR ON WAR.
- Imperialist war is not an un-natural diversion from the normal functioning of the capitalist system: the latter brings the former like a cloud brings the rain (Lenin). Many leftists and “progressives” replicate this, as well as that the crisis of the system is structural. But they do not draw a consistent strategy, they do not reach the final conclusion: Since the root of the imperialist war lies in the capitalist organization of society, then it is not enough to “protest”, “pressure” or perpetual “resistance” or, much less, to vote (which is where everything ends up for the KKE or other reformists and “progressives”). The imperialist war or, more simply, the participation of the Greek bourgeoisie, can be stopped by the overthrow of bourgeois power, by a revolutionary government of the workers, by the socialist revolution.
How else can one conceive of a real closure of the bases, a halt to military equipment and “aid” to the Zionists and Zelensky, if the Mitsotakis’s government is not decisively defeated, if the bourgeois bloc is not decisively weakened by the struggles of workers and youth? Those who with “class purity” fight the slogan “Down with the government”, ostensibly denying “management” (or simply keeping in mind the next elections), practically confess to limiting the struggle to a few marches, parades, parliamentary questions, media appearances.
Without such an orientation, the loud babblings that people win “with a gun in their hand” or the invocation of historical bankruptcies and defeats such as “EAM-ELAS”(National Liberation Front – National Popular Librating Army, the WWII popular front in Greece) are even more alien. The anti-government/anti-capitalist perspective is completed by the internationalism of the working and poor popular class, the cooperation of struggles and movements in the region, Europe and the world.
Obstacles to overcome
The anti-war struggle is a particularly difficult, demanding task – if anything it requires seriousness, real commitment and mobilisation of forces. We need to overcome dead-end practices such as endless e-mail’s, meetings, (competing) calls and signature-collection, reflected in barely poor street participation (e.g. too many absences at the mobilisation against the visit of the new NATO. Secretary General or indifference to the Saturday rallies on Palestine). The same various crotchety, divisive views e.g. denying the slogan for an independent Palestinian state!
What an anti-war movement can and should do – and how
We must give all our energies to the development of the anti-war struggle, focusing on the following:
- Demonstrations and marches, concentrated around fixed days of action, in order to strengthen the coordination of organisations and forces. Such are the Saturdays for Palestine (Syntagma/Athens and other cities) – the only existing, stable framework for action so far. It is essential to give duration, depth, a skeleton to the mobilizations, much more than “just another event” (otherwise useful).
- Anti-imperialist slogans against NATO, Bases, Nuclear weapons. Against attacks on socio-political rights (e.g. money for our needs, not for military equipment- repression), for the goal of overthrowing the Mitsotakis’s government.
- Develop political actions rather than “symbolic” ones. To break the silence of the student movement (with the main responsibility of the KNE (Communist Youth of Greece) and the various “EAAK” [United Independent Left Movement]), which resulted, for example, in nothing being done when the heroic university occupations in Europe and the USA were unfolding. To raise the prospect of an anti-war Political General Strike, a practical way for workers to swing into action. A good example is the recent prevention of the loading of equipment for Israel by dockworkers (similar examples exist in other countries: strikes in ports, blockades of factories and offices of arms companies or others collaborating with the Zionists, etc.): we must demand that it be spread by unions, labour centres and federations, enforced by general assemblies, committees, mobilisations in the workplace and neighbourhoods.
