For A Global General Strike Against The Imperialist War Drive

The current genocidal war by Zionism/imperialism against Palestine is just the latest theatre of war, following Ukraine, and repeated wars by NATO/US imperialism in every decade after WWII, as it sought to impose its hegemony, as well as, now, its activity in the Pacific, and, as with the years prior to WWI and II, reflects a growing dynamic leading to global imperialist war, between competing imperialist alliances for dominance.  Socialists must oppose that war drive, being undertaken, as those previous wars were, under cover of "liberation", or "democracy".

Hapless pleas, such as those from social-pacifist organisations like CND, or Stop The War, for peace, are not just useless and utopian, but worse than useless, because they divert workers attention to the real nature of war as driven by class interest.  They avoid that, because these social-pacifist organisations are based upon a cross class alliance with sections of the bourgeoisie itself, as popular fronts.  Bourgeois liberals are never going to admit that war is a consequence of the very bourgeois society they promote and defend!

And, as seen repeatedly, nor can we rely on organisations like the UN, which is simply a talking shop, for the global bourgeoisie, and, itself dominated by US imperialism.  The UN Security Council will never agree to resolutions leading to actions that curtail the behaviour of any of the competing imperialist blocs, because the permanent members of those blocs will always veto anything that would lead to that.  The US, simply ignores the UN, when it seeks to intervene, as with the invasion of Iraq, and has the military power to do so.  Now, Russia has taken a leaf out of its book, in doing the same thing in relation to Ukraine.

To stop the drive to war, workers must take matters into their own hands.  The large demonstrations against the Zionist genocide against Palestinians is all well and good, for raising spirits, and demonstrating our own revulsion at the actions of Zionism, and its imperialist backers in our countries.  As Trotsky put it, in opposing Tsarist liberal intervention in the Balkans, and the atrocities the liberals committed,

"An individual, a group, a party, or a class that 'objectively' picks its nose while it watches men drunk with blood massacring defenceless people is condemned by history to rot and become worm-eaten while it is still alive".

"On the other hand, a party or the class that rises up against every abominable action wherever it has occurred, as vigorously and unhesitatingly as a living organism reacts to protect its eyes when they are threatened with external injury - such a party or class is sound of heart. Protest against the outrages in the Balkans cleanses the social atmosphere in our own country, heightens the level of moral awareness among our own people... Therefore an uncompromising protest against atrocities serves not only the purpose of moral self-defence on the personal and party level but also the purpose of politically safeguarding the people against adventurism concealed under the flag of 'liberation'."

No socialist can stand by and watch the Zionists, "drunk with blood massacring defenceless people", backed by NATO imperialism.  But, as the 2 million who marched against the Iraq War, in 2003, showed, such demonstrations are ultimately powerless to prevent wars, when capitalist states decide to engage in them.  As Trotsky put it,

"Where and when has an oppressed proletariat “controlled” the foreign policy of the bourgeoisie and the activities of its arm? How can it achieve this when the entire power is in the hands of the bourgeoisie? In order to lead the army, it is necessary to overthrow the bourgeoisie and seize power. There is no other road. But the new policy of the Communist International implies the renunciation of this only road.

When a working class party proclaims that in the event of war it is prepared to “control” (i.e., to support) its national militarism and not to overthrow it, it transforms itself by this very thing into the domestic beast of capital. There is not the slightest ground for fearing such a party: it is not a revolutionary tiger but a trained donkey. It may be kept in starvation, flogged, spat upon it – it will nevertheless carry the cargo of patriotism. Perhaps only from time to time it will piteously bray: “For God’s sake, disarm the Fascist leagues.” In reply to its braying it will receive an additional blow of the whip. And deservingly so!"

(Trotsky - An Open Letter to the French Workers.)

To stop the unfolding drive to WWIII, it is up to workers to take direct action, such as that undertaken by UK workers against Zionist arms production companies.

But, we need to shut down all such arms production, or better still, for workers to take control of that production, and ensure that the arms are provided to other workers fighting for their own liberation from capitalism/imperialism, organised via workers soviets.  As workers across the globe, for the first time in decades have risen from their knees, in large numbers, to defend their interests, whilst the old social-democratic parties have become even more useless, as they collapse into reactionary, petty-bourgeois nationalism, driven by a cretinous electoralist search for the votes of bigots and racists, we need again to build a global party of proletarian revolution.