The Paradox of ‘Anti-War’ Capitalism: Peace Movements, Disarmament, and the War in Ukraine (excerpt)

 

Throughout the duration of the Russia-Ukraine War, the poverty of real Marxist analysis is very apparent in some very confused sections of the left[1] (as well as those who are purportedly left, but are clearly aligned with right-wing forces) who have committed themselves to either being apologists for Russia’s aggression and to championing multipolar capitalism, or cheerleading for the NATO-led alliance with the desire to draw out the conflict for as long as possible. They refuse to see the war as an inter-imperialist conflict, with U.S. imperialism competing with Russian imperialism over who gets to keep Ukraine as a colony, and who gets to have a puppet government that will be friendly to their respective bourgeois interests. But perhaps one of the most curious aspects of these Western “anti-war” movements is how quick they are to call for the United States, Canada, the UK, and other U.S.-aligned countries to disarm[2]; as well as being quick to claim that these particular countries are controlled by arms companies. However, none of those same condemnations and criticisms are applied to Russia and China, both of whom are the biggest purchasers of Ukrainian arms[3], and both of whose governments very generously give handouts to their own, respective, domestic arms manufacturing companies. China buys 36% of Ukrainian arms, followed by Russia which buys 20% of them. Not to mention, Collins Aerospace – a division of Raytheon – has employed over 950 Chinese employees in 15 key locations inside of China, with 9 joint venture companies focusing on design, development, and manufacturing.[4] Clearly, having a bloated military budget and giving handouts to arms investors is hardly unique to the United States.

It is not in the nature of capital to be ‘peaceful’[5] because of the inherent inequality in the capitalist system, which materially requires war. At its core, capitalism does have a rational economic interest in waging wars, even if that rationale is inhumane. And in order for a capitalist country to be successful under the capitalist system, it needs to engage in imperialism. Therefore, it is a failure to understand the nature of capital when promoting the illusion of peace and disarmament without first abolishing the system of capitalism and ending the division of humanity into classes and nations.[6]

Read the rest of my article here: https://llco.org/the-paradox-of-anti-war-capitalism-peace-movements-disarmament-and-the-war-in-ukraine/