Gang Warfare in the Gulf
THERE ARE TWO GULFS currently looming before the working class. One is the geographical
gulf which threatens to be the centre of an immense killing ground, whose dry sands
will drink the blood of vast numbers of working class people sent, as ever, to die
in the name of an illusion. The other is the great gulf between reality and the aforementioned
illusion, or illusions, for the gangsters who rule the world, and fight among themselves
like vampires vying over our blood, our sweat, our life-energy present us with a choice.
Firstly, there is the view which emanates from America and its allies, which requires
us to believe that the forces they have sent to the Gulf are the upholders of civilization
and righteousness against one who has suddenly revealed himself as a shameless outlaw, a new Hitler who must be stopped in the name of all that is right and proper.
Secondly, the view which keens its siren song into the ears of many Arab workers,
to the effect that Saddam Hussein is leading a glorious war of resurgence of the
Arab Nation against Western Imperialism, after whose defeat everything will be just
fine.
And thirdly, the Leftist echo of the previous view, which holds that Imperialism is
far more iniquitous than plain ordinary capitalism and anyone who, in the hallucinations
of the Leftists, is fighting against it should be supported, and anyway, all "nations" have a "right" to "self-determination". The above views all have variations, adding
to the richness of our choice.
GANGSTERS FALL OUT
The reality is that ALL the participants in this conflict are a vile bunch of thieves
and gangsters who have fallen out over the spoils of their exploitation of us, the
working class. The notion that we who are the victims of these Al Capones, these
Legs Diamonds, these Corleones writ large who are the rulers of the nations of the world
should take sides with any of them is the very pinnacle of idiocy.
These gangsters, however, as we have already intimated, are skilled in the construction
of fantastic tapestries of illusion which they substitute for reality in the minds
of all of us who have not yet learned to see them for what they are. But the ghostly
fingers that tugged at us in a darkened room stand revealed as filthy cobwebs once
the light is switched on.
THE REALITY BEHIND THE SPECTACLE
Let us look in more detail at these lies. It is not, perhaps, necessary to spend too
much time on the Western view (shared also by what was the Eastern Bloc, now). The
foul hypocrisy of those who staunchly supported Saddam Hussein and his regime for
years and scarcely blinked at the latter's genocide in Halabja, for instance, only "discovering"
Hitlerian tendencies when the growing world economic crisis threw former friends
at each other's throats in the scramble for a dwindling "take", will be starkly obvious to those who have seen through right-wing capitalist lies. But capitalism has
more than one string to its bow - the left-wing of capitalism even pretends not to
be capitalism.
We will discuss the lies of the nationalist third-world bourgeoisie and those of the
Leftist together for, as we have said, the latter are merely the junior partners
of the former in most things.
IMPERIALISM OR CAPITALISM?
A whole plethora of governments, movements and grouplets, from the Iraqi government
to the most radical of the Trotskyist sects, implores us to "oppose Imperialism"
and support Iraq, (although some of them are more coy about that latter part). What
then is Imperialism? This is a word which has been defined in many ways, but its main use,
for the champions of the Third World, is simply this: If you don't want to oppose
capitalism as a whole, if you want to distinguish between "good" capitalists and
"bad" capitalists and only oppose the latter, you need some other term under which to group
together the people you are opposing. Hence, the larger, dominant powers who are
the major block to the aggrandizement of the weaker capitalist powers, are called
"Imperialists" and the said weaker capitalist powers are alleged to be "fighting Imperialism"
when conflict occurs.
This "anti-Imperialism" will usually incorporate an economic analysis of the world
as it was nearly a hundred years ago, as though nothing has changed. It was at that
time that the Leftists created this "theory of anti-Imperialism" which survives even
today.
THE OPPORTUNIST THEORY OF ANTI-IMPERIALISM
These Leftists were groups such as the Bolsheviks, whose political programs, despite
any radical phraseology they might contain, consisted in constructing State-Capitalism.
Their target areas were the relatively advanced industrial countries, and the adversaries which stood in their path were the existing rulers of those countries - rulers
who also had other enemies. One such enemy was the emerging nationalisms which were
starting flex their muscles in what were then mainly colonies. Thus, the Leftist
concept of "anti-Imperialism" arose as an opportunist attempt at alliance between various
weak capitalist forces against a stronger one.
THE "RIGHT" OF "NATIONS" TO "SELF-DETERMINATION"
This is a concept the Leftists always take refuge in if all else fails. But what does
it really mean? A "nation" is an involuntary union of antagonistic classes - the
capitalist class and the working class - the former exploiting and oppressing the
latter. The idea that they are a single unit with a single will, a single interest, the
idea that they are a single "self" which can have "self-determination", is surely
the cleverest fraud that the capitalists have ever devised to make workers forget
their own class interests and support the class which oppresses them.
Some Leftists will even admit that nationalism doesn't benefit workers but say they
have a "right" even if you don't agree with it. Perhaps we should then spend time
and energy advocating the "right" of workers to demand longer hours and lower wages?
We can treat this "brilliant concept" with the contempt it deserves.
A REVOLUTIONARY ANTI-IMPERIALISM
Is there, then, such a thing as Imperialism? Can the working class make use of such
a term? This is a very moot point, but we can say that Imperialism, if it means anything
real, is simply the inevitable conflict for resources and markets that capitalism
powers must engage in when the world has reached a certain stage of historical development.
The weaker powers' attempts to resist domination by the stronger ones is aimed at
replacing
them as dominant powers, not in "defeating Imperialism". The weaker powers are part
of what is today an integrated capitalist world - they do thus not stand outside
Imperialism but are part of it.
Their conflict with the major powers is no more "anti-Imperialist" than the challenge
which a young stag mounts against the leader of the herd is aimed at eliminating
the system of hierarchy which the nature of such animals entails.
Thus all
countries in the world are Imperialist. The term anti-Imperialism
is therefore meaningless if used for anything but anti-capitalism.
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST CAPITALISM
The working class has no interest whatsoever
in aiding any
of the factions within the class that is its enemy. Our class must resolutely oppose
all
the world's states, all
the parties, movements and groups which represent one form or other of capitalism.
For all the squabbling that takes place between them, they are all heads of the same
hydra.
The interest of workers throughout the world lies in overthrowing capitalism and creating
a classless society without national boundaries, without wage labour, markets and
money, where Humanity produces for its own needs, based on free and equal access
for all. Such a society is possible. The struggle to achieve it starts now
. Oppose war, in the Gulf or anywhere, intensify class struggle, no war but the class
war