Editorial: A month of war

A month of war

Masses 660 – Editorial – April 2^nd , 2022

The Ukrainian people, the exploited Europeans and the whole world bear the war of domination! Only the united working class, under its own banners, can oppose the interests of the imperialist alliance and the criminal military occupation of Ukraine by Russia!

Biden’s presence in Europe, as the war completed a month, showed that there was not much to be done. He promised more weapons to Zelensky, resources to Poland, and tightening of economic sanctions on Russia. He took the opportunity to further militarize the countries involved in the siege of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, that is, the Russian Federation. The fact that Biden’s presence did not arouse great enthusiasm in the middle class, and did not have the function of strengthening the Western European alliance caught attention.

How could imperialism take stock of the four weeks of war? The arguments of the unexpected Ukrainian resistance were repeated, with Zelensky’s surprising “heroism” and “national spirit” at the forefront. The accusations that Putin is a bloodthirsty dictator, who attacks the post-World War II world order, have also been repeated. As well as the images of the dramatic picture of Ukraine in ruins, the deaths of civilians, and the wave of refugees.

Biden took advantage of one of his interviews to call for the overthrow of Putin and the establishment of democracy in Russia. The White House sought to undo this position, arguing that the United States does not act to overthrow governments of other countries. Which is a big lie, belied, for example, by the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. Biden did not take such care, given that Russia is not one of his semi-colonies.

It is quite likely that the European great powers did not like such uproar by the head of US imperialism. But this type of boasting indicates the United States’ difficulties in ensuring the unity of the European alliance, in case of the war be prolonged. Its economic and social effects are already being felt by the countries most dependent on oil, gas, raw materials and food. If these impacts spread, and indicate that they will persist for a long time, the working class and the poorest layers of the middle class will not take long to see that the war is eminently in the interest of the United States.

The difficult period of the Pandemic for the masses was cooling down, when the war came, and with it the economic sanctions, the rupture of commercial channels, and the acceleration of the rise in commodity prices. It remains to be seen whether Putin will be able to force Europeans to pay rubles for gas supplies. The measure is entirely justifiable, given the brutal financial blockade against Russia.

In the background, there is the trade war, led by the bourgeoisie and the US government, aimed above all against China, whose global consequences are manifested in the clash with Russia. Biden’s intention to stifle Russia’s main source of foreign exchange by urging European countries to free themselves from dependence on oil and gas is in the exclusive interest of US-controlled oil monopolies. The cost is very high, for the public accounts of European states and for the masses. This is why Biden’s presence in the theater of war indicated the difficulties in keeping the imperialist alliance together for long.

The economic factor will eventually force the exploited to react and identify the United States as the main interested party in the war, and recognize the subordinate role played by the main European great powers, which did not need, at this time of worsening world crisis, to incorporate Ukraine into NATO. It would be more advantageous to bring it to the European Union, with a guarantee of neutrality, which could be broken later on. This is why pressure is mounting on the United States and Russia to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.

Prolonging or shortening the war, unfortunately, depends only on the bourgeois forces involved in the trade war and military escalation. This is because the working class is disorganized, suffering from a profound crisis of revolutionary leadership.

The banner of the exploited is to immediately stop the war. This requires the unitary struggle of the proletariat for the dismantling of NATO and US military bases, the revocation of all economic sanctions, self-determination, territorial unity, and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. These banners place the revolutionary task of unifying the working class under the policy and strategy of socialist internationalism.

The Liaison Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International*) has been carrying out a systematic campaign around this set of banners and the strategy of the world revolution. What has required its sections to express them in the objective conditions of each country. The key is to link the pressing needs of the exploited with the internationalist struggle to end the war.

*English translation for “Comitê de Enlace pela Reconstrução da IV Internacional” – CERQUI