![]() therein lies the key to the economic and diplomatic history of the last few decades, which are known to all. "Against the Anglo-French group, another capitalist group was pitted, even more rapacious, even more bandit-like, one which had come to the capitalist banquet late, when all the places had been taken up already, and bringing with it the latest processes of capitalist production, more developed techniques and incomparably superior business organisation. He also destroyed all the illusions about "international arbitration" which men of "good will" and the pacifist sectors of the bourgeoisie presented as the means to reconcile the antagonists and put an end to the war.įinally, Lenin used the same terms to explain why it was Germany which played the role of sparking off the World War (this is the big idea of those who are always looking for the country responsible for the war) while at the same time treating the two contending imperialist camps in exactly the same way: Thus Lenin demolished Kautsky's thesis about the possibility of an "ultra-imperialism" which could establish an equilibrium between the great powers and eliminate their military conflicts. In this sense, these two revolutionaries denounced with the same energy any "analysis" which sought to make the workers think that there was an "alternative" to imperialism, militarism and war within capitalism. While Lenin did not go beyond monopoly capital's search for 'super-profits' abroad through the export of capital, both he and Bukharin saw that the war was not the result of the bad policies or the ill will of this or that governing clique it was the ineluctable consequence of the development of the capitalist mode of production. The aim of the book that Lenin wrote in 1916 was to identify the fundamental causes of the war in imperialist rivalry and to explain that this rivalry was not simply a belligerent policy taken up by the “great powers“ but an inherent part of a new period in the existence of capitalism. Lenin borrowed freely from Bukharin in his own “popular outline” in Imperialism – the Highest Stage of Capitalism. The Fundamental Causes of the World Warīukharin in Imperialism and World Economy made clear that the key features of the new phase of capitalism, marked by the first world war, were imperialism and state capitalism. However, in none of their “analyses“ is the real cause of the war pointed out: the capitalist system itself! And this is again perfectly understandable: only Marxism can explain why it wasn't the "will" or the "rapacity" of this or that government which lay at the root of the war, but the very laws of the capitalist system itself. The historians have also shown that the war aims of the Entente powers were quite specific. Of course, the "specialists" have pored over the archives of the different governments to conclude that it was Germany and Austria who agitated for war. Nor has there ever been any question of identifying the real responsibility for this butchery - and this is quite understandable. Historians talk about the military defeat of the central empires, Germany and its Austrian ally, but the decisive element which led to Germany asking for an armistice is carefully avoided: the revolutionary movement which developed in Germany at the end of 1918. ![]() ![]() But in all these commemorations, in the expressions of regret for lives lost, the honouring of dead heroes, in the declarations of the politicians in the newspapers and on TV, the events which actually led to governments putting an end to the war are never mentioned. ![]() Obviously, there have been many emotional declarations about the terrible tragedy of this war. And this year, like every other year since the war ended, celebrations of the memories of those who died will once again take place. Last year we were treated to a host of state sponsored celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |