War and the Class Struggle

The 2003 anti-war movement shaped the political environment of the past years and brought a new generation to activism. Yet it also failed to achieve its stated aim - stopping the attack on Iraq. SmashEDO came out of Brighton's anti-war movement and tried to overcome the limitations of the anti-war movement through the use of direct action and a local focus. It has become one of the most successful campaigns in the UK, and is now setting up an anti-militarist network.

A common sense anti-war view was articulated Harry Patch, the last survivor from the trenches of World War I, who passed away recently: "Politicians who took us to war should have been given the guns and told to settle their differences themselves, instead of organising nothing better than legalised mass murder". "It was not worth it. It was not worth one, let alone all the millions."

As with everything else in capitalism, class plays a fundamental role in imperialist war. While one set of people take the decisions, make the money, and extend state power, another set of people have to follow orders, have their hearts and minds conquered, and their lives destroyed.

Opposition to imperialist war has often led to a deeper questioning of the social order. The disaster of World War 1 led directly to attempted revolutions, most prominently in Russia and Germany. 1968 was connected to the movement against the Vietnam war.

What can we learn from our experiences in the anti-war movement? If the cause of imperialist war is capitalism and the state - can we fight imperialist war without also fighting capitalism? Is it possible to stop the war without abolishing capitalism?

The Brighton Class Struggle Forum is a monthly gathering for discussion and debate, initiated to promote exchange among members of different local groups. It is open to all those interested in libertarian class struggle.