“The war machine of Euro-Atlanticism, NATO and the EU against the peoples - The communists’ proposal for a way out in conditions of intensifying imperialist competition”.
On 28th September, the parties of European Communist Action (ECA) under the aegis of the Communist Party of Turkey held a teleconference under the theme above. The meeting was attended by 21 delegates from 11 parties, including three comrades from the international committee of the Workers Party. This is the Party’s contribution from Gerry Grainger, WP international Secretary
Dear comrades,
First, the Workers Party of Ireland sends warm comradely greetings to the parties of the European Communist Action and expresses thanks to the comrades of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) for facilitating this teleconference.
The struggle between the contending classes is an international struggle. “The need for a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connections everywhere. The bourgeoisie has, through its exploitation of the world market, given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country.” (Marx and Engels: Communist Manifesto) The contention between states for control of markets and resources produces conflict, including military conflict and war. Today, the rivalries and contradictions continue to exist in the struggle for domination and spheres of influence.
Euro-Atlanticism is the imperialist co-operation between European and US capitalism which embodies, in part through NATO, an ideological, military and geopolitical war machine to enforce the interests and plans of capital. It involves increasing militarisation, open provocation, willingness for military intervention and the expansion of military spending even though political divisions in the U.S. and Europe, together with divergent strategic interests, have caused some damage to the cohesiveness of the alliance, particularly over differences in relation to issues such as the war in Ukraine. U.S. President Trump’s decision to engage with Russian Federation President Putin caused concern among his allies in Europe. However, these tensions in the Euro-Atlantic alliance did not begin with the rise of Trump even if they have accelerated
Trump’s “America First” policy is reflected in the recent remarks of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he spoke of the “incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians”. The Russian government’s willingness to engage exposes the alleged “anti-imperialist” credentials of the Russian Federation.
The U.S. is constructing protectionist barriers around strategic industries and demanding that its allies, including the E.U., adopt a similar position. It presses for further military expansion to align with its own military and economic strategy. The U.S. is the main sponsor - militarily, economically, and politically - of the Israeli state, which along with reactionary Arab states, protects U.S. interests in the region. Accordingly, the US, together with Britain and the E.U., is thoroughly implicated in the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
As the Euro-Atlantic alliance experiences a decline in its hegemony, new forces are attempting to assert themselves in the inter-imperialist competition. The capitalist crises have intensified inter-imperialist rivalries and conflicts. The world witnesses an aggravation of territorial claims under the pretext of alleged security “concerns”; the use of political, diplomatic and psychological pressure and sanctions to compel and facilitate access to resources, logistics and infrastructure networks together with repressive immigration policies. Both the E.U. and U.S. are experiencing the rise of new forms of authoritarianism giving rise to increasing racism and xenophobia.
While the Warsaw Treaty Organization was dismantled, on the side of U.S. imperialism and its allies the institutions of war were extended and enlarged. It is important to remember that Putin actually engaged with NATO concerning membership. The co-called “new Atlanticism” demanded the continued existence of NATO and its expansion towards the east.
The foreign and “security” dimension of the E.U. effectively merged with the Atlantic process and countries acceding to the EU are required to align their “defence and security policy” with that of NATO, consolidating the “militarization” of the EU. Even those E.U. countries which are not members of NATO are under pressure to shift their countries closer to NATO.
The issue of neutrality has already become an issue in the current elections for President of Ireland. The “Triple Lock” is a three-tiered approval mechanism to authorise the deployment of Irish troops abroad. The Irish government plans to dismantle this mechanism without engaging in meaningful public debate which will seriously weaken Irish military neutrality. This is a fundamental policy shift that could see Irish troops being deployed to wage war as part of a military alliance. Two of the three candidates for President (representing the two main bourgeois parties) want to remove the triple lock and force Ireland into direct participation in the imperialist machinations.
As communists we are compelled to recognise that China and Russia with their monopolies are also capitalist states operating a capitalist economy with a concentration of wealth in the hands of a ruling class. Imperialism, contrary to the mistaken views of the so-called “World Anti-Imperialist Platform”, is not the preserve of the E.U., U.S. and their allies. Imperialism is a consequence of capitalist competition which includes armed aggression and the division and redivision of the global market.
Internationalism lies at the heart of our ideology. We oppose imperialism, which means war. We reject a simplistic attitude to imperialism that focuses only on the United States and its allies while ignoring other imperialist centres and powers, and the competition between them.
It is vital to hold a proper understanding of imperialism, to fully comprehend its characteristics. Competition is an essential ingredient of the capitalist mode of production. In the course of this process the character of competition changes. When quantitative growth reaches a certain level qualitative changes occur in the system of capitalist production relations whereby competition leads to the concentration of capital and monopoly. These developments, in turn, give rise to intense rivalry for profits and a struggle for the division and re-division of the world by the leading capitalist powers, for the control of the markets, raw materials, and transport networks.
Lenin highlighted the qualitative developments in the structure of capitalism which were the forces behind imperialism. As Lenin stated: “Imperialism is capitalism in the stage of development in which the dominance of monopolies and finance capital has established itself, in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance, in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun, in which the division of all territories of the globe among the great capitalist powers has been completed.” Lenin exposed in a clear way both the growth of monopoly and the associated changes it brought about in the capitalist economy and the need to export capital as distinct from commodities.
By hiding behind the convenient, yet erroneous, phraseology of “defence”, “security”, “terrorism” and “crisis management” the E.U. attempts to disguise the fact that it already has enormous military capabilities at its disposal. These developments take place in tandem with NATO and threaten international peace and security, undermine national sovereignty and give rise to tensions and provocations which provide the pretext for interference, intervention and war.
NATO since its inception has been an aggressive military alliance representing the extension of U.S. military power and acting exclusively in the interests of imperialism. The history of NATO cannot be separated from the history of imperialism and war. The increased aggressiveness of imperialism poses a real and urgent threat to the interests of all humanity. There has been an immense increase in the militarization of capitalist society since the Second World War. The sustained development of military processes, the maintenance of multi-million strong armies and huge munitions industries in peacetime are a permanent feature of life under capitalism.
It is the task of the communists, building on the lessons of Marx, Engels and Lenin and the experiences gained in struggle to open the road to social and political emancipation, towards a society without exploitation or oppression in which the freedom of each is a requirement for the freedom of all, to expose the nature of imperialism and to propose a way out in conditions of intensifying imperialist competition.
It is important to reiterate that fascism is a symptom of the political and structural crisis of capitalism. It is one manifestation of capitalist power and will exist so long as capitalism exists and can only be defeated by a revolutionary working class through the establishment of workers’ power and socialism.
The fact that we currently labour under adverse conditions does not negate the correctness of our analysis nor the vital necessity for class struggle and fundamental revolutionary change. We expose and condemn those who claim the mantle of “the Left” but who reject the idea of class struggle as the motive force of history and the requirement for a revolutionary transformation which demands the overthrow of the capitalist system and the creation of a new social order. We can see that the weaknesses and failures of those forces which fail to objectively assess and correctly analyse the nature of imperialism leads them to attempt to perform theoretical cartwheels justifying support for imperialist blocs and abandoning and betraying the international working class to the horrors and barbarity of imperialist war like their precursors in the Second International.
First, the communist parties must unswervingly set out the true nature of imperialism and refuse to be deflected by revisionist trends which have objectively abandoned the anti-imperialist struggle. The communists must hold high the banner of Marxism-Leninism and the principles of proletarian internationalism. These principles demand that we base our assessments and actions on objective reality rather than an infantile faith in the words of those who have long deviated from the obligations of the struggle for genuine revolutionary change. Capitalism cannot solve the problems of humanity and the planet with its misery, poverty, oppression and exploitation and neither can the imposters who claim to be anti-imperialist but who support and sustain a system of capitalist exploitation while professing something else.
Scientific socialism based on the principles of Marxism-Leninism permits, indeed compels, us to examine and analyse the world in which we live. Socialism has not failed and will not fail. It remains the only way out, the only alternative to capitalism and the path to liberation and emancipation.
Gerry Grainger
International Secretary
Workers Party of Ireland