6 Questions About the War in Ukraine, 6 Responses to Socialists

Link to the original text of China Labor Forum: https://chinaworker.info/zh-hans/2022/03/04/31818/

Telegram link of China Labor Forum: https://t.me/chinaworkerISA

Twitter link of China Labour Forum: https://twitter.com/OctRevolution1 7

If you are interested in subscribing to "Socialist" magazine, please send an email to: chinaworker.isa@gmail.com

The war is at a critical turning point. What is the position of the socialists?

Socialist Justice Party (ISA Sweden) party newspaper "Offensive" editorial

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has killed hundreds and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. The Swedish government, supported by the right wing, decided to send arms to Ukraine, closer to NATO. What is the position of the socialists?

This weekend of February 26-27, we witnessed several major turning points in the war. Intense fighting is underway and the UN refugee agency has warned that between 5 and 7 million people could be forced to flee. Putin threatens Russia with nuclear weapons. And the Western powers basically kicked Russia out of the world financial system. German Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz​​​​​​​ said Germany’s military spending should increase to 2 percent of GDP, or more than 80 billion euros.

The EU is giving the Ukrainian government 450 million euros to buy weapons. Many other governments, including Sweden, have pledged to provide Ukraine with weapons and military equipment. This means that for the first time since 1939, Sweden has exported weapons to a participating country.

SPD left-wing debaters such as Daniel Suhonen mentioned the idea that Sweden, like Finland, might join NATO. The situation is changing rapidly, like a large-scale "shock theory" - a major event used to promote drastic policy changes to enhance the interests of capital. The left, the labor movement and all those who oppose the war need to have a democratic discussion on these issues.

What can end war?

The Russian invasion was not as easy as Putin thought. Ukrainian resistance, including local defense groups, is strong. Anti-war demonstrations have also increased in Russia, especially among young people. In Berlin, Germany, as many as 500,000 people gathered to oppose the war.

The priority of the international labor movement, the antiwar movement, and the left around the world, is to provide humanitarian support to the Ukrainian people and do everything in their power to support the resistance movement in Russia. Russian people's dissatisfaction with Putin's regime was prevalent before the war. Historically, from the union struggle that ended the war with Norway in 1905, to the Russian Revolution of 1917 that ended the First World War, to the strong anti-war sentiment in the United States, which prompted the US military to withdraw from Vietnam, war and belligerence were all manifested as mass movements, uprisings and revolutions.

What made this war break out?

Putin is a ruthless tyrant who is ready to crush any opposition and extend his reach to Ukraine, Belarus, other neighboring countries and war zones, such as Syria. Putin's regime is the result of decades of rampant global capitalism. The Stalinist system collapsed and was replaced by a capitalist oligarchy. For a while, Putin seemed to have developed a cooperative relationship with the West. For the people of the former Soviet Union, this meant a sharp decline in living standards, including a reduction in life expectancy.

At the same time, new imperialist contradictions are forming. This involves a power struggle between global powers—strategic spheres, resources, and economics (also known today as geopolitics). Today's world is increasingly dominated, both politically and militarily, by a new Cold War between Chinese and American imperialism. Putin believes that, as in Syria, the relative weakening of US imperialism will give him space after Iraq, Afghanistan, the financial crisis and the new Cold War. But the war did not develop as he had imagined, and the response from the West was harsher. As a result, his invasion of Ukraine will escalate.

The main victims of the war are the Ukrainian people, and the blame lies with the global capitalist system that creates Putin at odds with growing imperialism.

Has the nature of NATO changed?

NATO is an alliance built on war. In 1999, NATO carried out an indiscriminate bombing of the residents of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, for more than 70 days. It also bombed Libya in 2011 and has led the war against Afghanistan since 2015. These wars were shielded by rhetoric like "democracy" and "nation-building" (even if the bombing of Belgrade was not backed by the UN). Yet, as Iraq has shown, bombing has not brought democratic rights. The outcome of the war was most evident in Afghanistan, where the Taliban seized power and the people were starving. In Libya, a NATO bombing with Sweden's participation suppressed a popular uprising.

NATO is fueling a global arms race, and military spending by countries has increased dramatically. NATO is led by US imperialism and therefore its actions are in the interests of US imperialism. The anti-NATO position was shaped by a long-standing practical debate within the Swedish workers' movement and society. Socialists are fighting Putin while continuing to oppose NATO.

Will Sweden or other countries send arms to Ukraine to ensure peace and freedom?

In the past 12 months, the United States has shipped weapons worth $1 billion (9 billion kroner) to Ukraine. Now there are drones from the Erdogan government in Turkey, missiles from Germany and body armor from the Swedish military. The Swedish military had previously trained Ukrainian soldiers. The parliaments of Finland and Denmark both unanimously decided to deliver weapons.

Governments are not sending arms to Ukraine now for humanitarian reasons. The developments we have seen in Afghanistan are stark proof of this. For more than 20 years, military action has been a priority, with devastating consequences.

The weapons currently being delivered may slow Russia's offensive, but few believe it will determine the course of the war. Rather, it is the domestic disapproval of the war in Russia, mass protests internationally, and the blockade of Putin's war machine by global workers that can have the greatest impact.

It is unlikely that the Western powers will deploy air force and soldiers, otherwise this will lead to a major war. But calls for greater efforts to attack Russia will grow louder.

Public opinion strongly supports ending the horrors of the war, which means the governments of these countries can gain support in the initial stages of sending arms to Ukraine. This public opinion will be used by countries to increase military spending and push Finland and Sweden to join NATO.

Do the working poor have common interests with government, capital, and the military?

The state is not a neutral institution, it is a tool that serves the interests of the ruling class (capitalists) after all. The socialists warned that the armed forces and police would be used against the struggles and mass protests of the country's workers.

Diplomacy is a continuation of domestic affairs. Unfortunately, many left-wing and workers' parties have historically supported war and military intervention in their own countries, and as a result they have legitimized right-wing politics and the deterioration of the situation in the country.

The labor movement arose out of past struggles against militarism and war. In 1905, the Swedish workers' movement, under the slogan "No Arms", successfully blocked a war plan against Norway, which is a good example. When the SPD leadership promised "social peace" (support for the government) during World War I, the Left and the Youth League responded with an anti-war movement.

How should the Ukrainian people defend themselves?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a right-wing populist politician who does not represent the interests of the Ukrainian people. His government has cut taxes for big business, while living standards for most workers continue to decline. Many Ukrainians want to build a system of people's self-defense and have mobilized thousands of people, even using homemade weapons. Several videos showed people yelling at Russian soldiers not to shoot and forcing some tanks to turn around.

The Ukrainian people are now facing a horrific ordeal; while it is necessary, is there really a way to dictate their own destiny through an ongoing political struggle? The Defense Council now needed to continue the fight against the Russian occupation requires democratic organization and coordination from the bottom up. NATO-led Ukraine is not a democratic or fair alternative.

Build an anti-war, anti-imperialist movement to end the war

For socialists, even in war, we stand in favor of the workers, the poor and the common people. The best tradition of the labor movement is to resist wars and militarism, and to pursue an independent line - not an alliance with the right, capital, and the state apparatus.

Regardless of how the fighting develops in the coming week, mass consciousness, relations between the great powers, and the economy—all will be affected for a long time to come. Analyzing war and the global capitalist system, and mobilizing the masses against both, is a crucial task for all anti-war activists.