The
SNP's opened in Aberdeen
The
Socialist Party has always claimed that at the bottom of all war
there is an economic cause. Under
capitalism politics and economics are often divided in workers’
minds. Declaring “spheres of
influence” really means exclusive possession of foreign markets and
trade privilege. Capitalists must find some means of enlisting people
to fight their wars. That means is nationalism. Economic causes are,
of course, the root of wars. But today it is easier than ever to
obscure this fact. Nationalism is the cloak behind which the economic
causes work. Nationalism is the best disguise for the intrigues and
machinations of capitalists. As Herman Goering said in 1945:
“Naturally,
the common people don't want war...but after all it is the leaders
of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple
matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a
fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.
Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of
the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they
are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism
and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every
country.”
Nationalism
is always dangerous and creates an opening to chauvinism and
xenophobia.
Nationalism
holds that members of a national group, regardless of class have a
communal integrity that is stronger than the ties between workers of
different nations. Nationalism always
claims certain virtues as the peculiar, exclusive possession of
certain nations. If individuals make such claims, they are laughed to
scorn. Why — with what logic — may nations make such claims?
Nationalism claims that the culture belonging to one nation is
distinct from that belonging to any other. This was so in the past,
but the natural evolution of mankind is making it less so. Increased
means of communication — the mass media, the internet — have
caused nations to exchange ideas until today there is no essential
difference between any one of the countries of the world. Even
language is tending to become universal with the prevalence of
English as a second language. More people understand each other today
than ever before. It is only by artificial that nationalism is kept
alive. Nationalism is an unmitigated curse. It leads inevitably to
chauvinism and to national aggression. It leads to a patriotism for
the soil, for the particular bit of the earth’s surface on which a
particular person has been born. Capitalism
versus socialism is not a crucial issue to the nationalist.
Socialism
adopts a policy of unrelenting antagonism toward nationalism.
Socialism recognises and emphasises that the class struggle
determines all our action – that the national ideology is a fetter
upon the emancipation of the proletariat – and that the social
revolution is international in scope and purpose. We value the
international unity of the working class. So we must fight for the
closest possible alliance of workers irrespective of any-reshaping of
the frontiers of individual states. We do not, and cannot, favour a
native-born employing class over the foreign version. A divided
international working class, split by nationalism can never build its
strength to challenge the capitalist system of exploitation.
Liberate
minds, not nations
No comments:
Post a Comment