WHAT CAUSES WAR

Every government, every political organisation proclaims itself for peace, against war. We hear no more that war is glorious. It is no longer possible wholly to hide the terrible, suffering caused by the nature of war. So our masters have changed their propaganda tactics: we learn that our rulers strive ceaselessly for peace, but it is the aggressive rulers of some other country who threaten us. In certain circumstances war is a necessary evil—we are struggling for freedom, human dignity—in fact, we make war for peace: war can only be abolished through war. Our position is: We are against every war, and both sides of every war. Wars are struggles between capitalist interests; no army fights for the interests of any working class. Only in a truly socialist worldwide society will war disappear, because while the capitalist world social order lasts, the roots of war remain. So the only way to lasting peace is through a new society. It is absurd to waste time and energy in an endeavour to convince the capitalists that wars are superfluous and a curse under capitalism.

Let the workers learn their position in society and unite to obtain control of the machinery of government, including the armed forces. Such action will make it possible for them to take possession of the means of production and use them for the benefit of all. In that way alone will they be able to usher in a system of society wherein universal unity of interests will abolish all war, be it between classes or nations. Workers should throw their weight against war. What does this mean in practice? As the working class have not yet placed themselves in control of the machinery of government, but continue at each election to place the capitalists in control, the latter is in a position to decide when, where and why the armed forces shall be set in motion, and also the amount and nature of the armed forces.  If the working class, or any large body of them, are hostile to the war the capitalists have to consider how to overcome that hostility and what will be the result if they should fail to do so. To the extent that the workers in any country are alive to their interests and opposed to war the capitalists will be inclined to make some concession to the enemy government, rather than face war. A majority of workers will, however, never be in favour of peace against capitalist wishes while they (the workers) are prepared to support capitalist government because they will always be ready to accept capitalist reasons for waging a particular war. The answer to capitalist intrigue and power-politics is not to be found in supporting one capitalist group against another. We can say of a particular war that nothing can come out of it for Socialism or democracy, or for the workers, justifying the suffering and other consequences of war. we cannot envisage circumstances arising which would justify socialist support for war.

Threatened by the greed of rival exploiters in foreign countries the capitalist class will drown the world in four years of blood and slaughter. They will destroy human lives by the millions, rather than give up their property, their right to exploit the workers, to the capitalists of a rival power. In short, as far as the capitalists are concerned, they have something to lose which is of the utmost value. They will go to the utmost limit to keep what they have. What of the workers? They have almost nothing to lose, except their lives, their homes and their health, and these they lose in war: not in the outcome of war, but in war itself, whatever the outcome. 

Anything which in the slightest way encourages the workers to retain the blighting and poisoning belief in nationalism and so-called national interests perpetuates the dangerous illusion of class harmony and plays always into the hands of the capitalist class. Only class-conscious socialists can speak across the frontiers of the capitalist nations to the working class of the world and they can do so only because they are entirely free from the taint of so-called national interests which can be none other than capitalist interests. The Socialist Party will continue on its way loyal to world socialism in the sure knowledge that it is the duty of all who seek socialism to oppose war. Whatever strength we can muster to influence the issue of war and peace will be thrown against war, no matter what the circumstances of the particular conflict may be.  Don’t tell us that that will take a long time. How long it takes depends on you. You can hasten it or delay it There can be no doubt that it will come. We need it, the working class of the world needs it. Join us and help bring it about.