Focus for Mass Protest Against
Imperialist War and Capitalist Austerity by John Ross
Following the imposition of martial law in Poland last December, the imperialist ruling classes had two immediate common policy objectives. The first was to take advantage of the new international situation to crush the revolution in El Salvador and, more broadly, in Central America. The second was to defeat and break up the anti-missles movement in Western Europe.
Reagan's trip to Western Europe in June 1982 will illustrate not only that he has not defeated the Central American revolution but that he has not derailed the anti-missiles movement either. The support for both these causes will combine to produce the largest demonstrations ever seen in Europe against a U.S. president.
The development of the struggle in Central America and the worldwide rise of a movement in solidarity with it have been reported in a number of articles in International Viewpoint. In this article, 1 want to deal with the anti-missiles movement since the crackdown in Poland, its increasing intertwining with the movement in support of El Salvador, and the important insights into the state of world politics today that can be gained from looking at this development.
### UNITED STATES
MILITARY STRATEGY
The imperialist powers have understood very well right from the beginning the objective interrelationship between their moves in Central America, and against the colonial revolution in general, and the anti-missile movement in Europe.
The vast increases in the U.S. military budgets carried out by Carter and Reagan have focused around two items. is to create the infrastructure for the so-called Rapid Deployment Force--which in reality is nothing more than a colossal interventionist force that can be sent in with great speed in any part of the colonial world. This involves an accelerated buildup of the U.S. navy, in particular new aircraft-carrier forces, the construction of foreign military bases, and the development of sophisticated conventional weapons of
The second focus of the new U.S. arms drive is to build and deploy a whole new generation of nuclear weapons aimed against the Soviet Union. This includes in particular the MX missile, the BI, and the so-called Stealth bombers, as well as the Cruise and Pershing I missiles, and the neutron bomb. 2
The relationship of these two types of comparison with the needs of the situation, armament is very clear. It is not the aim and although this significantly prolonged of U.S. imperialism today to move toward the war, the aid it did give was sufficient rapid all-out nuclear war with the Soviet to allow the Vietnamese people to win in Union. As the U.S. ruling class is well the final offensive of 1975. aware, this would, in the present interna- It was the intervention of Cuban troops, tional relationship of class forces, lead to airlifted and supplied by the Soviet Union, its own destruction. that played the decisive role in defeating
The sort of war that the U.S. ruling the 1976 South African invasion in Angola. class is preparing for today is not a vain It is Soviet economic and military aid attempt to restore capitalism in Eastern that makes possible the survival of the Europe. It is preparing, in fact, for war Cuban workers state and its leadership-against the colonial revolution. The sit- which is itself a decisive fact in the develvation that the U.S. ruling class finds un- opment of the Nicaraguan and Salvadoran acceptable and which it must reverse is that revolutions and all the other revolutionary it was unable to intervene militarily to de- struggles in Central America and in the fend its positions in Vietnam in 1975, in Caribbean islands. Angola in 1975-76, and in Iran and Nicara- The aim of the massive imperialist buildgua in 1979. In all these cases, the local up is not to launch immediate war against agents of imperialism proved too weak to de- the USSR, but it is designed to put the U.S. fend U.S. interests, but the strongest mili- in a position to blackmail the Soviet leadertary power on earth was not able to act on ship into cutting off its material aid to coloits own behalf. This is the state of affairs that the U.S. imperialists must turn around. Once the aims of U.S. military and po-
In order to achieve its goals, however, litical policy are understood, then it bethe U.S. and its allies must achieve three comes clear why the anti-missles movement objectives--all of which are intercon- in Western Europe is a threefold threat to such plans. First, it increases anti-war
1. They have to break the hostility of sentiment inside the imperialist centres. At the working classes inside their own coun the same time, it combines with the impact tries to imperialist wars. This is the most of the colonial revolution to reinforce fundamental precondition, since this mood anti-war sentiment in the United States itamong the workers has been a major ob- self. Secondly, this movement makes it stacle to open U.S. military intervention harder for the U.S. to deploy some key elsince 1975. ements of its technologically most advanced
2. The U.S. has to have what it con- weapons systems. Thirdly, it makes it much siders the necessary technical military harder to blackmail the Soviet Union into capacity to crush any colonial revolution cutting off material aid to the colonial rapidly. This second precondition is ob- revolution. viously connected to the first. What final- This whole objective interrelation of the ly led to the development in the U.S. of anti-missles movement with the colonial overwhelming opposition to the war in Viet- revolution has been reflected in the dynamic nam was the fact that it went on so long and of the movement itself. The broadest mass involved suchshuge sacrifices. The U.S. mobilisations, involving between one and ruling class, therefore, believes that it must a half and two million people last autumn, have the means to crush any revolutionary were against the Cruise and Pershing Il misoutbreak with great speed before opposition siles and the neutron bomb. But the developto its policy can mount inside the imperial- ment of this broad mass movement has gone list states--and above all inside its own hand in hand with wider and wider sections country. For this reason, the U.S. is under- of the vanguard explicitly taking up solidartaking colossal expenditures to acquire ity with the revolutions in Central America. weapons of qualitatively greater destruc- Already in West Germany in 1981, where five power than those used in Vietnam. the anti-missles movement is particularly
3. A significant factor determining how developed, more than twenty thousand long a colonial revolution can sustain its people have taken part in a demonstration struggle and whether it can achieve victory in support of El Salvador, and $500,000 has is the military and material support given been raised there to help the revolutionary forces. by the Soviet Union and other workers states. For example, although Soviet assis- With the new moves by U.S. imperialism tance to Vietnam was grossly inadequare by ' in 1982 and the advance of the FMLN's str ex to th str rU as an po ex la it di
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struggle, this movement of solidarity has extended rapidly into other West European countries. As could be expected, it found a fertile ground prepared by the antimissles movement.
Given these developments, it is little wonder that one of the chief aims of all the imperialist ruling classes was, and is, to breakup the West European anti-missles movement. The issue they chose to try to accomplish this was Poland. How and why they failed offers a major insight into the state of world politics today.
THE PRETEXT OF POLAND
There is no doubt that the imperialist ruling classes had already selected Poland as an issue they intended to use to break the anti-missile campaign even before the imposition of martial law. More than a year ago, for example, the London Sunday Times explained that a Soviet intervention in Poland would not be such a bad thing because it would deflate the movement for nuclear
Interviewed by Newsweek magazine in December following the crackdown in Poland, NATO General Secretary Luns expressed clear satisfaction with the course of events: "I believe what has happened in Poland has certainly not weakened the (NATO) alliance. On the contrary, the power relationship of the U.S. and Europe vis-a-vis the USSR is stronger than before; the Soviet Union now has a turbulent coun try aside its umbilical cord between East Germany and Moscow."
Luns then went on to outline what was clearly NATO's objective. It was to move ahead with its programme swelling still more
The illogicality of such ruling-class arguments was unusually glaring. Far from defending the Polish workers, the capitalist governments, starting with the United States, made it clear from the beginning that they fully accept the 'right' of the bureaucracy to crush these workers. Although the capitalist powers were undoubtedly well aware of what the bureaucracy planned to do, they consistently urged moderation and austerity on the Polish workers in the face of Kania and Jaruzelski. This was quite in line with their actions in 1968 when, despite the U.S. government's knowledge of the impending Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, it took not one single step to release information to the Czech workers of what was being prepared. In the current international relationship of forces, the capitalist ruling classes were, and remain, opposed to the overthrow, and particularly any revolutionary overthrow, of the bureaucracies in Eastern Europe. The division of Europe decided at Yalta remains as much a keystone for the imperialist governments in the present situation as it does for the Soviet bureaucracy.
Furthermore, it could be easily understood by most of the participants in the anti-missiles movement that the deployment of nuclear weapons in West Europe has nothing whatever to do with defending the Polish workers. Indeed, many of these weapons are aimed directly at the Polish
Because of the transparency of the real nature of the imperialists' positions on Poland, even at the height of the ruling-class campaign, the anti-missiles movement maintained its underlying strength.
ment. In short, despite the initial confusion that undoubtedly existed, the imperialist campaign did not succeed in diffusing the basic feeling of opposition to the missiles.
### POLISH SOLIDARITY
Another important element in the failure of the ruling-class campaign was the reaction to the Polish events themselves. the ruling classes wanted was a polarization between right-wing pro-capitalist forces, that would come out against the imposition of martial law, and a left that would seem at least not actively to oppose it. This was in fact what the bourgeoisie achieved after the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary.
What the ruling classes hoped for from such a polarization was that the left wing of the workers movement would be tarnished by appearing to fail to oppose the Polish bureaucracy. Since this left wing is also the backbone of the anti-missiles movement, if it could be discredited that would open up the way for dealing blows to the campaign against imperialist militarism.
The pro-Soviet Communist Parties, of course, did exactly what the imperialists hoped they would do. When 100,000 French workers took to the streets in support of Solidarosc, the French Communist Party denounced this as part of an 'antiCommunist campaign'--a claim believed by no one except their unconditional supporters and which totally isolated them in the face of the imperialist attack. The Swiss Communist Party also refused, for example, to participate in the demonstration in Geneva because it took up other issues besides the missiles, including the already massive arsenal of U.S. weapons spite the fact that there was undoubtedly in Europe: "The new U.S. administration has taken the offensive with regard to Soviet moves, and Reagan's rearmament programme has, in a political way, strengthened the
The British and French governments also took the occasion of the Polish events to disorientation in reformist circles created by the imposition of martial law and Reagan's
The basic features of the situation showed up fairly rapidly. At the first mass demonstration on missiles after the crackdown in Poland, 20,000 people came out
Unlike 1956, however, and in contrast to the U.S. imperialists' expectations, no serious wave of right-wing demonstrations developed in response to Poland. In the United States itself, despite the efforts of the AFL-CIO bureaucracy, the clearly right-wing demonstrations were not large.
justify their own nuclear weapons programme. in Geneva. It was an impressive turnout, West German Chancellor Schmidt has major differences with the United States on the question of economic sanctions against the USSR, but not on missiles. He made it clear that he was maintaining his threat to resign and bring down the government if the Social Democratic Party failed to endorse his support for the NATO arms decisions.
With respect to the anti-missiles movement itself, Luns stepped up his perennial 'Red Scare' campaign by declaring that "the Soviet Union is manipulating peace and anti-A-bomb groups through covert actions, funds and infiltration. " This line was echoed by the right-wing reformist sections of the British labour movement leadership. Labour Party deputy leader Dennis Healey, for example, felt emboldened to declare in the debate in the British Parliament, openly breaking official party policy, that "What has happened in Poland...struck a fatal blow to the noble hopes of many who believed sincerely that unilateral disarmament in the West would find its echo in the despite the fact that the organisers created some confusion by adding many issues besides the missiles question to the platform of the demonstration. In Britain, no significant attempt was made either in the Labour Party or the trade unions to overturn their official position of support for unilateral nuclear disarmament and opposition to the deployment of Cruise and Pershing I!
In West Germany, the key country for the anti-missiles movement, the Hamburg regional conference of the SPD rejected a motion to call for an immediate halt to the deployment of the missiles. But it also voted down a resolution that endorsed the line of Schmidt and Federal Defense Minister Apel--despite the fact that both of them addressed the conference delegates.
Moreover, the 'Green' party, which is popularly seen as to the left of the SPD and is against the missiles, made a spectacular electoral breakthrough in the Lower Saxony vote in March, gaining 7 percent of the vote and representation in the state parlia-
At the same time, the American left was too weak and too politically confused to respond in any significant way.
In Britain, right-wing forces spurred on by the Thatcher government and right-wing Social Democrats and Liberals, did demonstrate. But so also did left-wing forces in the Labour movement, despite the default of the Labour Party leadership. No real reactionary dynamic was generated in the country.
In the other West European countries, where the bourgeoisie were also hampered by their conflict with the U.S. over the question of economic sanctions against the USSR, the demonstrations took on a character opposite to those in 1956. This, in fact, was a major indication of the shift in the relationship of class forces that has taken place. In the solidarity actions, the initiative was taken not by right-wing forces but by the workers movement and its left
The only exception was in Spain where, reflecting setbacks and disorientation that have occured, sections of the workers and nationalist movement opposed Solidarnosc.
was echoing whatever the imperialists said. out three nights a week for training in each
This difference to the situation in 1956, workers interests and those who were not. or even 1968 over the Soviet invasion of The attempts of the imperialists and their Czechoslovakia, was particularly clear in servants to exploit the Polish issue, such as France. The Gaullist demonstration on Reagan's January 30 day of action and Poland brought out about a thousand peo- his TV show 'Let Poland Be Poland' were ple, and the demonstration of the Socialist relative flops. In contrast, the left-wing Party and the CFDT trade-union federation, demonstrations in Europe mobilised relativeabout 100,000. ly large numbers of people and had a signi-
France however was only an extreme ficant impact in the workers movement. example of the general trend in Europe. So, when Reagan comes to Europe the Right-wing or fascist demonstrations on hundreds of thousands who will turn out Poland were notable for their extreme weak- against him will not be demanding that he ness. In general the labour bureaucracy take action on Poland but that he get out attempted to block action on Poland and of Central America and take his missiles in particular to limit the movement to general "humanitarian aid'. It was the leftwing currents and groups which took the NEW UPTURN OF STRUGGLE
These actions in Western Europe were Thus, the result of the reactions to the also for the first time accompanied by sig- Polish events was, contrary to the expecnificant demonstrations in colonial and tations of the imperialists, that the left semi-colonial countries against repression wing of the workers movement was not in a bureaucratised workers state (See weakened. On the contrary it gained a International Viewpoint No. I). certain greater credibility and audience.
The result of these actions in solidarity This helped to lay the basis for the demonwith Poland in turn has had a significant strations that immediately afterwards starteffect on the scope of the mobilisations for ed to spread to all countries over El SalvaEl Salvador. Workers quite rightly see it as dor. The workers movement and its left perfectly logical that the left-wing organi- wing appeared to be taking the lead both sations that took to the streets in December on Poland and in solidarity with the Central and January should call in February and American revolutionists fighting imperialMarch for mass actions in solidarity with El ism. This represents a major turnabout Salvador. If, however, these left-wing or- compared to the situations arising in the ganisations and currents had failed to take wake of previous repressive outrages in the initiative on Poland, workers would be Eastern Europe. far more reluctant to follow their advise to
Finally, another factor, and by no come out against the United States over El means the least important, that will add Salvador. to the problems of the West European im-
Indeed, the whole experience of the perialists and augment the scope of the Polish mobilisations was an important indi- mobilisations against Reagan is that the cator of the rising level of class conscious- beginning of 1982 coincided with an upness among wide layers of workers. These turn in the fightback against austerity by workers proved quite capable of distinguish- sections of the West European working ing between those who were fighting for
The strikes against unemployment in southern Belgium constitute the most important struggle in that country since the 196l general strike. There was also an important success in the general strike in southern Italy. In France, sharp struggles touched off by employers attempts to sabotage the reduction of the workweek from 40 to 39 hours shows that the workers continue to expect and demand significant reforms from the Mitterrand government.
Confronted with this situation, various of the West European governments, notably the West German, have been making demagogic utterances blaming the severity of the recession on high U.S. interest rates, as well as on the perennial threat of 'Japanese competition'. Such claims are of course designed to hide the responsibility of the West European imperialist governments for the austerity policies. But they also reflect the weight of increased inter-imperialist competition and heighten hostility to the U.S. ruling class and its economic policies.
Thus, three elements--opposition to the missiles, opposition to U.S. imperialist policy in Central America, and opposition to austerity--will come together to impell really massive mobilizations against Reagan in June. These demonstrations, in turn, can be a powerful lever for building the movements against imperialist intervention in Central America and against the
The slogans of these demonstrations
--Imperialist Hands off Central America and the Caribbean!
--No missiles, no neutron bomb'
--No to austerity--jobs not bombs!
Reagan and his imperialist hosts will hear these demands raised by the voices of hundreds of thousands of people when he nol sev re str
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