A million Hiroshimas going. more and more imports were needed that had to be paid for by borrowing.
Every working class explosion produced a desperate new round of borrowing, plunging the economy into deeper and deeper crisis and then, more and more exasperating the masses. Finally, an uncontrollable working-class upsurge developed that upset perspectives of both the bureaucrats and the capitalists.
It is another irony of history that Reagan's trip to the West European capitals coincides with the revival of the mass movement in Poland and the signs of the rise of a new and December was useful to Reagan as an example of totalitarian oppression could be exploited to whip Communism and justify his belligerent stance toward the workers states and the spread of the colonial revolution.
A live and fighting workers movement for democracy in Poland and the other workers states is quite another matter. It no less seriously endangers the imperialist world order than the threats in other areas.
At a time when Reagan is coming to West Europe to reconsolidate the imperialist bloc to carry out a worldwide policy of repression and austerity, the resurgence of the Polish workers movement is a powerful reminder to the West European masses-who are hard hit by austerity and fearful of war-that they do not have to choose between Reagan and Brezhnev.
THE HISTORIC STAKES OF THE REAGAN TRIP Like the Polish workers, the masses of youth and working people in Western Europe can make history themselves, make the kind of world they want. gan's trip gives them the opportunity to show their opposition to the war drive and austerity that the survival of the imperialist system demands today. give them the chance to combine their voices with those of the struggling, suffering people of Central America, with the rising peace movement in East Germany, and with the undaunted Polish workers for a world without repression, war, and the threat of war-a world in which the peoples can look forward to prosperity and not grimmer and grimmer
That can be the positive historic effect of Reagan's trip.
The demonstrations gan-the embodiment of a future of deprivation, war, and repression- can provide the focus for the first time of the forces that offer a solution to the problems that Reagan represents. It is up to all those who want to build a better future for humanity to make sure that this opportunity is not missed.
6 by Christian PICQUET
This article was originally published in Rouge, weekly newspaper of the Ligue Communiste Revolutionnaire, French section of the Fourth International. translation is by IV.
Two dates will dominate the up coming tour of Europe by Ronald Reagan: the summit of the seven principal capitalist countries at Versailles, and the NATO summit on June 10 in Bonn. last is itself a symbol of the insane arms race which the US is leading.
It is in fact at the Bonn meeting that the green light will be given for the installation of new American nuclear weapons in Europe.
- 572 Pershing and Cruise missiles. Between 1983 and 1990, 108 Pershing-2s will be installed in West Germany. With a range of 1800 kilometres and an accuracy within 50 metres, they could reach the nearest Soviet silos in seven minutes. During the same period it is planned to install 464 Cruise missiles in West Germany, Britain, Italy, and The Netherlands. These are capable of evading radar detection and reaching their objective at 2,500 kilometres distance with almost complete accuracy.
But this is only one aspect of a global programme of rearmament that the principal imperialist fortress has under-
- 1,200 N bombs. Last August, Reagan announced his decision to start production of the 'neutron' bomb. is a comparatively clean weapon in the nuclear arsenal, as it destroys all human life in a relatively contained area but causes no important damage to property or buildings. But by the same token, because it makes it possible to control to some extent the use of nuclear weapons, it considerably lowers the threshhold for unleashing a nuclear conflict.
- The MX and B1 programmes. strategic intercontinental force bases in the USA are going to be equipped with rockets with ten nuclear warheads which can be aimed at different targets. The MX Expenditure authorised Increase in real terms (taking account of inflation) Increase in expenditure 12.4 14.6 authorised (in percent) Increase in actual 7 6.2 expenditure (each year)
programme will be accompanied by the application of the B1 programme. proposes the construction of 100 nuclear
These will have every latest American technological advance, particularly the 'Stealth' system which will allow the bombers to escape radar detection.
- Trident submarines and missiles. The United States navy will receive seven
Trident nuclear submarines, the biggest in the world. They will be equipped with a new strategic missile, Trident 2.
- Gas warfare. To complete its range of weapons, the White House has decided chemical warfare. Four billion dollars will be set aside for this purpose.
- Modernisation of conventional As an aside, the Pentagon has ordered an enormous quantity of modern materials from the armament industry. The army, for example, will get 720 MX1 tanks, and the number of naval vessels will rise from 460 to 600.
- Soaring expenditures. In order to carry out this warlike policy, the military budget of the US has continued to grow. In absolute numbers of dollars, military spending doubled between 1977 1982.
Reagan intends to push this still further. For the six years 1981-1986, the money allocated to the war effort will reach about 1,500 billion dollars. That equals, in absolute numbers of dollars, the spending of the preceding 17 years, which includes the period of the Vietnam
Thus, the USA is in the process of spending more on military weapons than was spent during the Vietnam war. During this war, they spent-in figures adjusted for inflation-84.7% more than in World War I, and 56.8% more than during World War II.
To bring capitalism out of crisis and restore its position in the world, American imperialism wishes to raise its military potential to an unprecedented level. This is a grave threat to the people of the world. The Euromissiles, the N bombs, and the giant MX rockets by themselves represent more than a million times the force that devastated Hiroshima.
Real growth annual average 7.3 7 9.2