Imperialism and War
Imperialism is the main cause of war in the world today. Even what appear to be specific localised conflicts, e.g. the Palestine/Israel conflict, generally have their roots in imperialism and its struggle to divide and re-divide the world. Imperialism is a world economic and political structure – not just a series of individual acts of colonialism. It derives from capitalism’s built in need to grow, expand and exploit the whole surface of the globe.
Economically the main feature of imperialism is the domination of the world economy by giant multinational corporations who both work with one another to defend the system and compete with one another to maximise their profits. These corporations operate globally but also typically have a home base and enlist the State in that base to serve their interest e.g. Exxon Mobile and the US.
Politically this leads to the domination of the world by rival great powers such as the US, the EU, Russia and China – each of which tries to strengthen and enlarge its sphere of influence as well as using through sub-imperial powers such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey etc. Although the USA remains by far the biggest and best armed imperial power its strength relative to other powers and its ability to unilaterally impose its will on the world is declining. Imperialism is now a multi-polar and unstable system. This leads to a multitude of imperialist, inter-imperialist and anti-imperialist conflicts, wars, interventions and complex situations each of which requires specific analysis.
People Before Profit wants to see an end to all war and the development of a peaceful world based on human solidarity, but we recognise the right of oppressed peoples and nations to resist imperialism. We stand in solidarity with their struggles and believe that the best way we can assist them is by opposing and removing our own pro- imperialist government and state here in Ireland,
Ireland is officially and constitutionally a neutral state and the majority of the Irish people want it to remain so. This is a legacy of Ireland’s own struggle against imperialism and People Before Profit strongly agrees with the Irish people on this question. However we also recognise that, in practice – in terms of deeds not words – the entire Irish political establishment does not support Irish neutrality but wants Ireland to be a junior partner in US and EU imperialism.
This is the thrust of all their foreign policy: their refusal to denounce Trump, or condemn Israeli oppression of the Palestinians, their facilitation of US military operations through Shannon and their support for PESCO with its implications of leading to an EU army.
The election of the right-wing war mongering racist Donald Trump has made the world a more dangerous place, but ultimately this is a symptom of a system in decay in which rivalries and conflicts are coming more and more to the fore. Economic crisis and climate change will further intensify this instability and increase the likelihood of devastating wars.