[The following editorial appeared in the November 9 issue of the French-language fortnightly Inprecor. The translation is by Intercontinental Press.]
In recent weeks one million people demonstrated against remilitarization in Bonn, London, Brussels, Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona. This is the broadest struggle currently taking place in capitalist Europe. Since it coincides with an economic crisis causing pronounced unemployment among young people, this movement has an even greater radicalizing potential for youth than the mobilizations against the Vietnam War, which led to [the revolutionary upheaval in France in] May 1968.
The immediate objective of the struggle is to stop imperialism's new escalation of the arms race. That is why revolutionary Marxists fight to get the movement against remilitarization to unite around specific objectives: "No Neutron Bombs! No Pershing Missiles! No to NATO! Immediate and Substantial Reductions in Military Budgets!" and "Reduction of Military Service Time" — for example to six months as called for by our French comrades of the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR) and Revolutionary Communist Youth (JCR).
The Soviet bureaucracy's criminal policies (Afghanistan, Poland) objectively help to cover over the fact that imperialism bears the main responsibility for the escalation of rearmament. That is one more reason why revolutionary Marxists must stress this fact.
The explosion of anger by the youth in Britain against unemployment, the dismantling of social services, the growing social inequality, and the racist police significantly increases the impact of connecting the struggle against remilitarization with the struggle against the economic crisis and austerity through slogans such as "Jobs not bombs!" put forward by our Brit- Ish comrades of the International Marxist Group (IMG) and our German comrades of the GIM (International Marxist Group).
Beyond its immediate objectives, the wave of antiwar struggles is a new factor in the politics of Europe and reshuffles the cards of international diplomacy, but not necessarily or automatically in a way that furthers the interests of the proletariat or effective struggle against the war threats.
That is why it is the duty of revolutionary Marxists to carry out more general anti-imperialist and anticapitalist propaganda, telling the masses the whole truth and keeping alive their vigilance against the war threats.
The new arms race is imperialism's answer to the international spread of the revolution and to the long-term worsening of the econom ic depression. But this is only a new stage in an arms race that has already lasted for decades. There is no area in which "lesser evil" politics is more absurd than in the field of nuclear weapons. Only an imbecile could maintain that it is preferable for humanity to be destroyed three times over by atomic blasts than five times over.
The present stockpiles of nuclear weapons would already suffice to destroy the human race several times over. This danger will remain, even if the neutron bomb and the Pershing II, Cruise, and MX missiles are never deployed.
In fact, the nuclear threat has weighed on all the continents for a long time. It is totally illusory to believe that Europe could be spared atomic annihilation simply by refusing to allow the new missiles to be deployed on that continent.
The Soviet bureaucracy and the political forces subservient to it see the present antimilitary mobilizations as a way to force changes in Ronald Reagan's policies within the context of a continued imperialist alliance and "peaceful coexistence" with a "controlled" arms race.
But under the present conditions of the increasing crisis of capitalism and imperialism, a "controlled" arms race actually increases the threat of war.
Revolutionary Marxists must make the masses conscious of this basic truth. The struggle against the neutron bomb and against Cruise, Pershing II, and MX missiles is only the first step. Winning an initial victory is important and necessary. But it will not halt the threat of nuclear death unless it leads to general nuclear disarmament, unless it leads to completely disarming the international bourgeoisie.
As long as capitalism, private property, and competition remain, the arms industry and the preparations for war will be inevitable. Our planet will not know durable peace unless the rule of capital is overthrown. Only the mobilization of the workers and socialism will be able to assure world peace.
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