What Should the Global Working Class
Know About the War in Ukraine?
What is this War Really About?
The war in Ukraine is a bestial dispute between two camps of thieves. In one camp is Russia, with support from its posse made up of China and North Korea. In the other camp is the United States (U.S.), with its posse of countries that make up the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), operating under the cloak of ‘supporters and defenders’ of poor Ukraine, which has been unjustly targeted by rogue Russia. The bourgeois classes of each of these two camps of thieves exploits the labor of their respective laboring classes to sustain the lavish, corrupt lifestyle for their class. The bourgeois classes of Russia, China, and North Korea own all the means of production and distribution in their respective countries, just like the bourgeois classes in the United States and its posse countries belonging to the EU and NATO.
Caption: Positioning NATO bases against Russia
(source: the National Council of Popular Committees in Martinique)
The workers of these belligerent nation states are paid very low wages, consistent with poverty wages, to ensure that a surplus or profit is created from their labor. From this exploitation, from this robbery of the value that the workers create, the bourgeois classes of these two predatory camps live a life of explicit luxury and spectacle while the workers live a life of wage slavery, poverty, and wretchedness.
When the bourgeois classes of these two camps are unable to resolve their disputes with each other peacefully, these billionaire capitalists resort to war with one another. Carl von Clausewitz, a famous Prussian soldier from 1793-1815 who examined and studied war, is well remembered for concluding that “War is the continuation of politics by another means”. To defend its unjust wars, head elected officials, presidents of nations, agents of the billionaire capitalists of the two camps of thieves, speak about “protecting their state’s interests”. But to what “interests” are they referring? They are referring to the “interests” of Chevron (U.S.) Gazprom (Russia), Shell Oil (England), Engie SA (France), etc. They are referring to the “right” of the owners of Chevron, Gazprom, Shell Oil, Engie SA, etc. to exploit the people and plunder the natural resources of Ukraine and its surrounding states.
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The rich billionaires of these two camps, led by the United States under President Biden and by Russia under President Putin, are aggressively pushing this war. Both countries stand to reap unimaginable, filthy profits off of this war. And, as a matter of fact, we do not see any of them or their sons or daughters dying in the wars that they organize. They send, instead, under their laws the enlisted men and women of the army, navy, air force, and marines to do their dirty fighting for them. Thus, patriotic, enlisted soldiers should not be fooled into believing that the war in Ukraine is an ethically imbalanced war between good guys and bad guys. It is a rich man’s war, fought by everyday citizens of the laboring class, for the primary benefit of the rich.
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To further deceive citizens of the working class in these two camps, elected officials, government spokespersons, and commentators of the news media, promote the tale that the war in the Ukraine is to save democracy; that war in the Ukraine is to protect democracy; that war in the Ukraine is an attack on our democracy here at home. But, this rationale is yet another lie! We are told that we live in a democracy when in actuality, we live in a capitalist society where the form of governance, or the form of rule is bourgeois democracy. Unlike fascism, bourgeois democracy is indeed a liberal form of rule, but it is a form of rule led by rich billionaires, for the benefit of rich billionaires. There is no genuine democracy in either of these two camps; especially in the United States and Russia. In other words, there is no genuine working class democracy where the majority of the people who reside in the nation, govern the nation, and subsequently, protects its interests.
To justify his invasion of Ukraine, President Putin claims that Ukraine historically belonged to Russia. Therefore, only Russia has the audacious right to exploit and rule over Ukraine. No other competitor state, particularly the United States and its posse has the right to claim, rob or exploit the labor of the working class of Ukraine. It is true that Ukraine was once a part of Russia. However, following the victory of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the Ukraine nation chose to exercise its right to self-determination, to separate and establish its own independent republic as a sovereign state. As its own independent republic, the quality of life for the laboring Ukrainian people was very promising under the socialist banner.
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But counterrevolutionaries successfully overthrew the young Ukrainian state and replaced it with a new dictatorship of the Ukrainian bourgeoisie, which restored the previous exploitative, capitalist system. This reactionary victory set the Ukrainian revolution back. As a direct result, the current, Ukrainian government led by the installed president, Zelensky, is a continuation of that counterrevolutionary restoration. Sadly today, Ukraine is a pawn in the middle of a dispute between the two opposing, competitive camps. Despite being victimized by the two camps, everyday Ukrainian people are waging a just and heroic resistance to the Russian invader.
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The aim of the Biden-led U.S. government and its posse is to capture and expand U.S. markets into Europe, i.e. eastern Europe. Like Biden, Putin seeks to capture and expand Russian markets into Europe, i.e. western Europe. The prizes for both of these camps are gas, oil, coal, wheat, grain, and technology. These major commodities fuel the homes and industries of Europe. Equally poignant, is that since the commencement of the war, additional prizes include caches of weapons, missiles, and jets. Clearly, both camps seek 100% domination of the world markets. But, both camps know that 100% domination can only be obtained by ‘eliminating’ the other camp. This is why both camps have been making war preparations with one another.
For years, the U.S. has been engineering an encirclement of Russia by recruiting more European nations to join NATO. This strategy threatens Russia geographically, and ultimately, militarily. At the same time, Russia has been maneuvering to strengthen its position to challenge and confront the U.S. and its posse. Watching these developments is like watching the movie ‘The Godfather’. All of the mobster families have their respective territories or spaces to operate. In each territory, each family understands that they have the rights to run their businesses of drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling, etc. in their agreed-upon territory. But, the greed for more wealth is ‘infectious’ and sometimes a mobster family acts to take over another family’s territory. Consequently, when this happens, there is always a price to pay for such greed and treachery. The inevitable price is murder, torture, and unrestricted violence upon the territory of another treacherous family member. It is for these reasons, that the war in Ukraine is an unjust war, an imperialist war, a rich man’s war.
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You young workers, women, foot soldiers, oppressed nations and nationalities of these two camps, should not have to fight this unjust war. You should not fight for the rich! But you should fight! You should fight for the rights of the working class. You should fight against the rich exploiters who make their profits from the sweat and blood of the workers. You should fight against wage reductions and increasing taxation. You should fight the rich who pimp drugs in your neighborhoods to dull the minds and destroy the bodies of young people. You should fight against the destruction of workers’ rights, women’s rights; against police and state terror. You should fight against the worsening reactionary, chauvinist and fascist ideology and policy of hatred between workers in oppressed countries around the world. You should try to understand the inimical strategies created and implemented by the two predatory camps of oppressors and thieves to forever oppress you and your people.
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Understand young workers of the United States, that a study of history shows that you should not put your faith in the White House, Congress, the Democrats or Republicans. These factions are all controlled by the rich. Instead, place your faith in organizing solidarity amongst the majority, in the proper organizing of the working class to gain the necessary strength to wage a just war against the rich billionaires and their oppressive state apparatus. Place your faith in achieving political liberty and establishing the rightful rule of the majority class over the minority class of rich billionaires who presently rule the world.
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This is the correct stand the working classes of the United States, Russia and the other belligerent states should adopt.
Down with the Two Camps of Thieves!
No to Unjust War! No to Imperialist War!
by Leon A. Waters