Has the mountain given birth to a mouse?

Was the international “anti-war” rally in London on 20 June – presented by some as a crucial milestone – “the mountain that gave birth to a mouse”?

There is no doubt that the vast majority of participants had come with a sincere desire to fight imperialist war. But what did the organisers offer them? From the rally and conference, which brought together numerous representatives of political and trade union apparatuses – from the leadership of the Spanish trade union confederation UGT to the “left” wing of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and from the leaders of Your Party (Britain) to those of the Belgian Workers’ Party (PTB) – emerged a call concluding with two slogans: “No to militarisation and conscription! Welfare, not warfare!” Fair enough… but how?

The appeal refers to the fact that millions have died in order “to save the capitalist system” and suggests that “much (of the chaos and war) can be laid at the door of US imperialism.” However, the ongoing war is never clearly characterised as an imperialist war, the product of the failure of a system based on private ownership of the means of production.

Yet a consistent struggle against imperialist war would require a call to the working class to overthrow the warmongering governments. Instead, there is talk of “recognising” and “condemning” the “role of European governments”, and of committing to forcing them to back down. How? Through “solidarity” and “international coordination (with) the labour movement, to fightback against the warmongering government”.

Nor is there any condemnation of the social-chauvinism of those leaders who, in words, condemn the war, but in deeds, advocate increasing war budgets*.

To the sincere participants at the rally in London, we would like to share this advice from Lenin: “The struggle for peace without a revolutionary struggle is an empty and mendacious phrase”, for “the only way to free ourselves from the horrors of war is the revolutionary struggle for socialism” (11 October 1915).

Dominique Ferré

* The French speakers were Danièle Obono and Jérôme Legavre. Two of the 71 LFI MPs who tabled the amendment last May in the French parliament aimed at amending the law updating the military programme by adding to the extra 36 billion the «5.8 billion euros in planned extra-budgetary resources» that the government had allegedly overlooked.