F*ck the Parliamentary Vote! Build a Worker-Based Anti-War Movement!
Over six months of mass protests have failed to compel policy makers to reject war. Why is this so, and what is the alternative?
“We’ve been afraid for 30 years, and now no one is afraid” – Cairo demonstrator
Democratic revolutions are sweeping North Africa, with millions of people mobilizing against decades of corrupt and autocratic dictatorship.
Billions of dollars in US military aid to the region have enabled North African rulers to enrich themselves while they imprison, torture, and murder dissidents. Despite Egypt’s vast wealth and natural resources, unemployment and inflation are rampant, and the poverty rate is close to 80 percent.
“The filth and the slums, the open sewers and the corruption of every government official, the bulging prisons, the laughable elections, the whole vast, sclerotic edifice of power has at last brought Egyptians on to their streets.” Robert Fisk
As demonstrations grew from thousands to hundreds-of-thousands, the ruling class revealed their utter powerlessness. The army vacillated, then swung to the side of the revolution.
As they always do in times of popular revolt, the capitalist media focused on looting and acts of vandalism, implying that nothing good results when ordinary people stand up for their rights. This is complete hypocrisy by a media that systematically ignore the mass destruction of people’s lives and the daily looting of the global economy by the ruling classes.
Unlike the elite, who require force to uphold their rule, the majority do not need violence to press their demands. Their sheer numbers and ability to organize are power enough. However, they do need to organize in self-defense because ruling classes will use the most brutal and ruthless violence to regain control.
While generals and opposition leaders struggle to ‘stabilize’ the situation and the US urges ‘an orderly transition to democracy,’ ordinary Egyptians are taking matters into their own hands, freeing dissident leaders from prison, directing traffic, and organizing people in shifts to secure their neighborhoods.
The situation is changing minute-by-minute, so it is impossible to predict what will happen.
“There are more than 80 million people in Egypt, 30 percent of them under age 20. And they are no longer afraid.” Robert Fisk
One thing is certain – Mubarak must go. The longer he clings to power, the stronger, more confident, and more organized the revolution becomes, and the harder it becomes to contain it. There are reports of people taking collective control of their towns, and the call for a general strike is an important step forward.
Only one class can rule
If the generals and politicians prove incapable of ruling Egypt, the working class could step into the power vacuum and take on the tasks of organizing society – security, food distribution, communications, transportation, etc. To prevent that outcome, the army returned to the streets and army helicopters circled ominously over the crowds.
While the movement is united in wanting to get rid of Mubarak, it has not decided what it wants instead.
Revolutions that topple tyrants can develop into revolutionary movements that challenge all class tyranny. This is what capitalists fear most, not only in Egypt, but in every other nation.
To stuff the genie of revolt back in its bottle, the next Egyptian government must offer reform backed with military repression. However, it will take more than reform to correct the deep structural problems in the economy. Whatever peace is achieved between the classes cannot be sustained, and the Egyptian masses will inevitably move back into action.
Whatever the immediate outcome – reform government or bloody military repression – Egyptian workers will not easily tolerate a pseudo-democracy where they get to elect the tyrants that oppress them. Having tasted collective power, they may choose to fight instead for a socialist democracy that puts them in collective control.
Over six months of mass protests have failed to compel policy makers to reject war. Why is this so, and what is the alternative?
Revulsion over Israel’s war on Gaza cannot explain the rise of the largest anti-war movement ever. There are deeper systemic factors.
There are two sides to this war. One is the war among imperial powers. The other is the war between the global capitalist class and the global working class. Both are heating up.
It’s great to see workers recognizing their power. As Rudolf Dreikurs said, “No task is an impossible task when it’s seen as a common task.”