Anti-war demonstrations are a form of militant lobbying. Even radical direct action and civil disobedience aim to convince power-holders to do something different. This faith in government is misplaced.
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.
No one freely chooses to work all their life to produce capital to make others rich. The worker must be robbed of the freedom to say no, to leave, or to change the system. To maintain this social arrangement everyone, including the worker, must do their part.
The presumed conflict between marxism and Indigenous struggles results from two factors: capitalist efforts to drive a racist wedge between Indigenous and workers’ struggles; and the destructive role of ‘managerial marxists’ who promote a ‘socialism’ that promises freedom and delivers the opposite.
Capitalists are afraid to let workers play an active role in ending this pandemic. They prefer technological solutions, however ineffective, that keep them in control.
Socialism is the Best Medicine