Russian Tensions
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The sanctions are certainly revealing the wealth of the Russian oligarchs.
Swiss banks said on Thursday that there are between 150 and 200 billion Swiss francs ($160-$213 billion) of Russian clients’ money are held in Swiss accounts.
Analysts say the figures announced show that the actual extent of Russians’ business with Swiss banks is far greater than what the balance sheets unveiled by several financial firms so far shows.
Alan, slogans like “the only good war is the class war”, “no war but the class war”, and “peace between people, war upon our rulers” don’t really express our position clearly. In fact they can be highly misleading. This is because there are two different senses of “war”. The literal (war = armed conflict) and the metaphorical (war = opposition to or struggle against, as in “War on Want”).
In the present Ukraine situation “war” means “armed conflict”. Translated into this sense the rhetorical slogans become:
“The only good armed conflict, is the armed conflict between the classes”.
“No armed conflict but the armed conflict between classes.”
“Peace between people, armed conflict against our rulers.”
Which is definitely not our position.
On the other hand, translated into the metaphorical sense as in War on Want, the slogans become:
“The only good struggle is the class struggle.”
“No struggle but the class struggle.”
“Peace between people, struggle against our rulers.”
That does express our position more clearly, in fact rather well. But they are valid even when there is no armed conflict between states going on and so is not so powerful an expression of our opposition to wars.
A better slogan when there is a war would be: “No To War. Yes to Class struggle”.
That would distinguish our position from the pacifists who say simply “No to War”, and from the armed insurrectionists who say “No to War but Yes to Armed Conflict against the Ruling Class”.
It also explains why we can’t unite to oppose a particular war with those who by “No War but the Class War” mean “No War but Armed Conflict against the Ruling Class”.
Best to cut the rhetoric and think up a slogan to express our unique position. For instance: No to all wars between states. Yes to the class struggle for World Socialism.
We have always suffered from the problem of semantics. We are counselled to refrain from the use of the word internationalism also as being imprecise.
I believe the slogans previously used is understood similarly by the groups I would aim my suggestion of cooperation towards.
I note you substitute class struggle for class war which is rejected as being too metaphoricalI believe they all derive from the original Chartist slogan
“peace to the cottages, war on the palaces” or a version of it, and where we received, “peacefully if possible, forcibly if necessary” slogan
But your alternative slogan is perfectly okay by me and I will begin to use them.
But I don’t hold that this objection on the matter of wording of slogans that are specifically dsigned to be simplistic and soundbites should deter us from collaborating with other groups in the Thin Red Line. In the context of the present conflict these do indeed separate us from the left-wing understandings of the cause of the war, both pro- and anti- Russian versions of and incorporate that unless the working class prevail in achieving socialism, wars will recur after this one has ended.
Silencing the enemy
“We do not consider RT’s licensee, ANO TV Novosti, fit and proper to hold a UK broadcast licence,” it explained.
Ofcom is carrying out 29 investigations “into the due impartiality of RT’s news and current affairs coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.
I believe they all derive from the original Chartist slogan “peace to the cottages, war on the palaces” or a version of it
Some of the Chartists may well have used it but it goes back further than that, to the French Revolution as “War to the Chateaux, Peace to the Cottages”
I think it’s final form is/was: “No War between Nations. No Peace between classes”, which is alright.
In fact, hanging on the wall at our Head Office is one which says: No War Between Peoples. No Peace between Classes. Here it is (if this works).
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/16253171/689434050286117983
We know Putin needs to save face before any deal, but how could Zelensky save face? Surely he would have to behave ever after as a boy chastised, vis a vis Moscow?
I should remember that vinyl banner, ALB.
I got it made when I lived in Kerala and donated it to either Edinburgh or Glasgow branch on a visit back along with a few others I designed, ALB. A bargain at a fiver.
Something always strikes me about the words we choose to use. We make it a prominent part of our case that for Marxists as we socialism and communism are synonyms yet the latter is not near as frequent in our writings as the former. Nor can we deduce it is the corruption of the word communism by the Bolsheviks as the practice by ourselves predates Lenin’s distortion.
We perhaps inherited from William Morris and the Socialist League’s custom. Or a legacy of founding members in the SDF.
But clearly, these early members believed the term communism carried something already questionable despite our main text being the Communist Manifesto
Another word to have fallen out of popularity is of course social democracy
Perhaps a better working link
Here’s a shorter limk if anyone wants to tweet it ot whatever:
AJ
You asked why Ukrainian were welcome here and in neighbouring countries? On the SOYMB blog?
More misery upon misery. Notice that they’re all blue eyed and blonde?
By Angry Workers of the World (AWW), a group which will known to those participants on/readers of this forum who look at libcom:
‘Fragments of a debate amongst AngryWorkers on the war in Ukraine’:
Fragments of a debate amongst AngryWorkers on the war in Ukraine
China won’t like being lectured to and warned by Biden, and this just might persuade Hsi to supply Putin.
An account of the CWO Public Meeting on Zoom about Ukraine (if DJP or Alan already posted this, I did not see it):
http://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2022-03-17/war-in-ukraine-the-internationalist-position
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