No to war

indonesia / philippines / australia | imperialism / war | press release Saturday June 04, 2005 14:57 by Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group - MACG macg1984 at yahoo dot com dot au

No to patriotism

Leaflet distributed in the centre of Melbourne on ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day is nothing to celebrate

The attempted invasion of Turkey by the ANZACs and other Allied forces in 1915 was a typical episode in World War I. “Defending Australia” had nothing to do with it. The war was fought between two rival imperial alliances, each out to gain territory, colonies and markets. Tens of thousands of young men were sacrificed, on both sides of the trenches, for the wealth and power of rich capitalists and the great houses of Europe.

IWW opposed World War I

The Industrial Workers of the World, a revolutionary syndicalist workers’ union, opposed the war from the start. Against the wave of patriotic propaganda, the IWW proclaimed that the war was a capitalist crime and that a bayonet was a weapon with a worker at each end. They were prominent in the successful campaign to stop the Labor Government introducing conscription. By fighting against the war, the IWW did more good than all the ANZACs, whose sacrifices were for a cause not their own.

All wars are wrong

All wars are wrong because they are the results of the conflicts between the ruling classes of different countries. The working class has no interests in these conflicts. They are a tool of the ruling classes to divide workers and others in society against workers in other countries. We must oppose war on principle by opposing both sides. Instead, we must struggle for our interests, trying to establish solidarity ties with the working class of the “other” side.

A world without war requires a world without capitalism

Our capitalist system is built on the theft of workers’ labour in the form of profits. Capitalists compete fiercely with other capitalists for an ever-larger share of the wealth that workers produce. Nation states are the machinery for protecting capitalist interests within each state. When they come into conflict, war is the result. To end war, we must end capitalism. Together, we can produce enough for all to share, so the old days of competition and division will end.

WORKERS CAN END WAR Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group For a copy of our Aims & Principles, write to: PO Box 2120 Lygon St North East Brunswick 3057 25 April 2005