US-China Conflict Sharpens: US Rulers Prepare for War

Serve the Working class, Not the Nation here ♦ Only Communist Revolution Can Stop WW III here ♦ Why US-China Conflict is Sharpening Now here ♦

Serve the International Working Class, Not the Nation

Build Communist Collectives inside the Capitalists’ Militaries and “National Service”

USA, January 3— “America is back! Ready to lead the world, not retreat from it,” declared US President-elect Biden on Nov 27th as he announced key members of his foreign policy team.

A more consistent and coherent imperialist foreign policy perspective is back in control of the White House. But the world has changed.

China’s economy has risen rapidly. Its military might is increasing. Russia’s strength is growing. And the US has declined sharply. That means the US doesn’t lead the world. It means that the workers of the world face growing dangers of world war.

That’s why the masses can and must build the International Communist Workers’ Party worldwide to get ready to lead the world! Communism will end racism and wars for profit and control. Instead of competing for slave-labor jobs, the masses will share nature’s resources and the products we produce to meet the needs of the international working class.

Richard Haass, head of the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), stresses that the US must reestablish international alliances like NATO that Trump disrupted and try to rebuild the Trans-Pacific Partnership—to better confront China and Russia.

Both US Democrats and Republicans are hell-bent on war against China. On Dec 30, Congress overrode Trump’s veto to pass the bipartisan Defense Authorization Act. “Eyeing China’s rise as a global military and economic power, lawmakers unveiled a compromise defense policy bill that targets China on multiple fronts, with $6.9 billion prescribed for a new Pacific Deterrence Initiative over two years.” (Defense News, December 3, 2020)

The rulers are also preparing for war by expanding national service.

Influential US imperialist think tanks, including the CFR and the Brookings Institution, are calling for dramatically expanding “national and international service” for young adults between high school and college. This is supposedly for youth to get skills and money for college.

They propose giving slightly higher stipends and educational benefits to get a million youth to enter national service —like the military. The CFR cynically says that “the healing bridge for youth who will shape the future is voluntary service for the public good.” It’s really to prepare for large-scale war, when “public good” will mean working, fighting, killing and dying for the profits of the US bosses.

The US rulers’ national service aims to build patriotism among young workers. They will push xenophobia and racism against workers and youth from other countries, especially China.

The CFR suggests a “John Lewis Fellowship Program for Public Service.” Lewis was a civil rights activist and then a Democratic Party Congressman for 33 years. He was loyal to capitalism-imperialism, pushing voting and reform to end racism. But racism was born with capitalism and only communist revolution can end it.

Youth facing unemployment and racism, and unable to pay for school, are already steered into the military and existing national service programs. We urge young comrades and friends to sign up alongside them to make friends with many other angry youths. Together they can spread Red Flag and build ICWP collectives to mobilize to end racist capitalism with communist revolution.

Soldiers, sailors and future soldiers and sailors have a key role to play in fighting for revolution and building communism. They are children of the working class. Soldiers won to defend the bosses can crush a revolution; soldiers won to defend the interests of their class can join with workers to win.

During World War I, communist-led soldiers in Russia turned their guns on their officers and the bosses. They joined with the Bolshevik Party, refused to fight other workers and instead took their weapons to the cities and countryside to unite with workers in a revolution to take state power.

Russian communists mistakenly fought for socialism (state capitalism) not communism. We have learned from their victories and their mistakes. Now we know that to end capitalism’s unemployment, racism, sexism and wars for profit, we need communism and nothing less.

We need to abolish wage slavery, police, money and profit. In a society based on communist relations, not competition, everyone will have useful needed work serving and fighting for our class.

The ICWP collectives we build today pave the way for a Red Army where there is no rank or privilege. Where we collectively learn, teach, produce and fight for the future of the worldwide working class, not for any capitalist-imperialist exploiter.

When masses of workers and soldiers read Red Flag and join ICWP, many will gladly fight together to build communism and end the bosses’ wars forever.

Only Communist Revolution Can Stop World War III

The influential US Council on Foreign Relations published “Coming Storms: The Return of Great-Power War” in its latest Foreign Affairs magazine.

It explains why war between China and the US is inevitable. China aspires to be the dominant power in East Asia on the way to becoming the world’s dominant imperialist. Crucial to this is reintegrating Taiwan to the mainland.

For this to happen, the US would have to “retract its security guarantee to Taiwan and recognize Beijing’s claims on the island,” among other things. But doing so would mean “acknowledging the end of U.S. primacy.” This isn’t about to happen. And, as the article concludes, “if Washington does not cede its dominance in East Asia it is on the fast track to war.”

Class Society, Capitalism-Imperialism and the March to War

Two insoluble contradictions push capitalism-imperialism towards global war, regardless of the capitalists’ desires. These are the falling rate of profit and the crisis of overproduction.

The capitalists’ short-term efforts to stop the rate of profit from falling are counterproductive in the long run. They intensify and deepen the crisis of overproduction as automation increases production while displacing workers. Capitalists chase ever-shrinking markets.

Capitalism chokes on capital that can’t be invested profitably amid mountains of unsold goods. The crisis deepens into recessions and depressions.   More productive capacity is idled and the masses are impoverished even more. Capitalism then needs war on a global scale to destroy the excess capital, productive capacity and workers.

This restores the rate of profit to a “healthy” level. Capital can now be invested profitably in rebuilding cities and factories over workers’ dead bodies—until the next crisis.

Only a communist-led working class can end this unending capitalist cycle of horrors and wars. We need urgently to mobilize industrial workers to communism, a system that eliminates money and profit, producing instead for human needs. 

Why the US-China Conflict Is Sharpening Now

Decades ago, US companies were happy to get access to Chinese markets. They were even willing to give up some of their intellectual property to get it. China wanted the investment to shore up its domestic economy. The contradiction between US and Chinese capitalism was weak, and unity dominated over struggle.

But now China has an auto industry and is becoming strong in critical high-tech areas like 5G communication. Chinese capitalists have less need for foreign investment that competes with domestic production. The struggle aspect of the contradiction now dominates. The contradiction is becoming more intense.

Premier Xi’s China is more assertive at home and more aggressive outside. He has dumped some of the most corrupt party leaders and turned the screws on Hong Kong. He has tried to give his rule a more solid intellectual basis by reviving bits of Maoism and publishing his own collected works.

China’s armed forces are growing much stronger, with aircraft carriers, 5th generation fighters, anti-ship missiles, and more. They now talk openly about conquering Taiwan and are prepared for border war with India.

China has more foreign bases and is creating alternate transportation routes, in particular for oil. They are more aggressive in the South China Sea, have wider economic relations with Southeast Asia and have penetrated into Europe. Covid has given them a more prominent role as an apparent good actor toward small countries.

The US has responded by re-arming Taiwan, changing economic relations with Hong Kong, continuing naval actions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, and seeking an alliance with India.

US imperialists plan to rebuild US alliances under Biden. They may try to revive the anti-China Trans-Pacific Partnership trade alliance. Covid exposed the US dependence on foreign supply chains, especially in China. This is a strategic weakness even when not involving military hardware.

Trump was an inept imperialist, but the US weaknesses are real. The Council on Foreign Relations, a key bosses’ policy group, once hoped that the US could find a “soft landing” from its sole superpower role as other powers rise. That isn’t happening. The contradiction between US and Chinese capitalists continues to grow. A shooting war is entirely possible, perhaps starting over Taiwan.

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