Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism (marxist.com), speaking on the clash between the imperialist powers that lead to the outbreak of the First World War.
Perhaps it's because they are the only ones who offer a way out. The rest, the progressives, the liberals, the conservatives and the fascists just want to preserve the status quo. But it's failing. It's all falling apart. What is it? 18.3 million people starve to death each year? No growth in PPP for ten years. Austerity till 2050. Constant war and death. I sure hope theirs a better way. Humanity needs a way out
It's because you have a conscience, and care about your fellow man/woman more than you care about a person's "right" to usurp as much wealth and resource as possible, without regard to any harm that may be caused in the process
I am happy to say it was a silly phase that just lead me to see the gross flaws and lies in Marxisms. I was looking for a popular political view - that is certainly not Marxism. The fact I even entertained the idea embarrasses me.
The British were no pacifists, they were indeed interested in the status quo but they extrapolated from the insane growth of German industrialization that they would surpass them in very few decades. The Brits instigated war. I have no idea where you got that they were in good terms with Germany, Germans also knew this and were starting to slowly expand colonially. When people are not interested in war, it generally goes much more like the "drôle de guerre" of 1939 where no allied country actually went on the offensive against Germany to aid Poland. In WW1 on the other hand the British pledged instant war on the remotest casus belli. No pacifism there...
I am from Serbia and I was thought in school that Bulgaria were the ones who attacked Macedonia when Serbia didnt want to give it to them, and that Serbia was the country that used more troops then any other country that was involved in the Balkan wars (because they not only took Macedonia and northern Albania) but also helped Montenegro in their siege of the city Skadar in todays northern Albania. Now I am not saying these are concrete facts since I know that our history books are pretty nationalist in nature, but I would like to see if there are any texts and files that can disprove this, so that I can argue that against certain nationalist tendencies today in Serbia.
alan woods is an absolute joy to listen to--a wonderful accent and an encyclopedic knowledge he delivers in an authoritative but grandfatherly manner. the man who radicalized me was a trotskyist from mit which ofc leads to some interest in russian history particularly bolshevik. im well aware its possible for certain actions to appear reactionary and nonmarxist if the context is removed. i know little but ive read lenin was against a revolutionary war against europe not from an anti working class principle but because the russian proletariat were exhausted. i forget what elements among the socialists pushed for revolutionary war. it is impossible to not come across the kronstadt matter. what is alan woods answer to this? i cant find any videos where he addresses it in detail. some say it was a working class strike against bolshevik injustices others say kronstadt was a launching point for the whites and international invading forces and ive not a clue where to go from there
