Groucho Marxism

US and Israeli missiles are currently raining down on Iran. Neither Donald Trump nor Benjamin Netenyahu are motivated by ending the suffering of the Iranian people, despite what they might claim. Instead, both are motivated by distracting the citizens of their respective nations from their growing disaffection. Reports are emerging that the US is attempting to arm minorities within Iran with a view to encouraging them to take on the Iranian government. But the implosion of the Iranian dictatorship, if that were to happen, would be very unlikely to produce a new government that would bend the knee to US and Israeli imperialism. As the negative consequences of the war inevitably rack up, Trump and Netenyahu will find themselves under increasing pressure to find an off ramp.

It is difficult to see what such an off ramp will look like. By attacking Iran, the US and Israel may have bitten off more than they can chew. Last week the US was forced to hastily redeploy missiles from South Korea to Middle East, which led to South Korea’s president having to reassure the public that the country is still able to deter threats from the North. Meanwhile, Trump’s MAGA base is rapidly losing faith in the president, who came into office on a promise of ending wars, not starting them. Trump himself apparently believes that he has divine purpose and intelligence after surviving that (possibly staged) assassination event. But he will surely go down as one of the worst presidents in US history. It feels as though we are witnessing the collapse of the American empire in real time.

Britain is likely to be hit hard by the global turmoil created by the conflict. Households across the UK are once again bracing for a rise in energy bills, with oil prices soaring as global supply chains are thrown into disarray. Energy bills have been predicted to rise by around £160 per household on average this year. I suspect this will turn out to be an underestimate. Of course, energy companies and government ministers claim that these increases are an inevitable result of rising global energy prices. We have heard this story before. Isn’t it funny how when energy costs fall, energy companies keep the gains; but when energy costs rise, these increased costs get passed on to the consumer? It’s almost as if the whole system is rigged!

The war is also adding to Keir Starmer’s difficulties. By equivocating on the conflict Starmer has managed to pull off his usual trick of annoying everyone across the entire political spectrum. Has there ever been a more inept politician?! Well, Trump maybe. No doubt Starmer’s slightly critical stance on the US and Israel’s actions is due in part to the scale of the anti-war movement in the UK. Labour is facing wipe-out in the forthcoming local elections and Starmer must know that uncritical support for the war will only make things worse. Even so, the predominant feeling amongst working people in Britain is one of powerlessness. We are not powerless though. The working class in Britain and internationally is a potential superpower that can put an end to these imperial wars for good.

There are several ways in which we can go about doing this. Trade Unions can call anti-war demonstrations; students can organize in schools and on campuses to protest for a future free from war; and we can all build a mass workers’ party that stands anti-war candidates in elections. We are seeing some of these things happening already, for example with students and workers protesting against the war across the UK. But we need to do more. It should be clear to everyone by now that capitalism means war. We must fight for socialist change in Britain and across the world to bring an end to this imperial warmongering once and for all.