The Left and war

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Historically, various groups on the Left have been, as politically active bodies, either enthusiastic supporters or high-profile opponents of various wars. The original "Left"—that of the French Revolution—ignited the French Revolutionary Wars which raged across Europe for a decade, and were followed by the Napoleonic Wars for another decade and a half.

During World War I, much of the Left at least initially opposed war on internationalist and anti-imperialist grounds, though in many countries the socialist parties eventually lined up behind their respective governments. In World War II, much (though by no means all) of the world's Left took its lead from the Soviet Union, taking an anti-war stance while the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact held, then becoming some of the most ardent proponents of war once Nazi Germany broke its deal with the Soviets.

In the years since World War II, most (though by no means all) of the left in the advanced industrial societies has opposed warmaking by their respective countries, while often supporting what they view as anti-imperialist revolutionary wars by colonized or otherwise economically exploited peoples.

While anti-war movements have never been exclusively left-wing, many, especially over the last century, have been led, inspired, and organised by those on the Left.

While some anti-war attitudes on the left are inspired by pacifism and nonviolence, left-wing attitudes to war are more generally formed from specific criticism of the wars in question. This is often formulated as anti-imperialism, a viewpoint that rejects specific wars because they are seen as being in capitalist interests and against the interests of the working class. Left-wing opposition to war is also often characterised by the internationalist belief that the world's workers share common interests with one another, rather than with the powers governing their respective countries. Until the First World War, there was broad agreement among those on the left on opposition to imperialist wars. Left-wingers by and large found themselves disagreeing with their respective national governments in conflicts such as the Second Boer War.

1 The First World War
2 Spanish Civil War
3 The Second World War
4 Vietnam War
5 Afghanistan and Iraq war
6 Notes
7 External links
8 See also

[edit] The First World War

Before World War I there was a fierce debate among members of the Second International as to the position socialists should take towards the impending war. On the 25 July 1914, the executive of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) issued an appeal to its membership to demonstrate against the coming war, only to vote on 4 August for the war credits the German government wanted. Likewise the French Socialist Party and its union, the CGT, especially after the assassination of the pacificist Jean Jaurès, organised mass rallies and protests until the outbreak of war, but once the war began they argued that in wartime socialists should support their nations against the aggression of other nations and also voted for war credits.^[1] Some anarchists, notably Kropotkin, also supported the Allied side in the conflict, seeing German militarism as a greater evil than the 'democratic' imperialism of Britain and France.

Key figures in the anti-war left were Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg. Luxemburg wrote the Junius Pamphlet [1], a scathing attack on the war, and was imprisoned for her anti-war activities. The majority of the anarchist movement (for example Rudolf Rocker and Errico Malatesta) campaigned against the war, as did the radical wing of the suffragist movement (for example, Sylvia Pankhurst and the more pacifist socialists of the Independent Labour Party.

In 1915 members of the Second International holding what was by then a minority anti-war position within their respective national parties met at Zimmerwald to try to work out a joint platform of opposition to the war that was in progress. The Zimmerwald Conference could not build a mass antiwar movement, but did bring together a left wing, much of which would support the Russian Revolution in 1917 and laid the basis for the Third (Communist) International.^[2] Leon Trotsky argued at the time that the failure of the Left to oppose the war led to the destruction of the Second International.^[3]

In Britain in 1916 a "Stop the war now" campaign was big enough to have meetings in even small towns, but remained very much a minority affair.

In Russia, opposition to the war led to soldiers also establishing their own revolutionary committees and helped foment the October Revolution of 1917, with the call going up for "bread, land, and peace". After the revolution, the Bolsheviks called for an armistice, but the world powers refused, worried about the possible spread of revolution.

[edit] Spanish Civil War

When the Spanish Civil War broke out, between the right-wing Nationalists and left-wing Republicans, many on the left felt so passionately about the issues that they were willing to volunteer to fight on the side of the Republic. An estimated 40,000 international volunteers fought in Spain in the International Brigades or other leftist militias organized by trade unions or political parties. Others campaigned for the democratic countries to impose arms embargoes and to work through the League of Nations to stop the war.

Several prominent left-wing figures fought in the Spanish Civil War, including George Orwell, for whom it was a formative experience.

[edit] The Second World War

World War II was largely seen on the left as a war between fascism and democracy, rather than an imperialist war. The positions of many of the Communist parties vacillated in line with the vacillation of the policies of the Soviet Union. However, some socialists analysed it as being fought in the interests of capitalism, rather than those of workers. Their responses ranged from unqualified criticism of both sides, in the case of the LSSP of Sri Lanka, through the focus on support for strikes and calls for workers to take control of the fight against fascism of the Workers International League and anarcho-communists in the UK, to the abstentionism and alignment with pacifists of the London Bureau groups.

[edit] Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was opposed by many socialists, but there was argument within the left over the nature of and the level of support to be given to the Communist Party of Vietnam. The movements in the U.S. were largely coordinated by the left but involved much wider forces. There was also tension within some organisations: for example the far-left Revolutionary Communist Party attempted to organise a more left wing group 'Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist' (VVAW-AI) in opposition to the more mainstream (and far larger and more successful) Vietnam Veterans Against the War. As of 2005, both organizations survive to this day.

[edit] Afghanistan and Iraq war

Around the war in Afghanistan, left-wing groups who objected were instrumental in setting up anti-war coalitions with broader sections of the public. They managed to achieve some broader participation, initiating many protests against the invasion of Afghanistan. However, the mainstay of opposition remained led by left-wing and pacifist groups. However, there was also some left-wing support for the war.

Many of the anti-war groups remained in existence after the end of the war in Afghanistan and transferred their opposition to the Iraq war. However, opposition to the Iraq war was much more widespread, with the Liberal Democrats playing a leading part in the opposing the war in the UK, and conservative figures like Kenneth Clarke, Jacques Chirac and Henry Kissinger opposing the war. At the same time, although to a lesser extent than the war in Afghanistan, many on the left supported the war, seeing it in terms of liberation from dictatorship.

In general, the Left in Europe saw the anti-Iraq-war movement as reinvigorating the Left. The UK political coalition Respect, which grew out of the anti-war movement, argues that anti-war feeling is key to the growth of the Left^[4], while leading members of the French left-wing group ATTAC claim that too much focus on the war would lead the Left away from focus on economic issues.

In Spain, the response to the Madrid bombings was an anti-war move to the left with the election of a social democratic government.