We live in a world ravaged by endless war. The estimated death toll from wars in the 20th century is over 187 million, not to mention the millions of people whose lives were left in ruins in the aftermath of these wars.
The wars of the past century and of today cannot simply be explained away as the wrong decisions by bad governments. We live under an economic system – capitalism – that relies on war in order to exist.
Under capitalism, war, devastation and domination are necessary for the functioning of the system. The world’s banks and corporations rely on war as a means to acquire access to the world’s resources, to murder resisting populations, and overall, to impose their rule over the people of the world.
The U.S. – Dealing Death Around the World
Today the U.S. spends 45 percent of the entire federal budget on the military, about $1.3 trillion dollars per year. This is more than the military spending of the next ten countries in the world combined. The U.S. government maintains 900 military bases in 150 countries around the world.
The impact of these wars for domination have been horrific. The U.S. war and occupation of Iraq that began in 2003 has ripped the country apart, killing more than two million Iraqis. Today the U.S. along with other Western countries have taken control over Iraqi oil production. The population is now divided along religious and ethnic lines. The aftermath of the occupation has given rise to the group ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, further terrorizing the populations in these countries and the region.
The impact of years of war in Afghanistan has been devastating, killing thousands of civilians and turning the entire country into a warzone. The U.S. military continues a reign of terror using drone-strikes and targeted assassinations, killing mostly innocent civilians with every strike.
In the last decade, under the banner of the so-called “war on terror,” the U.S. government has carried out military strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Syria and other countries. All of this is in addition to maintaining the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and now the increasing U.S. military role in Syria.
This violence is not an accident. It is not done to help or defend people, or for any of the other excuses which the politicians give. This violence is the normal functioning of a system of imperial domination, which ensures that the banks and corporations maintain their profits. This system is responsible for terrorizing and killing millions of people all over the world – and the U.S. military plays a leading role in maintaining this system through violence.
A Socialist Solution
And the only real solution to capitalism is to create a new system – socialism. Socialism is a society where the means of life are the property of the people who do the work, not the property of a handful of wealthy bankers and corporate investors. Socialism is a world where the decisions that impact our lives are made by the majority of people, collectively and democratically.
We could put an end to a world ravaged by constant wars for profit and domination. We could put an end to the destruction of the environment. We could guarantee every person an education and the possibility to develop all of their talents. In other words, we could stop struggling to survive, and get on with living life. That is a future worth fighting for. That is a future that depends on you.
