Peter Schwarz
“General enthusiasm over the prospects of imperialism, furious defence of it and painting it in the brightest colours—such are the signs of the times.” These words were written 95 years ago, but in today’s political environment are more apt than ever. A better description of the reaction of liberal journalists, left-wing intellectuals and former radicals to the war in Libya could not be found.
The quote is from Lenin’s “Imperialism,” in which the future leader of the October Revolution analyzed the causes of the First World War. Lenin did not limit himself to the study of the economic background, but also dealt with the social and political changes that preceded the greatest ever massacre in the history of mankind.
Concentrated in a few hands, the domination of finance capital over all sectors of the economy and the growing conflicts between the great powers as they sought to divide the world had “… caused the propertied classes to go over entirely to the side of imperialism.”
In Germany’s petty bourgeoisie it was then considered good form to support imperialist goals. Founded in 1898, the German Navy League, which lobbied for the construction of a German navy equal to the British, counted over one million members in 1908. All this led to the war fever that in 1914 also swept over the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and unleashed a continuing global disaster that only reached a temporary hiatus thirty years later with the end of World War II.
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But the war propagandists in the media and politics ignore everything that does not fit the image of the “liberation of Libya,” desperately closing their eyes to everything that they do not want to see.
In this regard, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, leader of the Greens in the European Parliament, is unsurpassed in his obsequiousness and arrogance. Cohn-Bendit, who came to prominence in 1968 as a spokesman for the Paris student revolt, praised the “successful military intervention,” which had “enhanced the reputation of the West in the Arab world.” He denounced his Green Party friends in Germany as “clever-dicks” and “wise guys” because they had not fully supported the war effort from the beginning. He demanded they apologize publicly to NATO.
The French Socialist Party excelled itself in its praise for President Sarkozy. It was “happy that France has taken this initiative,” said party chair Martine Aubry, and praised Sarkozy for “acting at the right moment.” Jack Lang, who previously headed the education and culture ministries and is regarded in the party as a great intellectual, commented on the case of Tripoli with the words: “Today, everyone can congratulate the fact that France’s reputation has grown because it resolutely and successfully engaged in the battle for Libya’s freedom.”
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