I have a friend who's a actually becoming more and more leftist and lately even communist but not yet fully Marxist. I'm trying to help him shed lib ideas. He specifically asked me if we could have a talk at some point on war. He's confused about the war propaganda. Like just a vague "Haven't things changed maybe because of Russia? Maybe we in Europe need to boost defense now etc."
I want to introduce him to Lenins Idea of revolutionary defeatism, because I think it applies to our historical moment. A revolutionary can not but desire the defeat of his imperialist government. Also Liebknechts line:"the main enemy is at home". The main task for leftists in imperial core countries is to fight the imperialists we can actually effect: the ones right here. You can be happy about any success of comrades in Russia fighting their oligarchy, but don't get roped into supporting western oligarchs' NATO wars.
We both care about trans and queer issues a lot, so he will bring up fears of evil Russia conquering part of Europe and rolling back queer rights. I can contextualize by bringing up the moral track record of western countries (like the ongoing genocide). But is there a more direct answer? Also just in general, I'm not sure if I'm missing an obvious angle or argument. Anything you would definitely mention on war? Suggested reading?
I might have to get into the specifics, of how the war developed historically, but there will be a lot of propaganda to unravel, so ideally, I'm looking for a concise argument, that can pierce the propaganda and illuminate the truth. Hope that's not too much to ask ;)
Most of the world—the Global South—is poor, because they are colonized by the Global North. That is the sole purpose of the North's wars.
Wealth flows from the Global South to the Global North to the tune of trillions of dollars a year, and the wealth gap between the North and South continues to grow despite liberal cheerleading to the contrary. Most progress against poverty has occurred in China, while elsewhere progress stagnates. Maybe send him the yellow Parenti lecture—"poor countries are not underdeveloped, they are over-exploited."
Then tie it back to Russia and China:
Tell him about Niger, one of the world's poorest nations despite a wealth of material resources. In 2023 they finally overthrew their west-aligned government, rejected US and French military presence, and pivoted to Russia as a security partner. Niger now plans to nationalize their uranium production, retaining those profits to provide for their own people. Russia and China threaten the dominance of the US and Europe, which threatens the profits they can extract from nations like Niger.
Tell him about China's Belt and Road Initiative, which threatens the West's imperial project on a global scale. Wars against Russia and Iran—and Iran's axis of resistance throughout the Middle East—are part of a broader effort to not only prop up the petrodollar but also isolate China, stop China's Belt and Road Initiative, and arrest China's rising dominance. The genocide in Palestine serves this purpose. Israel functions as a US military outpost to dominate the region, and Palestinian resistance threatens that role.
As others here have mentioned, Russia views the war in Ukraine as a defensive war against NATO encroachment. And America knows this. US analysts have predicted for decades that Ukraine joining NATO would be a red line for Russia. Biden himself, earlier in his career, said as much (sorry, I can't find my source for this). They're doing it anyway, because they want to bankrupt and overextend Russia in order to weaken China, in order to protect their dominance over the poor nations of the world.
Russia has neither the desire nor the ability to conquer Europe. More generally, the west's wars are never, ever defensive. Your friend needs to understand this.
Love those links, thanks!
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: