Sunday, December 29
2:00 pm
Indianapolis Liberation Center
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All are invited to the second study and discussion session of the short book, Socialists and war: Two opposing trends, by anti-war leaders Brian Becker and Mazda Majidi.
For a refresher and to catch anyone who couldn’t make the first meeting up to speed, we’ll begin by covering the first chapter of the book: a timely polemic against a dangerous trend in the anti-war movement represented at that time by a “socialist” grouping called the International Socialist Organization. It was written as U.S. bombs were paving the way for the counterrevolutionary overthrow of the nationalist Qaddafi government in Libya to launch a new war on Africa that, within months, expanded into West Asia.
We’ll then read and discuss the second chapter, which demonstrates how the central arguments from chapter one are not unique to any imperialist war but have emerged as significant trends in the anti-war movement in imperialist countries. We’ll examine the early 20th century history of the international socialist movement and the “historic betrayal” of the dominant parties of the Second International. Although imperialism as a system remains the same, the forms it takes have altered. Thus we’ll also discuss how we can apply the revolutionary anti-imperialist tactics of Lenin and other socialists to today’s U.S. wars: by demonstrating the class character of the war or intervention
This second article is important, because it shows the phenomenon of some socialist organizations supporting their “own” imperialist governments in times of war. This has emerged over the past century as a hallmark of the era. We see it resurfacing yet again with Syria: either you support the “rebels” or the “regime.” Yet this is clearly not what Palestinian revolutionary Leila Khaled was doing when, in a 2013 interview, she said:
“I am screaming with the top of my voice: We stand by the Syrian Army and the people of Syria. We are confident in the people of Syria, who have taken us, Palestinians, under their wings and hosted us on their land for over sixty years. We are confident that they will prevail over this problem.”
Attendees can buy the book at the event, or purchase it beforehand at the Indianapolis Liberation Center’s store!
Featured image: ANSWER Coalition organizes a march against the U.S. war against Syria. Credit: ANSWER Coalition.
