On Saturday, 28 February, a meeting of the Transnational Social Strike Platform took place in Cologne[1], which focused on two main questions:

- the reality and effects of the rapidly increasing militarisation in Europe (Europe at War was the key message): how is this perceived? And, of course, the question: what can be done?

After a brief introduction by the organisers, in which they rightly insisted, in our view, that one must not support either side in a war (the organisers' keyword was “campism”), the ICC raised the question of whether the focus on “Europe at War” would not limit the view of the dynamics of war too much to Europe. Of course, there have been enormous steps towards militarisation in Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine (in Germany, the then Chancellor Scholz spoke of a turning point and quickly doubled military spending); shortly after the start of Trump 2.0's reign, the EU decided on an arms package of €800 billion to build its own war economy that is much more independent of the US; and with the reintroduction of conscription in many countries (e.g. France, Germany, whether gradually or directly), new levels of remilitarisation are being reached. It was also rightly mentioned that this whole development is accompanied by militarisation at the borders, the deportation of refugees and repressive measures within the countries themselves.

A spiral of war worldwide or limited to Europe?

The ICC raised the question of whether we need to broaden our view to include the confrontation between the US and China, which plays a major role in many conflicts (e.g. US intervention in Venezuela, among other things, with the aim of pushing back China's influence there), or in Iran, where China, among others, is also to be ‘robbed’ of an ally. At the same time, there is a chain of wars in Africa and the Middle East, and rearmament in Japan and East Asia. In short, does the prism of “Europe at War” underestimate the true phenomenon of militarism, whose destructive power can be seen all over the world? The meeting took place on the day that the US and Israel launched their offensive against Iran, and shortly afterwards Pakistan bombed the Afghan capital and refugee stronghold of Kabul. We emphasised that militarism and its spiral of destruction are escalating everywhere around the world – accompanied by ever more devastating environmental destruction. By focusing primarily on Europe at war, are we not underestimating the danger to all of humanity?

The IC's statement was intended to make it clear that we cannot limit our view to one region (the role of the US machinery of destruction, the policies of Russian imperialism, China's rearmament, India's military ambitions, etc.), but that this is a global, historical phenomenon and therefore raises the question of the capitalist system, which is at an impasse and can only survive through destruction and terror – making it necessary to address the need to overcome it worldwide.

The question of assessing the balance of class forces was not raised

When discussing the impact and perceptions of participants who had come from many European countries, the entire campaign of intimidation of the population and the attempt to recruit soldiers with completely misleading advertising slogans were rightly highlighted, as was the fact that this will in reality force cuts and austerity budgets. But in view of the fact that the EU has approved the above-mentioned war package of €800 billion, the unlimited financing of the German armed forces, the increase in military spending to 5% in line with NATO requirements, and the increase in US military spending from the current $900 billion to $1.5 trillion, it was difficult to ask the question clearly: who will pay the bill for all this? In a statement by the ICC, we emphasised that it will be the working class in particular who will foot the bill – whether through demands for longer working hours (whether weekly working hours or the length of working lives), cuts in health and education, increases in energy costs, rents, etc. – and all this in addition to the other hardships resulting from the economic crisis, such as job cuts, layoffs, intensification of work rhythms, etc. The central question – whether the ruling class can pass on all these costs to the working class, whether the working class is prepared to tighten its belt and ultimately even give its life for the war machine – was not sufficiently addressed. But by not asking whether the ruling class will succeed in getting the working class on their side and behind the capitalist class, and whether the working class is actually prepared to participate in the killing machine and sacrifice their own lives, the crucial question of assessing the balance of forces between capital and labour was avoided.

Although mention was made of how cunning and clumsy the attempts are to recruit cannon fodder and delude soldiers through advertising campaigns for the Bundeswehr or the armies of other countries, the fact that the majority of young people and other generations are opposed to war was not really assessed in depth.

However, because the needs of the war economy and the associated austerity measures will present the working class with new challenges, in which the connection between war and crisis must be addressed in the defensive struggles against these decisions, and because we must prepare ourselves for this necessity and take a stand against it, there was a great danger at the meeting of not preparing for the real needs of the struggle.

For example, one participant regretted that IG Metall welcomed and fully supported the arms orders in the metal industry and that the trade unions could not really be relied upon, but no one mentioned that the trade unions – especially in Germany, where they were pioneers – passionately supported the entire war machine of German capital when they declared a truce in August 1914 and, four years later, when workers and soldiers rose up in Germany, worked side by side with the military and the SPD to crush the workers.

Activism, or where should the lever be applied?

In the last part of the event, when the question of what to do was raised, the whole dilemma of the approach became clear. After several participants had reported on ‘action after action’, on numerous initiatives, and although the impression emerged that no real successes could be achieved in terms of effectiveness, except for the fact that a network of activists had been established, people were, in a sense, reluctant to ask the question: who can actually build up the pressure to force governments and capital to give in? How can we succeed in establishing a balance of forces that paralyses the destructive arm of the ruling class, indeed the entire machinery of war? Is this actually possible without overcoming the system as such? In other words, can war be eliminated without eliminating the system? Although many – as mentioned above – had thrown themselves into numerous initiatives with great energy, the search for the truly central force, the working class, had not been undertaken.

Yet, as we mentioned in this part of the discussion, the working class has proven throughout history that only it – and not pacifists, etc. – can end war, but that ultimately the system as a whole must be overcome. In short, that nothing less than a revolution, a world revolution, is necessary to achieve this.

Although the initiators rightly rejected “campism” (taking sides with one or the other warring party) in the invitation, the word “internationalism” was not even mentioned during the entire event. But how is it possible to face the challenges of the struggle against the capitalist system if we fail to focus on the necessity of the working class fighting together across all the boundaries that divide it? Accordingly, our statement ended with the call that we cannot rush headlong into activism, but must ask ourselves what force is capable of overcoming capitalism, even if this may seem unlikely in view of the undeniable difficulties currently facing the working class. But if we do not even ask this question and recognise where and how the lever must be applied and how long and difficult the road to overcoming the system will be, then we run the risk of sinking and ultimately becoming demoralised... and, of course, the system will remain untouched. As long as we do not take a fearless look at the pitfalls of activism, the greatest drive to resist this system will dry up without any prospects. Clarifying these questions is unavoidable.

International Communist Current 02.03.2026,

 

 "This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States Armed Forces". These were Trump's words a few minutes after the first massive bombings of Iran by Israeli and American aircraft. This was followed by an all-out response from the Revolutionary Guards, who in turn launched missile salvos at Israel and American bases throughout the region. Schools, hospitals, ports and airports, residential and tourist areas – missiles are raining down on terrorised populations from all sides. The entire Middle East is ablaze! At the time of writing, the death toll is still unknown, but the bodies are piling up in many Iranian cities and there have also been a number of victims in other countries targeted by the Iranian regime, including American soldiers. 

A dizzying plunge into barbarism and chaos

Trump, to justify this new massacre, claims to be seeking to destroy a bloodthirsty regime that “has been engaged in a relentless campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our soldiers and innocent people in many countries”. As for his sidekick, Netanyahu, he claims to want to protect “humanity” from ‘this terrorist and murderous regime’. According to the Shah's son, Reza Pahlavi, it would even be a “humanitarian intervention”!

For their part, the Iranian authorities are posing as victims: “The time has come to defend the homeland and face the enemy's military aggression. Just as we were ready to negotiate, we are more ready than ever to defend our country.”

To hear all these smooth talkers, their carpet bombing would be motivated by world security and the defence of the oppressed! This war propaganda is nothing but a vile web of lies. The reality is that the Middle East is plunging into a warlike chaos of unprecedented proportions. And this, barely eight months after Operation Midnight Hammer, which was already supposed to ‘destroy’ Iran's nuclear programme and impose ‘peace’ and stability in the region by force.

But this new military operation, given the terrifying nickname Epic Fury, is on a completely different scale to that of June 2025. The United States has amassed a veritable armada around Iran: warships, submarines, hundreds of aircraft and thousands of soldiers. A real massacre is about to begin. Trump and Netanyahu are well aware of this and have immediately made their intentions clear: their operation will be massive and particularly deadly. According to the US president, "we are going to destroy their missiles and wipe out their missile industry. It will be completely destroyed. We are going to destroy their navy. [...] And we will ensure that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons.” He then called on the “great and proud people of Iran” to “take control of [their] destiny." In other words: to take up arms against the regime and be massacred in the streets.

On the other side, the Iranian state threatens the United States and Israel with an “overwhelming retaliation’” Missiles are raining down by the thousands, but the dictatorship in Tehran is struggling to counter American omnipotence. The regime has been considerably weakened by the bombings of June 2025 and the destruction of its allies Hezbollah and Hamas. The only response Tehran has been able to offer to the crisis triggered by Operation Midnight Hammer was a fierce crackdown on the opposition. But whether the regime collapses or manages to hold on, despite the death of its ‘guide’ Khamenei, it will shamelessly spill blood for its survival and will not hesitate to export war. Unable to respond directly, the Iranian state has already activated its militias and armed groups, ready to sow chaos wherever possible, including through terrorism.

Catastrophic international consequences

In the coming days, Trump will no doubt boast and praise the omnipotence of the US Army. On a global level, this new conflict will undoubtedly weaken the United States' main adversaries. Foremost among these is China, which, dependent on Iranian oil and access to Middle Eastern ports to develop its new Silk Roads, has largely replenished the Revolutionary Guards' missile stockpile. The scale of Operation Epic Fury is, in this respect, a new message to America's enemies: “no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States Armed Forces".

But, as after the 2025 operation and the one in Venezuela, this new show of force is nothing more than a spectacular stunt, a hollow victory that will neither stabilise the region nor resolve any conflicts. On the contrary, global disorder will reach a new level of barbarism! For contrary to what Trump claims, the hypothetical collapse of the regime, far from bringing stability, will only be the prelude to a new descent into horror: an unstable Iran fragmented by rival and heavily armed factions, the emergence of uncontrollable terrorist groups, an endless spiral of clan, religious or ethnic revenge, terrorised populations seeking to flee by any means possible... Whatever happens, the chaos will increase considerably!

By threatening the economic and oil lock-down of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is also threatening the global economy with a deeper crisis. This is why Tehran immediately targeted the area. There is no doubt that its Houthi accomplices will do everything possible to put the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on permanent alert.

All states, large and small, are already trying to exploit the prevailing chaos for their own sordid imperialist interests.

Saudi Arabia says it is ready to intervene, as are Hezbollah and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. China, whose influence is also targeted by this operation, will sooner or later flex its muscles, in Taiwan or elsewhere, risking a military conflict with the United States.

An expression of the barbarity of capitalism

This is by no means a catastrophist view of the situation, but the logical conclusion imposed on us by all the wars of the last twenty years: the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the war in Iraq in 2003, the implosion of Syria in 2011, war in Yemen in 2014, Gaza in 2023... each time, these military adventures have led only to catastrophic situations and fiascos, including for the United States, despite the power of its army!

Behind these endless conflicts, punctuated by incessant and false promises of peace, the same dynamic is at work: capitalism is inexorably plunging humanity into widespread war and chaos. From Mauritania to Burma, an unbroken global arc of armed conflict has become firmly entrenched. In Europe with the conflict in Ukraine, in Latin America, in Africa, in Oceania, everywhere war is spreading in an uncontrollable and anarchic manner. Everywhere, chaos reigns and neither the United States, nor the European countries, nor China, nor the international institutions, nor any state, nor any bourgeois faction is capable of putting an end to it. The ‘ceasefires’ and ‘negotiations’ are all proving to be nothing more than temporary and precarious interruptions, agreed upon in order to better prepare for the next clashes.

Faced with the barbarism of capitalism, there is only one way out: proletarian internationalism!

In his first speech, Trump called on the Iranians to “take their country back”. In London, Berlin and Georgia, a few demonstrators even gathered to support the American operation and ‘democracy’. These warmongering cries are despicable traps! Calls to be slaughtered for the Shah or any other faction of the Iranian bourgeoisie! With the potential end of the mullahs' regime, there will be no happy tomorrow. It will still be the same system, the same capitalism, the same barbarism.

On the other side, the mullahs and their supporters, starting with the leftist parties of the West, are calling on the ‘Iranian people’ and the working class to mobilise everywhere against the ‘imperialist aggression’ of the United States. Pro-Iran demonstrations took place the day after the first attack, in Tehran itself, but also in Iraq and Pakistan, with several victims in front of the American embassy. Here too, these are only calls to support one imperialist camp and to be massacred in the name of a clique of bloodthirsty barbarians.

The working class does not have to choose sides! The proletarians of the whole world must not succumb to the siren calls of nationalism or take sides with either camp, whether in the Middle East or elsewhere. All nations, all bourgeoisies, whether democratic or authoritarian, left or right, populist or ‘progressive’, are warmongers.

Despite the pompous rhetoric of hypocritical morality, pitting ‘civilisation’ against ‘barbarism’, ‘good’ against ‘evil’, ‘aggressors’ against ‘victims’, wars are nothing more than clashes between rival bourgeoisies. In these ever-increasing conflicts, it is always the exploited who are taken hostage and sacrificed for the interests of those who oppress and kill them.

To end wars, capitalism must be overthrown! History has shown that the working class is the only force that can end capitalist war. It was the strength of the revolutionary proletariat that ended the First World War, in 1917 in Russia and in 1918 in Germany! These revolutionary movements were able to impose an armistice on the governments. To put a definitive end to wars everywhere, the working class will have to conquer this by overthrowing capitalism on a global scale.

But there is still a long road ahead, fraught with obstacles. Faced with the barbarity of war, many people want to resist and express their indignation. And indeed, if we do not react, capitalism will lead us into chaos and widespread destruction. But those who are taking to the streets today are often doing so behind the slogans of the left wing of capital: “No Kings”, “Stop the genocide”, “Free Palestine’”.. all are slogans that instil the idea that the causes of war lie in this or that leader, in the madness of Trump, in the colonialism of Israel, in the religious delusions of fundamentalist Jews, in American imperialism... Behind an apparent radicalism, behind speeches ‘for peace’, for ‘the rights of peoples’, ‘for the defence of the oppressed’, it is always a question of choosing one bourgeois camp over another and calling for the defence of the ‘democratic’ state. In the United States, anti-Trump demonstrations have denounced the lack of consultation with Congress and respect for ‘international law,’ as if a ‘legal’ war were any less barbaric.

Although the working class does not yet have the strength to directly oppose the wars of the bourgeoisie, and the revolutionary perspective still seems distant, this path nevertheless requires relentless resistance against the attacks of a capitalism crushed by the growing weight of crisis and militarism. By refusing to sacrifice our lives and wages on the altar of ‘competitiveness’ or the ‘war effort’, we are beginning to stand up against the very heart of capitalism: the exploitation of man by man.

As we have shown in numerous articles, since 2022 we have been witnessing a veritable resurgence of workers' militancy on a global scale.

By refusing the sacrifices imposed by the war economy, workers are showing concrete solidarity with their class brothers and sisters trapped under the bombs. And this determination not to give in is accompanied by a maturing of political consciousness: everywhere, small minorities are posing questions about how struggles should be organised and about the future of the system, about the link between the crisis and the proliferation of wars. For revolutionary minorities, the time has come for debate and action to transform these subterranean reflections into an organised force capable of preparing for the revolutionary struggles of tomorrow.

EG, 1 March 2026

Sunday, 22 of March, 2026

2-5pm UK time

In response to the escalation of war in the Middle East, the ICC has published a new article on its website (Capitalism is war! It's capitalism that must be overthrown! [2]) and is holding an online public meeting whose aim will be:

• To define the internationalist position against all those who support one side or the other in this inter-imperialist carnage
• To analyse the evolution of global capitalism and the catastrophic ‘future’ it offers humanity
• To discuss the challenges confronting the working class, which is faced with the acceleration of war and chaos.

Please write to [email protected] [3] if you want to attend.

The meeting will be held in English. The ICC will hold separate meetings, physical and online, in several other countries and languages. Please see our website for details (www.internationalism.org [4])

 

We are drawing attention to the “Resolution on opportunism and centrism in the period of decadence [5]” from our 6th Congress because, although first published 40 years ago, it is as relevant as ever, given that the struggle against opportunism, i.e. the penetration of bourgeois and petty ideology into the workers’ movement, can only be a permanent struggle for revolutionaries.

Two other resolutions from this Congress – a rejected resolution put forward by the minority which later became the “External Fraction of the ICC”, and then Internationalist Perspective, as well as the Congress resolution on the international situation – together with an orientation text entitled “The 6th Congress of the ICC: What is at stake” can also be found here: International Review no. 44 - 1st Quarter 1986 [6].