The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-06-19
Offensive and ''DefensiVe''
Wars

Wars
WHAT will be the position of the Social
" ist Party when American imperialism
breaks loose into the next world war which
approaches swiftly?
Norman Thomas, writing in this weeks
Socialist New Leader, makes it as plain as
day what the leadership Of the Socialist Party
will do
Let Thomas speak for himself. He states:
"In the event of new World War like the last
we shall offer resistance 10 IT,"
Sounds radical doesn't it7
But now notice the more important reserys-
ton Of Thomas, He will resist" only II the next
war Is like the last
What does he mean by thatP He tells n.
THE Spanish American War and the World
War we're not the result of attacks on u.s. but Of
our aggressive action. by some miracle
there Is wholly different type of war there will
be plenty of time in the light o. Socialist prin-
cipIes to change our position"
Is there not in this already the ghastly promise
OF betrayal? Does not this sound almost word
for word like the shameful excuses the Socialist
Party leaders gave all over the world during the
last World War when the entire Second Interna-
tional went over to the support of their own"
governments which were being Attacked?
The German Socialist leaders said that Eng
land attacking their Fatherland.
The English Socialist leaders stated that Ger
many was menace" to their Fatherland.
And in this way the Socialist leaders tricked the
masses into fighting for Imperialism by defend
ing the fatherland against the attackers" betray-
ing every shred OF the pledges Of international
solidarity which they had been mounting for years
81 DIFFERENT kind of war"l That is Just what
- Thomas will say to the American working class
in the near future when Wall Street begins the
bloody slaughter. I'VE must defend ourselves
against those who attack us" Thomas will say.
But this business of the attacking" and de
Tending" government is just the trick by which the
capitalist class always seduces its working class to
the slaughter.
Does not the capitalist class of every country
always declare that it is devoutly opposed to war
but that it must defend" itself against "attack"2
Does not Japanese imperialism use this argumentP
Or German Fascism9 Or British imperialism? And
Wall Street imperialism does the same.
ENIN put the question very simply In his Social
ism and war" which every worker should read
Imagine STAKEHOLDER (the capitalist class
possessing 100 slaves waging war against slave
holder possessing 200 slaves for equitable
distribution of slaves 1t is evident that to apply
to such the term defensive war or war for
the defense of the fstherIand' would be his
tOricaI lie; in practice it would mean that the
crafty slave holders deceiying the unenlisht-
ened masses, the lower strata of the city popu-
lation"
When American imperialism goes to war it does
not make the slightest difference to a truly revo-
lutionary party whether it attacked" first or was
attacked by other slave holder"
Now Norman Thomas is opposed to imperialist
war, if I'VE attack first" But naturally, American
imperialism never attacks first" it will try to
find some way to dupe the masses that I'VE were
attacked first and that we are only defending our
selves"
Then Norman Thomas and the Socialist Party
leadership will readily join in support of this de
tense OF our country" Thomas is opposed to all
the past wars. But the coming war? That will be
different" That no doubt, will be war to de
fend democracy" against Dictatorship" This is
the line with which the Socialist Party already gets
ready to repeat the betrayals of 1914-1e17 In the
next war the s. P leaders will surely defend Amer
lean imperialism lin the light of Socialist prin-
ciples"
Civil war against "our own" government to
work for the defeat of American imperialism in
the next war, NO MATTER WHETHER 1T is
DEFENSIVE" OR "OFFENSIvE"-that is the
only truly revolutionary policy, in the interests Of
the working class. The rest is treachery and
prostitution to Wall Street Imperialism