THE JUDGEMENTS of historians and politicians who ate champions of the 'free world' and enjoy pointing out the "tricks' by means of which Stalin obtained his satellites and the strategy, while idealising Roosevelt, show not only a lack of objectivity but also ingratitude.
It can certainly be argued that Stalin, with the help of Western Communist leaders who faithfully applied his invaluable contribution to solving the difficult problem which faced Anglo-American capitalism from 1939 onwards - how to defeat their dangerous German rivals while still avoiding the danger of revolution in the vital centres of European capitalism.
Trotsky took an excessively optimistic view of the revolutionary situation which would be created in Europe as a result of a Second World War. This optimism derived from his view of the state of capitalism, the historic capacity production, etc Second War revolution on a European scale was not an extremist fantasy. possibility, and one wilch realised from the first day of the war.
This possibility arose not out of the fact that the capitalist system had reached the limiting stage postulated by Trotsky repeating the mistake during the First World Wat out a 'readjustment' of its structures and pass on to a new stage of development.
The Second War serious crisis which the imperialist system had experienced in its whole histery. Yet at the spectacularly, even while the war was on, even more afterwards, the vitality which the system considered as a whole still possessed, the enornous polenual or is maustra, leconica. and scientific structures, manipulate the masses and subjection the political attitudes necessary for the survival of It demonstrated the political intelligence of the ruling classes, manoeuvre, the fruit of centuries of experience. Like the war of 1914-18 and the economic crisis of 1929, the Second World War showed — on a much larger scale — that the 'death-throes' of lying capitalism would last a good while longer included ossified structures which came into sharp conflict system, which was based on centres — Germany, Anglo-French capitalism over territories ana over „Tne southern and eastern Europe was a obstacle to the expansive potential of these Anglo-French capitalism, threatened in its most precious interests, yield without struggle. capitalism, which had expansion at hand in Latin America and could more easily advance into the colonial territories, the problem did not present itset as one involving war, hor German and Japanese capitalism, however, open was the traditional the first, was a war for markets, colonies and raw materials, and at the same time it meant the transition of the system as a whole to a new phase, that of state monopoly capitalism. The three powers which were in the lead in this new phase had designs not only on Anglo-rrench territory (in addition to the colonial territories of Holland and Belgium), but also on Soviet territory. The fact that the United States tried to achieve this objective by alliance with its future victims, while its dangerous rivals tried to do it by military. political and military advantages to the former, but made no essential difference to the nature of the aims of one side or the other.
After the experience of the years 1917-20 the bourgeoisie in all countries was fully aware of the dangers involved in the terrible operation which the horrifying logic of the system now again made necessary. The danger appeared all the greater in view Soviet state with its army and the Communist It is true that by the outbreak of war the European revolutionary movements had been defeated and forced underground in almost all the countries of the European continent, but how would the masses react to the effects of this new slaughter? Would not the Communist cells which still existed be able to take advantage of the situation? After all in 1917 the Bolsheviks had only been a handful of revolutionaries.
Each bourgeoisie looked at these unknown factors differently, in the light of the internal situation of own capitalism was sure of itself, once the labour octalist C ize 13 September 1979 Page 8 certain Western of his the policy of policies, made an the leaders of exhaustion of its to develop the forces of However, his prophecy that could expressed real the bourgeoisie - who was here of Lenin's analysis - but out of the was the most capitalist and same time it revealed but ability to keep them ideologies and and ineir the movement of the Japan and, above all, the The control exercised by old vast colonial backward areas of serious was not prepared to For American large field for Anglo-French the only way of the five main Europe.
conquest, gave great rrance. of the existence of the of labour party? country. German movement and the Communist Party had been crushed in its country. It thought that military victory would allow means any seeds of revolution in the rest of Japanese capitalism took similar view, since it too had reduced its labour movement to impotence.
On quite a different basis — a reformist integration of the proletariat unequalled in the capitalist world - the United States was in a more favourable position than any other power to face the test of war. The British bourgeoisie could not feel the same confidence, as the great strike of 1926 had emphasised, but the Labour Party at least offered a fairly solid guarantee.
This situation looked very It was clear that in the system industrial capitalism France was the weakest link. Added to the obsolesence of its political and economic structures was the radicalisation the proletariat, shown by explosion of 1936, acquired by the Communist Party within the • не movement and the Communist influence among large groups intellectuals and other social sectors. French Communist Party's exemplary moderation during the period of the Popular Front was not enough to dispel the fearsof the bourgeoisie: was it a temporary tactic or a basic change in the Italy, which had undergone considerable capitalist development under fascism, was an it to destroy by similar situation very any Communism. different in of the social position spread of operations of The everywhere. unknown from the point of view of the solidity of the bourgeoisie. i offer ed sec that its could not offer the security Germany, but equally visibly, it did not contain element as disturbing as Outside the industrial capitalist zone, situations capable of turning into revolutionary crises under the impact of the world war were numerous: the Asian colonies, the republics of Latin America, the backward states of eastern and southern Europe. The most serious and most obvious threat from the point of view of however, apart from the cabilalsil. entry of the USSR into the war, possible coincidence of fascist defeat (and Soviet victory) and a proletarian revolution in France, which would mark the beginning of a process which could end in revolution, over the whole continent of Europe.
The British and American bourgeoisie were fully aware of this danger, and their whole policy, all their strategic plans and military throughout the war, profoundly influenced by it, particularly in the last stages of the conflict, when the presence of the Soviet Union, now the first military power in Europe, poised for victory, made itself felt period the resistance appeared a considerable force, led largely by the Communists, the possibility of revolution could be clearly,seen in Italy, and it became a fact in Yugoslavia and Greece.
industrialist French They other parts of the world, China.
their views were identical.
rather than aims, empire's heavy dependence States wa.
Anglo-American
were European revolution.
A similar problem The Americans and the British were agreement on two fundamental aims: the ne to defeat their rivals and save capitalist al Europe proletari. were also naturally agreement about the need to forestall or crus as the case might be, any threat of revolution and especially They might differ over the means achieve these ends, but on the ends themselv Contradictory interests came into pl above all in connection with the colon problem, but that was a question for the futu an immediate problem. community of interests in the most importa together with the crumbling Briti the Unit a solid bond for alliance The _diffic problem lay in the contradiction between th two principal aims, since the defeat of Na Germany was a necessary condition for revolution in Europe and the internal logic the anti-fascist war pointed the peoples of t continent in the directiol faced the Angl American alliance in the Pacific war, especia in connection with China. In the minds of t leaders in Washington and London, howev the Far Eastern problem was less dramatic th the problem in Europe. At that time th
the course it did? And one-time
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From the point of vie of tar capitalist powers, the Second World War, like