The word "imperialism" has practically disappeared from
the public discussion. Instead, there is a lot of talking about "globalisation",
a term which has been introduced as a positive concept and is borrowed from
the technological development, the internet and the development of global communication.
The anti-globalisation movement is directed against one single aspect of today's
imperialist development: the economic imperialism, and especially the world-wide
ravaging of the multinationals. That aspect is an important one, but only just
one aspect of the processes taking place today and expressing the generally
strengthened position of imperialism at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
A movement like ATTAC seizes on one single aspect. Of course, a limited programme
can have a certain strength, but it can also remove the attention from other
important questions, which are part of the globalised reality.
The anti-imperialist movement in Denmark must at least deal with the four following
themes: (1) the economic globalisation, that is, the economy of imperialism,
and with that the multinationals and the international institutions serving
them, like the IMF, the World Bank, WTO, G10, etc., as well as the growing gap
between the rich and poor countries and the strangling debt problems of the
developing countries. (2) the political globalisation, that is, the globally
strengthened position of the imperialist countries, the US world hegemony, the
construction of the EU as a new imperialist super power and the dominating power
on the European continent, the development of capitalist Russia, of China, Japan,
etc. (3) the military globalisation, which is serving and forcing through the
political and economic hegemony of the imperialist powers, including the struggle
against NATO, which is the most important military instrument of imperialism
and is about to comprise the whole European continent until the borders of Russia.
Instead of trying to realise the old idea of an "nuclear free zone"
and "the sea of peace", based on the principles of neutrality, the
Baltic States and Poland are arming within the ambit of NATO and the EU. Not
to speak of the Great German armament; during the NATO war in Yugoslavia, German
soldiers participated in a war outside German borders for the first time since
the time of Hitler. The US missile defence shield and the EU task force are
both expressions of the new imperialist rearmament race, and (4) the solidarity
with the victims of imperialist aggressions, with the struggles of the peoples
against imperialism: Palestine and the Middle East, the brutal blockade against
Iraq, Plan Colombia, the US aggression in Latin America, etc.
Just seeing only one aspect, and not the whole expanse of the struggle, just
focusing completely on one theme and closing the eyes to all the others, will
put the anti-imperialist forces on the wrong track.
The development of a co-ordinated struggle among the leftist forces in all fields
is an urgent necessity.
Kommunistisk Politik, No. 5, March 9, 2001