From ‘Freedom, A Journal of Anarchist Communism’, January 1915
(To the Editor of FREEDOM.)
DEAR COMRADE, — I have spent some considerable time in reading through comrade Grave’s article last month on “Ought Anarchists to Take Part in the War?” and at the conclusion, if I had not seen the word “FREEDOM” printed on the top of the page, I really would have thought I had taken up one of the so-called Labour papers. He says: “This war must be the last, the end of war…… but in order to arrive at this, Prussian militarism must first be destroyed.” The whole question appears to me to devolve on the one point, Is the capitalist able to dispose of his surplus products in perpetuity at a profit? If he is able, then this might be the last of all wars. I contend, however, that it is an absolute impossibility for him to do so, and that, as a result of this, the present war is but the commencement of many much more terrible wars in the future.
It is palpable that the capitalist cannot consume these surplus products himself, for in his attempt to do so he has already reached a ridiculous height of luxury, and he is as far off as ever he was. Nothing that his brain, or the brains of his clever hirelings, can scheme can eat away this annual surplus. It is evident, too, that he cannot give it back to the workers by continuing their wages during the time the workshops and factories are closed, for that would simply mean demoralising them. Nor can he destroy it by casting it into the sea, for that would be to give the game away entirely, and he is much too clever for that. As our comrade Kropotkin has put it, the capitalist builds Dreadnoughts and trains soldiers in order to plough the oceans in his endeavour to find foreign markets where he can dump these goods at a profit, which profit afterwards takes the form of capital, which is put in the newly conquered country. This only intensifies the matter by being the means of producing more profits still. I submit that it is for these reasons that wars are fought, and I think comrade Grave will agree with me thus far.
Germany is a highly organised and prosperous country from the capitalist standpoint; and Germany is, therefore, on the same game as England in looking out for foreign markets. Sooner or later they bump against one another, as they have done in the present war. But comrade Grave states this “must be the end of wars,” and that “Prussian militarism must be destroyed.” What good will be done by this from the workers’ standpoint, I fail to see. Supposing Prussian militarism was entirely crushed, what would be the logical conclusion of this happening? England will have free play in the markets previously held by Germany, and for a time all would be well. A considerable portion of the surplus products will have been blown from the cannon’s mouth — somewhere between £8,000,000 and £10,000,000 per day, I think –which will mean that sufficient wealth will be destroyed to enable the capitalists to commence operations, as it were, afresh. The workers at the factories, workshops, shipbuilding yards, etc., will all be working overtime; in fact, the earth will present itself as a beehive of industry until —
The surplus products will mount up week in, week out, month in, month out, year in, year out, until Mr. Capitalist will find himself in the exact position he was in before the present war. Will comrade Grave kindly explain what the capitalist will do then, and when, as he imagines, war will be no more on account of Prussian militarism having been crushed? There is only one alternative to war then, and it is the people taking possession themselves. Unless the workers are educated on this matter, the present war will be a mere concert-party (horrible as it is) to the wars of the future. Periodic wars are necessary if Capitalism is to continue — unless, of course, earthquakes and tornadoes come to its aid by destroying a fabulous amount of wealth.
We, as Anarchists, cannot take part, in my opinion, in the wars of Capitalism. There is only one war in which we can fight with any chance of success, and that is the class war — the war which is before us constantly, the war which must not end until Capitalism has been destroyed, and until the world belongs to the workers. This is a war which will require all our energies, undaunted courage, brave hearts, and nerves of iron. We, as Anarchists, must appear on the field as recruiting officers, and when our armies are completely mobilised we must strike a blow that will bring Capitalism to its doom, and the banner of Freedom must be hoisted and nailed to the mast.
Yours fraternally,
W. T. CRICK
Devonshire.