NATO, the Left, and the Path to Peace Talk to the United National Antiwar Coalition webinar on ‘Where is the War in Ukraine Going, and What should the Response of the Peace Movement?

by | May 25, 2022

23 May, 2022

By Alan Freeman, on behalf of the International Manifesto Group

On behalf of the International Manifesto Group can I express our pleasure and gratitude at sharing this platform.

I will talk about the left’s place in the peace movement, and hope to shed light on what being ‘on the left actually means today.

This is a vast topic, This document is on my academia site, along with links to dig deeper or get involved.

I’ll start with the trillion-dollar question: if NATO won, if the DPR and LPR forces surrendered, and if the Russian Army was driven back to the border, would the world be a better or a worse place?

This is a practical question. It can’t be resolved with abstract ideals or theories such as whether Ukraine has a sacred right to rule over the Russian speakers of the Donbass, or whether Russia is imperialist, any more than Palestinian rights can be settled by referring to the historical origins of the People of the Book.

The lives of millions, perhaps billions, are at stake. If the Russian army leaves Ukraine, they will all suffer and many will die. If your ideals tell you this is a good thing – if like Madeleine Allbright, you can look upon the deaths of half a million children and say ‘it was worth it’, then your ideals are wrong.

And if your theory tells you to arm Ukraine to the teeth and give its fascists free reign to cleanse it of Russian influence, you’re free to say that (which is a lot more freedom than I get for opposing you), but you’re not part of the left.

Because if anyone tries to justify a monstrous and unnecessary human sacrifice on the grounds that it’s for the best, then they are measuring ‘good’ in dollars instead of bodies, and they’re not part of the left, because the left stands for humans, not property.

What will happen if the Russian army leaves?

First, there will be a bloody racial cleansing of a third of Ukraine’s territory where fourteen million Russian speakers live. You don’t need any elaborate analysis to see this; just look at what’s been happening for the past eight years when the Donbass has been under continuous military attack for no greater crime that demanding autonomy and standing up to murderers.

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