COMMENT: Middle East and imperialism —Dr Saulat Nagi
The Arab world is heading towards a long drawn out class war against its ruling elite wherein the native bourgeoisie and imperialism will support the reactionary forces
Indeed, the people and the land of Middle East are the 'chosen ones', not as revealed in holy scriptures but as desired by imperialism and its divine gospel, where a cataclysm lurks at every corner as a predator that swallows innocent people, 'not single spies but in battalions'. In Syria and Palestine, this scourge finds itself being unleashed at its fieriest. For mortal beings, there is no escape. Those desperate for life, or looking for bare survival, are forced to leave their respective states before the inevitable strikes. Like manna, the bombs are falling as if heaven has opened its bosom. As living beings are turned into cadavers with democratic disregard, there is no time for grief and mourning. The constituents of this catastrophe denote a familiar story: American arms, Israeli technology, Saudi money and a handful of mercenaries cobbled in the name of religion and/or sectarianism. Bashar Assad is paying the debt of his ambition. How long will he last is anybody's guess, but apparently not for long now. The Salafis, the Ikhwans and the rest (including the followers of Sufism) are closing ranks on the edict of the US, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. Turkey is eyeing its previous imperial role when, as the Ottoman Empire, it was a world power. For the time being, it looks as if Syria will be ruled by the horror of pre-capitalist relations of production and the terror of religion, the latter being a primitive, albeit highly effective, tool of capitalism. All the productive work and infrastructure development carried out by the Ba'ath Party, no matter how arguably little it might have been, appears to be comprehensively destroyed by the civil war imposed by the imperialist forces. Syria is bled heavily and sent packing to the Stone Age, which the Saudi bourgeoisie in particular is very fond of revisiting as a kind of recreation.
In the light of the above, one is reminded of the sagacity of Rosa Luxemburg. The undisputed leader of the world proletariat warned almost a hundred years ago: "Imperialism is not the creation of any one or of any group of states. It is the product of a particular stage of ripeness in the world development of capital, an innately international condition, an indivisible whole, that is recognisable only in all its relations, and from which no nation can hold aloof at will."
For imperialism, Israel and Saudi Arabia are playing a leading role. They are the satellites of its hegemonic power, the pedestal on which it stands. Both ought to take heed of the warning that in this squeaking noise and chants of transient victory, they could eventually be dumped. Imperialism is the most developed stage of capitalism that melts all those relations that cease to be fruitful, no matter how intimate they once were. In its anarchic phase, it cares less about relations as its realisation is at stake. Even under ordinary circumstances, its realisation demands pre-capitalist areas in its own country or abroad. However, once it strides into its anarchic phase, it becomes the most berserk system ever developed in the history of mankind. As often attributed to Amadeo Bordiga, "If they [capitalists] show lampshades made of human skin it's to make us forget that capitalism transforms the living man into a lampshade...It is labour, man's very life, that capitalism has transformed into merchandise. This is the source of all evils." And what it has done to different countries is more than evident. From Vietnam to Chile, and presently from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Libya and Syria, it has stifled the nations and smothered the people. Consequently, they are not even comparable to 'lampshades'.
Saudi Arabia is a huge country with huge oil and other mineral resources and an interesting demographic divide. Its northern border, which is close to Iraq, has a population that predominantly follows the Shi'ite sect of Islam, towards whom the Saudi regime does not have sympathy. So much so that the orthodox Saudi clerics do not even consider them Muslims. Their inflated egos monopolise 'tribal' Islam so enthusiastically that anyone not looking through their prism ceases to be a Muslim. It is not the culture that they are proud of (since they have never transcended tribal ties), but the richness and cadences of their language that helps them to overcome some of their complexes. The use of the term 'Ajmi' (dumb/speechless), which denigrates the non-Arabs, is a case in point. Indeed, the world knows what the reality is. The clash between Iran and Saudi Arabia is not limited to religious doctrine, but there exists an economic and cultural clash as well, to which Dr Ali Shariati in his works never fails to allude. The superiority of Persian culture and economy was stamped on history not only prior to the emergence of Islam, but it dates far back from our era (AD).
The area adjacent to Bahrain and the Bahrainis themselves are predominantly Shi'ites. The major source of Saudi oil wells is coincidentally found here. Once the Iranian 'threat' is eliminated, an intact, single, large Saudi Arabia will be useless for the US. It may well be allowed to get fragmented into smaller states as it was prior to the time when the Saud family took over the reins from the former semi-autonomous princely states, e.g. from the Sharif of Mecca. Even at that time, Abdul Aziz's claim over Oman, Bahrain and the tiny Gulf states (where the British continued to hold sway) was declined. Although this may seem a farfetched idea, an imponderable one, but as A J P Taylor says, "Imponderable is what we get from the history." The idea of weaker states has always fascinated the imperialist forces, as they tend to be more vulnerable to arm-twisting, which may entail slight coercion to economic sanctions. Saudi Arabia is playing second fiddle to the US, but if the Middle East is left to absolute anarchy, then what will be the point of keeping such a huge state that if it somehow falls in the lap of other emerging power centres of the world, could prove a counterweight to US designs. After all the oil crisis of the 1970s was one such period when, at a certain stage, President Nixon's patience had worn thin and military forces were nearly poised for attack on the oil wells of Saudi Arabia. Realising the gravity of the situation and his own limits, King Faisal opted to supply fuel to the US army fighting against the 'infidels' (the people of Vietnam) and kept the oil revenue in the US Treasury to relieve the mounting pressure on the US economy (by this time, Nixon had already disassociated the dollar from gold).
Once an ally like Saudi Arabia loses its significance, the Zionist state will become equally useless. Ever-increasing unemployment is bound to have its repercussions on the people of the US, who may refuse to share the burden of an already redundant parasitic state. The spring of Arabia is not like the Arabian nights: full of delight. The Arab world is heading towards a long drawn out class war against its ruling elite wherein the native bourgeoisie and imperialism will support the reactionary forces. Israel, being a part of the Middle East, cannot remain aloof from such changes. It is an unnatural state carved out by capitalism as a sheer necessity to guard its interests in the Middle East by constant repression and coercion. Such necessities are never permanent. They keep changing with altering and ever turbulent necessities that capital has to confront on a daily basis. The world economic crisis will prove a watershed for the history of many nations. Saudi Arabia and Israel may be amongst them. Only the power of the proletariat has the ability to overcome such an ominous scenario. Ernest Mandel, on the demise of the Soviet Union, said, "Due to the enormous discredit thrown on the very ideas of communism, socialism or Marxism by the Stalinist dictatorship, the void created by the profound ideological/moral crisis of Soviet society is not about to be filled by the working class...The right wing has the political initiative." The inherent nature of capitalism has given a new confidence to the working class of the world to create dialectically their own developmental process on which the final victory of the revolution will be built. Hence, the initiative is once again back. The balance of forces will have the last laugh in the ultimate outcome of this war.
The writer is based in Australia and has authored books on socialism and history. He can be reached at saulatnagi@hotmail.com
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