Earlier this week, in grappling with ‘The Defence Question‘, I explored the complexity (well I struggled) of developing a coherent Marxist and internationalist response to militarism and war. My central dilemma was clear: how do we uphold an uncompromising anti-war position while simultaneously recognising the genuine threat posed to the working class by reactionary forces, typified today by Putinism and Trumpism?
Since then, my reading of statements and articles from French comrades, particularly the NPA’s critique of Macron’s neoliberal militarism and Revolution Permanente’s analysis of the deepening transatlantic crisis, has sharpened these contradictions further. These interventions illustrate clearly the dangers of militarism in all its forms, even when justified in terms of democracy, liberalism, or national defence.
Macron’s recent push to boost military spending, claiming to defend European sovereignty against Putin and Trump, is exactly the type of neoliberal militarism we must resist. Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has also committed to increasing military spending, reinforcing this troubling neoliberal trend. It’s understandable why some on the left might see these stances as lesser evils, offering protection from openly reactionary alternatives. Yet, as Revolution Permanente argues, militarisation does not truly protect the working class; instead, it fuels nationalist tensions, legitimises reactionary narratives, and ultimately strengthens the authoritarian tendencies it purports to oppose.
This presents us with a profound dilemma. On one side, a consistent anti-war stance remains crucial, imperialist wars inevitably harm working-class interests. On the other, Putinism and Trumpism pose real threats, not only ideologically but materially, to the lives and democratic rights of millions.
Addressing this contradiction requires more than slogans. It demands reaffirming independent working-class politics and genuine internationalism. Opposition to war, militarism, and nationalism must remain universal and consistent, never selectively applied. The neoliberal militarism represented by Macron’s France, Trump’s America, or Starmer’s Britain should be opposed as vigorously as authoritarian nationalism.
The pressing practical question remains: how do we concretely support and defend the Ukrainian people and left-wing comrades currently under direct attack by Putin’s imperialist aggression, facing missiles, drone strikes, and military invasion? Solidarity cannot merely be symbolic. It demands concrete internationalist efforts, political, material, and humanitarian, that assist the Ukrainian working class without endorsing NATO or capitalist military agendas. At the same time, it is essential to challenge the problematic campist perspective prevalent in parts of the left, which criticises Western imperialism and NATO without equally critiquing authoritarian powers like Moscow and Beijing. Such selective anti-imperialism undermines genuine international solidarity, inadvertently strengthening reactionary regimes by failing to confront their oppressive and militaristic practices.
French comrades emphasise that genuine defence of working-class interests cannot be achieved through alliances with capitalist states or military blocs like NATO. Instead, real defence lies in transnational solidarity, anti-imperialist mobilisation, and the independent organisation of working-class movements. Only through genuine internationalism can the working class effectively resist militarism and the authoritarian forces it inevitably empowers.
While the challenges posed by ‘The Defence Question’ remain deeply complex, the answers from revolutionary internationalists—such as those articulated by the French left—point toward a principled yet nuanced position. Rejecting all capitalist militarism, neoliberal or nationalist, and reaffirming internationalist working-class solidarity emerges not just as a matter of principle but as the only viable response to the twin dangers of Putinism and Trumpism.
It goes to say: never Washington or Moscow, and come to think of it, neither London nor Paris.
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