Capitalism As Barbarism – OpEd

Lenin characterised capitalism in France and Britain as "civilised barbarism," and referred to the so-called Western civilisation as "capitalist barbarism," driven by the "stupid avarice of a handful of millionaires” who converted people as “slaves of wealth” during the early twentieth century. He further argued that “civilisation,freedom and wealth under capitalism call to mind the rich glutton who is rotting alive but will not let what is young live on”. The realities of imperialist wars, conflicts, the cost-of-living crisis, diminishing welfare, wage stagnation, unemployment, child poverty, growing reliance on food banks, and rising homelessness in advanced capitalist countries today echo Lenin’s analysis and observations from the early twentieth century.

The intensification of the capitalist crisis has transformed capitalism into uncivilised barbarism in the twenty-first century. Imperialist wars and conflicts, often waged in the name of nationalism and religion, are strategies designed to further deepen the crisis, domesticate populations, and divert revolutionary consciousness, thereby undermining the potential for revolutionary movements for peace and prosperity. The capitalist crisis is not only inherent to the system, but it is also a tool used by capitalism to domesticate people and normalise crisis in the everyday lives of working people.

Austerity measures are designed as economic policies to further diminish people's potential by privatising public resources and cutting welfare budgets, all in the name of creating a balanced budget for economic stability and growth. In reality, austerity is a socialist project for the capitalist class, where the majority are marginalised under the burden of their everyday struggles. The rising cost of living is a form of daylight robbery of the commons. Austerity is not merely an economic policy but a quasi-religious project of capitalism, aimed at amassing profit at the expense of people and the planet.

Capitalism as a system can never offer an alternative that ensures human happiness, peace, and prosperity. As Rosa Luxemburg argued, 'no medicinal herbs can grow in the dirt of capitalist society which can help cure capitalist anarchy.' It can only produce an alienated life and society, where death and destitution become everyday norms. From Europe to the Middle East, from Asia to the Arab world, and from the Americas to Africa, countries and continents are experiencing various forms of imperialist wars and capitalist resource conflicts, all aimed at ensuring the dominance of capitalism in its many forms. Capitalism uses everyday violence as a tool to naturalise dehumanisation of life and normalise domestication of labour, undermining consciousness based on reason, science, and secularism—principles essential for a radical social transformation that can offer alternatives free from wars, exploitation and inequality.

The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University has liberally estimated that 432,093 civilians have died directly, while an additional 3.6 to 3.8 million people have died indirectly as a direct result of American wars. In total, more than 4.7 million people have lost their lives due to imperialist wars led by the U.S. since 9/11. Most of the deaths and casualties in these imperialist wars are from Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan. Furthermore, it is estimated that more than 7.6 million children under five are suffering from acute malnutrition in post-9/11 war zones. It appears that Western imperialism, led by the United States, treats people in these conflict areas as disposable commodities.

Historically, barbarism is an inalienable part of capitalism and its slaughterhouse. The decadent and uncivilised culture of capitalism encourages imperialist wars, conflicts, and various forms of invasion in the name of promoting liberal values, democracy, human rights, and freedom. However, in reality, imperialism promotes various forms of culture of violence and dominance based on the values of mass consumerism, with the market as the dominant force organising society, economy, politics, and culture, all in order to normalise barbarism. Friedrich Engels once said, “Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads: either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism.” Contemporary capitalism, along with its imperialist industrial military complex led by the NATO, is pushing humanity toward barbarism at the expense of human lives and the planet. Thus, the choice is ours: whether to embrace socialism as an available alternative or descend into the uncivilised barbarism of capitalism.