War. Causes and consequences
What is war?
"War is a continuation of politics" - this is the most famous phrase of Clausewitz, which clearly shows that wars are one of the means of implementing state policy, and war is primarily subordinate to politicians, so there is no need to build illusions about the "inadmissibility of war". In addition to continuing politics, war is the highest form of struggle, the goal of which is to achieve a more just world (at least for one of the parties), because an unjust world leads to new wars. An example of this is Hitler's revenge for the humiliating Versailles peace... To sum it up, we can say that war is an attempt to untie the tangle of contradictions between states through violence.
Causes of wars
Wars begin because of economic contradictions, namely the desire for monopoly of corporations in their industries, and the state, which is the apparatus of violence of the ruling class, actively indulges this. Over time, a number of large imperialist powers are formed, which, striving for monopolization, begin military conflicts.
Many idealists blame human nature for everything, but if you look at each conflict, it becomes clear that the economic reason is at the forefront. For example, the Iran-Iraq War began because of Saddam Hussein's desire to seize Iranian oil fields, WWI - for the redivision of the world, the Anglo-Boer War - for minerals, and here, for example, is Samuel Huntington's description of the reason for the start of Desert Storm:
The Gulf War was the first post-Cold War resource war between civilizations. The question at stake was whether the bulk of the world's oil reserves would be controlled by Saudi and Emirati governments whose security depended on Western military might, or by independent, anti-Western regimes that could exploit the "oil boom" weapons against" the West.
The impact of hostilities on the civilian population
The crime rate is increasing, there is often speculation on the ground, soldiers often destroy civilians while advancing (depending on the degree of hostility between the two states and the discipline of the soldiers, the ideology of the countries), after the end of a modern war (by which we mean wars from World War II to the present day) anti-personnel mines remain on the territories of states.
The number of mines in 2005 in Africa was 22 million, in Asia - 39 million, and in the Middle East - 50 million. This problem is especially acute to this day in countries such as Sudan, Iraq, Cambodia, Afghanistan and a number of other states that have been rolled over by war.
The use of chemical and bacteriological weapons also has consequences. For example, the Americans sprayed 72 million liters of defoliants containing 170 kg of dioxin in Vietnam, which exposed more people than anywhere else. In 50 districts of Vietnam, the dioxin content in the environment still remains at dangerous levels. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, about 2 million people were exposed to defoliants, and the number of children with birth defects reaches 50 thousand.
Military conflicts cause famine and leave behind destroyed homes, factories, hospitals and other residential infrastructure.
Environmental consequences
Modern wars have a strong impact on the environment. We are not even talking about the use of chemical and bacteriological weapons or, say, nuclear weapons, but about the destruction of hydroelectric power stations, oil wells, dams, etc.
The Gulf War (1991) is proof of my words, during which Iraqi troops allegedly dumped oil into the Persian Gulf to stop the American landing. This action was considered an act of eco-terrorism, which caused damage to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. According to scientists from different countries, this is a major ecological tragedy, with serious consequences for the region.
A more recent example can be given: the shelling of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the detonation of which would have threatened a new “Chernobyl”.
Conclusion
There is an opinion in society that a new war is impossible, that “the politicians at the top will come to an agreement,” that “everything will settle down,” but the Gordian knot of contradictions between states can only be cut with a sword. It would seem that the SVO should open everyone’s eyes, but the majority were surprised again when Hamas attacked Israel. The question is: what could have been expected when the enmity between Arabs and Jews has lasted for a century, when the Arab population is oppressed in Israel, when Gaza has been turned into a reservation? Sooner or later, a war was bound to begin, as, incidentally, did the SVO in Ukraine.
But the media is forming the opinion in society that war is unacceptable and impossible, because human life is sacred and reason will triumph over weapons. Empty populism to calm the population.
Meanwhile, war does not start spontaneously. The political ground is prepared for a long time before the guns are used. In the system in which we live, wars are inevitable. Sooner or later, capitalist contradictions will reach their peak, and a new war will begin.
The First World War was called "the war that will end all wars," but just 21 years later a new war broke out, even more terrible than the last one. No matter what horrors a war brings, no matter what consequences it has, this usually does not stop militarists. Yes, a nuclear war is unlikely, but even without the use of nuclear weapons, war takes thousands of lives and brings only hunger, disease and other eternal companions of war.
Sources of
M. Trebin "Wars of the XXI",
Carl von Clausewitz "On War"
S. Huntington "Clash of Civilizations"
D. Francis "Rethinking War and Peace"
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