Ethical Foreign Policy

Title: Ethical Foreign Policy

Ethical Foreign Policy

Washington uses “ethical foreign policy” as a strategy to undermine its opponents. Using this strategy it can under the ideological cover of ethics  invade other territories. It is this ethical imperialism that gives Washington the pretext for attacking, bombing and invading Serbia and thereby engaging in a modern colonialism. Washington must resort to this kind of ideological deception because it needs to conceal from the working class it real actions. In the absence of any such concealment there is always the danger of the working class both within and without the US challenging its actions. The fear of the working class underlines American imperialism’s actions. Consequently secrecy and deception is a necessity in its attempt to protect and enhance the conditions necessary for the perpetuation of the accelerated accumulation of capital.

Ethical foreign policy is the means by which Washington acts out its imperialism. Under this policy it can attack, invade and colonise other countries that it seeks to exploit or control for purposes of global strategic concerns. Today imperialist foreign policy must be hidden behind a web of deceit.

Washington and London are forever informing the public that there are “morally bad” and good countries. The bad countries are Russia, China, Serbia, North Korea, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq etc. What is ignored is that there are other “morally wayward” countries too, However these countries are not on the black list because they serve Washington’s imperialist interests --countries such as Indonesia and Colombia. Indeed Washington actively supports these countries both strategically and militarily.

The West mobilise public opinion against a particular “bad” country through its mass media which provides the popular basis for its active intervention. Such a mobilisation may be undertaken for many months. Consequently all views that don’t fit in with the  official view are marginalized and even submerged in the mass media hysteria that is generated by the bourgeoisie. This is why we only here dissenting views after the event has taken place, been completed and consolidated. Criticism post facto is not then a challenge and yet serves the ideological function of presenting the illusion that we live in a world in which freedom of expression exists. Currently it is being done in relation to Russia over Chechnya albeit in a modified form. However it is being done in a modified form because the West is not so sure how they can fully exploit this war for their own gain. However by partially whipping up antagonism they are positioning themselves while menacing Russia as a way of both asserting influence and menacing it. It is also a means of exploiting Chechnya as a means of mobilising antagonism against Russia over the long term –since it can take years to achieve this. It is also designed to obscure from the masses in the West the essence of the situation in the CIS. It is also a way of signalling to Russia what they can do if Russia goes any further in its policy of consolidating or extending the CIS.

This ethical strategy also ideologically reinforces Western capitalism by reinforcing belief in Western society as a good society despite its shortcomings. By attacking “morally depraved” societies it reinforces its own legitimacy. It also distracts the masses  from the inherent limitations of Western capitalism. It gives the Western masses something to let steam off  about –it becomes a substitute for authentic radicalism thereby precluding the emergence of revolutionary movements. It can also serve to maintain the working class in an inert state. It also has the added effect of presenting the imperialist bourgeoisie as being a crusading force for justice. In this way it creates a cross class alliance led by the bourgeoisie. What more could the bourgeoisie ask for.

It creates too a culture  that is ideologically overwhelming. The visceral feeling is created that there is just no basis for a radically different alternative. Consequently one does not even try to present an ideological challenge. The assumptions underlying this imperialist ideology become so pervasive that they become natural givens.

The real situation becomes invisible. Delusion is substituted for reality. This has been all the more effective because old traditional bourgeois ideology have been replaced by this new one. Consciousness lags behind reality. Consequently it takes time for the character of this new ideology to be consciously recognised. Instead the Quixotic exercise of fighting the old ideological giants is engaged in –the unawareness that substance has been metamorphosed into shadow. This in itself is another bourgeois ideology that entails lefties and even radical liberals engaging in a harmless Quixotic exercise.

This ideology of the imperialist ethic spreads out in all directions while deepening its grip on the Western masses so much so that it is metamorphosed into a culture of the ethic. Consequently certain languages and conceptualisations become invisible dropping out of the frame. The culture creates the universal impression that western democracy is the ethical norm –the universal  criterion as to what is just. This culture extends itself into all places. This moralistic conception of global conditions serves the ideological purpose of hiding in a web of deceit and lies the real nature of global conditions. Consequently this ideology lulls the working class into accepting and tolerating political and economic developments that it would challenge if it had a clear vision of the conditions –if it new the facts. This ideology is a screen behind which the bourgeoisie can freely advance their class interests and the continued oppression of the working class. Its oppressions assumes a hidden form. However it needs this ideological veil of secrecy if it is to effectively serve its own class interests. Without this veil of secrecy the working class would not let the capitalist class freely exploit it. It would challenge it.

As I said already to effect this uniform and universal ideology the capitalist class frequently need to modify practical and institutional conditions in order to provide a material support that can sustain this ideology. Under these conditions the device used to deceive the masses rendering them inert transcends the mere ideological level. The ideology, so to speak, is transformed into a hegemonic form. This is a form that includes both the ideological and material conditions that sustain the inability  of the masses to see what is going on. Examples of such phenomenal forms are schools and universities.

The bourgeoisie to effect this universal web of deceit requires a docile mass media including the press, radio and television. These forms must be subordinated to the interests of the bourgeoisie. Consequently they must play a decisive role in deceiving the working class. Their role is pivotal in creating a web of deceit that prevent the masses from comprehending what is really going on. If the masses were to comprehend the real state of affairs they would become more awakened and thereby mobilise against capitalism. In fact a multitude of diverse institutions are employed to maintain this web of deceit: the print media, television, radio, cinema, video, universities, the state, schools, literature etc. There is in existence a massively enormous ideological apparatus that presses down on the working class to prevent it from shaking off this veil of secrecy to gain a grasp of the real fact and thereby oppose the system. Under these conditions the working class is lulled into a state of inertia whereby it is unawakened as to what is really going on. Consequently the working class lack even the critical tools whereby it can an insight as to what is really going on. The working class is thereby ideologically disarmed. This renders the working class incapable of engaging in resistance against the system. It renders the working class passive.

At the same time the material conditions prevailing at a specific point in time determine the specific character of this web of deceit. Because of the changing objective circumstances ideology does not remain static. Particular conditions require particular ideological forms. Particular conditions too can render the working class more vulnerable to ideological deception. Economic and political conditions of a specific kind can prompt the working class into action that challenges the bourgeoisie. Other conditions can render the working class less responsive to challenging or even questioning the status quo. Consequently the position is not a simple that can be reduced to the level of ideological deceit. Nonetheless the bourgeoisie need a permanent web of deceit to render the masses acquiescent. Capitalist society is inherently a deceptive society. By its very objective nature its appearance contradicts its essence. Furthermore and linked into to this it actively and systematically engages in the activity of lying. To survive it must lie. If it did not lie it would cease to exist. Consequently the lying culture created by capitalist conditions encourages lying among the working class. The working class must resist the culture of lies. Capitalism is sustained by the lie. Capitalism is anti-truth. The working class must struggle against the culture of the lie. It must fight against the lie. The more oppressed elements within the working class will tend to be more dominated by the lie. Consequently they will tend to be the less truthful layer within the working class. This being so they are the layer less responsive to the truth which makes them more difficult to argue with and win over to revolutionary communist politics.

Given that the lie rather than the truth is the norm seeking to advance the truth is a very onerous task. It is very difficult to win workers to the truth in a culture of lies from which truth is absent –especially under conditions that don’t render the need for truth all that more urgent.

Now imperialist class interests are hidden behind the screen of ethical foreign policy. Intervention in East Timor by the West in the form of Australian forces  reinforces this illusion of the imperialist crusaders of natural justice. What is ignored is the interests that such intervention serve beyond the screen of a false morality.

This same type of ethical ideology is used to obstruct support for workers when they engage in direct action either in the form of strike action or political rallies. These actions are presented as morally wrong. Again  action taken by the bourgeoisie against workers engaging in direct action is hidden under a web of deceit. If the workers see the real situation they may awaken and challenge the actions of the bourgeoisie.

Hostage takers such as the Burmese Army of God are presented to the public as the source of oppression and brutality against the masses. What is ignored is that this sorry organisation has its source in the Burmese oppressive state which has engaged in a much more systematic savagery against the Burmese citizenry in a way that renders the Army of God look like a lamb. Yet public opinion is mobilised against these hostage takers while the savage acts of the Burmese state are continued  beyond the margins of public attention.

When it is politically opportune these guerrilla organisations can be brought in from the cold and rendered respectable. The treatment given to the Provos is such an example. The imperialist bourgeoisie can manipulate its mass media in such a way that “terrorists” are rendered respectable and its leaders presented as peaceniks when formerly their image was that of demonic figures. Imperialism manipulates and mobilises public opinion to suit its interests. The masses are viewed as a passive blob to be preserved in a state of inertia and that can be shaped this way or that by the institutions of the imperialist bourgeoisie. Again imperialism must conceal its real intentions under a web of deceit and lies.