Gantry 5

 

What does the anti-imperialist struggle mean?

Bulletin N°60 2025  Is Trump fickle, is he stalling? This question, often answered in the affirmative in the media, in no way provides a fair analysis of the orientation and actions of the United States, which, let us remember, is still the leading economic and military power in the globalized capitalist system that constitutes imperialism.  Thus, in the October 18, 2025 editionLe Monde, regarding Ukraine, one can read: "Donald Trump stalls again and displays his confidence in Vladimir Putin," while its editorial is titled: "War in Ukraine: the despairing inconsistency of Donald Trump." In this vein, by questioning his intellectual and cognitive abilities, the editorial in LaRépublique des Pyrénéesgoes further, stating: "Where is Trump going? Does he even know himself, given how fickle he is?" All these assertions ultimately obscure the essential point: the strategic choices of the United States in a global situation where the main clash of tectonic plates between imperialist powers is currently taking place in Asia . This is so true that the systemic adversary designated by the United States is explicitly China, whose capitalist development and the place it occupies in the world constitute a challenge to American superiority. From this point of view, the US-China confrontation weighs heavily on the old world order, the one that emerged from the Second World War and which saw the undisputed domination of the United States within the capitalist world at the same time as the presence of a socialist camp which was its systemic rival in a war from which imperialism emerged victorious and which saw Russia become a competing capitalist power in the imperialist system.
The rivalry between the United States and China is profoundly shaping the global geopolitical landscape of the 21st century . As the journal Exopolitique 2 reminds us : " This multidimensional competition encompasses economic, technological, military, and ideological aspects, redefining the balance of power on an international scale. The stakes in this confrontation are considerable, ranging from the domination of cutting-edge industries to influence within international institutions. Understanding the complex dynamics of this bilateral relationship is crucial for anticipating future developments in the world order and their implications for other nations ."
In this competition, European states and the European Union are more spectators than actors, having made the strategic choice to follow the United States, economically and militarily, through NATO. The United States imposes a heavy military burden on them, which they accept, and the responsibility, at the forefront of their own interests and not those of the United States, of resolving the Ukrainian crisis—a crisis that we, along with dozens of other communist parties, have characterized as a war between imperialists on Ukrainian territory — on the condition that US interests are preserved. However, it would be wrong to assume that the United States is not acting in Ukraine. Without its intelligence services, Ukraine would not be able to direct its strikes deep into Russian territory. Moreover, the interoperability introduced into Ukrainian military equipment allows for rearmament and the use of munitions from NATO countries, including the United States. Although not a member of NATO, Ukraine is undeniably its easternmost outpost. While the United States may intend to outsource the management of the war in Ukraine and its financial burden to the countries of the European Union, it is nonetheless a party to the conflict.
There is a constant in their political line, that of having a free hand both to fight the development of a Euro-Asian bloc being formed around China and Russia, while favoring their business relations with the rising powers of this bloc of which the BRICS+ are a constituent element. As noted in an article in the French daily newspaper Ouest-France on September 24, Trump's statement that " with time, patience, and the financial support of Europe, and in particular NATO, Ukraine could return to its original borders, or even more" revealed , "Trump said nothing about the role the United States could play in the continuation of the conflict, whether it be sanctioning Russia, providing intensive support to Kyiv, or acting as a mediator to achieve a cessation of hostilities. He did, however, specify that his country would continue supplying arms to NATO, with the responsibility falling on the Atlantic Alliance and the Europeans to pay for them and potentially supply them to the Ukrainian military. "
To understand the US strategy in Europe, it is therefore essential to consider the major interests of the large monopolies and the fierce competition developing within the imperialist system for control of raw materials and their exploitation, as well as for control of communications and the workforce. This leads to a fundamental question about the nature of imperialism. Our party has devoted considerable work to this subject, referring to the criteria established by Lenin , on the basis of which he concluded that it is capitalism at its highest stage: the monopolistic stage. It is on this basis that we have characterized the strategic orientation of the United States 6 : " Their interests as an imperialist power do not lie in the continuation of their direct intervention in this war [in Ukraine]. We are therefore far removed from the simplistic analysis of all those who describe contemporary confrontations as those of the global West against the global South. Indeed, there is neither a global West nor a global South; there is a global reality dominated by capitalism in its advanced imperialist stage, where dominant, semi-dominant, and dominated powers operate, and it is the balance of power between them that determines their political behavior."
Combating imperialism, therefore, begins with a correct analysis of its reality. This struggle cannot be limited to denouncing only one part of it: Western imperialism, thereby exonerating other capitalist powers from virtues they do not possess. Revolutionary forces have nothing to gain from adopting this perspective except to become forces legitimizing the actions of their own exploiters and, in effect, to position themselves on the terrain of class collaboration.
Our party, in its anti-imperialist struggle, and particularly against our own imperialism, by demanding France's withdrawal from NATO and its dissolution, does not neglect the global dimension of the struggle against imperialism and emphasizes the central anti-imperialist role of the Palestinian people's national liberation struggle. It is on the basis of this orientation that we participated in the Unity Campaign for the Liberation of G. Abdallah, as well as in the anti-imperialist initiatives of October 17th.
 
5 VI Lenin, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, Éditions Sociales, 1975.