Poratim
January/February
Joao Pedro Stedile

The Congress of the U.S. is currently debating the budget for 2004. They are expecting total costs to be 2.23 trillion dollars. Of this total, 390.4 billion will go toward military spending. (Almost 20% of all public spending.) In the military budget, they are planning to spend 57 billion dollars on scientific studies for new weapons. (While Europe spends on average US$7,000 per soldier in scientific military studies, the US spends US$28,000 per soldier.) Further, the US government is estimating that a war with Iraq will cost anywhere from US$50 - 200 billion. Thus, they are predicting a fiscal deficit of 304 billion dollars. How is the US government planning to cover this debt? By circulating dollars abroad and gathering capital from periphery countries. Conclusion: the US economy is going to try to save itself from the current crisis by spending money on arms and having Third World countries pay for this spending. We will be the ones paying for the war.

According to Pentagon analysts, during this four year term of George W. Bush, the government will accumulate a fiscal deficit of 1.08 billion dollars. According to these same sources, the total military spending during the Bush years will be greater than all of the military spending of all the countries of the world combined.

Another study completed in the US by economist analyst Luis Nassif shows that during the 20 years of neoliberalism, countries in the Third World have sent no less than 1 trillion dollars to the US. Neoliberalism has created an exceptional mechanism for exploiting the Third World, transforming these countries into exporters of capital. And it is exactly this trillion that the US uses to maintain its military power, which in turn is used to deep these same countries under the Empire's domination. Thus the vicious circle of the US's economic, political and military power over the world is complete.

It is becoming more and more clear that Marx was right when he said that capitalism systematically uses the machine of war and death as a way to overcome its cyclical crises, maintaining markets captive. Weapons are made to augment levels of profit regardless of the cost to human lives. Wars are only logical extensions of disputes over markets and economic territories.

For how long will we put up with this financial, military empire? No one knows for sure, but it is certain that its domination represents a step backwards for humanity and the values of equality, fraternity and social justice. Let us all work to oppose war and this Empire.

Joao Pedro Stedile is one of the national leaders of the MST (Landless Worker's Movement).