Synopsis -
On the 28th June 1914, two pistols shattered the stability of Austria Hungary, breaking out into a world war. But was this just the catalyst for the storm which had been brewing up? Woods analyses how the war was bound to happen and how imperialism brought the world to the bloodiest war in history.
'' War is the father and king of all, and has produced some as Gods and some as Men, and has made some slaves and some free.'' These words are profoundly true, and we should remember that the class struggle is itself a kind of war.
Analysis -
Woods's novel looks at the most gruesome war in a new light. Many when thinking of the origins of world war I think the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the cause for war and leave it there. Others dive deeper and push the blame on German aggression, however woods proves that the backbone to every countries involvement was the greed and selfishness which comes with the desire of being an imperialist country. The book covers everything from the start of the war, literature about it, the battles, and the ending which involves an analysis of revolution and the famous treaty of Versailles which disturbed European peace for years after the war.
What I find so useful about this book is that it explains how the motive behind every country that joined the war was this need to imperialize. It touches on the jealous ambitions of Kaiser's Germany and how it felt in Britain's shadow. Woods uses the analogy of ' robbers' to explain this constant need to colonize among the great powers. The analogy states that one robber was already in possession of half the world and did not need to be bothered and the other wanted to steal it ( Britain and Germany.) Although at times the novel does hint that german aggression was a key reason for the outbreak of war, it goes deeper and exposes that other countries too were aggressive to fulfil the ideology of nationalism - which was isolating much of the world at the time.
Woods solves the mystery of why Russia mobilized first and announced war. He says that ' Russia tsarism combined elements of a semi-feudal, semi-colonial country'. This is significant as it shows the mixed ambitions of Russia. Although Russia did not want to control all of Europe and just the Balkans, from a Marxist analysis we see why mobilization had to occur. French imperialism was pressing Russia to begin hostilities as a means of diverting German forces to the east. The reason why Russia obeyed this however was due to the fact tsarist Russia was heavily in debt to french finance capital, meaning refusing would have caused more issues. In addition to this Russia was still struggling from the embarrassment of Russo- Japanese war, prestige was at an all-time low. To boost Russias reputation mobilization had to occur to prove its dominance in the sphere of the European War. To highlight a quote from woods; '' Russia paid with the blood of her people for her right to be a member of the rich man's club of imperialism''.
Woods exposes the vitality of the motives behind the origins of world war one from a Marxist perspective, however, what I found most fascinating was the analysis of the American economy and how American prosperity led them into the war. America was benefitting significantly from the war as from 1914-1917, American industrial production increased thirty - two percent, and GNP increased by almost 20. Even when America joined the war profits began to boom. However, woods proves that the interpretation that America was not an imperialist country is easy to doubt. The imperialist motives of America were already showing in the war with Spain in 1898 which led to the de facto annexation of Cuba by the USA. However, the seizure of the Philippines and the invasion of Haiti showed America's true ideology. The novel shows that the invasion of Haiti was not to create stability but to protect the large asset of US business and forestalling a possible German invasion. The phrase ' the whole world for Americans' shows that a country riddled with economic prosperity still relies on the power that imperalism brings.
The book touches on the treaty of Versaille and the revolution however that is not relevant in the important question that intrigues many historians - who was responsible for the outbreak of the war? Woods's book proves how countries as powerful as America to as weak as turkey joined the war to sustain a world status. Woods uncovers and answers the argument of encirclement, aggression, and murder. A quote that has always stood out to me is ' that to be a Marxist always means to challenge one's ideas about the world'. It seems that Alan woods has successfully proven the legitimacy of that. Despite political differences, this novel can prove to even the most right-wing believers that world war I was not caused by aggression or encirclement but by the ultimate desire to be a great power - which could only happen under a capitailist economy.
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