“War Is the Basis of Accumulation” - Ali Kadri on Genocide, Waste, Imperialism, and the Commodification of Death
Nov 16, 2023
auto_awesome
Ali Kadri, author of Arab Development Denied and other books, discusses the theory of waste in relation to war, genocide, and imperialism. The podcast explores the impact of war on global capitalism, the struggle in Palestine, interconnectedness of the global economy, the role of economic growth, the concept of waste, challenges of overcoming structural barriers, and the presence of liberal left and Western Marxist ideologies.
War is a fundamental part of capitalism, serving as a means for accumulation of cheap resources and labor.
Waste in capitalism extends beyond physical trash, encompassing the waste of human life and nature.
Resistance forces in the Middle East draw on cultural and historical identities to fight against imperialism and assert their right to life and existence.
Deep dives
War as the Basis of Accumulation
War is not just an adjacent aspect of the economy, but a continuous and vital process for accumulation. It serves as a means to obtain cheap resources and labor, which is essential for industrial processes and economic growth. Wars, whether visible or invisible, such as structural genocide or austerity measures, are all part of the ongoing war that capital wages to extract more profit from social nature and human life. This understanding challenges the notion that war is a burden on the economy and highlights its integral role in the global capitalist system.
The Theory of Waste
Waste is not limited to physical trash, but encompasses the waste of human life and nature. Capitalism inherently wastes social nature and molds man and nature into commodities to be exploited. The waste of human life is seen through premature deaths caused by wars, structural genocide, and the actions of neoliberalism. Capitalism's pursuit of accumulation requires the dispossession of people and the expropriation of the working class. This notion of waste challenges the prevailing capitalist notion of progress and highlights the devastating impact that capitalism has on society and the environment.
Resistance and Regional Dynamics
Resistance forces in the Middle East, often labeled as Islamic, play a crucial role in opposing the capitalist system and its destructive policies. These forces, such as those in Gaza, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, draw on their cultural and historical identities to fight against imperialism and assert their right to life and existence. The diverse cultural forms within the Islamic world provide a foundation for collective resistance against capital. It is through organized struggle and planning that humanity can oppose the destructive forces of capitalism and work towards a more equitable and just future.
The system of waste and imperialist war
The podcast episode discusses the concept of waste within global societies and how it is closely tied to imperialist wars. The speaker emphasizes that waste of human life is integral to a degenerative system. Imperialist wars are seen as a key component of this system, as they create social relationships where societies in the North exploit and extract resources from societies in the South. The exploitation of the environment also contributes to this process, as it leads to primitive accumulation and the privatization of labor. The episode highlights the interconnectedness of war, waste, and capital accumulation.
The need to challenge the international power structure
The episode delves into the need for a coalition and a shift in the global power structure to challenge imperialism and settler expansionism. It argues that the struggle against imperialism is both a national liberation war and a class war. The speaker emphasizes that defeating imperialism requires eroding the power of international capital, particularly in Israel and Taiwan. The episode also critiques certain forms of activism within the imperial core and stresses the importance of addressing the underlying power dynamics and overcoming divisions among the working class. It concludes that the war of ideas and the fight against imperialism are crucial for realizing a more just global order.
Ali Kadri is the author of Arab Development Denied: Dynamics of Accumulation by Wars of Encroachment, The Unmaking of Arab Socialism: Anthem Frontiers of Global Political Economy and Development and The Cordon Sanitaire: A Single Law Governing Development in East Asia and the Arab World
Max Ajl recently recommended that everyone needs to be reading Dr. Kadri’s work in these times, and so we reached out to have a conversation with him and I’m so glad that we did and we can share it with you all. In this discussion we talk to Ali Kadri about his theory of waste, and how we make sense of war and genocide within our analysis of how capitalism functions on a global scale. Dr. Kadri gets into these dynamics in relation to the struggle to the genocide of Palestinians today. And we talk about imperialism and the class dynamics at play in the current struggle. I found this to be a super illuminating discussion in the current moment. This was recorded on November 8th, 2023.
Check out all 16 of our recent livestreams on our youtube channel.
Tonight, November 16th at 8 PM ET we will be hosting a screening of the film The Lobby - USA and we will host a panel afterwards. This is a documentary film that goes into the aims, strategies and tactics of the pro-Israel lobby in the US with regards to crushing Palestinian solidarity organizing among students and I highly recommend it. If you’re listening to this after November 16th you can catch the replay at the same link which will be in the show notes.
