Armament and “democratic” capital: A German-Turkish model?

There is nothing surprising about this model, the one we are about to describe. It has nothing to do with being Turkish or German. It is, in fact, a universal “economic law.”

There is a direct proportion between capital investments and investment in militarism and the use of military force. This is especially true for foreign investments. Capitalists are not about to let the billions they view as “lambs” be snatched by “wolves”... They are forced to turn military measures into a show of strength.

The model is just like that.

The capitalist is a historical identity that always carries militarism in its pocket.

Perhaps we can explain what we mean more easily this way: If the giant corporations of an advanced capitalist industrial country (one could also call it an “imperialist country”) move their investments, factories, and warehouses to foreign countries, they are also forced to guarantee the security of these investments and their returns (“profit and interest transfers”). In fact, they must control not only the reactions in foreign and dependent markets but also the peace inside (“within the fortress”), as well as the reactions of the working class that is necessarily suppressed (whose “throats are squeezed” for low costs).

It is condemned to armament.

However, militarism does not happen only through the coups of those in uniform. This violence and control can also be exercised through the judiciary and even the ballot box. In coordination, of course...

Therefore, turning to military adventures in foreign markets is the ordinary state of the existing economic system (the “free market economy”). Capital cannot open up abroad without a protector. This is much more important in financial investments. It must take similar measures at home as well. It will lash out at the backs of the working classes at home through the media, in the form of ideological, moral, and political whips, using what remains from the violence of exports.

It was not in vain, then, that the famous French socialist Jean Jaurès realized early on and warned before the First World War: “Capitalism carries war within itself, just as clouds carry rain!” Had he not fallen victim to an assassination, he would have seen for himself what a terrible slaughterhouse was being built.

MIRRORS FACING EACH OTHER

The parallelism between the militarization of the government in Ankara and its chaotic pursuits abroad, and the armament or militarization campaigns of Germany, its most important external contact center, is not surprising. However, Germany has a difference. This industrial country is being shaken to an extent it is not accustomed to, because capital's problems with energy, production costs, and foreign markets are becoming increasingly severe. In recent days, threats from industrial capital to openly “pull production abroad”—in “polite terms,” of course—are increasing rapidly. It is not just the poor who are troubled; even capital itself is divided and has begun to “look askance” at one another.

Things are not going well at all in European Germany.

If the Friedrich Merz government, which is expected to take a heavy blow in the local elections to be held in September, falls, no one will be surprised.

The government in Ankara is forced into military adventures. How else could the “Neo-Ottoman” survive?

What about the government in Berlin? Is it the same?

We always write here: In economic, demographic, military, cultural, “religious,” and political terms, Turkey is not as intertwined with any other country or state as it is with Germany.

There are many examples of this intertwining. Here is one: The children and grandchildren of those who came from our parts are rapidly coming to the fore not only in literature, but also in doner kebabs, cabarets, cinema, etc., and in politics. For instance, there is currently a prime minister of Turkish descent at the head of a state in that important country: Cem Özdemir. And another state and city, Berlin, will likely have a female politician of Turkish descent at its helm in a few weeks: Elif Eralp. If we look at the public opinion polls, that is... If she can form a coalition, of course... Our colleague Işın Ertürk wrote about it in detail on 12punto yesterday.

There are countless examples...

We mentioned “military adventures.” The armament in Germany has reached dimensions that will scare everyone. In 2030, military spending—that is, armament—will be 183 billion euros. This means about 30 percent of a 635 billion euro federal budget. In other words, 1 out of every 3 euros that the central government will spend will go to tanks, artillery, ammunition, fighter jets, warships, military equipment, etc.

War is being sown.

Currently, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov is warning the UK that it is a “party to the war” due to the UAVs it has provided to Ukraine. France and Germany are next in line.

We are also in Europe, at a time when the last remnants of the social state are being shattered.

In Turkey, which is in the clutches of the “Islamic NATO” adventure called the “Mecca Pact,” and in Germany, which is adding fuel to the fire in Ukraine, it is not just wind but a literal storm that is being sown; we do not know what will be reaped.

The government in Ankara is forced to grab the throat of the people, the poor 90 percent. Its most important external connection, Germany, is following a similar path.

The great Greek poet Cavafy said, “You will find no new lands, you will find no other seas / The city will follow you.”

There is nowhere to run, then. The disaster is global.

Islamist Ankara and right-wing Berlin, London, Paris, and Rome are all looking at each other. There is no left left in Europe.

The places where “democrats” try to take refuge are the graveyard of socialism...