A-Infos (en) Germany, LIKOS: Out to May 1st, 2026! - Anti-capitalist bloc at the DGB demonstration (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

10:00 AM, Old Trade Union House, Kollegienwall 14, Osnabrück - Call to 
join the anti-capitalist bloc at the DGB May 1st demonstration in 2026: 
Break the logic of war! Against all social cutbacks! It's no secret that 
Germany is massively rearming. "Germany must be made fit for war again" 
is the unambiguously stated goal of those in power. Unfortunately, 
resistance to this has so far been largely absent or ineffective. ---- 
In 2022, after the "turning point" of the Russian Federation's attack on 
Ukraine, a so-called "special fund" of 100 billion euros was approved 
for rearmament. This additional mountain of debt could be incurred 
despite the "debt brake" enshrined in the Basic Law  when it comes to 
missiles and tanks, all budgetary tricks are quickly deemed acceptable.

In 2022, following the "turning point" of the Russian Federation's 
attack on Ukraine, a so-called "special fund" of 100 billion euros was 
approved for rearmament. Soon after, in 2024, Germany reached the 
arbitrary NATO (and arms industry) "benchmark" stipulating that at least 
2% of the gross domestic product should be spent on the military. By 
2026, expenditures exceeding EUR108 billion, plus an additional special 
fund, are already planned.

These absurd military expenditures are not the only indication of 
society's systematic preparation for war. Mobilization is palpable in 
almost every aspect of life. This is evident in the Bundeswehr's 
propaganda posters, which now confront us almost everywhere in our daily 
lives, aimed at recruiting young people, or in the reintroduction of 
"voluntary military service" for those born from 2008 onward. Or even in 
the potential production of military equipment at the Volkswagen plant 
in Osnabrück.

To justify all these impositions, which run counter to the interests of 
wage-earning people, it is invoked throughout the country that the great 
enemy, Russia, is practically on our doorstep a claim that, objectively 
speaking, should not be taken seriously.

Russia's military spending in 2025 was estimated at $134-145 billion, 
while NATO's was around $1.59 trillion. NATO, therefore, spent eleven 
times more on its military than Russia in 2025. And that's not even 
mentioning the thousands of nuclear weapons held by NATO members like 
the US, the UK, and France, and their extreme deterrent potential.

Let's be clear  Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, which 
has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, must be condemned.

However, the constant refrain, trotted out for years by mainstream 
political parties, that there's no money for social programs, is clearly 
exposed as a fabricated lie by the current arms race. This arms buildup 
consumes enormous sums of money, which is why it inevitably goes hand in 
hand with a devastating dismantling of social services. This reveals, 
not just abstractly, the interests the state represents, but very 
concretely.

Care level 1 is to be abolished, the Deutschlandticket (Germany ticket) 
is becoming increasingly expensive (now EUR63), dental visits are to be 
paid for out of pocket, the 8-hour workday is being "flexibilized"... 
Not to mention the people who depend on basic income support. They are 
subjected to constant harassment from broad segments of society, serving 
as a projection screen for the hatred and resentment of those who still 
have paid work but nonetheless have a decent standard of living. The 
fact that elite representatives are discussing where and how much more 
can be cut from the subsistence level of the poorest and most powerless 
people is simply perfidious, but it's a deliberate strategy.

Impoverishment, homelessness, and hunger are a constant threat used to 
keep the working class quiet, to prevent them from demanding higher 
wages, striking, or resisting in the workplace.


The true nature of the state, which, as the ideal collective capitalist, 
serves the interests of capital, could hardly be more clearly exposed 
than by the "guns instead of butter" discourse of recent years. It has 
never been, and never will be, about the needs of the majority, the 
workers, the poor, and the oppressed, but rather about the self-serving 
accumulation of capital and its violent securing and expansion both 
internally and externally.

A world war against Russia is unlikely for the reasons already 
mentioned, but a Federal Republic of Germany that uses its new military 
might for worldwide wars and gunboat diplomacy à la Kaiser Wilhelm is 
practically guaranteed.

Massive rearmament is not solely a phenomenon of the Federal Republic of 
Germany, but affects all centers of the global logic of capitalism 
growth, competition, and the exploitation of people and the environment 
only function if states possess the killing machines ("power 
projection") to enforce the interests of their own capital against both 
imperialist competitors and the weaker states of the Global South.

The arsonists and gangsters of the Trump regime have exemplified this in 
recent months: Bombing Venezuela and kidnapping the president resulted 
in (temporary?) control over the country's gigantic oil reserves. The 
invasion of Iran, though more complex, follows a similar logic of 
intra-imperialist competition against China, as can be read in our text 
"Savages vs. Bloodhounds."

The expansion of nation-states to gain further spheres of influence, new 
markets, and "free trade" for their capital is an inevitable consequence 
of a system that relentlessly squeezes profits from both people and 
nature as Marx explained in "Capital": "300 percent, and there is no 
crime it will not risk, even at the risk of the gallows."

This makes it all the more important for us not only to moralize and 
call for social reforms, but also to take a clear anti-capitalist 
stance. A better world will only be possible when we overcome capitalism 
as an economic system and a form of society.

On International Workers' Day, we fight for a livable future for all! We 
refuse to accept these conditions because, as the wage-dependent class, 
we are the ones who must sacrifice our time, our health, and, in some 
cases, our lives for the madness of capital and the imperialist wars 
waged by its states.

Therefore, let us build a counter-power from below. We must fight for 
our interests as wage earners, against the wars of those who rule us!

Out on May Day!

Join the anti-capitalist bloc!

https://likos.noblogs.org/2026/04/02/heraus-zum-1-mai-2026/
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