Statement of the World Federation of Democratic Youth for the 100 years since the beginning of World War I.
The past 28th of July marked the 100 years anniversary since the beginning of the First World War. It was the beginning of the fist global large scale war conflict created by the antagonisms of imperialist powers. It was the terrifying revelation of the results of the monopolistic stage of capitalism. The millions of dead and the enormous disasters that involved countries from all the continents will forever be a reminder of the results of imperialist antagonisms and aggressions; it will always be a reminder that the imperialist alliances are serving the interests of the bourgeoisie of each country but not the interests of the peoples.
The assassination of the heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, led to the beginning of the war. But the real reasons that led to the first global imperialist war can be found the passing of capitalism to its monopolistic stage, imperialism. The fact that the development of capitalism couldn’t be limited to the borders of a single state, and that the national monopolies needed to expand their markets created tensions over the conquest of colonies and the control of trade routes. This antagonisms together with the crisis of the late 19th century, led to the creation of alliances of imperialist states and to the military build-ups.
Today we can find that history repeats itself with new imperialist alliances, groupings and continuous military build-ups. The re-arrangements of borders and alliances that take place, usually violently are creating sparks that can lead to wider international conflicts and wars. The capitalist crisis once again pushes the tensions to their limits. The need for control of the energy fields and especially the energy routes creates an intensive competition among monopolies. The effort to impose certain political environments and the speculative nature of imperialism generate developments that even their instigators cannot control. We can see this taking place now in the Middle East in Ukraine with unpredictable consequences.
We, as part of the international anti-imperialist movement, as progressive young men and women pay our tribute to the victims of the great imperialist war. Our struggle for peace and friendship among peoples, our struggle to overthrow imperialism is what brings hope for a better future for mankind, for the necessary step of progress. As the great October Revolution gave life through the ruins of the First World War, we commit to defeat imperialism to bring peace to the peoples.
