No war on China!

The New York Times broke the news on March 20, purportedly based on information leaked by two officials, that Elon Musk had been invited to attend a meeting at the Pentagon. At this meeting, a slide show would be presented detailing U.S. military plans “for any war that might break out with China.” 

The Times bemoaned the fact that “providing Mr. Musk access to some of the nation’s most closely guarded military secrets would be a dramatic expansion of his already extensive role as an adviser to Mr. Trump and leader of his effort to slash spending and purge the government of people and policies they oppose.” 

The newspaper sounded the alarm over potential conflicts of interest based on Musk’s vehicle-producing corporation Tesla, which has business dealings in China, and his SpaceX company, which is a major supplier to the Pentagon.

Hours after the article came out, President Donald Trump denied that the meeting Musk was invited to would be about China. After it took place, Secretary of “Defense” Pete Hegseth said the 80-minute meeting between Musk and Pentagon officials dealt with efficiency and innovation, not China.

Nevertheless, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth wrote in a letter to Hegseth, “There is no legitimate national security or other rationale for providing this information to Mr. Musk.” They demanded to know the details of what information was shared with the centibillionaire. (warren.senate.gov, March 21)

What is it about this squabble between ruling-class factions that impacts workers and oppressed people? Is it the intrusion into government functions by unelected billionaires? 

That is an alarming development, but there is a bigger immediate concern.

“No war on China! No Arms to Taiwan!” message at U.S. Mission to the United Nations, March 30, 2023.

What most impacts our class camp is the very existence of war plans against other countries, including socialist China. According to the Times, “The top-secret briefing that exists for the China war plan has about 20 to 30 slides that lay out how the United States would fight such a conflict. It covers the plan — beginning with the indications and warning of a threat from China to various options on what Chinese targets to hit, over what time period — that would be presented to Mr. Trump for decisions, according to officials with knowledge of the plan.”

A war between China and the U.S. would cause massive loss of life on both sides. There would be material damage to China’s infrastructure. Money that could go to human services in the U.S. would be diverted to the war effort. 

The working class would reap zero benefits from such a war. The only beneficiaries would be the U.S. billionaires, including military corporations, but also the whole wealthy class which regards China as an economic and political threat.

In fact, it is in the best interests of workers and oppressed people in the U.S. to prevent wars against other countries — especially socialist countries where human needs are prioritized over capitalist profits.

For workers the main “conflict of interest” is the irreconcilable class antagonism between labor and capital.

Workers World’s attitude towards a war with socialist China is the same regardless of who the Pentagon’s devious plans are shared with or hidden from — and they are always hidden from the masses. 

No war for profit! Hell no, we won’t go! U.S. hands off China!