The return of German imperialism

Lord Beria3 · Post by **Lord Beria3** » 21 Feb 2013, 22:06

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/02 ... s-f21.html

Germany is making intensive preparations to conduct new wars to secure resources. This was the unmistakable message of a lead article in Germany's business newspaper Handelsblatt, “Expedition Resources: Germany's new course.”

The article shows the real face of the German bourgeoisie. As in the first half of the twentieth century, when it twice played a central role in plunging humanity into world war, it is again moving to enforce its imperialist interests through war. “The previous political measures to secure raw materials are reaching their limits,” the Handelsblatt states. Dependence on raw materials is the German economy’s Achilles heel, the paper writes: “Industry is plagued by the fear that the high-tech sector in Germany could be cut off from essential supplies.”

The very same business circles that financed Hitler are again banging the war drums. The article cites an interview with Dierk Paskert, the manager of the Resource Alliance founded in 2011. Members of the alliance include Volkswagen, ThyssenKrupp, Bayer and BASF—firms that either directly supported Nazi war plans, or whose predecessors did. Now they work closely with the German government to plan how Berlin will secure access to critical raw materials across the globe, by force if necessary.

The hunger of Germany’s export-dependent industry for materials and markets is huge. According to Handelsblatt German raw material imports over the last decade have nearly tripled. “The battle for resources is about oil and gas, but also minerals.” Handelsblatt gives a detailed overview of such highly prized resources as lithium, cobalt, chromium, indium and rare earth elements, and cites the growing conflict between the major powers over such resources.

The Return of the Reich looms... old school geopolitics in Europe is going to re-emerge.

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 21 Feb 2013, 22:14

Materials, eh? So, they can either recycle, or invade Russia. (hint: which one of these two options has, historically, never succedded

? Tough call...)

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 22 Feb 2013, 03:58

They can't easily recycle the vast amount of material that they export. We'd better hang onto Trident for a few more years then and hope that the deterrent works.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 22 Feb 2013, 10:29

Why pick on Germany?

Post by **clv101** » 22 Feb 2013, 10:46

That article is a load of sensationalist rubbish in my opinion. Talk of the Nazis, of German companies that supported them (which companies didn't?), of securing resources by force, German imperialism threatening WW3?

This is junk.

Post by **adam2** » 22 Feb 2013, 11:24

clv101 wrote:That article is a load of sensationalist rubbish in my opinion. Talk of the Nazis, of German companies that supported them (which companies didn't?), of securing resources by force, German imperialism threatening WW3?

This is junk.

Agree.
I very much doubt that Germany will start the next war.
Purchasing raw materials is probably cheaper than a war, although many materials are increasingly costly, wars are very expensive in terms of the amount of property and material consumed or destroyed.

Yves75 · Post by **Yves75** » 22 Feb 2013, 14:25

Plus one could say that regarding imperialism, Germany hasn't been the champion in Europe ...
And for instance there isn't any German company in the oil "majors" ...

By the way did you know that the cumulative "production" of western majors has been decreasing since 2004 ! :

From :
http://petrole.blog.lemonde.fr/2013/02/ ... S-32280322

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 22 Feb 2013, 14:38

Germany hasn't got a navy capable of projecting force on another continent, which is where most of the minerals are now. Mind you neither have we until the aircraft become available for our new aircraft carriers, when they become available! The Argentines are being a bit slow over the Falklands. Now is their prime time to invade.

The Germans would have to take on Russia again if they wanted to pinch any minerals without an aircraft carrier. Can't see them wanting to do that after the last experience and the Russians now have a nuclear deterrent.

Lord Beria3 · Post by **Lord Beria3** » 22 Feb 2013, 18:33

clv101 wrote:That article is a load of sensationalist rubbish in my opinion. Talk of the Nazis, of German companies that supported them (which companies didn't?), of securing resources by force, German imperialism threatening WW3?

This is junk.

Clearly you didn't get the article.

The german bigwigs are saying that acquiring strategic resources through the free market is the best way of doing things but due to the rising struggle for resources, it cannot be relied upon in the future.

I would have thought that is a fairly sensible thing to say. Peak oil means that the free market in oil trading could be partially or totally finished at some point in the future.

The bigwigs in German industry are saying that Germany needs to be ready, if this eventuality happened, to go to Plan B, e.g. resource wars which they are quite open about.

Germany clearly needs to develop a navy (as the option of war against Russia is a total non-starter) to ensure that it can send troops to Africa (resource rich). I'm sure if Germany put its mind to it, it could in the coming decades.

Remember the German military report into PO and the warning of the collapse of the free market in oil and globalisation. Germany needs to start preparing in the coming decades for the use of force to ensure that supplies of strategic raw materials continue going to the Fatherland.

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 22 Feb 2013, 18:44

We'd better start looking after our remaining North Sea oil then. I did see something in another thread here a while ago saying that Germany was threatening Norway over North Sea gas supply and that they had better supply them rather than us. Glad we've got nukes then. One should do it or maybe two as in Japan.

Post by **clv101** » 22 Feb 2013, 19:23

Lord Beria3 wrote:
clv101 wrote:That article is a load of sensationalist rubbish in my opinion. Talk of the Nazis, of German companies that supported them (which companies didn't?), of securing resources by force, German imperialism threatening WW3?

This is junk.
Clearly you didn't get the article.

The german bigwigs are saying that acquiring strategic resources through the free market is the best way of doing things but due to the rising struggle for resources, it cannot be relied upon in the future.

I would have thought that is a fairly sensible thing to say. Peak oil means that the free market in oil trading could be partially or totally finished at some point in the future.

The bigwigs in German industry are saying that Germany needs to be ready, if this eventuality happened, to go to Plan B, e.g. resource wars which they are quite open about.

Germany clearly needs to develop a navy (as the option of war against Russia is a total non-starter) to ensure that it can send troops to Africa (resource rich). I'm sure if Germany put its mind to it, it could in the coming decades.

Remember the German military report into PO and the warning of the collapse of the free market in oil and globalisation. Germany needs to start preparing in the coming decades for the use of force to ensure that supplies of strategic raw materials continue going to the Fatherland.

I agree that it will get harder to secure resources through the free market - but it doesn't follow that securing them by force will become viable! If the free market for raw materials is going to collapse - who to and how are they expecting to export their BMWs to? Much of the junk I refer to that article is the imperialistic/Nazi/WW3 language - I'm sure you agree that's just plain daft.

Lord Beria3 · Post by **Lord Beria3** » 22 Feb 2013, 20:14

I don't think the reference to Nazism is wrong - these companies and in some cases their family grandfathers had no problem with financing and working with some truly evil regimes. Ergo, they won't have a problem with bringing into power a similar type of regime in the future.

In regard to WW3, I agree that the WSWS could make a better point in emphasising the low probability (in a era of nukes) to WW3. At the same time, it is not unthinkable and it could happen in the future.

At the end of the day, the WSWS presents a alternative perspective in world affairs which, in conjunction with more mainstream analysis, is a benefit.

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 23 Feb 2013, 03:24

Any adventure in Africa is likely to come up against Chinese resistance eventually as they own large parts of the mineral resource there. they've got people in place to act as a trigger and they've got the man power to sort things out, if not the technology. There was a thread a while ago which flagged up a story about the US taking on an African regime and China intervening, successfully.

I think we have to adopt the Greek way of living with adversity, occupation in their case, over the years which is to generally live with it, ignore it and work around it. Mind you in the case of the Germans in WW2 they did fight back, but that may have been at our instigation, and it cost them dear in atrocities.