--- Title: Why do you speak of war as a present-day danger? Date: 27/09/2020 Category: Global News Tags: imperialism war URL: https://marxismo.school/communia/en/why-do-you-speak-of-war-as-a-present-day-danger --- Even though it is not on TV news, one of the fastest growing and most consolidated trends in the world during the last three years has been the **general rearmament of armies**: [from Morocco](https://www.lainformacion.com/mundo/marruecos-amenaza-dominio-militar-espana-mediterraneo-occidental/2813965/) to [Japan](https://mainichi. jp/english/articles/20200922/p2g/00m/0na/018000c), from a [Brazil wanting to become a continental gendarme](https://www.cronista.com/columnistas/El-nuevo-Libro-Blanco-de-Defensa-de-Brasil-marca-la-consolidacion-de-una-tendencia-preocupante-para-America-Latina-20200728-0044.html) to an [Australia wanting to do the same in the Indian and the Pacific](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-53244752). The **increase of armed clashes and skirmishes directly between great powers**, beyond the dimensions of the combats between proxy forces in different scenarios. We are talking about [armored vehicles shooting at each other in Syria](https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200919/p2g/00m/0in/047000c), bombardments of [border artillery](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/watch-indian-army-targets-pak-terror-launch-pad-across-loc-with-heavy-artillery-guns/videoshow/75087559.cms?from=mdr) or clashes between fighter planes [from Alaska](https://www.dw.com/es/aviaci%C3%B3n-de-eeuu-intercepta-naves-rusas-cerca-de-alaska/a-53967970) to [the Mediterranean](http://www.ekathimerini.com/252276/article/ekathimerini/news/turkish-fighters-harass-greek-helicopter-carrying-defense-minister). The kind of things that, when its frequency crosses a certain threshold, warn of a change in background. Something that, in the end, is also reflected in the level of [verbal violence in official relations](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/terrorism-clandestine-nuclear-trade-pakistans-only-crowning-glory-for-70-years-india-at-un/articleshow/78327545.cms). The current tone would have seemed unimaginable between countries not engaged in open warfare even during the cold war. It is not only that the [spectre of war is once again present](https://marxismo.school/communia/en/75th-anniversary-of-the-un) as a distant and unpleasant threat. War, the prospect of a great war involving the great powers, is now [part of the _normal_ political conversation in the English-speaking world](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/27/trump-first-now-drives-us-foreign-policy-even-if-it-leads-to-war), and in Asia it has been for some time. In China, even immediate scenarios are discussed in the media, and [the army says it is preparing for a military attack before the November presidential elections in the United States](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3096017/could-donald-trump-start-war-china-over-scarborough-shoal-win). imperialism imperialism ## And yet... productive forces