Imagine this:
You, the man at the machine and in the workshop, if tomorrow they order you to make steel helmets and machine guns instead of water pipes and valves, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the woman behind the desk or working at the factory line, if tomorrow they order you to fill bombs or assemble sniper rifle scopes, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the factory owner, if tomorrow they command you to sell gunpowder instead of powder and cocoa, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the researcher in the lab, if tomorrow they ask you to invent a new death to replace life, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the poet in your room, if tomorrow they tell you to sing hate songs instead of love songs, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the doctor at the bedside of a patient, if tomorrow they command you to enlist men for war, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the cleric in the pulpit, if tomorrow they demand you preach holy words about war, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the captain on the ship, if tomorrow they tell you to transport tanks and artillery instead of grain, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the pilot at the airport, if tomorrow they order you to rain bombs and phosphorus on cities, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the tailor at your sewing machine, if tomorrow they command you to sew uniforms, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the judge in your robe, if tomorrow they call you to sit in war tribunals, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the man at the station, if tomorrow they instruct you to signal the departure of trains carrying ammunition and troops, there is only one thing to do: Say NO!
You, the mother in Normandy, in Ukraine, in Frisco, in London, on the Hoangho and the Mississippi, in Hamburg, Korea, and Oslo—mothers across all lands of the world, if tomorrow they ask you to bear nurses and children for new massacres, there is only one thing to do: Say NO! Mothers, SAY NO!
Wolfgang Borchert
October 7th was the day Israel’s image of invulnerability was shattered, but this disaster was not limited to the collapse of its corrupt leadership. It was also a catastrophe for companies at the heart of Israel’s war industry, especially the star performer, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Just as Netanyahu was questioned for his neglect and strategic failures in the loss of life during the raid he dubbed a “holocaust” (disaster), the companies producing the security technologies believed to provide safety were also scrutinized for their failures. For these companies, image is everything, and any loss of reputation directly impacts profitability. Just as losing an election is disastrous for a politician, losing profit is catastrophic for a company. Profit is power, and any decline in profitability weakens capital’s accumulation of power, which is intolerable. This is why war is always “good business” for both companies and politicians.
For politicians, war consolidates power; nationalistic fervor inflates their sails, but only if they achieve victory. A victorious war brings immense prestige and elevates their status to new heights. Governments love war because it stirs nationalist feelings to their peak. All that military buildup serves this purpose.
One of our era’s most important sociologist-philosophers, Zygmunt Bauman, explained this with the concept of selfish death: we want our soldiers to survive at all costs, almost as if they were immortal. But the more casualties the enemy suffers, the better it is for us. Modern warfare technology is entirely built on this principle. The killing capacity of weapons has dramatically increased, and as a result, most casualties in modern wars are civilians because enemy command centers are deeply embedded within cities. Missiles targeting enemy command posts inevitably kill many non-combatants, just as bombs dropped from planes do.
In Bauman’s metaphor, global misfortunes created by humans, like natural disasters, strike unpredictably. It’s like walking through a minefield—you know there will be an explosion, but no one knows when or where. There’s an urge to bomb the minefield, to destroy the mines before they explode. If you have an unlimited supply of bombs and no other way to address the problem, this becomes an especially tempting approach.
Bauman’s analogy is best expressed in the doctrine of preventive war. If you have the most advanced weaponry, you must use it somewhere. The concept of “expenditure” comes from French philosopher Georges Bataille and anthropologist Georges Balandier, who described Pacific island tribal rituals where everything is consumed to the point of waste, in ceremonies called potlatch. War, too, is the consumption of destructive energy, and all our advanced weapons are designed to channel this destructive energy while causing minimal harm to us. Just as economies need consumption to grow, war economies need the destruction of military technology to expand. Let’s set aside Marxist analysis of the war economy for now and focus on the war companies.
October 7th: A Lifeline for Companies
On October 7th, companies like Rafael, which manufactures Israel’s famous layered air defense system, experienced a sudden drop in stock value due to reputational damage. Its key partner in technology transfer, the world-renowned U.S. arms manufacturer Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX Corporation), also suffered. But after October 7th, everything changed for these companies. RTX’s fortunes turned around almost instantly, experiencing a production boom. Boaz Levy, the CEO of Rafael, explained that after the initial uncertainty, they increased production capacity and hired new personnel. He noted that the company’s post-war balance sheet showed significant improvement compared to the previous year, with many new orders.
Following closely behind was Lockheed Martin, another American company whose market value skyrocketed. RTX, which had a market value of $40.6 billion, saw a 73.4% increase in shares after the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
A similar trend is visible in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)’s annual arms expenditure report, which showed a 2% increase in global spending on arms in 2023 compared to the previous year. While Europe increased its arms budget due to the Ukraine war, the global market saw a 3.3% decline. However, the Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia, provided a lifeline to the market.
Prioritizing national defense and modernizing military capabilities continue to drive the growth of the arms market. Countries worldwide are investing heavily in advanced missile systems, which are among the most sought-after weapons in recent years. This includes the development of sophisticated long-range, precision-guided missiles. The modernization of existing arsenals and the development of new missile technology fuel market expansion. Companies in this sector are working tirelessly, and of course, making enormous profits. The global missile market, valued at $55.7 billion in 2023, is projected to grow at an annual rate of 7.4% until 2030.
Looking at the top five companies in this market gives us a similar picture:
- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) (USA)
- Lockheed Martin Corporation (USA)
- Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (Israel)
- Elbit Systems Ltd. (Israel)
- Northrop Grumman Corporation (USA)
Once again, the market for Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), the popular weapon of recent years, is booming. In 2023, the market size was $13 billion, and it is estimated to reach $18.2 billion by 2028 with an annual growth rate of 7%. Furthermore, with an annual growth rate of 10.01%, the market is projected to grow to $24.62 billion by 2030. Nearly 60% of the global arms trade is conducted through the U.S., France, Russia, and China, with the U.S. leading the market with a 46% share. The real-world impact of these cold numbers is witnessed in high-intensity flashpoints like Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and Lebanon, where ordinary people—children, women, the disabled, and the elderly—suffer the most.
- The remainder of the poem goes as follows:
“Because if you don’t say no, if you don’t say no mothers, then, then: In the port cities, loaded with the noisy smoke of steamships, great ships will fall silent as they dock, swaying like the giant cadavers of mammoths, covered in seaweed, marine plants, and mussel shells. Once gleaming, their hulls will be burdened with the stench of graveyards and rotting fish, worn, sick, and dead, rocking against the cold and desolate harbor walls.
Trams, like brainless, dull-eyed cages, will become twisted and crooked. Behind decaying hangars, on ruined streets dug with great holes, the rails will just lie there.
A mud-grey, gelatinous, leaden silence will spread everywhere, growing, forgetting everything, expanding in schools, universities, and theaters, in stadiums and children’s parks—a terrifying, relentless silence will grow.
Sunny, fresh vineyards will rot on ruined hillsides, dry out in the parched soil, freeze in fields where rice and potatoes are no longer sown, and cattle will raise their stiffened legs like toppled chairs toward the sky.
In the institutes, the brilliant inventions of great doctors will decay, corrode, and be covered in mold.
In kitchens, cellars, and storage rooms, in cold chambers and warehouses, the last sack of flour, the last bowl of strawberries, squash, and the like will spoil; bread, turning green under overturned tables, will rot on shattered plates, and the spreading grease will smell like soap. In the fields, wheat will fall beside rusted plows, like a vanquished army, while chimneys, blacksmith furnaces, and crumbling factory smokestacks will crumble away under endless grass, crumbling and crumbling and crumbling.
Then the last human will wander, alone, with decayed intestines and polluted lungs, under the poison-red sun, alone and unanswered, under the swaying stars, wandering like a mistake between the cold idols of desolate cities and the unmistakable mass graves, the last human, bone-dry, insane, cursing God, lamenting, asking that dreadful question: WHY? This voice will fade into the vast steppe, becoming inaudible, blowing over the ruins, flowing through the cracks, echoing in the debris of temples, crashing against the walls of shelters, falling upon pools of blood—unheard, unanswered, the final beastly cry of the last human-animal. All this will happen tomorrow, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps tonight, perhaps tonight, if—if—if you don’t say NO!…”
Wolfgang Borchert, The Only Thing Left to Do, Translated by Rahman Haydar
Source: www.yersizyurtsuz.com