This year's Aldermaston, probably the last in its present form, will bring together tons of thousands again. Howaver, developments havs made C.N.D's originel é form and prosramme redundant. Britain's next Prime Minister is against Britain having an independent nuclear deterrent. The Pops, too, appears to be the latest recruit to (,If.D. ideas(we lookforward to the unilateralist case being presented by papal count Carron at this year's enmial conference It is soboring to realise that this redundancy arises not bacause of the suécess of the unilateralist movement but because of the technical development of missiles. However, no-one can argue that the danger of war has receded,
This development in itself underlines the critique Marxists haves made of anti-war movements— that the only final guarantee of the ending of the danger of nuclosr anrihilction is the ending of world capitalism. Tho struggle sgainst a particular aspect of war, oF preparation for war is doomedt, futility unless linked to a struggle against the system which creates war. However, only the blind can deny thet “.N.D. has roused tens of thousands of people into political action at a time when the traditional workers organisations were paralysed by apathy. At a time whon the botrayal of the Labour leadership with s. background of individually achieved offluence( through working overtime, wives working,etc.,)produced thia apathy, ¢.N.D. could bring thousands onto the streets and into dirsct conflict with the authorities. At various stagos, and in diffsarent countries, the proposition that capitalisn is an outmoded and moritund systam in demonstrated in different ways. In the thirties it wac demonstrated by the mass misory of the unamployed, in the fifties it was demonstrated, in Britain anyway, by tho daily prospect of the masa annihilation of tha human race. But just as the unomployed of the thirties didn't automatically become socialists and were mainly concerned with amelioration of their immediate probloms, neither can we expect the majority of the C.N.D. activists to immmediately accept a Marxist analysis of the cause of war. This is precisely why tho Marxists met combine propaganda and ideological explanation with going through the experience with the 0.N.D,ers of their activitios, What now lies bsfore 3.0.D.? Slearly the danger of nuclear destruction is still withus end many poople can be mobilised on this basis, What is needed is to take (,N.D. forward to a campaign against the remaining bases, against membership of NATO, for the withdrawal. of British forces from foroign countries and for a realignment of British foreign policy in elliance with the atrusgling peoples. Such a policy would be acceptable to the mass of C.N.D. supporters. The logic of such an argumant is that it ':an only be achiovad. by a Labour Government carcying out socialist policies. Hence the necessity for all ¢.N.D. activist, to fight inside the Labour Party.