The internationalism that Black Freedom activists and their allies expressed during the first Cold War provides numerous lessons for those who hope to build a world defined by peace and a respect for self-determination. Internationalism is first and foremost a project that humanizes those who have been dehumanized. Black Freedom activists affirmed the humanity of the Chinese people and people all over the world as a critical step in devising a joint vision of a world free from war, racism, and want. Their example demonstrates what it means to stand up for principles of justice, liberation, and peace for all people who have ever been deprived of them.
Internationalism is not merely a rejection of war, but a rejection of the racist ideas that fuel war. It is a conscious decision to stand up for the truth buried underneath Cold War politics. And the truth is that China is rising just as it was in the first Cold War. This time, however, China is rising not merely out of colonial underdevelopment but into a position of global leadership. China's economy will surpass the U.S. economy in less than a decade and do so on its own terms. Rather than colonize, occupy, and plunder other countries, China has built a truly globalized planned economy which offers an example to the Global South of how prosperity and people's centered development can exist simultaneously.
The first Cold War brought the world tremendous challenges but also offered opportunities for anti-racist forces to build ties of solidarity with nations such as China rising out of colonialism and foreign domination. Similar opportunities exist in the era of the New Cold War. But history must be our guide to truly unite against the dangerous course laid by the United States. History shows that racism and war are not defeated with denunciations alone but rather by the action humanity takes to foster peaceful relations and bonds of solidarity. To truly reject racism, anti-racist and anti-war movements must adopt the approach of modeling what peaceful relations look like in the real world. That means both denouncing the New Cold War and extending a hand of friendship to China in its pursuit of a global order defined by cooperation and international law instead of aggression and racial domination.
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