The universe, history and us

To correctly understand the present days, we need to faithfully understand History and in order to know what to do, we need to understand ourselves and to see ourselves. Again, we need to become aware of the Universe and History. Only in this way, we will be capable of having the correct take on what is going on today and how history-defining these moments we are living in are. At the same time, in order to understand the role of the Youth and Young Women in this, we need to make this principle a compass of us. That is also why the great philosophers, prophets and revolutionaries starting from Confucius through to Zarathustra, and to people’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, they insisted on this method to fully understand the reality we find ourselves in. In this sense, rightfully understanding what is happening in the world in the last months, will also help us to clarify the situation that we live in our countries, in our community and in our own lives.

A dark and gloomy scenario

The Third World War that is storming all over the globe today, it is a war that is expressing the contradiction between two ideologically opposing modernities: the one of the enemy, that we call Capitalist Modernity and ours, the one of the people, that we call Democratic Modernity. Since the beginning of civilization and the state system (some 7000 years ago in Mesopotamia) these two have been struggling against one another. Capitalist Modernity only appeared after thousands of years of peaceful living and co-existence in society before it’s first developments around 5000 BCE. Every empire, government or individual needs to be understood in this dialectical reality. The politics of war, the erasing of the societal relationships, the dismantling of the cultural resistance: all of this, it needs to be analyzed as an attack that Capitalist Modernity is waging against society, and that this attack is rooted in a long history.

The warring politics of the system: hiding and manipulation

In this sense also, if we want to grasp in the right way what is happening and changing we shouldn’t be tricked by the media of the system or by their tools of propaganda. In fact, what they are trying to show is that the war that they are waging is between states only, let’s say NATO vs Russia in Ukraine, or for example Israel vs Hamas in Palestine. Or again that today for example, Trump will start an economical war on the rest of the world with tax and tariffs for goods entering in the USA, trying to show that USA doesn’t need the global infrastructure of good’s exchange that is at the base of finance capitalism. Or again, that the rising of fascism is something that is happening only through isolated individuals or organisations like Milei in Argentina or the AfD in Germany.

But it is not like this: all of these events are not genuine confrontations of opposing forces but are only small mechanisms and adjustments that the system of Capitalist Modernity is making in within its own ranks in order to survive and continue domination in the most efficient way. For sure, it can be true that Trump or Milei and their style and politics are more brutal and open in their way of domination and it is also true that the normalization of their oppressive politics can have serious and detrimental long term impact on society, but their substance is ultimately no different from other more “progressive” state actors. The substance of this war, the true contradiction, is the one waged on society, between capitalism (and it’s facilitators of whichever party) and society as a whole, and we can clearly see the effects on the youth, the woman and the people.

Liberalism and its attack on the Youth

This war that is waged on the society is also waged at an ideological level. Capitalist Modernity’s weapon in this is Liberalism. What is it? An ideology that wants to destroy the capacity of society for self-organization and self-reliance in order to force a politics of oppression, violence and exploitation, so that the society cannot respond to the attacks of Capitalism. What is Liberalism trying to do? First and foremost, it is destroying the culture and history of the society thus creating a homogeneous, repetitive and rootless society. We can see this by the way the system manipulates the identity of the young woman and young man and the relationships forced on them, relationships totally shaped by patriarchal understandings. Because of the social characteristics of the woman, the system aims to frustrate her natural search towards freedom by pushing it towards more liberal forms of activism. At the same time, the young man that is in an identity crisis because of the oppressive identity and form he was socialised into, now wants a way out and is looking for new models. However the system is manipulating and redirecting his quest towards reactionary ideas and models such as Andrew Tate or Elon Musk who use digital media as their weapon. This tendency is also seen in the statistics of the last election turnout such as in Germany where young women are preferring the more liberal left parties, whereas big sections of the vote for extreme right parties are coming from young men.

Our light in the dark

In the darkness that Capitalist Modernity is trying to impose through violence, wars and oppression, on 27th of February, we have witnessed something that can light our path towards freedom once again. From the Imrali Prison, on which Abdullah Öcalan is being held captive and tortured for the last 26 years, a historical call and opportunity has reached all of us. We want to highlight this clearly: this is not a development that is concerning only Kurdistan or Turkey. At the base of the call there is the will to change the way that the PKK has organized itself until now and the will to push forward a new initiative for peace with the Turkish State. But it is not only this, we need to understand this attempt in a more broader perspective. What Reber Apo, Abdullah Öcalan is trying to do, is a radical attempt to push forward a model that could work as a viable alternative for all of the Middle East and the whole world. Today, for their own interest, in the Middle East, the different forces of Capitalist Modernity are trying to impose their own alternatives onto society. Whether it be the Iran-Hezbollah project, the Israeli-NATO one or the one of the Muslim Brotherhood-Turkey. They fight each other, they use the worst words against each other but they serve the same system of domination upon society. Against all these forces is the project of Democratic Modernity, and its model of Democratic Confederalism as the only real and radical alternative to them. This is what Leader Apo is trying to make successful with the process he has started. In this sense also, the attempts made by Druze and Alawites in Syria towards this direction of self-governance are really meaningful and they will determine, together with Kurds and rest of the people, the possible future of a democratic Syria.

The struggle for Socialism

The idea of Socialism is the core of the call and the transformation process that Leader Apo has started. Socialism means being-society, socialism means the organization of the people, working and walking with the people. The influence of Real Socialism, which impacted all revolutionary movements of the 20th century, PKK included, ultimately created a socialism that resulted in serving and in fact intensifying the modernity of the enemy. Counter to this Leader Apo is once again putting the organization of the community and of society, in accordance to their own natural and original ways of being, as the basis of struggle. In doing so he returns to the true essence of socialism which means the self organization of humanity in order to continue its existence. When understood like this, organization (as a verb, as a practice) becomes as important to society as bread, water and self-defence.

Organize everywhere!

Some weeks later, during a march of the Youth in North Kurdistan, a message from Abdullah Öcalan was shared again. Deeply fundamental to the message is the topic of organisation. As Internationalist Youth, we think that the question of organization is a crucial one: it is the engine for the transformation and realization of a more stable and long-term movement of the Youth. A movement capable to catalyze the moment of activism and revolt into a lasting situation of democratic self-administration and self-government. Organizing all our surroundings, starting from our schools, universities, families, friends, places of work will make our chance of success so much higher!

The struggle continues

Of course the effect of the call had an impact that was visible quickly after across the whole region. Both in Kurdistan and Turkey to start with. On one side in Rojava, attempts are now being made to implement the call with the establishment of a permanent role of the Autonomous Administration in the establishment of the new Syria. In this sense again, the struggle of the people and of the SDF, with the now nearly 100-days long resistance against the jihadist gangs on the Tishrin Dam, is the most clear proof that the organization of the people can become a key factor also against the hegemonic forces that are trying to define the Middle East.

But the struggle is not only growing in the Middle East. In Serbia a huge movement of the people is challenging the undemocratic politics of the government. The youth are also leading a struggle in Balochistan for the successful self-organisation of their people and in Latin America where the Zapatista Youth are waging a cultural resistance, organizing international events of arts and culture.

Organize, follow the path that was opened, make Revolution succeed!

Education, organization and action are the tools of the struggle that we need to wage in more radical and self-critical way today. Democratic politics, the idea of self-organization and education are for sure the most powerful antidotes that we can see and find when we are re-thinking the necessities of our struggle against liberalism and Capitalist Modernity. Education as a basis for the struggle against the patriarchal, oppressive, destructive mentalities of Capitalist Modernity will play a decisive factor in our organizations.

As a conclusion, we want to say that the path has been lit in front of us, it is up to us now if we choose to walk it. If we are capable of making the right steps towards democracy and freedom, then we will be capable of achieving better days for all humanity. Capitalism is pushing us down the road to extinction and misery whether we choose it or not. Choosing the road to freedom is the question that is before us, many are already walking it. Today more then ever we remember the Youth during the Revolution of the ‘68 and their slogan: “If not now, when? If not us, who?”