Eugene V. Debs, a prominent socialist and labor leader in the United States, opposed World War I on both moral and practical grounds. He argued that the war was being fought for the benefit of wealthy capitalists and imperialist powers, and that working people on all sides of the conflict were being sacrificed for the interests of a privileged few.
Debs believed that war was fundamentally incompatible with the principles of socialism and democracy. He argued that war represented a failure of diplomacy and reason, and that it only served to perpetuate the cycle of violence and injustice. He also saw the war as an opportunity for wealthy elites to increase their power and wealth at the expense of ordinary people.
Debs was a staunch advocate for workers' rights and believed that war only served to distract and divide the working class. He argued that the war effort was being used to suppress dissent and opposition to the government's policies, and that it was eroding civil liberties and democratic values.
In his famous anti-war speech in Canton, Ohio, in 1918, Debs stated, "Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder...And that is war in a nutshell. The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles." He called on workers to unite across national borders and to resist the war effort in order to promote peace and justice for all.
Debs' opposition to World War I ultimately landed him in jail for violating the Espionage Act, which criminalized speech that could be interpreted as undermining the war effort. However, his principled stand against war and his commitment to working people inspired generations of activists and continues to resonate today.
~~~Harsha~~~