Deaths, destitution due to wars, terrorism result of well-planned strategies of ruling, and non-ruling elites

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak

In an age marked by hyper-imperialism, jingoistic capitalism, and digital feudalism, the death toll from territorial wars, political, religious, and resource-based conflicts, as well as terrorism, continues to rise across the globe. It is estimated that more than 187 million people have died as a result of war during the 20th and 21st centuries. According to a 2023 study by the Institute for Economics & Peace, terrorism caused 8,352 deaths—an increase of 22 percent compared to the previous year. The Global Terrorism Index reports reveal a significant rise in deaths caused by terrorism. Over the past decade, approximately 24,000 people have died each year due to terrorist attacks.

The deaths and destitution caused by wars and terrorism are not accidents, but the result of well-planned and executed strategies. Both ruling and non-ruling elites often design and perpetuate these crises—promoting wars and terrorism to destabilise societies, lives, livelihoods and cultivate a culture of fear and shock. This strategy serves to domesticate populations along reactionary lines, ultimately undermining peace, democracy, and genuine citizenship. The entrenchment of this culture of perpetual instability, death, and destitution erodes the very conditions necessary for nurturing progressive, radical consciousness—consciousness rooted in the ideals of equality, justice, peace, and shared prosperity.

Yet critical questions remain: Who dies in these wars and conflicts? Who are the people turned into refugees and rendered destitute in their own homelands? Whose lives are sacrificed in the name of war? Who pays the ultimate price in the cycles of violence and terrorism? And who are the fallen souls—celebrated briefly as heroes, only to be forgotten in the corridors of public memory? War heroes become numbers in the excel sheets of ruling classes and photographs and paintings in their museums.

Most of the idealistic, brave, and young individuals who lose their lives in wars and acts of terrorism come from poor, working class backgrounds and marginalised communities. An analysis of the Global Terrorism Index reports reveals that deaths and displacement resulting from war and terrorism shows that South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa accounted for 94 percent of terrorism-related deaths in 2023. A similarly high number of casualties due to war can also be observed in these regions. Whether as combatants or civilian victims, those who die are overwhelmingly from poor, working-class backgrounds.

The slaughterhouse of wars, conflicts, and terrorism systematically sacrifices the most idealistic and courageous youth from the working class—often in the name of territorial integrity of nation-states, purity of religion, and superiority of cultural identity. This violence serves to eliminate any potential challenge to the dominance of both ruling and non-ruling elites, helping to preserve their control over people and hegemony over resources. No progressive transformation is possible without the idealism and active participation of young people. So, the social, political, economic, and religious status quo is upheld by maiming, killing, and corrupting these youth—poisoning their scientific consciousness with the toxic ideologies of reactionary nationalism, cultural and religious dogma. Wars and terrorism not only destroy the lives and livelihoods of the working masses but also turn them into refugees—homeless and destitute in their own lands.

The real winners of war and terrorism are the ruling and non-ruling elites, European and American arms traders, defence industries and corporate classes, while the working-class, idealistic youth pay the ultimate price—regardless of whether the war ends in victory or defeat. Bourgeois wars serve to sustain existing systems of inequality and exploitation. Even when an idealistic youth survives war, conflict, or terrorism, they often return to a society that continues to suppress their potential and silence their dissent.

Class struggles have the potential to empower and emancipate the working classes, whereas bourgeois wars, conflicts, and acts of terrorism serve only to undermine and oppress them. A global struggle against wars, conflicts, and terrorism is essential for the survival of humanity and the planet in the face of relentless corporate plunder. Therefore, opposing wars and terrorism is essential for the emancipation of the working class and the survival of the most idealistic, talented, and courageous young people—who are vital to building a peaceful and prosperous society.

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