Recent events, from Afghanistan to Europe and Asia, have once again brought a fundamental reality into sharp focus: political, economic and military crises place their heaviest burdens on those whose labour keeps society moving, yet who have only a marginal share in wealth and decision-making power.
In Afghanistan, the return of millions of migrants, the spread of poverty and food insecurity, widespread restrictions on women’s rights, and mounting economic difficulties paint a picture of a society in which a large proportion of the population struggles to meet even the most basic necessities of life. Recent reports indicating that 6.3 million Afghans have returned to the country since 2023, approximately 60 per cent of them involuntarily, according to reports by relevant United Nations agencies, demonstrate that migration and forced returns remain major dimensions of the country’s humanitarian crisis. At the same time, warnings that 15.9 million people face severe food insecurity as winter approaches highlight the urgent need to address the economic and social roots of this situation.
Globally, protests by garment workers in Bangladesh demanding an increase in the minimum wage from 12,500 to 30,000 taka, strikes and demonstrations by port workers in more than one hundred ports around the world against the transportation of weapons and for improved working conditions, and widespread demonstrations in France over the cost of living, social inequality and the state of public services all demonstrate that the struggle for livelihoods and social justice is not confined by national borders. Although these events are unfolding under different political and social conditions, they raise a common question: why, in societies with enormous capacities to generate wealth and material resources, has securing a decent standard of living become a daily struggle for so many people?
From the perspective of Marxist political economy, understanding this contradiction requires examining the relations of production, ownership, the distribution of wealth, and the relationship between labour and capital. Poverty cannot be explained merely by a shortage of resources; likewise, unemployment, job insecurity and social deprivation are not simply the consequences of individual weakness or personal failure. Economic structures and power relations play a decisive role in determining who produces, who owns the means of production, and how the fruits of collective labour are distributed.
Alongside these crises, the intensification of regional and international tensions, rising military expenditure and arms transfers reveal another dimension of the problem. Protests by port workers in different countries against the use of ports for transporting weapons illustrate the connection between workers’ occupational demands, social responsibility and opposition to the expansion of war. Workers employed in ports, factories and production centres demand job security, decent wages and a humane standard of living. Yet decisions concerning war and militarisation can directly affect their security, livelihoods and the future of their families.
Afghanistan cannot be considered separate from these developments. Border tensions with Pakistan, regional rivalries, economic pressures and the dependence of trade routes on political relations all have consequences for people’s lives. Nevertheless, no serious analysis of the country’s future can be complete without addressing poverty, educational deprivation, unemployment, the situation of women, the rights of farmers and the working conditions of labourers. The fundamental issue is not merely the relations between powerful states; it is also the fate of the people who bear the consequences of political and economic decisions in their everyday lives.
For this reason, examining today’s events must go beyond the level of isolated news reports and move towards understanding the deeper connections between economics, politics and society. Lasting peace without social justice, development without popular participation, and stability without the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights are concepts that face serious limitations in practice.
Workers, farmers, women, young people and all working people are not on the margins of history; they are among the fundamental forces that build society. Understanding their position within economic and political structures is the first step towards recognising the roots of inequality and contemporary crises. The future of any society cannot be measured merely by the number of agreements, meetings and political negotiations it produces. A more meaningful measure lies in the quality of people’s lives and their access to education, employment, security and genuine participation in determining their own future.
The world is built through human labour; therefore, any examination of an economic and political order must begin with the lives of workers and working people.