Examining the Human Cost of Capitalism: The Jakarta Method

Grace Blakeley reviews Vincent Bevins’ *The Jakarta Method*, detailing how U.S.-backed anti-communist campaigns led to mass killings in Indonesia and beyond during the Cold War. The book highlights a death toll exceeding that of Soviet-era purges and emphasizes the strategic use of violence by the United States in order to suppress leftist movements globally. It reveals the extensive impact of ideologically driven policies, advocating for a deeper understanding of historical injustices tied to capitalism.

In her insightful examination of Vincent Bevins’ latest work, The Jakarta Method: Washington’s Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World, Grace Blakeley illustrates the stark realities of the United States’ foreign policy during the Cold War, arguing that it resulted in a death toll surpassing that of Stalin’s purges. The book focuses on the anti-communist atrocities committed in Indonesia in 1965-66, where U.S.-backed General Suharto led a violent campaign against communists, resulting in the massacre of an estimated five hundred thousand to one million individuals. This period, while often underreported in Western discourse, is a critical part of understanding the extensive impact of U.S. interventions in global politics. Bevins provides a compelling narrative that not only recounts these tragic events but also connects them to a broader strategy employed by U.S. administrations to combat leftist movements worldwide. In the wake of the Bandung Conference and amid Cold War tensions, the U.S. shifted from a position of soft power to one that endorsed violent regimes, leading to systematic exterminations in countries across Latin America, the Philippines, and beyond. This grim legacy of U.S. foreign policy demonstrates the lengths to which the U.S. was willing to go in the name of capitalism and anti-communism, reinforcing the idea that ideological battles often came at a tremendous human cost.

Bevins’ book contextualizes the Cold War as a backdrop for the violent suppression of leftist movements globally, highlighting how U.S. involvement in Indonesia serves as a precedent for later interventions. His narrative underscores the tension between emerging postcolonial states seeking autonomy and the U.S. government’s determination to secure its capitalist interests. The historical backdrop of Sukarno’s governance and subsequent rise of Suharto is essential for understanding how ideological conflicts can drive nations toward brutal violence, perpetuated by external powers. This analysis not only seeks to hold the United States accountable for its role in these atrocities but also encourages a reevaluation of the narratives surrounding global conflicts during the Cold War era.

Vincent Bevins’ *The Jakarta Method* provides a critical lens through which to examine U.S. foreign policy’s complicity in mass violence under the guise of anti-communism. The detailed accounts of the Indonesian genocide, coupled with similar atrocities across twenty-two countries, compel readers to confront the severe implications of capitalism’s expansionist strategies during the Cold War. This examination reveals that the impact of these policies reverberates today, reminding us of the often-ignored correlations between historical actions and present global dynamics. Ultimately, the work calls for a reassessment of how socialist movements are critiqued in comparison to the violent legacies of capitalism.

Original Source: jacobin.com