What is Fascism?

[white_wolf]

There have been several posts on Fascism I thought I'd post this one from a leftist/Marxist angle. Fascism arises out of specific conditions and we are ripe for those conditions. Fascism arises out of a crisis when mainstream parties aren't able to solve the problem and the left is too weak and disorganized to present alternatives.

It could almost be described as a counterfeit left-wing movement. It relies heavily on the petty bourgeois(small business owners) as well as the working class for support. It is still a mass movement and relies on popular support.For example, the British National Party is largely made up of working class and petty-bourgeois and they are one of the largest Fascist parties in the world. It takes leftist tactics and adopts them for to suit the needs of the Right. However, despite its working class and petty-bourgeois base, the Fascist government always allies itself with the capitalist class. Mussolini said it was the merger of the state with corporate power. It likes to preach "class collaboration" for the good of the State, but it always the working class that gets hurt the most and the are asked to sacrifice for the good of the nation.

In his work, "What It Is and How To Fight It" (http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1944/1944-fas.htm) Trotsky said that Fascism represented a movement of reactionary despair:

"The last election revealed – and this is its principal symptomatic significances – a shift in the opposite direction. Under the impact of the crisis, the petty bourgeoisie swung, not in the direction of the proletarian revolution, but in the direction of the most extreme imperialist reaction, pulling behind it considerable sections of the proletariat. The gigantic growth of National Socialism is an expression of two factors: a deep social crisis, throwing the petty-bourgeois masses off balance, and the lack of a revolutionary party that would today be regarded by the popular masses as the acknowledged revolutionary leader. If the Communist Party is the party of revolutionary hope, then fascism, as a mass movement, is the party of counter-revolutionary despair. When revolutionary hope embraces the whole proletarian mass, it inevitably pulls behind it on the road of revolution considerable and growing sections of the petty bourgeoisie. Precisely in this sphere, the election revealed the opposite picture: counterrevolutionary despair embraced the petty-bourgeois mass with such force that it drew behind it many sections of the proletariat."


It seems clear to me that the Tea-Party are the beginnings of this mass-movement, that forms the core of any Fascist party. It is important to recognize Fascism for what it is and fight it, before it can gain a firm hold. Once it does, it is very hard to remove. Indeed Hitler even said:

Only one thing could have stopped our movement-if our adversaries had understood its principle and, from the first day, had smashed with the utmost brutality the nucleus of our new movement."

[ixion]

1. k/r (rec to 0)

[white_wolf]

3. It's up to 3 now, but I knew this would controversial.

Some people don't like having uncomfortable facts pointed out.

[Ineeda]

2. The Fourteen Characteristics of Fascism

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread
domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

[white_wolf]

4. Yeah, Nadin posted those and that prompted me to post this.

[ixion]

5. we got 14 out of 14

we're screwed.

[white_wolf]

6. True, but at least we recognize it so maybe now we can do as Adolf said and "crush it"

[akvo]

7. I disagree.

Reference a 2 dimensional view of the political spectrum ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:European-political-spectrum.png , I don't know how to link things in to posts). Note that in the above referenced chart "liberalism" and "progressivism" are in the classical sense, meaning a laissez-faire approach to economic and social policy.

Fascism is a form of authoritarianism and has much in common with Communism. Both are Big Government with minimum personal and economic freedom. Its just that one approaches it from the left (Communism), the other from the Right (Fascism).

Going back to the political spectrum referenced above, the TP agenda is to move in the opposite direction of Fascism/Communism. TP stresses individualism, and while they have a strain of nationalism it is not the type of national movement that leads to strong authoritarian govt.

Contrast the TP to Germany in the 1930's. The German population consolidated behind Hitler, and was motivated by an extremely strong sense of nationalism brought on as a result of the end of WWI and the depression. There is nothing in the US that rivals those conditions.

Contrast the US and teh Tea Party with the take over of Russia by the Communists in 1917/1918. Poor economic conditions - as in abject poverty and starvation, not what the US is facing today - opened the door to civil war and revolution. The US is not in that situation either.

[white_wolf]

8. Fascism has nothing to do with communism.

As I said above Fascism is a corporate state where business interests and the government have merged. That is very similar to what we are seeing now. Socialism is a movement of the working class, it seeks to abolish private property and turn it over to the people as a whole. Fascism relies on the support of the capitalist class, and thus defends private property and has historically banned labor unions, just like what is happening here.

The Tea Party is a xenophobic, ultra-nationalist, ultra-religious, pro-military, pro- security state, mostly made up of working class and petty bourgeoisie. They are the groups that the SA was formed of.

[joshcryer]

10. How is state communism not "a corporate state where business ... and the government have merged"?

I see no fundamental difference.

[white_wolf]

11. You are making the same mistake as the right wing.

You are assuming that the various Stalinist regimes are the final definition of a socialist worker's state. _Socialist_TN and myself have explained how a non-Stalinist socialist state would work, several times in fact.

[joshcryer]

18. I didn't mention Stalinism at all.

Cuba looks like that, for example, and Cuba is a far cry from Stalinism.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Actually it is

[joshcryer]

24. I used to think so but it's a far cry from Stalinism and there was no doubt a Trotskyite influence..

...in the Cuban Revolution. The candidate commissions for example, very Trotskyite.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. Don't forget che

But there is quite a bit of it. It's not pure...but it took local forms.

[white_wolf]

20. All the socialist states that emerged have been Stalinst.

They are based on a top-down bureaucratic model. That is Stalinism, it really has nothing to do with ideology, but is more of a model of government or party structure. The ideology would be Marxist-Leninism. It was Stalin who coined the term.

[joshcryer]

23. Blaming Stalin for everything would be historical simplism

http://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/archive/castro/1992/06/03.htm

The vanguard and the dictatorship of the proletariat are both top down structures.

[akvo]

12. Leave the ivory tower and join the real world

Theoretically, you can make those arguements. Reality is something very different.

In both Fascism and Socialism, the bottom line is that the govt is in control in both systems.

In Fascism, the economy is jointly managed by employers, workers, and the govt, but in reality it is the govt that holds the overriding power. Fascist govts control private property but do not nationalize property (at least not all property, some key industries do get nationalized).

Socialism in theory allows the people to own and manage property, but in reality selected committees (i.e., the govt) makes the decisions and runs the economy. Thats the reality, rule by a committee of 300 million is impossible.

Fascism eliminates unions. SO does Socialism. In all socialist/communist countries, unions have either been outright banned or taken over the govt. Centralized govt's cannot and will not permit opposition.

You are clearly unaware of teapers attitudes. Leave the tower, and meet some real people.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[joshcryer]

21. They can permit opposition, it would just mean the disollution of the government!

And indeed, Engels and Marx both said as much (they merely underestimated the will of the government to remain in power). The question is timing. The governments don't want to dissolve, even though a decentralized federation of unions and workers councils would only strengthen socialism. In the entire history of state communism / socialism not one, not one of them has allowed the dissolution of the government. Indeed, the most ironic part is that as these states finally crumble, they move towards a market economy, privatization.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Communism is a left wing movement of authoritarian strains

Fascism is very much right wing.

Basic poli sci.

To the citizens at the base...not that much of a difference. But they are not the same...not even cousins.

[joshcryer]

25. Communism may or may not be authoritarian.

Capitalism is always authoritarian.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. I am not talking of small c here

But big c. And in that sense it is.

By the way small c also has small d democracy. Alas this is not that basic poli sci

:hi:

[joshcryer]

27. If big c stands for state communism, then we're in agreement.

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. Yup

[joshcryer]

31. < Kroptkin in my avatar :)

[white_wolf]

30. Well normally when I discuss communism I mean small c.

As in a theory or movement advocating the creation of a communist society, I've never advocated for creating a new version of the USSR.

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. But that is exactly what people will think about.

Which is first challenge.

[white_wolf]

33. Very good point. I'll need to be more clear.

[Bryn]

9. K&R

Kick

[themadstork]

14. So many confused definitions floating around in this thread.

A few people have been close to the mark with a few of their attempts, but mostly this thread is a bog of silliness. I would suggest anyone reading this thread take nothing at face value and check out a few books from the local lib. Otherwise you'll have been considerably misled.


Also, the "step out of the tower" anti-intellectual hooting was in especially bad taste.

[white_wolf]

15. What did I say that wasn't true?

Historically Fascism has been a mass movement with its rank and file being made up of small business owners and working class. It does preach class collaboration, yet allies itself with business when it takes power. It does often use leftist rhetoric to gain power, why do you think it was called the "national socialist" party.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. I don't need a Marxist interpretation

It is a mass movement.

It has it's characteristics.

It is..what Mussolini said it was, the mixing of state and corporate power.

But careful with the mass movement, that was also the French, the American, the Mexican, the Russian and the Chinese Revolutions.

[FarLeftFist]

22. The exploitation of the working class to benefit the wealthiest's interests.

They turn people in the same social and economic circumstances against each other.

[ShockediSay]

34. Fascist Regime =

Right Wing
Super Wealthy Funded
Corporation
Controlled
Media
Propaganda Pumping, Organized and Repitious
with Scapegoating
and Union Busting

My advice, keep it simple