Reply to secr (MG!), at [EMAIL PROTECTED], who wrote on the 19/12/2000
5:23:
> I think the explanation might be that it's felt hopeless to do anything
> about such ruthless fascist regime.
The Turkish regime is certainly reactionary, yes. But by any real Marxist
definition, it is not fascist (has a movement representing a ruined
petty-bourgeoisie and all those classes above the proletariat seized power
and usurped all elements of working class democracy in society, are we
looking at the rule of finance capital, etc...?) This is using "fascist" as
a moralistic characterisation rather than a scientific term. We have not
really seen fascism in the post-1945 epoch.
No matter how brutal the terror of a reactionary regime is, one should not
simply use fascist as a handy swearword or propaganda term. This only serves
to prevent us from making an accurate class analysis of that regime; in
other words, it deceives, and that can be a dangerous thing. Not only that,
it strips "fascism" of its scientific meaning and renders it useless. It is
a term which should be used only after very careful analysis.
I realise a far-Right, extreme-nationalist party is a member of the Turkish
regime; however this is not fascist per se, no matter how reactionary it
genuinely is. Potentially it can serve as a core for a future fascist
movement, but the conditions for fascism are not present in Turkey in the
year 2000. Indeed a similar party, the Radical Party of Votislav Sesijl, was
part of the old Serbian coalition, but that did not make the old Belgrade
regime fascist in character either. Likewise, I would certainly not describe
the Freedom Party of Haider in Austria as fascist either; a Rightwing
bourgeois-nationalist party whose leadership is not really to the Right of
the present British Conservative leadership of William Hague, to be honest.
Cheers
Owen
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