----- Original Message -----
From: "Owen Jones" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
I think this response from OJ sums up what the DHKC said about the euro left
rather succinctly. Not a word from Owen about the communists being
massacred - just plenty of psuedo-intellectual verbiage about the "correct
Marxist definition" of fascism. For the "brit-left" politics is just a word
game. In Turkey it is life and death. But if we look over Owens comments
from the past on "stalinists" ("worse than Hitler", "murderers of the
workers" etc, etc, ad nauseum) I'm sure we'll understand his lack of
concern. Maybe the slaughter of "counter-revolutionary stalinists" at the
hands of "bourgois democratic" cops is a good thing?
"The conditions for fascism are not present in Turkey in the year 2000"!
Open your eyes Owen.
James Tait.
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