Thanks to those who commented on my original post. Whether intended or not, they have strengthened my point - that this was not a serious anti-fascist conference. It is not possible to discuss the rise of fascism globally without discussing the foremost organizer and centralizer of fascism and its related ideologies. That national leader is Vladimir Putin. It's true that Putin's close ally - Donald Trump - is giving him a run for his money, but Putin has many more years building those ties. He's still Number One.
Even if one apologizes for or even defends the fascist-connected Putin's invasion of Ukraine, that has nothing to do with it. Invasions and fascism are not one and the same. If they were, then FDR would have been a fascist when the Nazis were overthrown by an invading US army. None of the reports coming out of the conference mention any serious discussion of Putin's role in promoting fascism. That means there was no serious discussion on the issue of fascism. There may have been a lot of discussion about imperialism, but as I say, that is not the same thing. I understand that this makes many on the left uncomfortable. On the one hand there is the Putinized left - those who in one way or another apologize for or even defend Putin. On the other hand there is the left that doesn't apologize for Putin in any way. *The problem is that they still want to work with the Putinized left.* They recognize that it's impossible to do so if they point out that the Putin defenders and apologists are actually defending or apologizing for fascism. So, they are faced with a choice: either make a real break from the Putin apologists and defenders or ignore this uncomfortable fact of life. I have made my choice. Once again: "The International "anti-fascist" conference that wasn't. <https://oaklandsocialist.com/2026/04/25/the-international-anti-fascist-conference-that-wasnt/> John Reimann -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#41585): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/41585 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/119006339/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
