Louis Proyect writes: "Fascist countries don't invite radical professors like Jim Craven to give talks at conferences. Fascism is a totalitarian system that controls every last aspect of a citizen's life and demands blind obedience to an ultra-nationalist regime bent on an expansionist course. This hardly describes China."
J. R. wrote: First of all, not all fascist regimes are the same as they all vary in degree of oppression and methods. Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist wrote: /The 14 Characteristic of Fascism (http://www.1hope.org/fascism.htm ), but, it seems to me not all characteristics are needed to qualify as fascist. Louis Proyect responds: Dr. Britt is a self-described "humanist". He says that the failure to investigate the plane crash of Paul Wellstone is proof that the USA is fascist. This is not worth replying to. Comrade Rosso, have you ever read Marxist literature on fascism? Much of it is online at www.marxists.org and will cost you nothing except time that would be well-spent. Response (Jim C) This is a response to Louis. A response to this individual calling China "fascist" would not be time well spent; the problem is not only what he does not know, but more importantly, the problem appears to be what he apparently knows for sure that just ain't so. He either does not understand what fascism is about and/or does not understand what China is about. Before I left for China, I sent some materials on my background to those who had invited me. Why? For several reasons. First of all I did not want to abuse the hospitality of those who had invited me with my coming to a conference at which my own views--and activist background--might be seen as very controversial and possibly bring some hardship to those who had so kindly invited me. Further, I gave the proposed title of my paper and an abstract but no one asked to see my proposed paper before leaving for China. Again, I sent my paper in advance in the event that my comments might cause some conference-disrupting responses and/or bring some hardships to those who had invited me. Again, there was no negative response to my proposed comments. And at the conference no one tried to censor me, no one tried to tell me what language to use and no one tried to inhibit my comments (decidedly anti-capitalist) about the dangers of widespread expansion of capitalist markets, institutions, categories, relations and values in China--dangers vis-a-vis the ongoing socialist construction, protection of existing levels of socialist construction and development of mass socialist consciousness. Further, I asked if it would be possible to visit the mausoleum of Chairman Mao and the grave of Dr. Norman Bethune (Pai Chu En) as it had been my dream to visit and pay respects at the graves of these two who had influenced my own life and views so much--as is the Blackfoot Way to visit, at least once, the graves of those we respect and who have influenced us in our lives. They went out of their way to help me to pay these respects knowing exactly where I was coming from. I even sent some protest letters against my own college for repression I had suffered and copies of the case I am involved with in Canada charging the Canadian government with genocide against Indigenous Peoples just so that they would be aware of some of the controversies I had been involved with/am involved with so that those who had invited me would not be caused an embarrassment or problems for having invited me. Again, I was invited and while in China treated with the utmost respect and kindness while there. While in China I had extensive discussions with some first-rate Chinese scholars and academicians who, of course, came from a variety of theoretical perspectives. But the discussions were open, frank and extremely insightful. The organizers were even prepared for me to convene a workshop and invite Marty Hart-Landsberg (a friend of mine whom I respect and whose work as an economist I respect but with whom I disagree on the question of capitalism having been restored in China), Paul Burkett and others to debate, at the conference, with Chinese scholars, the issue of whether or not capitalism has been and/or is being restored in China. This would not be possible if China had moved to fascism and/or even had restored capitalism. Calling China fascist, especially when considering all that China has suffered and continues to suffer under the yokes of imperialism and fascism--imperial encirclement and destabilization (social systems engineering) campaigns, denial of critical technologies and life-saving food and medicines, threats of nuclear annihilation, protection of Japanese Class-A war criminals from prosecution in return for use of their barbaric "research" from the likes of Unit 731, etc etc etc--is a horrible slander and slur against a People who have come so far despite such overwhelming odds and despite such barbaric and lethal imperialist and fascist forces bent on sabotaging socialist construction in China. Jim Craven
