-Caveat Lector- From > USA: The Nature of Fascism > > Originally posted in IGC member conference: peoplestrib > Date: August 12, 1999 > Posted by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > /* Written 6:17 PM Aug 12, 1999 by [EMAIL PROTECTED] in peoplestrib > */ /* ---------- "08-99 What is the nature of fascism" ---------- > */ > > ***************************************************************** > * > People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition) > Vol. 26 No. 8/ August, 1999 > > P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654 > http://www.lrna.org > > ***************************************************************** > * > > 4. WHAT IS THE NATURE OF FASCISM TODAY? > > By Bob Lee > > [Editor's note: The following article on the nature of fascism > today is based on a section of a recent report to the National > Committee of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America. The > report was adopted by the committee in Chicago in April.] > > > Fascism today is the political expression of the concentration of > wealth and the spread of poverty based on [the replacement of > labor by] electronics. It is the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie > unrestricted by trappings of bourgeois democracy. There are > objective and subjective sides to the development of fascism. > > > The objective side > > The unprecedented concentration of wealth and power in the hands > of a few "megacorporations" and billionaires is the objective > foundation for the drive toward fascism and a fascist state. > Under the conditions of widespread ownership of property, > bourgeois democracy provides the best state form for capitalism > to flourish and grow. Under today's conditions, the capitalists > cannot allow decisions about their wealth and property to be > placed in the hands of a growing class of people with no tie to > private property or the capitalist system. > > A new kind of state and society is needed that will allow the > capitalists to expand markets and maximize profits under the > conditions of globalization. An expanded apparatus of repression > and particularly the increasing role of the military combine with > the growing power of the corporations to lay the objective basis > for fascism. > > The dilemma that the U.S. faces in the world today forms part of > the objective basis for the drive toward fascism. We can see that > the developing world economy and the beginnings of the formation > of a world bourgeoisie are coming into conflict with and > undermining the dominance of the U.S. in the world. Any solution > the U.S. pursues will force it to crack down at home and > aggressively impose its will on the world stage. > > There is no doubt that the U.S. dominates world finance capital, > that it controls the array of multinational organizations pushing > "free trade" in all corners of the globe, and that it has the > military and economic power to impose an economic Pax Americana > over the rest of the world. For the U.S. government, implementing > national policy means economic globalization under the hegemony > of the U.S. > > At the same time, globalization is undermining that hegemony. > While this challenge to U.S. dominance is in its beginning stages > and the U.S. is still obviously and extremely powerful, a > profound shift is taking place, if still underground, in the > world's power relations. One of the many, if more significant > signposts in this process is the introduction of the Euro and the > economic unification of Europe. Politically, the U.S. cannot > simply impose its will as it could in the past, and is > increasingly driven to war to do so. > > Objectively, the U.S. has no way out. Neither militarization and > war, nor freer markets and continued expansion of neo-liberal > policies, nor protectionism and economic nationalism can solve > the dilemma posed by globalization. Every path leads to greater > polarization, massive discontent and alienation, and the further > development of the proletariat. > > Of course, the U.S. will not simply give up and get out of the > game. Simply because the objective basis is set for the global > economy and a world bourgeoisie does not mean that the subjective > forces will stop fighting for their interests or what they > perceive their interests to be. It will mean, however, that > fascism will grow out of the process to implement whatever > solution or combination of solutions the U.S. pursues to protect > and maintain its position in the world. > > > The subjective side > > The objective conditions set the parameters, but it's people who > make history. To accomplish what they need, the capitalists and > the forces they command must rely on the subjective side of the > process. The capitalists are not trying to win the American > people to fascism per se. Rather, they are cultivating a morality > and an ideology among the American people that will tolerate the > form of rule the capitalists need. > > What is the subjective side of the motion toward fascism today? > There are the hard-core, openly fascist elements such as the neo- > Nazis and the Klan. They are in many ways ideological holdovers > from the past period, their roots firmly in the rabid nationalism > and race hatred that characterized the fascist movements of > previous times. There is also the ideological right -- a complex > and heterogeneous grouping -- which has played, and continues to > play, an indispensable role in helping to cultivate the > ideological environment that has made the rightward shift in > politics and society possible. More difficult to conceptualize, > perhaps, is the role of the diverse array of propagandists for > globalization and the policies that are being used to advance it, > such as free-trade neo-liberalism. > > Profound disagreements among these various subjective elements > should not obscure the foundation for fascism that their > propaganda is helping to build. The propaganda for globalization, > for example, has included the elimination of a government's > responsibility to society, the elevation of the rights of private > property above everything else, and the expansion of the > apparatus of incarceration and extermination. > > Underlying this has been the relentless efforts to dehumanize all > those who "can't make it" and to demonize all those who resist > their fate. The propaganda of the ideological right also > dehumanizes the poor, fights for "law and order" solutions and > advocates replacing government with the reliance on family, > church and the individual. Similarly, the overtly fascist > groupings echo many of these sentiments, their open > anti-government stance feeding suspicion of government and other > social institutions. > > Race and racism historically have been crucial elements of > fascist ideology. However, as the material foundation for racism > is being eroded by the qualitatively new technology, the > connection between race and fascism is breaking down. Of course, > color still remains a key tool to manipulate the masses for > fascism, and some openly fascist groupings and their > "mainstreamed" leaders, such as David Duke, continue to rely upon > color as the centerpiece of their propaganda. > > Other elements do not emphasize color (although of course they > might use it in subtle ways). Similarly, we have seen that the > promotion of a global economy accompanies no racial distinctions > as to who should starve and who should eat. Downplaying color > distinctions allows these elements to broaden their message, not > only to a certain section of blacks, but to the broad section of > whites that do not respond overtly to racist appeals. > > From different directions and in different forms, the various > aspects of the subjective are reaching the huge, diffuse and > discontented American masses and sweeping them up into support > for fascism, without the American people even realizing it. Left > unchallenged, it will be this vision of America that shapes the > coming struggles. > > ***************************************************************** > * This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL > PUEBLO (Online Edition), Vol. 26 No. 8/ August, 1999; P.O. Box > 3524, Chicago, IL 60654; Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; > http://www.mcs.com/~league Feel free to reproduce and use unless > marked as copyrighted. 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