Left-wing Fascism

[RGacky3]

In my opinion, fascism is a branch of leftism.

Ok, but your opinion is stupid and wrong.

Writing "In my opinion something is something." Means absolutely nothing here, make an argument.

[#FF0000]

In my opinion, fascism is a branch of leftism.

i guess in a world where you get to make things up that might be true but no, fascism is diametrically opposed to what folks around here want and believe.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

In my opinion, fascism is a branch of leftism.

That is funny, because a lot of people here believe that fascism is actually a branch of capitalism...

[#FF0000]

That is funny, because a lot of people here believe that fascism is actually a branch of capitalism...

Pretty sure Hayek himself said Fascism was an acceptable panic-room for capitalism, and talked about how Fascism saved the west from Communism.

[lombas]

It is not that surprising. Peronism is inspired by fascism, and by stressing workers' ideals withing the fascist ideology, it could be regarded as a "left-wing" fascist ideology.

Some elements within Peronism (the more nationalist, militarist minded) declared this "leftism" obsolete, that's why it is still split between a right and a left wing.

But that's just me and what I remember from the classes I took in history of political thought; we need someone from Argentina here to explain the details.

[lombas]

i guess in a world where you get to make things up that might be true but no, fascism is diametrically opposed to what folks around here want and believe.

Yes, ah, but ehm, this is supposed to be the revolutionary left. There are more leftist denominations than the "marxist-anarchist-trotskyist-..." people we have here. Marxism doesn't equal "left" and Capitalism doesn't equal "right", though both are respectively part of the said direction.

That said, I do not believe fascism can be considered a leftist ideology.

[Hexen]

"Left-Wing Fascism" is a oxymoron.

[daft punk]

In my opinion, fascism is a branch of leftism.

No it isnt. Fascism is a branch of conservatism. It's purpose is to save capitalism in extreme circumstances. I cant be arsed typing tons on this, but as a quick example, in 1927 Hitler sent a secret letter to industrialists reassuring him that all his anti-capitalist talk was just talk.

[lombas]

No it isnt. Fascism is a branch of conservatism. It's purpose is to save capitalism in extreme circumstances. I cant be arsed typing tons on this, but as a quick example, in 1927 Hitler sent a secret letter to industrialists reassuring him that all his anti-capitalist talk was just talk.

That is true, though I would like to point to the fact that there were/are significant differences between fascism and nazism. So quoting Hitler in this regard perhaps isn't too appropriate.

It might be interesting to examine however whether nazism itself might be interpreted as an attempt to approach fascism from a supposedly left wing perspective with a blend of völkischer Nationalismus...

[hatzel]

Genghis is a great troll all his posts are really good masterful work I approve.

[ed miliband]

there was a thread on libcom about ron paul that turned into a discussion sort of along these lines:

http://libcom.org/forums/north-ameri...-paul-24022012

basically a guy pointed out that nazis had social welfare programs and people got angry, but then there were some sensible posts that i'll reproduce:

I might be missing something (like the poster has form for defending fascism or something?) but simply pointing out that fascism has an economic policy that includes wide ranging public services and programs is hardly acting as an apologist for fascism. Any decent analysis of fascism should start from understanding it's roots as a bastardised form of socialism that rejected internationalism for a pact with it's native ruling classes.


It's certainly well worth highlighting these differences because as the crisis of capitalism deepens, there will be a rise in calls for national solutions, "for putting our own first", for attacking various scapegoats and even the possibility of states retreating back from international treaties into various blocs, ready to plunge into war. To overlook the carrot aspect of fascism that did win so many working class people over to it's barbarism is of little use to anyone, not least when it was the crippling "austerity" measures imposed on Germany at Versailles that did so much to produce a fertile breeding ground for fascism

it's far from bourgeois to understand the origins of fascism as arising from a bastardised form of socialism, I believe at the time many referred to it as "socialism for fools". Fascism's subsequent support from big business and it's rise to power does nothing to change it's origins, infact the violent purging of the SA only highlights it.

i mean, i agree with this 100%:


Any decent analysis of fascism should start from understanding it's roots as a bastardised form of socialism that rejected internationalism for a pact with it's native ruling classes.

fascism isn't related to socialism in any way that i understand it, but i don't see why it should be controversial to suggest that fascism had strong similarities with social democracy.

[NoPasaran1936]

I often hear people use it as a derogatory term for organisations like Unite Against Fascism, when they try and forcibly prevent the BNP/EDL from having a public platform, the same people will also quote Churchill when he said "The Fascists of the future will be the anti-fascists."

As far as I know there aren't any people or organisations who would self-identify as "Left-wing Fascists"

The funny thing is, Churchill never said that..

[ColonelCossack]

In my opinion, fascism is a branch of leftism.

You know I think you're on to something. it must be your genius arguments again.

[Os Cangaceiros]

it's p. much just an epithet.

i remember the user Os Ctafhgbfhgbjdfbgjdfa made a p. good post about how there is def. a left wing of fascism though, that is very anti-clerical, has very anti-capitalist rhetoric, and which viewed the French Revolution in a positive light (a p. interesting distinction which i wouldn't have noticed) but which is still entirely opposed to socialism at its core, believing in strict, 'natural' hierarchies, a strong national state, etc. etc. etc.

EDIT: lol they're also always murdered every time fascists get around to taking power

Yeah I think I know what you're talking about. This post?

A lot of fascists, esp. in Italy, came from socialist traditions, that's true. A lot of them became disillusioned with the left after WW1. And there were left-leaning fascists, "class struggle fascists", both in Italy and elsewhere, who viewed the French Revolution favorably, spoke out vehemently against capitalism, and were fiercely anti-clerical/hated the Church. So ideologically they were similar to the left in those respects, but they replaced the left's emphasis on egalitarianism and worker's internationalism with an emphasis on hardcore nationalism, fetishization of militarism/violence, exhaltation of national culture, etc. which I consider to be a pretty big difference.

But ultimately these elements were mostly marginalized in Italy, where Mussolini didn't really go after the Catholic establishment, and purged in Nazi Germany with the night of the long knives.

(I was arguing with some tool who thought that fascism = communism or something like that.)

But yes, there were certain left-leaning fascists in Germany, like Rohm and Strasser, who's self-described aim was to liquidate capitalism, a supposed Jewish invention, along with Marxism, another Jewish invention. Jews are very inventive. It got so bad that Hindenburg ordered Hitler to take care of the problem, perhaps because German capital understood on some level that it had created a monster it hadn't fully understood, and the street level activism of the SA was going to turn around and bite them in the ass at some point. Thus the purge.

In other regimes where fascism had relevance: in Italy there were anti-clerical fascists, but ultimately the conservatives won out there and they never gained much power. In Spain there were some left-wing Falangists, but the death of Jose Primo de Rivera (and Manuel Hedilla, who was purged by Franco) removed any chance that there would be some sort of conflict between the left-wing fascists and the conservative/Catholic fascists. Not sure about Portugal. Here's what a book I have has to say on the topic:

National Syndicalism and Technocratic Fascism were both radical. They regarded themselves as the logical outcome of western Europe's revolutionary heritage, although they restored the emphasis on order and social harmony rather than individualism and liberal democracy. By contrast, Conservative or Nationalist Fascism rejected Europe's revolutionary tradition altogether; their purpose was not to rationalize the French Revolution but to do away with it.

[Franz Fanonipants]

its me

[ed miliband]

loren goldner piece that may be of interest:

http://libcom.org/history/anti-capit...-reactionary-i

[danyboy27]

Most fascist are rabid xenophobic nationalist, i think we can safely say it will always overshadow any pretention of social progress made by some of their left leaning elements.

Gobbels was in favor of having grandiose public appartement complex, but he really didnt really cared about the endless imperialist war or the millions of slave labor working for corporation like IG farben, he didnt cared about the gas chamber either.

Fascist will always be a bunch of deluded individual. Just like the Libertarian, they think they can have all the advantage of an overly exploitative system without the consequences.

[Ocean Seal]

What in the hell is this?

A stupid idea conceived by stupid people.

Sounds like Glenn Beck wrote this article to me.

Yes Beck and co uphold the Hanah Ardent worldview.

[DinodudeEpic]

Actually the article seems to imply that 'Left-fascism' is just a prerogative for the 'Anti-imperialist left' made by disgruntled leftists who accused such 'anti-imperialists' of being leftist in name only. (LINO for short.)

Of course, Revleft confuses that with Beckesque fear-mongering and/or actually hybrids of fascism and any leftist ideology. (Fascist liberalism? Fascist anarchism? Fascist classical liberalism? Remember, leftism is virtually any ideology that claims descent from the French Revolution's ideas.)

[Doflamingo]

In my opinion, fascism is a branch of leftism.

Well, your opinion is wrong.