I think Carrol Cox and Wojtek Sokolowski are doing a great job of holding up my end of the discussion. I think what they say makes a lot of sense. (well, except I lke Chris Doss' arguments about the cultural difference between Italian Fascism and German Nazism, but that is aesthetic taste).
Some years ago I wrote a chapter in Amy Ansell's book for Westview on Unravelling the Right. Here is how I ended the chapter:
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Democratic public discourse is disrupted by scapegoating, Opposing scapegoating is both a moral issue and strategically vital because of the role scapegoating plays in building rightwing populism which can be harvested by fascism. Fascism begins by organizing a mass movement with bitter anti-regime rhetoric.
Human rights organizers working for social and economic justice need to encourage forms of mass political participation, including democratic forms of populism, while simultaneously opposing scapegoating and conspiracism that often accompanies right-wing populism.
The removal of the obvious anti-communist underpinnings assisted left wing conspiracists in creating a parody of the fundamentalist/libertarian conspiracist critiques. Left wing conspiracists strip away the underlying religious fundamentalism, antisemitism, and economic social Darwinism, and peddle the repackaged product like carnival snake oil salesmen to unsuspecting sectors of the left. Those on the left who only see the antielitist aspects of right-wing populism and claim they are praiseworthy are playing with fire. Radical-sounding conspiracist critiques of the status quo are the wedge that fascism uses to penetrate and recruit from the left.
Given the trends we are facing, people who want to defend democracy have to fight on four fronts. We must organize against:
l The rise of reactionary populism, nativism, & fascism with roots in white supremacy, antisemitism, subversion myths, and the many mutating offspring of the Freemason/Jewish banker conspiracy theories.
l Theocracy and other anti-democratic forms of religious fundamentalism, around the world, which in the US is based in White Anglo-Saxon Protestant with its subtexts of patriarchy and homophobia.
l Authoritarian state actions in the form of militarism and interventionism abroad and government repression and erosion of civil liberties at home.
l The antidemocratic neocorporatism of multinational capital with its attack on the standard of living of working people around the globe.
As we promote progressive solutions, we must also join with all persons across the political spectrum to defend the basic ideas of mass democracy, even as we argue that it is an idea that has never been real for many here in our country. The principles of the Enlightenment are not our goal, but resisting attempts to push political discourse back to pre-enlightenment principles is nonetheless a worthy effort.
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If I rewrote it today I would stress anti-immigrant xenophobia. and anti-Islamic scapegoating.
Oversimplyfing and conflating militarist capitalist imperialism with real neofascism is an arrogant conceit among U.S. leftists that can have deadly consequences.
The four oppresive tendencies listed above are synergistic, but they are distinct and autonomuous. To not make clear distinctions and confront each with the proper tools will be fatal, not just to us, but for millions around the world.
The Taliban, Pat Buchanan, and Ron Paul are not our allies.
-Chip Berlet