On 2012-01-11, at 7:14 PM, James Heartfield wrote:
> Isn’t the weight of what Trotsky says about beating up fascists that it is ok to beat them up, but it is not really a political solution. Since they are dealing in street violence, he seems to be saying, best just to hit them back. Still, he says, that is only a technical response, i.e. it is just a practical question, not the resolution to the larger problem.
Right. He said the fascists could only be defeated politically by a united front of the workers' parties which would draw the uncertain "intermediate layers" (small rural and urban propertyholders and students) who were looking for leadership and a way out of the economic crisis to the Left rather than the Right.