A Discussion With Our Readers
BY MARTÍN KOPPEL
Ed Meredith, in his letter on the opposite page, argues that socialists should seek common ground with right-wing organizations that pose as defenders of the Bill of Rights and that denounce the government. He chastises the Militant for stating, as Naomi Craine does in her July 24 column, that groups like the Michigan Militias "are reactionary, fascist-minded outfits that have nothing to do with the working-class movement."
Meredith says Craine doesn't "address the real issue," which he insists is government infringement on the U.S. constitution's Second and Fourth Amendments. He conveniently ignores the unambiguous stance of the Militant, which as Craine notes, opposes attempts by the government to curtail any democratic rights under the cover of going after the Oklahoma bombers.
More importantly, however, he ignores the warning in the letter by Roy Inglee that he refers to. In response to an earlier letter (see the June 5 Militant) where Meredith spoke of his efforts to "build bridges" by being active in an anti-gun control group that is clearly right-wing, Inglee replied, "Ed, I would be careful with who I hung out with....Bridges have been known to be two way." In fact, Meredith's most recent letter indicates he's already on the bridge and crossing over toward these rightists.
Times of capitalist economic crisis and insecurity like today's are breeding grounds for ultraright groups, which tap the fears and prejudices of panicky layers among professionals, small businessmen, farmers, and some workers. The emerging fascist groups attract these layers through their radical rhetoric. Among other things, they assail mainstream politicians, both liberals and conservatives, playing on resentments against these politicians' corrupt and arrogant behavior. They rail against government abuse of "the little guy." They spout antigovernment and, yes, even anticapitalist demagogy. But the ultrarightists work to turn anticapitalist sentiments into reactionary nationalism. Today we often hear them denounce "multinational corporations" and "foreign bankers" who are selling out "American" workers. Such chauvinist appeals are typical of fascist politician Patrick Buchanan as well as the so-called militias.
Some people "are attracted to these groups," Meredith writes, "because they represent a challenge to the standard fare being served up in both political parties and the mass media. People don't trust the government and are sick and tired of governmental tampering and manipulation of our Constitutional rights."
That's a pretty good description of the demagogic appeal of those rightist outfits.
It may be possible at their meetings to denounce the outrageous actions committed by bankers, corporate executives, and "the powers that be" against working people. Anticapitalist rhetoric was not uncommon at meetings of the Nazi party in Germany in the early 1930s.
Today, some liberals and leftists are attracted to the antigovernment and anticapitalist radicalism - and militant "toughness" - of budding fascist groups. Those who cross the bridge to fascism are sick and tired of working-class politics, which appeals to the capacity of working people to think and act; they are drawn to the rightists' emotional appeals and politics of resentment.
There are many cases in history of individuals who passed through the socialist movement on their way to fascism. Benito Mussolini, for example, evolved from a leader of the left wing of the Italian Socialist Party before World War I to the fascist gangs that began to assault the workers movement in 1919. In the United States, the fascist Lyndon LaRouche began as a socialist. The New Alliance Party, has also evolved from a self-proclaimed left- wing party to a formation that has now fused with the rightist fringe around Ross Perot.
While radical rightists harangue about what they are against, working-class revolutionists are guided by what we are for. Communists are not primarily against the government or capitalists, but for the fight by working people to create a socialist society and to begin to transform themselves in the process.
Communists share no common ground with the rightists' hatred of the FBI, taxes, government wiretapping, gun control, or repressive legislation. The revolutionary movement doesn't form a bloc with fascists, as Meredith seems to advocate, in order to "focus our main fire on the government for now" until the moment when "the fascists openly attack the workers' organizations."
Instead, class-conscious workers and working farmers are distinguished completely from such right-wing groups and individuals by their everyday political activity. They are publicly known as proponents of equal rights for immigrants, affirmative action quotas, women's rights, and gay rights. They are identified as partisans of the Cuban revolution. They are known for their opposition to the death penalty, America First propaganda, and all kinds of prejudice. In other words, they are known as people whose views are incompatible with any right-wing formation. The communist movement can only be built in uncompromising opposition to the politics of right-wing groups like the one in which Meredith is active.