The Five Faces of Fascism
by
Michael Novick, Anti-Racist Action-LA/People Against Racist Terror
(ARA-LA/PART)

Like the weather, everybody talks about fascism, but nobody does
anything about it. Just like the barrage of deadly hurricanes that
continue in record numbers this season are being fed by global warming
of ocean waters, the growth of fascism is being fed by a key
underlying reality. The Empire is coming face to face with its own
limits and with the catastrophic consequences of its own
self-destructive contradictions.

The economic "race to the bottom" of corporate globalization has
de-industrialized the U.S. Simultaneously it's created a massive
over-capacity of production using labor priced below the cost of human
reproduction in China, south Asia, and elsewhere.

There's a concurrent race towards disaster between Peak Oil and Global
Warming. On track one, we have the runaway train of economic and
social devastation because of the soaring demand for a shrinking
supply of petroleum and natural gas. On track two is the runaway
destruction of the climate and the seas, through pollution by the
gaseous wastes of petroleum. The only question seems to be how rapidly
the tracks intersect and how total the smash-up will be.

Meanwhile, the endless war that hid beneath the surface of the "Pax
Americana" has come out into the open. Domestically we see the Empire
trying to contain social upheaval by militarizing the schools, the
border, the police, and disaster relief. We also see the
ineffectiveness of that military approach. Internationally, the US war
machine is bogged down and bloodied in two land wars in Asia, Iraq and
Afghanistan, trying to figure out how to deal with its problems by
expanding them regionally.

In the face of these growing and intersecting crises in the political,
economic and environmental spheres, fascism is once again rearing its
ugly head. But like the crisis, fascism presents itself in a
multi-faceted way. There are five main forces competing, contending
and colluding in building a fascist response and "solution" to the
problems of the Empire. Anti-fascist forces committed to human
liberation and planetary survival must simultaneously challenge the
Empire itself, develop solutions for the problems fueling the fascist
response, and disrupt the fascist forces.

To do so, we need to get a clearer picture of the fascist elements and
the contradictions among them.

Self-proclaimed Nazis, though not the largest or most serious threat,
are a place to start. This is the element with the most naked racist
approach, based on open white supremacy. They incorporate traditional
nazi/fascist symbolism, and classic scapegoating of Jews. Particular
groups within this tendency suffer setbacks, and ego drives rivalries
between various "leaders." But this faction has an opportunist
tactical flexibility. It benefits from effective use of the media to
magnify its forces and appeal. Nazis seize on every sign of racial
friction. It appeals to younger whites with a sense of grievance about
lost entitlements. They often present themselves as anti-establishment
or even anti-capitalist, yet usually seek protection by the cops. They
use methods of physical intimidation, as bullies do. But like all
bullies, they are highly susceptible to organized physical resistance.

Clerical fascism is a second major component, also connected to an
element of traditional fascism. It is based in religious
fundamentalism, and often incorporates well-established and
well-funded religious organizations, whether churches or lay fraternal
groups. They base their appeal on a sense of moral decay under the
Empire, but they are otherwise more than happy to operate within the
mainstream and existing political institutions. In the U.S., we are
speaking mostly about Christian fascist groups, which focus on
anti-woman and anti-gay organizing, opposing abortion and other
reproductive rights, gay marriage and similar issues. But in a global
context, Jewish fundamentalism linked to a more secular, but still
religiously-justified, Zionism is an important element of this
tendency, and in the U.S., Christian and Jewish Zionists make common
cause. In the colonized and semi-colonized Muslim world, Muslim
fascist fundamentalism plays a role more similar to that of western
Nazism, presenting itself as the voice of grievance, with an
anti-establishment, "anti-imperialist" politics.

Anti-immigrant border vigilantes have resurrected the worst components
of the old militia movement. They're most interested not in replacing
but in supplementing the power of the state. Although some elements
engage in anti-corporate or anti-politician rhetoric, this faction,
like the Christian fascists, are generally content to seek entry into,
and work with, mainstream political power.

Thus the Minutemen and such vigilante projects work with the Border
Patrol, or run for elective office. They sponsor propositions
targeting immigrants, particularly Mexicans, and work closely with
Republican and some Democratic office-holders. While professing not to
be racist, they also provide a convenient conduit and nesting place
for nazi and white supremacist forces. For example demonstrators at
anti-immigrant protests in Orange County, CA, showed up waving
swastika and Confederate flags.

This is a growth area for a mass base for fascist solutions. The state
legitimizes the use of extra-governmental armed force in direct
anti-immigrant action. Anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican hysteria, an
outlet for white grievance, has enabled these groups to spread with
Mexican and Central American migrants into the southeast, northeast,
midwest and northwest, from the US "southwest," occupied northern Mexico.

An element within uniformed and clandestine military, law enforcement,
and state security forces, operating independently of the official
chain of command, is a fourth component of a fascist movement. This
aspect has been somewhat dormant in recent years, at least in the U.S.
But the increasing use of mercenaries by the Empire, as well as
concerns within the ranks and the brass about the inadequacy of
current domestic and international counter-insurgency efforts, is
resurrecting it. Continuing setbacks in Iraq and Afghanistan could
increase this component dramatically, with a possible appeal among
demobilized and disoriented veterans unable to find a productive niche
in civilian life.

Fascist elements within the state, the governing party and the ruling
economic and political elite are the fifth element, since fascism is
built from above as well as below. The Bush forces have been willing
to cement one-party rule through electoral fraud and coercion. They
provide red meat and marching orders to the clerical and vigilante
fascists, and reward or protect fascist elements within the military
and law enforcement. This will grow as the disastrous consequences of
Empire, and the inability of the rulers to "deliver the goods" to
anybody but an increasingly narrow stratum of the wealthy, erode
popular support. The Democrats offer at best token alternatives to, if
not outright reinforcement of, these approaches. This shows the
systemic nature of the crisis, and the limited options available to
the rulers as the crises deepen.

The strength of fascism in the U.S. in particular can only be
understood when we recognize that the US political and economic system
has always contained key elements of what later came to be called
fascism. White supremacy, genocide, slave labor, and independent armed
action outside the "authorized" use of force by the state, have always
been key aspects of the US system.

The interpenetration of corporations and the state, and the
incorporation of a mass base into repressive state organs, have always
been found in the US because it is a settler colonial society.
Colonized people have always existed domestically within the expanding
borders of the U.S. Therefore such colonial methods of rule have
always been present within the U.S.

Moreover, fascists understand, as the "left" in the U.S. mostly
doesn't, that the Empire has always been a cross-class project. The
system allows independent armed action by other classes and class
fractions that support the imperial project, rather than a monopoly by
the state or bourgeoisie.

The only effective resistance to fascism must be a thorough economic,
political and social transformation. We can't appeal to some
democratic principle or institution to forestall fascism. Passing a
law, winning an election, or even impeaching or removing a president
won't do it. This is a fight to the finish for human and planetary
survival.

Let's get organized, and build the solidarity and connectivity among
people to withstand a fascist onslaught and the underlying economic
system and way of life that are causing the very dislocations the
fascists claim to have a solution for. Individually and collectively,
we must not merely abandon but actively overthrow an Empire that is
destroying the planet. We need to develop a political jiu jitsu, use
the force of opponents' offensives against them.

We must take advantage of the elite's growing inability to govern or
rule in the old ways to begin to govern ourselves in self-determined
ways, through solidarity, mutual aid and direct action.

In each sphere of fascist activity, we need to build alliances among
the potential victims as well as counter-organize among potential
supporters.

This is not about an electoral coalition based on a lowest common
denominator effort to muster more votes and 'throw the rascals out' in
favor of a new group of rascals. It's about uniting all the
disenfranchised, exploited and oppressed to build a new way of life.

The calamitous nature of the state response to Katrina on the Gulf
Coast has been reinforced by their activities in the wake of Wilma's
devastation in Florida. Extreme weather will only become more severe.
Yet the 'best' we can expect from the state is military and police
action to protect corporate property and enforce pre-existing privileges.

So we need on-going, pro-active efforts to build new forms of
community, solidarity and environmental responsibility. We must create
alliances among Mexican, Haitian, Asian and Muslim immigrants who are
being targeted by the state and vigilantes; the women, lesbians, gay,
bi, and transgendered people targeted by the Christian right; the
Black/New Afrikan people targeted by the cops, courts and prisons; and
working people generally. Only decolonization and self-determination
provide a basis for this.

We must create a culture of resistance uniting militant young people
with older generations capable of learning from past errors in order
to prevent their repetition. This will allow us to confront and topple
the state and fascists.

With Christian and other clerical fascism, we must identify the fault
lines within the base of the fascists, as well as believers who share
the religious faith but not the fascist vision of the right.

Regarding open nazis, vigorous, overt opposition as well as covert
intelligence gathering and network disruption must be combined with a
pro-active organizing strategy for reaching disaffected young white
people. In this regard, work against not only military recruitment but
also the militarist and propagandistic nature of education is
important. So is a defense of young people's health, cultural
expression, and rights, including those of young women.

Immigrants' rights organizing must proceed on the basis of a vigorous
anti-corporate strategy for labor, and include solidarity with workers
world wide.

Our opposition to the Empire's military aggression must reach women
and men recruited as cannon fodder, because the struggle for a better
world will require that they turn the guns around.

If we don't act to topple the Empire at its seat, the rest of the
world's people will pay a terrible price to do it for us.

----
This is lead editorial from "Turning the Tide: Journal of Anti-Racist
Action, Research & Education," Volume 18 Number 5, November-December
2005. A free sample copy in the US is available on request from
ARA-LA, PO Box 1055, Culver City CA 90232. One year subscriptions are
$16 in the US, $26 outside the US, payable to "Michael Novick" at
same address.