tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6679900905356691531.post5846714356223036343..comments2024-03-28T17:26:00.653-07:00Comments on ZZ's blog: A Political Conundrumzoltan zigedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09376602245528691381noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6679900905356691531.post-25014277326454705982010-03-21T18:03:28.960-07:002010-03-21T18:03:28.960-07:00Valentin adds much to the discussion of fascism. H...Valentin adds much to the discussion of fascism. His comments bring a deeper understanding to the question because it draws on the history of fascist movements and not merely its structure, as do most US discussions. While the features of fascism are important - revealing common aspects with right-wing extremism - we must attend to the process. Early in the Weimar Republic, German extreme-rightists were gathered in diverse groups, with many programs and a bevy of people reaching for leadership. Some had support from ruling class figures or organizations, some did not. The key factor that drew the decisive support of German elites was, however, the growth and power of the Marxist-Leninist left. <br /><br />Extreme-right organizations can and do influence politics without the presence of a strong left, but, I believe, they can only seize state power when the ruling class senses grave danger from a militant left. <br /><br />Of course this in no way diminishes their negative role in shaping US politics at the moment and into the future.<br /><br />I think the "two vectors" notion exposes a very useful distinction. I would only add - as I report in the posting - that there is friction between the two "vectors", friction generated by the tea-baggers deviation from some aspects of the ruling class agenda. That deviation is impacting the Republican Party's support for that agenda, forcing the Democrats to carry the water.zoltan zigedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09376602245528691381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6679900905356691531.post-83297574791833117322010-03-18T13:12:15.707-07:002010-03-18T13:12:15.707-07:00Good piece, raises really important questions. He...Good piece, raises really important questions. Here is my two cents.<br /><br />1. Fascism is the latent state of any bourgeois society under imperialism. <br /><br />2. Fascism may or may not be a response to the actual rise of a communist movement. The present rise of fascism in the US and imperialist West generally and in the absence of any stirrings of communism proves this point. Western fascism is imperialistic reaction to the comprehensive crisis of the world capitalist system with the West at its center. Objectively, this fascism attempts to preclude the loss of imperialist privileges and any left (socialism directed) alternative to monopoly capitalism. <br /><br />3. The Unites States, the Belly of the Beast, demonstrates two vectors of fascism. One is the fascistic mobilization from the top layers of the American state and society (1%) that began under Reagan and accelerated after 9-11 (The Patriot Act, COG, etc.). Another fascistic vector originates from the “middle class” and, broader, from the white settlers’ core of the nation – “Reagan’s blue collar workers,” Southern “white trash” (Marx) and similar reactionary products of American history. Tea-baggers clearly belong the latter and Zoltan did a good job describing them. <br /><br />We should not be deceived by the apparent differences between the early Nazi or Fasci movements and the grass-roots fascism American style. Not that these differences unimportant, but they do not change their political nature, that is precluding any progressive form of solution to the crisis of world capitalism. <br /><br />The present contradictions between monopoly fascism and grass-roots fascism of petty bourgeoisie and the working class are nothing new. The Nazi movement before 1934 was torn by these contradictions, resolved only by the massacre of Roehm and his SA chiefs. But even afterwards, anticapitalist rhetoric was a staple in Nazi propaganda. <br /><br />We can expect that the next wave of the crisis--which is only a question of time--will bring about a political accommodation between the two fascisms, probably with some serious regroupment within the ruling class in favor of its more nativist sections. For the ruling class will need all the support inside the country it can have, to suppress spontaneous riots and political organization for progressive alternatives. And we should have no illusions about the alleged anti-imperialism of the grassroots fascism. They are not against the neocon “let’s bomb ‘em into the Stone Age,” they only want that the bombing be done by the “constitutionally limited government.”Valentin Zorinhttp://left.runoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6679900905356691531.post-40739742382236954102010-03-14T18:32:32.814-07:002010-03-14T18:32:32.814-07:00Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas,s wif...Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas,s wife has started a Tea Party groupAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6679900905356691531.post-59578160749484496152010-03-14T15:18:31.316-07:002010-03-14T15:18:31.316-07:00How many in and around the Tea Party network are s...How many in and around the Tea Party network are seniors? As the administration proceeds with Medicare cuts one after another during the next few years, seniors will be forced to choose between paying significantly more for care or living with the anxiety of untreated symptoms.<br /> <br />With AARP's decision to merge with the private health insurance industry, leadership is up for grabs here.<br /><br />Incidentally, single payer activists who turn to a state-by-state strategy cannot rally seniors on this issue. What credible state single payer plan is going to make up for "incremental" federal cuts of Medicare that are coming down the road one after another?<br /> <br />Also, with a likely federal mandate to buy a corporate health insurance policy, tens of millions of young workers are going to be angry, too. It is easy to show them the money is not going for senior care; broad unity is feasible.Charles Andrewshttp://www.amazon.com/NO-RICH-POOR-CHARLES-ANDREWS/dp/096799053Xnoreply@blogger.com