Communist Revolution, Not Reform, Will Defeat Fascism
LOS ANGELES (USA), June 14ā President Trump stared sadly as out-of-step soldiers and creaky tanks paraded past half-empty bleachers at his birthday parade. Meanwhile, over a hundred thousand people attended dozens of āNo Kingsā protests in Los Angeles County.
Five million or more marched or rallied altogether. In every US state. In big cities and small towns. In some places, tens of thousands, elsewhere just brave individuals. In US territories and twenty other countries.
Two dozen party members and friends joined the ICWP Red Flag contingent in downtown LA. They came with varying levels of commitment. All brought their creativity and energy to our mobilization for communism. We distributed over a thousand pieces of communist literature, mainly to marchers but also to National Guards.
Solidarity and Hopeful Energy
āIt was an impressive show of solidarity,ā reflected an activist. āBut beneath that show, there is an undercurrent of commitment to action.
āThere are real stakes in our own backyard,ā she continued. āFolks were sharing information and support. In a rising surveillance state, just being together in person is so valuable.ā
āThe energy felt really hopeful, which I hadnāt felt lately,ā said a millennial. She was participating in a large protest for the first time, carrying an anti-fascist sign. āThere were so many families, older folks, young people, dogs, and people of all races and cultures. People were complimenting each otherās signs and introducing themselves.ā
A comrade heard a man say, āSara, we donāt want that, itās communist.ā Sara replied, āThatās OK, dadā and took Red Flag.
To Defeat Fascism, Destroy Its Roots in Capitalism
Hereās the contradiction. March organizers pushed hard for people to wrap themselves in the US flag. To put their hope in the US Constitution, peaceful protest, and democracy. To blame Trump personally for fascism.
āAs if Democratic presidents have never harmed the masses,ā remarked another comrade. āAs if Obama hadnāt been the āDeporter-in-Chief.ā As if the last mass deportations in LA hadnāt happened under Carter.
āInstead of organizing for āno kingsā the workers should be organizing for revolution from this system,ā he continued. āThis system which chooses which vulnerable part of the working class itās time to superexploit and scapegoat. Historically, Black people, Indigenous people, and women have felt this the hardest. The LGBQT+, Asians, Muslims, and now our immigrant family members have become the new punching bags.
āThe bosses have always approached the masses with armed violence,ā he concluded. āWorking-class struggle and eventual revolution will require violence in order to win an equitableĀ worldĀ forĀ all.ā
Three people tried to give another comrade a US flag. āI donāt want that flag,ā she told them. āThe only flag we need is the red flag of the international working class.ā
National flags symbolize the politics of nationalism. Nationalism tries to erase class struggle by getting workers to identify with the capitalist bosses who exploit them and send them to war. They divide workers from our class siblings around the world. Patriotism enslaves us. It cannot liberate us.
What is Fascism?
āFascistā can describe people or an ideology. But āfascismā is a stage of capitalism.
The British communist R. Palme Dutt analyzed it in 1934. Fascism arises, he argued, when old capitalist institutions break down. Amid this crisis, the working class should be able to seize power. But instead, it is restrained by reformist leadership. The disaffected masses thus become easy prey for the forces of reaction ā for fascism.
Dutt wrote mainly about the rise of Nazism in Germany. But similar conditions exist today almost everywhere in the world. There is a general economic crisis of capitalism. And an environmental crisis. And many levels of social crisis. Imperialist alliances and capitalist institutions are failing. Wars are spreading and intensifying.
The global working class is larger and more international than ever. And more impoverished. More desperate. It should be able to use its mighty power ā including the working-class soldiers and sailors in its ranks ā to liberate us all from capitalism.
But everywhere it is restrained by reformist leadership. Like in the āNo Kingsā protests. āStay peaceful.ā āGet out the vote for Democrats.ā āDefend the constitution.ā Anything to divert the angry masses from communist revolution.
Now, as in 1934, the choice is not ādemocracy or fascism.ā Itās communism or fascism. Fascist regimes mostly have constitutions. Often, they have elections. Letās learn from nearly a century of heroic struggles and tragic failures: Capitalist democracy paves the way for fascism.
We, like many who marched, are hopeful, not cynical. The stakes are real. The dangers are present, but so too are the opportunities.
Please contact the International Communist Workersā Party to discuss this. To find out how you can help mobilize masses to destroy fascism with communist revolution.
ICWP Manifesto:āØMobilize the Masses for Communism here