Tuesday, July 26, 2011

What is Fascism? Some General Ideological Features

 An essay by Matthew Lyons Taken from political research associates




What is Fascism? Some General Ideological Features

by Matthew N. Lyons

I am skeptical of efforts to produce a "definition" of fascism. As a dynamic historical current, fascism has taken many different forms, and has evolved dramatically in some ways. To understand what fascism has encompassed as a movement and a system of rule, we have to look at its historical context and development--as a form of counter-revolutionary politics that first arose in early twentieth-century Europe in response to rapid social upheaval, the devastation of World War I, and the Bolshevik Revolution. The following paragraphs are intented as an initial, open-ended sketch.

Fascism is a form of extreme right-wing ideology that celebrates the nation or the race as an organic community transcending all other loyalties. It emphasizes a myth of national or racial rebirth after a period of decline or destruction. To this end, fascism calls for a "spiritual revolution" against signs of moral decay such as individualism and materialism, and seeks to purge "alien" forces and groups that threaten the organic community. Fascism tends to celebrate masculinity, youth, mystical unity, and the regenerative power of violence. Often, but not always, it promotes racial superiority doctrines, ethnic persecution, imperialist expansion, and genocide. At the same time, fascists may embrace a form of internationalism based on either racial or ideological solidarity across national boundaries. Usually fascism espouses open male supremacy, though sometimes it may also promote female solidarity and new opportunities for women of the privileged nation or race.

Fascism's approach to politics is both populist--in that it seeks to activate "the people" as a whole against perceived oppressors or enemies--and elitist--in that it treats the people's will as embodied in a select group, or often one supreme leader, from whom authority proceeds downward. Fascism seeks to organize a cadre-led mass movement in a drive to seize state power. It seeks to forcibly subordinate all spheres of society to its ideological vision of organic community, usually through a totalitarian state. Both as a movement and a regime, fascism uses mass organizations as a system of integration and control, and uses organized violence to suppress opposition, although the scale of violence varies widely.

Fascism is hostile to Marxism, liberalism, and conservatism, yet it borrows concepts and practices from all three. Fascism rejects the principles of class struggle and workers' internationalism as threats to national or racial unity, yet it often exploits real grievances against capitalists and landowners through ethnic scapegoating or radical-sounding conspiracy theories. Fascism rejects the liberal doctrines of individual autonomy and rights, political pluralism, and representative government, yet it advocates broad popular participation in politics and may use parliamentary channels in its drive to power. Its vision of a "new order" clashes with the conservative attachment to tradition-based institutions and hierarchies, yet fascism often romanticizes the past as inspiration for national rebirth.

Fascism has a complex relationship with established elites and the non-fascist right. It is never a mere puppet of the ruling class, but an autonomous movement with its own social base. In practice, fascism defends capitalism against instability and the left, but also pursues an agenda that sometimes clashes with capitalist interests in significant ways. There has been much cooperation, competition, and interaction between fascism and other sections of the right, producing various hybrid movements and regimes.

Posted by southsideantifa at 2:06 AM 0 comments
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Saturday, July 9, 2011

Private Email And Facebook Discussions From Eric 'Scott' Kriske Released

Update 10/26/11: It has been confirmed that due to these posts and several other forms of harassment CMS has disbanded. Regardless of Erics attempts to say he moved to Canada individual members are still around.

Days after our first post on Eric Kriske, we received his private email and facebook discussions from an anonymous sender. The documents have been put together in one big easily readable format and put up on several websites. It also allows for anyone who wants to the ability to download his facebook and skim through for themselves. Both the email and facebook correspondence provides, from the words of Eric himself, concrete evidence of our previous claims as he blatantly admits to being racist and white supremacist. They also reveal several other extremely interesting discussions between him and members of CMS, members of the chi-town 77's, a few neo-nazis from Europe and many more. All of which, prove that the few associates of Eric, such as Conor Looby, Mickey Nussbaum and CMS as whole, are just as fucked up as he is.

Website mirrors: 
Download all his facebook messages! Read Online or download here:
Name: Eric Kriske
Address: 6320 N Sayre Ave
Phone Number: 773 401 5680

Posted by southsideantifa at 1:23 PM 4 comments
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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

July 31 Day of Action Against Fascism and Racism

On July 31, 2010, militants and organizers across the U.S., Canada, and Europe participated in the International Day of Action Against Fascism and Racism. Please join us on July 31, 2011, as we collaborate again to struggle against white supremacists organizing in our communities.

Who: Revolutionaries everywhere!
What: Organizing events and actions against fascism and white supremacy!
When: July 31, 2011! Where: Wherever you are!
Why: To clean up the streets and take out the trash!

On March 27, 2010, Luke Querner was shot while exiting a bar in downtown Portland, Oregon. While police investigation and local reporters initially played this off as gang-related violence, friends, family, and community members spoke up to let the truth be known: Luke was an anti-racist skinhead that organized against white supremacists in his community, and was in turn attacked by white supremacists in an effort to silence and intimidate anti-racist/anti-fascist organizers. Luke survived the shooting, which left him partially paralyzed.

In response to the shooting, anti-fascists organized the July 31 Day of Action Against Fascism and Racism to publicly fight back. This occurred in the midst of a rise of racist far-right activity in the U.S., including Arizona's racist SB1070 immigrant bill, Tea Party tax protests, and vigilante border patrols by neo-Nazis.

We have chosen to put out a call to action again this year as a means of coordinating anti-fascist struggles. In 2010, we saw a variety of actions and efforts that reflected the diversity of the participating organizations, which included benefit shows, public events, protests, and public outings of white supremacists. Only by organizing against white supremacists and fascists can we protect ourselves from their violent attacks, and not by putting faith in the police and legal systems that enforce borders and criminalize People of Color.

On July 31, 2011, join together with radical anti-fascists to take it to the streets and oppose racism and fascism in our communities.

List of Endorsers

Circle City Anti-Racist Action
Four Star Anarchist Organization 
Gay Liberation Network 
South Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action
Central Texas ABC
Dirty Hands(Durango, CO)
Arch City ARA
First of May Anarchist Alliance(M1)
General defense committee of the IWW
One peoples project
Hub City ARA
ARA-LA/PART
Worcester Antifa
Boston Antifa
Montreal RASH
Indiana RASH
All power to the positive


If your organization would like to endorse this call to action, please contact us at southsidechicagoara@hushmail.com and we will add your name to the list of endorsers.

Southsideara.blogspot.com
Posted by southsideantifa at 2:13 PM 0 comments
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