Unite for real democracy
dissenter | 11.05.2002 23:56
Things are getting desperate. Fascist ideology is on the rise and the protestations of socialists are feeble. The stark choice appears to be either xenophobic nationalism or neo-liberalism. We, the masses, have to show there is a third way by uniting in a loose umbrella group operating in every level.
Just a brief rant which I hope may generate some meaningful discussion and follow-up posts.
The general discussion in France, the Netherlands, Austria and Italy and Britain to a lesser extent, seems to be that fascism is on the rise against weak corrupt opposition.
The fascists are becoming attractive to more and more people, alienated from our captive corporate society and the remote decision-makers who give the green light to globalisation, as they too talk about destroying corporate power (perhaps not in Italy but certainly in Le Pen's, the BNP's and Pim Fortyn's case) and bringing power closer to the people - albeit the white master-race.
The SWP and other socialist groups are dinosaurs. Socialist rhetoric is outdated, Marx's belief in a dictatorship over the proletariat has been proved flawed. However, the policies and the democratic organisation of the Zapatistas and other indigenous Mexican groups, Chavez (though he is a bit dodgy) and the popular uprising in Argentina brings some hope.
It is time for the left to throw off the shackles of socialist ideology and think instead of a truly democratic vision, where people have a say on every issue and there is no messianic leader fixation. There are a huge number of single issue groups that operate on these lines, activists and others. An umbrella group, which has a strictly democratic structure so it can't be hi-jacked by the SWP needs to be formed.
This organisation must work as a political and educational force as well as an activist group. It must be recognisable to the mass media and people in every town and put forward candidates at elections.
Is this possible? It's the only way the left can crawl back from the abyss and become a force to be reckoned with, outside the protest/demonstration sphere, against the two types of far-right ideologies now dominating politics.
Just look at the history of how the Nazis came to power - given the key by a weak government barracked by Bolsheviks - and read about the ideas of the anarchist philosophers such as Proudhon and Godwin. So many people have a distorted view of what anarchism actually is.
I write as someone who is not a political activist and I know many who feel disenfranchised and angry at events but are prevented by taking to the streets by a number of factors, including family and work ties.
From where I'm sitting, far from the front line, I read the situation as a state of anarchy - a trasitional period where capitalist society and power structures have rotted to the core. The question is, what succeeds it? We must prevent fascists from gaining support and power by every means possible. That means acting as a concrete united force in every sector of everyday life.
Any ideas?
The general discussion in France, the Netherlands, Austria and Italy and Britain to a lesser extent, seems to be that fascism is on the rise against weak corrupt opposition.
The fascists are becoming attractive to more and more people, alienated from our captive corporate society and the remote decision-makers who give the green light to globalisation, as they too talk about destroying corporate power (perhaps not in Italy but certainly in Le Pen's, the BNP's and Pim Fortyn's case) and bringing power closer to the people - albeit the white master-race.
The SWP and other socialist groups are dinosaurs. Socialist rhetoric is outdated, Marx's belief in a dictatorship over the proletariat has been proved flawed. However, the policies and the democratic organisation of the Zapatistas and other indigenous Mexican groups, Chavez (though he is a bit dodgy) and the popular uprising in Argentina brings some hope.
It is time for the left to throw off the shackles of socialist ideology and think instead of a truly democratic vision, where people have a say on every issue and there is no messianic leader fixation. There are a huge number of single issue groups that operate on these lines, activists and others. An umbrella group, which has a strictly democratic structure so it can't be hi-jacked by the SWP needs to be formed.
This organisation must work as a political and educational force as well as an activist group. It must be recognisable to the mass media and people in every town and put forward candidates at elections.
Is this possible? It's the only way the left can crawl back from the abyss and become a force to be reckoned with, outside the protest/demonstration sphere, against the two types of far-right ideologies now dominating politics.
Just look at the history of how the Nazis came to power - given the key by a weak government barracked by Bolsheviks - and read about the ideas of the anarchist philosophers such as Proudhon and Godwin. So many people have a distorted view of what anarchism actually is.
I write as someone who is not a political activist and I know many who feel disenfranchised and angry at events but are prevented by taking to the streets by a number of factors, including family and work ties.
From where I'm sitting, far from the front line, I read the situation as a state of anarchy - a trasitional period where capitalist society and power structures have rotted to the core. The question is, what succeeds it? We must prevent fascists from gaining support and power by every means possible. That means acting as a concrete united force in every sector of everyday life.
Any ideas?
dissenter
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