Capitalism in Decay
Fascism is capitalism in decay. As with anticommunism in general, the ruling class has oversimplified this phenomenon to the point of absurdity and teaches but a small fraction of its history. This is the spot for getting a serious understanding of it (from a more proletarian perspective) and collecting the facts that contemporary anticommunists are unlikely to discuss.
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No capitalist apologia or other anticommunism. No bigotry, including racism, misogyny, ableism, heterosexism, or xenophobia. Be respectful. This is a safe space where all comrades should feel welcome.
For our purposes, we consider early Shōwa Japan to be capitalism in decay.
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That’s a good question! Although the Fascists criticized both socialism and (liberal) capitalism, they did not spend their spare time waylaying capitalists, let alone as often as they harassed and massacred us. In fact, the Fascists received significant funding from various businessmen, who used the Fascists to exterminate around three thousand of us from 1920 to 1922.
Fascist ‘anticapitalism’ might not have been quite as shallow as it first appeared, but in any event it had little in common with our anticapitalism. Quoting Robert Paxton:
(Source.)
The petty bourgeoisie was the basis of Fascism, and the petty bourgeoisie was in a struggle against both the haute bourgeoisie and us (often the latter more than the former), hence Fascism’s philosophic incoherency. Since most or all of the petty bourgeoisie dreams of becoming ‘successful’, though, they cannot abolish the haute bourgeoisie, only criticize or possibly moderate it. This is why many ‘anticonsumerists’ recommend buying from small businesses as a supposed alternative to buying from big businesses.
Many Fascists also had a military background, and it was common for Fascists to have both military and petty bourgeois backgrounds together. Take Adolf Schicklgruber, for example. Of course there are also some antifascists who have military backgrounds, but they tend to be very antiwar and unhappy about their military history. Lower‐class socialists are overwhelmingly antiwar. Petty bourgeois ‘anticapitalists’, not so much.
If you find any self‐identified socialist promoting the retention of private property, capital, the law of value, generalized commodity production, wage labour, or businesses as long‐term strategies, you’ll have found a pseudosocialist. We can argue that these phenomena might have to be tolerated in the short‐term, but trying to preserve them for centuries is neither possible nor desirable.
I hope that this helps! Feel free to ask me more.
It definitely helps! This gives a useful overview on the Fascist (incl. Nazi) denouncement of 'bourgeois capitalism' [decadent haute capitalists] and some of the reasons they don't take steps towards actually removing the haute bourgeoise which they continually criticize.
Can you expand on what you mean by pointing out Fascists often had military backgrounds? I'm aware that WWI shaped a lot of Fascist leaders and ideas (e.g. German stab-in-the-back myth, overall militancy and pro-war aspects of Fascism, creating economic crisis) there's definitely a relationship, but as you mentioned, being having a military background isn't enough on its own as there are antiwar antifascists from military families and who served in the military, even high-up former members like Green Beret SSG Evan Brown, and then there are cases like the '43 Group (returning Jewish ex-servicemen from WWII who effectively destroyed the BUF). Is the take-away that we should be cautious of ex-military who remain pro-war?
If they won’t listen to reason, then it is probably for the best to shun or expel self‐identified socialists (e.g. Benito Mussolini) who persistently advocate adding another dictatorship of the bourgeoisie (e.g. the Kingdom of Italy) to a war, or who repeatedly defend (neo)imperialist aggressors such as the NATO or the so‐called ‘State of Israel’.
While the tendency seems to be somewhat commoner in those with a military background, it is, of course, by no means universal to them, and technically anybody can be prowar. As with a history under abusive parenters, a military background can be a cause for concern but certainly no guarantee that somebody is a potential neofascist.
So basically,
We should be cautious of anybody who remains prowar, yes.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: