Hi hmm,

Thank you for your thoughtful comments.

There is a ton of mythology concerning how Hitler came to power. Every political trend, whether reformist or revolutionary, has their own spin on this question. So it is important, in my view, not to accept at face value the common (and mistaken) assertion that Hitler came to power because the German CP failed to form a united front with the Social Democrats.

I think that it is far more accurate, and truthful, to say that Hitler came to power because the German bourgeoisie installed Hitler to power.

And it is important to recognize that the German bourgeoisie made their desperate gamble on Hitler because they were in crisis and were afraid that their class rule might be overthrown.

The current, concrete situation with the U.S. bourgeoisie is very different. Anyone who asserts that fascism (ie: a complete loss of all democratic rights) may be around the corner would need to address the 3 arguments I gave (above) for why fascism is, at this time, counter to the material interests of the bourgeoisie as a whole. These 3 arguments are as follows:

Such a desperate course of action by the bourgeoisie would:
(a) instantly politicize tens of millions of people,
(b) destablize the entire system of bourgeois rule and
(c) destroy illusions in the bourgeois political system that the bourgeoisie
. has carefully crafted and painstakingly cultivated over many decades.

One of the main problems with hysteria about impending fascism is that it tends to create great unclarity concerning what is politically decisive for the development of the antiwar movement today: turning our back on the Democratic Party and opposing the influence of the corrupt social strata that is in orbit around the Democratic Party. Only by opposing the influence of the Democratic Party (and its army of reformist apologists) can the antiwar movement become truly independent and powerful.

And understanding how our society really works (ie: the particular ways in which the bourgeoisie takes action to defend it material interests) is an inseparable part of undertanding why it is necessary to oppose the influence of the Democratic Party -- which is the imperialist party which specializes in sucking the energy and militancy out of the antiwar movement.

Once we understand how bourgeoisie society works -- then we can see where the bourgeoisie is weak -- and what the bourgeoisie is afraid of. The bourgeoisie is afraid of the antiwar movement (a) orienting itself toward the working class and (b) developing in a revolutionary direction.

Ben Seattle
struggle.net/ben