Over 10 years ago, on Indymedia sites, Alex Jones trolls would post unhinged stories about their fears of the government, elite parasites, and the globalists. Across the anti-establishement Left, there were people who liked a few things Jones said, though many other things just seemed off.
Today, one need only peruse the headlines at Infowars. There is no doubt about it – it has gone for Trump, and is going Fascist.
They are openly endorsing a member of the elite, Donald Trump. While that contradicts the Marxist idea of Fascism, history has shown alignment between Fascists and wealth, monarch, and Church. Presumably their hostility to poor foreigners and Muslims overrides their mistrust of the elite.
Fascism arose in times of economic hardship. They looked for scapegoats, ranging from bankers to minorities. That's what's happening, again.
HOW ARE WE TO RESPOND?
Anti-fascists need to organize and create a political and social force and even a tactical force to push back fascism.
We need to create mutual respect. We are not all the same, but we can be united in our desire to stop fascism. This means no slurs, hatred, or insults to our comrades. We need to maintain both a united front and reasonably united interior.
We should not punish those comrades who fail to uphold these rules, but some discipline is required to maintain unity. We must seek to align all allies with high standards of mutual respect.
We must be populist. The fascists are going to be populist to attract working class and poor people. We must also be unrelentingly populist to attract working class and poor people, who are the backbone of the anti-fascist fight and historically most reliable.
Those among us who are the intelligentsia, whether professional or amateur, need to expect a long fight. Do not give in to defeatism. You are nothing if you shout against Fascism today, and then turn around and go milk-toast, or go turncoat next year.
We must prepare to fight on all fronts.
https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1944/1944-fas.htm http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/02/27/3945 http://orwell.ru/library/essays/Spanish_War/english/esw_1 http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/anarchism/fight/fascism.html