How to fight fascism

Submitted by Anon on 5 March, 2006 - 11:49

The fascist British National Party (BNP) is fundamentally an anti-working-class, anti-democratic party. It is also racist, anti-semitic, sexist and homophobic. Everything that the BNP stands for is against the interests of working-class people and the labour movement.

Fascism is distinguished from other right-wing groups by the fact that, instead of relying on the ordinary, official, repressive mechanisms of capitalist democracy, it mobilises people on the streets - impoverished middle-class people, the unemployed and demoralised, and sometimes even a few workers - to directly batter minorities and the labour movement. That is its essence even if sometimes fascist groups put on a "legal", "parliamentary" front in order to gather support.

Fascist groups in Britain have risen and declined since the 1970s, but following the June 2004 elections, the BNP had 21 councillors in Britain. The strength of groups like the Front National in France and the Vlaams Blok in Belgium suggests we should be worried about the BNP's potential for further growth.

What has enabled the BNP to grow? Firstly, the Labour government's betrayal of working-class people and communities. The BNP has won council seats where poorer white people think the BNP is the only party that gives a damn about them. Secondly, attacks on immigrants and asylum-seekers from all mainstream parties, and the media. BNP leader Nick Griffin has acknowledged the leg-up his party has been given by the anti-immigrant consensus of New Labour and the Tories. There are at least ten things we need to do. But, in effect, they amount to one thing: to isolate and drive out the fascists through assertive working-class socialist politics.

To effectively oppose the BNP, we need to:

1. Fight for demands that will benefit and unite workers of all races;
2. Do consistent political work in working-class communities;
3. Resolutely oppose all forms of racism, including the demonisation of immigrants;
4. Support self-defence by communities targeted by the fascists;
5. Support direct action by workers against the fascists eg. postal workers refusing to deliver BNP election material;
6. In elections, ensure that there are socialist, labour-movement-based candidates;
7. Oppose policies that divide and segregate people - including those, such as expansion of 'faith schools', that claim to promote 'multi-culturalism';
8. Educate ourselves about the threat of fascism, and the history of anti-fascism;
9. Unite the working class and the labour movement against the fascist threat;
10. Organise against the fascists, politically, ideologically, and - where necessary - physically.

We think that this strategy would be much more effective than recent mainstream anti-fascism in Britain. Unfortunately, this has effectively concentrated on urging people to vote "anyone but the BNP". We can not agree that a vote for the Tories - or even the UK Independence Party! - is an effective "anti-fascist" vote.

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