Working Class Action

From Controlled Opposition to Strategic Anti-Capitalism

Morning Comrades.

Now that the entire western power structure has decided that they feel comfortable enough to nakedly exercise their needs through various forms of systemic violence it is time again to clarify what is what and what to do. These last 25 years have shown waves of actual engagement with that violence, some waves indicating that genuine work to defeat capitalism and its horrors is possible and others that have been so nauseatingly performative that I figured it was necessary to address some stark realities about our future and our involvement.

We have to understand that performative action, protests, catchy signs, social media slides and online bullshit is just that, or rather, to be clearer, allowed and thus controlled opposition. It has a place and value, it does but to brutally clear, the only conclusion of them is our status quo today. If our actions are not threatening the operative power structures then they will do as they have and are.

The Limits of Shaming Fascists: A Marxist Analysis of Strategy and Tactics in Anti-Fascism

Fascism is not merely an ideology that can be debated out of existence or shamed into submission. Rather, it is a material force that emerges from the contradictions of capitalism, particularly in moments of crisis. A few days ago I wrote down a pre-coffee shower thought that read:

"shaming fascists to hide their bullshit, operate outside of the public eye is not the same as defeating them. all you’re doing is utilizing their capitalist norms of civility for your privileged “quiet” rather than dealing with the problem at its root.”

This points to a fundamental misunderstanding within liberal anti-fascist strategies. It critiques the reliance on social ostracisation and performative condemnation, which, while making fascists less visible in mainstream discourse, does nothing to dismantle the economic and political conditions that give rise to fascism in the first place.

With that let us get into how, through a historical, material, and Marxist perspective, that demonstrates how fascism is rooted in capitalist crises and a revolutionary, rather than moralistic, response is the bare minimum going forward. The below will outline both strategic and tactical means of effectively defeating fascism, emphasising the necessity of dismantling the economic base that allows it to thrive.