Saturday, May 24, 1980 THE MILITANT Page How Does Italian Fascism Stand Today?
Many facts, of an international character as well as of one specific to the internal situation in the country, put the Italian criols, the crisis of the fascist regime in Italy on the order of the day. Among the tacts of an internal order, there is a whole series of movements characterizing the awakening of the masses and a new disposition on their part to fight. In the field of International facts, must be considered the first place the Spanish events in connection with the fall of Primo de RIvera. The difference existing between the two dictatorships has already been remarked upon: between the hip of Primo de Rivera, born of a pronunciamento of military Juntas in a country that is among the least economically developed and where the weight of old feudal elements is still very tanglble; and the dictatorsihp of the Flack Shirts, born of a long period of civil war between bourgeoisie and proletarlat, and leaning upon a movement of petty bourgeois masses.
The Class Character of Fascism Yet up to now there has never ceased to be a discussion on the character of the fascist dlatatorship in Italy. For the parties of the bourgeois anti fascist Concentration, which has its seat in Paris, fascism is, in general, a phenomenon above the classes, to be studied in the cabinets of psycho analysts (Labriola. a morbid phenomenon having its origins in the psychosis of war (Nitti. a deviation, degeneration from the normal paths of capitalism (Treves and Co. the emigrated social democratic chiets belag stil desirous of soasoning their analysis with a bit of sweetened Marxism. Others again have wanted to apply the term of Caesariam to fascism (it is even said that Bucharin, fascinated by such an analogy. once had the idea of writing a book on lascism from this point of view. But the only correct method for the understanding and analysis of fascism is always the method that Marx taught us: the method of baving the class struggle at its basis and applying itself to the conditions in which the class struggle develops in modern times.
Viewed from this historical angle, fasclam is only the dictatorsbip of Italian capitalism in its present phase. Like every definition of fascism, this one naturally also gives only the essential content: the class content The fascist movement 18 not a simple, a homogeneous one. Its line of developement from its origin till today, has been in the direction of the defense of In Italy independent policy at Rome. Buy tha Illusions of the petty bourgeoisie are not the reality. The reality is given in the relation of forces which hide behind these illusions. Since the birth of fasest, it is a fact that it has been raised and constantcapitalfst profit and the rabid struggle organized. Since the working class is ly guided by the ruling classes of the against the revolutionary moveuent of the forced to beat a retreat, the Communist Italian state, by the bourgeoisie, by capworking class; but the stages traversed Party of Italy has as its first task to oritalism. The proof of iv is that those who by fascism in its development are ditter ganize the workers line of resistance, in subsidized the first fascio bankers, landent, and each of its stages corresponds to order to lead it later to the victory that owners, Industrialisa. are the same ones a different moment in the development of escape, it in 1920. Bitter and difficult who later subsidized the march on Rome (Confederation of the class struggle and the social relations battle, ending in a new defeat of the workIndustry. Commercial Bank, Agrarian Consortium, etc. of hostile forces: bourgeoisle and proletar. ing class that still remained too attached iat. These stages can be fixed about as to inaximalist Centrism and to social re In October 1922, the Italian bourgeoiste follows: formism whose polley at this epoch con had thus realized all the political condi1. Up to the occupation of the fac sists of preaching passivity and hoping for tions for the march on Rome: defeat and tories (September 1920. the epoch when the liquidation of the fascist bands by the dispersal of the labor Inovement; rupture the revolutionary wave reached its culmin very ones that armed them: by the decom of the contact between workers and peaating point. At its beginning, fascism is posing liberal state, by the monarchy, the sants (isolation of the cities of the a melange of combattive spirit, or ardit industrialists, the large land owners. country. anticipation and even resigner ism. It still is, so to speak, an organiIt in the first stage of fascism what tion to the coup Etat by the deniocratic zation of cadres, limited to the cities and best characterizes the treason of the social sectisus, Amedola, head of the liberal demcomposed in its majority former arditi. reformiste is their pact signed with Giolitti ocracy, fascist victim who died abroad. had former war volunteers, mutilated soldiers for the evacuation of the factories; in the an attitude of support and encouragement and demobilized officers. It first activities second fascist stage, the treason of the sofor the experiment of Mussolini before against the working class are razzias. cialist chieftains is called the pacification the march on Rome. That is how Mussurprise actions organized with the aid pact concluded with Mussolini.
solinisolini could reach Rome and take and complicity of the liberal State. The power without a blow being exchanged. propos of this coup Etat, will regovernmental measure assuring the cadres call in passing the discussions that were It is from this moment that the of the fascio is decree that bears the sigheld at the Fourth Congress of the Comthird and new stage of fascism must be nature of a social reformist minister: Boninvern, meeting in Moscow at the period of considered. It is the stage of the realizaomi; it is the decree which provides for the march on Rome. Bordiga then denied tlong of Imperialist capital; the stage of the support of demobilized officers in serthe possibility of speaking of a coup Etat, the ferocious policy of squeezing and device activity at state expense. In this perexpecting that it was always the same spolling the working masses for the aclod, the workers movement is still too class remaining in power. The bourcumulation of capitalist profits. It is the strong to be openly tackled even by the geosie cannot make a coup Etat against stage Industrial and banking concen State forces. Giolitti, instead of entering itself, he said. And he was right. But the centration of the development of big cap into conflict with the workers intrenched coup Etat of October, 1922 was ital, of big Industry and of the agrarin not in the factories, prefers to let the social against the bourgeoisie. On the contrary, bourgeoisie.
reformists operate so as to have a reason it was a coup Etat for tho bourgeoisie, These few remarks on the subjeet of for occupying the factories. The force for the big banks, of big Industry and big fascism are, in our opinion, necessary the used by the bourgeoisie in this acute period landowning, for the strengthening of the as to allow reply to the question we of the class struggle to maneuver against dictatorship of imperialist capital against posed at the outset. By all that. pre the working class is principally the social the interests of the broad masses of the ceded this, one sees that to reply to the democracy which, by the aid it brings the people. The march on Rome consequently question How does the fascist dictatorbourgeoisie in its struggle against the marks the violent break with the old liberal ship stand in Italy today? signifies to anworking class blazes the trail for fascism.
and democratic forms, henceforth incom alyze the elements of the situation permit2. The second stage of fascism, the patible with the defense of capitalist profit; ting to define; first how does the crisis stage of squadrisme and camionnisme it means the establishment of the open of Italian capitalism and its fascist regimo (assaults by armed squads mounted on dictatorship of capitalism, the creation of stand? and secondly how do we stand with military carriages. the stage that prepares the Industrial agrarian fascist government the formation of the revolutionary blog of the March on Rome, opens with the beginal bloc under the direction of monopolistic the workers and peasants?
ning of the defeat of the working class capital.
That is what we will endeavor to de(defeat of the factory occupations. Of all fascism stages, this one is the The Bourgeoisle Behind Faselem termine in other articles.
bloodiest. On the countryside a veritable It is a fact that the social composition AKNOS civil war develops. The liberal state, the of the fascist movement has undergone old liberal state, throws off its stifing important changes in the different epochs Stalinist Canard legality: it organizes, supports and pro of its development. But it is an error 10 tects the illegal violence of the fascist believe, as is done by Lo Stato. Operlag, reThe Daily Worker of May 13, 1930. pubbands.
view of the lullan Communist Party, that shes a story entitled Trotskylte Tries In this second stage fascism is no long fascism, at a given moment of its develIt Out on Dogs, But First on Labor. er oply an organization of armed bands: opment notably at the period preceding in which it declares that comrade Jame the defeat of the workers and revolution the march on Rome when the urban and Cannon is a statt writer on the New York ary movement in Italy due to the internal rural petty bourgeoisie had a very clear Telegram. The story was reprinted in defects of the proletarian movement and predominance within the fascio bad for a the Freiheit. The proot for this conprincipally to the lack of an organized certain period been an autonomous polittemptible canard is a story in the Teleparty of the revolution has as its result cal movernent of the petty bourgeois masses gram signed by one James Cannon, New the driving into the arms of fascism of and that, as such, It could have conceived York Telegram Staff Writer. Needless to important layers of peasantry (farmers, and realized a plan of its own tor state say, there is absolutely no relation between small proprietors) whose sympathy had conquest against the old directing groups. comrade Cannon and the Telegram reporbeen progressively allenated from the so in reality such an error leads to attribtre, fact quite well known to the author cialist party as much because of the wrong uting to the middle classes an initiative of the le, Earl Browder. The James Canpolicy of land socialization as because It: hasn got and which it can have even non of the Telegram is a fairly well known of its tactic which set against. It the ver less of in the present period of the class New York reporter whose stories have apious categories of agricultural laborers, In struggle (domination of monopolistic cappeared for years, first in the tabloid New stead of endeavoring above all to realize ital, period of the proletarian revolution. York Dally News and lately in the Teta political alliance between the latter and This conception also violates the Marxist egram. The writers on the Worker and the small peasants. Coming to increase conception of the modern state, the organthe Freiheit seem to think that anyone still more the ranks of the fascio, Bre, the ization of capitalist domination. They forworking for the capitalist press is a scoundemobilized and jobless petty bourgeoisie, get, lo pursuing this error, the class which drel. So far as they are concerned, they the tradesmen hampered in their business organizes and rules the apparatus of dom can affirm this from personal experience.
by the socialist cooperatives, and also to ination (the state. and they Anish by Most of the Freiheit statt, for example. weak extent, workers frustated in their seeing only the ruling political personnel from Olgin up, received its training as Ade attempt at revolution.
of the organization of the state, a personCaban office boys on the yellow socialist The Period of Civil War nel which, on the contrary, can very well Forward. They are the proper people to Crisis of the urban and rural petty be recruited and hired by various processes practise Althy Brass Check Journalism in bourgeoisie; the defeat of the revolution and in various circles (fascism or social the Stallnist press today.
ary labor movement (September 1920. democracy, for instance. according to the We should suggest that the Daily Workthese are the conditions fascism profited degree of the class struggle and the relaer now print a story identifying comrade by to develop.
tion of opposing forces. Besides, there must Cannon with Bishop James Cannon, Jr. of It is precisely in this second stage still be noted the confusion that exists the Methodist church, and thereby prove that there took place what is called, the between the class content (dictatorship that the Trotskyists are all Methodists, and ruralization of fascism. Steel and fire of capitalism) and the forms that the oragents of Herbert Hoover.
panization of the dictatorship can assume Anyone who assure the submission of the country to thinks the Dally Worker incapable even of agrarian slavery. The cities where the the different historical periods of the industrialists in their turn now pass over this, does not know the infantile mind of class struggle (liberal, parliamentary Earl Browder, or has not yet plumbed the to lockouts, purge the factories of revoforms or fascist form. depths of Stalinist depravity.
lutionary workers, applying their fascism To sum up: It is strictly correct to to them in the shops remain isolated from say that fascism has not been, at any mothe peasante. In 1921 and 1922 up till ment of its development, an autonomous It the number on your wrapper te the march on Rome the civil war is in political movement, even if the petty bourfull swing in the cities and villages of geoiste who formerly adhered to it and still Italy.
do, were able to think and still then your subscription to the Wolltant Am And it is in the furnace of the civil think 60 today. Many are the fascists expired. Renew immediately in order to war that the Communist Party is born and convinced that Mussolini is conducting an avold missing any issues.
lems there is primarily the problem of staying in power. The grosser its errors, the hastier it is to transpose Its methods of internal Party struggle to the field of the trade union movement, consolidating for a certain time its positions in the apparatus as compensation for those it has lont in the masses.
The official press, anu principally the Moscow Pravda, leads its readers into error concerning the real situation within the Nevertheless. the facts are there.
At the present moment, when the commercial and industrial crisis create apewa great. Instability, of capitallet relations, B0cially and internationally, we see that the Communist Parties are weakened, Internal, ly disorganized, without confidence in the leadership and without the faith of the masses in the slogans of the The gravest thing is that under the cover of self criticism. there has been instituted in the as much as in the a disastroug regime of servile adulation before all the zig zags of the general line. concocted by a group of irresponsible functionaries.
The Right wing of Communism, which directs the openly opportunist elements (Brandler, Louis Sellier, Lovestone, Julek, Roy, ete. who, only yesterady, were joined with Stalin in his blind fury against the Left succeed in enrolling many revolutionary workers misled by the nefarious adventurism of the official policy. But the number of worker Communists who fall finally Into the most complete indifference is still greater. To Be. Continued)
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