Fascism begins as soon as workers succumb mentally not when the first striker is shot. (4th Congress Document Revolution, Social Democracy and the Party)
Social Democracy is dead, long live Corporatism, that is the message of the Labour Government. (The Worker, no.8, 1976)
“Revolution or Fascism” says the CPBM-L as it claims to mobilise the working class against Fascism. Does it really do so?
In the capitalist world today the crisis of Imperialism leads the parties in power to intensify anti-working class measures in order to protect the profits of the capitalists. They are doing so all over the capitalist world whether they be confessed conservative or so-called socialist.
In Britain the Labour Party fulfills this task. Its policies fall within the framework of bourgeois democracy and repression like exploitation is a regular feature of bourgeois democracy.
It is therefore dangerous to suggest that the Labour Party is a fascist Party as does the CPBM-L. This misleads the working class on the nature of bourgeois democracy, and is misleading on the current situation. The working class will be left confused and ideologically unarmed when and if Fascism does take power, as in Germany in 1933.
Although the Labour Party is not a Fascist Party objectively it lays the ground for Fascism:
– by the repressive and corporatist measures they have introduced (Anti-Terrorist Act, the control of wages and collective bargaining)
– by their philosophy of class collaboration which dampens the class struggle.
All this process makes it easier for a fascist regime to take power.
It is important to know how and why Fascism arises. The bourgeoisie does not make use of Fascism except as a last resort. When a deep economic crisis combines with great social unrest, when the question of revolution is imminent, the capitalist power and profits are seriously threatened. They cannot rule in the old “democratic” way. They need to crush the working class in order to shift the whole burden of the crisis, increased exploitation being the only way to restore and boost their profits. At the moment in Britain there is no need of a fascist regime, because on the whole the working class is not fighting, but accepts the Labour Party’s policy of class collaboration. This is not to say the class will not fight in the future, but only a correct understanding of the present and its main trends can enable us to lead a successful revolution and defeat fascism.
The CPBM-L is confused and confusing on this question of fascism. In practice this erroneous line is translated into a lack of concern for developments of importance for the working class.
– It totally disregards open fascist parties such as the National Front and their growing influence on the discontented masses. At the same time it does not propose any real concrete alterative; socialist programme.
– It takes no heed of sections of the masses which are more likely to fall prey to fascist propaganda: Unemployed workers, women at home, youth, all unorganised workers (50%), Self-employed.
This list is a consequence of the party’s rejection of all mass organisations other than the Trade Unions.
– The CPBM-L dismisses real issues facing workers such as racialism, refusing to get involved or lead in the fight against racialism although it is a very dangerous weapon used by the bourgeoisie to split the working class. Indeed along with its chauvinist attitude to Britain the party has now declared itself for immigration controls, as they “dilute our skills and weaken our organisation.”
Far from fighting Fascism – this is fertilising the ground for it.