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By Nikos Mottas
“Fascism can be combated as capitalism alone, as the nakedest, most shameless, most oppressive, and most treacherous form of capitalism. Those who are against Fascism without being against capitalism, who lament over the barbarism that comes out of barbarism, are like people who wish to eat their veal without slaughtering the calf. They are willing to eat the calf, but they dislike the sight of blood”.
The above words, written by Bertolt Brecht in 1935, serve as a timeless reminder of the inextricable bond between capitalism and fascism. Back in the 1930s, the monster of Fascism and Nazism, which led humanity to an unprecedented bloodshed, was born from the bowels of capitalist system itself (e.g several European and American monopoly giants, including General Motors, IBM, Ford Company, IT&T, Standard Oil, etc, are known for providing financial support to Nazi Germany before and even during the Second World War).
The monster certainly didn't emerge from outside of the capitalist world nor threatened its existence. On the contrary, Fascism and Nazism have been expressions of the dictatorship of the Capital, being utilized as a spearhead against the rise of the organized labour movement and the “communist threat”. Today, 80 years after the Peoples Great Antifascist Victory in the Second World War, our era is once again marked by the rise of far-right and fascist political forces: From the Baltic countries to the United States and from Germany to Ukraine, the serpent's egg is growing again, taking various forms.
The return of Trump in the U.S Presidency, the strengthening of fascist parties in Europe (“Alternative for Germany”, “National Rally” in France, “Freedom Party” in Austria, British fascists, etc) and the broader rise of far-right, racist and ultra-nationalist groups is the outcome of internal changes within the global capitalist system. As the world is heading towards an imperialist war, new political forces come to the fore of bourgeois politics in order to manage and safeguard the interests of monopoly capital.
The direct involvement of Elon Musk – the richest man in the world - in U.S politics and his tendency to meddle in the internal affairs of foreign countries is indicative of a fierce competition that is taking place within the capitalist system. Behind the fight for the so-called “woke agenda” lies a much deeper confrontation between multiple sectors of monopoly capital for new spheres of influence, division of markets, raw materials, commodity transport networks, energy sources and routes.
The case of arch-capitalist Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, owner of Tesla, Space X and social media platform X, is the epitome of what we call “the dictatorship of the Capital”. Taking advantage of his powerful social media influence, he intervenes in the internal affairs of other countries by openly endorsing far-right and ultra-nationalist forces, while at the same time he spreads his anti-communist venom at every instance. His straight-arm, Nazi-like gesture at Trump's inauguration caused justifiable disturbance across the world thus strengthening the voices that call him a promoter of the global fascist right.
Musk's audacious endorsement and promotion of certain bourgeois political forces throughout the globe underscores the fundamental point: This is what capitalists do all the time! From media tycoon William Randolph Hearst in the 1930s to the infamous George Soros in recent decades, arch-capitalists tend to support those political forces that serve their broader agendas and interests. Under the pretexts of “democracy” and “human rights”, the big Capital has committed heinous crimes against whole nations (e.g. Yugoslavia, Libya, Ukraine, etc).
Let's be clear: Elon Musk is only the tip of the capitalist iceberg. His promotion of fascist, ultra-nationalist or racist groups isn't a “conspiracy” against modern democratic values, but rather a manifestation of what Brecht called “most nakedest, most shameless, most oppressive form of capitalism”. The alternative to this profound hideousness won't be found among the choices that the capitalist system offers.
You can't eat their veal without slaughtering the calf. The only true alternative to capitalist barbarity of Musk, Soros and other similar parasites, is the struggle for a social system without exploitation of man by man, without imperialist wars and multi-billionaires. This is the struggle for Socialism-Communism.
The monster certainly didn't emerge from outside of the capitalist world nor threatened its existence. On the contrary, Fascism and Nazism have been expressions of the dictatorship of the Capital, being utilized as a spearhead against the rise of the organized labour movement and the “communist threat”. Today, 80 years after the Peoples Great Antifascist Victory in the Second World War, our era is once again marked by the rise of far-right and fascist political forces: From the Baltic countries to the United States and from Germany to Ukraine, the serpent's egg is growing again, taking various forms.
The return of Trump in the U.S Presidency, the strengthening of fascist parties in Europe (“Alternative for Germany”, “National Rally” in France, “Freedom Party” in Austria, British fascists, etc) and the broader rise of far-right, racist and ultra-nationalist groups is the outcome of internal changes within the global capitalist system. As the world is heading towards an imperialist war, new political forces come to the fore of bourgeois politics in order to manage and safeguard the interests of monopoly capital.
The direct involvement of Elon Musk – the richest man in the world - in U.S politics and his tendency to meddle in the internal affairs of foreign countries is indicative of a fierce competition that is taking place within the capitalist system. Behind the fight for the so-called “woke agenda” lies a much deeper confrontation between multiple sectors of monopoly capital for new spheres of influence, division of markets, raw materials, commodity transport networks, energy sources and routes.
The case of arch-capitalist Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, owner of Tesla, Space X and social media platform X, is the epitome of what we call “the dictatorship of the Capital”. Taking advantage of his powerful social media influence, he intervenes in the internal affairs of other countries by openly endorsing far-right and ultra-nationalist forces, while at the same time he spreads his anti-communist venom at every instance. His straight-arm, Nazi-like gesture at Trump's inauguration caused justifiable disturbance across the world thus strengthening the voices that call him a promoter of the global fascist right.
Musk's audacious endorsement and promotion of certain bourgeois political forces throughout the globe underscores the fundamental point: This is what capitalists do all the time! From media tycoon William Randolph Hearst in the 1930s to the infamous George Soros in recent decades, arch-capitalists tend to support those political forces that serve their broader agendas and interests. Under the pretexts of “democracy” and “human rights”, the big Capital has committed heinous crimes against whole nations (e.g. Yugoslavia, Libya, Ukraine, etc).
Let's be clear: Elon Musk is only the tip of the capitalist iceberg. His promotion of fascist, ultra-nationalist or racist groups isn't a “conspiracy” against modern democratic values, but rather a manifestation of what Brecht called “most nakedest, most shameless, most oppressive form of capitalism”. The alternative to this profound hideousness won't be found among the choices that the capitalist system offers.
You can't eat their veal without slaughtering the calf. The only true alternative to capitalist barbarity of Musk, Soros and other similar parasites, is the struggle for a social system without exploitation of man by man, without imperialist wars and multi-billionaires. This is the struggle for Socialism-Communism.
* Nikos Mottas is the Editor-in-Chief of In Defense of Communism.