It was amazing in the fresh elections to the European Parliament that the outcome, which everyone expected, had actually been achieved. Paraphrase classical scene au Marx Brothers “Europe can sound and act as if it were moving far to the right, but let it not confuse you. In fact, it moves far to the right.
Why should we insist on specified an interpretation? due to the fact that most mainstream media are trying not to publicize it. We inactive hear: "Surely, Marine Le Pen, Giorgia Meloni and alternate für Deutschland (AfD) sometimes flirt with fascist motives, but there is no reason to panic, due to the fact that erstwhile they come to power, it is inactive in respect of democratic governments and institutions." This domestication of the extremist right should concern us all, as it signals any readiness on the side of conventional conservative parties to follow this fresh trend. The axiom of post-war European democracy – "no cooperation with fascists" – was quietly dismissed.
The message of these choices is clear. In most European countries, the political boundary no longer runs between average right and average left, but between the conventional right, embodyed by the EPP organization (which includes Christian Democrats, liberal conservatives and conventional conservatives) and the neo-fascist right, representing Le Pen, Meloni, AfD and others.
The question is: will the EPP cooperate with neofascists? president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen attempts to present the election consequence as a triumph of the EPP over both "extremities", although in the fresh parliament there will be no leftist parties whose "extremity" would be at least somewhat comparable to the utmost right. specified a "sustainable" imagination in 1 of the leading representatives of the EU authorities is rather a dark omen.
Speaking present of fascism, we should not halt in the developed West. akin political forces are besides expanding in most countries of the Global South. W development The Italian Marxist historian Domenico Losurdo (also known from Stalin's rehabilitation) emphasizes the discrimination between economical and political power. In carrying out his “reforms”, Deng Xiaoping knew that certain elements of capitalism were essential to activate the production capacity of society. At the same time, he felt that political power should stay strictly in the hands of the Communist organization of China, as a self-appointed representation of workers and farmers.
Such an approach has deep historical roots. For over a 100 years China has professed "panasianism", which emerged in the late 19th century in consequence to the imperialist dominance of the West and utilized by the West exploitation. How explains historian Viren Murthy, this task has always driven the rejection not so much of Western capitalism, but of Western liberal individualism and imperialism. Referring to pre-modern traditions and institutions, the panasians claimed that Asian societies were able to organize their own modernization and accomplish dynamics beyond that in the West.
And although Hegel himself saw Asia as a domain of rigid order, incapable to let individualism (free subjectivity), the panasians proposed a fresh hegelianske conceptual framework. They claimed that since the freedom of Western individualism is yet a negation of order and leads to disintegration of society, the only way to preserve freedom is to redirect it within a fresh collective act.
An early example of this model can be nipponese militarization and colonial expansion before planet War II. Historical lessons, however, are shortly forgotten. Looking for solutions to large problems, many people in the West are one more time curious in the Asian model of subjection to individualistic aspirations and desire for meaning within a collective project.
Panasianism utilized to oscillate between the socialist and fascist variants (although the dividing line is not always clear), reminding us that “anti-imperialist” is not as innocent as it might seem. In the first half of the 20th century, nipponese and German fascists mostly portrayed themselves as defenders facing American, British and French imperialism. Now we have a akin position among the far-right politicians facing the EU.
The same trend can be seen in post-Dengender China. Political discipline Specialist A. James Gregor Classifies it as a ‘option of modern fascism’ – a capitalist economy controlled and regulated by an authoritarian state, seeking legitimacy in terms of cultural tradition and national heritage. That is why Chinese president Xi Jinping emphasizes China's long, uninterrupted history, dating back to ancient times. The suppression of economical impulses in the service of nationalist projects is the quintessential of fascism, while akin political dynamics are shown by India, Russia, Turkey and another countries.
It's not hard to tell why this model came along. While the russian Union has plunged into chaos and disintegrated, the Communist organization of China has conducted economical liberalisation, but inactive maintaining close control of the country. Adhering to China, left-wingers praise them for keeping their capital in check, as opposed to systems in the US and the EU, where capital indivisibly governs.
However, fresh fascism besides supports somewhat newer trends. In addition to Le Pen, the next large Euro-Election win is Fidias Panayiotou, a Cypriot youtuber who had previously drawn attention to efforts to hug Elon Musk. While standing outside X/Twitter's headquarters, he encouraged his followers to “spam” Musk's mother's request. Eventually, Musk met and hugged Panayiotou, who announced that he was moving for the European Parliament. Starting as part of an unparty platform he scored 19.4%. The votes and secured the seat of the Euro MP.
Similar figures emerged in France, United Kingdom, Slovenia and another countries, and they all justified their candidatures with the argument that since democratic politics are a circus, clowns might as well apply for positions. It's a dangerous game. erstwhile adequate people lose hope of emancipative politics and retreat into buphonada, the space for neofascism will expand.
The recovery of this space requires serious, authentic actions. Although I frequently disagree with the president of France Emmanuel Macron, I think he was right to respond to the French utmost right-wing win by the National Assembly and announcement of fresh elections He amazed almost everyone – it is undoubtedly risky, but it is worth the risk. Even if Le Pen wins and decides who will be next Prime Minister, Macron as president will inactive be able to mobilize the fresh majority in opposition to the government. due to the fact that fresh fascism should be fought with as much power and as shortly as possible.
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Copyright: task Syndicate, 2024. www.project-syncicate.org. From English she translated Catherine the Formers.
