November 26th, 2007 | admin
A UK group recently published the first issue of Shift, which includes a handful of articles about reactionary or right-wing anti-capitalism. Articles include “German neo-Nazis and anti-capitalism,” by Jan Langehein; “Make a foreshortened critique of capitalism history!” by the Berlin group, Theorie. Organisation. Praxis; and a shortened version of my G8-Summit Protests in Germany: Against Globalisation and its Non-Emancipatory Responses.” (The original version can be read on ZNet.)
From the Editorial of Shift #1:
“The decision to go to Heathrow was wrong!” This was the impulsive thought that was playing on our minds as we followed eight politicians and herds of protesters to Germany; to meet Shift contributors, eat in squats, sleep in tents and on dirty floors, drink 50p-a-bottle beer with ‘the movement’, and of course to “shut them down” – again. Throughout the journey, this impulse became a much reflected upon certainty (avoiding the quick guilty trip by plane allowed us the luxury of 26 hour-a-go bus journeys and plenty of time to think). Yes the aviation industry is a major problem, as the fastest growing source of C02 emissions plans for expansion fly in the face of any commendable efforts to tackle climate change. Heathrow seemed an obvious choice simply because of its size and expansion plans. But to make radical politics work, we need to come up with more than just big=evil! Sometimes the Camp for Climate Action transcended such simple equations, but more often than not it presented itself as a protest for austerity. If the anti-G8 mobilisation in Germany showed anything, it was that protest is not necessarily progressive. Opposition to neoliberal globalisation did not only come from the Left. Anti-consumerist and “Bush go home” slogans were also heard on neo-Nazi marches. The common target on both sides of the political spectrum was the greed of a few causing unemployment, ecological disaster, widespread poverty and imperialist war. The German far Right had mobilised against a profit-driven system run by multinationals, America and Israel. Sound familiar?
Read the magazine here.
The text below is from a leaflet distributed at the anti-G8 mobilization in Germany, by the Berlin group, Theorie, Organisation, Praxis (TOP).
Capitalism is no conspiracy and the Hamas is not the Rebel Alliance
Against Antisemitism within the activist scene
You consider yourself an activist, a radical, maybe an anarchist. In any case you are someone who is an outspoken critic of capitalism and who wants to end oppression and injustice as the left all over the world wants to.
At the same time, all over the world, Antisemitism is on the rise again. It takes many forms, some of which are violent such as verbal and physical attacks, while others are more subtle.
Antisemitism has a long and gruesome history: Since the middle ages, Christianity supported pogroms against Jews. Later, the natural sciences came up with the idea of an inferior Jewish „race“, and generally speaking Jews often got blamed for all evil in the world. The climax were the gas chambers of Auschwitz and other concentration camps where six million Jews were murdered.
The activist movement, however, seems to ignore this history and the fact that Jews still are not secure. Rather than acknowledging Antisemitism as another means of oppression that needs to be fought – such as racism or sexism – quite a few of its members actively take part in pushing antisemitic attitudes.
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Antifascist groups have put out a call to counter the neo-Nazi’s demonstration against the G8, meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany in early June. This call includes an analysis of the neo-Nazi’s anti-globalization politics and its broader “anti-capitalist” ideology. The analysis helps explain the relationship of foreshortened critiques of capitalism to nationalist and antisemitic positions. It’s well worth a read.
Continue Reading »
FAR RIGHT AGAINST GLOBALIZATION:
Neo-Nazis Mobilizing Against G-8 Summit
May 14, 2007
Der Spiegel
Germany’s Neo-Nazis are using anti-capitalist rhetoric and are mobilizing to protest against the upcoming G-8 meeting in June. Police fear that there could be clashes between the extreme-right NPD and radical far-left groups also gathering to protest against the summit.
read more here
September 12th, 2006 | admin
The Return of the Radical Right in Poland:
The Betrayal of Solidarity and the Politics of Discontent
By Brian Porter
Something has gone very, very wrong in Poland. After elections last September, a group called “Law and Justice,” led by a longtime Solidarity activist and right-wing politician named Jaroslaw Kaczynski, emerged as the largest party in parliament. Victory in the following month’s presidential election went to Kaczynski’s identical twin Lech.
Cartoonists had an easy time lampooning these two former child actors, with their famously short stature and uncharismatic appear-ance. The fact that their name derives from the word for “duck” (kaczor), and that the two highest offices in the Polish state are now occupied by men who can only be distinguished because of a small mole on Jaroslaw’s nose, gave satirists even more ammunition. But there is nothing funny about Poland’s new government.
The Kaczynskis formed a coalition with an agrarian populist group called “Self-Defense” and a radical-right party with the innocuous name of “The League of Polish Families.” Polite Western journalists have labeled this government “center-right” or “conservative,” but it is hard to find anything centrist about those holding power in Warsaw today. Even Europe’s mainstream conservative parties have publicly disavowed any affiliation with Law and Justice (not to mention the other two coalition members). Put simply, the extreme right now rules Poland, and people widely considered marginal and dangerous even a year ago are now within the corridors of power.
By appointing Roman Giertych, the leader of The League of Polish Families, to the position of vice-premier and minister of education, the Kaczynskis have bestowed legitimacy on a volatile extremist who traces his ideological roots to “National Democracy,” a radical right movement from the interwar years. Giertych has filled a number of second-tier government positions with supporters who were active in neo-fascist groups as recently as the late 1990s. The Kaczynskis themselves have established close ties to the “Radio Maryja” media network, which propagates a combination of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and ultra-conservative Catholic religiosity. Although neither of the brothers have any personal history of anti-Jewish remarks (even in private, by all accounts), they have found plenty of ways to appeal to a racist electorate while keeping their own hands clean.
Continue reading this article in Jewish Currents