By William Briggs
The German elections have caught the attention of the world. The far right of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) seems to be about to consolidate its rapid rise. The growing strength of the right has exposed the bourgeois political system as it accommodates itself to what is the re-emergence of fascism in Germany. It raises questions that go beyond the potential outcome of these elections. It raises questions of where fascism springs from, its relation to the crisis of capitalism and of its organic connection to capitalism.
The election itself and the response of the mainstream parties is revealing. For decades there had been a “firewall” to keep the far-right out. The rise of the AfD put that claim to the test. The metaphorical firewall has crumbled as anti-immigration laws have been debated.
The ruling centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has been blamed for opportunistically failing to stand against the right and its anti-immigrant policies. That is true, but anti-immigration politics have been infecting German society across the board.
A panic seemed to seize the bourgeois parties as support for AfD continued to rise. Heading into the election the fascists are set to become the second biggest party, polling at more than 20 percent of the potential vote.
What has been happening in Germany is not an isolated phenomenon. Economic crisis is driving people to look for answers beyond the mainstream. Populists and demagogues offer quick “blame the other” solutions. It has been grist to the mill of the far right, the fascist and fascist-leaning political parties. Across Europe and beyond we can observe the rising strength of the right; Le Pen’s National Rally in France, Farage’s Reform Party in Britain, Orban in Hungary, Trump in the US.
The richest man in the world, Elon Musk is actively working to boost the profiles of these quasi-mainstream expressions of the extreme right.
All of this bears out some central observations of Marxist-Leninist theory.
Marxism argues that the rise of fascism is an attempt by capitalism and its state to preserve its power when the crisis of capitalism endangers its continued existence. Fascism does not threaten capitalism, but is used by capitalism, to serve the interests of capital and the ruling class.
Fascism is not a first choice for the ruling class, which far prefer bourgeois rule and bourgeois democracy. That offers the illusion that the system works in the real and best interests of all in society. This has been a potent and winning formula that has helped keep the working class cooperative.
Fascism, as a weapon of capitalism, isn’t a new “stage” in capitalist rule. It’s designed to be a temporary measure while the system finds a way of regaining some sense of stability. Marxism argues that regulation of capitalism is ultimately impossible, and that the extended and perpetual crises of capitalism lead to its collapse.
Lenin wrote of the decay of capitalism. Imperialism shows this decay clearly. Fascism follows, but it’s not inevitable. The only force that can stop this slide is the working class. It is precisely this knowledge that further drives capitalism and its state and ruling class to seek to cripple the working class, politically and organizationally.
What makes the German election so symbolic is not simply its geographical location or its awful historical significance. There have always been neo-Nazis skulking, plotting and creating a sense of fear in the community. For the past 80 years there have been tiny bands of fantasists. It is when the black-shirts and the masks are replaced with suits and urbane patter that we can see the depth of the crisis.
When wealthy capitalists begin funding election campaigns and those campaigns begin to gain a foothold among the broader electorate, then the depth of the crisis is finally evident. The AfD in Germany is closely related to the neo-Nazis in Australia, although the AfD has worked to get some electoral “respectability.” Both blame problems on immigration and call for secure and closed borders. The AfD have worked to make it look reasonable but the AfD, Respect or National Rally have adopted a political framework that can attract money and therefore voters.
The common thread that the growing European fascists have in common with Trump is the simplistic vilification of immigrants. Finding a scapegoat is a whole lot easier than finding the real cause of what are very real problems.
Society is riven with inequality. Poverty stalks the streets. Homelessness afflicts more and more. Living standards are daily slashed. The rich are becoming obscenely rich. The economy is unstable. Capitalism is on the very edge of an abyss and the state does nothing.
Without an alternative capitalism will founder.
The working class offers that alternative. While fascism is rising, so too is the working class, in country after country, on continent after continent. They too often maintain a belief that the political system can be tinkered with, and that the economic system can be reformed. They remain largely leaderless.
Even in Germany, where the far right is enjoying such success, the people are on the streets. The accommodation not just by the CDU to the anti-immigrant appeals of the AfD but across the political spectrum has seen hundreds of thousands rallying and marching. The problem is that the protesters are yet to be convinced that the electoral system, that bourgeois democracy and capitalism itself are at the heart of the problem.
It’s not just a problem for Germany. The flames are alight across Europe. To say that fascists will not again assume power is a fantasy. It can happen anywhere and in any state. Large and powerful democracies are no guarantee against such a shift.
The political figures sitting in parliaments around the world would rather the status quo of bourgeois democracy was maintained, but capital knows that fascism is a useful and possibly unavoidable tool to ensure survival for a system in terminal decay.
Originally published by The Guardian, a publication of the Communist Party of Australia.
