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Social Fascism

The term "social fascism" was a rather peculiar, and frankly, rather insulting, label bandied about by the Communist International – or Comintern, as the self-important acronyms go – back in the late 1920s. The gist of this theory, if one can even call it that, was to paint social democracy as nothing more than a slightly less overt, slightly more palatable cousin of fascism. Their grand justification? A shared, albeit twisted, interest in what they termed class collaboration. It was a convenient, if intellectually bankrupt, piece of propaganda that the Comintern eventually, and rather belatedly, saw fit to discard in 1933. One might wonder what prompted such a sudden shift – perhaps it was the rather inconvenient rise of the Nazis in Germany and their subsequent, and rather thorough, suppression of anyone remotely communist. A bit of a wake-up call, I suppose.

The Comintern's logic, as convoluted as it was, posited that capitalism had entered its supposed Third Period. This was apparently a phase where a proletarian revolution was not just likely, but imminent. However, this inevitable uprising, in their view, could be – and indeed, was being – thwarted by the forces of social democracy and other entities they conveniently lumped under the "fascist" umbrella. [1][3]

Overview

You might have seen those rather grim Soviet propaganda posters from 1932, the ones gleefully denouncing "social fascism." They were rather effective, in a crude sort of way, at hammering home the point. It’s worth noting that this whole charade was part of a larger series on Marxism–Leninism.

At the grandly titled 6th World Congress of the Comintern in 1928, the proclamation was made: the era of capitalist stability was over, and the "Third Period" had begun. This, of course, meant the imminent collapse of capitalism, inevitably followed by a workers' revolution. And who stood in the way of this glorious future? None other than the social democrats, who were now officially designated as the primary adversaries of the Communists. This peculiar theory had its roots in the pronouncements of Grigory Zinoviev, who argued that international social democracy was, in essence, merely a branch of fascism. This rather alarming notion was enthusiastically embraced by Joseph Stalin, who famously declared them "twin brothers." His rather simplistic, and frankly, rather paranoid, reasoning was that fascism relied on the active support of social democracy, and vice versa. Once this idea was cemented at the Sixth Congress, it became gospel for much of the global communist movement. [4]

This ideological shift wasn't entirely divorced from the internal power struggles within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Following Vladimir Lenin's death in 1924, a rather brutal factional fight ensued. The group that ultimately triumphed, led by Stalin, decided to signal a decisive turn to the left. This involved abandoning the New Economic Policy – a brief flirtation with a mixed economy – and instead advocating for an intensified class struggle within the Soviet Union. To achieve this, an atmosphere of revolutionary fervor was cultivated. Any opposition, whether internal dissidents or external social democrats, was branded as "wreckers" or "traitors." This internal paranoia was then projected onto the international stage. [ citation needed ]

Stalin, in a speech delivered in 1924, articulated this perspective with his usual, shall we say, clarity:

"Fascism is not only a military-technical category. Fascism is the bourgeoisie’s fighting organisation that relies on the active support of Social-Democracy. Social-Democracy is objectively the moderate wing of fascism. There is no ground for assuming that the fighting organisation of the bourgeoisie can achieve decisive successes in battles, or in governing the country, without the active support of Social-Democracy." [5]

Meanwhile, in Germany, under the leadership of German Chancellor Hermann Müller, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) found itself in a rather awkward position. They were agreeing with anti-communist parties that the Stalinists were, in fact, fascists – a concept sometimes referred to as Red fascism. [6] This mutual animosity was further fueled in 1929. During a May Day demonstration in Berlin, the police, under the control of the SPD-led government, opened fire on Communist workers, an event tragically known as Blutmai (Bloody May). This act of violence, coupled with subsequent repressive legislation against the Communists, served as irrefutable proof, in the eyes of the Communists, that the social democrats were indeed "social fascists." [7] The KPD's paramilitary arm, the Roter Frontkämpferbund ("Alliance of Red Front-Fighters"), was banned by the governing social democrats in 1929, further solidifying this perception. [8] A resolution from the KPD declared that the "social fascists" – the social democrats – were the "main pillar of the dictatorship of Capital." [9] The animosity was so profound that in 1930, Kurt Schumacher of the SPD accused the Communists of being "red-lacquered doppelgangers of the Nazis." [10] In a particularly egregious display of political expediency, the KPD in Prussia, the largest German state, even allied with the Nazis in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the SPD-led government through a Landtag referendum. [11]

The advent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party to power in Germany marked a rather abrupt, and for many, fatal, turning point. Both the KPD and the SPD were outlawed, and thousands of their members, including KPD leader Ernst Thälmann, were arrested. Most SPD leaders were forced into exile under the auspices of the Sopade. These dramatic events compelled the Comintern to perform a rather spectacular U-turn on its stance towards alliances with social democrats. The theory of social fascism was largely abandoned. At the Seventh Congress of the Comintern in 1935, Georgi Dimitrov presented the new policy of the popular front in his address titled "For the Unity of the Working Class Against Fascism." [12] Of course, this popular front alliance ultimately dissolved with the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. [13][14] The American historian Theodore Draper argued, with a rather chilling accuracy, that "the so-called theory of social fascism and the practice based on it constituted one of the chief factors contributing to the victory of German fascism in January 1933." [15][16]

Criticism of the Theory

By Trotsky

Leon Trotsky, a figure who certainly knew a thing or two about political infighting and theoretical wrangling, vehemently opposed the "social fascism" accusations. In the March 1932 issue of the Bulletin of the Opposition, he declared, rather dramatically, "Should fascism come to power, it will ride over your skulls and spines like a terrific tank. [...] And only a fighting unity with the Social Democratic workers can bring victory." However, even in this call for unity, Trotsky maintained a crucial distinction. He argued that any cooperation with the social democrats was purely tactical and temporary. The ultimate goal remained the revolutionary overthrow and subversion of social democracy by the revolutionary faction. He elaborated:

"The front must now be directed against fascism. And this common front of direct struggle against fascism, embracing the entire proletariat, must be utilized in the struggle against the Social Democracy, directed as a flank attack, but no less effective for all that. [...] No common platform with the Social Democracy, or with the leaders of the German trade unions, no common publications, banners, placards! March separately, but strike together! Agree only how to strike, whom to strike, and when to strike! Such an agreement can be concluded even with the devil himself. [...] No retraction of our criticism of the Social Democracy. No forgetting of all that has been. The whole historical reckoning, including the reckoning for Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, will be presented at the proper time, just as the Russian Bolsheviks finally presented a general reckoning to the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries for the baiting, calumny, imprisonment and murder of workers, soldiers, and peasants." [17]

Other Historical Criticism

In his seminal work, The Open Society And Its Enemies (1945), philosopher Karl Popper offered a scathing critique of what he perceived as the Communist Party's passivity during the rise of fascism. He argued that there was "never a 'communist danger' to the fascist conquest of power." Popper suggested that some radical parties of the era either welcomed or simply ignored the erosion of democracy, viewing a dictatorship as a mere stepping stone towards their own revolutionary goals. He posited:

"According to this assertion, not much could be lost and something would be gained if that hidden dictatorship became an open one, apparent to all; for this could only bring the revolution nearer. [Communists] even hoped that a totalitarian dictatorship in Central Europe would speed up matters [...] Accordingly, the Communists did not fight when the fascists seized power. (Nobody expected the Social Democrats to fight). For the Communists were sure that the proletarian revolution was overdue and that the fascist interlude, necessary for its speeding up, could not last longer than a few months."

In 1969, the former communist historian Theodore Draper echoed this sentiment, contending that the proponents of the social fascism theory were primarily concerned with drawing an unbridgeable chasm between themselves and all political factions to their "right," even encompassing the most left-leaning of the Social-Democrats. [15]

See also:

Footnotes:

  • ^ a b Haro, Lea (2011). "Entering a Theoretical Void: The Theory of Social Fascism and Stalinism in the German Communist Party". Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory. 39 (4): 563–582. doi:10.1080/03017605.2011.621248. S2CID 146848013.
  • ^ Kevin McDermott, "Stalin and the Comintern during the 'Third Period', 1928-33." European history quarterly 25.3 (1995): 409-429.
  • ^ Hoppe, Bert (2011). In Stalins Gefolgschaft: Moskau und die KPD 1928–1933 (in German). Oldenbourg Verlag. ISBN 9783486711738.
  • ^ Hildebrand, Klaus (1984). The Third Reich. Routledge. p. 106. ISBN 0-415-07861-X.
  • ^ "Concerning the International Situation". marxists.org. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  • ^ von Saldern, Adelheid (2002). The Challenge of Modernity: German Social and Cultural Studies, 1890-1960. University of Michigan Press. p. 78. ISBN 0-472-10986-3.
  • ^ Kitchen, Martin (2006). A History Of Modern Germany 1800-2000. Blackwell Publishing. p. 245. ISBN 1-4051-0040-0.
  • ^ Schuster, Kurt G. P. (1975). Der rote Frontkämpferbund 1924–1929 [The Red Front Fighter League 1924–1929] (in German). Droste, Düsseldorf. ISBN 3-7700-5083-5. {{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • ^ Braunthal, Julius (1963). Geschichte der Internationale: 1914–1943 [History of the International: 1914–1943] (in German). Vol. 2. Dietz. p. 414.
  • ^ Schmeitzner, Mike (2007). Totalitarismuskritik von links: deutsche Diskurse im 20. Jahrhundert [Criticism of totalitarianism from the left: German discourses in the 20th century] (in German). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 255. ISBN 978-3-525-36910-4. OCLC 169002787.
  • ^ Sewell, Rob (1988). "Chapter 7". Germany: From Revolution to Counter-Revolution. Fortress Books. ISBN 1-870958-04-7.
  • ^ Dimitrov, Georgi (1972) [13 August 1935]. "For the Unity of the Working Class Against Fascism". Georgi Dimitrov: Selected Works. Vol. 2. Sofia: Sofia Press. pp. 86–119.
  • ^ Graham, Helen; Preston, Paul (1988-12-05). The Popular Front in Europe. Springer. ISBN 978-1-349-10618-9.
  • ^ Daskalov, Roumen (2011-05-10). Debating the Past: Modern Bulgarian Historiography—From Stambolov to Zhivkov. Central European University Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-615-5053-53-5.
  • ^ a b Draper, Theodore (February 1969). "The Ghost of Social-Fascism". Commentary. pp. 29–42.
  • ^ Winner, David (3 October 2018). "How the left enabled fascism". New Statesman.
  • ^ Trotsky, Leon (March 1932). "For a Workers' United Front Against Fascism". Bulletine of the Opposition. No. 27.
  • ^ Popper, Karl (2005-07-26). "19. The Revolution. VI". The Open Society and Its Enemies: Hegel and Marx. Routledge. pp. 178–181. ISBN 978-1-135-55256-5.
  • ^ Hacohen, Malachi H. (1998). "Karl Popper, the Vienna Circle, and Red Vienna". Journal of the History of Ideas. 59 (4): 730. doi:10.2307/3653940. ISSN 0022-5037. JSTOR 3653940.

Further reading:

  • Browder, Earl (1933). The Meaning of Social-Fascism: Its Historical and Theoretical Background. New York: Workers Library Publishers.
  • Draper, Theodore (February 1969). "The Ghost of Social-Fascism". Commentary. pp. 29-42.
  • Lovestone, Jay (1937). The People's Front Illusion: From "Social Fascism" to the "People's Front". New York: Workers Age Publishers.
  • Manuilsky, D. M. (1934). Social Democracy — Stepping Stone to Fascism: Or Otto Bauer's Latest Discovery. New York: Workers Library Publishers.
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