The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-09-29
By HENRI BARBUSSE.

spread itself gradually, almost au-
tomatically, over the whole world.
1t drives its tentacles deep and
reaches over to countries which are
still free. Fascism poisons the
whole of contemporary culture.
This terrible spread Of fascism is
logical phenomena. 1t would be
a great mistake to ascribe the sue
cess of fascism in establishing it.
self master over whole peoples, to
the individual daring and luck of
small group of adventurers. There
are positive reasons why such a
system of robbery should grow out
of the ground in such a highly or
ganized form.
Supported by Capitalism.
Fascism which drives its roots
into capitalist countries according
to the political and social circum-
stances of the countries, may take
what form it likes, it may be of
fetal or semi-official, but it is al
ways supported by the capitalist
governments. All governments use
fascism, either openly or covertly,
in order to maintain "order." Even
when they openly condemn fascism,
they use it nevertheless in secret.
Up to the present the necessary
measures to drive fascism from its
seat have not been taken.
What is fascism? Fascism is es-
sentially the fighting formation
used as a supplementary force to
the official and legal" means of
power for the maintenance of a CIV
en- social condition. Fascism offers
the possibility of carrying on an
energetic offensive supported by
certain elements of the bourgeoisie
and upon certain bourgeois masses
whose economic existence is threat
ened by the difficulties of the pres
ent period (added to these social
forces there are certain elements
which are ready and anxious for
anything) against the actual and
possible progress of the working
class. Fascism is an extra police
force and an extra army in addi-
ton to the regular forces of the
capitalist state, whose aim it is to
hold down the rebellious masses by
force and keep them within the
framework of the capitalist social
order.
1t is perfectly clear that the re-
action has always. the same aim, i.
e., to maintain the status quo of the
social order in capitalist society.
The same aim is held by oil CAPT
talist states who place their state
apparatus at the disposal of the
possessing classes in order to pro-
tect them against any encroach-
ments on the part of the working
masses.
Types of Fascism.
But fascism as combined form
of legal and semi-legal organiza
tons of the conference.-the
which has grown up on the basis
of the experiences Of the postwar
revolutions and the revolutionary
actions of the working masses at
time when the official state ap-
paratus and the reaction were I'M
able to prevent social commissions,
differs from the normal reaction by
the fact that with its two methods,
its reactionary intensity, the num-
Der of its victims, ETC., it strives to
create the so-called preventative
counter-revolution, or in other
words it strives to prevent the COM
ing of the social revolution.
1t is sufficient to make a short
review of the countries where fas-
cism has expressed itself in one
form or another, in order to see that
fascism, no matter what its form.
does not represent any specific
fighting methods of the Italian
bourgeoisie or any other country,
but that at present it is applicable
to all capitalist countries. The open
state fascism in Italy, Spain, Fin
land, the Baltic and Balkan coun-
tries, the South American countries,
Venezuela and Chile, and the semi
legal fascism which maintains the
fiction of independence of the state
apparatus, as in the United States,
Germany, France, Great Britain,
and even in the classical land of
democracy" Switzerland and in the