The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-07-08

III II m a. II f.
fighting Cor mar p.p1 ppounrr
kets abroad for SAH'" Dh'O WIEN
the single purpose
OF maintaining the profits Of finance
capital IT. is a policy Of brutal OPP
Wession and preparation for i'm
perialist war 1t represents a further
sharpening and deepening of the
world crisis.
It has become very fashionable
nowadays to describe the New Deal"
as American faScism One of Mus
solinis newspapers had declared that
Roosevelt is following the path first
marked out by italian fascism.
Norman Thomas has contributed
profound thought that the New
Deal' is economic fascism," that it
Is composed of good and bad ele-
ments, many of them oven "pro-
gressive" in their nature, if not
accompanied by political reaction"
A group Of honest revolutionary
workers in Brooklyn recently issued
leaflet in which they declared that
u Roosevelt and Hitler are the same
n thing.
u Such answers to che question of
IA the essential character of the New
DEAF will not help us much. 1t is
true that elements of fascism long
existing in America are being great
n ~ stimulated and are coming to ma
II tur1ty more rapidly But it would
be well for us to recall the analysis
of fascism made at the 18th and
18th Plenuns of the E. G. C. l.,
both for understanding the situation
III Germany and for accurately judg-
ing the developments in America.
First, ii must be understood that
fascisln grows naturally out of bour-
geois democracy under the condi-
tons OF capitalist decline. 1t is only
another fern of the same class rule,
the dietatorshop of finance capital
Only in this sense, can one say that
Roosevelt is the same as Hitler in
That both are executives for finance
capital -fla same, however, could be
said of every other executive OF the
capitalist state. To label everything
capitalist as fascist" results in
destroying of all distinctions between
the various forms of capitalist rule.
If we should raise these distinctions
to level Of differences in principle
between Iascism and bourgeois DEM
ocracy. this would be falling into the
Swamps OF social fascism. But to
entirely ignore these distinctions
would be tactical stupidity, would
be an example of cleft" doctrinair-
ism.
Second, the growth of fascist ten
denotes is a signal of weakening in
the rule Of finance capital 1t is a.
sign of deepening of the crisis. a
sign that finance capital can no
longer rule in the old forms, it must
turn to more open, more brutal,
ruthless and terrorist methods. not
as the exception, but as the rule for
suppression of the population at
home and preparation for war
abroad. Fasoism is preventative
counter-revolution, an attempt to
head off the rising revolutionary
upsurge of the masses.
Third, fascism is not special
economic system. Its economic meas
ures go no further in the modifica-
ton of capitalist economic forms
than all capitalist classes have
always gone under the exceptional
stress of war and preparations for
war. The reason for the existence
Of fascism is to protect the eco
nomic system of capitalism, private
property, the means of production
the basis of the rule of finance cap
ital.
Fourth, faScism comes to maturity
with the active help of the Socialist
Parties (the parties of the Second
internationally, who are those ele-
ments within the working class that
we describe as social fascist because
of this historic role. Under the mask
of an ostensible opposition to fas-
cism, they in reality pave the way
for fascism to come to power, dis
arm the workers, bind the workers
to the wheels of the fascist chariot
by means of the theory of the
lesser evil" tell the workers that
they would be unable to seize and
hold power, create distrust in the
revolutionary road by means of
ISLANDERS against the Soviet Union,
throw illusions of democracy around
the rising forces of fascism, break
up the international SOLIDARITY of
the workers, support the nationalist
policies of their own bourgeoisie-
and carry out all this treacherv
under the banners of Socialism,
and "Marxisln.' In America, this
role is played by the Socialist Party,
the left refor1nists and the A. F.
of L. bureaucracy.
= THE development of Roosevelt,s pro-
4 gram is striking illustration of
4 the fact that there is no Chinese
wall between democracy and fascism.
Roosevelt operates with all of the
arts of democratic" rule, with an
emphasized lroeral and social dema-
gogic cover, quite in contrast with
!. Hoover, who dispensed largely with
these arts and was openly reaction
airy. Yet behind this smokescreen.
Roosevelt is carrying out more thor
oughly and brutally even than
I hoover, the capitalist attack against
| tas living standards Of the masses at
I home and the sharpest national
falauvinism In foreign relations.
Under the New Deal,' we have
entered period of the greatest
contradiction between the words and
deeds Of the heads of government.
Hoover refused the bonus to the
veterans and called out the troops
aoai,,ct them caiIciy,u uy,chLo ,,,d