Review of Mark Bray's "Antifascist Handbook," and Robert Paxton's "Anatomy of Fascism."
Here's another few books I read in tandem. Mark Bray's "Antifascist Handbook," and Robert Paxton's "Anatomy of Fascism."
Mark Bray's handbook acts as partly academic work, but mostly as political manifesto. It discusses the history of anti-fascist activism from the 20s and 30s, to the post war era, to the modern day. It discusses the actions and politics of the front groups that opposed the Nazi rise to power, the SPD'S Eisenfront Gagen Fashismus, and the KPD's Antifaschiste Acktion. It also criticises the KPD for refusing to work with the SPD in a united front. It does not discuss the rich history of Trotskyist Antifascist activism, and only briefly mentions the British Anti Nazi League and the Battle of Lewisham (and calls the ANL an SWP front, despite Dave Renton describing the involvement of the British Labour Party in it). Finally it discusses the modern "Antifa groups." He identifys the problem of machismo and glorification of violence among anti fascist groups. His response is to argue for political education amongst Antifa groups, and to discuss feminist anti-faschism. He fails to discuss the Trotskyists notion of anti-faschism as a mass movement with roots among the workers and social movements (like the British ANL historically was, and it succeeded in smashing the British National Front).
Paxton's Anatomy traces the nature of fascism as it develops. He traces distinct stages of fascism, from philosophical inception, mass movement, siezure of power, to consolidation, to "regime radicalisation." He argues that fascism is generally inconsistent in all of these stages, trumping philosophical ideal for populist appeal as a movement, to dropping popular demands to win support from establishment conservatives, to junketing the rational needs of bourgeois society in order to do some grand atrocity. He also argues that fascism was distinct from conservative authoritarianism (as seen in Franco and Pinochet) for a few reasons; conservative authoritarianism arises from traditional structures (usually the military), and conservatives usually leave the state structures to function as they ordinarily would, while fascism establishes the parallel state apparatus.
Mark Bray's handbook acts as partly academic work, but mostly as political manifesto. It discusses the history of anti-fascist activism from the 20s and 30s, to the post war era, to the modern day. It discusses the actions and politics of the front groups that opposed the Nazi rise to power, the SPD'S Eisenfront Gagen Fashismus, and the KPD's Antifaschiste Acktion. It also criticises the KPD for refusing to work with the SPD in a united front. It does not discuss the rich history of Trotskyist Antifascist activism, and only briefly mentions the British Anti Nazi League and the Battle of Lewisham (and calls the ANL an SWP front, despite Dave Renton describing the involvement of the British Labour Party in it). Finally it discusses the modern "Antifa groups." He identifys the problem of machismo and glorification of violence among anti fascist groups. His response is to argue for political education amongst Antifa groups, and to discuss feminist anti-faschism. He fails to discuss the Trotskyists notion of anti-faschism as a mass movement with roots among the workers and social movements (like the British ANL historically was, and it succeeded in smashing the British National Front).
Paxton's Anatomy traces the nature of fascism as it develops. He traces distinct stages of fascism, from philosophical inception, mass movement, siezure of power, to consolidation, to "regime radicalisation." He argues that fascism is generally inconsistent in all of these stages, trumping philosophical ideal for populist appeal as a movement, to dropping popular demands to win support from establishment conservatives, to junketing the rational needs of bourgeois society in order to do some grand atrocity. He also argues that fascism was distinct from conservative authoritarianism (as seen in Franco and Pinochet) for a few reasons; conservative authoritarianism arises from traditional structures (usually the military), and conservatives usually leave the state structures to function as they ordinarily would, while fascism establishes the parallel state apparatus.
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