class & fascism

[dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx (Doug Henwood)]

Subjects of two recent threads here - fascism & the class/identity relation
- are covered in a very interesting article in the latest New Left Review
(#212), Michael Mann's "Sources of Variation in Working Class Movements in
Twentieth Century Europe."

The article is 40 pages long, so a screenful of summary can't do it
justice. Several points, though, seem worth highlighting. Maybe this isn't
new to some folks, but since I'm no expert in the comparative sociology of
political movements, it sure grabbed me.

* Socialism's political base was primarily skilled male workers.

* Sector counted for more than class, with industrial workers supporting
socialism and workers in other sectors (construction, agriculture,
services) supporting fascism or anarcho-syndicalism.

* The feminist critique of socialism as primarily masculine is confirmed in
Mann's analysis, but with a usually unspoken corollary - women were often
important bases of support for the right, both traditional and fascist.
"Fascist leaders were uniquely male...but lower down...fascists were no
more masculine in composition than other parties. Indeed, they mobilized
more women in their ancillary organizations than all but the confessional
parties."

* The base of fascism was *not* the petit bourgeoisie; it was much broader
than that, and included lower-status workers who resented socialism's more
elite base. As Mann says, this misunderstanding led to serious errors in
fighting the far right.

Most of this is obviously relevant today.

Doug

--

Doug Henwood
[dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx]
Left Business Observer
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New York NY 10024-3217
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