As Trump's, reactionary, petty-bourgeois, MAGA coalition fractures, under the reality of his regime's policies, he has screwed the base, and drawn the US into another of its forever wars, possibly the biggest, and most devastating of all, as he launched his unprovoked attack on Iran, in support of the expansionist aims of his friend Netanyahu, and the Zionist regime in Israel. It is a sort of equivalent to Hitler's Night of The Long Knives against the Strasserites, and an indication that Trump' himself has become captive of the “deep” state, i.e. the US capitalist, permanent state. The extent to which that is so, is that this represents simply a continuation, by Trump's regime, of the strategy already begun under the Biden regime.
Hegseth, in his Press Conference, has let the cat out of the bag, revealing that this attack was planned MONTHS AGO, meaning long before any 60 days for negotiation, or even before the start of the Zionist bombing of Iran!
The main strength of the petty-bourgeoisie/peasantry and of their political movements, is, also, simultaneously, their greatest weakness. Their strength is their numbers. It is why the petty-bourgeoisie/peasantry is most significant when it comes to being able to use those numbers passively, for example, in elections, referenda and so on. But, that is only a strength when those numbers can be mobilised in a single direction. Usually, that single direction is in opposition to something, rather than in favour of something, as an alternative. It is why leaders of such movements, so much favour plebiscites, posing a vague and superficial choice, as with Brexit.
But, that is, also, simultaneously, the greatest weakness, because, unlike the bourgeoisie or the working-class, the petty-bourgeoisie/peasantry is far less homogeneous in its class interests, whether recognised or not. The petty-bourgeoisie/peasantry is heterogeneous differentiated between poor small peasants through to richer peasants, for example, and, similarly, with the petty-bourgeoisie comprising, the self-employed through to the small family run corner shop, through to the medium sized enterprise. And, all of these variations are criss-crossed by other cleavages of the type of business operated, and so on. It is why Marx and Engels noted, nearly 200 years ago, that such a heterogeneous mass could not form itself into a class for itself, and so into a ruling class. It would always, end up fracturing into parts, along these fault lines, and dragged behind one of the main classes – the bourgeoisie and working-class. To the extent the petty-bourgeoisie/peasantry did exert any kind of independent political role, it would be on the basis of some form of Bonapartism, of being drawn behind a strong, charismatic leader, able to impose some sense of unity, and direction upon it.
But, that implies, when such a Leader assumes power in society, the reality of those divisions begin to erupt, and fracture the mass. The more it requires an imposition of order, and authoritarian rule. Hence, The Night of The Long Knives. In fact, as Trotsky described, in relation to the rise of the Nazis, in Germany, in the 1930's, this weakness of the petty-bourgeoisie means that a limit on its electoral success requires it, when that limit is reached, to already be moving in the direction of an abandonment of those parliamentary methods, and to prepare for a coup.
“the main strength of the fascists is their strength in numbers. Yes, they have received many votes. But in the social struggle, votes are not decisive. The main army of fascism still consists of the petty bourgeoisie and the new middle class: the small artisans and shopkeepers of the cities, the petty officials, the employees, the technical personnel, the intelligentsia, the impoverished peasantry. On the scales of election statistics, a thousand fascist votes weigh as much as a thousand Communist votes. But on the scales of the revolutionary struggle, a thousand workers in one big factory represent a force a hundred times greater than a thousand petty officials, clerks, their wives, and their mothers-in-law. The great bulk of the fascists consists of human dust.”
In fact, today, with the proletarianisation of all those white-collar, professional jobs even that layer is no longer a significant reservoir for the fascists, and far-right nationalists. That professional middle-class is far more likely to represent a reservoir for a progressive opposition to it, as seen in the votes over Brexit, and in relation to the votes in US Presidential elections. On the other hand, as a result of the deindustrialisation of the 1980's and 90's, the size of the petty-bourgeoisie itself has grown, by 50% since that time, in large part comprised of these former industrial workers, now fallen into the ranks of the self-employed, the petty trader and so on. But, it is still a minority, comprising only around 30% of the population, in developed economies, though it may also draw in behind it, at times, a section of backward workers. Its why, for example, only 37% of the electorate voted for Brexit, and why, despite the current hype, Farage will not become Prime Minister.
"It is stupid to believe that the Nazis would grow uninterruptedly, as they do now, for an unlimited period of time. Sooner or later they will drain their social reservoir. Fascism has introduced into its own ranks such terrific contradictions, that the moment must come in which the flow ceases to replace the ebb. This moment can arrive long before the fascists have united about them even half of the votes. They will not be able to halt for they will have nothing more to look for here. They will be forced to resort to an overturn.
But even apart from all this, the fascists are cut off from the democratic road. The immense growth of the political contradictions in the country, the stark brigands’ agitation of the fascists, will inevitably lead to a situation in which the closer the fascists approach a majority, the more heated the atmosphere will become and the more extensive the unfolding of the conflicts and struggles will be. With this perspective, civil war is absolutely inevitable. Consequently, the question of the seizure of power by the fascists will not be decided by vote, but by civil war, which the fascists are preparing and provoking."
The main strength of the petty-bourgeois nationalists has been the absence of any unified, progressive alternative to them.
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