fascism the dirty word hiding under the ashes

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Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes I like dictionary definitions. At the letter F, under „fascism‟, you find: “(1) Doctrine, nationalist and totalitarian political system Mussolini established in Italy in 1922. (2) Doctrine or political system tending to establish the same type of totalitarian regime in a State. “ One note that the semantic drift in which, from “Italian fascism” one arrives at “totalitarianism” is already contained in the definition. That drift in itself would deserve an entire article, which exists elsewhere. (In French). But I won’t go looking any further before using the word when applied to what we are collectively experiencing nowadays, in terms of searches for political exits to the crises caused by a bloated economic system, victim of its own obesity, a destructive predator of life, of planetary ecology, of human relationships in general and of the societies they generate. Because this is not about history repeating itself, but rather about an ever-deepening crisis, one whose jolts over the last century have given rise to such responses as fascism and all of its singular variants, leading to their ultimate expressions, Nazism and Stalinism, at both ends of the spectrum.

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Ephesians 5:18: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." leads to debauchery such as excessive indulgence in sex, alcohol, or drugs. 1 Corinthians 6:10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Matthew 24:49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. Galatians 5:21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 5:11But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, Marx encountered in his analysis, and all the scientific and cultural thought which represented its consciousness, offered him the image of an individual who was, on the one hand, cut off from the social body, and thus by definition imprisoned in the narrow limits of a particular interest, a limited awareness, a practical impotence. On the other hand, the same individual was not yet master of science and technique, but remained subordinated to them, to the objective structures of production and the market, to society as his ‘second nature’. This individual, in other words, confronted society and history as autonomous forces, governed by their own necessity, which in their totality remained beyond the scope of knowledge. Women’s liberation:
 The Marxist tradition The classical Marxists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries—Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Clara Zetkin, Rosa Luxemburg, V. I. Lenin, Alexandra Kollontai, and Leon Trotsky—developed a theoretical framework tying the fight for women’s liberation to the struggle for socialism. While their theory requires updating,2 their enormous contributions have too often been dismissed or ignored. Moreover, the history of those who carried on the Marxist tradition on women’s oppression during the mid-twentieth century has frequently been rendered invisible—yet these activists and theorists provided an indispensible thread that continued between the victory of women’s suffrage in the 1920s (often referred to as US feminism’s “first wave” and the rise of the 1960s movements for women’s liberation (known as its “second wave”). Marx and Engels located the root of women’s oppression in their role within the nuclear family in class societies. They understood that women’s role as biological “reproducers” results in their subordinate status inside the nuclear family, and consequently throughout society. In capitalist societies, women in property-holding families reproduce heirs; women in working-class families reproduce generations of labor power for the system. The capitalist class has become dependent on this method of “privatized reproduction” within the working-class family because it lessens its own financial responsibility for the reproduction of labor power, which is instead largely supplied by unpaid domestic labor performed primarily by women. The precondition for women’s liberation thus requires an end to their unpaid labor inside the family. This, in turn, necessitates a socialist transformation of society, which cannot be achieved gradually but only through a process of social revolution, in a decisive battle between classes. Marx and Engels early on identified the revolutionary agency of the working class, or proletariat, as the only class capable of leading the transformation to a socialist society. In The Communist Manifesto, they stated, “What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable.”3 As Hal Draper noted, But in the psychology of human beings, names, both of individuals and organisations, become associated in the mind with what they come to represent. And in one important respect the name Militant did stand for what its proponents intended: the aim of winning in the first instance, the most conscious, combative, fighting, i.e. militant, sections of the working class. Rather than being a management stooge he stated that he was in fact the chief shop steward, i.e. the convenor of the workers in the factory. He was observing those who bought the Militant, because he wanted to identify those workers capable of becoming shop stewards! Those who were prepared to stand out, who in turn were those who were prepared to buy Militant, were leadership material in the eyes of this convenor. Like the convenor of this factory, but from a broader point of view, Militant set its sights in the first instance on the more conscious, politically aware sections of the working class. The winning of these layers, who we consider are "the salt of the earth", is the key to winning the mass of the working class at a later stage. Salt and Light 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Öcalan’s writings often stretch to book length studies of praxis, the subject/object dualism, the capitalist regime of truth, and how this is tied to a history of slavery, as well as a wide ranging critique of Western metaphysics and colonialism. Öcalan’s political thought is influenced by Murray Bookchin, Michel Foucault, Hannah Arendt, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels as well as feminist political theory and the myths of Ancient Mesopotamia. Öcalan’s the empty signifier of freedom, liberation and decolonization for Kurds, and his political project is one that can be classified as decolonial and as having a radical democratic aim. Crucial to Öcalan’s thought is a feminist politics in which he figures Women at the centre of his theory of democratic civilisation or freedom. In a short essay called ‘Liberating Life: Women’s Revolution’, Öcalan (2013) outlines the core tenets of his sociological/historico-philosophical writings. Öcalan’s fundamental claim is that ‘mainstream civilisation’, commences with the enslavement of ‘Woman’, through what he calls ‘Housewifisation’ (2013). As such, it is only through a ‘struggle against the foundations of this ruling system’ (2013), that not only women, but also men can achieve freedom, and slavery can be destroyed. Any liberation of life, for Öcalan, can only be achieved through a Woman’s revolution. In his own words: ‘If I am to be a freedom fighter, I cannot just ignore this: woman’s revolution is a revolution within a revolution’ (2013). a freedom to organise, to be free from any conception of ownership (of property, persons, or the self), a freedom to show solidarity, to restore balance to life, nature, and other humans through ‘love’, not power. Öcalan figures ‘Woman’, serves as metaphor for the Kurdish nation-as-people (not nation-state). In short, if one manages to liberate woman, from the hegemonic ‘civilisation’ of ‘the dominant male’, one manages to liberate, not only the Kurds, but the world.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

I like dictionary definitions. At the letter F, under „fascism‟, you find:

“(1) Doctrine, nationalist and totalitarian political system Mussolini

established in Italy in 1922.

(2) Doctrine or political system tending to establish the same type of

totalitarian regime in a State. “

One note that the semantic drift in which, from “Italian fascism”

one arrives at “totalitarianism” is already contained in the

definition.

That drift in itself would deserve an entire article, which

exists elsewhere. (In French).

But I won’t go looking any further before using the

word when applied to what we are collectively

experiencing nowadays, in terms of searches for

political exits to the crises caused by a bloated

economic system, victim of its own obesity, a

destructive predator of life, of planetary ecology, of

human relationships in general and of the societies

they generate.

Because this is not about history repeating itself, but rather about an

ever-deepening crisis, one whose jolts over the last century have

given rise to such responses as fascism and all of its singular

variants, leading to their ultimate expressions, Nazism and

Stalinism, at both ends of the spectrum.

Page 2: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

Mentioning both of those in the same sentence does not mean

placing them at equality or in competition; it is simply a way of

mentioning their world-wide influences in the spectrum of

fascisms.

A closer look is warranted at those regimes in the second half of

the 20th century that were defined as “totalitarian” or as

“dictatorships” based on a neo-liberal doctrine, and which served

as the alpha and omega of policies in the last forty years, crowned

by financial capitalist globalization.

A recall of both Pinochet and Thatcher (who were close friends)

and of their enthusiastic support for the “market” would be useful.

In 1917, a certain Lenin, published a work titled “Imperialism, Ultimate

phase of capitalism”; needless to say, the work has acquired more

than a few wrinkles, but it analysed how a world war, exacerbated

nationalisms and economic wars were attempts at non-negotiated

solutions to the crises in a system already ill from its own

contradictions.

Borrowing an analytical key from him does not mean approval of

what followed in the uses made of it by the October Revolution.

However Italian fascism, which serves as the yardstick for the

concept, matched up well with his anticipated analysis, one he, was

not alone in expressing.

We might then draw a few lessons from history.

Not in order maintain a permanent stance of denunciation of

resurgent Nazism, but as a reminder that the underlying trends for

a crisis are still there, and that responses analogous to previous

ones , even if widely adapted and grounded in other national

myths, could rise from the shadows surrounding chaos.

Page 3: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

Fascism has yet to speak its final word.

But should this serve as an excuse for cramming under the same

heading every anti-humanistic political demonstration or belief with a

totalitarian vocation, preaching a war of civilizations and national in

drawing?

Bluntly stated, is political Islamism such as that found in the most

developed forms of ISIS, on the one hand, and a Trumpian populist

fascism destined to serve as models.

For my part, I would answer in the negative.

Precisely because they do not answer, either in a durable or in a

momentary way, capitalism’s need for economic survival.

In that sense, they are less “durable” than are China or Russia, to

mention only those two.

These casual and internationally “tolerated” fascisms are part of the

global market, not in order to disrupt it, but so as to find in it their

nationalist interest through the widening of capitalist globalization,

and using it to enrich their financers and their oligarchies.

Each in its own way, we have here fascism using the capitalist motor

and which have established internal totalitarianisms they have made

the whole world accept.

The Putin model is a good export product. The Chinese model is still

too “exotic” to tempt Westerners, but we only need observe the

gesticulations around questions

Page 4: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

of “human rights” to understand the majority of Western States have

already drawn their balances and gone to market. And here’s to the

velvet hand in the silken glove.

I do not mean to suggest that the occult hand of a grand capitalist plot

rules the world.

What we see are only convergences in interests, in order to defend the

survival of a system presented everywhere as the only alternative to

poverty, so-called “human misery”, violence and…anarchy. And these

converging interests are not only a concept.

They are structured in G8s, G20s as well as at the WTO or NATO, along with the

multiple subdivisions where one finds the cream of the “investors”.

States even serve as their backbone, for “the good of the nations”.

I forgot the EU, free-trade agreements as well as “common sanctions” imposed

against unruly or quarrelsome countries.

All this is a reality, and humanism is not a topic in these gatherings.

The climate and the ecological crisis add to the inherent crises in a system

that has not taken into account the fact the planet’s resources are not

inexhaustible, or at a minimum, has pushed off the reckoning into the

future, and has not taken the full measure in the daily growth of its

predatory and destructive power through industrial efficiency, including in

the area of the “production” of waste and their effects on the living.

Interestingly enough, up until now, only literary or cinematographic

anticipations provided all this a fascist end point – and not only since

yesterday. Science-fiction is a treasure trove in this regard. Let’s close the

brackets here, but the books exist, and among them, the very best.

Page 5: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

All the media, politicians, official “philosophers”, a number of

“cultured” people providing opinions, have thrown the word fascism

to the dunghill of history and only pull it out as an insult, when

required for this purpose, if given a prefix such as islamo, or crypto,

as the case may be. These same ones do everything they can to

“demonize” the term, the better to de-demonize the germ carriers.

Since Prevent, we know that intellectuals love playing with matches.

And even when speaking of the political tandem dominating Turkey, the

term barely comes to their lips. Turkey, fascist?

On occasion in a headline, but only because it is “islamist”.

And yet, if ever there was one, there stands a “republic” for appearances

only, one that composed with and continues to compose with fascism, while

slowly working its way into neo-liberalism.

As a regional power, it is now courted economically as well as for it

capacity in holding back the migratory consequences of wars, of

climate change and of the jolts and rumblings of world crises.

We have here a useful fascism, one not attempting to create

geopolitical crises for its own sake.

The solution found by the EU therefore consists of financing it in

order to have some influence on the excesses. Its durability is

uncertain.

A longer bracket, since we are on Kedistan.

“The army won‟t let it happen”

This sentence was emblematic at the end of political discussions in

the early 2000s in Turkey.

Page 6: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

It could just as well be completed by an “inchallah”. But it was mainly

heard in families said to be secular, in the upper middle classes of

large cities, such as Istanbul and Ankara.

The Turkish army was venerated in those communities as protectors

of a Kemalist nation, one and indivisible, against a red enemy or an

islamist one. Yes, on can consider one’s self secular, and be a fascist

too.

The second half of the 20th century had seen deep inequities

aggravated in Turkey between what was known as deep Anatolia, the

East with a Kurdish majority, certain regions on the Black Sea and the

expanding metropolis.

This also led to accelerating rural exodus of populations moving to

large towns as labourers, in order to serve those fully benefiting from

the social elevator of the said Kemalist republic, an elevator coupled

with the country’s capitalist development, already advantageous for

European delocalizations for production of common consumer goods,

one where divisions in labour are important such as with textile, for

example. Cars followed as did “domestic” consumer goods.

At first, this period was one of economic conglomerates taking

advantage of a regulated domestic market, then of privatizations, all

the way to open liberalism, then neo-liberalism in keeping with the

rise of capitalist globalization.

These developments had important social consequences, in terms of

enrichment for some and growing social and territorial inequalities,

especially since Turkish demography was on the rise.

These periods were also marked by “military coups” from the 1960s

to the 1990s, justified each time in the name of “order and civil peace”

and “in defence of the Republic”.

Page 7: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

Each of these coups, although occurring in a different context each

time, ended up impressing the minds of those who were not directly

affected by their consequences, since they were “on the right side of

the fence”, that of growth, or members of the State’s plethoric

administration, in the best Kemalist tradition.

And even though one President considered a liberal (Menderes) and

two of his ministers were sentenced to death and executed in 1961,

this did not stop this saying from being popular all the way till 2010.

The army, coming to the rescue of order and security, especially that

of goods. Today, fascists and islamists share power and corruption,

while on the best of terms with the EU.

Militarization remains pervasive but the reins are in the hands of one

man only. Kemalism can be part of the equation when it is in power

and ostracizes sections of the people on ehtnic and religious grounds.

Were I to work my way across a world map and point how who in

Asia, in the Midle-East, in Africa or in South America could easily be

known under this name, this article would not suffice, the same being

true within the EU itself, where some States are seriously thinking of

donning the uniform.

Attempting to define a pure fascism would be perfectly idiotic and a

stupid approach.

These fascisms are products of history and even of crossings within

history. Nazism was one, borrowing from an arsenal of ideological

racism, clearly personalized.

Page 8: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

Wars and genocides mark their passage. On the European continent,

since 1915 in Turkey until the 1990s in ex-Yugoslavia, including the

Shoah, these genocides are a reminder that if the victims of fascism

are different each time, nothing can challenge this word as the perfect

expression of a political threat, still available to ‘solve” crises.

On this topic, the competition between “memorials” on these matters

of genocide only becomes the more ignoble and even worse when

it serves as a screen to justify a colonization in Palestine, for example,

or for setting up back-to-back the Gulag and the Nazi camps, as being

two abominations belonging to the past, on the right and on the left –

the better to have us forget that the embers of fascism still glower

under the ashes.

Getting back to the second part of the definition, I keep in mind again

the terms of “political doctrine or system”. I understand the word

doctrine as meaning ideology.

And this is where there begins a perverse dialectic between this

economic system in crisis and the rise of ideological solutions with

wide rallying appeal as an exit strategy.

Fascism is one of them, and populism walks alongside in those liberal

democracies no longer able to respond with successful decisions. And

please don’t mention leftist populism in my presence. As soon as

nationalism is involved, it turns to the beast’s advantage.

This fascist idoelogy regarding the need for a strong power, a

providential personality on the Bonapartist model to insure

“security”, the defense of private property, of the “dominant values”

secreted by the capitalist market, spreads like gazoline on the social

body, with the help of the media who obtain large audiences from it.

Page 9: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

Add to this racism which divides and opposes, identitarian

nationalism as a galvanizer, the designation of migrations as scape-

goats, and you have the picture of the current situation in France,

among other countries.

Coming fascism?

I do not wish to paraphrase a well-known title that spoke of

insurrection, but I do believe their authors should think on it. What

emerges from chaos is not always revolutionary, even if it gives itself

the title. Under its outward appearances, fascism is conservative. And

feeding the premises, by accentuating chaos, is deadly, when the roles

are reversed. We’re not about to ressuscitate Gramci.

Which brings us to the question “must we defend the democratic and

liberal status quo in order to escape from it?

This is the matter for another article.

Getting back to Kedistan, it is our job to see what answers provide

those subjected to it, as in Turkey. An analysis of the Kurdish

movement’s dissensions on the matter of armed struggle, depending

on the contexts, along with analyzes on various conceptions of the

State, and thus of nationalism, would help in formulating an answer.

But chaos is not a choice. It asserts itself when we look away. And

fascism is quick to show up, superimposed on our shadow.

The illustration to this article is by Nour Mabkhout, borrowed from

the Montreal student newspaper “Le Délit”, with thanks.

Translation by Renée Lucie Bourges

Page 10: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

You may use and share Kedistan’s articles and translations, specifying

the source and adding a link in order to respect the writer(s) and

translator(s) work. Thank you.

In Rojava, think of a literature of the revolution

With its benches in the shade of large lime or mulberry trees and

blooming roses, the readers' garden in the city of Qamishlo, in Rojava,

northern Syria, offers a pleasant oasis of freshness in the dust and the

heat of the city. In one corner, a glazed building serves as a place to

organize literary discussions or presentations of books. Adjoining, a

small bookstore-library offers a choice of locally published books,

which enthusiasts can read on site or buy. The reflection on the place

of the Arts in society, and in particular literature, does not escape the

political process underway in the areas under the control of the

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Thus, a

literature committee was created, backed by a publishing house, Şiler,

at the Amara bookstore,

Page 11: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

“Before the revolution writers could not speak, had no voice.” explains

heval Berxwedan, poet and coordinator of the literature committee. Under

the Baathist regime, censorship was rife.

Kurdish literature was prohibited, as was the expression of any dissenting

voice. “After the revolution, there were more readers, and the creation of a

union of writers. Now we have the freedom to write, we can even be

critical. ” The committee seeks to encourage writing by as many people as

possible.

“At the beginning, even if the quality was sometimes insufficient, we still

published the works. Today we are more demanding. The committee reads

the works proposed to it and writes a report to suggest improvements to

the author if necessary. For the reading committee, the important thing is

that we can understand the work. They try to put the authors at ease and

not be too demanding on the level of grammar.

The Kurdish language is rich, it takes time to reach a standard. ” However,

it is not a censorship body. Its members assert that an author can

completely decide to publish independently.

“We are independent of the Autonomous

Administration” insists Nariman Evdikê, Botan, Zara,

all three members of the literature committee,

created in 2016. Nariman and Botan are authors, Zara

literary critic.

They studied literature, and taught at Qamishlo

University, in the literature, Kurdish language or

Jineolojî department.

Page 12: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

All writers who request it can join the committee. In

Qamishlo, the committee has four to ten members,

but others are present in the various towns of the

areas under the control of the Autonomous

Administration.

The structure works with several publishing houses,

such as Şiler.

One commission is responsible for studying books

written in Kurdish and another in Arabic.“If there

were books in Syriac there would also be one for that

language.” specifies Botan.

Six or seven people read the book, write down its

positive and negative points, and write a report for

the author who can then improve his writing. If the

book is not high enough to be published, they

encourage the writer to rewrite it. And if they're not

comfortable with a book, they don't publish it to Siler

Publishing. When a book is published by Siler, all

costs are covered.

Page 13: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

The committee is predominantly female, and tries to

promote the work of the authors, who represent

around 40% of the books that pass through our

hands.” Nariman explains. Women writers are under a

lot of pressure. As a result, the committee members

try to support them more in their writing process. A

writer herself since she was fourteen, Nariman knows

these difficulties well.

The young woman, who returned to her hometown

of Sere Kaniye in 2016 after studying literature in

Diyarbakır, explains:“All women involved in

literary activity have a lot to talk about and write

about, but they need time for it. »She explains.

“They are afraid because of the pressure of society,

of criticism from others, especially men who may try

to discourage them, to belittle them. So they take

their time to write solid things.

Page 14: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

There are also subjects that are difficult to write

about for women: love and sex; certain political

subjects; religion. A man on the other hand will have

an easier time writing on these subjects and this will

be more tolerated. ". Zara specifies: “This is also

true for women artists in general. For example, a

woman painter could not paint a mother who is

breastfeeding her child, whereas a man could.

”Nariman adds: “Here there are ten stories to write

about every day. What you want to get hold of as a

writer is up to you. ” Her latest work, “Berberoj” is

a collection of words from young fighters from her

hometown, mutilated during the battles against the

jihadists in 2013. She lets them tell their stories,

their dreams, and why they decided. to fight in

Rojava in a war for which no one was really ready.

Page 15: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

For the committee, the important thing is that

literature is in touch with society. “The language

reflects the beauty of the people. Literature is a

way to make society more advanced and is at the

service of the people, language is just a vector. ”

says Berxwedan. To explain the criteria under

which a book can be refused, he gives the

controversial example of a book that would

attack God or religion directly, with harsh words.

For him, society at its current stage would not be

ready to accept such literature, and therefore the

committee would not support its publication. On

the other hand, a surrealist writer like Helim

Yusef receives a good reception from the

population, and therefore his books are

published.

Page 16: Fascism the Dirty Word Hiding under the Ashes

“In Rojava, we are in a revolution, we need

revolutionary literature.” explains

Berxwedan.“It doesn't matter the language.

Cultures, languages, history are the basis of the

existence of a society. In a democratic nation

everyone must find their place. Everyone must

be able to live their culture. We do not want a

mold, everyone can write what they want but

respecting the values of the company. The

revolution is built by the people and it has given

space to express themselves, including on

religion to some extent. We try to make writers

feel part of society, to express the voices of the

people.

Because if there is a gap between the population

and the intellectuals, the latter can become

selfish, distant.

The possibilities of our writers are sometimes

limited but we try to help them, because

literature helps the people. We want to raise the

level, that people read more and get educated.

We want to make them free. ”