I am a college student with an interest in history, and while this gives me zero qualifications to pontificate on politics, it does give me an interesting perspective on the rise of Trump. I think we can all agree that Trumpism is a return of the so-called “blood and soil” Nationalism of the 20th century. To be clear, Trump is not a fascist dictator, but he clearly uses the language and the talking points of an extreme right wing populist. While we are often terrified by this comparison, we all too frequently fail to address the lessons of those who fought fascism in the 1930s.
One of the historical causes of the rise of the far right was the collapse of the central left and the rise of the far left in its stead. In Germany, communists engaged in street fights with fascists organizations that often left dozens dead and spread fear and confusion. This violence, along with calls for revolution by the left (often sponsored by the USSR), had horrific effects. Firstly, they often drove established business and military interests into the welcoming arms of the fascist right. Secondly, they helped to legitimize extra-legal political action and spread the very fear upon which fascists thrive. General strikes and riots also proved to be no match for the armed, militant far right. The organized left failed catastrophically when it came to stopping the European far right in the 1930s, we must learn from their mistakes.
Equally instructive is to observe the leaders who defeated fascist or isolationist tendencies within their own nations and then won the 2nd World War: leaders like Churchill and Roosevelt. While many liberals admire Roosevelt, Churchill is no ideal progressive hero (see racism, colonialism, conservatism etc). But both men countered “blood and soil” nationalism with the high-minded, soaring rhetoric of civic nationalism; they appealed to a national narrative of values and ideals to unite their nations against fascism. This is in many ways the language of the center right, of an appeal to patriotism, combined with the expanded state policies of the left.
We must be wary of repeating the mistakes of the last generation to fight fascism. I am not saying that the Democratic Party is going down the road to communism; but I am saying the uncompromising, purist and sometimes violent rhetoric from the left (witness the “punch the Nazi” debate) and the talk of a “green tea party” risks de-legitimizing the very institutions we need to fight Trump. Trump represents the party of violence, of ideological purity and of hatred, to sink to his level of anger and fear is not just to abandon our principles, it is to let him win. Protesting is vital, as is opposing corporate influence, but calls for a “revolution” or violence play right into the hands of the right. This is not a specific attack on the current left of the Democratic party, but rather on the rhetoric and political trend lines since the election (among many Trump opponents). We are reasonable and they are not — and we must remember that is why we will win in the end.
Note: In response to some of the comments, I changed the title from “the far left” to “the extreme left” this is not an attack on the left of the current party which I consider to be both ideologically reasonable and politically viable. My problem is not with Sanders or Warren or Ellison. However, I do offer a warning: our democracy still works, we need to use it to stop Trump. If we abandon our Democratic principles and rhetoric in favor of puritanism and divisiveness we will lose to Trumpism. There is no reason why true, left wing (even socialist) policies cannot co-exist with reasonable, unifying, patriotic language that counters Trump. FDR brought our country together while enacting a broad program of left wing government intervention. We need to re-capture that spirit.
I appreciate the comments and the counter-diary: I think many of these arguments have caused me to re-think my wording and some of my ideas; I have a response here: www.dailykos.com/...