26.07.2000
Fascism - what is it?
Following Jörg Haider's success in Austria, we have featured debate on the nature of fascism. Here we produce a contribution by the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), one of the biggest left organisations in Turkey
When fascism is mentioned, what comes to mind are images of massacre, torture, blood and tears. But these are not all that fascism is about.
Fascism is not only about the cities which were wiped out by atomic bombs and the thousands of people who were burnt in crematoria. Fascism is not only about the students who are beaten by fascists, whether the latter are in uniform or in civilian clothes. Nor is it only about those who were killed or maimed by torture. Certainly fascism is not simply about disappearances, massacres, torture and prisons.
The reality of fascism, which is forced on the peoples in the interests of a handful of individuals, has taken various shapes and forms starting in the early 1900s and continuing up to the present. We encounter this reality sometimes in the form of imperialist countries like the USA, Germany, Italy, France and sometimes in the form of the Susurluk state. Sometimes we come across it in the shape of Hitler, Catli, Cakici (fascist-mafia chiefs) or at other times Pinochet, Zia-ul Haq or Evren (head of 1980 military coup, the Pinochet of Turkey). Sometimes they take the form of the mafia, police, military, MIT (National Intelligence Organisation), JITEM (Gendarmerie Anti-Terror Intelligence), and sometimes Ford, ITT, Sabanci and Koc (leading collaborationist monopolies in Turkey). And each time we witness that the tyranny of fascism and the regime of exploitation are connected to each other as if by an umbilical cord.
So what is fascism? Fascism is the repressive dictatorship of the most reactionary, chauvinist, aggressive, murderous section of the monopolist bourgeoisie. The first thing that we realise through this definition is that fascism is a form of rule. Fascism came into being during the imperialist era, which is the uppermost and final stage of capitalism. It is the most reactionary and chauvinist form of dictatorship.
What does this mean? Chauvinism in its essence is the policy of making people slaughter one another. One of the most striking examples of the chauvinism of fascism took place in our country in 1978 - in the Maras massacre. This massacre was engraved on the minds of our people and has become the clearest description of the reality of fascism.
The Sunni people in Maras were stirred up against the Alevi people and many were savagely slaughtered under the supervision of fascists. The message that we have to derive from this example is that the system uses the policy of chauvinism to incite hatred between sections of the people, such as Alevis v Sunnis, Turks v Kurds, manual workers v office workers, supporters of secularism v supporters of Sharia, or even fans of rival football teams. Despite the fact that the chauvinist policy of fascism takes different forms in different periods, the aim is always the same. It is to suppress the peoples by dividing them and to prevent their waging struggle in a united form against imperialism and fascism.
What is the meaning of fascism being the most repressive and murderous form? When fascism is mentioned, first of all Italy and Germany come to mind. Hundreds of books and documents were written about the true face of fascism in Italy and Germany and the details of savagery were exposed in the eyes of the rest of the world.
This savagery of fascism and the sorrow of the peoples were told from one generation to another. Fascism was condemned by the entire peoples of the world. During World War II Hitler's fascist (Nazi) rule was defeated by the Red Army. The power of fascism was wiped out, but millions of people still condemn it.
Therefore today, no-one can openly defend fascism. But they only refuse to defend its name. Because today the conditions which caused the rise of fascism still exist. There are fascist individuals, institutions, parties and regimes which do not use the name of fascism. In other words, nothing is different in principle. As we mentioned above, the Maras massacre in Turkey happened years after fascism came to power in Germany (1933) and Italy (1922). But the image of savagery was the same. Hundreds of human beings were burned, dismembered, cut to pieces and made to disappear.
Fascism is a form of administration, a form of state. The most significant character of fascism is that it is dependent on the monopolist bourgeoisie and is the most open and terrorist dictatorship of the monopolist bourgeoisie. Not all repressive administrations and dictatorships are fascist. For instance, from centuries ago people were repressed by systems of rule and much blood was spilt. But we do not call these systems fascist. Because fascism occurred in the 20th century as a form of rule by the monopolist bourgeoisie.
In order to take power, the bourgeoisie fought against feudalism together with the working class and peasantry. They took power from the feudal landlords by spilling blood and paying the cost. Therefore, at the beginning of the hegemony of the bourgeoisie, it had to give certain rights and liberties to workers and peasants. The working class and peasants defended their rights. Meanwhile, the bourgeoisie developed the means of production during this period. During this era we can talk about the progressive nature of the bourgeoisie. Anyway, we cannot speak of a united bourgeoisie at that time. It was still weak. There was major rivalry between them. We call this the era of free competition of capitalism.
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th this period of capitalism came to an end. From then on, the monopolies determined economic life, and the uppermost stage of capitalism, the era of imperialism, begins. And therefore there were changes in the structure of the bourgeois class.
The bourgeoisie who were continuously in competition with each other developed in their own areas of production. This caused the intensification of production and a concentration and centralisation of capital. And so production was carried through by monopoly. This wiped out the conditions for competition. With each crisis of the state, many companies could not resist and went bankrupt. But others who did not suffer from crisis became stronger. In short, this was a case of big fish eating smaller ones. This was how the monopolies arose. At the same time, the banks were also taken over by these monopolies.
From then on, the entire economy, production, markets and also the state were under the control of these monopolies. The function of the state under the control of the monopolies is to regulate economic life on behalf of these monopolies and to open new markets. Naturally political life was also under the control of the monopolist bourgeoisie. This is the era when the monopolist bourgeoisie became reactionary and aggressive. Since then, the monopolist bourgeoisie has been in fear of being unable to uphold its rule. What is the source of this fear?
During the imperialist period of the capitalist system, it is in crisis and cannot find a solution. This situation creates tension as well. The crisis created by surplus production also creates unemployment, inflation, high prices, together with an imbalance between production and consumption. The economic crisis brings social and political crisis with it, and starvation, poverty and unemployment extend to all sections of the working class. The masses are discontented and react against this, and the monopolist bourgeoisie cannot cope with protecting its own system. The monopolist bourgeoisie's fear made it step up repression and also slow down the development of technology. This is the sign of the bourgeoisie being a reactionary force, and fascism is the most concrete form this takes.
No matter in which countries the fascist dictatorships existed, they are not different from one another since they are the forms of rule to defend the interests of the monopolist bourgeoisie with the most brutal methods. The main methods that are used by fascism are deceit, demagogy and terror. In accordance with the conditions in each country the ways fascism conquers power differ. Therefore we divide fascism into two categories: classical fascism and colonial-type fascism.
In the developed capitalist countries, where capitalism develops with its own dynamic, fascism organises itself from bottom to top. The fascist parties are organised by creating their own mass basis and by deceit and demagogy; they conquer power on this basis. For example, in Germany, the conquest of power by the Nazis was presented as a 'revolution'. The name of the German fascist party was the 'National Socialist German Workers Party', so that the longing for socialism of the masses could be exploited, because socialism had become the hope of the peoples. With such total hypocrisy, people were deceived by claims that starvation, poverty and unemployment would be eliminated and all economic problems would be solved. In this way, fascism deceived those who believed in it and terrorised those who did not.
In countries like Turkey, the monopolist bourgeoisie develops dependent on imperialism. Therefore it is weak and deformed. It has to be in alliance with pre-monopoly elements. Both technologically and economically it is dependent on foreign capital: that is, the imperialist countries. To be dependent on foreign capital means a constant economic, social and political crisis. This situation is called the 'national crisis'. Because of this 'national crisis', the oligarchy cannot exploit the people by using bourgeois democratic methods. Our country is a typical example. Governments cannot rule for long and elections, coalitions and referendums are continuous. Almost every 10 years, a military coup takes place. Those who come to power try to hang on to their positions by force and repression, and all kinds of dirty business like corruption, bribery, mafias and gangs - the reflection of the 'national crisis'.
In short, the oligarchy has no alternative but to use tyranny, repression, terror and price rises. And under conditions of continuous instability, it can only survive by implementing fascism. It is different from classical fascism in its application and the way it is formed. In colonial-type fascism, the formation of fascism as a form of state arises from the formation of monopolist capital. Monopolist capital is dependent on imperialism and forms from top to bottom, and this is how fascism is formed. It is not based on the masses and their organisations, as happened in Italy. The state is gradually reorganised by the bourgeoisie in fascist style. The monopolist bourgeoisie, which is in control of political power, implements fascism in alliance with pre-monopoly elements. Therefore, while in the developed capitalist countries the class basis of fascism is the most reactionary and chauvinist elements of monopolist capital, in countries like ours it is the whole oligarchy. In our country the oligarchy is the alliance of the collaborationist monopoly bourgeoisie, the usury merchants and landlords.
Colonial-type fascism is exercised in two ways: secret fascism, where there are partial and formal bourgeois democratic rights. But these have no other function than to cover up fascism. And open fascism: when monopolist capital cannot cope with the situation, the cover concealing fascism is removed. Repression and force take place openly.
When the Republic of Turkey was established, it was not a fascist state. Mustafa Kemal himself was not a fascist. In the first years of the republic, there were Kemalists - in other words petty bourgeois nationalists - at the upper levels of the administration, but they were not the only ones there. The state was a transitional one in which, besides Kemalists, there were other sections of the petty bourgeoisie. The main aim of the Kemalists was to develop capitalism by creating a national bourgeoisie.
When the Democratic Party came to power in 1950 the institutionalising of fascism accelerated, especially in the government bureaucracy and the military. The first thing they did was to remove the Kemalists from the senior ranks of the armed forces. Turkey's entrance into Nato placed the military at its disposal. And the contra-guerrillas were being established by reorganising the MIT so it was under the control of the CIA.
Meanwhile, civilian fascist groups were encouraged to organise under the banner of a reactionary ideology which made use of religion. There were certain obstacles to the institutionalising of fascism. Against the background of these developments and the collaborationist policies of the DP, Kemalists who had been driven from the upper levels of the army succeeded in carrying out a political revolution on May 27 1960 by taking into account the discontent of the people. Kemalists in the military seized power. The May 27 administration succeeded in achieving certain changes like the 'constitution' of 1961, semi-autonomous universities, freedom of participation in democratic organisations - all things which should not be under-estimated.
But despite the May 27 revolution, which interrupted the institutionalising of fascism, it could not be permanently halted, because the forces that made May 27 were too weak. For example, they could not put an end to relations with the imperialists. Since they were afraid of US intervention, as soon as they conquered power, they declared that they would be loyal to bilateral agreements and imperialist institutions such as Nato and Cento. As a result of their inability to alter relations with the imperialists, after a time they lost the initiative to the collaborationist bourgeoisie. The Justice Party replaced the DP and the institutionalising of fascism continued. But still there were obstacles. Especially since in the 1960s there was an atmosphere of freedom and anti-imperialist consciousness, and the struggle associated with it developed.
When the oligarchy could not rule any more in the old way, it did not hesitate to make use of open fascism. The junta periods arising from March 12 1971 and September 12 1980 were periods when fascism proved its existence by means of massacres, torture and prisons. Hundreds of thousands of people were dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night and taken to unknown destinations.
The institutionalising of fascism rapidly took place. For example, on March 12 1971, the Kemalists were almost completely expelled from the military, and on September 12 1980 even those who saluted revolutionary or democratic officers were expelled, and the Kemalist elements were completely eliminated. Again, March 12 changed the constitution of 1961 beyond all recognition. September 12 abolished it completely and replaced it with the 1982 constitution.
The institutionalising of fascism continued at other times at a much slower pace than in the junta period. We call these periods secret fascism, and in these periods civilian fascists replace the military. As they openly admitted, they tried to suppress the revolutionary struggle by acting as assistants to the state. Meanwhile, all the state institutions, especially the educational institutions, were filled with fascists. The education system was reshaped according to the needs of fascism. Those who were recommended by civilian fascist organisations were accepted into the ranks of the police.
After the September 12 junta, fascism was openly implemented. Its institutionalisation was completed. At present, Turkey is an openly fascist state.
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