Some notes on similarities between "far-right" people and Bolsheviks

 

As much as Fascists, what the so-called “far right” look like most of all are the Bolsheviks. Steve Bannon has compared himself to Lenin, which seems bizarre at first. These people share:

- rigid ideological positions

- justification of the ends over the means

- use of personalized attacks on opponents, demeaning name-calling

- a dehumanizing of their opponents

- a penchant for conspiracy theories

- a proclivity for projection; accusing their opponents of what they are doing or intend to do

- deliberate use of disinformation, trolling, gaslighting, and other forms of deception

- hyperbolic, even apocalyptic descriptions of the threats opponents pose

- attempts to impose minority views on the majority

- essentially undemocratic worldviews

- willingness to incite, tolerate, or use violence

- a cult of the personality

You may be able to add more. Pretty rotten stuff.

Commonalities between two 'movements'

On the question of why the Nazis succeeded so rapidly in Germany in 1933, without much resistance (in spite of 56% of voters voting against the Nazis in 1932), one contemporary observer* suggested the main reason was fear; go along to avoid being beaten up. But he posited other reasons, such as the ‘intoxication of unity’; a betrayal by the weakness of previous leaders causing going along as ‘revenge’; a jumping on the bandwagon; and finally, the idea that they could change the direction of the Nazis from within.

In the Trump era we are nowhere near an environment of fear that Germany was in back then, but the intoxication of unity (Make America Great Again – Hitler was pumping people up to Make Germany Great Again); the vindictiveness of actions and policy from Trumpists reacting to perceived weakness of Obama et al.; jumping on the bandwagon; and going along in hopes that change, or moderation, can be effected from within - these seem to be common characteristics of the rise of Naziism and the rise of Trumpism. They are not unique to them though: Zumaism in South Africa, Mugabeism in Zimbabwe, others). But Naziism was the most extreme expression the world has seen, and Trumpism is the most extreme expression the US has seen.

The submergence of critical thought, of principles, the anti-intellectualism and anti-science attitudes, and the denial of and excuse-making for abhorrent actions and policies seem to be common as well.

There are enough differences in the character and institutions of the US and those of Germany in the 1930s (and in the historical conditions) to give me confidence that we will not go down that road, but there are threads of similarity in the two ‘movements’ that are still worth noting, and not forgetting.

*Referenced in ‘The Coming of the Third Reich’ by Richard J. Evans (2003)