An interesting piece from Weisbord looking at the specific U.S. slavery-rooted, anti-Black, white supremacist history to find the possible characteristics of a fascist movement here.

‘What American Fascism May Be Like’ by Albert Weisbord from Class Struggle (C.L.S.). Vol. 5 No. 3. March, 1935.

A Fascist movement is inevitable in the United States. To believe otherwise is to think that the workers will take over the factories without a fight, while, on the contrary, the working class of this country must be prepared for a most ferocious struggle. The bourgeois instrument of barbaric ferocity to counter the proletarian revolution is Fascism. Fascism is the political formulation for the sudden and violent development of State and corporate capitalism taking place in the post-war phase of imperialism when wars and revolutions are the ever recurring items on the order of the day. It is the only type of role that will insure that the bourgeoisie is always ready to meet an emergency. It springs from desperation. It ends in the death of capitalism as a whole.

Not only is a Fascist movement inevitable in this country, but already the signs of Fascist tendencies are to be seen on all sides, both in the policy of the government itself and in the mass organizations that are being attempted. The recent Butler episode should give us ample warning that the world wide phenomenon of Fascism will not miss the U.S. This, of course, does NOT mean that Fascism inevitably must be victorious and that the working class of this country cannot move from the present democracy to the dictatorship of the proletariat. But this in turn partly depends upon the outlook and program of the Communists themselves.

Assuming that Fascism as a political tendency will soon make its appearance in the U.S. as a serious force, the question we have to ask ourselves is what may American Fascism be like? What may be its peculiar American tendencies and what national celebration may it take on? It is to be noted that although the Fascists that have appeared in Italy, Germany, Austria, France, and Great Britain have certain common characteristics due to the common basic needs of their respective Bourgeois groups in the present period, yet each Fascism has its own nationalist requirements.

In each country Fascism takes on a celebration to fit the national needs of the capitalists. If Italy raises the term `Fascism’ and Germany `Race’, if Italy has no Anti-Semitic tendencies and in Germany they are extremely marked, if Germany flays the usurer and Italy praises finance capital, if Italy is Catholic and Germany attacks Catholic tendencies, if the Italians popularize their State as `the corporate State’ and the Germans as `totalitarian’, etc. etc., these are but owing to the basic demands of each nationalist capitalist group.

Similar it is with the Austrian Fascist movement that is torn between the aims of the German and those of the Italian. And the same with the British Fascist movement that tries to synthesize the features of both the Italian and the German and stand upon the experience of both. The question is: How will American Fascism make itself `national’?

II

American Fascism does not have to take the name `Fascism’ or `National Socialist’. Differing from the European brands, it can take the simple name `Americanism’ and appear on the scene as the `American Party’. If it is to hold true to Americanism it will blazon forth as its goal the magic word `Utopia’, where all conflicting groups will be assimilated and where planned social science under the direction of the technician will be established.

Like the English, American Fascism will not be able to exaggerate racial theories or any chauvinism based on race, that is so far as white people are concerned. The fact is, there is no `American race’ unless we mean the Americana Indian. America is peculiarly the melting pot of the world where all white races came together and are being assimilated one to the other. To emphasize racial theories now would be far from uniting the entire nation, but the surest way to throw it into incessant turmoil. therefore, in this respect, American Fascism will have to take a completely opposite stand to German Nazism, which stresses race so much. In this country, if there will be any racial angle put forth, it will be only on the basis of unassimilability, that is on the ground that this or that race cannot be assimilated. Here is the basic reason that will be given for any attack against the Chinese or Japanese or Negro or even the Jew. On the other hand, all these people who are willing to assimilate themselves with America, to identify themselves with this nation and who will lose their old European traits will be accepted. Of course, there will still be room for squeezing out `aliens’ where they make themselves inconvenient to the authorities by joining radical movements or where unemployment necessitates pressure on the minority etc., on the whole, however, American Fascism can take no other way. Besides, this policy fits in well with the past of this country, with the imperialist pretensions of the U.S. and with America’s general role.

Always America has appeared as a sort of New World where the old world racial combinations, national prejudices and class struggles could play no part. America, as a whole, stood for a New Deal, for a New Social Order. It seemed that the Western Hemisphere was destined to counter and reverse all the social processes immemorably ingrained in the East. If, in Europe, there were many races, each antagonistic to the other, here, all races could fuse into one. America stood for a kind of internationalism of its own, or at least for a super-nationalism. it seemed that just as the U.S. was more than one country geographically, but a whole continent, so it was more than one nation, but a whole world in itself ethnically and sociologically. If, in Europe, there were class struggles openly fought out, here a general classlessness prevailed and traditionally made up part of Americanism.

Just as convenient as the theory of race is to the German ruling class, is `our own’ theory that Americanism embraces the whole world and is a world philosophy that can take in and assimilate all peoples. It is with this theory that American imperialists can go out to conquer the world and assimilate it. It is with this theory that they can cut across all the old antagonisms created by a dying europe.

Precisely at the moment when, historically, Europe is dying as a progressive force must America step out and take the leadership from europe. This will be the imperialist objective of the future `American Party’ with its program of `Americanism’, Europe has been a failure, it could not bring peace and prosperity into a world but only conflict and war. It will be up to America to knock sense into the heads of these little decadent nations, who by their decadence bring on Communism and Class war. It is the duty of America to organize the world. Here is a program for American Fascism–the organization of the world, planned economy for the world, Utopia for the world.

America, by its newness, by its uniqueness, by its apparent violation of historical laws, by the intrinsic experimentation of its life and by its inherent pacifism always was the classic land of Utopia. Indeed, it itself posed as a great Utopia, a regular New Jerusalem of the Bible. In 1886 Professor Ely could write: “It is safe to say that considerably over one hundred, possibly two hundred communistic villages have been founded in the U.S., although comparatively few yet live. There are perhaps from seventy to eighty communities at present in the U.S. with a membership of from six to seven thousand and property the value of which may be estimated at 25 to 30 million dollars.” (R.T.Ely- Labor Movement in America, p.20)

Utopia: This goes with the American expression: “Give us a break”, with the American philosophy of Pragmatism and with the fervent belief in Santa Claus. Utopia! This is the magic slogan that brings hundreds of thousands of voters to the plans of Upton Sinclair. Utopia is the program of various fascistic movements that already run into the tens if not hundreds of thousands of members. It is with the light of Utopia that Roosevelt can blind millions of supporters under the promise of `New Deal’. In this country, then, Utopia becomes not the sneering name for a dream impossible to realize, but the daring scientific experimentation and pioneering that has always characterized America and which has permitted it apparently to accomplish the impossible. With an unconcealed program of Utopia American Fascism may well gather into its folds the mass of petty bourgeois elements that it needs.

The Utopianism of the American will not be the dream of the poet, but the ideal of the scientist. It will propose not a sentimental chaos, but a well organized and planned order. The industrialism of American life, the extraordinarily well developed technique of American engineering prevents Utopianism from having anything but a `scientific’ character. On the other hand, the general immaturity of social life in this country has, at least up to now, prevented the scientists from being anything else but social Utopians. The phenomenal rise of Technocracy with its `planned economy’ of plenty under the rule of the scientist and engineer is a harbinger of the type of theoretical program that our future `American Party’ will try to put out.

In other countries, Fascism has openly fought the slogans of the French Revolution, “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” with its own passwords, “Order, Discipline, Hierarchy”. In the United States, however, an incipient Fascist movement may well use the term `fraternity’ and `equality’. In America, petty bourgeois egalitarianism has always been a predominant feature of social life precisely because of the general classlessness that prevailed and the fact that the Nation as such was always identified with the middle class. Here the capitalist has ruled not through the aristocracy, nor generally even through the big bourgeoisie, but always and classically through the petty bourgeoisie. It is for this reason too that so much concern is now shown by the administration to protect the small home owner, the small farmer, the middle class generally. The middle class is the parent body, the mother class, so to speak, from whose loins sprang both capital and labor with all their antagonisms.

The Fascist movement must rely on this middle class. Slogans of equality and fraternity go hand in hand with the slogans against class war. If the Fascist movement arises in this country, it will not be so much because there will be the open threat of Communism and gigantic mass Communist parties of half a million members, but rather in order to prevent this class struggle from even appearing in such revolutionary formation. Fascism in Italy sprang up in order to crush Communism. Fascism in the U.S. will appear in order to prevent Communism from appearing. For, once the American proletariat really moves in the direction of Communism, the end for capitalism must soon be in sight. There will be no long process between beginning and end as there was in Europe. Does not American “Tempo” guarantee directness and speed for the social revolution?

European Fascism stresses `self sufficiency’, `autorchy’, `self sufficient empire’, etc. America being indeed more self sufficient than any country, does not need to stress this. In its role of conquering and organizing the world it will have to stress other features more in harmony with its super nationalism. As it puts Europe on the dole more and more, as it injects its mighty force in the wars and conflicts of Europe, it can only be with some sort of theory of extending the United States of America to become the United States of the world under America. American Fascism can be the party to carry out Karl Kautsky’s theory of “Ultra- Imperialism”!

For the same reason, American Fascism, unlike the European varieties, will be able to employ not jingoistic, but pacifistic phrases. If the U.S. goes into a war, it will be in order to end all wars. Only America could have conceived of the slogan, “war to end wars”. But in the fourth decade of the 20th century, this slogan is sharpened by the interminable wars and internecine fights in Europe. An end to chaos! An end to eternal wars! Peace and planned economy for the world! All of these special characteristics are the ways in which American supernationalism will be able to fight the Anarchistic internationalism of the european bourgeoisie and the Marxist internationalism of the Communists.

European Fascism has been born in a struggle against the existing constitution and framework of government that had permitted Communism and the labor movement to grow. Fascism, as it became victorious, overthrew these respective ‘liberal’ constitutions. In this country, however, Fascism can well arise within the framework of the constitution. For an extended review of this matter we refer the reader to the article, “Roosevelt’s Constitutional Dictatorship” that appeared in the February, 1934, Class Struggle. At this polling, all we wish to emphasize is the fact that in America the Constitution arose without a labor movement and has continued until today without much of a labor movement. Under the Constitution, dictatorial powers of the President are provided, Company Unions can be formed, Criminal Syndicalist Laws enacted, thousands of Negroes lynched within a short space of time, etc. Such a constitution of theoretic classlessness and pragmatic lynching of labor need not be fought by Fascism. The Constitution may have to be modified in interpretation and even in letter, but the American Fascist may well advance against Communism with the defense of the Constitution on his lips.

As in economics and politics, so in general philosophic theory and method, if Fascism in Europe needs a State religion and to achieve it has to turn back to Catholicism or paganism, the U.S. can turn to neither. It cannot reproduce in this country the old forms of a passe’ Europe. The problem is how to embrace them all. Deism does so. Deism is the traditional religion of the leaders of America. Even today all sorts of moves for the unification of all churches have been started. It is another example of how the American bourgeoisie started where the European ended. By means of Deism, American Fascism can unify all the groups within the country and the nations outside of it. With Deism as its religion and pragmatism as its method, American Fascism can be inspired to lead the world.

There remains the special point of the relation of Fascism to the Negro. (As to the probable relations of Fascism to the jew in this country, see the last issue of the Class Struggle, February, 1935). It is clear that Fascism will burn men. Lynching is too old a genuine American custom and sport not to be indulged in by Fascism, when it becomes a force in this country. Further, the Negro is too dangerous an element of social life, he is too much a representative of unskilled labor and of the existence of classes not to be made to feel the full brunt of Fascism. The Fascist way to eliminate classes will be the way of physical extirpation of the Negro.

That American Fascism will declare the Negro inassimilable and launch its most ferocious attacks against the black worker, becomes very clear the moment we compare the relative situation between the Communist and the Negro. In other countries, the Communists have been the most hated, feared and persecuted by the ruling class. The reason for this is that the powerful classes of oppressed which exist as a fact can be prevented from seizing power only by destroying the Communists. In this country, however, the problem has always been posed differently. It is not the Communist representative of the class which is alien, but the class itself, as a class. It is the Negro who has always symbolized the class of Labor and whose black skin cast its shadow over the capitalist sun.

Hence the traditional ferocity against the Negro. While the Communist is not taken seriously by the American bourgeoisie, while the Communist groups are still mulling over dead European problems and are composed of elements still alien to the native proletariat, the Negro is taken very seriously as a menace to the existing system of exploitation.

Let us compare the two groups, Negro and Communist, to see what group is a greater threat to the bourgeoisie at present:
1. The Negro is rooted in American life and history. The Communist is not as yet.
2. The Negro is the most exploited and propertyless section of the American toilers. The Communist has been generally of foreign born extraction, often has had a good job and high pay. Many of them are Jewish intellectuals.
3. The Negro has a long history of actual rebellion and insurrection behind him. The Communist never tried his hand at insurrection in this country.
4. The Negro once held State power in some of the States right after the Civil War and demonstrated his revolutionary character. The Communists have been only talkers. They have not even seriously begun the penetration of the South. Their ranks are filled with white chauvinist poison. They would not even understand, most of them, the present lines that are being written.
5. The Negro has a long history of illegal and conspiratorial work. The Communists of this country would not know what to do in periods of illegality.
6. Over 5000 Negroes have been lynched since the Civil War. How many Communists? Daily the American bourgeoisie is carrying on a most forocious war against the negro. Compared to this the treatment given American Communists is still relatively mild.
7. The American Communist can get into the best of society (Corliss Lamont, John Strachey, not to mention such as Sidney Hook and other shysters). Not the Negro, who is treated like a beast.
8. The American white worker has had the rankest illusions about equality, opportunity for all, no classes, rich and poor are alike, etc. Not so the Negro. The foreign born white worker spends his time with the problems of Latvia, Finland, Spain and such countries. The Negro spends his time fighting his own American bourgeoisie, our chief enemy.
9. The American white worker lives off of the super-exploitation of the black. The black worker lives off of no one.
10. Nine times out of ten, if we had to choose between a `class conscious’s white worker and an `unconscious’ Negro, we would choose the `unconscious’ Negro as the better realist, the better revolutionist.

All this, however, is not to say that a Fascist power would not attack the Communist movement. Quite the contrary, the rise of American Fascism will clean out of the Communist movement the imperialist minded and soft headed workers and intellectuals, who now infest the revolutionary organizations. As these elements go out, the Negro will step in and assume his rightful place among the very vanguard of the revolutionary movement of this country. Just as labor was personified by the black skin, so will revolutionary Communism some day really be represented by the Negro. Then, and only then, will we be sure that Communism has become Americanized.

Since Fascism cannot assimilate the Negro, the future in the United States is posed by the problem, Fascism or Negro Liberation, or what is the same thing, Fascism or Communism and the permanent victory of labor.

The Communist League of Struggle was formed in March, 1931 by C.P. veterans Albert Weisbord, Vera Buch, Sam Fisher and co-thinkers after briefly being members of the Communist League of America led by James P. Cannon. In addition to leaflets and pamphlets, the C.L.S. had a mostly monthly magazine, Class Struggle, and issued a shipyard workers shop paper,The Red Dreadnaught. Always a small organization, the C.L.S. did not grow in the 1930s and disbanded in 1937.