Anarchism
Anarchism and anarchists and anything associated with the thinking, the people, or the history generally get a raw deal from the media and even mainstream historians. It is true that anarchism is profoundly anti-authoritarian, but its popular association with violence (wild-eyed bearded men throwing bombs) is exaggerated, even fictionalized by the very forces threatened by it, namely governments and the media with vested interests in things as they are.
As with any subversive political and economic movement, some proponents became impatient and felt justified in striking out in vengeance or justice. Thus you have Alexander Berkman and his attempted assassination of Pennsylvanian Henry Clay Frick in 1892 and Leon Czolgosz and his successful assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. Berkman, however, served his time in jail, wrote a deep and insightful account of his experience and went on to write more worthwhile books on the subject which possessed his life. (Czolgosz did not have that opportunity, being executed forty-five days after the death of his victim.)
Anarchism survived its dramatic beginnings in the 19th Century, however, and interested readers can find its articulate concern with agricultural reform, labor rights, and prophetic worries about the growth of the surveillance state in many excellent books. Here you will find books and a superb documentary on Sacco and Vanzetti (as well as Woody Guthrie's cd of his investigation into the miscarriage of justice). Here you will find histories, biographies, anthologies, memoirs, and fiction. It is a rich tradition, relevant to this day and to the future.
Against the Fascist Creep
Against the Fascist Creep
Fascists are creeps. Time to drag them from the shadows.
“A comprehensive overview of the history and space of fascist ideologies and their current transformations.” —Marlene Laruelle, author of Russian Eurasianism: An Ideology of Empire
“The notion of ‘the fascist creep’ helps us to understand how fascist ideals migrate from left to right and right to left and how they surreptitiously slip into the heart of the body politic. This book is essential reading.” —Tamir Bar-On, author of Where Have All the Fascists Gone?
“Recent historiographical fashion has tended to portray fascism as a revolutionary form of authoritarian nationalist ideology. However, fascism’s attempt to synthesize left and right could produce conservative as well as radical mutations. Alexander Reid Ross’s book helps us understand how fascism in the contemporary era is developing in this complex way, and raises vital issues about how it differs from the rising tide of national populism.” —Roger Eatwell, author of Fascism: A History
“Crucial reading for scholars and journalists trying to understand the complex and often contradictory relationships among populism, anti-elite demagoguery, scapegoating, conspiracism, and fascism.” —Chip Berlet, co-author of Right-Wing Populism in America
“Against the Fascist Creep is a much-needed addition to the field of political extremism and will be enjoyed by both academics and the general public.” —George Michael, author of Lone Wolf Terror and the Rise of Leaderless Resistance
As the election of Donald Trump shows, fascism in all its white nationalist and “alt-right” permutations is alive and well in the United States. A terrifying tour of the history and influence of the forces that helped bring the 45th president to power, Against the Fascist Creep maps the connections and names the names. It traces today’s often-disguised forms of rightwing extremism through the decades and across the globe to show how infiltration is a conscious and clandestine program for neofascist groups that seek to co-opt and undermine both the mainstream and the new social movements of the left.
This book is a line in the sand that both identifies the creep of fascist messages, ideas, and organization throughout our society and outlines how to stop it in its tracks.
Alexander Reid Ross is a lecturer at Portland State University, freelance journalist, and the editor of Grabbing Back: Essays Against the Global Land Grab.
With a cover illustration by the one and only N.O. Bonzo
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Original Fascist Creep
Chapter 2: Spirit and Subculture
Chapter 3: A Brief History of Fascist Intrigue
Chapter 4: The Radical Right
Chapter 5: The Third Position
Chapter 6: National Bolsheviks
Chapter 7: Fascists of the Third Milennium
Chapter 8: Autonomous Nationalism and Fascist Geopolitics
Chapter 9: From the Tea Party to Occupy Wall Street
Chapter 10: The New Synthesis
Conclusion: Swords into Plowshares