Review of Alberto Toscano’s “Late Fascism”

3WF

Alberto Toscano’s book offers a helpful overview of antifascist writings with an emphasis on authors loosely associated with Critical Theory. Of particular value is Toscano’s discussion of the role of myth in fascist ideology, which focuses on contributions by Italian scholar Furio Jesi and has relevance for understanding Donald Trump’s speeches and far right online meme culture. Yet Toscano’s discussion of “racial fascism” exaggerates capitalists’ ability to control events, strips both fascists and antifascists of political agency, and reflects an obliviousness to antifascists’ strategic and tactical concerns.

Antifascist, Book Review, fascism, Paul Bowman


Further thoughts on Hezbollah

Three Way Fight

4 comments

“Defending my enemy’s enemy,” my attempt at a nuanced discussion of the recent Israel-Lebanon war, has been aired on several blogs and listservs and has gotten a wide range of comments, pro and con. These …

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Interview with anarchist militants in Lebanon

Three Way Fight

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IndyMedia broadcasts an interview with anarchist militants who undertook organizing and delivering aid to villages in southern Lebanon. Their action took place before the ceasefire and in the interview they speak of being made targets …

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On Islamic radicalism and the left

Three Way Fight

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Don Hamerquist sends the following comments on “Defending my enemy’s enemy”: Matthew, I’m in general agreement with this piece and I also largely agreed with your earlier criticism of the common left perception that the …

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Defending my enemy’s enemy

Three Way Fight

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Question to the U.S. left and anti-war movement about the current war in Lebanon: If we want Israel to fail in its stated objective to destroy Hezbollah, does that mean we want Hezbollah to win? …

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A short, but detailed history and analysis of Hizbullah and it’s current efforts in Lebanon and against Israel.

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An informative, but older, interview with Gilbert Achcar on Hizbullah. Important in the piece is it’s outlining of Hizbullah’s relation to the Lebanese Left, how Hizbullah were able to grow with the withdrawl of Isreal …

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Notes on Trump/MAGA 2024

Matthew N Lyons

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Even more than in the past, Trump and the MAGA movement have brought key elements of fascist politics into the Republican Party, and a second Trump presidency is likely to be significantly more authoritarian than the first one.

Antifascist, Donald Trump, MAGA movement, US presidential elections

Reading Adam Shatz on the war in Gaza

Three Way Fight

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by Matthew N. Lyons How do we forcefully make the case to defend the Palestinian people in Gaza against Israel’s increasingly genocidal assault, and also honor the conflict’s heartbreaking contradictions? This is a question I’ve …

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Burn the foundation and all that it upholds: an antifascist review of “Tell Me I’m Worthless” by Alison Rumfitt

Three Way Fight

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“The House spreads. Its arteries run throughout the country. Its lifeblood flows into Westminster, into Scotland Yard, into every village and every city. It flows into you, and into your mother. It keeps you alive. …

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Trump’s Gospel: A Review of Jeff Sharlet’s The Undertow

Three Way Fight

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So much has been already said about Donald J. Trump, Trumpism, and the amorphous mass known as his “base” that it hardly seems worth revisiting the topic almost eight years after his fateful descent down Trump Tower’s golden excavator. Just as the 2016 election seemed to confirm everything that virtually everyone had already been saying about US politics for years, so too does Donald Trump today seem self-explanatory.

Book Review, Dave Ranney

Who’s Afraid of Luigi Mangione? A Response to Alexander Reid Ross

3WF

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Luigi Mangione’s recent alleged killing of an insurance CEO touched a wedge issue that cuts across class and across the political spectrum—the massive corruption of the health insurance industry—and created an opening for the left. A recent article by ex-leftist Alexander Reid Ross, which dismisses Mangione as expressing an American proclivity for violence, represents a counterinsurgency action in defense of the state.

Alexander Reid Ross, Anti-capitalism, counter insurgency, health care, health insurance industry, liberal antifascism, Luigi Mangione


Books

Scroll to see more and click on a book for more information about it and where to buy it.

Anti-capitalist perspectives on the Occupy movement

The January issue of Insurgent Notes, an online left-communist journal, is devoted mainly to the Occupy movement, with a lead editorial, reports from Occupy campaigns in six U.S. cities, and an article on “class struggle

Conservatism studies: on the value and limits of academic history

Not so long ago, respected historians and sociologists promoted the idea that right-wing politics was best understood as a kind of psychological problem: a form of collective irrationality, an expression of despair or a paranoid

Stand up Against Racism and Transphobia!

From the First of May Anarchist Alliance: Defend CeCe McDonald!Self-Defense is Not a Crime!Stand up Against Racism and Transphobia! An important case demands our support. Crishaun “CeCe” McDonald, a young Black transgender woman faces two

Occupy movement: Anti-capitalism versus populism

Occupy Wall Street is one of the most exciting political developments in years, but like any social movement it has its contradictions. As I noted briefly at the end of my previous post, the Occupy

Rightists woo the Occupy Wall Street movement

by Matthew N. Lyons Most right-wing responses to the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement have ranged from patronizing to hostile. Rightists have variously criticized the Occupy forces for–supposedly–copying the Tea Party; failing to target big

State repression from Bush to Obama

Only a few years ago, many people looked at the Bush administration’s authoritarian policies (mass round-ups, endorsing torture and assassination, shredding due process, etc.) as a major reason for supporting the Democrats. But in a

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Review of Alberto Toscano’s “Late Fascism”

Alberto Toscano’s book offers a helpful overview of antifascist writings with an emphasis on authors loosely associated with Critical Theory. Of particular value is Toscano’s discussion of the role of myth in fascist ideology, which focuses on contributions by Italian scholar Furio Jesi and has relevance for understanding Donald Trump’s speeches and far right online meme culture. Yet Toscano’s discussion of “racial fascism” exaggerates capitalists’ ability to control events, strips both fascists and antifascists of political agency, and reflects an obliviousness to antifascists’ strategic and tactical concerns.

Review of “Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism”

Shane Burley and Ben Lorber offer a thoughtful radical analysis of how antisemitism works, how it fuels supremacist politics more broadly, and how the charge of antisemitism is misused to attack Palestine solidarity and the left. To combat antisemitism they argue for a strategy based on mass mobilization, dialog, and an intersectional critique of oppressions.

Who’s Afraid of Luigi Mangione? A Response to Alexander Reid Ross

Luigi Mangione’s recent alleged killing of an insurance CEO touched a wedge issue that cuts across class and across the political spectrum—the massive corruption of the health insurance industry—and created an opening for the left. A recent article by ex-leftist Alexander Reid Ross, which dismisses Mangione as expressing an American proclivity for violence, represents a counterinsurgency action in defense of the state.

Three Way fight book on sale from PM Press

Three Way Fight: Revolutionary Politics and Antifascism and all books, e-Books, DVDs, and CDs are 50% off from PM Press through January 3, 2025, with

Resisting Trump and the MAGA movement: No Borders Media interview with Matthew Lyons

From the No Borders Media description: “On U.S. Election Day, No Borders Media features an interview with researcher Matthew Lyons on resisting the Trump/MAGA movement.