At a study day organised by the Ernest Mandel Foundation in Antwerp, historians Vincent Scheltiens and Alex de Jong analysed the contemporary far right’s rise across Europe.
Their central argument: whilst parallels between 1930s fascism and today’s neofascism exist, drawing such comparisons is strategically counterproductive.
Today’s far right, exemplified by Geert Wilders’ PVV, functions less as classical fascism than as radicalised liberalism – embracing free-market ideology rather than anti-capitalism, operating through media manipulation rather than paramilitary violence, and targeting minorities sequentially, beginning with trans people.
The absence of a powerful labour movement and credible socialist alternative has created conditions fundamentally different from the interwar period. Antifascists must therefore develop new strategies focused on social struggle rather than historical warnings that fail to resonate with far-right voters.
On Saturday 13 December, a study day on the Shift to the Right took place at the Ecohuis in Antwerp. The Ernest Mandel Foundation [1] had invited two historians to shed light on this trend, for the benefit of Flemish militants of the SAP [2] and other interested parties. It was thus a mix of both who listened to the presentation . . .
On Saturday 13 December, a study day on the Shift to the Right took place at the Ecohuis in Antwerp. The Ernest Mandel Foundation [1] had invited two historians to shed light on this trend, for the benefit of Flemish militants of the SAP [2] and other interested parties. It was thus a mix of both who listened to the presentation . . .
Continue @ ESSF.
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