Anti-communism

Anti-communism is the opposition to communist ideology, organization, or government, on either an ideological or pragmatic basis. Anti-communism is a catch-all phrase which defines any opposition to communism as a philosophical basis for a political and social alliance.

Fascism and Anti-Communism

Fascism and "Soviet" Communism are political systems that arose to prominence after World War I. Historians of the period between World War I and World War II such as E.H. Carr and Eric Hobsbawm point out that liberal democracy was under serious stress in this period and seemed to be a doomed philosophy. The success of the Russian Revolution of 1917 resulted in a brief revolutionary wave across Europe, in Germany and Hungary in particular. The socialist movement worldwide split into separate social democratic and Leninist wings with the formation of the Third International prompting severe debates within social democratic parties resulting in supporters of the Russian Revolution splitting to form Communist Parties in most industrialised (and many non-industrialised) nations. The acceptance of the war by the social democratic parties gave the communist parties credibility with many people, as a result of them labelling it as being imperialist.

Related Topics:
Fascism - Communism - World War I - World War II - E.H. Carr - Eric Hobsbawm - Liberal democracy - Russian Revolution of 1917 - Social democratic - Leninist - Third International - Communist Parties - Imperialist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the end of World War I there were attempted socialist uprisings or threats of socialist uprisings throughout Europe. Most notably in Germany where the Spartacist uprising in Germany led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in January 1919 failed. In Bavaria, Communists successfully overthrew the government and established the Munich Soviet Republic that lasted from 1918-1919. A short lived Soviet government was also established in Hungary under Béla Kun in 1919.

Related Topics:
Spartacist uprising - Rosa Luxemburg - Karl Liebknecht - Munich Soviet Republic - Béla Kun

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Russian Revolution also inspired attempted revolutionary movements in Italy with a wave of factory occupations, a strike wave in Britain, the Winnipeg General Strike, the Seattle General Strike and other radical events.

Related Topics:
Winnipeg General Strike - Seattle General Strike

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many historians view fascism as a response to these developments -- a movement that both tried to appeal to the working class and divert them from Marxism and also appealed to capitalists as a bulwark against Bolshevism. Italian fascism founded and led by Benito Mussolini took power with the blessing of Italy's king after years of leftist unrest led many conservatives to fear that a communist revolution was inevitable. Throughout Europe numerous aristocrats and conservative intellecutals as well as capitalists and industrialists lent their support to fascist movements in their countries which arose in emulation of Italian fascism while in Germany numerous right wing nationalist groups arose, particularly out of the post-war Freikorps which were used to crush both the Spartacist uprising and the Munich Soviet.

Related Topics:
Working class - Marxism - Capitalists - Bolshevism - Benito Mussolini - Aristocrats - Conservative - Freikorps

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, certain anti-communist authors have disputed the view of fascism as a reaction against socialist revolutionary movements and instead stressed what they believed to be essential similarities between communism and fascism in both theory and practice. The noted Austrian School economist Friedrich Hayek, author of The Road to Serfdom, argued that various modern totalitarian movements, including fascism and communism, have common philosophical roots, both springing from the opposition to the classical liberalism of the 19th century. Anti-communists arguing from these positions see it as far more than a coincidence that Benito Mussolini himself was an enthusiastic Marxist socialist and a prominent member of the Italian Socialist Party before the World War I, while many philosophical founders of fascism, such as Sergio Panunzio and Giovanni Gentile, came from a Marxist or syndicalist background.

Related Topics:
Austrian School - Economist - Friedrich Hayek - The Road to Serfdom - Totalitarian - Classical liberalism - Benito Mussolini - Marxist - World War I - Sergio Panunzio - Giovanni Gentile - Syndicalist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the worldwide Great Depression of the 1930s it seemed that liberalism and the liberal form of capitalism was doomed and Communist and fascist movements swelled. These movements were bitterly opposed to each other and fought each other frequently. The most notable example of this conflict was the Spanish Civil War, which became a proxy war between the fascist countries and their international supporters who backed Francisco Franco and the worldwide Communist movement (allied uneasily with anarchists and Trotskyists) who backed the Popular Front and were aided chiefly by the Soviet Union.

Related Topics:
Great Depression - Spanish Civil War - Proxy war - Francisco Franco - Anarchists - Trotskyists - Popular Front - Soviet Union

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Initially, the Soviet Union supported the idea of a coalition with the western powers against Nazi Germany as well as popular fronts in various countries against domestic fascism. This policy was largely unsuccessful due to the distrust shown by the western powers (especially Britain) towards the Soviet Union. The Munich Agreement between Germany, France and Britain heightened Soviet fears that the western powers were endeavoring to force them to bear the brunt of a war against Nazism. The Soviets changed their policy and negotiated a non-aggression pact with Germany, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939. The Soviets later argued that this was necessary to buy them time to prepare for an expected war with Germany. However, some critics question this claim, pointing out that along with a non-aggression clause, the pact also laid out extensive economic cooperation between the Soviets and Germans, in the form of the German-Soviet Commercial Agreement, providing Nazi Germany some of the materials it needed to build its war machine. This detail is used by the aforementioned critics to argue that Stalin expected the war to be waged solely between Germany and the Western Allies, with the Soviet Union keeping its neutrality while its two greatest enemies fought each other.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - Nazi Germany - Popular front - Munich Agreement - Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - German-Soviet Commercial Agreement

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Whatever the case, it is clear that Stalin did not expect the Germans to attack until 1942, so he was taken by surprise when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, with Operation Barbarossa. Fascism and communism reverted to their relationship as lethal enemies - with the war, in the eyes of both sides, becoming one between their respective ideologies.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~