Rise of far right an ominous echo
By Ritt Goldstein
Whether in Europe's ultra-nationalistic parties (a portion possessing either
explicit neo-Nazi or neo-Fascist roots), or in the United States' most
reactionary political groups, the West is seeing a rise of the far right not
witnessed since the 1930s. At that time, the 1930's Great Depression had fueled
far-right popular movements, and today's so-called Great Recession appears to
be doing something similar.
"You can say that there is something between the emergence of a radical right
populist party and economic downturns," observed
Cristian Norocel, a political scientist at both Sweden's Stockholm University
and Finland's University of Helsinki. Speaking on the rise of Sweden's
far-right Swedish Democrats (SD), a party with neo-Nazi roots that recently won
20 seats in parliament, Norocel saw similarities to aspects of "very early
National Socialism [Nazism]".
Policies recalling German National Socialism "at the end of the 1920s, the
beginning of the 1930s" were what Norocel specifically referred to, although
today's SD has renounced violence. Underscoring reason for concern, Norocel
told Asia Times Online in a quietly determined voice that "the thing that is
worrisome is that the SD party platform appears to be very successful".
In the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, France, Austria, Sweden, Hungary,
Serbia, Romania, Switzerland, and more, the far right is on the rise, making it
to national legislatures and prominence in a number of countries. On November
2, a CNN headline announced: "UK far-right group boasts Tea Party links".
The twin 1930s nightmares of Nazism and Fascism descended from the European
social and economic turmoil following World War One, their development
accelerating with the economic pain and uncertainty the Great Depression amply
provided. Widespread popular anger and frustration with the systemic failures
of that period's political and economic establishment was channeled against
societal outgroups, such unfortunates then providing convenient scapegoats for
these movements to rise upon. Today, many think the West's widespread embrace
of neo-liberal policies, its decades of "economic reform", have too often meant
that similar financial hardship has again impacted substantial numbers, with
many of these eager to blame someone for their pain.
Perceiving the far right as a symptom of a societal disorder, one could argue
that its renaissance today is again the product of failed economic and
political policies. These failures are spawning economic and social upheaval
similar to that which created the first nightmare brought by the far right.
"Sadly, much of the resentment that should be directed toward corporations that
outsource jobs or flee the country tends to get directed toward trade unions,
immigrants and members of ethnic minorities. Or government gets blamed for
taxing people excessively," observed psychologist Daniel Burston, a well-known
author of papers and books on the social psychology of the 1930s, and also
chair of Duquesne University's Psychology Department.
Burston added for Asia Times Online that too often, those profiting from the
present circumstances invest "massive wealth to stoke the fires of misdirected
rage through media advertising and misinformation and by buying the favors of
politicians to insure they pass laws enabling them to continue their predatory
practices."
Burston interprets the result as "a population seething with rage and mistrust
that wants to hold someone accountable for its suffering, but often targets the
wrong people".
In the 1930s, Europe's Jews became such a target, history demonstrating what
eventually occurred. Today, it is often Muslims that fill this tragic void,
with homosexuals, Roma and other minorities similarly targeted now as they were
then. In some areas where there is a limited Islamic presence, Jews have again
been scapegoated (ie, Hungary). And even in the US, today's "immigration
debate", particularly as it surrounds Mexican and Mexican-American communities,
also has its parallels.
During what was known as the "Mexican Repatriation" of the 1930s, approximately
a half million Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were effectively forced from the
US, with most of these reportedly being US citizens. "It was a racial removal
program," said Mae Ngai, an immigration-history expert at the University of
Chicago, in a 2006 news article in USA Today.
In Sweden, the SD demands an end to "multiculturalism", an end to "public
support for immigrant organizations", and an end to "all other activities aimed
at promoting foreign cultures and identities in Sweden". They also want to
outlaw "religious buildings with a non-Swedish building style or strange
architecture", forbid public workers from wearing "conspicuous religious or
political symbols, such as a headscarf or turban", and they call for the
government to support immigrants who wish to "voluntarily" return to their
homelands.
In Hungary, the far-right Jobbik (Movement for a Better Hungary) is the
country's third-largest party, and is accused of being "fascist" and
"anti-Semitic". In an April 2010 news article, "Anti-Semitism stirs as Hungary
goes to polls", London's Sunday Times detailed broad attacks on the Jewish
community, how a mob at a political rally chanted "Jewish pigs" and "to the
concentration camps", and how bumper stickers proclaiming "Jew-free car" have
become popular. The article also mentions unrelated violence against, and even
the murder of, Roma.
In France, the deportation of Roma has been the source of European Union
censure, with Italy also pursuing a campaign of forced Roma expulsions from
many key cities. A November 5 report in the Financial Times noted that the
Silvio Berlusconi government has proposed a new law, which critics claim is
aimed at deporting Roma from the country. Also in parallel with the 1930s,
anti-gay violence in Serbia has been widespread, and even the US has witnessed
a noteworthy increase.
"US shaken by sudden surge of violence against gay people," read the October 17
headline from Britain's Observer. Scapegoating of "outgroups" for our societal
shortcomings is on the rise along with the far right.
Globalization, the Great Recession and "economic reform" have severely impacted
populations on both sides of the Atlantic. With this, a pervasive anger, as
well as a mistrust of the established political and social structure, has grown
in a number of countries. The rise of America's Tea Party is one reaction to
this, with the broad far-right renaissance being a significantly more troubling
consequence.
"In periods where people feel threatened and mistrustful, they're more
receptive to distortions, half-truths, and lies," psychologist Burston said. He
also observed that in such times, when people are very receptive to propaganda,
most "simply aren't going to reflect deeply on the claims that are being made
by their leaders, or the consequences that appear to follow. Adolf Hitler was
well aware of this".
In Sweden, a country that consistently scores among the top few in terms of
international ratings of societal quality, the rise of the SD to parliament
came as a rude awakening for some. With Sweden long considered a bastion of
liberal democracy, tolerance and propriety, the success of a party widely
considered racist and xenophobic has prompted soul searching among Swedes.
Given Sweden's position as a leading Western state, an examination of its far
right's rise suggests broader trends, though the roots of the far right's
current renaissance certainly extend beyond parties with Nazi or Fascist
heritage. But the fact of the SD’s popularity, and the factors behind it, has
undeniably challenged the image Sweden has long held of itself.
Reviewing the positions that brought the SD to 20 seats in Sweden's parliament
highlights the growth of some disturbing trends.
The SD blamed immigrants for painful cuts in social benefits, conveniently
omitting the fact that substantial tax cuts and privatizations had effectively
forced the benefit reductions. Addressing Sweden's sizable Muslim minority
(approximately 400,000 among 9 million Swedes), the SD referred to Islam as the
greatest threat Sweden has faced "since WWII", with a local SD leader even
making headlines by claiming that many from the Middle East had a "gene" that
makes them more violent.
The SD also released highly debated statistical reports suggesting that new
immigrants (mostly from the Middle East) were responsible for a
disproportionate share of serious crime. And in Sweden's third-largest city,
Malmo (one of the SD's strongholds), there have been 15 immigrants randomly
shot over the past year.
Until 2001, Nazi uniforms and swastikas could be seen at SD meetings, though
today the SD claims it is a "normal party", and has even attracted a strong
following from Swedish pensioners, a group hard hit by benefit cuts.
Currently, Sweden's economy is growing at over four times the European Union
average, but with recent "economic and social reforms", this is a prosperity
not everyone shares in. Political scientist Norocel sees the far right's rise
as representing "an outcry of people who felt they were forgotten by the
mainstream".
Norocel also referred to the SD as a "wolf in a sheep's skin", "a crypto-racist
party with a tainted past presenting itself in "normal' clothes".
Gustav Fridolin, a high-profile Green member of Sweden's parliament, told Asia
Times Online that Sweden "is torn by high unemployment and growing poverty",
and he sees a sense of "powerlessness" among many, a point where "faith in the
future is breaking down". He postulated that such circumstances mean "you can
win political sympathies by one of two alternatives: either you turn groups
against each other, or you turn to the hope that people carry".
Independently, psychologist Burston said that the middle class felt
"increasingly vulnerable and confused, fearful". He stressed that much of this
fear was for the future, "one’s children and grandchildren", with many in the
middle class "having lost faith that it can even hope to change what's going on
in its own society", obscuring the view most had of "the fundamental meaning of
democratic norms and practices".
Burston sees current times as leaving many "overwhelmed by their misery and
confusion", and so lacking the "peace and presence of mind to reflect". Under
such circumstances, he noted individuals often "want to be told what's going
on, they don't want to find out for themselves".
Unfortunately, it's infinitely easier to blame those that one considers
"outsiders" to ones society for any problems, particularly rather than actually
acknowledging and addressing any severe internal shortcomings. In the SD's
case, Norocel noted that the party appeared "very skilful at picturing a
scapegoat".
Separately, Burston broached the concept of "otherization".
Otherization is essentially a psychological phenomenon where you fail "to
recognize the fundamental humanity of your counterpart", Burston said, an
ominous tone apparent in his voice. Explaining how this phenomenon impacted
societal outgroups in the current circumstances, he noted that "the other is no
longer simply a stranger, but an adversary".
In Swedish, there is a term which has long been used to describe political
parties of the far right: "framlingsfientligt parti". If translated
literally, this means "stranger hostility", though it is often simply
translated as "xenophobia".
Typically benefiting from the rage of a declining and newly impoverished
middle-class, the far right has a history of rising in such moments "because
they offer simplistic answers for exceedingly complex problems, and have
developed effective rhetorical strategies to motivate people to vote against
their own long-term interests", Burston added. He noted that "they [the far
right] appeal to people's sense of betrayal and victimization", but doing so in
a manner avoiding "the real social and economic processes that left them
vulnerable".
Agneta Borjesson, general secretary of the Swedish Greens, noted that while the
SD will "list immigration", the real problems lie elsewhere. "The problems with
schools, the problems with jobs moving abroad, the problems that are actually
the real problems," she saw the SD as ignoring.
Swedish member of parliament Fridolin sees an answer in refocusing the
political agenda towards "where the jobs of the future will be created, and how
we can build a new society that is growing together", not apart. Such thoughts
dovetail with concerns regarding the "offshoring of jobs" and the increasing
pressures that neo-liberal policies have brought.
A pattern of false blame, and the scapegoating it encourages, has been the
traditional wedge the far right utilizes to pry support from the political
mainstream. A common denominator the far right shares is its antipathy to
immigrants and immigration.
"Wherever you look in Europe where they have these far-right political parties,
they tend to blame immigration for all sorts of problems," said political
scientist Mikael Sundstrom of Lund University in Sweden. Providing commentary
on the willingness of distressed populations to accept "distortions,
half-truths, and lies", Sundstrom noted that all the SD has to do with its
alleged "truth" is "put it out there, and people will pick it up".
"The memory of the Second World War, and the '30s leading up to that war, has
been fading", observed Sundstrom. With this, he noted that the far right is
simply "not as shunned as it used to be", the bitter lessons of our past being
forgotten.
As to part of what that means, Sundstrom emphasized that if the far right can
rise in Sweden, "it can happen anywhere".
Fading memories of the far right's first rise appear to have helped allow such
groups a new beginning, but some believe that with such a crisis comes
opportunity. Sounding a note of optimism, political scientist Norocel sees
events as a chance for "a return to roots and closer contact between voters and
elected politicians", and to narrow the growing disparities that today's
"capitalism (globalization, indiscriminate privatization, dismantling of
welfare) has given birth to."
Father Bob Bossie, SCJ, is a member of Chicago's 8th Day Center for Justice, a
Catholic faith-based non-governmental organization for social change. A few
years ago, Bossie visited the site of the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz.
He put his thoughts on the current far-right rise in that context, conveying an
important aspect of what appears before us.
"The influence today of the far right on our body politic brings to mind a
troubling memory of several years past. As I walked amid the displays of the
death camp Auschwitz one cold January morning, I realized that the people
involved in that unspeakable crime were not so different from myself or anyone
else. They made compromises, small ones at first - to maintain their social
relations, to keep their jobs - until they 'crossed the line'. At that moment,
I prayed to God that I would have the courage to speak up when faced with
similar choices, despite the consequences to myself."
Ritt Goldstein is an investigative political journalist whose work has
appeared widely in the global media, including in the US Christian Science
Monitor, Spain's El Mundo, Austria's Wiener Zeitung and Australia's Sydney
Morning Herald.
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