Lsler | the Threat That
Unfree Citizen1974No public scan is online for this item; the text below was read from a privately held copy.
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For the secorid time in the last few months the Ri.M.G. paper “The Plough’ has attacked the Peoples Democracy for calling the Loyalist para-military groups Fascist;. In a sneering little piece filled with intellectual snobbery they accuse us of not analysing or defining fascism. In fact we have done so in two series \of articles in the ‘Unfree Citizen’. However, since it is a vitally important concept for the socialist movernent to understand, we will do so again.
Capitalist society is divided into 3 main classes, the big bourgeoisie or — employing class, the petty bourgeoisie or lower middle class and the working class. Modern capitalism with its take-over bids, monopolies, multi-national companies and the EEC, tends to squeeze out the petty bourgeoisie who are left v.ithout money or power, a disgruntled group. The basic conflict in society is between the working-class and the employing class who exploit them. Normally the employers can keep the workers under control by brainwashing half of them through the press and television and using their police and army to put down the other half. But in times of crisis when capitalism is under serious attack the bosses have to turn to the _petty-bourgeoisie for help as well. That’s where Fascism comes in.
The traditional conservative parties - aretoo identified with the upper class to appeal to. the petty-