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And let’s not forget that Orwell was an active participant in that serious history. Makes his comment especially noteworthy, surprising even
by asplake 4y ago
And let’s not forget that Orwell was an active participant in that serious history. Makes his comment especially noteworthy, surprising even
- LAC-Tech 4y agoIIRC the official stance of the USSR at that time was that Trotsky of all people was a fascist - a very modern usage of the word. I imagine Orwell - as a non-Stalinist socialist - was aware of it.
- 082349872349872 4y agoEven before: it's been a long time since I read "Homage..." but I would not be surprised if POUM had been calling the anarchists fascists at some point.
- philwelch 4y agoThe KPD (German communist party) held the official stance that the SPD (Social Democrats) were fascist. This was when the actual NSDAP were still a fringe minority. After the war, when the Berlin Wall was constructed, its official name in East Germany was “Antifascist Protection Rampart”. It’s hard not to notice that in official Communist usage even before WWII, the term “fascist” typically meant nothing other than “enemy”, which is how a lot of modern leftists use the term today. I can even find instances of anti-Stalinist leftists calling Stalin a fascist, which is fair enough to me!