¡The following editorial appeared in the September 10 issue of Bandiera Rossa, the journal of the Gruppi Comunisti Rivoluzionari (Revolutionary Communist groups-the Italian section of the Fourth International). The translation is by Intercontinental Press.]
The notorious episodes in Salerno, where fascist goon squads have used violence to intimidate anyone suspected of belonging to a left organization; the attacks at school gates that became so frequent in the second half of the 1971-72 academic year; the bomb attacks on offices of workers' organizations, including even unions; the proliferation of training camps for new "squadristi" [fascist commandos]— all of this has definitely put the problem of the struggle against fascism back on the agenda. In the atmosphere created by the restorationist government of Andreotti, Malagodi, and Scalfaro, it is likely that the struggles in the fall over new union contracts and the reopening of the schools will be marked by new episodes of reactionary violence that will make this problem still more acute.
The fight against fascism is, of October 16, 1972
course, a broad political problem. To the extent that the workers' movement is able to draw the lessons of the past years, conduct the battles of this phase in a consistent way, and win successes in turning back the powerful offensive the class enemy has unleashed on all levels, the opportunities for fascist activity will be reduced and the bourgeoisie itself will drop the idea of this extreme solution. To the extent, on the other hand, that the approaching struggles have a negative outcome, that unemployment begins to have a dramatic impact, that strata of the petty bourgeoisie are thrown into desperation, the fascists will be able to acquire a mass base and begin to pose themselves as a contender for power.
The whole analysis of the situation developed in Bandiera Rossa and Quarta Internazionale leads to the conclusion that for the present phase the decisive layers of the bourgeoisie have not chosen the fascist alternative and are aiming, rather, at restoring conservative parliamentary democracy, under which the state apparatus would be able to carry out its function in a more systematic and harsh way, with the fascists being given a subordinate role both in the ruling institutions and in the field of direct by fascist demagogy.
When we speak of the contradictions of the enemy, then, we refer to two things: (1) As long as the present context continues, while sectors of the state apparatus may act in concert with the fascists, they will be opposed by other sectors with different orientations. (2) The sectors of the state apparatus that work with the fascists cannot do so openly or with full freedom of maneuver. It is a very grave tactical error to forget this or to underestimate it, indulging in the indiscriminate use of demagogic formulas about the fascists having taken over or being well on the way to taking over.
From these premises and from the fact that the workers remain combative and ready to join forces in struggles, it follows that the fight against fascism must be seen primarily in terms of mobilizing the masses. This means concretely that every move of the fascist bands must be met with a counterattack mobilizing workers, students, peasants, intellectuals, and other strata in massive militant demonstrations. I'his is the way, for example, that attacks on left-wing headquarters or against individual activists must be met. A demonstration of thousands and thousands of persons marching in front of MSI [Movimento Sociale Italiano - Italian Social Movement, the neofascists offices or the camouflaged lairs of the fascists and chanting militant slogans has a political significance and a psychological effect that isolated reprisals cannot have. If we engaged in sporadic acts of revenge, we would be taking up the fight on the enemy's own ground.
We must not forget for a minute, moreover, that as long as the masses retain their capacity for mobilizing, and demonstrate it in a timely way, there will be no coup d'etat either by the armed forces or the fascists (or at most there might be some abortive putsch, more likely to strengthen the positions of the proletariat than weakpositions of the proletariat than weaken them).
While mobilizing the masses must be the central axis of the struggle against fascism, this in itself does not exhaust our tasks. We are faced with specific and urgent problems of defense and self-defense. This means first of all measures to guarantee the security of our headquarters. More or less impulsive bombers must be made to realize that they run certain risks, that they have no assurance of being able to act with impunity. If these defensive measures are taken by everyone-revolutionary organizations, traditional parties, and trade unions — it is a safe bet that the activities of the goon squads will suffer a sudden drastic decline.
Secondly, the activists working in the schools or factories must not expose themselves passively to the attacks of goon squads. Organizing in self-defense groups is a right and at the same time an elementary political duty. In this regard also, we repeat, the mere presence of a sufficiently large nucleus of activists represents a guarantee against individuals who indulge in violence when they enjoy overwhelming technical and numerical superiority but are unwilling to take any risks. There is scarcely any need to indicate what a decisive role can be played in this type of campaign by the traditional trade-union organizations.
This line of action against resurgent fascism implies a consistent united-front policy of combining the forces of all the revolutionary left organizations and all the political and tradeunion organizations of the working class. We are aware of the obstacles in the way of such an orientation. This is not the first time we have denounced the irresponsible sectarian- 1128
ism and political blindness of various groups and the opportunism - itselt not without a sectarian aspect — of the bureaucrats of the traditional apparatuses. And we are not losing sight of how difficult it is to achieve unity when groups have differing political analyses and opposing political strategies.
But the firm point remains that fighting against a repression that spares no one (and would make still fewer distinctions if it succeeded) and against the threat of fascism is in the common interest of all components of the workers' movement. The sooner this is understood and the sooner people act accordingly, the better things will be. We must have a correct line, but we must also adopt it in time.