DAVID NORTH
The apologetic justification provided by Chris Lynn Hedges for sharing a platform with the right, and even fascists, in the fraudulent February 19 “Rage Against the War Machine” rally, is hard to equal as an example of political disorientation, outright ignorance and self-deluding demagogy.
To excuse his collaboration with the reactionaries, Hedges offers political amnesty for his new allies. “The rally on February 19 is not about eliminating Social Security and Medicare or abolishing the minimum wage, which many libertarians propose,” he writes.
Hedges continues: “It is not a rally to denounce the rights of the LGBTQ community, which have been attacked by at least one of the speakers. It is a rally to end permanent war.”
And then comes Hedges’ melodramatic punchline: “Should these right-wing participants organize around other issues, I will be on the other side of the barricades.”
Using the word “Should” implies that there is some question about the intentions and policies of Hedges’ right-wing allies. In fact, the rally is being used by the political right to advance its reactionary agenda, and Hedges, despite his apologies, is serving their interests.
Moreover, it is entirely unclear when and under what political circumstances Hedges will decide to end the amnesty, break with the fascists and move to “the other side of the barricades.” The amnesty has no apparent expiration date.
Hedges writes: “We will not topple corporate power and the war machine alone. There has to be a left-right coalition, which will include people whose opinions are not only unpalatable but even repugnant, or we will remain marginalized and ineffectual. This is a fact of political life.”
What Hedges is clearly advocating is not a short-term tactic (which would be bad enough) but a long-term strategic alliance with the fascists. He explicitly declares that it is not possible to “topple corporate power and the war machine” without a “left-right coalition.”
Hedges fails to explain how the
Libertarian faction of the ruling class—fanatically committed to the
absolute defense of individual property rights and opposed to any
restraint on the pursuit of profit and personal wealth—can be an ally in
the fight against corporate power.
There is a history to the
promotion of such reactionary alliances with the extreme right. The most
notorious example was the German Stalinists’ promotion, in the years
prior to Hitler’s accession to power, of a “Red-Brown” coalition against
the Weimar regime.
The catastrophic outcome of the bankrupt policies of the Third Period are well known. The Nazis came to power, and repaid their debt to the German Communist Party by placing its leaders and members in concentration camps.
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