It is often suggested by the supporters of capital, and denied by its opponents, that Fascism and Soviet Communism bore more than a superficial resemblance, says Roy Ratcliffe. Indeed, whilst fervent supporters of capital frequently declare them equivalent evils, some anti-capitalists declare them as absolute opposites. For those not stubbornly sheltering in ideological trenches or overly burdened by dualistic modes of thinking, the matter cannot be left to the partisans of either of these camps. It is undoubtedly true, that under Stalin, Soviet communism, with its one-party format, concentration camps, summary execution of opponents and total control of all aspects of life, (with the exception of industrialised gassing), shared many symptomatic elements, with the Nazi Fascists of Germany.
The question that remains to be answered, from an anti-capitalist perspective is whether this resemblance was superficial and coincidental or fundamental and related. The fact that during their ascendancy, communists and fascists fought each other with undisguised hatred and ferocity (and often still do) should not be considered a sufficient weight of evidence to eliminate any further inquiry as to fundamental and related similarities. It is sufficient to recognise the fact that some religious orders of the same overall Abrahamic denomination (Judaic, Christian and Muslim) have also fought each other with undisguised viciousness and loathing whilst sharing the same overall ideology and even the same founding documents. From this, and other cases, we can conclude that opposition and malice, even taken to the most obscene and inhumane lengths, do not necessarily cancel out any fundamental and related similarities between organised ideologies and movements. Therefore, in this contribution I wish to reflect upon two of the ideological assumptions shared by totalitarian movements – of all persuasions – for to do so sheds some light upon a important question which negatively effects the present and future anti-capitalist struggle. The ideological assumptions I refer to are those transmitted to Europe and the west via a particular strand of Greek philosophy.
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