There was a lot of discussion yesterday about the relationship between the so-called ‘dirtbag left’ and fascism. I don’t have a strong opinion on the particular thread in question but I was genuinely troubled by the dismissiveness I saw from many about this relationship

I think a lot of people are naïve about how slippery and tempting fascism can be. Deleuze and Guattari make the distinction between ‘molar’ or ‘historical’ fascism (the fascism of Hitler and Mussolini, the fascism described by political scientists)...

and fascism as a tendency. Foucault describes D&G’s opposition to "the fascism in us all, in our heads and in our everyday behaviour, the fascism that causes us to love power, to desire the very thing that dominates and exploits us” (xiii), not just molar fascism.

We should consider fascism a problem not just in its molar form but on its molecular level. Valorization of violence, politics that center whiteness and ethnonationalism, casual misogyny, transphobia, and ableism, these are all fascistic tendencies.

The emergence of the 'alt right' online happened in spaces dominated by ironic sexism, racism, homophobia, and ableism that overtook places like 4chan. We should be wary of communities in which anti-wokeness or anti-PC obsession indulge this – even under the guise of irony.

Supporting universal health care does not immune one from fascism, in fact, fascist movements throughout history have appropriated leftist ideas in order to recruit and frame themselves as populist.

The point is not whether CTH is fascist, it certainly isn’t, at least not in the molar sense. But when we see the cross pollination of alt-right fascists in adjacent spaces we should not be surprised.

The fawning interview of Steve Bannon on Red Scare should be very troubling to leftists, and is of a piece with the fascistic or microfascist tendencies that I think have found too hospitable a home in this part of the left.

Bannon agrees with the red scare hosts on virtually everything, and they only gently push back on him along the lines of “if you’re a populist, why don’t you support universal healthcare.”

Bannon’s primary fault here is basically a betrayal of the ‘white working class.' He calls them the 'deplorables' or the 'little guy.' Like many a liberal NYT columnists many dirtbags are obsessed with winning over this very narrow part of the supposed working class.

Read the spiked interview with AF and AK to see denials of white supremacy at the core of America, dismissals of anti-fascist organizing, transphobia, dismissiveness towards reproductive health care, and more hallmarks of contemporary fascism.

I get that people like some of the podcasts and people in this community. I get for some they were a gateway for some to left politics and I would certainly prefer that than going down the Molyneax/Goldy/McInnes/Southern route.

However, it is not bizarre to point out the cross-pollination of fascistic ideas and figures in certain corners of the ‘DBL.’ In fact, I think it’s naïve not to notice them.