Capitalism and Nationalism

Today, much of the political space in the United States is taken up by a conflict between neoliberal capitalists and far-right nationalists and fascists. This is presented as the primary political choice, it then being necessary at all costs to stop whichever one is worse. From there, we must weigh the terror of the neoliberal status quo against the nationalist terror promised by the far-right. And here, while these two ideologies present their own unique and immediate evils, it is likely correct to say that the nationalist future is more frightening on its face. But, in fact, this choice itself misses the context in which the problem presents itself. These ideologies have not simply emerged coincidentally in conflict in this political moment; we must develop a systemic understanding of why they are in competition today. In fact, these two ideas, while in conflict, are also intertwined; by accepting one we do not reject, but perpetuate the other. The progression of neoliberal capitalist policy in recent American history, in the absence of strong labour and left-wing movements, has created the conditions for far-right politics to thrive. With the working class largely de-mobilised politically, the traditional nationalist petit-bourgeois base has been able to achieve political power. The triumphs of neoliberal capitalists in undoing past labour victories, limited even as those were, have further fomented the conditions for fascism.

Indeed, the relationship between these two political forces is not only characterised by opposition. In the present political environment, they reinforce each other and together form a single whole in the context of the larger racist capitalism in the US. Fascists, as discussed above, feed on the conditions created by capitalism to achieve political power. They are able to appeal to discontent with capitalist elites, particularly among the petit-bourgeoisie. These nationalists, however, are not concerned primarily with curbing capitalist interests in the areas of free trade and the like, as they may suggest on occasion. In fact, they align with the capitalist plan, so long as it proceeds along sufficiently racist lines. The neoliberals, for their part, can agree to go along with this as well; their primary concerns lie in increasing capitalist accumulation, and racism is helpful in continuing that process. In this combination, both forces continue to construct their appeal to the public. Neoliberals can tie opposition to capitalism in general to the racism put forth by the fascists, who do not seriously attempt, nor are interested in, any real kind of “resistance” to that system. Capitalism can thus be painted as a kind of opposing force to racism, racism only manifesting because of the need to compromise with the far-right. Meanwhile, nationalists continue to be able to feed on discontent with capitalism. The racism they propose, of course, does not actually “fix” capitalism; thus, they are able to continue to assert that the state simply has not gone “far enough” in their direction. As a result, in the synthesis of these two forces, racism and capitalism flourish, allowing the conflict to continue.

The choice between these two, then, is not a choice between two entirely separate ideologies; while being in conflict, they also form together a larger whole, manifesting itself in the familiar form of racist capitalism that exists in the US. This reality cannot be reduced only to a comparison between the ideas in the abstract; to choose neoliberal capitalism is to perpetuate the existence of, not defeat, racist nationalism. Together, these ideologies serve to suppress the kind of leftist, labour movements that could serve to defeat the combined racist-capitalist system. This occurs both generally and particularly; in general, the political choice manifests as only one of these possibilities, with no genuine opposition to both. Particularly, neoliberalism undermines worker solidarity through attacking the power of unions and moving capitalism to the supranational level. Nationalism does the same through the division of workers along racist and national lines. In order to really defeat this singular system of racism and capitalism, then, a leftist movement must counter both these ideologies, on the basis of worker solidarity on the international level.