The Working Class: Spitting Fascism into the Eye of Death
December 20, 2018
By Anarchist History of New Zealand
This isn’t a post about the birth or the life of the Zealand Working Class, this is one about its imminent death. VJM has written a very logical (as always) essay called Why the New Zealand Working Class is Destined to Turn to Fascism and I’m reacting to it. Although we don’t share the same premises it’s a very worthy debate to have among Anarchists.
The central idea for VJM is that the Working Class will turn to Fascism to get its needs met and I agree. It always has before (like turning to a Nanny or a Big Brother) and found champions in politicians such as Grey, Seddon, Savage, Fraser, Nash, Kirk, Anderton. I would add, however, that this time ’round this Class is dying out. Our modern economy doesn’t need labourers as once we did and their old champion Labour has long since recognised this and moved on to new voting patrons.
“Western workers were promised that this liberalisation would lead to better living conditions, as their wages would be able to buy goods and services more cheaply and efficiently.”
“trade liberalisation simply meant that international companies could play workers in different countries off against each other, bidding their wages down to the floor.”
“..increased violence, increased property crimes and increased sex crimes..”
“Leftists habitually dismissed working-class concerns as “bigoted” or “motivated by racism””
” as if it were unreasonable to complain about the destruction of one’s community or of the possibility of raising a family on one wage.”
“This sentiment has found increasing expression in fascism.”
“New Zealand is merely a few decades behind on this same miserable path of social decay.”
“You’d have to be insane to vote National as a working-class person.”
“an increase in the refugee quota, and an liberalisation of the ability of cheap labour to move here, have a number of terrible consequences.”
“the more people who are let into the country to compete with the working class, the lower the standard of living becomes.”
” Instead of being seen as economically disadvantaged individuals who might need extra social assistance, the working class….”
“They now find themselves facing verbal abuse for defending their own class interests by opposing globalisation.”
“30 years of neoliberalism, which has changed the position of the working class from an essential part of the nation to a disposable commodity “

“The net result of it all is a deep sense of humiliation, rage and betrayal.”
“they will find an alternative from outside the right-left liberal democratic dichotomy. “
If they can’t grow as people and shed the false persona of being a Prole, yes. They’ll just double-down and go back to Vegas with some other opportunist to inflate their egos and prolong their crash into humiliation. However, being a shrinking bunch of electoral dinosaurs now how many spins of the roulette will they get? How long can they play? Not nearly as long as this endangered species, this paleo-class, could have lasted in the 30s or the 70s.
“The Maori working class will be the most receptive to the fascist message.”
Macron recently proved in France, nothing will amplify the fury of the working class more than to inflict moral lecturing on top of their economic and social suffering.
The inability of the working class to find expression within the liberal democratic system will lead to them destroying it by supporting a fascist alternative as soon as one arises.
They’re not strong enough to destroy it. They’re like a woman scorned but their hellish fury can be swatted off like a gnat or misdirected easily like a charging bull close to death. The proof that there is no more power to tap from the Working Class is that nobody is applying to exploit them. If self-service checkouts and robot assembly plants could vote then they’d probably command more List MPs in this country than this endangered Class!
Certainly there will be a counter-revolution to the Outrage Industrial Complex, certainly it will be very physical and fascistic and nationalistic and ‘traditional’ and oppressive after its own style. Unless philosophers and libertarians break this stupid cycle of history it will go on and on like a runaway bus. But my point is that the Working Class are no longer at the wheel of that bus, their turn is up, few of them even have seats, and it wont be long before the bus drives past their stop without picking them up at all because it’s on a new route.Post syndicated from http://ahnz.anarkiwi.co.nz/the-working-class-spitting-fascism-into-the-eye-of-death/.
