The last few weeks have seen an upswing in the movement against cuts and their cause – capitalism. Thousands of young people have occupied public squares and named capitalism as the enemy, and in Britain millions of workers are preparing for industrial action on November 30th. But this upsurge in left wing protest has led to a violent response from the fascist EDL.
On the 30th of October around 20 EDL and National Front thugs attacked the Occupy Newcastle camp in the middle of the night. They punched, kicked and stamped on occupiers as well as throwing bricks at tents. Then, during Remembrance Day, which the government has used to whip up nationalist and pro-war feeling, the EDL took the opportunity to take strike against the left.
In London hundreds were arrested after EDL members promised on facebook to “do what the government couldn’t” by clearing the Occupy London camp. It also later emerged that in Liverpool dozens of thugs tried to attack the Unite trade union’s North West HQ; fortunately trade unionists defended the building and drove the EDL off.
The EDL claims to be against Islamic fundamentalism but it becomes obvious to anyone who does some research that their agenda goes far beyond this and that they are a racist organisation. But they are all the more threatening because they are fascists. Fascist groups are a type of organisation that grows out of the crisis in capitalism and attempts to resolve its problems when the police and parliamentary democratic framework can’t. They do this by making the working class divided through racism, but also by attacking the organised working class and breaking their resistance and thereby temporarily restoring profitability to capitalism. That’s why these attacks are significant – because the EDL is ditching it’s media-friendly ‘anti-Islamisation’ in favour of a return to old-fashioned trade union bashing.
These events demand immediate action from the left and working class movement. We need to defend our communities but also our organisations and demonstrations, like the occupy camps. To do this we need a mass, working class, democratic organisation that is disciplined and prepared to not only defend itself but also to physically prevent the EDL from organising wherever they are.
Everywhere the EDL have a presence they can grow and everywhere they grow and pretend to be an alternative to the misery that capitalism creates. The anti-fascist movement needs to expose these lies and put forward the only real solution to the crisis, a united working class fight back against capitalism that incorporates all ethnicities, genders and sexualities. But arguments alone are not enough and the violent nature of the EDL shows that they also need to be met by an immediate response on the streets.
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