If you were in a situation where it was plausible to convert an average working class fascist to a leftist through establishing common ground, what could you think of?
All I could think of was:
- We agree the mainstream media lies
- We agree the status quo is failing
- We agree we deserve better pay
- We agree the system does not really care about us
Anyway, did you know evil Russian dictator Joseph ‘just a spoonful’ Stalin killed 67 × 10⁴²⁰ people with slave labour gulags which makes him just as bad as that Hitler guy? Vote Kamala Harris!
Honestly i think some right wingers may be easier to “convert” than many liberals. It all depends on how deeply entrenched their views are and how big a role racism plays in them. Because as you pointed out, there are already points of agreement which are not shared with liberals about the unreliability of mainstream media, the recognition that the system is not working, and so on which can be built upon.
The main obstacle is to get them to recognize that bigotry and racism are a false consciousness, that these are deliberate distractions by the ruling class meant to divide and impede the formation of actual class consciousness through the use of scapegoats and prejudice. This also goes hand in hand with rejecting notions that some people are inherently more deserving than others, which is an idea used to justify the exploitative hierarchies created by capitalism.
In general i would say it’s not so much whether someone is a liberal or a conservative that determines how easy it is “convert” them, it’s how invested they are into their current ideology. The more they think that they “know” about the world and the more their worldview is “calcified”, so to speak, the harder of a time you will have in convincing them to be intellectually open and willing to rethink their beliefs.
Yeah liberals don’t really want change, or at least a significant transformation, they want capitalism with a smile on it’s face, exploitation with kindness. And their ego tells them they have politics figured out, thus making them uninterested in other options such as M-Lism of course - generally anyway, people are nuanced after all.
I disagree with you somewhat on your first paragraph (totally agree on the other two though) because I think right wingers are often very closed-minded, they often aren’t willing to actually listen to your arguments, often just looking for a way to create a cool sounding argument that claims to prove some contradiction in your views but the response usually relies on twisting your words and views to hit you with some false ‘gotcha’.
Thank you for such a well-worded response.
I disagree with you somewhat on your first paragraph (totally agree on the other two though) because I think right wingers are often very closed-minded
Many of them definitely are. That’s why i said “some”. As i said it depends how invested they are in right wing ideology. Most people are mostly apolitical.
A core conviction of fascists is, that someone else should have to suffer for their situation to get better. And they consciously choose the objectively evil, though easy way to make that happen: inflict the suffering on vulnerable people. This is easier then targeting powerful people and actually works shorterm, so no point arguing against it. German fascists for example benefitted immensely from forced labor and stealing belongings of their victims.
You can only try to convince them about mid and long-term effects (contradictions in capitalism aren’t solved, crisis will happen, fascism constantly needs new victims and becomes a death cult which ultimately destroys itself every time).
But it’s not just about rational arguments. To overcome their racism and bigotry, they need to reconnect with their ability to feel empathy for people they see as “others”. The problem is, that they deliberately and selectively killed it off and that’s not easy to reverse.
Without empathy, they could eventually agree with your arguments, but still just not care that much. Like: “Okay, maybe Israel is doing genocide in Gaza, sounds kind of bad, but… eh, whatever.” That’s literally the collective reaction of western civilization.
One thing, that’s sure to ignite empathy and to slowly erode racism is personal friendship with someone from the group they hate. But it’s dangerous, takes forever and it’s probably impossible for most people.
Any other idea how to do it? Actual praxis in common struggle somehow? If it’s former friends or family, there might be emotional common ground to build on.
As a mass tactic, maybe a campaign that centers solidarity and empathy in propaganda. And maybe mixed with measured violence, because some people need to feel their victims fight back to realize that they’re human too.