Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
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6<br />
CONCLUSION:<br />
THE YOUTH STRUGGLE AGAINST WAR<br />
Capitalism is war! The reconstruction of capitalism means, therefore, the perpetuation<br />
of war! To help do this means to desire new wars! Capitalism is the cause of war. To<br />
abolish war we must abolish capitalism. This is the whole crux of the matter.<br />
-Harry Young, YCLGB 1923 1<br />
We have differing philosophical, political and religious views; we represent various<br />
opinions; but we are inspired by the one single wish to save our generation from war.<br />
-Gil Green, YCLUSA 1936 2<br />
The study of communist youth propaganda reveals considerable divergences of rhetoric,<br />
world view and political identity between the Leninist and Popular Front Generations.<br />
This being said, the above mentioned quotes highlight how the two inter-war<br />
generations were connected and informed by a common perspective centred on peace and<br />
war. The Leninist Generation sought to mobilize the anti-war sentiment of youth to<br />
advance an international revolution against capitalism and war. Capitalism was perceived<br />
as the root cause of imperialist war. Young communists promoted a revolutionary<br />
"war against war" to abolish modern warfare by establishing international socialism.<br />
Since social democrats were viewed as subverting communist revolution, young communists<br />
propagated that socialists were the enemies of peace and the youth. To be a young<br />
communist meant to reject the Second International's view that peace and socialism could<br />
be established and preserved without revolution.<br />
During the Popular Font era, fascism was defined as a movement bent on war. Communists<br />
had previously posited that capitalist competition, in its unyielding quest for new<br />
markets and resources, facilitated war for the sake of increased profits. 3 Fascist war was<br />
a distinctly new phenomenon. <strong>Fascism</strong> advocated war on all aspects of modernity. They<br />
openly declared their intent to destroy the Soviet Union and to unleash a new world war<br />
that would destroy the hated Versailles settlement. Fascist war was not motivated simply<br />
by profit, but was driven also by an ideology of nation chauvinism bent on racial extermination,<br />
authoritarian order and global conquest to overturn all progressive advances<br />
since the era of the Enlightenment.<br />
Georgi Dimitrov identified fascist war as a different phenomenon from traditional<br />
imperialist war. In so doing, Dimitrov enabled British and American young communists<br />
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