what's to be done about the far right wing ?

[good2skull]

Haider in Austria gaining power and acceptance, Rotterdam's far right party winning a third of local votes, and the BNP preparing for upcoming elections......it seems the presence and popularity of facism is increasing in Europe and uses subjects like illegal immigration problems to capture the vote of the man and woman in the street. What can be done to prevent it ?

[dreich]

It seems to me that these things happen in cycles - well all swing to the right and then left and then back again. I don't have so much problem with that (from a historiccal view anyway) but what worries me is that the left is becoming more right wing. It seems to be more acceptable to see refugees as 'scroungers' and too easy to ignore that fact that we can afford to help desperate people. Overexposure by the media of the few cases where people take advantage of the system don't help.

[incitatus]

This cycle is a little unusual in that normally far right plitics become popular at a time of severe economic stress, which isnt really the case at the moment. I wonder if the problem is more of an ethical one: we seem to be losing our altruism. The old marxist dictum of "from each according to his abilities to each according to his needs" was an expression of an altruist ideal which is nt even considered today. Politicians , lacking a vision to inspire people are forced to raise up Goldsteins to unite them in hatred. As to what to do about it: send out a questionaire, including the question "Do you think that market forces are a power for good?", then if they answer yes shoot them. Oh darn, thats a bit right wing too, isnt it?