Anti-Fascist (Antifa) Fallacies: A Primer for Businesses

Biff Baker

Metropolitan State University of Denver

This exploratory article is intended to inform the business community about Antifa (anti-fascists); the analysis of Antifa is in three parts: (1) conduct a literature review to provide a better understanding of Capitalism,Marxism,Socialism,Fascism,and Nazism; (2) describe Antifa’s core beliefs per an interview and literature review, and (3) provide insights and recommendations to business owners. This research focused narrowly on American Antifa seeking to better understand why most of the world is transitioning from socialism to capitalism, yet Antifa wants to eliminate capitalism. This exploratory research focuses on applied economics as related to violent threats against businesses.

Keywords: Antifa ,Crime ,Capitalism ,Fascis m,Socialism ,Marxism ,Nazism

INTRODUCTION

In 2020, in Seattle, Washington, Anti-Fascist (Antifa) organizers occupied a police precinct, naming it the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), and subsequently the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), declaring four square blocks within the city autonomous from the United States (Silva, et al., 2020; Nadales, 2020). Antifa violence was targeted at destroying the private property of innocent Americans because Antifa members allegedly hate capitalism and therefore what America stands for (Nadales, 2020, p. 8). This research is exploratory with foci on applied economics as related to violent, domestic business threats.

This research is not methodologically straightforward as the typical quantitative study, because the grounded theory approach to synthesis and analysis seeks to tease out and define underlying relationships through an inductive and intuitive interpretation of the data (Baker, 2004, p. 177). In addition, this case study analyzes Antifa by focusing on political, social, and economic factors. Depending on the media’s worldview, American Antifa might be described by mainstream media reporters as either freedom fighters or terrorists. Hence the following research questions will be investigated using both comparative economic analysis and a grounded theory approach.

Research Question 1: How do Antifa’s core beliefs align with historical economic, social, or political theories?

ResearchQuestion2:HowshouldbusinessownersrespondtoAntifa’sviolent behavior?

This article is intended to inform the business community, who are typically experts in finance, accounting, and management, but not necessarily attuned to socio-economic-political theory. So, this paper aims to review the violent period of 2017 to 2021 related to Antifa uprisings in three parts: (1) conduct a literature review to provide a basic understanding of Capitalism, Marxism, Socialism, Fascism, and Nazism;

(2) provide an understanding of Antifa literature to correlate their alleged economic, social, and political beliefs, and (3) provide insights and recommendations to business owners and their stakeholders in dealing with the violent demonstrations.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Pew Research determined that about four-in-ten Americans (42%) have positive views of socialism. For most older Americans, the concept of socialism evokes a weakened work ethic and stifled innovation; about one in five (19%) say that socialism makes people too reliant on the government. For many younger Americans, socialism represents a fairer, more generous society (Pew, 2019). According to Harvard’s Black Book of Communism, an estimated 100 million people were murdered by the socialist regimes of the 20th Century (Courtois, et al., 1999). The author surveyed 1500 students starting their first semester of business school and asked how socialism has failed historically in other countries, such as Cuba, North Korea, or Venezuela. Crickets! Amazingly, less than 1% of the students had heard of the atrocities of the last century. The Latino philosopher George Santayana wrote that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it; hence, we begin this study with a fairly brief background on the literature related to competing economic and political systems: Marxism and Capitalism.

Part 1: Understanding the Basics of Capitalism, Marxism, Fascism, and Nazism

Terminology is extremely important when discussing social, political, or economic ideologies and will be addressed in subsequent paragraphs. For this study, the term left will be used to denote social systems and ideologies of force (e.g., Socialism, Communism, Fascism, and Nazism), and the term right is substantially used to denote social systems and ideologies of freedom e.g., capitalism and classical liberalism (Biddle, 2012). Maximum control of the economy, and hence the people, is leftist, while minimal control or force is on the right, representing the theoretical ideal of capitalism; we simultaneously understand that no country in the world is 100% capitalist or socialist and that the communist ideal has never been achieved. Please note that this exploratory research is intentionally not focused specifically on American political parties, but on ideas, since political-party members’ praxis often strays from their alleged beliefs.

FIGURE 1 OPPOSING WORLD VIEWS

CapitalismDoctrineandPractice

Doctrine.Adam Smith lived from June 5, 1723, to July 17, 1790, in Scotland. Before he was born, the English Bill of Rights had been signed into law (1689), which outlined key constitutionally protected civil rights and ultimately gave Parliament power over the monarchy. Many historical experts regard the English Bill of Rights as being an inspiration for the U.S. Bill of Rights. King George, I, II, and III were monarchs of the Kingdom of Great Britain after the political union of England and Scotland (1707) who influenced his political, social, and economic views (History, 2018).

On March 9, 1776, Adam Smith published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations to describe the industrialized capitalist system that was upending the former mercantilist system; he simultaneously supported the concepts of individual liberty and the private accumulation of wealth. Smith (1776) also described a system of natural liberty and justice that strives towards improvement in the living standards of the overall population, and he equated higher wages with a healthier and more productive workforce. The concepts of self-interest, competition, as well as supply and demand, were articulated as the three laws of economics. Smith famously proposed the idea of an invisible hand (Smith, 1776, p. 546) —the tendency of free markets to regulate themselves via self- interest, competition, and supply & demand despite the extravagance and errors of government. (Butler, 2011, p. 37). Smith wrote, that “it is the highest impertinence and presumption…in kings and ministers, to pretend to watch over the economy of private people . . . They are themselves always, and without any exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the society . . . If their own extravagance does not ruin the state, that of their subjects never will” (Smith, 1776, p. 343).

Smith (1776) identified the importance of private property, which was key to the founding of the United States and the creation of the U.S. Constitution. Smith seemed to have precognition of future socialist writings and behavior that resulted in mass property confiscation and millions killed; he wrote that the state must protect people from foreign enemies as well as against domestic ones:

“The avarice and ambition of the rich, or the desire for ease and enjoyment among the poor, can lead to private property being invaded. The acquisition of valuable property – which may take years to build up – necessarily requires the establishment of a civil government and a magistracy to preserve order and justice”. (Butler, 2011, p. 61).

With hard currency acting as a check on spending, Smith wanted the government to follow free-market principles by keeping taxes low and allowing free trade across borders by eliminating tariffs. From the perspective of laissez-faire capitalists and classical liberals, The Wealth of Nations marked the birth of modern capitalism as well as economics, and Smith’s ‘invisible hand’ continues to be a powerful force today, articulating a vision of plenty and freedom for all (Hayes, 2022). There are many variants of capitalism, from the American Anglo-Saxon laissez-faire model to the many welfare-heavy states in Europe, in addition to a recently emerging Chinese hybrid model of market-based statism. However, in direct opposition to Smith’s concepts of personal property and individualism, Karl Marx and Frederich Engles published “The Communist Manifesto”, which will be addressed in the next section.

Practice.The United States is considered by some to be the primary example of individualism, private property, and laissez-faire Capitalism, which may have been true at some time in the past. Certainly, from a cultural perspective, the U.S. is very individualistic scoring 91 points on the Hofstede scale thusly indicating a lower degree of interdependence among its members as compared to collectivist societies (Hofstede, 2022). But the American economy is not purely capitalistic as envisioned by Adam Smith; it is at best described as a ‘mixed’ economy, with the government playing an ever-increasing role (Moffat, 2020; Avik, 2012). Within the United States, social welfare programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP), or “food stamps,” are the socialistic part of the mixed economy (Longley, 2021). The Fraser Institute ranks economic freedom throughout the world based on the size of government, regulations, sound money, the legal system and property rights, as well as freedom to trade internationally; despite an expanding welfare state, the United States still ranks in the top ten countries worldwide (Fraser, 2022).

Marxism Doctrine and Practice

Doctrine. Karl Heinrich Marx was born May 5, 1818, in Trier, Rhine province, Prussia [Germany], and he died on March 14, 1883, in London, England. At the time of his birth, Prussia was ruled by King Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig from 1797 to 1888. During Prussian King Wilhelm’s reign, he was assisted by Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck, in conquering and unifying smaller kingdoms, thereby establishing the German Empire. In 1848, the German people demonstrated popular discontent with the traditional, largely autocratic political structure of their monarchy. They demonstrated against the King demanding a written constitution with freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, the arming of the people, and a parliament.

Populist demonstrations continued in 1848 and 1849 until Prussian troops crushed the uprising in August 1849 (Marx & Engels, 1977, p. 612). Marx and Engels had participated in the uprisings, but they escaped to safety in London and Paris respectively (Marx & Engels, 1977, p. 202). It was during this time of upheaval in Germany that doctrinal concepts of Marxism were born.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto (a. k. a. Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei) in 1848. Together, the Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital formed the body of thoughts and beliefs that are now known as Marxism, and later became the cornerstone of the international socialist and communist movements. Marxism as a political and economic ideology, positions itself in direct opposition to liberal democracy and capitalism, advocating instead for a classless system wherein the means of production are owned communally and private property is either nonexistent or severely curtailed (Chen, 2022); in implementation, the communal property became state-controlled or owned.

Marx viewed society through the lens of the German Empire in 1848, as a conflict between the haves and the have-nots. Marx and Engels reimagined society as consisting of two groups: the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Theoretically, the proletariat consists of wage-earners, the members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labor e.g., their capacity to work (workers are called proletarians). Marxist philosophy considers the proletariat to be exploited under capitalism because they are purportedly forced to accept meager wages in return for operating the means of production, which belong to the business owners (called the bourgeoisie). Very simplistically, Marxist theory is based on class warfare between the bourgeoisie (the haves) versus the proletarian wage earners (the have-nots) (Marx & Engels, 1848, p. 55).

Marx also used the term ‘petite bourgeoisie’ to identify the socio-economic stratum of the bourgeoisie that consists of small shopkeepers and self-employed artisans, where the petty productive property is mixed with, and owned by, family labor (Marx & Engels, 1848, p. 77). According to Marx, the concentration of capital in the hands of the wealthy bourgeoisie would eventually entice the petty bourgeoisie to join the ranks of the proletariat’s revolution against the truly rich (Crossick, et.al., 1998). Marx and Engels wrote, “the history of all hitherto existing society, is the history of class struggles” (Marx & Engels, 1848, p. 9), so they encouraged uprisings. However, a spontaneous international revolution self-initiated by the proletariat against the bourgeoisie did not occur in Marx’s lifetime and may never occur. Marx’s enduring legacy included this list of revolutionary measures that are required to advance Marxism in most advanced countries:

• “Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes;
• A heavy progressive or graduated income tax;
• Abolition of all rights of inheritance;
• Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels;
• Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, using a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly;
• Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State;
• Extension of the factories and instruments of production owned by the state, the bringing into cultivation of wastelands, and the improvement of the soil generally by a common plan;
• Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies especially for agriculture;
• Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country;
• Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labor in its present form; a combination of education with industrial production” (Marx, et al., 1848, p. 74- 75).

Roemer (2021) identified that any socioeconomic system has three pillars: an ethos of economic behavior, an ethic of distributive justice, and a set of property relations that will implement the ethic if the behavioral ethos is followed. From the perspective of Adam Smith, capitalism’s behavioral ethos is a laser- sharp and enduring focus on pleasing the customer: e.g. If you please the customer, then you will earn a profit, and that profit can ensure future prosperity in the form of private property. In contrast, from the Marxist perspective, the behavioral ethos of socialism is theoretically, genuine cooperation among all mankind; even though it has historically resulted in the coercion of the masses via state socialism.

Marxism inPractice. Difficulties stem from the ambiguous relationship between Marxist doctrine in 1848 and Socialist or Communist praxis in the 20^th Century. In a social context, the divide between Capitalism and Marxism (e.g., Communism or Socialism) is predicated on binary world views based on the binary concepts of individualism or collectivism.

• Individualism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs to each person and that person has an inalienable right to live it as he/she sees fit, to act on one’s judgment, to keep and use the product of one’s efforts, and to pursue the values of one’s choosing.
• Collectivism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs not to oneself, but to the group or society of which he/she is merely a part, that the individual has no rights, and that one must sacrifice his/her values and goals for a group’s greater good (Low, 1913).
• Russia scores 39 points on the Hofstede scale thusly indicating a more collectivist society, where people belong to “in groups” that take care of them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty (Hofstede, 2022).

The former Soviet Union was the first country to initiate a revolution against the monarchy in the name of Marxism. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a self-declared Marxist-Socialist- Communist state that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to its dissolution in 1991. It was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics; however, in practice, its government and economy were highly centralized and often brutal. The secret police and a large intelligence network instituted ethnic and domestic repression and carried out political kidnappings and assassinations as well as mass murders accounting for over 20 million dead (Courtois, et.al., 1999, p. 4; CM, 2022). The workers’ paradise envisioned by Marx and Engels, which included a classless society and communal ownership of property was declared but never occurred. The Russian revolution led to centralized control of property by the State and oppression of any citizens (proletarians) who disagreed with their new political masters (Solzhenitsyn, 1963). The Marxist revolution raised some members of the proletariat to the ruling class however, it merely exchanged a monarchy for a totalitarian state (Marx, et al., 1848, p. 74-75). Fascism and Nazism are also collectivistic, socio-economic doctrines that require exploration before an analysis of American Antifa, which will be explained in the following sections.

Fascist Doctrine and Practice

Doctrine. Since Anti-Fascists (Antifa) have incorporated the term fascism into their names, it is essential to go beyond the mere explanation of capitalism and communism philosophies as binary concepts. Hence, a brief background on fascism is essential for the historical context of the Antifa movement. Originally a member of the Italian Socialist Party, Mussolini founded the Italian Fasci of Combat (in Italian the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento) in 1919 (Ngo, 2021). Italian philosopher Giovanni Gentile wrote the essay TheDoctrineofFascism(Ladottrinadelfascismo); to further refine Fasci’s doctrinal beliefs, Benito Mussolini authored the second part of this essay, Politicalandsocialdoctrine(DottrinaPoliticaeSociale) (De Felice, 2006). Like the former Soviet Union, Fascism as envisioned was focused on both collectivism and statism. Mussolini wrote:

“Granted that the 19th Century was the century of socialism, liberalism, and democracy, this does not mean that the 20th Century must also be the century of socialism, liberalism, and democracy … We are free to believe that this is the century of authority … a Fascist century. If the 19th century was the century of the individual (liberalism implies individualism) we are free to believe that this is the collective century, and therefore the century of the State” (Mussolini, 1933, p. 20).

A fascist state is led by a strong leader (typically a dictator) and a martial-law government composed of the members of the governing fascist party to forge national unity to maintain a stable and orderly society. Fascism conceives of the ‘State’ as an absolute, within which, all individuals or groups are relative, only to be conceived of in their relationship and support of the State (Mussolini, 1933, p. 20). When viewed through the lens of individualism versus collectivism, the Fascist movement, like socialism, was solidly in the collectivist realm. Fascism is opposed to the free-market concepts of Adam Smith. Mussolini (1933) stated, “democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice, it is a fallacy. You in America will see that someday … The truth is that men are tired of liberty.”

Despite the publication of The Doctrine of Fascism by Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini, American historian Robert Paxton claims that “there was no ‘Fascist Manifesto,’ no founding fascist thinkers” (Paxton, 1998, p. 4). Paxton (1998) then claims that the problem with defining fascism is overuse because the word “fascist” has become the banalest of epithets (Paxton, 1998, p 9), used by people on the right and left. Similarly, Nadales (2020) claims that Antifa’s activists call everyone, who is not a radical leftist, a fascist (Nadales, 2020, p. 68). Historian Paxton (2004) redefines (modern) fascism as:

“…a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion” (Paxton, 2004, p. 218).

Antifa claims to be against fascism, but if historians have difficulty defining fascism, then how can one expect Antifa members to do so? In fairness to Paxton, his definition is focused heavily on the post-war praxis of Neo-Fascists. However, his research did identify common themes among fascist movements, and of interest, many Antifa groups share these same themes:

• The primacy of the group, toward which one has duties superior to every right, whether universal or individual.
• The belief that one’s group is a victim, a sentiment that justifies any action against the group’s enemies, internal as well as external.
• Dread of the group’s decadence under the corrosive effect of individualistic and cosmopolitan liberalism.
• Closer integration of the community within a brotherhood (fascio) whose unity and purity are forged by common conviction, if possible, or by exclusionary violence if necessary.
• An enhanced sense of identity and belonging, in which the grandeur of the group reinforces individual self-esteem.
• Authority of natural leaders (always male) throughout society, culminating in a national chieftain who alone can incarnate the group’s destiny.
• The beauty of violence and of will, when they are devoted to the group’s success in a Darwinian struggle (Paxton, 1998, pp. 6-7).

Fascism in Practice. On 22 October 1922, the leader of the National Fascist Party Benito Mussolini attempted a coup d’état and just 6 days later, the Italian King handed power to Mussolini, who was supported by the military, the business class, and 25 to 30,000 demonstrators. By 1925, Mussolini was firmly in control of the Italian government (Wilkes, 2020). Italian fascism as implemented by Mussolini was characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society; freedom of speech, thought, religion, and the press were suspended (Nazzaro, 1972). Economically, the state played a strong directive role over a nominally-market economy. It was a form of socialism that required state control, but not necessarily state ownership of the means of production (Berend, 2016, p. 93). Mussolini borrowed collectivist concepts from Marxism, however, the class warfare of the bourgeoisie (the rich) against the proletarian wage earners (Marx, 1848, p. 55), was reimagined as a struggle between true Italians and all others (Mussolini, 1933; Waxman, 2019). Like the former Soviet Union, Mussolini ensured centralized control of the economy; and like the Soviet’s Secret Police, Mussolini created an organization nicknamed the ‘blackshirts’ after the color of their uniform. This was Mussolini’s Voluntary Militia for National Security which was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, distinguished by their dedicated loyalty to Benito Mussolini and use of intimidation or violence against Mussolini’s opponents, and killing of thousands of people (Waxman, 2029). Hitler’s National Socialism was very similar in concept to Mussolini’s Fascism and will be discussed in the next section.

NationalSocialism(Nazism)DoctrineandPractice

Doctrine. After World War 1 (a.k.a. The Great War), the Allied powers of Great Britain, France, and the United States demanded reparations payments from the Government of Germany. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) required Germany to pay 132 billion gold marks (about $33 billion) in reparations to cover civilian damage caused during the war (Feldman, 1997; Boemeke, et al., 1998). Due to reparations and the printing of money, there was a period of hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic between 1921 and 1923, which severely degraded the German people’s savings, and contributed to their Nazification (Schweizer, 1964; Temin, 1991). The inflation caused a temporary but total breakdown of the monetary economy as well as the social and political systems … fostering the growth of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Hill, et.al., 2001, p. 310-11).

Economic turmoil led President Friedrich Ebert, a Social Democrat, to implement Article 48 ‘emergency proclamations’ on 136 occasions; this essentially circumvented approval of his actions by the Reichstag (a.k.a. German legislative branch or Parliament). The use of ‘emergency proclamations’ continued under subsequent Presidential administrations and remained in place when Hitler became Chancellor in 1933. Hitler was largely the product of the great depression, but he could not have become a dictator if the Article 48 emergency powers had been rescinded (Hill, et.al., 1977). On February 27, 1933, a 24-year-old Dutch militant set fire to the German Reichstag; Hitler’s administration claimed this was an attack on Germany by the Communists; thusly providing an excuse to invoke Article 48 emergency powers and suspend individual rights and due process of law e.g., that most significantly limited freedom of speech and the press, and it removed all restraints on police investigations (Holocaust, 2022). Once in power, Hitler initially focused on the economy, however, Tooze (2006) determined that “three issues that truly united the nationalist right and made possible the Hitler government of 1933 … (were) the triple priority of rearmament, repudiating Germany’s foreign debts and saving German agriculture. Hitler’s actions on these three issues … marked the dividing line between the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich” (Tooze, 2006, p. 24–5).

Hitler, like Mussolini, was a collectivist, writing that Industry, technology, and commerce can thrive only as long as an idealistic national community offers the necessary preconditions. And he called for a spirit of individual sacrifice. His thoughts on socio-economic goals were captured within the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (a.k.a. derNationalSozialistischeDeutscheArbeitersParte) twenty-five socio-economic demands that included the duty of the State to promote agricultural reform, as well as industry, and the livelihood of German citizens to the exclusion of immigrants and others (Hitler, 1933, p 277). The 1920 twenty-five-point party program proposed, among other things, “that all unearned income, and all income that does not arise from work, be abolished; the nationalization of all trusts; profit-sharing in large industries; agrarian reform in accordance with our national requirements, and the enactment of a law to expropriate the owners without compensation of any land needed for the common purpose; as well as the abolition of ground rents, and the prohibition of all speculation in land” – this was a call for an “inalterable” program to centralize control of the means of production within Germany (Hitler, 1933, p 276-8; Gordon, 2009).

Nazism in Practice. In 1922, Mussolini implemented a successful coup-de-etat in Italy. Similarly, Adolf Hitler attempted a coup on November 8, 1923, but he was charged with high treason and jailed; while he was in jail, he wrote Mein Kampf, with the doctrine described above. Hitler was out of jail within a year, and like Mussolini focused on building a coalition against the existing German government, and within just eight years he had taken control of Germany. Before his rise to power, Hitler’s Brownshirts served similarly to Mussolini’s Blackshirts: the Sturmabteilung (SA) (a.k.a. Brownshirts) provided protection for Nazi rallies and assemblies, disrupted the meetings of opposing parties, and fought against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties (Campbell, 1998; Wilde, 2020).

Like Mussolini’s Italian fascism, Hitler’s National Socialism was characterized by dictatorial power, strong regimentation of society, and forcible suppression of opposition. Following Adolf Hitler’s appointment as chancellor on 30 January 1933, his regime built a network of concentration camps in Germany for oppressing political opponents and those deemed ‘undesirable’ (Holocaust Encyclopedia, 2022b). Although Hitler is most remembered for the systematic mass murder of European Jews, he also gassed 70,000 Germans between 1939 and 1941, and subsequently killed millions of civilians, including Slavs, and eastern Europeans, and the attempted genocide of six million Jews (Courtois, 1999, p. 14; Holocaust Encyclopedia, 2022b).

Marxism,FascismandNazismCompared

Temin (1991) recognized that communism is distinguished from capitalism by public ownership of property and centralized economic planning. He also determined that planning in NAZI Germany resembled planning in the former Soviet Union during the 1930s (Temin, 1991, p. 573). Soviets developed a 5-year plan, and NAZIs had a four-year plan – so both had centralized state planning; both had significant control over agriculture. The Soviets forced the collectivization of farms, whereas the Nazis allowed farm ownership to remain nominally private even though decisions and residual income were surrendered to the State. The Soviets implemented permanently fixed prices, whereas the Nazis implemented temporary price controls. Both set quantity goals for firms and enterprises; but the Nazis were more specific in quotas for industrial goods; hence both countries controlled and restricted domestic and international trade.

Arendt (1951) described and analyzed Nazism and Stalinism as the major totalitarian political movements of the first half of the 20th century; as such, human rights violations tend to go hand-in-hand with totalitarianism since the suppression of dissent is essential to maintaining absolute power (Arendt, 1951; Roback, 1985; Prahl, 2021). Similarly, Temin (1991) wrote that “if salaries, bonuses, and approval provided carrots, (then) terror furnished the stick in both Germany and Russia” (Temin, 1991, p. 581); hence, the use of terror was routinely used in both countries to enforce collectivist economic policies.

“Socialist planning in both NAZI Germany and Soviet Russia in the 1930s was primarily a means for military preparation and mobilization. Consumption was a constraint on military and related expenditures, not a goal in itself. Socialism in the 1930s was far from benign. Its goal was national power, not the welfare of ordinary workers” (Temin, 1991, p. 592).

Soviet Russia, NAZI Germany, and Fascist Italy all had roots embedded in collectivism. Their economies could not be described as capitalist. In Germany and to a large extent in Italy, the forms of private ownership were preserved because the government did not nationalize the means of production, as in Soviet Russia –like Italian Fascism, Nazism was a form of socialism that required state control, but not necessarily ownership of the means of production. German owners could not set prices on their own; and the government made all of the major decisions (Mises, 1944, Gordon, 2009; Reisman, 2012 and 2021).

FIGURE 2

COMPARISONOFSOCIO-ECONOMICDOCTRINES

As shown in Figure 2, de facto government ownership of the means of production was logically implied by such fundamental collectivist principles embraced by the Nazis such as the common good comes before the private good and the individual exists as a means to the ends of the State. If the individual is a means to the ends of the State, so too, of course, is his property. Just as his property is owned by the State, his life is also owned by the State. Reisman (2021) reasoned that “what specifically established de facto socialism in Nazi Germany was the introduction of price and wage controls in 1936,” furthermore, Nazi Germany “controlled all prices and wages and determined what each firm was to produce, in what quantity, by what methods, and to whom it was to turn over its products. There was no fundamental difference between the Nazis and the Communists” (Reisman, 2012, p. 264).

Government Manipulation

Mises (1944) wrote that to cope with any unintended effects of its price controls, the government must either abolish the price controls or add further measures, namely, precisely the control over what is produced, in what quantity, by what methods, and to whom it is distributed, which I referred to earlier. The combination of price controls with this further set of controls constitutes the de facto socialization of the economic system, as it means that the government then exercises all of the substantive powers of ownership. This was the socialism instituted by the Nazis. And Mises called this socialism of the German or Nazi pattern, in contrast to the more obvious socialism of the Soviets, which Mises referred to as socialism of the Russian or Bolshevik pattern (Gordon, 2009; Reisman, 2021; Mises, 1944). Reisman (2012) brilliantly summarized Mises’ discussion of socialism and capitalism as follows:

“Mises argued that real wages were determined by the productivity of labor, which in turn depended on capital accumulation, which was accomplished by the saving and investment of businessmen and capitalists and was undermined by progressive income and inheritance taxation. He explained the operations of the price system and showed that the businessmen and capitalists were not a law unto themselves but, in order to make profits and avoid losses, had to produce the goods the consumers wanted to buy. (Mises) showed how price controls destroyed the price system and resulted in the establishment of de facto socialism, of which Nazi Germany was the leading example. He explained why socialism had to fail economically, because of its lack of markets and consequent inability to have a price system and thus to perform economic calculations” (Reisman, 2012, p. 266).

The past few paragraphs compared the socio-economic theories of Marxist, Nazi, and Fascist theories. The rejection of individualism and shift towards collectivism in the former Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italy occurred in earnest between the first and second world wars. However, massive deaths caused by Marxist regimes began long before the Second World War. Harvard’sBlackBookofCommunism identified over 100 million dead as a result of socialist and communistic regimes in the last Century including 20 million killed by the former Union of Soviet Socialist States (USSR), 25 million killed by German National Socialist (NAZI) regime, and another 65 million by Socialist-Maoist China (Courtois, et.al., 1999, p. 4+15). Most of these deaths were not the result of warfare; for instance, the Soviets enforced farm collectivization which created a great famine in Ukraine between 1932-33 thereby killing up to 6 million kulaks: this was known as the ‘Holodomor’ (Courtois, et.al., 1999, p. 9; Applebaum, 2022).

So, the more dedicated collectivists believe that not only one’s property but also one’s life belongs to the state. Once a citizen understands the economic history of the past century, it is natural to oppose all forms of collectivism including Marxism, Socialism, Fascism, Nazism, and Communism. A small number of Americans describe themselves and their ideological outlooks as Antifa, which is an acronym for anti- fascist. But is Antifa actually against fascist collectivism or totalitarianism? That question will be addressed in the following sections.

Part 2: Antifa Beliefs and Behavior

Dr. Thomas Sowell identified that “one can observe that all statements are true if one is free to define their terms” (Sowell, 1995, p. 102;). Hence, calling one’s movement anti-fascist is brilliant! Should an opponent state that he/she is opposed to Antifa, then by default, the uneducated, uninformed, or blindly loyal followers immediately believe that opponent is pro-fascist (Nadales, 2020, 4; Ngo, 2021, p. 111). However, anyone can genuinely believe that fascism is wrong, yet simultaneously be opposed to the violent direct-action tactics of Antifa groups. Similarly, genuinely supporting the concept that all black people’s lives matter, is not the same as rubber-stamping the radical actions or beliefs of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization (Baker, 2022). So, this portion of the research will proceed carefully, attempting to identify terminology that may have dual meanings or disingenuous obfuscation as described.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) claims that the Antifa movement lacks both a unifying organizational structure and a detailed ideology. It consists of numerous small groups spread across the United States, who do not have to listen to each other’s pronouncements and might aim their animus at local or specific enemies. Secondly, in contrast to the previous sections of this paper, CRS claims that the term fascism is notoriously difficult to define. Therefore, local Antifa groups may oppose different things based on how they identify who and what might be fascist (CRS, 2018, p. 1). CRS claims that there is no organization to Antifa, however, Ngo (2021) observed that their operations clearly took planning, coordination, money, and recruitment (Ngo, 2021, p. 85). He also acknowledged that there may not be a single senior Antifa organization with a supreme leader, but “there are indeed localized cells and groups with formalized structures and memberships” (Ngo, 2021, p. 88). Journalist Andy Ngo, who was beaten severely by Antifa members, describes them as follows:

“Antifa are an ideology and movement of radical, pan–leftist, politics whose adherents are mainly militant anarchist communists or collectivist anarchists. A smaller fraction of them are socialists who organize through political groups like the Democratic Socialists of Americaand others. Labels aside, their defining characteristics are a militant opposition to free markets and the desire to destroy the United States and its institutions, culture, and history” (Ngo, 2021, p. 13).

This exploratory article is intended to inform the business community, who are typically experts in finance, accounting, and management, but not necessarily attuned to socio-economic-political theory. So, even though the concept of being anti-fascist seems straightforward – it isn’t! Business owners may ask “What is America’s version of Antifa all about?” Many Antifa members are anarchists, communists, and socialists who describe themselves as revolutionaries, and they have little allegiance to liberal democracy or capitalism (from a Marxist lens); some Antifa groups are more Marxist while others are more anarchist or antiauthoritarian (Bray, 2017, p. xv). CRS (2018) claims that U.S. supporters have articulated four “obligations” for all groups: (1) track the activity of fascist groups, (2) oppose their public organizing, (3) support Antifascist allies that are attacked by fascists or arrested by police, and (4) not cooperate with law enforcement. Gabriel Nadales (2020), who is a former member of an Antifa group, provides a critical insider view, stating that modern Antifa:

“is simply a wing of communism and radical revolutionary politics — the same philosophies that have murdered millions of people all over the globe (p. 69); is fighting capitalism, not fascism (p. 67, 125); is classified as the military arm of a loose collection of radical activists (p. 69); is attacking people who dare to question its motives … peaceful citizens (p. 145); is attacking students for political disagreements as they reject free speech (p. 79); is made up of multiple organizations and collectives (p. 72); pretends to shut down oppressive, racist speech, but most hold racist contempt for white people and minorities who are not reflexively leftist (p. 97); conducts criminal acts as part of a larger plan to shut down conservative thought and speech altogether (p. 86); destroy they hate. Small “a” anarchists typically have a strong ideological framework that they use to oppose fascism, but big “A” Antifascists care only about beating the daylights out of people without questioning whom they are supposed to oppose (p. 69); Antifa is not saying, ‘If you attack us, we will fight back,’ which would be self-defense. Instead, Antifa is saying, ‘If you don’t shut up, we will attack you,’ which is an unlawful threat against peaceful individuals exercising free speech” (Nadales, 2020, p. 90).

Antifa’s mission is not to fight fascism, however, they do at times counterprotest at Ku Klux Klan (KKK) demonstrations (Nadales, 2020, p. 109). Antifa groups use mainstream media’s hot-button issues as a facade to create division while pushing American society into a more favorable condition for their desired socialist revolution (Nadales, 2020, p. 5; Ngo, 2021). Of utmost concern, Antifa groups are dangerous organizations that are willing to kill for their cause (Nadales, 2020, p. 77). For instance, the Torch Network states on its website “We believe in direct action” – which is a dog whistle for protest activity that includes violence (Ngo, 2021, p. 89). In a similar fashion to Mussolini’s Black Shirts and Hitler’s Brown Shirts, Antifa’s more violent agitators dress in all-black attire while covering their faces to avoid detection; and when using violence and intimidation in large groups the ‘black bloc’ uniform is a powerful tool for avoiding arrest (Nadales, 2020, p. 21, 82).

Nadales (2020) wrote that Antifa rallies typically had the black and red anarcho-collectivist flag that represents a quasi-socialist ideology favoring anarchism and labor unions, as well as potentially anarcho- socialism or anarcho-communism (Nadales, 2020, p. 17). So, one must analyze this terminology initially defining anarchism, which is doctrinally considered a far-left ideology. Much of ‘anarchy’ philosophies include anti-authoritarian interpretations of Marxist-collectivist leaning economics. Anarchist author Emma Goldman was a Lithuanian-born Jewish anarchist who emigrated to the USA; she defined anarchism as the “philosophy of a new social order based on liberty unrestricted by man-made law; the theory that all forms of government rest on violence, and are therefore wrong and harmful, as well as unnecessary (and that) all anarchists, agree that the main evil today is an economic one” (Goldman, 1910, p. 3). As a dedicated anarchist, she wanted to tear down the system completely, rather than attempt to reform it (Bobbins’, 2020), which is one of the tenets of many local Antifa groups.

The Introduction to Anarchist Communism (Pamphlet 21) claims that capitalism is the problem, claiming ruthless competition between firms, as well as the exploitation of workers. The Anarchocommunist perspective is that Capitalism is a system of exploitation in which the working-class majority (proletarians) are exploited by a tiny ruling class of bourgeoisie (Anarchist Foundation, 2010, p. 4). They wrote: “When people organize themselves without leaders or representatives to take direct action against the things that exploit and oppress them then they are taking part in creating a culture of resistance, which in the end is what will overthrow capitalism and create a new, free society” (Anarchist Foundation, 2010, p. 24).

Anarchist Communism adheres to Marx’s Communist Manifesto. Antifa members focus on the ruling class (bourgeoisie) and the exploited working class (proletarians) and support a violent revolution that would make Marx proud. Similar to Marx and Engels, the modern Antifa arachno-communist sees the state, e.g., civil service, the courts, tax collectors and all who regulate or control citizens’ lives), as being an evil servant of capitalism (Anarchist Foundation, 2010, p. 6-7). The basis of these accusations is the illegitimate treatment of a mere historical association as though it were a fundamental, causal connection (Reisman, 2018). Antifa literature does not mention that the “workers” within western capitalist countries have the highest standards of living in the entire world; and no mention is made that the economic prosperity of the working class improved exponentially since the publication of The Communist Manifesto in 1848, largely as a result of laissez-faire capitalism, and mixed economies.

CRS (2018) summarizes Antifa’s core purpose: to track and react to the activities of individuals or groups they see as advocating fascist views, such as neo-Nazis, racist skinheads, and white supremacists, and white nationalists. Antifa adherents believe that civil liberties protections (such as free speech and freedom to assemble) provide safe harbor to ideas and people who are bent on harming the more vulnerable populations in the United States. Therefore, Antifa members do not believe that the conventional capacities of American society will thwart the rise of fascist movements, so they must take the law into their own hands. Statements such as “Why aren’t they in handcuffs?” and “They’re the fascists!” are evidence of one’s state of mind, hence “Antifa can attack someone without provocation but still feel like the victim” (Nadales, 2020, p. 85).

This study previously identified that capitalism’s behavioral ethos is an enduring focus on pleasing the customer and that the Marxist theoretical ethos is group collectivism or cooperation; whereas the Antifa behavioral ethos is focused on a continuous revolution that is based on a deeply held belief of group victimization and from their group-think perspective, self-justified violence. Social justice warriors? No! Mentally ill? Maybe.

OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSIS

The Oxford Dictionary (2022) defines social justice as the objective of creating a fair and equal society in which each individual matters, their rights are recognized and protected, and decisions are made in ways that are fair and honest. According to Gutiérrez (1971), true liberation must begin with both political and social liberation, as well as the elimination of the immediate causes of poverty and injustice. Hence, most Antifa members consider themselves social justice warriors (SJWs) who promote progressive views. As an aside, SJW was considered in a positive light or positive term for people engaged in social justice activism until 2011, at which time the term became pejorative and carried implications that SJWs were simply pursuing personal validation rather than any deep-seated conviction, and engaging in disingenuous arguments (Betts, 2022; Johnson, 2014; Stack, 2017). Antifa “social justice warriors” rest their beliefs and praxis on several false premises:

#1: Everyone on the right (or anyone that disagrees with Antifa) is a fascist;

#2: Fascists economically exploit everyone;

#3. Fascists oppress racial and gender minorities;

#4. Since fascists are exploiting and oppressing, Antifa has the ‘right’ to fight them.

One can hypothesize that there are two types of people that might join an Antifa group: the first type is often emotive and so indoctrinated that he/she is not concerned about facts, nor willing to discuss alternative views on any topic. Do not bother trying to discuss issues with this individual because it is a waste of time.

The second type of person may be a thinking adult, who is willing to discuss issues, and therefore might be an Antifa sympathizer, but is typically not a violent offender. This person is worthy of discussion and engagement in the following topics and facts.

Setting the Stage

On October 10^th, 2020, the author was in Denver to observe and (hopefully) interview demonstrators who were participating in a pro-police Patriot Muster as well as the counter-protestors who were members of the Denver Communists, Colorado Socialist Revolution, and Anti-Fascists (local Antifa organization). Aside from some shouts, chants, and taunts, everything was relatively peaceful for a short period. I was not able to interview the people from Patriot Muster, but I was able to talk to some young people in Black attire. Initially, one Antifa member saw me and said, “punch that Nazi.” Another masked young man intervened and said, “I know him, leave him alone.” I thought I had recognized the voice of one of my students. Nonetheless, I did not get punched; and I interviewed three of the Antifa counter-protesters. One became rather agitated and vociferous about his belief that they were fighting fascists, but all three could not articulate exactly what fascism was. A local reporter wrote, “a young socialist-affiliated activist was arguing with an older man about the definition of fascism … then the shot rang out” (Minor, 2020). That older man was me, the author.

Grateful that I was not the shooting victim, I walked back to my car, wondering if anyone could solve this societal rift if protestors cannot even agree on a definition of fascism. The Patriot Muster crowd called the counter-protestors communists, socialists, and fascists; whereas the counter-protestors kept calling the Patriot Muster participants ‘fascists’ as well. Recall that Soviet Russia, Fascist Italy, and NAZI Germany all had roots embedded in Marxism, socialism, collectivism, and totalitarianism (Arendt, 1951; Temin, 1991; Prahl, 2021). In addition, the identification of Nazi Germany as a socialist state was one of the many great contributions of Ludwig von Mises (Mises, 1944, Gordon, 2009; Reisman, 2012 and 2021). When I attended high school fifty years ago, I was merely taught capitalism was on the right and communism was on the left. So, Figure 3 updates the basic concepts from Figure 1, by capturing the realities of Stalin’s Russia, Hitler’s Germany, and Mussolini’s Italy, as well as Maoist China, Francoist Spain, and other surrogate socialist states including Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea.

FIGURE 3

LEFT VERSUS RIGHT

Also, Figure 2 previously showed a comparison of socio-economic traits that demonstrates the left- leaning practices of Marxists (e.g., socialists & communists), fascists, and Nazis within the past century. This reality conflicts with the doctrinal writings of Marx and Engels, who believed that the oppressed proletariat would rise against the bourgeoisie oppressor; then workers would gain prestige and power through hard work, and that socialism would transition into communism, thusly arriving at a classless society. This never happened!

If we initially look at a two-dimensional view of former communist nations with the United States of America, the workers suffered in the former Soviet Union and prospered in the United States and other capitalist-leaning countries. The CATO Institute’s HumanFreedomIndex(HFI) presents the state of human freedom in the world based on a broad measure that encompasses personal, civil, and economic freedom. The HFI is the most comprehensive freedom index so far created for a set of countries and jurisdictions that represent 98.1 percent of the world’s population. To put scores in perspective, on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 represents more freedom, the average human freedom rating for 165 jurisdictions in 2019 was 7.12 using the following criteria: rule of law; security & safety; movement; religion; association, assembly, & civil society; expression & information; relationships; the size of government; legal system & property rights; sound money; freedom to trade internationally; and regulation (Vásquez, et al., 2021).

FIGURE 4

CATO’S PERSONAL AND ECONOMIC FREEDOM SCORES

Figure 4 plots scores for countries that were or still are socialist. Of interest on this chart is the United States (top right) with a score of 8.66 in personal freedom and 8.22 in economic freedom (all numbers on the chart are rounded up) and Venezuela, which transitioned from capitalism to socialism between 2001 and 2022 with a score of 4.8 personal and 3.3 economic. The remaining countries had all been socialist in the recent past: for example, the Russian Federation scored 5.9 personal and 6.7 economic, and Ukraine, which was part of the former Soviet Union, rated 6.8 personal and 6.1 economic. One can plausibly argue that if socialism was superior to capitalist-leaning mixed economies, then the United States would score lower than the Russian Federation or Venezuela. However, the CATO data provides a snapshot of these countries, and plausible research in finance or economics usually looks at data longitudinally. So, the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World (EFW): 2021 Annual Report and online country comparison are invaluable. The Fraser Institute’s (2022) perspective of economics aligns with Adam Smith, writing:

The cornerstones of economic freedom are (1) personal choice, (2) voluntary exchange coordinated by markets, (3) freedom to enter and compete in markets, and (4) protection of persons and their property from aggression by others. Individuals have economic freedom when the property they acquire without the use of force, fraud, or theft is protected

from physical invasions by others and they are free to use, exchange, or give their property as long as their actions do not violate the identical rights of others. Individuals are free to choose, trade, cooperate with others, and compete as they see fit (Fraser, 2022).

In an economically free society, the primary role of government is to protect individuals and their property from aggression by others. So, to receive a high rating, a country must provide secure protection of privately owned property, a legal system that treats all equally, even-handed enforcement of contracts, and a stable monetary environment. It also must keep taxes low, refrain from creating barriers to both domestic and international trade and rely more fully on markets rather than government spending and regulation to allocate goods and resources (Fraser, 2022). The benefit of accessing the Fraser Institute database was to provide a comparison starting in 1990 and finishing today. Also, 1990 was chosen as the base year, because it was just one year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The remaining countries in Figure 5 were also formerly centralized states.

FIGURE 5

FRASER INSTITUTE – ECONOMIC FREEDOM OF THE WORLD (EFW)

Beginning in 1989, numerous Soviet satellite states started demonstrations leading to independence and freedom from Soviet rule including Bulgaria (1989), Romania (1989), Poland (1989), Ukraine (1990/1991), Lithuania (1990), Latvia (1991) and Estonia (1991). Their economic freedom scores increased significantly over the past 30 years in each of these instances. After declaring independence from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), radical economic reforms were launched for switching over to a market economy, including privatization and currency reforms. Russia went from an economic freedom score of 3.26 in 1990 and more than doubled to 6.70 in 2019; similarly, in 1990, China had an economic freedom score of 3.71 that more almost doubled to 6.53 in 2019 after adopting a market-based economy.

Only two countries had lower scores during this period. The United States started with an economic freedom score of 8.63 in 1990, which has gone down to 8.22 in 2019 predominantly due to increases in government regulations and a massive increase in federal debt. The most drastic economic reversal wasVenezuela, which had a market economy in 1990 and a score of 5.76 but switched to a command economy under 21st Century Socialism with a heinous score of 2.83 in 2019. Venezuela scored poorly in all five rated categories including the size of government (4.34); legal System & Property Rights (2.49); freedom to trade internationally (4.09); regulation (2.52); and worst of all, a lack of sound money (0.69).

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the primary measure of a country’s economic productivity. A country’s GDP shows the market value of goods and services it produces. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is a financial metric that breaks down a country’s economic output per person and is calculated by dividing the GDP of a nation by its population. Per capita GDP is the most universal way to analyze a country’s wealth and prosperity because its components are regularly tracked on a global scale, providing ease of calculation and usage (World Bank, 2022). At its most basic interpretation, per capita GDP shows how much economic production value can be attributed to each citizen. Alternatively, this translates to a measure of national wealth since GDP market value per person also readily serves as a prosperity measure. As a reference, the United States per capita GDP went up 265% between 1990 and 2020; meanwhile each of the aforementioned nations that went from a Marxist-socialist to a market economy experienced the following increases shown in Figure 6: Ukraine (237%); Russian Federation (290%); Bulgaria (426%); Czech Republic (582%); Estonia (736%); Latvia (761%); Romania (768%); Poland (909%); Lithuania (933%), and China (3,283%).

FIGURE 6

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) PER CAPITA

Venezuela is the only country to intentionally transition from a market-based economy to a Marxist – socialist economy; hence their per capita GDP went from $4842 in the year 2000 to a figure that is so low that it is not measured by the IMF today; I generously approximated their GDP to be $694, which is an 86% decrease. CATO’s Personal and Economic Freedom, Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World (EFW), and the per capita GDP all show that a transition out of a command economy into a market economy enriches the people of each country.

Ebling (2015) stated that there are two ways human beings can interact and associate with each other: through either threat & use of force, or by mutual agreement & voluntary consent. Therefore, truly free enterprise, competitive capitalism is the most moral and humanely beneficial way for people to interact because each participant has the right to say, “Yes” or “No” to an offer and an exchange. The term “right” happens to integrate seamlessly with the philosophical and conceptual hierarchy that supports freedom (Biddle, 2012; Ebling, 2015).

In contrast, political and economic collectivism is based on force. In 1942, Joseph A. Schumpeter published Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (1942) asking, “Can Capitalism Survive?” and concluding, “No, I do not think it can” (Ebeling, 2022, p. 61). However, market-oriented reforms in China and the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 placed a nail in the coffin of socialism and centralized planning. However, members of Antifa and other socialist or communist groups within the United States have not read, studied, or learned that lesson. There are many lessons, but very few are learned by our youth. So, the mantra within Antifa has been the oppression of the workers, and especially the oppression of blacks, hence, Antifa’s alliance with BLM. At the time, numerous protests, riots, and armed conflicts were sparked by George Floyd’s death. So, Figure 7 represents a reply to Antifa’s misinformation and propaganda on economic equality.

FIGURE 7

US CENSUS:INCOME BY RACE& QUINTILE

Chairman Mao (1937) wrote that “a potentially revolutionary situation exists in any country where the government consistently fails in its obligation to ensure at least a minimally decent standard of life for the great majority of its citizens… In many countries, there are but two classes: the rich and the miserably poor,” but this is not true in the United States (Mao, 1937, p. 4). In 1960, the median income of black families was 55 percent of the whites’ median income. Today, when comparing the pay for black and white men with the same education, qualifications, experience, and job that were in the same geographic location, black men earned 98 cents for every dollar earned by white men in 2020 (Miller, 2020; Baker, 2021). The 2019 U.S. Census data separate income by race into quintiles. The White working population consists of 100,568,000 people, so one quintile is 20.1 million workers; the Black work population consists of 18,055,000 people, so one quintile is 3.6 million; the Hispanic work population consists of 17,667,000 people, so one quintile is 3.5 million; and finally, the Asian work population consists of 6,853,000 people, so one quintile is 1.4 million as shown in Figure 7 (Baker, 2021).

Are there disparities in income and wealth? Of course, there are going to be disparities among family members, as well as larger groups simply based on your life choices. However, if there was true systemic racism in the United States, would Asians be the higher-income producers? No, not likely. Furthermore, if the United States dissolved and turned into four countries based on race and ethnicity then the Gross Domestic Product of White America would be 2^nd in the world just behind China; the Hispanic-American GDP would be #12 in between Russia and Brazil; the African-American GDP would be #16, wedged between Spain and Indonesia, and higher than every country in Africa; and finally, the Asian-American GDP would be #19, just below Mexico and above the Netherlands despite the small Asian population in the USA (World Bank, 2021; U.S. Census, 2022).

Furthermore, when looking at Median Household Income by detailed ancestry, note that Ghanaian Americans make $69,021, and Nigerian Americans make $68,658, which is higher than White Americans who make $65,902 median income (ACS, 2019; Tate, 2021, p. 18). Is this reverse racism? No! African immigrants prioritize language and education (Tarlebbea, 2010; Tate, 2021, p. 9). If there was true systemic racism in the United States, would Ghanaian and Nigerian immigrants make more than whites? Nope. Per capita GDP in the prosperous country of Nigeria is $2,097 and worldwide it is $10,910, but in the United States it is $63,413; in addition, not one country in Africa has a higher social mobility rate than the USA (The World Bank, 2021). So, despite the gloom and doom of the “woke” community, members of every hue are doing well in the United States compared to the global community. In contrast to Antifa hyperbole, there are 1.7 million Black American millionaires in the United States – more than all 54 countries within the continent of Africa (Statistica, 2022). Let’s do some soul-searching and ask: If the United States were systemically racist, would this level of prosperity have occurred? No.

In my interview with Antifa members, their two greatest concerns were focused on fairness from an economic as well as a social justice perspective. Each expressed their concerns about violence against blacks and other minorities in 2020, which is addressed in the next section.

What About Racial or Ethnic-Inspired Violence?

Merriam-Webster defines white supremacy as “the belief that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white person should have control over people of other races.” Historically, both NAZIs and the KKK believed in white supremacy, but the average American does not! A key indicator in determining whether a racial or ethnic group is being targeted would be homicide rates e.g., NAZIs killing Jews, or KKK killing white and black abolitionists. In the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes are defined in the UCR Program as those offenses that involve force or threat of force. In 2019, seventy-eight percent of white victims were killed by whites, while 88% of black victims were killed by blacks; but this does not reflect the full story. When these raw numbers are divided by the applicable race of the offender, then we determine the per capita murder rates, and the Black-on- Black murder rate is 44 times higher than the White-on-Black murder rate per capita (slightly better than the 2018 rate x 47).

Factually, the rates of White-on-White and Black-on-Black homicides are within 10 percentage points e.g., about 78% and 88% respectively. However, when relative to the size of the U.S. population by race, the massive number of blacks murdered by blacks is overwhelmingly high (FBI, 2019). In addition, 3.9 million victims of nonfatal violent crime incidents reported information on the race or ethnicity of nearly five million offenders linked to these incidents with blacks committing 980,800 out of 3,857,100. Overall, violent incidents committed by Black offenders (25%) were 200% higher than the representation of Black persons in the population (12%) (Beck, 2021; Rushford, 2021). Are greater numbers of blacks arrested for committing violent crimes? Yes, but blacks commit half of all street crimes in America (Elder, 2000, p.41). The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation’s Legal Director Kent Scheidegger assessed that “The greater arrest, conviction, and incarceration rates for black people in the United States are a matter of great concern, but clearly the principal cause is a difference in crime commission rates, not law enforcement bias” (Rushford, 2021).

The national conversation about policing for the last few years has been about race; however, the numbers and statistics are often skewed or obfuscated by politicians and their cronies in the media. Before the death of George Floyd, the number of unarmed whites killed made up a greater percentage of the total. In 2016, police killed 22 unarmed whites and 19 unarmed blacks; then, in 2017, 30 whites were killed compared with 20 blacks; and in 2018 police killed 18 unarmed people, with 10 whites and 7 blacks among them (Sullivan, et al., 2018).

FIGURE 8 HOMICIDE RATES BY RACE

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/violent-crime

Statistica (2022) reported that the overall trend of fatal police shootings in the United States seems to be increasing, with a total of 427 civilians having been shot, 17 of whom were unarmed Blacks, as of June 2022. In 2021, there were 1,055 fatal police shootings, and in 2020 there were 1,021 fatal shootings. The rate of fatal police shootings is often incorrectly reported as a simplistic percentage of the overall population; however, to avoid bias, one must look at the differences in offending rates (Rushmore, 2021). One of the other major mistakes made by anti-police demonstrators, like Antifa or BLM, is that each police department works for mayors, not the President of the United States (POTUS); hence the nationwide protests against the POTUS (both Trump, then Biden), were embarrassingly misinformed and misdirected.

Misinformed Political Activism in Academia

Professor Jennifer Ho (2020) wrote an impassioned article against all forms of racism, stating that “the racism that Asian Americans in the U.S. and Asian people around the globe are experiencing right now is real and acute in ways that haven’t felt real and acute for decades” (Ho, 2021). She emphasizes that Asians and Blacks must remain in solidarity since they are both fighting against white supremacy. Unfortunately, Professor Ho has done her research in an emotive, not a fact-based manner. There have been false claims of increasing white violence against Asian people (Fadel, 2021). Using the published FBI (2019) data, violent incidents committed against Asian victims by Asian offenders (24%) were 3.9 times higher than the percentage of Asians (6%) in the population. Violent incidents committed against Asian victims by Black offenders (27%) were 2.25 times higher than the representation of Black persons in the population (12%). Violent incidents committed against Asian victims by White offenders (24%) were significantly 2.5 times lower than the representation of White persons in the population (62%). Asian lives matter, as do all lives of every hue, but violence from white supremacy is not the threat – government propaganda, and activism supported by emotive, non-factual research is.

Sadly, Professor Ho, like many other mediocre researchers with a woke political agenda, illogically assumes that every arrest is tied to racism without fact-based evidence (Schwartz, 2021, page 72). Ho is also notoriously silent on the discrimination faced by Asians in admissions policies wherein affirmative action as practiced today is anti-Asian, pro-Black racial discrimination (Xu, 2021; Lynch, 1991; Riley, 2014; Baker, 2022). Also, in her poorly researched article, Professor Ho (2021) misrepresents the idea that blacks were only “three-fifths of a human” born out of racism: not true. Free men of color (FMC) were counted the same as whites, and FMC existed before the U.S. Constitution existed (Sowell, 2005, p. 155). The southern states wanted all blacks (including slaves, not just FMC) to count toward Congressional representation; but the northern states did not. The compromise between North and South was the apportionment of one congressional member for every thousand inhabitants, with 3/5ths of the slaves included. This ingenious compromise provided an advantage to the abolitionists as the slave states would have had more Congressional seats if 100% of all slaves had been counted. The 3/5^th compromise was one step closer to the abolition of slavery (Williams, 2017).

The greatness of the American experiment is that Professor Ho has the right to her opinion, even though the facts do not support her bigoted assertions. And this is the major issue that has resulted in the ‘Left versus Right’ protests, demonstrations, riots, and killings in the past few years. On one hand, there is a deeply held belief that the United States of America is a dystopia, founded on 400 years of slavery, and is perpetually on a path of systemic racism that may never be remedied; hence the American Left asks for even greater social welfare plans and potentially reparations to make things right (Elder, 2000, p 10).

Civil Rights Progress

In contrast, the American right recognizes that the colonies were founded by a monarchy with a mercantilist economy – and that the British political elites eventually owned slaves. However, the American Right also notes that the United States outlawed trans-Atlantic Slavery in 1807 merely 31 years after declaring independence, taking effect on January 1, 1808. Almost every country in the world had slaves; yet the USA was one of the first to end it (Sowell, 1994, p. 189). The American right also takes pride in the fact that the original “social justice warriors” were liberty-loving white and black abolitionists; while the left hides that there were many Free People of Color (FPC) who were slave owners in all 13 states (Halliburton,1975). Antifa claims to be actively protecting civil rights, but few are aware that civil rights progressed via white, abolitionist-inspired Republican-sponsored legislation (Jackson, 2009, p. 85):

• Republicans wrote, sponsored, and passed the Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1870, 1871, and 1875 to protect freed slaves from oppression by their former owners.
• Republicans authored and passed the 13th, 14^th, and 15th Amendments that were designed to ensure equality for recently emancipated slaves.
• Ku Klux Klan was created as a terrorist arm of former slaveholders, who lynched 4,743 victims, consisting of 3,446 blacks (73%) and 1,297 white abolitionists (27%) (Jackson, 2009, p. 85; Tullier, et al., 2020). The Republicans passed the legislation that opposed the KKK.
• All Black Congressional Representatives were Republican from 1865 to the 1930s; Blacks did not join the Democrat Party until the 1930s when FDR started handing out government freebies.
• Civil Rights Act of 1957 was created at the request of Republican President Eisenhower.
• Civil Rights Act of 1960 was designed to deal with discriminatory laws and practices in the segregated South (It was supported by 90% of House Republicans but only 66% of House Democrats, and supported by 100% of Senate Republicans but only 70% of Senate Democrats)
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin., CRA was supported in the House by Republicans 80% and Dems 63% and supported in Senate by Republicans 82% and Dems 69% after a lengthy Democrat filibuster.

Remarkably, Antifa and the American Left constantly talk about white supremacy and systemic racism as if none of the foregoing events occurred; whereas the American right recognizes that the United States may not be perfect, but social justice is an ongoing process. Left-leaning groups seemingly live in the past, seeking reparations for a generation that was not enslaved, from a generation who did not own slaves; yet right-leaning groups look toward the future while emphasizing the significant progress already achieved.

Most importantly, there is a cultural rift between Americans on the Left and Right as summarized in Figure 9.

Ethics is the study of right and wrong. Some people on the left and right believe politicians should always be honest; while others may believe that ethics are not etched in stone and that the end justifies the means. The cultural rift between Americans on the Left and Right in Figure 9 did not develop overnight. This essay has looked at social and economic systems and beliefs, yet the efficacy of a political system can also be a belief, that is at times devoid of facts. Whether in a socialist or a capitalist state, the financial solvency of the state, and the well-being of the citizens are crucial. Within a capitalist society, employers bid on employees based on their talent: for instance, a certified engineer is more valuable than a waiter, so he/she will command a higher wage. However, Hugo Chávez convinced an entire nation that he could implement 21^st Century Socialism and improve the lives of all Venezuelan citizens. Yet, the implementation of socialism and the tenets of modern monetary theory (MMT) resulted in over-spending by the Chávez regime which led to economic collapse. Eventually, every socialist regime runs out of other people’s money (Baker, 2021).

Chávez convinced the Venezuelan population that capitalism was oppression, that the United States was the oppressor, and that he was the only person with the social, economic, and political solution. Similar mass hypnosis is occurring within American society. In the United States, politicians have chosen sides, that could easily result in fiscal ruin and potentially civil war. President Biden claimed, “Domestic terrorism from white supremacists is the most lethal terrorist threat in the homeland” (Biden, 2021), and called MAGA Republicans “fascists” supporting the Antifa narrative (Biden, 2022). Data from the DOJ/FBI do not support his hyperbole (FBI, 2019); and FBI whistleblowers have reported top-down pressure to “find” white supremacists where none exist (Picket, et.al, 2022). In contrast to the lack of violence by white supremacists, Chicago had at least 4,300 gunshot victims, including those who suffered both fatal and nonfatal injuries. A two-year snapshot of violence in Chicago shows about a 60% increase in homicides or almost 800 homicides in 2021 (Sweeney, 2022); deaths were mostly Black-on-Black killings and not the result of white supremacists.

FIGURE9

COMPETINGSOCIALANDCULTURAL NORMS

FIGURE 10

NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMIZATION SURVEY BY RACE

Like Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Biden and other political leaders have invented a “most lethal terrorist threat” that is not supported by the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data as discussed in previous paragraphs (FBI, 2019). To be clear, the author joins every American who denounces hatred and violence, but I also abhor propaganda that intentionally paints a false narrative, thereby pitting citizens against citizens. Another example occurred on Tuesday, 9 April 2019, when Representative Jerrold Nadler hosted a House Hearing entitled “Hate Crimes and the Rise of White Nationalism” which was filled with fearmongering propaganda. He stated,

“The Center for Investigative Reporting analyzed incidents of domestic terrorism occurring from January 2008 to December 2016. It found that there were near twice as many attacks perpetrated or attempted by rightwing extremists, 115, compared to those identified as Islamist domestic terrorism, 63 … although the total number of deaths associated with Islamist incidents was higher, 90 … nearly a third of attacks committed by rightwing extremists involved fatalities, 79 deaths. These figures highlight the risk we face if we ignore the threats posed by White nationalist movements” (HH116, 2019).

BJS data refutes the entire House Hearing premises and exposes the bigotry of Representative Jerrold Nadler. The first chart in Figure 10, Table 10.A shows National Crime victimization by percentages. If we merely look at White-on-White crime, the percentage is 56% which is less than the 62% of the population that is White; similarly Black-on-Black crime, the number is 62.2% which is significantly more than the 12% of the population that is Black. But this does not tell the whole story, nor an accurate picture of crime (Sowell, 2019, p. 94). Representative Nadler identified 79 deaths that he attributed to White nationalist movements over 9 years, which is less than 9 per year nationwide; yet in just one weekend, Chicago had 104 shots, with 19 dead and the city had more than 2,000 shootings in 2021 alone (Kenney, 2021). When is the House Hearing on gang violence?

Figure 10, Table 10.B shows the numerical number of offenders and victims by race. Still, it only reveals a part of the crime picture. However, the number of Black-on-White victims is almost equal to the number of Black-on-Black victims. The true picture of Crime Victimization in the United States is achieved by dividing the numbers in Table 10.B. by the size of the population related to the perpetrator, e.g., Black- on-White crime would be expressed as 560,600/39600000=0.014156566 thereby adjusting for the size of the population. Based on this data, when adjusted for the size of the population, Black-on-White violence is 29 times higher than White-on-Black violence per capita; similarly, Black-on-Hispanic violence is 8 times greater than vice versa.

FIGURE 11

MASS SHOOTERS BY RACE & ETHNICITY (03 Dec 2022)

The numbers in Figure 11 do not include terrorist incidents like the al-Qaeda attack on 9/11/2001 that killed 2,977 Americans of all faiths and hues, nor do they include killings like the black motorist, who plowed his SUV into a group of white people at a 2021 Christmas parade, killing six and injuring sixty-two in Waukesha – that was a mass killing, but not a mass shooting(Ruiz, et al., 2021). Nonetheless, Figure 11 shows the number of mass shooters since 1982, which reveals that the greatest number of mass shooters, when compared to the size of the respective population are Arab-Muslims, then Blacks, and Native American males, between 21 and 29 years of age. In addition, one’s workplace is the highest threat location, not schools. Also, if we revisit Figure 8 Homicide Rates with the methodology used in Figure 10, then Biden’s claim that “Domestic terrorism from white supremacists is the most lethal terrorist threat in the homeland” is pathetically false (Biden, J., 2022; Folman, et.al., 2022), since the white-male percentage of shooters is smaller than males of other races. Propagandists in the press repeated “stop the hate” after the gay Club Q mass shooting in Colorado – even though the shooter and the victims were members of the LGBTQ community –more gaslighting on fake divisions based on gender.

ODNI (2021) lists ‘anarchist violent extremists’ as a major concern (ODNI, 2021, p.4). Despite 574 violent clashes, billions in property damage, and many injuries or deaths, BLM/Antifa are not specified as domestic violent extremists (DVEs); yet criminal charges were dropped merely for community service without restitution to victims (Viswanatha, et.al., 2021). Furthermore, this analysis exposes the Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary as either an uneducated person who cannot do basic statistics or as an anti-white propagandist. Political ethics is the practice of making moral judgments about political action and the study of that practice. It is divided into two branches: the ethics of process, which focuses on public officials; and the ethics of policy, which concentrates on judgments about the policies and laws governments make (Thompson, 2018). The competing cultural norms in Figure 9 create a disparate view of political ethics, one in which the American Left believes their politicians are uplifting marginalized people to reverse systemic racism and white supremacy. In contrast, the American Right believes their politicians are supporting and defending the U.S. Constitution while countering false claims of systemic racism and white supremacy. A recent example of these left-vs-right beliefs occurred when Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris expressed support for a nonprofit that paid criminals’ bail; she encouraged her supporters to donate during the protests and violence against businesses in 2020. Biden-Harris supporters donated money that helped release rioters from jail (Lange, et.al., 2020). Meanwhile, business owners could not understand why violent offenders were being released to do more harm.

In 2022, American politicians no longer debate, they yell. The Left may firmly believe affirmative action is needed to remedy past discrimination. Whereas the Right may oppose affirmative action simply because it is race-based rather than needs-based foci, thereby giving Blacks in the top quintile a higher advantage over whites in the lowest economic quintile. Immediately, there are cries of “racism”, rather than intelligent discussions among thinking adults (Tate, 2021). Political ethics in the United States is dead – the unapologetic lies told by politicians could fill an encyclopedia. Sadly, this happens in academia as well, thereby eroding professors’ First Amendment rights and our academic freedom (Schlott, 2022).

Where Does Antifa Fit In?

Superficially, Antifa appears to be an offshoot of the blackshirts from Mussolini’s fascist regime due to their black-block uniforms (NGO, p. 105). However, if we compare the social, economic, and political leanings as shown in Figure 12, then one can see that this is not the only similarity (Meyer, 2017). When doing a cross-comparison of para-military groups, several similarities become obvious. All of these groups had Marxist roots with minor differences. Marxism is an economic philosophy that pits the proletariat against the bourgeoisie as a common theme. Mussolini, Hitler, Mao, and Stalin all preached class conflict and the need to raise the proletariat in revolution, eventually achieving a more equitable and classless society – so does Antifa. However, instead of a classless society envisioned by Marx and Engels, they became authoritarian, via state socialism, as theorized by Ferdinand Lassalle, who advocated a planned economy controlled by the state wherein all industries and natural resources are state-owned (Ellman, 2014; Gordon, 2009).

FIGURE 12

COMPARISON OF DIRECT-ACTION GROUPS

Antifa claims to be in favor of socialism and greater equality, however, most anarcho-socialists claim to oppose state socialism, allegedly favoring a less authoritarian state. In my interview with Antifa members, they vociferously stated opposition to capitalism and alleged fascism in Washington, D.C., but none of them could articulate how to shift to a system that supports greater political and economic equality. All interviewees brought up the Nordic model of socialism in the states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, made popular by socialist Bernie Sanders. However, Sanders is wrong, all of the Nordic countries are capitalist-leaning mixed economies. Sweden is the only Nordic nation that tried socialism from 1975 to the mid-1990s, dropping from the rank of the 4th richest nation in the world to the 13th richest nation in the world during that period. After a 20-year experiment, Sweden began privatization and returned to a capitalistic-leaning mixed economy, thereby debunking the myth of Nordic Socialism (Sanandaji, 2015). Antifa supporters are passionate about their beliefs, but like Comrade Bernie Sanders, their utopian socialist beliefs are acutely devoid of facts.

The Antifa solution to societal wrongs is to tear down the current system and rebuild it in a new Marxist or Socialist image. Yet in the last century, the Chinese state socialists killed 65 million, the Russian state socialists killed 20 million, and the National Socialists of Germany killed 25 million (Courtois,1999). Socialist regimes caused the slaughter of millions of human beings to rid the world of the burden of ‘inferior’ races or rid the world of capitalist ‘exploiters’ who were allegedly responsible for the poverty of the exploited (Sowell, 2019, p. 27). Killing business owners or political opponents as well as mass imprisonment, torture, and forced starvation were norms in socialist government policy (Coulter, 2003, p. 81). Based on historical analysis, Antifa’s argument is a non sequitur because the solution of communal property that is offered by socialism would not correct the alleged problems of economic disparities and racial discrimination: it never has!

Sweden implemented socialism for 20 years (1975 to 1995) and then rejected it (Sanandaji, 2015), yet their imaginary Nordic model is still held up as a goal by American and other politicians. For instance, President Hugo Chávez shifted Venezuela from capitalism to 21^st Century Socialism over twenty years ago. As a result of this shift, Venezuela went from a high economic score of 57.4 in the year 2000, to a very low score of 36.1 in 2013, and dropped to 24.8 in 2022 as compared to the World’s composite score of 60 points in 2022. Heritage’s (2022) ranking included an assessment of property rights, judicial effectiveness, government integrity, tax burden, government spending, fiscal health, business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom, trade freedom, investment freedom, and financial freedom. In addition, the 2019–2020 National Survey of Living Conditions (Encuesta Nacional de Condiciones de Vida-ENCOVI), published by researchers at Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas, documents that Venezuelan poverty levels spiked during 2019, thereby rendering it the poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean. Chávez’s socialist policies, which implemented tenets of modern monetary theory (MMT), irreparably harmed the citizens of Venezuela, by destroying their once-vibrant capitalist-mixed economy. The most repressed economies in the world out of 178 countries are all socialist including Cuba (176), Venezuela (177), and North Korea (178) – yet each nation was envisioned as a Marxist-Socialist paradise (Baker, 2021; Heritage, 2022).

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term “useful idiot” as a naive or credulous person who can be manipulated or exploited to advance a cause or political agenda. So, merely based on the allegedly spontaneous uprisings of Antifa groups throughout the United States in the past few years, Antifa might be categorized as useful idiots, however, one might rather consider them as either uneducated or simply naïve people who are flirting with revolutionary ideas. “They are confused and misguided sympathizers who call themselves ‘liberals’ and whom the communists call ‘useful innocents’ (and) it may be too late to avert disaster” (Mises, 1961, p. 17).

Antifa supporters also personify George Orwell’s concept of ‘doublethink’ – the act of simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct. According to Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984, doublethink was to know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions that canceled out, knowing them to be contradictory and yet believing in both of them (McArthur, 1992, p. 321). Common themes in George Orwell’s 1984 included War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength – whereas the common doublethink themes among Antifa members include:

• collectivism promotes individualism;
• large government is dangerous, but we need socialism, whichrequiresalargegovernment;
• the State is bad, but the State must give us universal basic income;
• free speech is essential, but we will beat up anyone who disagrees with us;
• words are violence, therefore violence against speakers with whom we disagree is justified;

– minorities are oppressed, even though, the U.S. has the most prosperous minorities in the world. Antifa’s doublethink is supported by incredible levels of hypocrisy, such as protesting against capitalism, consumerism, and corporations, while enjoying the use of cell phones, automobiles, and video games created by those same corporations. Antifa members appear oblivious to their own doublethink (El-

Sawad, et al., 2004). In contrast to Antifa, most Americans of all hues are advocates of free speech, open society, tolerance, and peaceful political change. Antifa members are useful idiots.

Antifa Violence

Beinart (2017) writes that there was a distinct shift in Antifa tactics in Portland starting in 2017. In prior years the American left and right both marched in the Rose Parade, but in 2017, Antifa decided that it would oppose anyone who supported the Trump administration, incorrectly claiming that it was fascist. The ‘Direct Action Alliance’ effectively declared war on Trump supporters. Why? This is in part because many people on the left believe words are violence. Lisa Feldman-Barrett (2017) helped to popularize the concept that words are violence by writing, “if words can cause stress, and if prolonged stress can cause physical harm, then it seems that speech—at least certain types of speech—can be a form of violence.” Most adults can tell the difference between someone threatening to punch you in the nose, and someone that actually does it: but not Antifa members! Antifa argues that hate speech against vulnerable minorities leads to violence against vulnerable minorities. Therefore, President Trump’s tweets about illegal immigrants, not legalimmigration, amount to violence against all immigrants, justifying Antifa’s use of violence (Beinart, 2017; Feldman-Barrett, 2017). Is Antifa confused or mentally ill?

The American right contends that words are not violence, it is free speech, and that only the mentally ill could equate anyone’s tweets to the concentration camps of NAZI Germany, or the 100 million killed by socialist and communist regimes in the last century (Courtois, et al., 1999). The riots in Portland and Seattle were between self-professed social justice warriors defending the allegedly vulnerable minorities on the left, against self-professed defenders of free speech and free assembly on the right. The violence had nothing to do with true historical examples of fascism, and potentially more to do with Antifa members’ mental illness since a meta-analysis confirmed that extreme liberals had a 150% increased rate of mental illness when compared to moderates (Kirkegaard, 2020; Keeter, 2021). An example of the ‘words are violence’ extremism occurred when a vocal proponent of the Antifa movement, Michael Reinoehl, murdered a Trump supporter, Aaron Danielson. In a social media post on June 16, Reinoehl said that he was 100% Antifa all the way, writing:

“I am willing to fight for my brothers and sisters! Even if some of them are too ignorant to realize what Antifa truly stands for. We do not want violence, but we will not run from it either!” he wrote, adding later, “We truly have an opportunity right now to fix everything. But it will be a fight like no other! It will be a war and like all wars, there will be casualties” (Zapotosky, 2020).

Michael Reinoehl perceived himself as a freedom fighter; however, based on his tendency to break laws, act impulsively, and have no regard or sympathy for the safety of others, Reinoehl was probably just a person with antisocial personality disorder who had been manipulated by Antifa’s propaganda: he was the prototypical “useful idiot” for the left (Mises, 1961, p. 17).

The Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), a.k.a. the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), a.k.a. the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), was a protest that occupied, and then self-declared an autonomous zone in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Protestors that included Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) declared four blocks within the city independent or autonomous from U.S. jurisdiction (Nadales, 2020, p. 5). This event was the tipping point that shifted BLM/Antifa from semi- peaceful protests guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution to terrorist acts per U.S. Title 18 U.S. Code, §2331 defines domestic terrorism as activities that—

1. involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
2. appear to be intended to:

• intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
• influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
• affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and

3. occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

The violent protests conducted by the BLM and Antifa supporters fit the legal definition of domestic terrorism. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allegedly classified their activities as “domestic terrorist violence,” according to confidential law enforcement documents in 2017 (Meyer, 2017). Therefore, government officials supporting Antifa’s violent behavior including the Mayors of Minneapolis, Seattle, and Portland as well as the Governors of Minnesota, Washington, and Oregon should be tried for violation of Title 18 U.S. Code §2384, Seditious Conspiracy. Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, established authority. During the incidents of violence in Minneapolis, Seattle, and Portland, the Antifa groups used an urban warfare strategy directly from Carlos Marighella’s doctrine that prescribes turning every political crisis into armed conflict (Williams, 1989; O’Neill, 2005; Baker, 2022), which was a catalyst for billions of dollars of property damage during the 2020-2021 riots, the most expensive in U.S. history (Nester, 2020; Kingson, 2020). The U.S. spends over $600 billion per year on the Department of Defense and has special operations forces (SOF) that are uniquely trained for counterinsurgency (COIN) missions, yet political infighting among careerist politicians, combined with an inept Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lacked the political will to deploy these much-needed SOF capabilities. Why have a COIN capability if you are not going to use it?

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Research Question 1: How Do Antifa’s Core Beliefs Align With Historical Economic, Social, or Political Theories?

This exploratory research article was focused narrowly on American Antifa; the role that Antifa plays outside of the United States falls outside the scope of this article. This research is exploratory with comparative economics foci relating domestic threats to businesses. Figure 12 summarized Antifa’s core beliefs and practices, which are very similar to Mussolini’s Black Shirts and Hitler’s Brown Shirt paramilitary organizations. While Antifa claims to be anti-fascist, its belief system is similar to Marxist, Socialist, Fascist, and Nazi organizations of the 1930s. Their publications, statements, and behavior are living examples of double-speak, potentially a sign of mental illness among the “useful idiots” of the Marxist left (Kirkegaard, 2020).

Research Question 2: How Should Business Owners and Others Respond to Antifa’s Violent Behavior?

What should business owners take from this research? Publicly, a small business owner should remain apolitical. Why? Evidence from the Antifa uprising showed targeting of, and damage to any businesses, that Antifa felt supported the allegedly fascist right. This won’t necessarily protect you, your family, or your business, so learning to use weapons and obtaining a concealed carry permit is essential. Key Recommendations for Businesses include:

1. Start video surveillance of your business and home with recording capabilities.
2. Mandate “no mask” within your place of business, even during the winter.
3. Use physical means like security shutters, wire gates, or other enclosures at night.
4. Install automatically locking doors, with remotes to open or lock access.
5. Start weapons training and concealed carry – get weapons insurance with a reputable agent.
6. No political messages or donations from the business (that should remain private).
7. Use the Chamber of Commerce to send a unified message to support LEA and anti-crime efforts.
8. Get rid of any politician that does not back LEA and support of local businesses.
9. Renew business insurance and update with proper amounts; ensure riot and fire coverage.

BusinessInsurance Policies

Standard commercial policies typically include coverage for physical loss or damage to the insured premises and other business property resulting from looting, vandalism, and riots. Ricardo Lara (2022) recommends that you check your specific insurance policy for the following coverages:

• Vandalism, Malicious Mischief – Vandalism is generally defined as willful and malicious damage to, or destruction of, the policyholder’s property; malicious mischief is like vandalism and is generally defined as the willful destruction of property for vicious or mischievous purposes.
• Riot and Civil Commotion – a riot and a civil commotion involve a revolt by a gathering of people in a public place. A civil commotion is similar to a riot but involves a greater number of people. Riot and civil commotion can be difficult to differentiate.
• Business Income Coverage – for loss of income sustained due to suspension of business operations during a period of restoration. The suspension of business operations typically must be caused by direct physical loss or damage to the policyholder’s premises resulting from a covered peril.
• Civil Authority Coverage – Business income insurance typically includes civil authority coverage, which provides loss of income due to prohibited access to the business premises by a civil authority such as a governmental entity. If businesses are forced to limit hours or suspend operations due to rioting, vandalism, or civil commotion then loss of income may be covered after an initial waiting period.
• Glass Coverage – Many commercial policies cover glass breakage. However, some insurance companies require that glass coverage, such as plate glass insurance, be added to the standard policy by endorsement for an additional premium.

The Antifa and BLM demonstrations brought large numbers of protestors claiming to be against racism and fascism. But these protests also brought violent riots that imposed a great cost on some Black-owned, as well as White, Asian and Hispanic-owned businesses. Black owners recall, that despite putting up signs that said black-owned business, rioters set multiple fires. “They stole our inventory, (and businesses) were burned to the ground, everything 100% gone” (Smith, 2020). Businesses without insurance lost everything; many store owners of every hue said they felt like the victims of misplaced aggression (Dickerson, 2020). SOF COIN could have stopped or minimized these attacks on property and people; but corrupt “woke” politicians applauded the oft-violent protests, while the rest of the world watched a neutered, former superpower do nothing. Despite the false stories by Mainstream Media of widespread support to defund the police, according to a June/July 2020, Gallup poll, 81% of blacks and 88% of whites want the same level, or more patrolling of their neighborhoods, not less (Saad, 2020).

Implications

One challenge in academic research is writing a factually sound article while remaining both relevant and interesting to the business community. This exploratory research described historical economic doctrine and compared it to Antifa, and the current streak of violence associated with economic, social, and political mayhem. Competing social and cultural norms were contrasted in Figure 9, and there are no easy answers. Throughout the world, beliefs in a socialist paradise have never been achieved and within the last Century, this resulted in over 100 million killed. Marxism does not work! The differences and consequences of these deadly economic theories should be taught in high school.

A significant problem within the United States is the growing number of people who tend to see themselves as perpetual victims. Kaufman (2020) wrote that Gabay (2020) and colleagues define this tendency for interpersonal victimhood (TIV) as “an ongoing feeling that the self is a victim, who is generalized across many kinds of relationships. As a result, victimization becomes a central part of the individual’s identity.” Business owners may want to incorporate a test for internal versus external locus of control as part of their hiring process. The wide body of research on the locus of control suggests that individuals who generally believe they can control their environments are more likely to be aware of actions and information that will help them achieve their successes. They tend to work toward improving their situations and place a higher value on their own skills. In contrast, those who have a perpetual victimhood mindset tend to have an “external locus of control”; they believe that one’s life is entirely under the control of forces outside oneself, such as fate, luck, or the mercy of others.

In addition, based on clinical observations, researchers found that the tendency for interpersonal victimhood consists of four main dimensions: (a) constantly seeking recognition for one’s victimhood, (b) moral elitism, (c) lack of empathy for the pain and suffering of others, and (d) frequently ruminating about past victimization (Kaufman, 2020). Based on this literature review, Antifa attracts followers who believe everyone is a victim, including themselves, and only through violent revolution will they overcome an imaginary fascist boogeyman. In words and deeds, Antifa members have become fascists (Tuccille, 2017). Current research in TIV provides a better understanding of the way processes of interpretation, attribution, and memory reinforce feelings of victimhood and retaliatory behaviors, which could be treated with different types of therapy (e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, etc.) to decrease these negative cognitive biases (Gabay, et.al., 2020, p. 9). Bilateral political support is needed for additional research to end insurgent violence whether foreign or domestic, and the identification of students with antisocial personality disorder should start in school.

Limitations

This exploratory research reviewed the economic doctrine of Marx and Engels (Marxism, Fascism, Nazism, Socialism, and Communism) as compared to the teachings of Adam Smith (Capitalism). In addition to the 134 articles cited herein, the author interviewed three Antifa members in Denver, and read several hundred pages of newspaper articles. However, due to the decentralization and intentional secrecy of the Antifa organizations, as well as their potential for violence, additional interviews, and follow-up questions were not possible. The primary limitation for exploratory research of insurgencies or terrorist organizations is possible violence against any author, as well as the potential misrepresentation of either Antifa supporters or their opponents due to demonstrated biases by politicians and the mainstream media.

Delgado and Stefancic (2017) wrote that “racism is ordinary, not aberrational” (Delgado, et.al, 2017, p. 8), and that white supremacy is an all-encompassing and omnipresent system of privilege (Delgado, et.al, 2017, p. 9). Research by Baker (2022) proved conclusively the major intellectual and logical failings of these critical race theory (CRT) concepts included non sequitur premises, hasty generalization, appeal to the people, post hoc ergo propter hoc, faulty assumptions, and tu quoque fallacies that are combined and interwoven with manipulative propaganda. Yet, Antifa and career politicians like Biden and Nadler have bought into the false ideology, since they claim that white supremacists pose the biggest threat of domestic terrorism. In CRT’s ‘woke’ propaganda, the term white supremacy denotes the “unspoken assumption” possessed by all white people that they are the ideal race and that all other ethnicities are inferior; but CRT’s “unspoken assumptions” are delusional hypotheses that cannot be measured (Baker, 2022). This research on crime rates and mass shootings has proven conclusively that their assertions are false – past violence is the greatest indicator of future violence. The author served 30 years in intelligence and operations positions at the highest levels and finds that many terrorism theorists who tie Trump supporters to potential extremism, combine scant facts with hasty generalization fallacies (Stenzler-Koblentz, et.al., 2021); thereby politicizing formerly impartial threat analysis. Also, the demise of the American Fourth Estate is due to a rise in advocacy journalism and a lack of fact-based news reporting that has made many in U.S. media an equivalent of Soviet Pravda’s propaganda, a.k.a. American “fake news.”

Future Research

For-profit businesses (small businesses, entrepreneurs, limited liability companies, or corporations) provide products and/or services to customers to make a profit. In capitalism, a business ceases to exist if they do not have a satisfied customer base. However, centralized, command-controlled economies have continuously failed since 1914 because a small group of revolutionaries does not have the same

capabilities to adjust an entire economy, as does Adam Smith’s invisible hand. Baker (2021) wrote that Venezuela transformed from the most prosperous capitalist-leaning nation in Latin America to the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere under 21st Century Socialism. Future research is needed on learning “how” Hugo Chávez, Kim, Castro, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Mussolini convinced entire nations to follow the socialist path into economic ruin. Greater research is needed to preclude similar mass hypnosis from occurring in the United States.

The United States is now at an inflection point due to the intersection of Antifa/BLM riots, CRT’s anti-white rhetoric, defunding the police that has spiked violent crime, the shutdowns of the economy by overzealous politicians in response to COVID-19, and MMT-based overspending that has caused the highest inflation in 50 years. U.S. politicians at the local, state, and federal levels have exercised greater control of the economy and personal lives (mandated shutdowns, masks, isolation, etc.) which has resulted in a significantly negative change in the American economy, as well as decreased individual freedom. This unconstitutional overreach by politicians can be considered a turning point after which a dramatic change with significantly negative results for both small and large businesses. Reversing the current MMT spending spree by the Biden administration, and placing the U.S. government on a starvation diet is the first step to reversing this decline, and this could potentially be modeled after the cuts made by Truman in 1946-47.

EPILOGUE

Through interviews and a literature review, this research analyzed and attempted to make sense of anti- fascist (Antifa) doctrine and their unmitigated violence before, during, and after the 2020 election season. It also tried to make sense of President Biden’s false claim that MAGA Republicans are “fascists” (Biden, 2022) and that “domestic terrorism from white supremacists is the most lethal terrorist threat in the homeland” (Biden, 2021). Merriam-Webster defines white supremacy as “the belief that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white person should have control over people of other races.” Biden’s claims are hyperbole.

After researching, writing, and submitting this paper, the US House of Representatives conducted hearings on the January 6^th, 2021, riots. These hearings assist sense-making from a socio-political perspective by observing what was, and what was not addressed. For instance, the House has not conducted hearings and massive arrests on the BLM/Antifa riots of 2020 despite 574 violent clashes, billions in property damage to homes and businesses, as well as many injuries or deaths. Also, the Biden administration has not designated BLM/Antifa as domestic violent extremists (DVEs); whereas, some non- violent conservative organizations have been designated DVE. There is obvious collusion among the Biden administration, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in determining who is, and who is not considered DVE. Yet, after January 6^th riot, the current administration felt it necessary to imprison over 1000 people, even though the majority are merely charged with trespassing, which is a misdemeanor in most states. After eighteen months of imprisonment, these citizens’ Constitutional right to a speedy trial has been violated.

The House hearings were intended to propagate the belief that white supremacy is a serious threat, yet FBI whistleblowers have reported top-down pressure to ‘find’ white supremacists where none exist. Prior to the J6 riots, intelligence agencies confirmed that there were going to be thousands of protestors, yet neither the Mayor of Washington D.C., the Speaker of the House of Representatives, nor the Capitol Police Board enhanced their security, nor did they proactively call up the National Guard when offered by the former President. The House hearings obfuscated what actually occurred during the January 6th riots, e.g., the only person murdered on January 6th was an unarmed protestor Ashley Babbitt, who was murdered by a Capitol Police Officer – who has not been charged with murder, manslaughter, or excessive use of force. Despite false claims of an insurrection by some members of Congress, there were no protestors or rioters with pistols, rifles, or explosives inside or immediately outside of the capitol; so, the riot was despicable but it does not rise to the U.S. Title 18 U.S. Code, §2331 definition of domestic terrorism. Mark Levin identified the January 6th Congressional Hearings as a choreographed Stalinist show trial, that

concealed exculpatory information, manipulated evidence, cherry-picked information, and did not allow cross-examination (Levin, 2022). Essentially, the United States Congress has become a kangaroo court.

Should business owners be concerned? Yes! The Biden Administration has sided with the far-left narrative of the Antifa insurgents. The Antifa solution to societal wrongs is to tear down the current system and rebuild it in a new Marxist or Socialist image. This appears to coincide with the far-left control of the former Democratic Party. Business owners should be well-read on events in Venezuela during the past 20 years to ensure that the same left-wing, socialist-led, socio-economic destruction does not occur in the United States. Marxists killed 100 million in the last century in the name of equality, and many were small business owners. We should all be concerned.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to acknowledge the invaluable teachings of free-market economists Ludwig von Mises, and Nobel Prize winner, Friedrich A. Hayek, who showed that a complex economy cannot be rationally planned by bureaucrats; also, special kudos to two superstars, Thomas Sowell and the late Walter Williams, for their amazing lessons on the linkages among social, economic, and political issues, as well as their courage and candor in speaking truth to power.

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