I posted this commentary with Znet and Telesur-English.

I think that we need to have a very sober conversation about standing up to the political Right.  I mean this in two respects.  First, of course, there is the danger posed by the neo-liberal authoritarianism of the State.  Various forms of surveillance and repression.  What many people call the “national security state.”

At the same time the growing danger of right-wing populism must be tackled.  I want to encourage you to read the 2016 “Socialist Register” which focuses on understanding the Right.  I am honored to have a piece in there looking at right-wing populism in the USA which i identify as neo-Confederate.  There are excellent pieces that take a look at the growth of right-wing populism (and in some cases, neo-fascism) in various parts of the world.

The rise of Islamophobia as the socially acceptable way to be racist in the USA and in much of Europe has become a convenient means for the political Right, and specifically right-wing populism, to gain ground.  So, the question, then, is how to stand against this threat?  How to respond to political characters like Trump and Cruz?  How to address the fact that right-wing populists are not pacifists, and, indeed, are frequently well armed?

My sense of the ‘moment’ is that we are moving in the direction of the need for a “common front” to take a stand against the Right.  The political Left must be instrumental in the construction of such a common front otherwise, if it should even come into existence, it will collapse under the weight of old-line political liberalism.

The work of building a common front against the Right does not replace the absolute need we have for a rejuvenated and well-organized political Left.  The two challenges are not mutually exclusive.  That said, we need to appreciate that we are in a race against time with the right-wing populists.  They seek to ensure that the white working class regresses into total racial mythology in their search for the supposed good-old days.  The white “uniform” can blind white workers to the threats against them and lead them to conclude that their material interests rest with those who, in point of fact, have their boots on their necks.

I hope that get a chance to read the piece that i wrote and that you will also check out the 2016 Socialist Register.