Far right vs. Far left Extremism

[Bevo 13527]

I was reading Wiki regarding ANSWER which is a major organizer for the Pro Hamas rallies. In reading I see a lack of distinction between the far right and the far left. To me all extremists are the same whether they are "Far Right" or "Far Left". Can anyone help make a distinction between the two groups.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.N.S.W.E.R. .

Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER), also known as International A.N.S.W.E.R. and the ANSWER Coalition, is a United States–based protest umbrella group consisting of many antiwar and civil rights organizations. Formed in the wake of the September 11th attacks, ANSWER has since helped to organize many of the largest anti-war demonstrations in the United States, including demonstrations of hundreds of thousands against the Iraq War.^[1][2] The group has also organized activities around a variety of other issues, ranging from the Israel/Palestine debate to immigrant rights to Social Security to the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles. n October and November 2023, the ANSWER Coalition joined with other groups such as the Palestinian Youth Movement to organize a series of protests across the USA.

Many of ANSWER's lead organizers had ties to the International Action Center and Workers World Party at the time of ANSWER's founding. ANSWER has been closely tied to the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) throughout its existence; PSL co-founder Brian Becker is ANSWER's National Coordinator.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_for_Socialism_and_Liberation

The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) was established in 2004 and claims to be active in a wide range of social movements. Notable members include Gloria La Riva, Michael Prysner, and Eugene Puryear. PSL describes its primary goal as the overthrow of capitalism and the institution of socialism.^[6]

The party's stated goal is to form a "new government of working people". It advocates for recall for all elected officials, supports freedom of speech for the working class, and opposes political lobbying. The party's program states: "Achieving fully developed socialism, a goal that has not yet been achieved anywhere, will open the way to communism and the end of class society."^[18]

PSL opposes Israel and its interests in the Middle East. It participated in demonstrations against the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in July 2006 and supports the Palestinian right of return.^[20] PSL praised the 2008 election of Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.^[21]

The PSL generally views other self-described socialist countries favorably. It supports Cuba and mourned the death of its former President Fidel Castro;^[22] additionally, it has endorsed activities that called for the release of the Cuban Five—deemed political prisoners by supporters—and called for the extradition of anti-Castro terrorist Luis Posada Carriles from the United States.^[23] It supports the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. Historically, it has described the Soviet Union positively, saying that the October Revolution was "the single biggest event that shaped global politics in the 20th century".^[24] However, it believes that the New Economic Policy of Vladimir Lenin "led to a re-polarization of social classes, especially in the countryside".^[24] The PSL blames the reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev for the dissolution of the Soviet Union.^[24]

While the PSL has at times been critical of the Chinese government, particularly for failing to uphold certain communist ideals like the abolition of private property,^[25] it views the Chinese Communist Revolution favorably,^[26] argues that the Chinese Communist Party has made important contributions to socialism and anti-imperialism, and argues that, despite its flaws, a "militant political defense of the Chinese government" is necessary to stave off "counterrevolution, imperialist intervention and dismemberment".^[25][27] The PSL has generally defended China's human rights records, denying, for instance, that the Chinese military massacred student protestors in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.^[28] The PSL supports China's policies towards Tibet^[29] and opposed the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, calling them "chauvinist", "separatist", and "anti-China".^[30][31]

The stance of the PSL on North Korea is that the country is often unfairly targeted and that the goal of the United States is regime change. The PSL advocates a significant overhaul of US foreign policy towards North Korea, including the lifting of sanctions on North Korea, the withdrawal of US troops from South Korea, and the signing of a peace treaty.^[32][33][34] The PSL is supportive of North Korea's nuclear weapons program;^[35][36] in the PSL's official newspaper, for instance, Stephan Gowans argued in 2013 that a North Korean nuclear arsenal is "to be welcomed by anyone who opposes imperialist military interventions; supports the right of a people to organize its affairs free from foreign domination; and has an interest in the survival of one of the few top-to-bottom, actually-existing, alternatives to the global capitalist system of oppression, exploitation and foreign domination".^[37] PSL has also expressed skepticism towards Western claims of North Korea's human rights record,^[38][39] arguing that "conditions in North Korea are vastly better than those in other developing countries" and stating that condemnations of North Korea's human rights records are "thinly veiled justification for U.S. aggression toward North Korea".^[39]

The PSL opposes the American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War, arguing that the United States' goal is "the projection of permanent imperial power and domination in a region that contains two-thirds of the world's oil reserves".^[40][41] It has generally been supportive of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian military efforts in Syria,^{[42][43][41][44]} and denies the conclusion of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)^[45] and other international organizations^[46][47] that the Syrian government used chemical weapons, which are banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention.^[48][42]

The PSL has been critical of certain intergovernmental organizations, particularly international economic institutions like the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank. Its official newspaper published an article stating that the "WTO is one of many institutions, like the G8, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, that undermine the sovereignty of nations by forcing the implementation of disastrous neoliberal economic policies of privatization, liberalization and deregulation".^[49] It has further argued that "the IMF works on behalf of multinational corporations, finding natural resources, sweatshop laborers, and consumers for Western capitalism's surplus production" and has called the G20 an "instrument of capitalist plunder".^[50][51] It has also called the International Criminal Court a "fake court that has been used as a tool by the imperialists against those resisting imperialist aggression".^[33]

Anti-war

The PSL co-operates with other organizations across the United States in the anti-war movement^[52] and is a member of the steering committee of the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition (A.N.S.W.E.R.). As one of the most active members of the coalition, the PSL has gained notice for successfully forging ties with Arab and Muslim American groups such as the Muslim American Society, Al-Awda and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.^[53] The PSL has advocated for the end of the United States military presence in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, and the closure of all United States foreign military bases.^[54]

 

 

 

 

 

[Woland 729]

If they both meet the definition of extremist, is there any reason to make a distinction?

[bernorange 8348]

15 minutes ago, Bevo said:

... To me all extremists are the same ...

 

[Js1 85114]

2 minutes ago, Woland said:

If they both meet the definition of extremist, is there any reason to make a distinction?

[Hugo Stiglitz 23359]

18 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Can anyone help make a distinction between the two groups.

Far right - christofascist nazis (Hitler/Mussolini)

Far left - godless communists (Lenin/Stalin)

It’s all a matter of perspective though.  For instance, I could argue that the status quo is an extremist position…now does that make me an extremist? 

What did the moderates in nazi Germany believe?  Were they extremists?