Red-baiting

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Red-baiting, also known as reductio ad Stalinum (

red refers to the color that traditionally symbolized left-wing politics worldwide since the 19th century, while baiting refers to persecution, torment, or harassment, as in baiting.[4]

Communist and associates, or more broadly socialist, have been used as a

Second Red Scare). Such usage as an insult has been used as a tactic by the Republican Party against Democratic Party candidates, and has continued into the 21st century, including conflating German fascist Nazism as socialism and for left-wing politics.[5]

In the United States, the term red-baiting dates to as far back as 1927.

American politics indicate a resurgence of red-baiting consistent with the Cold War era.[10]

Background

Both communist and socialist movements have faced hostility since their breakthrough in the 19th century.

liberty, equality, and fraternity, communists denounced 1848 as a betrayal of working-class ideals by a bourgeoisie indifferent to the legitimate demands of the proletariat.[12]

In countries such as 19th-century Germany and Italy,

fascist-led Axis powers, and later in the Cold War.[23] In Western Europe Socialist parties greatly contributed to existing liberal democracy.[24]

History

Peru

Protest sign against the administration of Pedro Castillo, stating "Get out: Terrorists of the government"

Since the 1930s, the political elite of Peru used fear mongering tactics to influence the public by targeting foreign

authoritarian president Alberto Fujimori utilized terruqueos with the help of the National Intelligence Service to discredit those who opposed him, including dissenters from his own government, with political scientist Daniel Encinas saying that this would evolve into conservative politicians using the attack to target those opposed to Fujimori's neoliberal economic policies and that the right-wing used the terruqueo as a "strategy of manipulating the legacy of political violence".[26][27][30] Ultimately, a culture of fear was created by Fujimori according to Jo-Marie Burt, with individuals fearing that they would be described as a terrorist.[31]

The terruqueo would then become so prominent that political discussions in Peru often devolved into the attacks, especially during elections.

2022–2023 Peruvian political protests occurred, right-wing groups and the government of Dina Boluarte used the terruqueo to label protesters as terrorists, providing an excuse for authorities to use violence with impunity.[32][33] Experts of the United Nations condemned its usage during the protests.[33]

Philippines

In the Philippines, red-tagging poses threats to the lives or safety of its targets[34] and impinges on the right to free expression and dissent.[1] Red-tagged individuals also tend to become vulnerable to death threats[35] and allegations of terrorism.[1] The United Nations warns that red-tagging is a "criminalizing discourse" that undermines the value of the work of human rights defenders and places them at risk of violence and various forms of harassment.[36]

An anti-redtagging banner in a protest against the closure of Lumad schools, 3 December 2020

Philippine society ever since the country gained independence from the United States on 4 July 1946 through the Treaty of Manila. Shared ideological preferences with the United States, resulting from more than four decades of benevolent assimilation and exacerbated by the onset of the Cold War, have resulted in some Filipinos being predisposed to suspicion of communist sympathies.[37] This predisposition makes red-tagging an effective fear appeal tool used by players in the political arena, given that it authorizes law-enforcement agencies and the military to act on the taggings.[38]

Red-tagging is almost never employed in

ancestral-domain paralegal in the Cordillera Administrative Region. Lee was tagged as a communist and automatically an "enemy of the state" and was subsequently shot four times.[41] United States citizen Liza Soberano and Australian citizen Catriona Gray have also since been red-tagged and publicly threatened, the former with assassination and the latter with rape.[42]

Australia

In the early 1950s, Liberal Party leaders like Robert Menzies red-baited Labor politicians and described them as insufficiently tough on the People's Republic of China.[43]: 93 

United States

20th century

Red-baiting was employed in opposition to

United States government employed it as a central tactic in dealing with labor radicals, anarchists, communists, socialists, and foreign agents. These actions in reaction to the First Red Scare and the concurrent Red Terror served as part of the organizing principle shaping counter-revolutionary policies and serving to institutionalize anti-communism as a force in American politics.[44]

The period between the first and second Red Scares was relatively calm owing to the success of government anti-communism, the suppressive effects of

The history of anti-communist red-baiting in general and McCarthyism in particular continues to be hotly debated and political divisions this controversy created continue to make themselves felt.

Kremlin has."[50] Historian Ellen Schrecker wrote that "McCarthyism did more damage to the constitution than the American Communist Party ever did".[51]

21st century

Although red-baiting in the United States does not have quite the same effect it previously did due to the fall of most

Marxist–Leninist governments in the 1990s,[9] some pundits posit that events in 21st-century American politics indicates a resurgence of red-baiting consistent with the 1950s.[10] The United States government's measures in 2008 to address the subprime mortgage crisis such as the Troubled Asset Relief Program were not only criticized as corporate welfare but red-baited as a "gateway to socialism".[52] Political activist and author Tim Wise says that the emergence of such red-baiting may have been motivated by, and given additional force by, racism towards President Barack Obama and fear that the progressive policies of his administration would erode white privilege in the United States.[53]

Some commentators posit that red-baiting was used by

In April 2009, Representative

In May 2009, a number of conservative members of the

In July 2009, talk show host

White House Council on Environmental Quality. Beck was especially critical of Jones' previous involvement in radical protest movements and referred to him as a "communist-anarchist radical".[64] In September 2009, Jones resigned his position in the Obama administration after a number of his past statements became fodder for conservative critics and Republican officials.[64] Time credited Beck with leading conservatives' attack on Jones,[65] who characterized it as a "vicious smear campaign" and an effort to use "lies and distortions to distract and divide".[66]

Insult usage

Communist or socialist have been used as a pejorative within red-baiting, mainly in reference to authoritarian

center-left socialist parties to describe them as farthest left and more extreme than they actually are in an effort to marginalize them.[nb 3] For some scholars, communist and socialist, and the memories of such authoritarian regimes, are used as an insult to dismiss any criticism of capitalism and support for socialism by positing that any form of communism or socialism would always and inevitably result in 20th-century Communism and authoritarian regimes.[75]

Germany

The 1994 federal election saw a "red socks" campaign used by the

SPD–PDSThe Greens). Analysts have stated that such a strategy likely paid off, as it was seen as one of the decisive elements for the narrow victory of Helmut Kohl for the CDU/CSU–FDP. The red-baiting campaign was criticized as an obvious attempt to discredit the whole left; the PDS reinterpreted it for itself by printing red socks.[76]

As the CDU/CSU was falling down while the SPD was surging in the polls, the 2021 federal election saw a Red Scare campaign against a possible red–red–green federal government,[76] which was feared by conservatives,[77] who engaged in red-baiting by promoting a Red Scare.[78] A capital flight to Switzerland ensued due to fear of increased taxes for the very rich through higher inheritance taxes and a wealth tax.[79] As The Left underperformed, a left-wing coalition was ruled out by just a few seats in the Bundestag,[80] and the German financial market rallied as a result, as such threat was eliminated.[81]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, former

Keynesian than anything,[84] with Eaton stating that the adopted policies "would be regarded as mainstream in most European countries".[85] According to some studies, media coverage of Corbyn has often been hostile and misrepresentative of his views.[86]

United States

During the 20th century, the United States underwent two Red Scares, first in the 1920s and then in the 1950s through

socialization have been mistakenly used to refer to any state or government-operated industry or service (the proper term for such being either municipalization or nationalization); both terms have also been incorrectly used to mean any tax-funded programs, whether government-run or privately run.[89]

Into the 21st century, with the rise in popularity and to the mainstream of self-declared democratic socialist United States senator

Monopoly Socialism, a version of the Monopoly board game by Hasbro, was criticized for confusing socialism with communism, and mocking left-wing ideas in general. Some noted that the original game was created as a satire of capitalism, which is not widely known nowadays.[93]

See also

Notes

  1. freedom of expression or speech by the European Commission of Human Rights in Communist Party of Germany v. the Federal Republic of Germany,[18] while the latter was applied through the Communist Control Act of 1954, which remains standing even though it has not been enforced, apart from two minor cases in the states of New Jersey and New York.[17]
  2. ^ Given the long and traumatic experience of European colonisation of Southeast Asia, ASEAN strongly upholds the principle of noninterference.[40]
  3. left-wing populist parties.[74]
  4. ^ Notable excerpts include:

    [Republican Senator Robert] Taft explained that the great issue in this campaign is "creeping socialism." Now that is the patented trademark of the special interest lobbies. Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years.

    Socialism is what they called public power.

    Socialism is what they called social security.

    Socialism is what they called farm price supports.

    Socialism is what they called bank deposit insurance.

    Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.

    Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.

    When the Republican candidate inscribes the slogan "Down With Socialism" on the banner of his "great crusade," that is really not what he means at all.

    What he really means is, "Down with Progress — down with Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal," and "down with Harry Truman's fair Deal." That is what he means.[88]

References

  1. ^ a b c CMFR 2019.
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster 2010.
  3. ^ The Free Dictionary 2016.
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Nichols 2011.
  6. ^ The New York Times, 23 August 1927.
  7. ^ The New York Times, April 1928.
  8. ^ a b The Free Dictionary 2010.
  9. ^ a b Leibovich 2009.
  10. ^ a b Wise 2009; Hedges 2010.
  11. ^ Todorova 2020.
  12. ^ Evans & Strandmann 2000, pp. 207–235, "1848 in European Collective Memory".
  13. ^ Berman 2006, p. 52.
  14. ^ Dolack 2016, p. 30.
  15. ^ Sabry 2017, p. 164.
  16. ^ Major 1997, p. 17.
  17. ^ a b McAuliffe 1976.
  18. ^ Petaux 2009, p. 166; Benedek & Kettemann 2014, p. 86.
  19. ^ Foner 1984; Lipset & Marks 2000.
  20. ^ Lansford 2007, pp. 9–24, 36–44.
  21. ^ Leeden 1987, p. 63–64.
  22. ^ Leeden 1987, p. 137–139.
  23. ^ Columbia Encyclopedia 2007.
  24. ^ Pierson 1995, p. 71.
  25. ^ Tegel, Simeon (21 March 2023). "Peru's far right is reviving decades-old terrorism narratives to undermine protests". Coda Media. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  26. ^ a b Feline Freier, Luisa; Castillo Jara, Soledad (13 January 2021). ""Terruqueo" and Peru's Fear of the Left". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 18 November 2021. It was in this context that Martha Chávez, ... accused demonstrators of being linked to the terrorist left ... As absurd as it may seem, this kind of attack is common in Peru, and recently there is even a name for it: terruqueo, the mostly groundless accusation of being connected to once powerful communist terrorist organizations. ... After the end of the conflict, the term came to be used carelessly and often as a racially charged political insult, targeting progressive or left-wing politicians or activists, organizations committed to the defense of human rights, and, at least historically, people of indigenous origin.
  27. ^ a b c "Qué es el "terruqueo" en Perú y cómo influye en la disputa presidencial entre Fujimori y Castillo". BBC News (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  28. . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  29. ^ . terruqueo, ou seja, a construção artificial, racista e conveniente de um inimigo sociopolítico para deslegitimar formas de protesto social
  30. ]
  31. .
  32. ^ Loanes, Ellen (14 January 2023). "Peru's violent unrest shows no signs of stopping". Vox. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  33. ^ a b "Peru: UN experts call for end to violence during demonstrations, urge respect for human rights". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
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  35. ^ RSF 2019.
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  40. ^ Azmi & Sepe 2020.
  41. ^ Fonbuena 2019.
  42. ^ Sadongdong 2020; Aurelio, Mangosing & Valenzuela 2020.
  43. .
  44. ^ Bennett & Edsforth 1991; Hedges 2010.
  45. ^ Bennett & Edsforth 1991.
  46. ^ Haynes & Klehr 2003.
  47. ^ Woods 2004a, p. 170.
  48. ^ Moynihan 1998, p. 15.
  49. ^ Theoharis 2002.
  50. ^ Wheatcroft 1998.
  51. ^ Schrecker 2000.
  52. ^ Cianfrocca 2009.
  53. ^ Street 2015; Prince 2016, p. 15.
  54. ^ Hedges 2010.
  55. ^ Remnick 2010.
  56. ^ CNN, 9 April 2010.
  57. ^ Barlett 2011.
  58. ^ Hedges 2010; Hedges 2011.
  59. ^ Akers 2009.
  60. ^ Sanders 2009.
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  62. ^ Evans 2009.
  63. ^ Llewellyn 2009.
  64. ^ a b Brodey 2009.
  65. ^ Von Drehle 2009.
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  69. ^ Romano 2006.
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  74. ^ Damiani 2020.
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  76. ^ a b Deutsche Welle, 24 September 2021.
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  78. ^ The Economist, 3 September 2021; Kirschbaum 2021.
  79. ^ Hirt 2021.
  80. ^ Reuters, 27 September 2021.
  81. ^ Siedenbiedel 2021; Aktuelle Nachrichten Online, 27 September 2021.
  82. ^ Fisher 2019.
  83. ^ Harding et al. 2018.
  84. ^ Bush 2017.
  85. ^ Eaton 2017.
  86. ^ Cammaerts 2016; Cammaerts et al. 2016.
  87. ^ Walker 2011.
  88. ^ a b Mikkelson 2019.
  89. ^ Reinhardt 2009.
  90. ^ Goodman 2015.
  91. ^ a b c Granieri 2020.
  92. ^ Berlatsky 2021.
  93. ^ Kaur, Harmeet (23 August 2019). "Yes, there's a socialism-themed Monopoly game. It packs a message tailored for capitalists". CNN. CNN. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
Bibliography
Further reading
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External links