Millions are forming up against fascism and war around the globe

The basis for this development is an open crisis of the reorganization of international production, which is intensifying and deepening. The world order that emerged after the end of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, dominated by the US as the then sole superpower, is disintegrating. The struggle for the redivision of the world has taken on the character of a battle of annihilation. It is being fought between old and new imperialist countries around the superpowers USA and China. Wars of aggression are rapidly increasing, countries are being annexed, entire industries or corporations are being broken up, raw materials and energy, supply chains and markets are being redivided, and social and labor laws are under attack. The international supermonopolies dictate the pace in order to dominate the world market and invest their surplus capital for maximum profit. In dramatic fashion, ultra-reactionary or fascist-ruled countries are dismantling hard-won achievements in the protection of the natural environment. Since internationalized production has become a fundamental prerequisite for generating maximum profits, it can neither be ignored nor simply reversed under penalty of one's own demise. Those in power continue to try to gain advantages at the expense of their competitors through economic penetration, deals, or trade agreements. The imperialist alliance between the US and the EU, and thus also NATO, is in a deep crisis. At the Security Conference in Munich, US Secretary of State Rubio demanded that the EU unconditionally submit to the fascist policies of the US government: abolition of environmental protection, fascist refugee policy, “my country first” policy, and aggressive anticommunism. According to him, Germany/the EU and the US are united by the fact that they already defended themselves together against “godless communist revolutions” and “anti-colonial uprisings” after World War II. What comes next when such a speech is met with standing ovations and praise from German Foreign Minister Wadepuhl (“reading from the same page”)? The fascist foreign policy of the US is leaving its mark on the world.

German and European imperialism are increasingly pursuing their own interests and have their eyes on a great power Europe. In recent weeks, Chancellor Merz’s speechwriters have hypocritically embellished this as a continuation of the German government's peaceful foreign policy. According to this narrative, Germany, as a “medium-sized power,” must assert itself against the danger of being ground down by great powers. Yet Germany is one of the world’s leading imperialist countries and the fourth-largest economic power. Under the rule of German monopolies, some of which are still in operation today, German imperialism unleashed two world wars that claimed tens of millions of lives.

The modern fascism of Trump, AfD & Co. still manages to confuse parts of the masses. It often plays on legitimate interests and discontent with the prevailing conditions, promoting petty-bourgeois sentiments such as rivalry, ruthlessness, egotism or destructive anxieties about the future, with the goal in mind of making the new forms of fascism appear to be in the interests of the masses. In the polls, the modern fascists of the AfD remain strong, in some cases even leading, as in individual states in eastern Germany. However, internal disputes, corruption, and support for the hated US President Trump are weakening their mass base.

Whereas in Germany every “business climate” and all sales figures of the supermonopolies are analyzed down to the second decimal place, at best we hear only highlights about the progressive movement. Yet a united front against fascism, war, the dismantling of social gains, and the exploitation offensive in enterprises is forming in a worldwide process of political ferment:

1. A new antifascist mass movement is developing. In Germany alone, seven million people took to the streets in 2024-25 to protest against the fascist threat. The non-party basis of this movement is becoming more solid. In 2025, 15 million people were active in the “No Kings” protests in the USA. In 2026, an antifascist organized mass resistance developed there. In Minneapolis up to 50,000 people organized themselves, enrolled in structures, against the fascist ICE units. They observed and monitored ICE’s actions, organized blockades and protective actions for workers and families facing deportation, as well as organizing strikes. Some of the activists exercised the right of the people to bear arms in the US. Now the ICE troops had to withdraw from Minneapolis. This marks an unmistakable setback in the restructuring towards fascism in the US. Even though Trump is still in the saddle, crisis tendencies are mounting. After more than 80 percent of the US population rejected Trump’s plans to annex Greenland, he had to back down on this issue as well.

2. A global anti-imperialist mass movement encompasses millions. Over the past three years, some 30 million people worldwide have participated in demonstrations against the war in Gaza. That is significantly more than in the movement against the Vietnam War in the 1960s, which lasted over eleven years. But that is not all. Against all imperialist, sometimes colonialist-style attacks, in part internationally coordinated mass movements of hundreds of thousands of people are emerging. They are directed against US aggression in Venezuela, Greenland, or Iran, but also against attacks on Kurdish self-government in Rojava by Turkey and Syrian troops, or against brutal massacres of tens of thousands by the Iranian regime.

3. For the first time in years, internationally coordinated struggles and strikes by the working class are emerging again. A politicization in enterprises and trade unions can be observed. Many workers are fighting for every job and training place against the unprecedented series of plant closures, mass layoffs, as well as repression and the exploitation offensive. A shining example was set by dockworkers in six Mediterranean countries on February 6, 2026, with an internationally coordinated strike against war preparations and arms transports. Amidst the polarized mood, trade union and workplace meetings and events in Germany are increasingly taking a stand against fascist plans to divide the working-class movement and smash trade unions, against the war economy and fascist management practices. Large demonstrations and militantly led trade-union strikes, such as those organized by the Verdi public service union, are also taking place on social issues such as housing poverty or the healthcare system.

4. Among young people, great potential is emerging with a growing openness for a socialist youth movement and a worldwide trend to the left. Young people are looking for social alternatives, and interest in and openness for socialism are growing considerably. Reservations about organizing and political activity are also decreasing. This is accompanied by spreading awareness of what socialism means.

5. The petty-bourgeois intermediate strata are also beginning to move. Across the entire spectrum, opportunities for alliances are developing against fascism, war, environmental destruction, on social issues, and in the struggle for democratic rights and freedoms. In the US, bourgeois-democratic protest extends far into petty-bourgeois and bourgeois circles of artists, government employees, the judiciary, and scientists. Even though the environmental movement has declined, brutal setbacks in environmental policy are met with outrage even in bourgeois circles.

These developments confirm: humanity does not want to perish in imperialist barbarism. As forward-looking as these movements are, they also reveal the challenges that still need to be overcome in order to establish a truly superior force of all antifascist and revolutionary forces. Societal confusion is still hindering this process. As Stefan Engel, head of the MLPD’s theoretical organ, observed at New Year’s, 2026 must and will become the year of “disentangling from confusion.” It is necessary to wage the societal struggle over the mode of thinking on a new level as Marxist-Leninist educational work with mass appeal. This is also a struggle against opportunism and sectarianism. Their carriers channel struggles into the framework of the capitalist system or write off the masses. It is necessary also to help people who are influenced by the manipulation of public opinion to cope with corrosive influences. The level of organization is not yet sufficient. The unity of action in individual demonstrations or actions must lead to a united front with a new quality of permanent forms of organization. Revolutionaries, the Marxist-Leninists of the world, must work resolutely towards achieving this: strengthening their parties considerably, learning and realizing their aspiration to mobilize and lead masses, and advancing consciousness-raising especially with regard to the great interest in genuine socialism. The promotion of non-party self-run organizations, mass movements, and new forms of organization of the united front deserve the utmost attention.

All this is taking place along the lines of the socially polarized struggle of worldviews, such as against the petty-bourgeois fascist mode of thinking. While the anticommunism of those in power is intensifying, it is losing its effect among the masses. The MLPD is clearly gaining influence in this process. The movement “Don’t give anticommunism a chance!” is gaining social relevance. It is lifting the veil, often based on emotion, over the forward-looking social alternative. This requires serious discussion of the mistakes, in some cases even crimes, and problems in former socialist countries. With socialism based on the proletarian mode of thinking, the MLPD has drawn conclusions on how in future to prevent a renewed betrayal of socialism, the emergence of bureaucratism, and an egotistical new leadership circle. It is already living this concept today as a party of a new type. It will increasingly carry this into the masses, especially for the formation of a socialist youth movement.

In this situation, organize yourselves long-term for a society-changing struggle, in the revolutionary workers’ party MLPD and the youth league REBELL!

• Forward with international worker unity, forward to the working-class offensive!

• Let us promote the broad front against fascism, war, and environmental destruction!

• Don’t give anticommunism, fascism, racism, anti-Semitism, and Zionism a chance!

• Strengthen non-party self-run organizations and mass movements to become a society-changing force!

• Long live proletarian internationalism! Let us strengthen international structures such as ICOR or the United Front!

Let us counter the imperialist world system, which is under destruction,¹ with the promising prospect of the united socialist states of the world!