On this episode of the It’s Going Down podcast, we speak with antifascist authors Matthew Lyons and Xtn Alexander of Three Way Fight, who speak about their new book, Three Way Fight: Revolutionary Politics and Antifascism, published by PM Press. During our interview we cover a lot of ground, from the election cycle, the changing terrain of US empire and hegemony, the limits of neoliberal discourse on “extremism,” the growing movement in solidarity with Palestine, and the state of the US far-Right.

From PM Press on the new book:

What’s the relationship between combating the far right and working for systemic change? What does it mean when fascists intensify racial oppression and patriarchy but also call for the downfall of economic elites or even take up arms against the state?

Three way fight politics confront these urgent questions squarely, arguing that the far right grows out of an oppressive capitalist order but is also in conflict with it in real ways, and that radicals need to combat both. The three way fight approach says we need sharper analysis of far-right movements so we can fight them more effectively, and we also need to track ongoing developments within the ruling class, including liberal or centrist efforts to co-opt antifascism as a tool of state repression and system legitimation.

This book offers an introduction to three way fight politics, with more than thirty essays, position statements, and interviews from the Three Way Fight website and elsewhere, spanning from the antifascist struggles of the 1980s and 1990s to the political upheavals of the twenty-first century. Over fifteen authors explore a range of topics, such as fascist politics’ relationship with patriarchy and settler colonialism, Tom Metzger’s “Third Position” (anticapitalist) fascism, conflict within the business community over the 2016 presidential election, and the Trump administration’s shifting relationship with the organized far right. Many of the writings address issues of political strategy, such as tensions between radicals and liberals within the reproductive rights movement and the George Floyd rebellion, video gaming as an arena of political struggle, and the importance (and challenges) of approaching antifascist organizing in ways that are militant, community based, and nonsectarian.

Lyons and Alexander argue that we need an ever evolving analysis of the challenges before us, as neoliberals continue to turn towards the Right, and the GOP’s open embrace of fascism escalates. Three Way Fight is also on tour to promote their new book, check them out in Philadelphia this month:

More Info: Three Way Fight website, Three Way Fight: Revolutionary Politics and Antifascism, interview with Three Way Fight on It’s Going Down