Was World War Two fought for a progressive cause?

Go read Reading the Maps' great post where he argues that Anzac Day actually does a grave disservice to the Anzacs who fought against fascism in World War Two, because it links them to "criminal enterprises" like the Vietnam War.

Maps says WWII is the only conflict New Zealand and Australian troops have been involved in that was fought for a progressive cause - the war against fascism. This is a view I have sympathy for - especially since I read the autobiography of British philosopher Bertrand Russell a few years ago. Russell, a prominent pacifist during the First World War, saw no contradiction in opposing WWI and supporting the war against Hitler.

That said I also think there is a lot in British historian Eric Hobsbawm's characterisation of the entire period 1914-1945 as the "Second Thirty Years War". Hobsbawm likens the mix of major battles and smaller skirmishes throughout the period as being similar to the drawn out war of the 17th century. So, if there had been not been WWI and Versailles it is unlikely there would have been WWII and Hitler.

NZ can be proud to be the only country besides the USSR to show their opposition to the threat to democracy posed by fascist Spain, when our so called Allies (mostly under right wing leadership) supported the policy of appeasement, right up to the point Hitler invaded Poland.

Right wingers who support imperialist wars have a habit of screaming 'appeasement' at left wing opposition, rather than confronting the issues at hand. It is an irony that 'appeasement' largely represents baggage for the right. Prior to the start of the war in 1939, support for the policy of appeasement was most widespread among right-wing conservatives.
According to Hobsbawn:
"Many a good conservative felt, especially in Britain, that the best of all solutions would be a German-Soviet war, weakening, perhaps destroying both enemies, and a defeat of Bolshevism by a weakened Germany would be no bad thing"*.
British Intelligence services continued to concentrate on the 'Red menace' to such an extent that they did not abandon it as their main target until the mid 1930s. It would not be the first or the last time right wing foreign policy 'hawks' had their priorities all out of whack.

Book meme

This meme was passed to me by Kakariki

1) You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451 (explanation; plot) which book do you want to be?
George Orwell - 1984. I would imagine that a number of people would be anxious at the end of a period of totalitarian rule, even if they did not necessarily support the repressive government. The themes in Orwell's book may be familiar to people, and at the same time promote discussion on the nature of repression and why it should be challenged.

2) Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
No. If I was asked if I ever had a crush on a celebrity I would probably give the same answer, as I don't see a great deal of difference between how celebrities are presented in the media and fictional characters. Often human beings ability to idealise real things acts as the starting point for fiction.

3) The last book you bought is:
Karl Marx - Capital. Have read bits of Marx without reading one of his complete works, so I was really happy to find a complete three volume set of Capital in a second hand bookshop for $30. So much has been written about Marx I admit I am a little wary of relying on secondary sources that may have an agenda of their own - I want to read the man himself, particularly his exposition and critique of capitalism.

4) The last book you finished is?
Elsie Locke - Peace People
Peter Enderwich (ed) foreign Investment: The New Zealand Experience

5) What are you currently reading?
Eric Hobsbawn - Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century. A thoughtful trail though the 20C from a leftie historian. I take ages to read a book, often putting one book down while I start to read another.

6) Five Books you would take to a deserted island:
Bertrand Russell - History of Western Philosophy
J. R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings
Various - Gothic Treasury of the Supernatural - A collection of classic gothic horror novels including Frankenstein, Dracula and the Castle of Ontranto
Michael King - The Penguin History of New Zealand - just in case I got homesick.

Assuming I came to the deserted island with a few friends - the D & D Players guide - if you were stuck there for a long time, imagining yourself to be somewhere else would be reassuring as well as a good way to pass the time (just to prove I have no shame!). Any ideas on how to make dice from local materials? The 20 sided die could be a little tricky.

7) Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?
Hmmm...Quite a few people have done this already....Resistant Soy - someone I just added to my links list; Rich at Observationz ; and my mate Victor Billot - something to post in your original blog Victor!