Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) was a German playwright and poet, a committed Marxist. In this incisive text, he dismantles the naive view that separates fascism from capitalism, affirming that the former is its most brutal and unvarnished phase. He criticizes those who condemn barbarism without attacking its economic roots, demanding a practical truth that points to avoidable causes and mobilizes action against the system that produces it.