Amusingly enough these semi-ex Marxists were somewhat influenced by the early work of the founding father of Polish fascism, back at the tuwhen he was merely proto-fascist and brilliant, back at the turn of the century, not  his late phase when the antisemitism had completely rotted his brain. In particular a series of essays published in book form under the title "Thoughts of a Modern Pole" where he critiqued the Polish Romantic worship for conspiracy, clandestinity, and illegality. He argued that all of those carry immense carry large costs that are often unrecognized, and that in reality open and legal action, even when severely constrained, is more effective. He also thought violence was almost always counterproductive, since it sapped the nation of its best blood. (No moral issues - this is a guy who believed that spending resources to save a starving child of another nationality was deeply immoral and an act of treason. Still, rather a rather unusual viewpoint for a fascist).

I sometimes wonder if in a way organizing in a system where the Party-State claimed the right to directly control all organized activity, no matter how trivial, was in some ways easier. The lines were clear, much less worries about cooptation and the more insiduous forms of molding society to conformity that exist in more open societies. Perhaps that's why Soros has found it more difficult to accomplish things in the US.

The problem today is that the Right has managed to sabotage civil society and eliminate the engaged citizenry.