The Clash's 'White Riot' and the BNP house band's 'British Revolution', compare and contrast.

Both contain the desire for use of physical force to achieve political aims.

White riot - I wanna riot
White riot - a riot of my own

We fight to smash the red front

In itself a symptom of alienation from political process.

Black people gotta lot a problems
But they don't mind throwing a brick
White people go to school
Where they teach you how to be thick

The Clash are bigging-up 'black people' for fighting back against oppression (presumably a reference to 'race riots'), and lamenting the lack of class conciousness amongst 'whites'.

Both songs express the frustrations of the inevitable failure of the mainstream parties to humanise capitalism, yet the BNP is reactionary: 'bogus refugees', 'cruel and alien creeds' are to blame, and they seek a 'British revolution' (not a revolution as such but an ethinically-cleansed "British" society 'to set our people free'). The Clash see beyond the reactionary and reformist approaches, level their frustration clearly at the capitalists themselves, and seek to end class-based society.

All the power's in the hands
Of people rich enough to buy it
While we walk the street
Too chicken to even try it

Are you taking over
or are you taking orders?
Are you going backwards
Or are you going forwards?

The Clash are clever. The BNP are stupid.