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Black Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation in Seattle An Intro to Libertarian Socialism 1 BLACK ROSE FEDERACIÓNFEDERACIÓN AANARQUISTANARQUISTA AANARCHISTNARCHIST FFEDERATIONEDERATION ROSA NEGRA libertarian-socialismllibberttarariaan-n sociallism sosocialismo-libertarioociialissmo-lliberttario anaanti-imperalismn tii -i- mpm erala iss m ananti-imperialismon tit -ii mpere ialii smo ququeer-liberationeee r-- libeb raa tit ono liliberación-queerbeb rar a cii ónó -quee err ininternationalismtet rnn ata ionaa lism ininternacionalismoternacioi nanaliismmo ananti-capitalismn tii -capiti ala ism ananti-capitalismontit -c- apitalalissmomo anaanti-ableismn tii -ableismm ananticapacitismotit caapacic titismsmo diddirect-actionrer ct-actt ion acacción-directación-dd irecta feffederalismded ralisms fefederalismoderar lil sms m o ananti-racistti-raca ist ananti-racistan tii -r- acisi ta Socialism ununionismn ionism sisindicalismondicalisi mom ananti-staten ti-stat te ananti-estadotii-estado will be free, or it feffeminismmim nismm fefeminismoemminismo FINDFIND USUS OONN ABOUTABOUT USUS ececologyologo y ececologíaoll ogía SOCIALSOCIA L MEDIAMEDIA will not be at all! We areare an organizationorganizi attioi n www.facebook.com/BRRNfed An Intro To Libertarian Socialism off rrevolutionariesevolutioi naariese whowhoo shshareara e cocommonmmm on vvisionsisionss @blackrose_rosanegra of a nnewew wworldoro ld – a wworldorld @BRRN_Fed whwhereerre pepeopleopo lee collectivelycollectivelly By Arthur Pye cocontrolntrorol theirtheir ownown woworkplaces,rkplp acese , coccommunitiesmmmunu ities andand landlal nd andandn CCONTÁCTENOSONTÁCTENOS whwherehere e alaalll babasicsic nenneedsedds araaree SiS quieresquieres invoinvolucrarte,lul crartee, o memmet.et.t A woworldorlld whwwhereere popowerower simplementes quieresquuiei res mámáss anandd papparticipationrticipation fl oww información,infof rmación, por ffavoravor pponteonte frfromromm ttheheh bbottomottom upwardsuppwwards encontactoencontacto con nnosotras/os.ossotras/oso . anandnd sossocietyciety isi organizedorganized forfor InvitamosInvitamos a totodasdad s laslas personaspersr onnas peppeoples’opplel s’s aspirations,aspirrationss, passions,passions, interesadasinnterer saadas en llasasa pposibilidadesoso ibiliddades anandd neneedseds rarathertherr thanthan proprro tt,, rarracialcial dee liberaciónliberaciói n y dede democraciademocracia directadid rectta prprejudice,reje udici e, ppatriarchy,atriarrchy, oorr imimperialism;periiala issm; aandndd a queque se organicenorgana icene concon nosotros whwwhereere wew lliveive susustainablystainaablb y wiwwithth tthehe pplanet.lal net. enn nnuestrasuestraas luchasluchas comunes.comunes. SSOBREOBRE NNOSOTROSOSOTROS CONTACTCONTACT USUS SoSSomosmomos uunana ororganizaciónrgaganizacic ónn ddee rerrevolucionariasvoolul cic onnarias y If youyoy u wantwant toto getget ininvolved,volved, rerevolucionariosvov luucionararioos ququienesienees cocompartimosmpm ara tit mos visionesviisis onese or simplysimplp y wantwant moremore info,info, cocomunesomum nen s dede unun mundomuunddo nuevonueve o – un mundomundod dondedonde pleaseplease contactcontact uus.s. We iinvitenvite cocontrolemosontroroleemos colectivamentecolel ctivi amenntee nuestrosnuestroos lugareslul gag res de everyoneeveryone interestedintterested in tthehe trtrabajo,abaja o, comunidadescomununididadese y ttierrasieierrr as y dondedonnde sese satisfagansaatisfagan possibilitiespop ssibbili iti iees foforr liberationliberation totodasdaas laslas necesidadesneeceessidaded s bábásicas.sis caas.s UUnn mundomum ndo dondedonde andand directdid rect democracydemocracy toto ell ppoderodderer y lala participaciónpartici ipacciói n fl uyyuyanan d esdesdesded a bababajojoj h achaciaia organizeorganize withwith us inin ourour araarribarriba y lala sociedadsoocic eddadad sese organiceoro ganin ce porpor laslasa aspiraciones,asppiri acioones, commoncommon struggles.struggles. papasionesasis oness y necesidadesnece ese idaddess ddee la ggenteenntee eenn vevezz ded llasasa gganancias,annanancicias, wwwwww.blackrosefed.org.blackrosefed.org lolosos prprejuiciosreje uicios rraciales,acaciales, eell pappatriarcadotrt iaarcada o o ele imperialismo;imppeerriaalil smmo; y dodondendn e vivivamosvav moos ene unasunaas relacionesreelaacic ononese ssosteniblesoso tenin blbless cconono eell plplaneta.lana eta. DISTRIBUTED BY BLACK ROSE ANARCHIST FEDERATION 2 Socialism will be free, or it will not be at all! An Intro to Libertarian Socialism 11 Socialism will be free, Conclusion or it will not be at all! If we take an honest look at the structures and relationships around us today and ask ourselves: “could this be more free, equal and dem- An intro to Libertarian Socialism ocratic?”, our answer will almost always be: “yes.” If you take these By: Arthur Pye principles seriously, and follow them to their logical conclusion, you just may wake up and discover you’re a libertarian socialist. But fear not! Socialism is not some utopian pipedream. Freedom is possible. And admitting it is the fi rst step of the revolution. Introduction Socialism is offi cially a buzzword again. According to a recent poll, 44% of U.S. millennials “prefer socialism to capitalism,” and even mainstream Democrats are starting to call themselves socialist. As one headline put it: “Socialism is so hot right now.” Used to describe everything from Bernie Sanders to Stalinist Russia, there are few words which inspire such varied and contradictory meanings. Like most buz- zwords, socialism’s true meaning has been obscured by its popularity. But what does socialism actually mean, and what does it Arthur Pye is a member of Black Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation in Seattle. look like in practice? At its core, socialism is the idea that resources and institutions in society should be managed democratically by the community as a whole. Where- as under capitalism, economic and political power is concentrated in the hands of the rich, socialists fi ght for a society in which the means of pro- ducing and distributing goods and services are held in common through the democratic self-management of workplaces and communities. This article will make the case that libertarian socialism represents the most thorough and consistent embodiment of core socialist princi- ples. In essence, libertarian socialism is a politics of freedom and col- lective self-determination, realized through a revolutionary struggle against capitalism, state power and social oppression in all its forms. 10 Socialism will be free, or it will not be at all! An Intro to Libertarian Socialism 3 The question we must ask ourselves is not who should sit in the seat of power, but rather how do we shift the balance of power so that Part 1: Freedom from Capitalism the seat loses its meaning. Rather than putting our faith in those who profess to represent us as benevolent rulers (in this society or the Socialism vs Capitalism next), we should see ourselves as responsible for our own liberation. This is the difference between representative politics and direct action. In order to survive under capitalism, those without property are forced to rent themselves to property owners and be exploited for profi t. This Representative Politics: relationship between “haves” and “have-nots” forms the very basis of capitalist society - class exploitation. In such a society, power fl ows Representative politics requires that most of us take a back seat. By directly from one’s relationship to property, i.e. one’s class position. focusing on electing politicians or rallying behind charismatic lead- While a handful of people own and control society’s institutions, the ers, we surrender our agency in exchange for promises. In prac- vast majority of people (the working class) are rendered powerless as tice, what our “representatives” are seeking is access to state power. individuals. As the revolutionary socialist and disability rights activist This is dangerous because, as mentioned, states are not neutral insti- Helen Keller put it: “The few own the many because they possess the tutions but instruments of minority rule. States can (and should) be means of livelihood of all.” reformed in ways that improve people’s lives but the history of elec- toral politics shows that they will defang, demobilize and create rela- Virtually nothing happens in a capitalist society unless it makes a rich tionships of dependency with social movements rather than strength- person even richer. By its very nature, capitalism not only feeds on en them. If we want transformational change, we have to fi ght for class exploitation and wealth inequality, but it also requires endless reforms by building power from below, not by reinforcing it above us. growth and expansion of the economy, resulting in wars, colonialism, and ecological destruction. Corporations will stop at virtually nothing Direct Action: in their pathological pursuit of profi t. There’s no substitute for popular power. Not parties, nor charismatic Socialists advocate a “class struggle” in which those of us rendered leaders. Direct action means fi ghting for ourselves: uniting with others powerless under capitalism organize to shift the balance of power and fi ghting oppression with our own power rather than through some until society’s institutions are brought under democratic control and third party. A strike is the perfect example: workers use their own col- class-as-such has been abolished. In a socialist society private profi t lective power to simply stop working until their demands are met. Not would be eliminated. Instead, the purpose of political
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