mache penis dubbed the ‘general erection,’ and the attempted stealing of a ballot box during the 1981 cliff-hanger election, with the aim of demanding a 100% increase in wages for all workers during a wage freeze).70 In Sydney and Melbourne, carnivalists formed the ‘Dairy Liberation Front’ which stole Is Black and Red Dead? milk from rich suburbs and redistributed it to community organisations in working class suburbs. Sydney carnivalists penned a letter purported to be the Leichardt Town Council Anarchist Studies Network Mayor’s resignation letter. The letter advocated an anarchist revolution and encouraged the formation of workers’ and residents’ councils. At the time, corruption allegations had been made against Council officers about rezoning areas for high rise development. Both Australian stunts caused a furore in the press.71 The carnival anarchists were eclectic, and drew upon coun- cilist ideas. Peter McGregor, a key figure in the Sydney carnival anarchist scene, writes ‘by the mid 70s I’d evolved to an anar- chist position, under the influence of Socialisme ou Barbarie, Solidarity (UK) and the Self Management Group (Brisbane).’72 McGregor helped found the Sydney Anarchist Group in about 1974 along the lines of Brisbane SMG’s manifestos ‘As We See It’ and ‘As We Don’t See It’ as they ‘seemed to have the most coherent political position and McGregor wanted to set up a 70 Englart, ‘Anarchism in Sydney.’ 71 Peter McGregor, Cultural Battles: The Meaning of the Viet Nam — USA war, Melbourne: Scam Publications, 1998, p.16. The Wikipedia entry for McGregor notes that he ‘discerned considerable similarities be- tween the Situationist International (SI) & Socialism or Barbarism (SoB), let alone more general parallels between the SI (including its Libertar- ian Marxism) and Anarchism, especially in its council communist form.’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_McGregor, accessed 30 June 2009. This article was probably written by someone close to McGregor. 72 Peter McGregor wikipedia entry, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_McGregor, accessed 30 2009 June 2009. 68 Carnival Anarchism Many carnival anarchist groups were formed and reformed during this phase. In New Zealand, the Auckland Anarchist Activists (AAA), the Lumpen grouping in Auckland, and the Perth Street group in Christchurch were the major carnival anarchist groups. In Australia, the carnivalist groupuscules are too many to mention. In Sydney alone, they formed the Sydney Anarchist Group (which published Rising Free), Sydney Sewer Rats, Fruity Together, The Plague grouping, Bondi Vandals, and Panic Merchants. Frequently, the name of their group would change with each new action or stunt they took. The characteristics of these groupuscules were manifold. They were affinity or friendship groups. They were ephemeral in nature. They revolved around a large house or flat, nor- mally situated in an inner-city working class suburb that had a high proportion of bohemians and students;69 often these houses were squatted, particularly in Sydney. They considered themselves activists, and sporadically took part in the protest movements of the time (in New Zealand this included pro-abortion rallies, anti-apartheid demonstrations, anti-secret police rallies, Maori land occupations and activity against the deportation of Pacific Island migrant workers). Yet at the same time there was a strong counter-cultural, druggist and artistic focus, and an emphasis on spontaneity, collective living, having fun in the here and now and on the political as the personal. Individual transformation and personal relationships were viewed as crucial. One of their main activities was carrying out satirical and provocative stunts. In New Zealand, these included males dressing up as the Queen (complete with grotesque dark purple masks and dresses) to mock her during a ‘royal’ visit, and various anti-election stunts (such as creating a huge paper 69 See Boraman, Rabble Rousers, pp.103, 114–5 and 127–8. 67 Joh Bjelke-Petersen.67 The Brisbane SMG involved prominent activist Brian Laver, who has been described as a ‘fiery student radical.’68 Phase 2: The Mid-1970s Contents During this phase, a more fully-formed convergence between Call for Papers 13 councilism and anarchism occurred in New Zealand. Overall, the councilist ideas of Solidarity and of the Situationist Inter- Conference Report 15 national were highly influential in the Australasian anarchist milieu. Australasian councilists tended to become allies with class struggle anarchists. Both the councilists and class strug- Convergence Through Practice 1: The New Left 18 gle anarchists clashed with the carnival anarchists, particularly in Australia, where bitter schisms occurred over fundamental (New) New Left?: radical considerations in Canada questions of organisation and orientation. Nonetheless, carni- and Quebec from the post-1968 moment to today 19 val anarchists during this phase were not adverse to councilism Introduction ...................... 19 (of the Situationist version in particular). Perhaps this was be- New Left: ‘les annees 1968’ in Quebec & ‘the revolu- cause the works of the SI did not become readily available in tionary youth movement’ . 20 English until the early-mid 1970s. Or perhaps it was also be- Radical & ‘New Left’ publications . 24 cause Australia, and New Zealand in particular, tended to be a The ‘revolutionary youth movement’ in Our Genera- few years behind international trends. tion and Noir et Rouge . 26 Spontaneity, the counter-culture & the Sociology of Marcel Rioux ................... 30 After ‘les annees 1968’: co-optation and marginal- ization ...................... 31 Towards a New New Left? . 33 67 ‘The Radical Books of Queensland,’ Bibliography ...................... 35 http://bushtelegraph.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/radical-books-in-brisbane/, accessed 19 Aug. 2009. See also ‘Honeymoon over: The decline and fall of the left coalition,’ The Old Mole, no. 3 (June 29, 1970), Councilist anarchism and carnival anarchism dur- http://members.optushome.com.au/spainter/Honeymoon.html, ing the 1970s: a case study 39 accessed 19 Aug. 2009. Abstract ......................... 39 68 For example, both the Napier Street and Crummer Road affinity Introduction ...................... 40 groups of the AAA were in Ponsonby in Auckland. In the 1970s, Ponsonby International Context: The Rise of ‘Councilism,’ was populated by a mix of working-class Polynesians, students and bohemi- ans. These anarchist groupuscules represented the political wing of the Pon- Modern Class Struggle Anarchism, And sonby counter-culture. Carnival Anarchism . 44 66 3 Phase 1: The Era of ‘Great Radicalisation’ (Late While the Committee was highly critical of Leninism, and 1960s, Early 1970s) . 57 viewed the USSR and China as bourgeois class societies, it did Phase 2: The Mid-1970s . 66 not fully break with Maoism. Thus the Committee expressed Carnival Anarchism . 67 conventional councilist views in its rejection of all political par- The anarcho-situationist milieu . 75 ties, parliament, and unions. Instead of unions, it called for The Christchurch Anarchy Group and Council- independent shop committees to be formed. Instead of parlia- ism .................... 82 ment, it called for soviets or workers’ councils.64 Yet residues Conclusion ....................... 90 of Maoism remained in its espousal of ‘dialectical materialism’ and in its support for a “workers’ state” — although they be- Post-Left Anarchism, Open Marxism and ‘New’ Au- lieved that such a state would be composed of workers’ coun- tonomist Social Movements in Latin America: cils. Convergence through the praxis of rebel subjects 98 In contrast to the Revolutionary Committee, the Brisbane Post-left anarchy . 102 SMG, the most important councilist group in Australia, seem- Open Marxism . 107 ingly co-operated with the anarchist milieu. For example, Latin America’s autonomist social movements: The they briefly took a formal part in the synthesist Federation pedagogy of practise . 112 of Australian Anarchists, but left it after they found ittoo Conclusion . 116 contradictory and anti-organisational. According to Englart, the SMG was formed in 1971, and he describes them as ‘liber- tarian socialists’ and ‘councilists’ like Solidarity.65 The SMG Politics, Ideology Revolution 119 was highly influenced by Solidarity and SouB, and in turnit appears they had considerable influence within the Australian The (Anti-) Politics of Autonomy: Between Marx- anarchist milieu. Indeed, a West Australian SMG was formed. ism and Anarchism 120 The Brisbane SMG also operated a bookshop called Redand Abstract . 120 Black,66 and a printshop. It has been claimed that the SMG A Theory of ‘autonomy’ . 121 ‘led Brisbane’s marches’ against the Vietnam War, apartheid, An anti-political practice . 124 and the authoritarian Queensland state government headed by Bibliography . 127 ABOLISH CAPITAL!: Beyond the Marxist/Anar- chist divide 132 64 Englart, ‘Anarchism in Sydney.’ References . 147 65 Although Connie Healy claims that it founded in 1968 as the book- shop of the New Left group The Students for Democratic Action, a groupin Theory, Ideology, and Tradition: Reconciling An- which Brian Laver was a prominent member. Healy, ‘Radical Bookshops’ in Radical Brisbane, an Unruly History, eds. Raymond Evans and Carole Ferrier, archism and Marxism 149 Melbourne: The Vulgar Press, 2004, p. 204. 66 Hamish Alcorn, ‘No Organised Anarchists in Brisbane?,’ http: / / www.ainfos.ca/99/apr/ainfos00118.html, accessed 19 Aug 2009. 4 65 It