Black Flag Supplement

-I U The oodcock - Sansom School of Fals|f|cat|o (Under review: the new revised edition of Geo. Woodcock’s no mnnection with this George Spanish). The book wrote the Anarchists off ‘Anarchism’, published by Penguin books; the Centenary Edition Woodcock! Wrote all essay 111 3 trade altogether. The movement was dead. of ‘Freedom’, published by Freedom Press.) ‘figiggmfii“,:§°:i;mfit‘3’§ar’§‘,ia’m,‘§f“;L3;S, He was its ‘obituarist’. Now he has fulsome praise of his ‘customary issued a revised version of the book brilliance (he had only written one brought up ‘to date’. He wasn’t HEALTH WARNING; Responses to preparing for a three volume history °i3iiei' Pieee) and ’iiiei5iVe insight’ " it wrong, he says, it did die — but his (‘I find the influence of Stirner on was a Pavlovian response from his book brought it back to life again! Freedom Press clique have been namesake’s coterie. It explains what It adds a history’ of the British described by our friends as ‘terminally British anarchism very interesting. .’) The Amsterdam Institute for Social this George Woodcock set out movement for his self-glorification, boring’ but can we let everything History, funded by the Dutch govem- steadily to build up. actually referring to the British pass? We suggest using this as a ment, now utilises the CNT archives He came on the anarchist scene delegate to the Carrara conference supplement to either ‘Anarchism’ or to establish itself (to quote Rudolf de during the war, profiteering on the denouncing those who pretended to ‘Freedom Centennial’, especially when Jong) as ‘paterfamilias’ between the boom in anarchism to get into the be anarchists but were so in name you feel tired of living. CNT of Spain and the phoney CNT; good graces of Marie-Louise Bemeri only -— he omits to mention this was the Herr Doktor proposes to do the (‘who was always overly impressed by a reference to himself! In his ‘history’ same for them in this country, only intellectual pretensions) who enabled he adds such pieces as the present INTRODUCTION trying to write the Anarchists out of him to utilise a printing press and constituent ‘parts of the Intemational his officially prepared history of publishing facilities bought for Workers Association (he doesn’t know Gradually a new sector of the bour- Anarchism in Woodcock style. (Pardon anarchist propaganda, to produce his it changed its name from ‘Workingmens’ geoisie are trying to take over the us for laughing: Dr Heiner Becker literary magazine and help him build for obvious reasons — but then the working class movement. Those who has written to us thinking our object- up a sycophantic clique (hence the women’s movement has passed him establish their class superiority by ion to his manipulation of Spanish Pavlovian response). by) — omitting only the British profit making have long since taken archives is to a German intellectual This led to a split within what section. To include it would be to over in the main parties, but an doing it. But Woodcock is more was then still an anarchist grouping demolish the myth that he makes of even greater sector has long been alien to us). which controlled Freedom, in the Freedom Press being the only anarch- muscling in on the scene — those Freedom Press tendency has no course of which Vernon Richards subs- ist movement, instead of something whose class power is based on State existence other than the production equently went off with the lot. representative of another class, another control, grants, subsidies, the lower of its journals. It sells less than Both Woodcock and Sansom philosophy. echelons of public service, especially a thousand copies — nearer five (Penguin and Centennial respectively) those based on university graduation. hundred. blame ‘extreme syndicalists’ (whatever SPLINTERDICK & HORROR These are seen in what is called the It wants to create no movement, they are) and ‘arrogant’ Spaniards Woodcock glories in the name of ‘loony left’ of the Labour Party but to remain isolated in its (Sansom). Nothing to do with Intellectual conceiving it as a sort of (‘loony’ because they need to establish splendour. It is useful for the middle Woodcock! Not a peep about double trade union mark of mostly unsuccess- a cause, one based upon the workers, class failure who likes to pose as an agent Sonia Clements! According to ful writers and artists (not so far or upon differing minorities, and the from the other George, perhaps!) solutions are impracticable under (he doesn’t mention Ethel Mannin, for capitalism). The Anarchists are not instance, whom Nicholas Walter exempted. The failed mandarins or Two quotes from Arthur Moyse, interviewed by George Melly in the Sunday Observer Magazine, 18th December I 9 77. supposes to have done far more than lower echelons of the bourgeoisie she did). His contacts were with a have established a rival anarchism, or group which he says was a lot less a duality of them, (capitalist- And his association with the produce two newspapers. Yet he than fifty (fifteen perhaps). He ‘anarchist’ or communist-‘anarchist’). Anarchists? That came after the found Anarchism very essential. It refers to his astonishment at seeing NO FEUD —- NO MIDDLE war -- down the Park, at the book- was a philosophy for the defence of the growth of the anarchist movement individual freedom —- like Christi- once it had recovered from the blow GROUND shop in Red Lion Square, through of his departure, but does not see he letters exchanged with Philip San- anity. Those who think we have a is looking at something different from som. Asked to contribute, he Freedom Press in which it has no ‘feud’ with Freedom Press and its began to write art criticism for general tendency, or its ‘personalities’ interest: squatting, feminism, the -— any more than with the Libertarian ‘Freedom’ and Augustus John, who association with Spanish and European Alliance —- are wrong. With the financed the paper, said he’d only resistance groups which influenced exception of the disgraceful Philip go on doing so if Arthur continued, ARTHUR MOYSE continued and cross-fertilised British anarchism so he did. The Anarchists are all have passed him by, he vaguely g Sansom, who has clung like a limpet read of the Angry Brigade in the press. to the benefits attached and whose middle-class though. That’s why Wes he always Loft-wing? ‘No, After the war he went to ‘a lies and humbuggery are here they don’t vote. They can afford no! Conservative. Most working- different life in Canada’ — as he exposed, many of them are quite their purity. class children are Conservative. It's describes his taking up a professorship nice people. We have nothing in He’d always voted Labour. their mothers. Working-class and writing anti-anarchist articles for common with them politically. If Politicians aren’t evil, just mental women are very Conservative.’ the bourgeois media. His only contrib- they could think of another descript- ion to call themselves we might quite cases like the rest of us. If three ution to the anarchist press were like them. If only they could forget Anarchists get together they will articles denouncing anarchism and laud- our names (as Woodcock does in his ing pacifism. He claimed numerous Penguin) we would gladly ignore OBSERVER MAGAZINE 18 DECEMBER 15?? atrocities had been committed by the them. So far as political impact is Spanish anarchists, including the murder concerned they don’t matter a of people just because of their family damn. Presumably they put no connections, or in some cases their more people off than do the media sexual orientations — including all the journalists with their shock horror homosexuals. This far-fetched. story is stories (sometimes, as in the case of anarchist intellectual. But what they Sansom the Spaniards blighted his life demolished by the absence of the Woodcock, they coincide). mean by anarchism is: vastly different by persuading people what a load of actual name of even one victim. The knowledge that their pretend- from what Anarchist means, as may wimps moved in on Freedom. Admiral Franco, for instance, was ed history and glories of the past be seen here. Its uneasy semi-alliance After the war the anarchist move- visited in Madrid by the anarchist are false makes them cynical. But it with Class War is explicable by the ment went into the doldrums, chiefly militia following a denunciation. ‘what is manifest from the Centennial fact that posing as leaders but having because the middle class pacifists had have I to do with my idiot son‘?’he edition produced by Freedom Press no movement beneath them, they moved in and the working class felt asked angrily — and stayed unmolested that they do not understand how like to pretend there is one, but so pushed out. Not so, says Woodcock, until General Franco entered in widely they differ from Anarchists, working class it is far beneath them, in his Penguin book, the disaster it triumph, when he left the city. As to how remote they are from struggle and they are but the intellectual suffered was that George Woodcock the sex murders, they were alleged by or how absurd are the pretensions leadership - some sections of Class had moved to Canada! Having gone to Woodcock to have ‘been established’ they make, in their claims to actually War, on the other hand, like to have Canada, he wrote his first Penguin on (he was told of them by another be anarchist history while eschewing a ‘leadership’ which they reject but ‘Anarchism’ consisting largely of pain- Intellectual so it must be true) and eliarchism. has to be invented to show they staking biographies of arbitrarily ‘Red Lion Street’ —- which is another broke from it! It is summarised by selected men, all patronised to some way of saying Vernon Richards and WRITING UP THE PAST asking Donald Rooum to speak and extent or another (Godwin wrote perhaps dear old Lilian Wolfe who then throwing beer cans at him.

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