Introduction to the WOMBLES
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Rebel Alliances
Rebel Alliances The means and ends 01 contemporary British anarchisms Benjamin Franks AK Pressand Dark Star 2006 Rebel Alliances The means and ends of contemporary British anarchisms Rebel Alliances ISBN: 1904859402 ISBN13: 9781904859406 The means amiemls 01 contemllOranr British anarchisms First published 2006 by: Benjamin Franks AK Press AK Press PO Box 12766 674-A 23rd Street Edinburgh Oakland Scotland CA 94612-1163 EH8 9YE www.akuk.com www.akpress.org [email protected] [email protected] Catalogue records for this book are available from the British Library and from the Library of Congress Design and layout by Euan Sutherland Printed in Great Britain by Bell & Bain Ltd., Glasgow To my parents, Susan and David Franks, with much love. Contents 2. Lenini8t Model of Class 165 3. Gorz and the Non-Class 172 4. The Processed World 175 Acknowledgements 8 5. Extension of Class: The social factory 177 6. Ethnicity, Gender and.sexuality 182 Introduction 10 7. Antagonisms and Solidarity 192 Chapter One: Histories of British Anarchism Chapter Four: Organisation Foreword 25 Introduction 196 1. Problems in Writing Anarchist Histories 26 1. Anti-Organisation 200 2. Origins 29 2. Formal Structures: Leninist organisation 212 3. The Heroic Period: A history of British anarchism up to 1914 30 3. Contemporary Anarchist Structures 219 4. Anarchism During the First World War, 1914 - 1918 45 4. Workplace Organisation 234 5. The Decline of Anarchism and the Rise of the 5. Community Organisation 247 Leninist Model, 1918 1936 46 6. Summation 258 6. Decay of Working Class Organisations: The Spani8h Civil War to the Hungarian Revolution, 1936 - 1956 49 Chapter Five: Anarchist Tactics Spring and Fall of the New Left, 7. -
Inceorganisinganarchy2010.Pdf
ORGANISING ANARCHY SPATIAL STRATEGY , PREFIGURATION , AND THE POLITICS OF EVERYDAY LIFE ANTHONY JAMES ELLIOT INCE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY QUEEN MARY , UNIVERSITY OF LONDON 2010 0 ABSTRACT This research is an analysis of efforts to develop a politics of everyday life through embedding anarchist and left-libertarian ideas and practices into community and workplace organisation. It investigates everyday life as a key terrain of political engagement, interrogating the everyday spatial strategies of two emerging forms of radical politics. The community dimension of the research focuses on two London-based social centre collectives, understood as community-based, anarchist-run political spaces. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), an international trade union that organises along radical left-libertarian principles, comprises the workplace element. The empirical research was conducted primarily through an activist-ethnographic methodology. Based in a politically-engaged framework, the research opens up debates surrounding the role of place-based class politics in a globalised world, and how such efforts can contribute to our understanding of social relations, place, networks, and political mobilisation and transformation. The research thus contributes to and provides new perspectives on understanding and enacting everyday spatial strategies. Utilising Marxist and anarchist thought, the research develops a distinctive theoretical framework that draws inspiration from both perspectives. Through an emphasis on how groups seek to implement particular radical principles, the research also explores the complex interactions between theory and practice in radical politics. I argue that it is in everyday spaces and practices where we find the most powerful sources for political transformation. -
Anarchists in the Late 1990S, Was Varied, Imaginative and Often Very Angry
Price £3.00 Issue 230 Late 2009 An end to the safety net Labour is stripping away the last of Britain’s social wage — is there anything left to stop them? Front page pictures: Garry Knight, Photos8.com, Libertinus Yomango, Theory: Reportage: Also inside After the How Oaxaca revolution, has learned this issue... what next? to wage war Editorial Welcome to issue 230 of Black Flag, the fifth published by the current Editorial Collective. Since our re-launch in October 2007 feedback has generally tended to be positive. Black Flag continues to be published twice a year, and we are still aiming to become quarterly. However, this is easier said than done as we are a small group. So at this juncture, we make our usual appeal for articles, more bodies to get physically involved, and yes, financial donations would be more than welcome! This issue also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Anarchist Bookfair – arguably the longest running and largest in the world? It is certainly the biggest date in the UK anarchist calendar. To celebrate the event we have included an article written by organisers past and present, which it is hoped will form the kernel of a general history of the event from its beginnings in the Autonomy Club. Well done and thank you to all those who have made this event possible over the years, we all have Walk this way: The Black Flag ladybird finds it can be hard going to balance trying many fond memories. to organise while keeping yourself safe – but it’s worth it. -
SUBVERSION' Is Published by a Small Group of Revolutionaries Based ,In the North of Groups Like the C.W.0
2'”! '" ('1 !.»=e- l-‘ii ‘Hi’ -=--Z1 FREE. 1 If you thought Nelson Mandela was a great There have been major strikes by both coal heroic leader of the oppressed masses of and gold niners, in the hospitals and on South Africa who, now risen like Christ the railways. This in addition to the after 27 years in the underworld and poised resistance in the squatter camps, the rent to lead said masses, if not to life strikes and school boycotts. All of everlasting, at least to freedom in the these struggles are a shining example to here and now, you might be a little workers everywhere and show that the puzzled. workers in South Africa are among the most anvanced in the world in combativity. Surely that can't be right. Mandela However, trey face a serious threat from condemning the schools boycott and the ANC. ‘ordering’ students back to school. Mandela THE CLASS NATURE OF THE ANC supporting the use of South African state forces to suppress riots. Mandela and de The ANC is one of many similar groups Klerk singing each others praises. Etc.etc. around the world, such as the PLO, IRA, What's going on? SWAPO, Sancinistas etc. who claim to be fighting against oppression and for, If you were surprised by all this, it's usually, ‘national liberation’. All because you didn't realize what the ANC was of these organisations are simply the all about. The ANC has always been a capit- latter-day equivalents of the nationalist, alist organisation. bourgeois democratic movements of the historical period following the French THE STRUGGLE IN SOUTH AFRICA Revolution. -
The New Anarchists
A Movement of Movements?—5 david graeber THE NEW ANARCHISTS t’s hard to think of another time when there has been such a gulf between intellectuals and activists; between theorists of Irevolution and its practitioners. Writers who for years have been publishing essays that sound like position papers for vast social movements that do not in fact exist seem seized with confusion or worse, dismissive contempt, now that real ones are everywhere emerging. It’s particularly scandalous in the case of what’s still, for no particularly good reason, referred to as the ‘anti-globalization’ movement, one that has in a mere two or three years managed to transform completely the sense of historical possibilities for millions across the planet. This may be the result of sheer ignorance, or of relying on what might be gleaned from such overtly hostile sources as the New York Times; then again, most of what’s written even in progressive outlets seems largely to miss the point—or at least, rarely focuses on what participants in the movement really think is most important about it. As an anthropologist and active participant—particularly in the more radical, direct-action end of the movement—I may be able to clear up some common points of misunderstanding; but the news may not be gratefully received. Much of the hesitation, I suspect, lies in the reluc- tance of those who have long fancied themselves radicals of some sort to come to terms with the fact that they are really liberals: interested in expanding individual freedoms and pursuing social justice, but not in ways that would seriously challenge the existence of reigning institu- tions like capital or state. -
Anarchist Lives and Books Double Issue Free Commune and Billy
Number 70•71 one pound or two dollars July 2012 Free Commune and Billy MacQueen We are beginning to think about scanning some of the prominent Tolstoyan Christian anarchist (he visited material we hold in the KSL archives. What we want to Tolstoy in Russia in 1895) and helped found the do though is put what we scan into some kind of context Croydon Brotherhood Church and, in 1896, the and not just leave it floating around aimlessly on the Purleigh Brotherhood Church. Both were based on the “world wide web”. Anyhow – here’s a paper that inter• principles of voluntary co•operation and non•violence. ests us, The Free Commune from Leeds. It appears to We can see, then, that there is a lot going on in have been published during 1898 and it re•invented this little four•page newspaper and a wide range of itself as The Free Commune: A Quarterly Magazine in ideas and anarchist practice are represented, including a January 1899. KSL holds No. 3 ofThe Free Commune scornful comment on the horrified reaction of “reform• and No. 1 of theThe Free Commune Magazine. (If you ers” to the assassination of the Empress Elisabeth of can send us other copies that would be a treat!!!) Austria by the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni .The Both of these titles were put together by William editors would like to see a similar reaction whenever a “Billy” MacQueen (1875•1908) and Alf Barton (1868• working woman is killed by “the profit•mongering 1933). MacQueen was based in Leeds, Barton in system.” The attitude of the editors to the killing of the Manchester. -
Changing Anarchism.Pdf
Changing anarchism Changing anarchism Anarchist theory and practice in a global age edited by Jonathan Purkis and James Bowen Manchester University Press Manchester and New York distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave Copyright © Manchester University Press 2004 While copyright in the volume as a whole is vested in Manchester University Press, copyright in individual chapters belongs to their respective authors. This electronic version has been made freely available under a Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC- ND) licence, which permits non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction provided the author(s) and Manchester University Press are fully cited and no modifications or adaptations are made. Details of the licence can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Published by Manchester University Press Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for ISBN 0 7190 6694 8 hardback First published 2004 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Typeset in Sabon with Gill Sans display by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Manchester Printed in Great Britain by CPI, Bath Dedicated to the memory of John Moore, who died suddenly while this book was in production. His lively, innovative and pioneering contributions to anarchist theory and practice will be greatly missed. -
Get the Goods!
RESISTANCE anarchist paper free/donation issue 113 june 2009 OCCUPATIONS GET THE GOODS! he three Visteon plants have ended their occupation and pickets, following the agreement Tof improved redundancy packages. The dispute came out of the immediate sacking of all UK Visteon workers with no further payment, and instructions to return the next day to collect any belongings. As the company had fi led for administration, only statutory redundancy from the government would be available, a paltry amount for people who are approaching the end of their working life and would be considered unemployable. Workers in Belfast decided to take action, occupying their factory on the 31st March, with workers in Basildon and Enfi eld following suit on 1st April, although they had to end their occupation and settle for pickets a few weeks later. Visteon were eager to distance themselves from Ford, havingcontinued offi cially become inside a separate ►company in 2000. In reality, the ties were still there with staff on mirror contracts and carried Ford identifi cation, and Ford secured Visteon a $163 million loan on May 15th. CONTINUED INSIDE ► INSIDE: ID CARDS, MPS’ EXPENSES, POLICE BRUTALITY AND MORE! 2 paper of the anarchist federation ► CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE ON THE While this is a victory, the workers still reinstated, he was again dismissed, and face other struggles. Their pensions are workers were warned to not repeat any FRONTLINE: still very much up in the air, likely to be solidarity action, being threatened with WORKPLACE ROUNDUP going into the Pension Protection Fund, the sack by foremen. which would mean less money; accord- This is a victory against job cuts, a ing to some in Basildon, as much as struggle fought across different parts of •Parking attendants sacked for 40% less. -
Class War - Not Race War! Racism Is the Ideology of the Rich Affected and Dispossessed
Class War - not Race War! Racism is the Ideology of the Rich affected and dispossessed. These youths actually have more in com- Racism plays a powerful role in dividing the working class. The ide- mon both materially and socially with the Blacks, Latinos, or Asians in ology of race is used to justify imperialism, wars, and the racial divi- their communities, whom they claim they hate so much, than with their sion of labour. Racism promotes nationalism on the basis of ethnic rich "Anglo-Saxon" Ruling Class role models. The violent racism and identity. This only strengthens enthusiasm for participation in national vehement super-patriotism of these dupes helps to legitimise the armies. Those people within the Working Class who hold racist views Ruling Class's suppression of our class. are puppets of the rich. Why is racism so strong in many sections of our class? It is Contrary to popular belief, racist ideology is actually derived from because the rich need it there. Well-placed racist filth distorts and the Middle and Upper Classes where the real power to split and weak- counters a truly unified class-consciousness. It has been in the best en the lower classes lies. This division occurs through discrimination interest of our rulers to distort the development of class identity, pride in social services, education, immigration, and working conditions. and solidarity with their own racist/nationalist version of these notions. The crucial part the Middle Class plays is to mimic mass culture that then becomes the "official" way of seeing the World. Within the "cul- The Historical Origins of Racism ture" specific racist and nationalistic ideas are promoted through the Racism/Nationalism began with the development of capitalist socie- schools, media, church, etc. -
Book Reviews: Interface Volume 3(1) Reviews Editor: Aileen O’Carroll
Interface: a journal for and about social movements Book reviews Volume 3 (1): 266 - 291 (May 2011) Book reviews: Interface volume 3(1) Reviews editor: Aileen O’Carroll Books reviewed this issue: Davis, Laurence and Kinna, Ruth, eds. (2010). Anarchism and utopianism. Manchester: Manchester University Press. (304 pp. £60 hardback) Reviewed by Martha Ackelsberg Dukelow, Fiona and O’Donovan, Orla, eds. (2010). Mobilising classics: reading radical writing in Ireland. Manchester: Manchester University Press. (265 pp. £14.99 paperback, £60 hardback) Reviewed by Fergal Finnegan Graeber, David (2009). Direct action: an ethnography. Oakland: AK Press. (568 pp. $25.95 paperback) Reviewed by Mandisi Majavu Hyde-Clarke, Nathalie, ed. (2010). The citizen in communication: re-visiting traditional, new and community media practices in South Africa. Cape Town: Juta. (240pp. R269.95 paperback) Reviewed by Marian Burchardt Kuhn, Gabriel (2010). Sober living for the revolution: hardcore punk, Straight Edge, and radical politics. Oakland: PM Press. (304pp. $22.95 paperback) Reviewed by John L. Murphy Nilsen, Alf Gunvald (2010). Dispossession and resistance in India: the river and the rage. Oxford: Routledge. (242pp. £80 hardback) Reviewed by Lesley Wood 266 Interface: a journal for and about social movements Book reviews Volume 3 (1): 266 - 291 (May 2011) Davis, Laurence and Kinna, Ruth, eds. (2010). Anarchism and utopianism. Manchester: Manchester University Press. (304 pp. £60 hardback) Reviewed by Martha Ackelsberg Many years ago, Lewis Mumford wrote, in The Story of Utopias, that “Utopia has long been another name for the unreal and the impossible. We have set utopia over against the world. As a matter of fact, it is our utopias that make the world tolerable to us: the cities and mansions that people dream of are those in which they finally live.” As many of the essays in this volume note, because of the association of “utopia” with the “unreal and the impossible,” “utopianism” has an ambiguous legacy. -
Anarchism in Siberia Prison Gates
Number 52 50 pence or one dollar October 2007 Prison Gates The gates of the Modelo Prison in Barcelona were set workers from the Calcetería Hispania Tapices, Vidal y alight during a prison riot and put out of commission. Vda de Enrique Escapa firm are CNT personnel. So not The Barcelona Woodworkers’ Union imposed a an inch! (...) And the affiliation of the comrades on strike boycott on repair work. Faced with the impossibility of at Frau Brothers? CNT. So, not an inch!” (Cultura having repairs done there, the authorities decided to Obrera, 21 November 1931) ship the gates out to Majorca. Soldiers loaded the gates On 17 October Cultura Obrera saw fit to denounce on board the ship for delivery as the Barcelona dockers Rafael Mercadal, the president of the UGT•affiliated refused to do so. “Desarrollo y Arte” association as an active participant In September 1931 the gates arrived in Palma but the in the repair job on the gates. Is this, it asked, what the dockworkers there, most of them CNT personnel like UGT is all about … strike•breaking? However, Rafael their colleagues on the mainland, refused to unload them. Mercader was a familiar name to the anarcho• The scene in Barcelona was replayed: troops from the syndicalists; he had settled in Palma but came from a nearby garrison had to unload the gates under Civil nearby town, moving after breaking a strike at the Can Guard protection. Pieras plant. When socialist councillors Miguel Bisbal The Balearic Islands CNT Woodworkers’ Union (son of Llorenç Bisbal, the ‘founding father’ of socialism imposed a boycott and asked workers to refuse to do the on the island) and Miguel Porcel acted in favour of the repair work as an act of solidarity. -
Squatted Social Centres in England and Italy in the Last Decades of the Twentieth Century
Squatted social centres in England and Italy in the last decades of the twentieth century. Giulio D’Errico Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD Department of History and Welsh History Aberystwyth University 2019 Abstract This work examines the parallel developments of squatted social centres in Bristol, London, Milan and Rome in depth, covering the last two decades of the twentieth century. They are considered here as a by-product of the emergence of neo-liberalism. Too often studied in the present tense, social centres are analysed here from a diachronic point of view as context- dependent responses to evolving global stimuli. Their ‗journey through time‘ is inscribed within the different English and Italian traditions of radical politics and oppositional cultures. Social centres are thus a particularly interesting site for the development of interdependency relationships – however conflictual – between these traditions. The innovations brought forward by post-modernism and neo-liberalism are reflected in the centres‘ activities and modalities of ‗social‘ mobilisation. However, centres also voice a radical attitude towards such innovation, embodied in the concepts of autogestione and Do-it-Yourself ethics, but also through the reinstatement of a classist approach within youth politics. Comparing the structured and ambitious Italian centres to the more informal and rarefied English scene allows for commonalities and differences to stand out and enlighten each other. The individuation of common trends and reciprocal exchanges helps to smooth out the initial stark contrast between local scenes. In turn, it also allows for the identification of context- based specificities in the interpretation of local and global phenomena.