First, the aim of libertarian socialism is organisation become dependent on them. Zabalaza Books’ AgitProp Series #1 that the masses themselves should This was part of the process that led to achieve power, through mass direct bureaucratization of unions in the USA. democracy, not that a leadership group Thus working to make rank and file should do so through a party gaining con- self-management effective requires that trol of a state. Reflecting this, the aim of we have conscious programs and methods Anarchism, Class the libertarian Left activists should be to for democratizing knowledge, doing popu- encourage self-management of move- lar education, nurturing people as organ- ments/organisations. isers, developing skills from writing to Struggle and Political After the October 1917 revolution in public speaking to theorizing one’s experi- Russia, most of the world’s libertarian ence. For example, local worker schools syndicalist labour organisations... which that draw on the experience of activists Organisation then had a membership of 3 to 4 million... and organisers who teach, or share their affiliated tentatively to the new labour experiences with, classes. international initiated by the Russian In the ‘30s in Spain the Mujeres Libres Communist Party. However, at the actual activists talked about a process of capac- founding conference the libertarian syndi- itacion – developing the capacities of by Tom Wetzel calists were confronted by Communist ordinary people. This was the focus of Party officials insisting that the union their organising of working class women. organisations should be mere “transmis- They created literacy classes, public sion belts” of the Communist Parties in speaking classes, and circles to study their respective countries. This led the lib- social theory, created child care pro- ertarian syndicalist unions to withdraw. grams, and worked with the anarcho-syn- Autonomy of the mass movements is itself dicalist unions to develop apprentice pro- a libertarian socialist principle. grams for women. These were all part of Second, we shouldn’t take for granted their efforts at developing the capacities the unequal distribution of “human capi- of women for effective participation in tal” crafted by a highly inegalitarian and the unions and other organisations and oppressive society. Although “We Are All control over their lives. Leaders” is maybe not always an accurate Direct democracy is necessary but not description of what is, it should be the sufficient for effective self-management of ideal that we strive towards. movements. People are better able to par- We need methods of working against the ticipate effectively as knowledge is relative monopolization of skills and democratized and skills are more widely knowledge and organisational resources developed. This prefigures the more equal in the hands of a minority. Historically sharing of resources to develop people’s when some activists and organisers gain potential in a libertarian socialist society. knowledge through practical experience, it often happens that members of that [BCBMB[B CPPLT www.zabalazabooks.net “Knowledge is the key to be free!” “Knowledge is the key to be free!” Cindy Milstein points out in her This is a reasonable summary of much its “line” on the mass organisation. organisations, and the kinds of differences Asessay “Anarchism’s Promise for of the discussion and thinking among Rather, through their long term involve- in skills, confidence and education that Anti-capitalist Resistance,” anarchists anarchists, but it doesn’t quite answer my ment and personable relations with others reflect a society that is unequal along have been involved in numerous visible question about the relationship between they can gain an influence and be a voice class, gender, and race/nationality lines. protest actions, such as the various anarchism and the mass of the population for self-management of organisations and To put it another way, some people have protests at meetings promoting corporate and their potential for self-liberation. for militant collective action. The develop- more “human capital” as far as being globalization from the 1999 “Battle of During the past decade a number of ment of the working class is an organic effective in, and disposed to, activism and Seattle” on, or the Direct Action to Stop anarchists have developed a critique of process but the activists and rank-and-file organising. the War protests in San Francisco in 2002. various weaknesses in American anar- organisers can play a role. Thus understood, the “vanguard” within Activists who are already radicalized con- chism, such as anti-organisational preju- Dual organisational anarchists often the working class consists of the layer of verge in such actions. Of course a variety dices, fragmentation, “tyranny of struc- say that the role of the anarchist political people who are active, do organising, have of organisations mobilize to participate in turelessness” and excessive focus on organisation is to “win the battle of ideas,” some influence through the sorts of lead- some of these protests, from environmen- “actions” without relating this to ongoing that is, to gain influence within move- ership qualities I’ve referred to, take on tal groups to the unions who mobilized for mass organising in workplaces and com- ments and among the mass of the popula- leadership positions in organisations, can the 1999 World Trade organisation meet- munities. Some of the influences on anar- tion by countering authoritarian or liberal articulate and theorize situations and do ings. But what is the relationship of the chism mentioned by Cindy Milstein... such or conservative ideas. Bakunin had said things like publishing leaflets and anarchists to the other social movements as European “autonomism,” Situationism that the role of anarchist activists was a newsletters. The “vanguard” in this sense and mass organisations? and the model of the small informal “affin- “leadership of ideas.” is extremely various in its ideas but most Anarchists are a part of the layer of ity group”... have contributed to these But disseminating ideas isn’t the only right now may not be anti-capitalist in already-radicalized activists. But this is a weaknesses. Some anarchists believe that form of influence. Working with others of their thinking. very thin layer in American society. What any sort of formal or large organisation is diverse views in mass organisations and The idea of a “vanguard party” is that a about the majority of the population who “inevitably authoritarian.” struggles, exhibiting a genuine commit- political organisation is to try to draw to it make up the exploited and oppressed in Some of the anarchists who had been ment, and being a personable and sup- the layer of the working class that has society? What is the relationship between involved in “protest hopping” have, in portive person in this context also builds these sorts of leadership qualities and to anarchism and anarchist activists and the more recent years, become more interest- personal connections, and makes it more use this “human capital” to achieve a mass of the population? ed in workplace and community organis- likely one’s ideas will be taken seriously. hegemonic position within mass move- The slogan “the emancipation of the ing, building a more long-term presence in How does this conception of the anar- ments. Its aim is to use this position of working class must be the work of the working class communities, and building chist political organisation differ from dominant influence to eventually achieve workers themselves” was included by a social base for libertarian Left ideas. vanguardism? power for its party. And along the way it Marx in the principles of the “First Last year about a hundred activists (from To answer this question we need to start also thinks in terms of achieving power International” in the 1860s-70s and anar- the USA and Canada) attended a Class with some idea of what “the vanguard” is. within the various union or mass move- cho-syndicalists and other social anar- Struggle Anarchist Conference in New York I think there are two aspects to this. Both ment organisations. This means congeal- chists have always strongly supported this City. To ensure a productive and friendly anarchists and Marxists in the past have ing the party’s power through various principle. But what is the relationship experience, the conference was invitation- talked about “uneven consciousness” with- methods of hierarchical control. This is between anarchism and anarchists, on the only. There were panels on “Anarchists in in the working class population. People formal leadership power and not just one hand, and the masses who are sup- the workplace,” “Anarchism and vary in terms of how far they aspire to influence. posed to be, in libertarian Left thinking, Feminism,” “Anarchists in Communities of change society for example or to the Moreover, the idea is that the party’s the agency of social transformation? Colour,” “Anarchists in Anti-fascist/Anti- knowledge they gained about how capital- dominant position would flow from its rel- racist Movements”, and a variety of other ism works, and so on. But also there are ative monopolization over a certain kind Cindy Milstein writes: subjects. According to the report in issue 14 some people who exhibit more leadership of theoretical knowledge – its absorption of Northeastern Anarchist: skills than others... speaking ability, self- of Marxist theory – which is supposed to “Anarchism has