Agenda for the Global South After COVID-19 03:34 Jun 28 1 comments Another Sanders Betrayal 23:08 Apr 15 5 comments Contradictions of Post-Soviet Ukraine and the New Left 04:54 Mar 11 2 comments An inevitable division: the politics and consequences of the Labour split 18:03 Feb 27 0 comments La ofensiva contra el chavismo fracasó. No pudieron y no pasaron 04:16 Feb 27 1 comments mehr >> |
Recent articles by Andrew Flood
Absolute boy - The Youth Revolt that led Corbyn to a victory of sorts 0 comments Why elections fail to bring about real change 0 comments Ένας κόσμος ν... 0 comments Recent Articles about International The LeftAn Anarchist View of Trotsky’s "Transitional Program" Nov 22 23 Reflections on Identity Politics and Revolutionary Organizing Jun 28 23 An Anarchist Guide to The Communist Manifesto of Marx & Engels Mar 19 22 The Nostalgic Left
international |
the left |
opinion / analysis
Saturday February 15, 2014 21:10 by Andrew Flood - WSM - personal capacity
These were the wonderful days before the internet when left intellectuals could write without fear of participants in the movements they were writing about responding and challenging their right to represent them. A time when commentators who could be heard were calm, rational & polite. Those who were allowed to communicate with the masses first passed through a process that took away that hammer of spontaneous unfocused anger and replaced it with the stiletto of intellectual putdowns, phrased in the correct polite terms to leave a wound that was deep but also invisible to spectators. Not for them the ugly sight of the crushed skull, just the suddenly slumped body and trickle of blood. The right to have ones writing communicated had to be performed for, publication in the party press, the academic journal or the op-ed pages of the mainstream press was not a given, unlike that out-of-control blogosphere or worse still the twitterati of today. These were the days when leaders of mass movement could operate without their problematic ‘personal behaviours’ being challenged because everyone knew to put the good of the movement first and the few who didn’t were denied a voice. After all Gerry Healy never had to fear the 'dark side of the internet', it was only the massive accumulation of rape allegations that eventually brought him down. The nostalgic left are often neo-social democrats, and in that guise, see the voice subalterns have today to be the problem that is holding back the possibility of social democracy. It seems more straightforward to see the end of that project in the ideological triumph of neoliberalism and the technical triumphs that have driven capitalist globalisation. Even in then imperialist heartlands social democracy on the national scale now seems almost impossible. Placing the problem instead at the feet of some people who make angry harsh posts on twitter about people that the nostalgic left would prefer to see left unchallenged seems odd to say the least. But this also reflects another aspect of the nostalgic left, a yearning to be back in the days when only those at the top of mass parties could say critical things about others and be heard. The role of the rest of us was simply to choose sides in such disputes and Go Team our chosen side to victory. The nostalgic left can also be revolutionary marxists who dream of the days when appeals to party discipline could shut up internal dissent. They forget the chants of ‘discipline, discipline’ that drowned out the Soviet tanks as they rolled into Hungary in ’56. Or sometimes they may even be anarchists, dreaming of syndicalist unions of muscular white guys wielding tools, forgetting that Mujeres Libres arose of necessity out of the machismo of the CNT. What brings these fragments together is a common howl against the complexities of modern movements, against the many voices that are now heard. Like nostalgic movements of the right they have no meaningful program, the change after all has has happened. The wish for a return to left wing victorian values, when bearded men polemicised by pamphlet, only serves to block the development of movements that might make a difference. The nostalgic left has forgotten so quickly that the 20th century left was drowned in blood when the leaders who rose unchallenged to the top became paranoid psychopaths in power, murdering the former comrades by the tens of thousands. Like all nostalgia’s the bad parts of the past are forgotten in the wish for a simpler times. When times are hard its often simple to dream of the imaginary easy days of childhood, to those false memories of endless summer and carefree lives. But to change the world 'that is', the very complex world 'that is', it's the future and not the past we need to embrace. Nostalgia may be a comfort blanket but it is also the blindfold of the executioner. WORDS Andrew Flood (Follow Andrew on Twitter ) |
HauptseiteSupport Sudanese anarchists in exile Joint Statement of European Anarchist Organizations International anarchist call for solidarity: Earthquake in Turkey, Syria and Kurdistan Elements of Anarchist Theory and Strategy 19 de Julio: Cuando el pueblo se levanta, escribe la historia International anarchist solidarity against Turkish state repression Declaración Anarquista Internacional por el Primero de Mayo, 2022 Le vieux monde opprime les femmes et les minorités de genre. Leur force le détruira ! Against Militarism and War: For self-organised struggle and social revolution Declaração anarquista internacional sobre a pandemia da Covid-19 Anarchist Theory and History in Global Perspective Capitalism, Anti-Capitalism and Popular Organisation [Booklet] Reflexiones sobre la situación de Afganistán South Africa: Historic rupture or warring brothers again? Death or Renewal: Is the Climate Crisis the Final Crisis? Gleichheit und Freiheit stehen nicht zur Debatte! Contre la guerre au Kurdistan irakien, contre la traîtrise du PDK Meurtre de Clément Méric : l’enjeu politique du procès en appel International | The Left | en Fri 19 Apr, 10:47 Listen, Trotskyist! 07:37 Tue 31 Oct 2 comments An anarchist leaflet given out at a conference of the International Socialist Organization in NYC which challenged its Trotskyist views. Murray Bookchin 04:50 Fri 11 Aug 0 comments La creación de una tendencia que el llamó "comunalismo", criticada por muchos fundamentalistas "superrevolucionarios", que ni siquiera se toman la molestia de estudiarla a la luz de las experiencias actuales, constituye un camino de construcción altamente valorable y necesario, en los tiempos en que los movimientos sociales se encuentran con tan baja autoestima y grado de fuerza. Murray Bookchin has passed away 17:57 Mon 31 Jul 7 comments BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Murray Bookchin, an early proponent of what he described as social ecology, died at home early Sunday at the age of 85. Zapatistas announce details of organisation of Intercontinental encounter 18:36 Tue 29 Nov 3 comments The Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona proposed a new Intercontinental encounter to follow up those held in the 1990's in Chiapas and the Spanish state. This communique announces details of a consultation to take place until June 30th on holding it that proposes that “Intergalactic Committees” be formed on the five continents. Reflections on Identity Politics and Revolutionary Organizing Jun 28 3 comments Critical reflections on identity politics and separatism, acknowledging intersectionality and getting inspiration from the revolutionary struggles in Turkey and Kurdistan. An Anarchist Guide to The Communist Manifesto of Marx & Engels Mar 19 6 comments Marx & Engels Communist Manifesto from the perspective of an anarchist. Most of its class analysis is still valuable, but anarchists reject much of its political and economic program. Broken world, broken people – we need a path to a better future Feb 01 3 comments We are living in a world that for most people is broken and that has broken most people. It is not a god given world, but one that has been constructed by those in power and that has left most people mired in deprivation. Under COVID-19, this world has sunk to new lows. All is not lost though. There has historically been a section within the progressive movement – in different parts of the world and in South Africa – based around forms of radically democratic socialism that has not only tapped into the righteous anger of the working class, but has also sought to create a home and sense of belonging for people based on progressive values and principles such as mutual aid, solidarity and even love. If we want a better world, we need to revive the popularity of the types of politics, ethics, values, principles and practices that formed the essence – at their best – of such movements and update it for the context of the 21st century. A Fundamental Thesis of Revolution and the State Nov 14 2 comments A fundamental thesis which all varieties of revolutionary socialists and anarchists once generally accepted: this state cannot be used to create socialism (communism or anarchism). It must be overturned, destroyed, and replaced by alternate social forms. Book Review: 'For Workers' Power' Sep 28 0 comments A review of the selected writings of Maurice Brinton. more >>Murray Bookchin Aug 11 0 comments La creación de una tendencia que el llamó "comunalismo", criticada por muchos fundamentalistas "superrevolucionarios", que ni siquiera se toman la molestia de estudiarla a la luz de las experiencias actuales, constituye un camino de construcción altamente valorable y necesario, en los tiempos en que los movimientos sociales se encuentran con tan baja autoestima y grado de fuerza. Zapatistas announce details of organisation of Intercontinental encounter Nov 29 EZLN 3 comments The Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona proposed a new Intercontinental encounter to follow up those held in the 1990's in Chiapas and the Spanish state. This communique announces details of a consultation to take place until June 30th on holding it that proposes that “Intergalactic Committees” be formed on the five continents. |