Anarchist Communists: a Question of Class is a theoretical position paper of the FdCA of Italy and a key contemporary exposition of the principles of anarchist communism – the principles of, among other organisations, the FdCA and southern Africa's ZACF. This critical review of Question of Class appeared in abridged form (for space reasons) in "Zabalaza" #10 (April 2009). The review is now published in full.

Anarchism is not an abstract ideal of freedom springing out of the brain of some intellectual. It is not a dream of utopia unconnected to reality. It is a movement of the exploited workers, beginning in their daily material struggles; and its history is marked by a sustained link between anarchist theory and the continuing struggles of mass working class movements.

This was the perspective of Mikhail Bakunin, the founding theorist of anarchism, whose revolutionary ideas grew out of his experience in the 19th century working class movement of the First International. It was the perspective of the Organisational Platform of the Libertarian Communists, drafted by Ukrainian and Russian anarchists in response to the defeat of the Russian Revolution by the Bolsheviks. It is the perspective taken by long-standing ZACF militants, van der Walt and Schmidt, in their two-volume history of anarchism, Counter-power. And it is the perspective of the ZACF's Italian comrades of the Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (Federation of Anarchist Communists, or FdCA), in their excellent theoretical position paper “Anarchist Communists: a Question of Class”.

[Italiano]

A review of the discussion of the relationship between anarchism and the Palestinian/Israeli struggle by Uri Gordon, an Israeli anarchist, in his book "Anarchy Alive!", including a response to his attack on my views.

There has been very little written on the relation between anarchism and the Palestinian struggle against Israeli oppression. Therefore it is interesting to read the discussion of this topic by an Israeli anarchist, Uri Gordon, in his recent book, "Anarchy Alive!". Chapter 6 is titled, “HomeLand: Anarchy and Joint Struggle in Palestine/Israel.”

As he notes, most Palestinians want their own state next to Israel. He worries that anarchist opposition to this demand could be seen as “paternalism,” saying that we know what is good for the Arabs better than they do. More significantly, he is concerned that opposition to a Palestinian state leaves anarchists with nothing positive to say, except that Palestinians need anarchism. But they do not—yet?—want anarchism and it is not going to happen anytime soon. (Nor, I would add, are people likely to be persuaded of anarchism if it is seen as opposed to what they do want, namely national self-determination.) Shall anarchists say that we refuse to support the Palestinians’ struggle against a brutal national oppression until the Palestinians see the light and oppose states and capitalism?

Castellano]

When it was announced that London would host the first G20 meeting since the beginning of the worst financial crisis in almost a century, everybody knew it was a matter of time before protests were called. First the Climate Camp network – known for their annual ecological direct action camps – announced it would set up a ‘flashcamp’ in the City to make sure the G20 leaders put stopping climate change on their agenda. Their language was inoffensive and acceptable – the media found nothing to demonise in it – but they were well aware that any attempt at direct action protests in the City came with a precedent of serious disturbance and radical anti-capitalist politics, from the Stop the City marches in the 1980s to June the 18th 1999.

The second group to call a protest, “G20 Meltdown”, were all too happy to publicly embrace this legacy, with publicity calling to ‘storm the banks’ and ‘eat a banker’. This exceptionally loose coalition centres around a 66-year-old university professor called Chris Knight who is currently suspended from work for telling the media that ‘if the police want violence, they’ll get violence’. Funnily enough, G20 Meltdown were united by anything but violence, more their love of making strange statements and dressing up – having a ‘zombie pancake walk’ for instance, the message being that ‘capitalism is dead and bankers are therefore zombies’. Indeed.

Also see Le G20 ne changera rien!; ما الذي تفعله عندما تخسر عملك أو منزلك ؟

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Liberty & Solidarity is a political organisation aiming to build workplace and community democracy through direct action and struggling with all those fighting for change. We stand for the power of workers and local people against the bosses and politicians in order to bring about radical social change, to build a society based on freedom, democracy, cooperation.

Only six months ago, L&S was officially founded in the historic Freedom Bookshop in East London. Even at that early stage, we had brought together several of the UK’s most serious class struggle activists involved in various workplace and community. Since then we’ve helped reform the IWW and seen successes through LCAP, community gardens in Reading and local newssheets in Glasgow. However, if the tone was set at the first conference, the volume was most definitely turned up at the second.

[Italiano] [Castellano]

Entre os dias 19 e 25 de fevereiro de 2009, as Organizações que compõem o Fórum do Anarquismo Organizado (FAO) estiveram reunidas em Porto Alegre para a realização do VI encontro nacional.

Além da troca de experiências e dos acordos políticos firmados entre as organizações, o encontro serviu para pensarmos a política de relações em um cenário nacional onde surgem e se fortalecem grupos e organizações anarquistas além do FAO, com concepções e práticas políticas similares. Com esses estamos dispostos a nos relacionar, no intuito de avançarmos num projeto militante para a realidade brasileira com todos os afins. O encontro serviu também para atualizarmos a análise de conjuntura, estabelecendo as linhas gerais para este ano que se inicia.

[Castellano]