It is now 70 years since the end of the Second World War (1939—1945). It is often referred to as the “Good War” or even the “Last Good War.” The U.S. soldiers who fought it have been called the “Greatest Generation.” Since wars are best seen as evils unless proven otherwise, it is worth asking why World War II has such a good reputation, and whether it deserves it. After all, approximately 60 million people died around the world from that war.

The aftereffects of the Second World War are still being felt. While very popular, it was an inter-imperialist war, a struggle for world domination. But it also included popular struggles against fascism, for national independence, democratic rights, and the possibility of socialist revolution. At their best, anarchists and other revolutionary socialists looked for ways to be part of this working class and people’s war.” Analyzing the war, and thinking through its issues, may help to prepare revolutionary anarchists for future upheavals.

In the last couple of weeks, the Black community in Baltimore has mobilized protests in response to the brutal murder of Freddie Gray by the Baltimore Police Department (BPD).

The news footage of Baltimore’s Black youth resisting riot cops is reminiscent of images from the Ferguson protests last summer. Yet, they are also reminiscent of the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising, as well as the many eruptions of popular unrest across the U.S. in 1968 against racist police violence. And we can go farther and farther back into history. The stories are many. The death toll to racist state violence is vast. And many are wondering: Is this our moment to bring down the racist capitalist system?

[Castellano]

[Français]

“In order to describe heaven, it is not necessary to transport up there earthy materials. It is necessary to abandon earth, its materials, in order to embellish life with its ideal” –Isidore Ducasse.

With anger in our hearts and a deep sense of injustice is that we remember Nicolás David Neira Álvarez, a 15 year old young man, whose early affinity with anarchist ideas led him to be bludgeoned by the Colombian riot police (ESMAD) to the point that the constant banging of his head against the pavement damaged his brain matter. This happened during the heavy handed repression against the anarchist block during the May Day demonstrations in Bogotá, 2005. He would pass away on the 6 of March.

[Castellano]

Karl Marx once said that history repeats itself, first as a tragedy then as a farce. A case in point is that in South Africa sections of the left are once again calling for a mass workers’ party (MWP) to be formed to contest elections – this they believe will bring us closer to revolution. History says otherwise.

Of course the new calls for a MWP stem from the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) breaking from the African National Congress (ANC). As an outcome NUMSA is exploring the possibility of setting up a MWP to contest elections. Many Marxist and leftist influenced organisations, but also cadres within NUMSA, are therefore providing reasons why activists should be interested in such a party.

The villagers of the Palestinian vilage of Bil'in have been struggling now for 10 years against the construction of the separation barrier and consequent expropriation of their lands. This struggle has been a non-violent one, carried out together with Jewish activists from Israel and international activists and has inspired dozens of other similar struggles in villages throughout the West Bank. Here, Israeli anarchist Ilan Shalif explains the significance of Bil'in and recounts his experiences there.

The struggle in Bil'in is only one part of the fabric of struggle of more than 120 years between the indigenous people of Palestine and the Zionist settler colonialist and transfer project. The struggle in Bil'in is also the culmination of the joint popular struggle of Palestinians and young Jewish community members who "betray" their local Jewish community, which is harnessed to the Zionist project of settlement building and transfer. As partners second in importance only to the local activists, between us we have forged an unusual alliance, one that has hardly ever been seen during the half millennium of struggle between European colonialism and the other inhabitants of the world.

[עברית] [Italiano]