An Anarchist FAQ has been updated (version 12.0)

by Ilan Shalif Thu Oct 04, 2007 18:58

Some people are hard to perceive a clear whole world structure. Thus, they may tackle few main subject without recognizing the contradictions between the specific solutions.

For instance, The FAQ describe a nice multi level world direct democracy... but fail to integrate into it the economic system. Thus, it present a syndicalist system that is "independent" from the world commune of grass roots communities.

According to it, the delegating of workers to workplaces is not the prerogative of the assemblies of grass root communities but of the work places syndicates....

Another inconsistency is the option of "independent workers". If some workers are not part of the system - how can they get their life needs they do not produce themselves in society with no market and money?

How they will give their share to the social consumption of infrastructure and social consumption of health and education?

In addition, the reluctance/inability to take the challenge of the describing the possible ways of the revolution, a non specific transitional period of few years is presented.

As if the revolution can continue in modern times in parallel to state for more than few weeks before the defeating and abolishing of state capitalism and money in the areas the revolution occurred.

(For sure it is possible that the revolution will overthrow the capitalist system in one continent while the struggle in the rest of the world still continue. However, if the authoritarian system will not be abolished within these area immediately - the return of class society will return soon.)

It seems that part of the reason for the failure of the FAQ is the obsession with production and inability to see the economic system as provider of all social and individual needs.

"Therefore, an anarchist society would abolish work by ensuring that those who do the work actually control it."

For sure in libertarian communist society every person will be delegated to tasks to do them in an autonomous way. However, in such society there will be only one kind of "control" (power) - that of the assemblies of members of grass roots communities.

by Anarkismo Editorial Group - Anarkismo Fri Oct 05, 2007 00:15

The title for the above comment has been slightly edited in that it is in our editorial guidelines not to name people without their consent, as the title of the comment initially did, and so the name was removed.

by Anarcho Sun Oct 07, 2007 06:26

I know that the FAQ gets criticism from many sources, usually from those who do not read it. This seems to be the case with Ilan -- the FAQ presents lots of anarchist visions, including a syndicalist one and one more communal in nature among others.

It presents the range of anarchist opinions, not the one true way which Ilan represents. Strange as it may seem to him, a free society will have different systems based on what people want and objective conditions.

That some people have problems with this says more about their politics than the FAQ's. Luckily, an anarchist society will be created by all -- even people who do not recognise that Ilan is the only person who really understands what anarchy is.