Good luck to the millions of strikers out tomorrow, but to hell with the union bureaucrats and the labor aristocracy. Let’s make a bonfire of membership cards and make this strike indefinite. Let’s occupy the workplaces and form workers’ councils. Let’s demand more than just final salary pension schemes; the abolition of alienated labor, the dissolution of parliament and David Cameron’s head on a spike.
The Trade Union movement has always been about mediation, compromise and representation. Token militant rhetoric to appease the rank-and-file, from the arbiters between labor and capital whose conciliatory function dampens the genuine radicalism of an alienated and disenchanted workforce. Their field of vision ... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Ever since Pierre Proudhon’s ‘Dialogue With a Philistine’ in ‘What is Property’, in which he became the first political philosopher to declare himself, ‘(in the full force of the term) an anarchist’, anarchism has flourished into a self-aware ideology and political movement that has had a profound influence on the broader workers’ movement and the class struggles of the last two centuries. Anarchist theory has developed over time and can now be categorized and sub-categorized into a multitude of theoretical variants, all of which share a common incredulity towards central government and the state. The classical anarchism that inspired the anarchist revolutions in Catalonia during the Spanish C... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) The hypocrisies of hierarchical political organizations know no bounds. Of this we can be certain. However, we shouldn’t be cajoled into thinking that the political right have a monopoly on contradiction and duplicity. As far as it plays the game of modern power politics, the inconsistencies and follies of The Left rival those of any rightist grouping. The modern-day disciples of the dead men with beards are by no means immune to the worst effects of dogmatism and myopia.
The beloved movement – or what exists of a movement – is in constant search of a totem: a real, tangible example of anti-imperialist practice, of ‘actually existing socialism’ or an ever-illusive alternative to capitalist hegemony. In its que... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Striking Asturian miners have adopted aggressive direct action tactics in defense of their livelihoods and communities. Road blocks, railway blocks, barricades, sabotage, slingshots and homemade rocket launchers (!) are being used in a fierce struggle to protect the mining industry from death-by-austerity.
Take note, Occupiers! As you’re discussing the Tobin tax and huddling around a ciggy-end for warmth. Take note, Insurrectionists! As you play around with signal boxes in Bristol, trying to pop off nuclear energy executives in Genoa. You build with one hand but break with the other. Disrupting the quotidian functioning of capitalism, yes. Taking, occupying, yes. But your fantasies, your methods – revolution via late trains &nd... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Whenever we watch MTV Cribs, we’re treated to a flaunting of extravagant wealth and hyper-tacky Hollywood opulence. Proud millionaires take us on strolls through their palatial dwellings, showing us the bed, ‘where the magic happens’, regaling us with name-drop tales of pool parties, award ceremonies and the obligatory thanks to God, family and fans for their wealth and success. This is often coupled with some horseshit about how their sickening hyper-affluence is all the more appreciated and deserved after, ‘a rough start’, ‘a difficult upbringing’ or ‘being from where I’m from’, followed by delicately-shrouded self-congradulatory praise for their own upward social mobility, seein... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Now we left-wingers can breathe a sigh of relief. Some respite at last. The Ego Has Landed. Stalinist firebrand and bearded knob, Gorgeous George Galloway trounces the mainstream candidates in a shock by-election win in Bradford West, where his As-SalamuAlaykums, Allahu Akbars and Insha’Allahs went down a treat. As did his usual vitriolic sermons against Zionism and Western crusades in the Middle East. He is now our voice in the Commons – a man of the left! – with his stage swagger and bruiser build, the acerbic wit, maverick style, and the undeniable charisma when he lectures on the murder of millions of innocent muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. In his inimitable style, a progressive pit-bull, always working best under Pa... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) The year 2012 is the year we go after Joseph Kony and put a stop to his bloody Christian crusade in Northern Uganda. Or is that the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Or the Central African Republic? Or Southern Sudan? Who cares? He is the baddie. We are the goodies. Let’s kick his ass! It’s our responsibility as citizens of the overdeveloped world. It’s our number one mission. It’s our burden. Forget the cynics. This is a shining white ray of hope rising on the dark continent. Let’s just watch the video, wear the bracelet, sign the petition, ‘like’ the facebook page, retweet the status, buy the action kit, join the club.
Let’s log on to the ‘Invisible Children’ online store and ge... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) This recent BBC documentary was even more galling in its content than in its ridiculous title. To confuse cause with means so clumsily, and belittle the more-than commendable achievements of the street-fighters, occupiers, insurgents and insurrectionists of the ‘Arab Spring’ by attributing the success of their movements to Zuckerberg’s ‘revolutionary’ social network. Facebook was indeed a key tool in organizing the tumultuous overthrow of Tunisia and Egypt’s dictatorial regimes, but let’s not get carried away with the smug technophilia. Facebook changed the world in 2011 inasmuch as the telegram changed it in 1917, the telephone changed it in 1968 and television changed it in 1989.
What is the real... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) A brave experiment in participatory, democratic socialism is under threat from a theocratic, fascist, death cult. A coalition of authoritarian autocracies, Middle-Eastern monarchies and imperial and faux-imperial powers launch airstrikes in support of fighters resisting the rapid advance of black-clad Islamists. These resistance fighters – defending a progressive, socialist enclave in a civil war-torn country – have been listed as a terrorist organization for almost three decades by the various coalition partners, but are now in receipt of training and weaponry for use in their war against this nascent Islamic State. Meanwhile, one nominal member of the anti-IS coalition, conducts raids and attacks forces within its own borders ... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Last week, Tony Mulhearn, of the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition, polled 4.8% of the vote in Liverpool’s mayoral election. The Guardian told us that, ‘The result marks a clear political shift in the political makeup of the city, with Tony Mulhearn, who along with Derek Hatton led the city’s resistance to Margaret Thatcher, getting less than 5% of the vote…’ as if the poll somehow reveals a more mature Liverpool, grown-up from its rebellious adolescent phase and shuffled back into the politics of the center with a shiny new city center mall, a Capital of Culture win and its tail between its legs.
From 1983 to 1987, Liverpool was run by Militant Tendency entryists in the District Labor Party. While we&rsquo... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) ‘Britain is Sick.’ The headline was correct, of course, but for all the wrong reasons. Not so long ago, many people in the country found solace on the weekend of an aristocratic wedding. It felt nice to all unite behind the new ‘People’s Princess’ and her thoroughly modernized royal spouse. How nice it was to forget about crises and austerity on an extra bank holiday so generously granted to us by the Old Etonians of Parliament. A collective hysteria and jingo spectacle gave us a sense of belonging and even purpose. The pseudo-participation of a royal parade, a street party, the flag-wavig and cheering, a country unanimous in its appreciation of Royal tradition and ‘THAT dress’ and Pippa’s ass... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) 1. A Growing Obsession With Demands
The New York Times quotes one occupier; ‘We absolutely need demands… power concedes nothing without a demand.’ The Occupy Seattle website has a number of policy polls for demands ranging from, ‘universal education’ to ‘end corporate personhood.’ Astonishingly, many of the NYC protesters see fit to work towards a set of ultimatums for the politicians in Washington to consider. With unparalleled political naivety, some think it best for their representatives in Congress to take final responsibility for ‘fixing’ capitalism. It seems many protesters cannot shake their attachment to existing power structures.
2. The American Dream and ‘Nice&rsquo... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Films about civil rights. Films ‘about racism.’ Films dealing with, ‘the issues’: Hollywood commodities, usually sitting neatly as a comfortable sub-genre of heart-warming, tear-jerker dramas or inspirational thrillers. Crash, (not Cronenburg’s necrophiliac horror – although it could easily be mistaken, what with all the frenzied, neurotic/psychotic/paranoiac behavior by Sandra Bollix et al) was a clumsy and heavy-handed study of race relations in post-11/9 America. But at least it offered some kind of analysis. One that went beyond a cursory, surface-level glance or a feel-good fable – even though it was a melodramatic, labored and ultimately cold offering. This is more than can be said for, Tate T... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Occasionally, the liberal-democratic system nobly affords us the chance to select our representatives from a shallow gene-pool of political management professionals. Save for this transient moment in the ballot booth, we’re separated from the exclusive franchise of governance altogether – voting is our only momentary and tenuous connection to the establishment. Best to leave power and responsibility up to the professionals; the experts, the think-tanks, policy-wonks, lobbyists and journalists. Just like any other specialized industry, with its own internal contradictions and power-relationships, the ‘political class’ is not a homogenized elite, united in a conspiratorial desire to oppress, control or get rich, but al... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) It seems the whole world is teetering on the edge of a wonderful oblivion. Stable authoritarian regimes have been toppled by their restive subjects, a tyrant beaten and dragged through the streets by a band of armed insurgents. Egyptians are now back on the streets and in the squares, reinvigorating what seemed like a revolution betrayed by hangers-on from the ancien regime. Across the world, resistance against austerity drives and finance capital is mounting, and in England a police shooting led to three nights of sustained rioting, looting and arson that spread across the country via Blackberry. European capital’s wet-dream of a single-currency trading bloc is on its deathbed as Greeks defend themselves against EU-IMF gangsters with... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) For all postmodernism’s rejections of totalizing systems, utopian ideologies and socially-constructed binaries, there’s always the seduction of the old class line, the red (and/or black) banner of world revolution and the fight against the unitary systems of oppression; the state and capital. There’s comfort in the politics of ‘us and them’; a sense of belonging, shared identity and even a self-pitying, self-perpetuating victimhood. The conspiracy theory is the zenith of totalizing socio-political ideas. They superimpose order and meaning where there is none, give a unified and total explanation for what is, a formulaic dual reduction and simplification of all the world’s ills into byproducts of our subju... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) It is, we are told, the dawning of the Asian Century. The global balance of power is shifting again towards the East. The economic powerhouses of China and India put recession-hit European and American markets to shame, with GDP growth rates consistently pushing towards double figures for the last decade. China has capitalized fully on its vast army of cheap labor, high rates of saving and investment, and internal migration from the countryside to burgeoning megacities. An authoritarian, one-party state keeps a tight lid on its power, paying lip-service to Marx, Mao and Lenin while simultaneously spreading its legs for economic liberalization, foreign direct investment, and the heady world of globalization. As the developed economies in the... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Tomorrow’s independence referendum affords the Scottish people the best chance in decades to bloody the nose of the British Establishment. Westminster’s suited and booted are out in force to save the 300-year-old Union having been awoken from an aloof stupor of arrogant complacency. Buller Boy’s promises of devo-max and Head Boy Ed’s moist appeals for a sense of British identity, shared history, patriotism and even, for the TUC audience, class unity, smack of desperation, leaving us feeling Wetter Together.
This vote is not about Alex Salmond. It’s about self-determination. It’s about securing a guarantee that 5 million people will not face the misfortune of waking up to a Tory government that nobody vot... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Sigmund Freud’s seminal texts on psychoanalysis sealed his position as the unofficial father of modern psychology. Whilst not subscribing to any explicitly political weltanschauung – or world-view – the idea that the study of the individual psyche was inseparable from the social psychology of the group underpins his work. His theoretical analyzes of the unconscious mind and the concept of regression, libidinal development and its sublimation, the division of the mind into three antagonistic parts – Id, ego and superego, and the pleasure instincts and death drives inherent in all human beings are evidently attempts at explaining social phenomenon, currents and patterns of human behavior that run throughout the history... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)