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**102 Eaton Square** was an unused mansion in London, UK that had
occupied by [squatters](List_of_Squats "wikilink") and turned into a
homeless shelter in
[2017](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Northern_Europe "wikilink").

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The **23 de Enero Campaign** refers to a small amount of direct action
in Caracas, [Venezuela](Venezuela "wikilink") in
[1981](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_South_America "wikilink") in
an effort to help improve a neighbourhood dominated by [state
housing](State_Housing "wikilink").
## Background
Following the privatisation of waste collection services at the
neighbourhood of 23 de Enero in Caracas, the site of the largest state
housing project in the country. The newly privatised service failed to
properly collect waste as rotting household waste began to pile up in
the street, threatening a public health crisis.
## Events
On 19 December 1981 Earles Gutierrez, his brother, and two friends
stopped a garbage truck driving through el 23 de Enero by stepping out
into the street in front of it. Gutierrez then forcefully, took control
of the vehicle and told the driver to go to the police station to report
the hijacking. Before the police arrived, they knocked on doors calling
on neighbors to join their action. When the police arrived, they found a
crowd of mostly women surrounding the garbage truck demanding that the
city clean up the neighborhood. Over the next few days, people began to
steal garbage trucks and refused to give them back until the
neighbourhoods were properly maintained.
After holding the trucks for a month, on 19 January 1982, community
members—youth, guerrilla veterans, and stay-at-home women—met with
high-level officials of various public service institutions in an
elementary school to discuss the problem. At the end of the meeting, the
officials had agreed to meet the residents’ demands and devote their
resources to cleaning up the neighborhood.
## Results
Within days, public workers began removing tons of trash from the
neighborhood, repaving roads, fixing elevators, rewiring power lines,
and installing phone service. The successful campaign led to a shift in
emphasis of public service in Venezuela politics.
## References
- <https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/venezuelans-seize-service-vehicles-force-neighborhood-upgrade-caracas-1981>

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The **43 Group** was a militant [anti-fascist](Anti-Fascism "wikilink")
group composed mainly of Jewish veterans in the British Armed Forces
from [World War II](World_War_II "wikilink"), who fought fascist groups
following [Oswald Mosely](Oswald_Mosely "wikilink") in the [late
1940s](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Northern_Europe "wikilink").
It would not be the last. This direct action sparked the formation in
March 1946 of the 3 Group: a militant anti-fascist organization composed
mainly, though not entirely, of Jewish British veterans dedicated to
shutting down fascism through direct action and pursuing legislation
against racist incitement. Later, militant anti-fascists would reject
the legislative route because of their revolutionary anti-state
politics. But the <mark>43 Group</mark> was avowedly ecumenical. It was
open to “anyone who wants to fight fascism and anti-Semitism.” Although
the group was named after the number of original members, within a month
membership increased to three hundred people, organized into “commando”
units that attacked fascist events, an “intelligence” department that
collected and organized information, and, later on, a propaganda
department, social committee, and a team that published the <mark>43
Group</mark> newspaper <em>On Guard</em>.<sup>139</sup>
The <mark>43 Group</mark> commando units had several methods of
disrupting outdoor fascist meetings. If a single member could get
through the cordon of fascist stewards to tip over the speaker’s
platform, the police had a policy of not allowing the fascists to set it
up again. With that in mind, the Group organized units of about a dozen
into wedge formations that, at an agreed time, would start far out in
the crowd and build up steam so that they “could break through many
times \[their\] number of muscular stewards” and get to the platform. If
the platform was too well guarded, however, the commandos would disperse
in the crowd and start arguments and fights all over, to the point where
the disorder led the police to shut down the event. Another method was
to “jump the pitch” by occupying the fascist meeting space well before
they could set up.
By the summer of 1946, the <mark>43 Group</mark> was attacking six to
ten fascist meetings per week. Beckman estimates that about a third were
disrupted by the Group, a third were ended by the police, and a third
continued successfully. After a while, the <mark>43 Group</mark> became
so popular that locals would join them or even shut down fascist events
on their own using similar tactics. With the emergence of the “fucking
hard case East End Yids,” as the Blackshirts called them, “the
keep-your-head-down and get-indoors-quickly mentality had gone for
good.”<sup>140</sup>
In 1947 Oswald Mosley, who had been imprisoned as leader of the British
Union of Fascists, formally returned to lead his followers. Given the
disruption that the <mark>43 Group</mark> and an assortment of
communist, Trotskyist, anarchist, and unionist antifascists had
unleashed on outdoor meetings, Mosley started holding his events
indoors. When anti-fascists couldn’t break through to disrupt Mosley’s
first indoor meeting, they hurled bricks and rocks at the fascist
stewards guarding the building, though to no avail. After that, though,
the <mark>43 Group</mark> managed to forge tickets to gain entry to
Mosley’s appearances, and once inside, they would start heated arguments
with those who had the same seat numbers, thereby disrupting and, often
enough, ending the proceedings. Thus were more than half of Mosley’s
indoor meetings shut down. Even when Mosley’s new Union Movement held
meetings under false names, infiltrators from the <mark>43 Group</mark>
tipped off the commandos, who would once again disrupt the
rallies.<sup>141</sup> A <mark>43 </mark>
“jump the pitch” by occupying the fascist meeting space well before they
could set up.
By the summer of 1946, the 43 Group was attacking six to ten fascist
meetings per week. Beckman estimates that about a third were disrupted
by the Group, a third were ended by the police, and a third continued
successfully. After a while, the 43 Group became so popular that locals
would join them or even shut down fascist events on their own using
similar tactics. With the emergence of the “fucking hard case East End
Yids,” as the Blackshirts called them, “the keep-your-head-down and
get-indoors-quickly mentality had gone for good.”<sup>140</sup>
In 1947 Oswald Mosley, who had been imprisoned as leader of the British
Union of Fascists, formally returned to lead his followers. Given the
disruption that the 43 Group and an assortment of communist, Trotskyist,
anarchist, and unionist antifascists had unleashed on outdoor meetings,
Mosley started holding his events indoors. When anti-fascists couldn’t
break through to disrupt Mosley’s first indoor meeting, they hurled
bricks and rocks at the fascist stewards guarding the building, though
to no avail. After that, though, the 43 Group managed to forge tickets
to gain entry to Mosley’s appearances, and once inside, they would start
heated arguments with those who had the same seat numbers, thereby
disrupting and, often enough, ending the proceedings. Thus were more
than half of Mosley’s indoor meetings shut down. Even when Mosley’s new
Union Movement held meetings under false names, infiltrators from the 43
Group tipped off the commandos, who would once again disrupt the
rallies.<sup>141</sup> A 43
Group infiltrator who became one of Mosley’s most trusted bodyguards
once let a group of commandos into Mosley’s mansion, where they stole a
trove of documents showing the close relations between the fascist
leader and a number of MPs.<sup>142</sup>
The attacks took a heavy toll on the British fascists (who no longer
publicly identified with the term “fascist,” given its unpopularity). As
Morris Beckman recounted, “we were going to regard \[the fascists\] as
much an enemy as those we had been fighting during the war…We were very
disciplined. We had to be. Our job was to put as many fascists in
hospital as we could.”<sup>143</sup>
The injuries inflicted upon Mosley’s right-hand man, Jeffrey Hamm, bear
this out. He had his jaw broken at the “battle of Brighton”; he was
knocked unconscious by a flying brick as he addressed a meeting in
London; and 43 Group commandos, formerly of the Royal Marines and
paratroops, assaulted him at his home even though he had a former Nazi
SS paratrooper for a bodyguard.<sup>144</sup>
By 1949, the fascist threat had receded. A number of former Mosleyites
had even become vocal anti-fascists. In part, this was because “the
fierce aggression of the anti-fascists made them depressingly aware that
every time they showed their faces they were going to be savagely
attacked.” For many it was simply not worth it.<sup>145</sup> In 1950,
the 43 Group disbanded, believing that their goal of stamping out
Mosleyite fascism had been achieved, at least for the time being.

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The **62 Group** was a militant anti-fascist group active in the [early
1960s](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Northern_Europe "wikilink")
in the UK to fight fascist groups, new and old. Based on the old [43
Group](43_Group "wikilink"), the group assaulted fascist newspaper
vendors and forcibly disrupted indoor Mosley meetings. On one occasion,
they even dressed up like Blackshirts to sneak into Mosley’s
headquarters. Once inside, they stole records and trashed the place,
nearly wiping out the entire fascist resurgence in just a year.

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'''A. S. Embree '''was a [syndicalist](Syndicalism "wikilink"),
[communist](Communism "wikilink") and
[IWW](Industrial_Workers_of_the_World "wikilink") organiser. He was
deported during the Bisbee Deportation and was repeatedly arrested in,
he also helped organise the [Columbine Coalminers'
Strike](Columbine_Massacre_\(1927\) "wikilink").\[1\]
## References
<references />
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._S._Embree>

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**Aussie Rules Football** (called 'footy') is one of the most popular
sports in [Australia](Australia "wikilink") and has had a long history
of trade unionists, environmentalist, LGBT and anti-racist activism
associated with it.
## Timeline of Struggles
- 1883: Two Carlton players are suspended by the Carlton committee for
misbehaving on a trip to Maryborough. In response, nine players
refused to play any further games and the team's fortunes slipped
until the players were reinstated.
- 1911: Several St Kilda players went out on strike in protest at the
club committee's banning of a former player and a present player's
father from the change rooms prior to the match. The inner club
wrangling saw Carlton win the following week's match by 20 goals.
- 1914: Army recruiment officers trying to get people to fight in
[World War I](World_War_I "wikilink") are frequently heckled and
sometimes attacked during footy games.
- 1928: Police are banned from playing AFL games with the Port
Melbourne Club after a police shoots a striker during a strike in
Port Melbourne.
- 1970: Essendon players strike for a large wage increase, which they
win
- 1981: Umpires in the VFL strike over poor treatment from bosses
- 1981: South Melbourne players strike for eight weeks over pay and
conditions, they win their demands
- 1995: AFL players threaten a strike, but don't strike after getting
greater injury compensation
- 1998: Numerous AFL players publicly condemn logging in Western
Australia and stand for
[environmentalism](environmentalism "wikilink") despite media
slander.
- 2012: Numerous AFL players publicly condemn homophobia in Australian
and AFL culture.
- 2013: Aboriginal AFL player Adam Goodes is attacked and booed at
matches with racial slurs, numerous players condemn the racism and
stand with him in solidarity.
## References
[1883-today: The radical history of Aussie rules
football](https://libcom.org/history/1883-today-the-radical-history-of-aussie-rules-football)
- libcom.org

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The **Australian Security Intelligence Organisation** is, officially,
[Australia's](Australia "wikilink") 'national security agency', but much
like its US counter-parts the [CIA](CIA "wikilink") and
[FBI](Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation "wikilink"), it has been far more
involved in suppressing Australia's small leftist population than doing
anything else.
## Notable Activities
### Opposition to the Political Left
The ASIO has consistently been monitoring the political left (and likely
still is)
### Failure to deal with the USSR
### Chilean Military Coup
ASIO agents stationed in Chile in the early 1970s helping the US in the
leadup to the [military coup](Chilean_Military_Coup_\(1973\) "wikilink")
were ordered to leave, but defied the government and stayed, helping the
CIA overthrow yet another democratic government. This continues a long
string of authoritarian regimes supported by the Australian government,
like [Saudi Arabia](Saudi_Arabia "wikilink") or the [New
Order](New_Order_\(Indonesia\) "wikilink") in
[Indonesia](Indonesia "wikilink").
### Royal Commission
### Hilton Hotel Bombing
### Spying on Anti-Coal Activists
In 2012 it was exposed that the ASIO had been monitoring groups and
individual that had protested against the coal industry for
[environmental reasons](Environmentalism "wikilink").
### False Imprisonments
## Terrorist Attacks the ASIO succeeded in Preventing
- 2018: The ASIO intercepted a group of Islamic terrorists from
planning a large terrorist attack in Melbourne.\[1\]
## Terrorist Attacks the ASIO Failed to Prevent
- 2018: The Melbourne CBD stabbings, an ISIS-supporting immigrant
stabbed 3 people (killing 1) in Melbourne. ASIO had known of the man
and his links to ISIS, but did nothing.
- 2019: The [Christchurch Mosque
Shootings](Christchurch_Mosque_Shootings_\(2019\) "wikilink"), an
[Australian fascist](Brendon_Tarrant "wikilink") drives to two
mosques in the city of christchurch, New Zealand and killed 51
people, injuring another 49. The ASIO, despite being aware of his
violent ideological beliefs and access to weapons, did nothing.
<!-- end list -->
1. ABC News (2018) - [Melbourne CBD Christmas bomb plot foiled by ASIO
rookie's chance
encounter](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-15/rookie-asio-officer-thwarted-deadly-terror-attack/10498426)

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**A Brief Critique of Anarcho-Syndicalism** is a 2010 article by [James
Herod](James_Herod "wikilink") which argues that
[anarcho-syndicalism](Anarcho-Syndicalism "wikilink") is a terrible
revolutionary strategy.
## Transcript
<em>\[Prefatory note: March 2017. This brief critique needs to be
expanded, qualified, and rewritten with more nuance. I still hope to do
that. Maybe I will, but if I don't, here it is as it was read out during
my <strong>Imagining Anarchy</strong> talk at the [Wooden Shoe Book
Store](Wooden_Shoe_Book_Store "wikilink") in Philadelphia on October 15,
2010. That talk is available on [YouTube](YouTube "wikilink"). As I
declared firmly immediately after reading it, the critique does not mean
that I am against organizing at the workplace. It is just that I think
the focus should be on [establishing assemblies at the
workplace](Workers'_Council "wikilink") and then networking these
assemblies across workplaces, thus bypassing
[unions](Trade_Union "wikilink"). So this separates my critique from
[Murray Bookchin's](Murray_Bookchin "wikilink") strident rejections of
anarcho-syndicalism, which practically eliminated any role at all for
[workplace organizing](Workplace_Organising "wikilink"). My position
also puts me at odds with groups like the [Workers Solidarity Movement
in Ireland](Workers_Solidarity_Movement_\(Ireland\) "wikilink"), and
with the strategy of the
[Wobblies](Industrial_Workers_of_the_World "wikilink"), both of which
concentrate on building revolutionary unions.-- jh\]</em>
1\. Anarcho-Syndicalism locates decision making in the wrong place,
exclusively with [workers](Working_Class "wikilink"), rather than with
people in general in their autonomous communities
2\. It locks the [revolution](Social_Revolution "wikilink") into the
[capitalist](Capitalism "wikilink") division of labor. There is no way
for workers in a given enterprise to decide to dismantle the operation,
because their livelihoods are connected to it. They have no way to live
without that income. Anarcho-syndicalism does not provide a way out of
this – that is, it does not create other sources of support for those
workers. This could only be done through community.
3\. It fails to take into account how the content of work has changed
over the past half-century. Vast millions of people are now engaged in
[absolutely worthless work](Bullshit_Jobs "wikilink"). This is work that
should be abandoned not seized.
4\. It has no way to deal with a new, massive, change in the capitalist
labor market -- temp work. These workers are not attached to any
particular workplace, but move frequently amongst many. They are thus
not in a position to seize anything, nor would they ever want to.
5\. It cannot escape the capitalist commodity market. Even if all
workplaces in the entire nation were seized each enterprise would still
be dependent on selling to the market in order to survive. All we would
have would be a nation full of worker-owned capitalist firms. They would
have no way to, nor incentive to, launch and pursue a society wide
de-commodification program, including the de-commodification of labor
and the transition from waged labor to cooperative labor, which could
only be done on the community level.
6\. It has failed to take into account our improved understanding of
capitalism, namely, that capitalists, over the past centuries, have
managed to turn the entire society into the means of production, into a
social factory, for the purpose of accumulating more capital. Thus,
seizing particular workplaces doesn't in fact amount to seizing the
means of production. (Hence the emergence of a [Wages for Housework
campaign](Wages_for_Housework_Campaign "wikilink").)
7\. It mistakes what needs to be seized, thinking that it is the means
of production, whereas in fact it is all decision making that must be
taken away from the ruling class and relocated in our communities.
8\. It encourages wage-slaves to identify themselves as workers. Thus it
perpetuates, and in fact fosters, this false identity. It tries to bring
into being a class consciousness based on work, a working class
consciousness. This is needed in order to seize workplaces, syndicalists
think. But the original goal of the communist revolution was to abolish
wage-slavery, abolish workers as workers, abolish the proletariat,
abolish that whole class. That is, wage-slaves were to abolish
themselves as wage-slaves. As it has happened, hardly anyone identifies
with their work anymore. Nor should they. They know they are more than
just workers. Their identities lie elsewhere, with family, friends,
avocations, leisure activities (i.e., playing), and community. They are
human beings with many interests and identities. They have given up the
identity of worker (if they ever had it) but still have to keep doing
the job in order to live. But that's all it is, just a way to make a
living. Wage-slavery can only be abolished by converting to cooperative
labor. Trying to foster "working class consciousness" is no way to do
this. It can only be done in communities.
9\. It keeps the revolution focused mistakenly on the struggle between
commodified labor and capital, thus blocking the struggle to reestablish
non-commodified labor, use-value labor as opposed to exchange-value
labor. The return to useful labor cannot be done within an
anarcho-syndicalist framework, but only within an
[anarcho-communist](Anarcho-Communism "wikilink") framework.
10\. It leaves out huge swaths of people – the unemployed, old people,
sick people, young people, students, housewives. These people can only
serve as support troops in a revolution defined as seizing the means of
production, which in turn is defined as seizing factories, offices,
stores, or farms. The idea that only people with jobs can play a direct
role in revolution is seriously mistaken.
11\. It has the wrong attitude toward the peasants and the petty
bourgeois (small business families, small farmers, self-employed
professionals and trades people). These categories of people tend to be
seen as enemies rather than as potential allies. And indeed, in the
anarcho-syndicalist model, there is no role for them in the revolution.
12\. It is based on a form of representative democracy (federation, that
is, delegates to regional and national assemblies), rather than on
direct democracy. It has thus nowhere overcome this bourgeois
hierarchical structure or procedure.
13\. It is often closely linked with unions which are organized outside
workplaces. These unions can, and often have, betrayed the working class
when the crunch comes. Two significant cases were the
[CNT](National_Confederation_of_Labour_\(Spain\) "wikilink") in the
[Spanish Revolution](Spanish_Revolution "wikilink"), and [Polish
Solidarity](Solidarity_\(Poland\) "wikilink") in the [Polish revolution
of 1980-81](Polish_Revolution_\(1980-81\) "wikilink").
14\. The [dual power](Dual_Power "wikilink") structure which
anarcho-syndicalists establish is static with regard to the capitalist
state. How exactly is it possible to ever move from a dual power
structure to a single power structure, that is, to the elimination of
the state? The strategy is not equipped to do this, and is thus silent
on the question. (And it has never been done.)
15\. It has no way to deal with counter-revolutionary parties that are
organized outside the structure of the federated workers councils. Thus
the [Bolsheviks](Bolsheviks "wikilink") were able to destroy the
[Soviets](Soviets "wikilink"), [Franco](Francisco_Franco "wikilink") was
able to [destroy collectivized Spain](Revolutionary_Spain "wikilink"),
and Social Democrats were able to destroy the workers' and soldiers'
councils in the [German revolution of
1918-1919](German_Revolution "wikilink"). It could attempt to organize
its own army, but this couldn't be done within the structure of
federated workers councils.
16\. Anarcho-syndicalism derailed, for over a century, the original goal
of all 19th century anti-capitalist radicals, whether communist,
socialist, or anarchist, of restoring power to local communities, and of
establishing a Commune of Communes, without markets, money,
wage-slavery, or states. It sidelined anarcho-communism. Instead, an
artifact of capitalism itself, the capitalist workplace, was taken as
the main organizing arena of the anti-capitalist struggle. This strategy
has failed through over a century of trials.
## External Links
- [A Brief Critique of
Anarcho-Syndicalism](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/james-herod-critique-of-anarcho-syndicalism)
at [theanarchistlibrary.org](theanarchistlibrary.org "wikilink")

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**A Goal and Strategy for Anarchy** is a 2008 talk given by James Herod
## Transcript
<em>This is the text of a talk given on March 8, 2008 for a workshop on
Anarchist Revolutionary Strategy at the National Conference on Organized
Resistance in Washington, D.C., and again at the Finding Our Roots
anarchist conference in Chicago on April 20, 2008.</em>
#### The Goal
It should be quite obvious, but apparently it’s not, that we can’t
devise an anarchist revolutionary strategy until we have a clear idea of
what it is we’re trying to achieve.
Regrettably, there has been a vigorous ban on thinking about the future
society we want, a ban that has been more or less effectively imposed
for nearly one hundred and fifty years. Marx is largely responsible for
this. He refused to discuss in concrete detail what he thought a
communist society would look like, what social forms it would take. He
said it would be up to the people making the revolution to work that
out. Additionally, he derided as “utopian” socialist thinkers who were
trying to think this through (e.g., [Charles
Fourier](Charles_Fourier "wikilink") and [Robert
Owen](Robert_Owen "wikilink")). Given the long-lasting hegemony of
Marxism on the left this label has stuck. To this day people refer to
Fourier as a “utopian socialist.” So also has the ban stuck until quite
recently, when the hegemony of Marxism-Leninism was finally broken.
Recently, at least in USAmerica, two other political currents have
joined the ban on thinking about the future society, Primitivism and
[Postmodernism](Postmodernism "wikilink"). Primitivists define the enemy
as civilization, and are hoping that it will collapse; they do whatever
they can to hasten this. As for what happens next, they offer some vague
and romantic notions about everyone returning to live in hunting and
gathering tribes; but for the here and now, they have no political
program for improving society. In fact, they casually contemplate the
extermination of most people on earth, nearly six billion people,
because that is what would happen if agriculture were abandoned. As for
Postmodernists, they are good at deconstructing, and in strengthening
anti-foundationalism, which can be useful, but they refuse to engage in
constructive efforts to improve the world. They have no political
program. Thus their philosophy has neutered them and rendered them
impotent. They become apolitical and useless in the struggle for
liberation.
This lack of attention to the goal is a tragedy, because although it’s
true that we live in potentially calamitous times, what with peak oil,
climate warming, and the more general crisis of capitalism, we also live
in exciting times. A window of opportunity has opened up to create at
long last a decentered world, without capitalism, states, or god, a
world of democratic autonomous communities.
There are at least two important reasons for this opening. One is the
near total collapse of the prevailing social philosophies which have
underpinned capitalism to date. Conservatism is dead, as is liberalism.
The counterparts of these philosophies on the left are also dead and
gone, namely, Leninism and Social Democracy. All these ideologies were
more or less destroyed in the great revolts of the 1960s. Into the
vacuum stepped [neoliberalism](neoliberalism "wikilink"), a reversion to
nineteenth century unfettered capitalism, or capitalism without the
smokescreen, where profit-taking trumps all. In addition to all the
inherent contradictions of a system based on the accumulation of capital
for its own sake, now capitalists are having to function without a
veneer. The so-called war on terror is a poor substitute for a
full-fledged social ideology. That they are trying to rely on such a
shoddy idea to justify profit-mongering is a sign of their desperation.
And when capitalists have to start commodifying water, seeds, genes,
wind, sunshine, libraries, hospitals, parks, roads, thought, and
emotions, in order to keep the profits rolling in, maybe they are
beginning to scrape the bottom of the barrel. Neoliberalism this second
time around through these past forty years has exposed as probably
nothing else could have the absolutely destructive, vicious, murderous,
immoral, and insane nature of the practices of capitalists.
A second and perhaps more important reason for this historical opening
is the possible demise of capitalism itself. At least one eminent
anti-capitalist scholar, Immanuel Wallerstein, believes that world
capitalism has reached its limits, and faces structural restraints that
it will not be able to overcome. He believes we are entering a period of
chaos, a time of transition between capitalism and whatever comes
next.\[1\] Whether he is right or not I guess only time will tell.
But at the very least, we know that the century of the USAmerican Empire
is coming to an end, and that even if capitalism survives there will be
a period of confusion before a new hegemon can establish itself.
There was a similar opening at the end of feudalism. Feudalism, as a
system for extracting the surplus wealth of the laboring classes, was
beginning to fail. The ruling classes were in a panic. But they rallied
and created a new system, capitalism, which enabled them to keep their
wealth and power, and stay in control. Nevertheless, during this
interregnum, the oppressed classes came closer than they ever had
before, or ever have since, to casting off their oppressors.\[2\]
And so there is an opening, an opening for anarchy. Anarchism still
stands as a living, viable, vibrant social philosophy, with a deep, rich
tradition. Anarchism is finally back on the agenda, back in the
political arena, thankfully, and not a moment too soon either. But the
time is now, during the next ten, twenty, or thirty years. This is our
chance. There is no more postponing; no more putting it off to the next
generation; no more excuses for not knowing what we want; no more saying
that it is up to those in the future who will be making the revolution
to work out the details. We are the revolutionaries\! If we don’t know
now what we want, when will we ever? This is a terrible responsibility,
but it is also a rare and exciting opportunity. We could be the
generation that finally brings down capitalism and creates a decent,
sustainable, humane, just, free, and joyful world.
Fortunately for us, anarchy, humanity, and the world, many anarchists
pretty much ignored the ban on imagining the future. [Peter
Kropotkin](Peter_Kropotkin "wikilink") wrote detailed empirical studies,
infused with history and theory, about how we might better arrange
ourselves socially. These studies present a picture of human life so at
odds with contemporary realities and the dominant culture as to
practically stun the reader.
Kropotkin was not alone, however. Almost from the first emergence of
anarchism as a distinct social philosophy, with [William
Godwin](William_Godwin "wikilink"), anarchists have been trying to
imagine the future. [James Guillame](James_Guillame "wikilink"), from
Bakunin’s circle, wrote a nice little essay on Social Organization in
1876. The anarcho-syndicalists, through nearly a century of struggle,
produced an enormous literature on [workers’ control and worker
self-management](Workers'_Self-Management "wikilink"). There is an
enormous literature on communalism, communes, and intentional
communities. There is a small but important iterature on direct
democracy. The Spanish revolutionaries, standing on fifty years of
organizing, which was imbued with ideas from Bakunin, Kropotkin, and
French anarcho-syndicalism, wrote detailed plans for what they wanted,
plans which covered everything -- workplaces, public services,
agriculture, and town and village self-government. We have the
literature on the Paris Commune, on the San-Culottes in the French
Revolution, on the [Ukrainian Makhnovist
movement](Free_Territory_of_Ukraine "wikilink"), and on the direct
democracies of medieval towns. Recently, there has been a rash of
uprisings based on Popular Assemblies in Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia,
and Mexico. And so on, down through the past two hundred
years.<ref>References to all these things can be found in my big
bibliography, <em>Emancipatory</em> <em>Social
`Thought: A Partially Annotated Bibliography in English for the `
Libertarian Left and Progressive Populists in the United States</em>,
available on line at:
\<<http://www.jamesherod.info/?sec=book&id=5&PHPSESSID=f6cd0975a0455b574d6a745a3808fa3e>\>.
For Kropotkin, see his <em>Fields, Factories and Workshops</em>;
<em>Mutual Aid;</em> and <em>The Conquest of Bread</em>. The Guillame
essay is in Sam Dolgoff, editor, <em>Bakunin on Anarchism</em>.
`See the entries listed below in the above bibliography for the various `
topics: peasant wars, Engels, Price; anarcho-syndicalism and workers’
control, Ostergaard, Anweiler, Anderson, Brinton, Carsten, Castoriadis,
Cole, Curl, Debord, Dolgoff, Gorter, Haffner, James, Kasmir, Korsch,
Krimerman, Pankhurst, Pannekoek, Richards, Rocker, and G. Williams;
radical democracy, Lummis; the Paris Commune, Edwards; sans-culottes,
Sobol; medieval towns, Rorig; the Ukrainian Makhnovist movement,
Arshinov; communalism, communes, and intentional communities, Rexroth,
Holloway; the Spanish Revolution, Broue, Akelberg, Dolgoff, Paz,
Richards.</ref>
In 1997, Ken Knabb wrote up a good description of all this in his book
<em>The Joy of Revolution</em>. Takis Fotopoulos has mapped out, in
concrete detail, what we want in his book <em>Towards an Inclusive
Democracy</em>, as well as in numerous essays. Murray Bookchin has a
short book on <em>Remaking Society</em>. Cornelius Castoriadis was
perhaps the greatest contemporary philosopher of autonomy (see, for
example, <em>Philosophy, Politics, Autonomy</em>). John Holloway has
brilliantly explained the philosophical foundations for a free people in
his book <em>Change the World Without Taking Power</em>. [Colin
Ward](Colin_Ward "wikilink") brought anarchy down to earth in his book
<em>Anarchy in Action</em>. There are dozens of other attempts.
We don’t have to rely just on theorists from modern anarchism, however.
We can look back in history. There were enormous peasant revolts in
early modern Europe. What did they want? They wanted to get the ruling
classes off their backs and to live free and autonomous in their
villages. This was no new thing either. As recently researched and
superbly described by [David Graeber](David_Graeber "wikilink"),\[3\]
from the emergence of the first states, whenever there was the slightest
crack in the structure of power, people tried to get free and
reestablish control over their own lives in their local communities.
People have always gathered in assemblies in their tribes and villages
whenever they had the chance to cooperatively govern their own social
lives.
Actually then, we are not in trouble at all as regards the goal. There
is no reason for us to be confused or apologetic about what we want.
There is a solid historical consensus on what we want. We want to get
the ruling classes off our backs. We don’t want to be exploited or
alienated. We don’t want to be slaves. We want to be a self-governing
people, free and autonomous.
The idea of self-government implies assemblies, and always has: workers’
councils, town meetings, household cooperatives. We can summarize and
synthesize this as follows:
Neighborhood Assemblies
Workplace Assemblies
Household Assemblies
An Association of Neighborhood Assemblies
That’s it. That’s how we do it. This is a simple and elegant vision of
how we can reorder our social lives. These social forms, in varying
mixes and degrees, have been present in just about every revolt against
oppressing classes from the dawn of hierarchical society.
The goal implies the strategy. We must establish these assemblies, in
every neighborhood, workplace, and household (much extended households
though). There is great power in social organization. Revolution means
rearranging ourselves socially. The beauty of this plan is that the
social forms which will enable us to defeat capitalists are the very
same forms that we will need to establish the society we want. In the
process of gutting capitalism we will be creating anarchy at the same
time. These social forms will enable us to escape wage-slavery and embed
ourselves instead in cooperative labor. They will enable us to get out
of commodity markets and build a world based on mutual aid and gift
giving. They will enable us to become a self-governing people, free and
autonomous in our local communities, and to establish an association of
such communities. This is a plausible, realistic strategy.
You see, it is not enough to seize the means of production. We must take
all decision making away from the capitalist ruling class and relocate
it into our assemblies. To do so we must shift the focus of our
attention to these three strategic sites, and away from protest
politics, identity politics, labor unions, and single issue campaigns,
which are not getting us very far toward defeating capitalists and
establishing anarchy.
Maybe a note is in order as to why household assemblies are included in
the list, which is not often done. First of all, it simply makes sense.
Humans have always organized themselves into households, regardless of
their societal type, even in tribal societies. It is a well-nigh
universal and “natural” social form. Most of us spend a great deal of
our lives in our households. Secondly, women in the [autonomous
movement](Autonomism "wikilink") in Italy in the 1970s proved that
housework is an integral part of wage-slavery. That’s why they launched
the [Wages for Housework
campaign](Wages_for_Housework_Campaign "wikilink"). Finally, some of the
keenest contemporary students of capitalism, those associated with
Immanuel Wallerstein at the Fernand Braudel Center, include households
as a key unit of analysis. These are some of the reasons why I think
households must be included along with workplaces and neighborhoods as
an essential arena for directly democratic decision making, and thus of
self-government. But the households I’m talking about would be expanded
households, not nuclear families or even extended families, but a new
social form, harking back to the larger household structures in medieval
manors or the ancient world, consisting of 50-200 people.
#### Historical Strategies
Let’s review now the strategies that have been used so far to get out of
capitalism and into a freer society. By the way, in the nineteenth
century there was broad agreement among anti-capitalist activists,
whether marxist or anarchist, that “communism” meant a society without a
state. That is, the original meaning of communism was communalism or
local community autonomy. A disagreement emerged, however, about how to
achieve it. The split between Marx and Bakunin (marxists versus
anarchists) in 1872 at the Hague Congress of the International
Workingmen’s Association solidified this disagreement. Marxists thought
that we could use the state to get to communism. First capture the
state, and then use it to get to communism. Anarchists said no, that
this wouldn’t work, and that we had to bypass the state entirely and
work directly for a stateless society.
The two-stage strategy, as it came to be called, of the statists, as
they came to be called, had two wings: Leninists (Bolsheviks) who
believed in seizing the state in an armed revolution led by a vanguard
party, and Kautskyists (social democrats) who believed in capturing the
state through elections using mass-based working-class parties. Both
these strategies proved incapable of getting rid of capitalism through
nearly a century of trials. Leninist vanguard parties came to power in
countries all over the third world, beginning with Russia, and nowhere
was capitalism destroyed. Similarly, Kautskyan social democratic parties
gained control of numerous European governments, sometimes for decades,
and capitalism went rolling on.
The two-stage strategy was hegemonic on the left for nearly a century.
Nevertheless, an anarchist strategy, anarcho-syndicalism, based on
federated workers’ councils, managed to survive as a weak marginalized
alternative. The idea here was to seize the means of production,
establish workers’ councils, and federate these councils into a dual
power structure which could then destroy the state and capitalism.
Aspects of this strategy appeared in most European revolutions
throughout the twentieth century – Russia in 1905 and 1917, Germany and
Austria in 1918-1919, Spain in 1936, Hungary in 1956, France in 1968,
Portugal in 1974-75, and Poland in 1980-81. This anarcho-syndicalist
strategy has also failed to unseat capitalism, and should no longer
serve as a model for us.
There are remnant groups still pushing these failed two-stage strategies
in most countries. In the United States, for example, the Revolutionary
Communist Party and the International Socialist Organization still
believe in building a vanguard party (their own party, of course) to
seize the state by force of arms. The Democratic Socialists of America
are representative of the moribund social democratic strategy.
#### Strategies, Explicit or Implied, of Contemporary Anarchist Currents
Let me focus now more closely just on anarchist strategies, that is,
anti-statist strategies. I’ll do this by briefly surveying the various
anarchist tendencies in the United States and teasing out the strategy
implications of their beliefs.
We might categorize contemporary USAmerican anarchist currents as
follows:
<strong>1.</strong> <em>Anarcho-Syndicalism, Anarcho-Communism, and
Cousins</em>: Workers’ Solidarity Alliance; Wobblies (Industrial Workers
of the World); Northeastern Federation of Anarchist Communists;
Situationists; Grassroots Economic Organizing and the Cooperative
Commonwealth.
<strong>2.</strong> <em>Libertarian Municipalism</em>.
<strong>3.</strong> <em>Major Related Tendencies</em>: Surrealism;
Autonomous Marxism; Libertarian Socialism.
<strong>4.</strong> <em>Individualists</em>: Primitivists; Ontological
Anarchism; Crimethinc; So-called Post-Left Anarchism.
<strong>5.</strong> <em>Other</em>: Radical Democracy; Co-Housing;
Intentional Communities; [Global Justice
Movement](Global_Justice_Movement "wikilink").\[4\]
If we survey all these various currents with an eye for the strategy
recommended by each, the picture is pretty bleak. The [Workers’
Solidarity Alliance](Workers'_Solidarity_Alliance_\(USA\) "wikilink")
(WSA) remains an orthodox anarcho-syndicalist organization with a strict
focus on workplace organizing, with the 100-year-old vision of federated
workers’ councils as the social organization to replace capitalism.
Similarly with the [Industrial Workers of the
World](Industrial_Workers_of_the_World "wikilink") (Wobblies), whose
strategy hasn’t changed since its founding in 1905. It believes in
industrial democracy (workers’ control), to be achieved through One Big
Union.
The Northeast Federation of Anarchist Communists (NEFAC) is more
typically anarcho-communist in that it embraces both workplace and
community organizing, with a heavy emphasis though on the need for a
strong anarchist organization to prepare the way for revolution. Spain
is probably the preferred model here, considering that it was the main
revolution that was based partly on the ideas of Bakunin and Kropotkin,
and not merely on French anarcho-syndicalism.
Situationism (a French movement which inspired in part the uprisings in
Paris in 1968) is no longer a living current, of course, and survives
only through isolated individuals. However, Ken Knabb, a USAmerican
representative of the tendency, has written a nice synthesis of the
workplace and community focuses in his <em>Joy of Revolution</em>. But
not a great deal is said about how to get there.
The group that puts out the <em>Grassroots Economic Organizing
Newsletter</em>, which focuses on worker owned businesses, admits that
this current has failed so far to even try to embed itself in a larger
movement to transform society. And when they do speak of such a
transformation they think in terms of establishing a cooperative
commonwealth, which will be legislated into existence, after a new
progressive party wins control of the government.
[Libertarian Municipalism](Libertarian_Municipalism "wikilink"), the
strategy which Murray Bookchin attempted to launch, never caught on. It
proposed the take-over of local governments, by winning elections, to be
thereafter transformed into popular assemblies based on direct democracy
which would then seize control of the economy. Struggles at the
workplace were left out of the strategy. As far as I know, no group in
the country is using this strategy.
Of the major related tendencies (within social anarchism, broadly
defined) – surrealism, autonomous marxism, and libertarian socialism –
none have advanced a clear picture of the goal, in terms of the social
forms that will replace capitalism, and consequently none talk much
about strategy. To the extent that they do, it is probably the
anarcho-syndicalist strategy that informs the discussion.
Coming now to the Individualists – Primitivism, Ontological Anarchism,
Crimethinc, and so-called Post-Left Anarchism – none have advanced, and
all deny the need for, a concrete description of the kind of society we
are trying to establish in the here and now. Since they tend to think of
society as an aggregate of autonomous individuals, they resist any
effort to define, in concrete terms, the social forms that anarchy will
take. They don’t even believe in social forms. Consequently, in terms of
strategy, they are limited to attacking the existing order. That’s their
strategy: resist, subvert hierarchy, get off the grid and live free
(defined in a very superficial way, however – like, quit your job), and
attack, attack, attack. And that’s what they do – protest and disrupt.
There are some other on-the-ground developments, like co-housing and
intentional communities, neither of which, at present, are
anti-capitalist (in the main). They do not see themselves as part of a
larger movement to transform society. Each project in these currents
remains more or less isolated.
The Global Justice Movement is infused with anarchist themes and
practices, but, contrary to its claim that ‘There Is An Alternative,’ it
has not yet been able to clearly articulate this alternative and build a
strategy based on it, or so it seems.
There is an international journal, the <em>International Journal of
Inclusive Democracy</em>, which has articulated, in concrete detail, a
clear image of the liberated society we so ardently desire, as well as a
strategy for achieving it. But there are only a few individuals in the
United States who are associated with this intellectual current. And,
sad to say, it is very far from becoming a living current within the
contemporary anarchist movement.
So that’s it -- a very grim picture indeed as regards a goal and
strategy for anarchy among contemporary anarchists.
#### The Actual Practices Prevailing in the Present Day Anarchist Movement
If we look now at the actual practices which prevail in the present day
anarchist movement in USAmerica we can notice a curious fact. The
strategies described above have almost no bearing on contemporary
practices. Even for class-struggle anarchists who are oriented toward
the working class and believe in workers councils, like those associated
with the Wobblies, Nefac, or the WSA, the drive for such councils is
almost nonexistent. Instead, they engage in standard labor practices:
campaigns for the right to organize, union organizing drives, fights for
better wages, hours, and benefits, or in defense of fired workers.
What else? By participating in [Food Not
Bombs](Food_Not_Bombs "wikilink"), we anarchists take on the task of
feeding the hungry, whereas we should be devoting our time and energy to
destroying a system that creates hungry people. We cannot stop all the
crimes of capitalists, one crime at a time. Their crimes are endless. We
must stop capitalists. Bikes Not Bombs perhaps highlights an alternative
to the car culture, but it doesn’t hurt capitalists in the least. No
number of Critical Mass bike rides will defeat the oil/car oligarchy.
[Anarchist Black Cross](Anarchist_Black_Cross "wikilink") is certainly a
decent, humane project, but no amount of letter writing to prisoners, or
packets of books, will bring down the prison-industrial complex.
Single-issue campaigns, like shutting down animal testing labs, in
defense of animal rights, are eminently worthy. But we could close every
lab in the world and capitalists will not be much fazed.
And why these? Why focus on hungry people, cars, prisoners, or animals?
Why not war, a stupendously destructive crime, or torture, an absolute
abomination? Or why not agri-business and the food processing industry?
Processed foods, and the resulting obesity and malnutrition, are killing
more people now than most major diseases. This is a crime of enormous
impact, as is the neoliberal destruction of food security the world
over, which has now placed about two billion people at risk from
starvation.
What about all the time, energy, and resources we devote to running
bookstores and organizing anarchist book fairs? These projects are a
tiny hedge against capitalist cultural hegemony, and help keep an
opposition movement alive, but how serious a threat are they, really, to
capitalists?
And what about all the effort going into race, gender, and sex issues,
hardly any of which is linked to class analysis or class struggle? Has
forty years of identity politics moved us any closer to defeating the
capitalist ruling class?
Then there are the endless marches and rallies, which have virtually no
effect on capitalists. The ruling class is laughing at us. If all we can
do is rally and march and protest in the streets, they have nothing at
all to worry about.
It seems that a much more critical evaluation of our projects is called
for. We need to seriously and persistently ask whether our projects are
hurting capitalists in significant and permanent ways, and more
particularly, whether they are taking any decision making away from the
ruling class.
#### The Way Forward
It is time for a new tack. The two-stage strategy of seizing the state,
used by both Leninists and Social Democrats, as a way of getting out of
capitalism and then to communism (defined as a stateless society, that
is, anarchy), is a proven failure. Similarly, the strict focus on
workplaces and workers’ control has also proved inadequate to the task.
We need to seize everything, by establishing direct democracy
everywhere, through face-to-face assemblies, in our neighborhoods,
workplaces, and households. This is our best hope.
Our immediate problem is how we can get to the point of being able to
set up these assemblies. It certainly seems more or less impossible at
present, at least in the United States. But we’re not even working on
it, not even trying. It’s not even on the agenda. We first of all have
to get the idea into the air. Then maybe we could begin to see how it
would be possible.
It might also help us to move in this direction if we get rid of the
idea that it is the job of anarchists to organize other people (for
example, workers) to make the revolution. In fact, we can assert an
opposing idea, as the first principle of an anarchist revolutionary
strategy: <em>Fight First for Your Own Liberation</em>. Not you
individually, of course, but you with neighbors and co-workers. Get
together with friends, wherever you are, and start a fight with the
ruling class. Stop trying to assist others to get free, no matter whom –
workers, women, blacks, gays, natives, immigrants – and fight to get
free yourself, within your own immediate social setting.
What we most urgently need to do is shift the location of the
anti-capitalist fight to the three strategic sites described above. We
also need to scour the world for existing struggles on these sites, then
study and publicize them. Only in this way will we start winning, and
start destroying the world we hate and creating the world we want.
#### Notes
I have discussed the themes of this essay in considerably more detail in
my little book <em>Getting Free: Creating an Association of Democratic
Autonomous Neighborhoods</em>.
(Boston: Lucy Parsons Center, 2006; distributed by AK Press). It is
available online at:
\<<http://www.jamesherod.info/?sec=book&id=7&PHPSESSID=0b4aba7918323b17ce608ef741f40fcb>\>.
Other relevant essays are also posted there, such as:
<em>Making Decisions Amongst Assemblies</em>, at:
\<<http://www.jamesherod.info/index.php?sec=paper&id=60>\>, or
<em>The Weakness of a Politics of Protest</em>, at:
\<<http://www.jamesherod.info/index.php?sec=paper&id=17>\>, and
<em>Notes on Building a Movement for Direct Democracy</em>, at:
\<<http://www.jamesherod.info/index.php?sec=paper&id=18>\>.
<references />
## External Links
- [A Goal and Strategy for
Anarchy](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/james-herod-a-goal-and-strategy-for-anarchy#toc6)
at [theanarchistlibrary.org](theanarchistlibrary.org "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. Wallerstein’s thesis can be found in “Globalization: A Long-Term
Trajectory of the World-System,” Ch. 3, pp. 45-68, in his <em>The
Decline of American Power</em> (New Press, 2003), or in “The Modern
World-System in Crisis: Bifurcation, Chaos, and Choice,” Ch. 5, pp.
76-90, in his <em>World-Systems Analysis</em> (Duke University
Press, 2004).
2. For an outstanding study of this period see [Silvia
Federici](Silvia_Federici "wikilink"),
<em>[Caliban](Caliban_and_the_Witch "wikilink")</em>[<em>and the
Witch: Women, the Body, and Primitive
Accumulation.</em>](Caliban_and_the_Witch "wikilink") (Autonomedia,
2003)
3. David Graeber, “There never was a West; or Democracy emerges in the
spaces in between,” in his <em>Possibilities,</em> pages 329-374 (AK
Press, 2007).
4. I have briefly described each of these currents, providing typical
literature for each, with critiques where available, in the outline
for my workshop about <em>Anarchist Revolutionary Strategy</em>,
which is available online at:
\<<http://www.jamesherod.info/index.php?sec=paper&id=32>\>.

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**A People's History of Australia since 1788** is a 1988
[book](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Books "wikilink") by Verity
Burgmann and Jenny Lee that covers various areas in the [history of
Australia](history_of_Australia "wikilink") that usually aren't
discussed such as the development of [capitalism](capitalism "wikilink")
in [Australia](Australia "wikilink"), the resistance to the
establishment of [private property](Private_Property "wikilink") by
[Australian Aboriginals](Australian_Aboriginals "wikilink"), the lives
of convicts and immigrants, Australia's [slave
trade](Slavery "wikilink") and efforts to establish a [pacific
empire](Imperialism "wikilink").
## Summary
### Chapter 1: White Man Came Took Everything
### Chapter 2: Aborigines, Europeans and the Environment
### Chapter 3: We are Hungry for Our Land
### Chapter 4: Carving Up the Country
### Chapter 5: Brutalized,Beggared and Bought
### Chapter 6: Peopling the Place Again
### Chapter 7: Everybody Become a Job: Twentieth-Century Immigrants
### Chapter 8: The Apron-strings of Empire
### Chapter 9: Workers, Capital and the Protection Racket
### Chapter 10: Ruling the Region
### Chapter 11: Used and Abused: the Melanesian Labour Trade
### Chapter 12: Keeping Australia Clean White
### Chapter 13: Australians at War
## See Also
- [A People's History of the United
States](A_People's_History_of_the_United_States "wikilink")

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**A People's History of the United States** is a book published in 1980
(with another edition in 2003) by historian [Howard
Zinn](Howard_Zinn "wikilink") which covers a history of the [United
States of America](United_States_of_America "wikilink") from the
perspective of the oppressed underclass. As opposed to the perspective
of economic, military and political elites that dominate most histories
of the US.
## Summary
### Chapter 1: Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress
The encounter between Christopher Columbus and the indigenous
[Arawak](Arawak "wikilink") within what is the Bahamas was driven by the
newly developing nation-states in Europe's desire for money and power as
part of a growing colonial project that was taking hold in parts of Asia
and Africa. Despite the Arawak showering the Spanish and Italian
explorers and soldiers in gifts of gold, food, tools and shelter, a
genocide was soon to begin. Columbus, who desired fame, wealth and power
promised by the Spanish monarchy actively took credit for the actions of
his crew and organized a campaign of terrorism against the Arawak. Many
were taken in as a slaves and anyone who resisted were mutilated (often
publicly) with swords and killed. Upon Columbus' second voyage, he began
a campaign of sex trafficking of Arawak women and children, anyone who
tried to run away were hunted and killed by packs of dogs owned by the
colonizers. He ordered Arawaks to find enough gold to impress his
investors (which he had lied to) and cut off the hands of those who
failed to find enough. Arawaks formed various armed cells in order to
end colonialism and retake what had been stolen, but they faced an army
of men with guns and metal armour which would hang them for at any sign
of resistance. Capitalism was born in a tsunami of blood, rape and
genocide, seen by the Spanish as numbers on a ledger. The treatment of
Arawak was so horrible that numerous Spanish priests cried out for the
soldiers to stop. Pointing out that the Arawak had constructed a
relatively advanced civilization, but the colonists ignored this for
monetary reasons. Cases of depression, suicide, physical exhaustion,
infant mortality and malnutrition exploded under the Arawak, and around
three million of them were killed in 12 years. Despite clear evidence of
this from primary sources, pro-Columbus historians have repeatedly
ignored or omitted these facts. All history is nothing but ideology,
designed to make murder and wars seem acceptable and natural, rather
than the product of particular political, economic and social
arrangements, and Howard Zinn aims to counter these narratives by
telling history through an anti-state, anti-capitalist and anti-racist
angle. The Aztecs, Incas, Powhatan, Pequot all had their various
villages, towns and cities burned down as a way to extract their wealth
for the landowners and speculators and investors who funded the colonial
venture into the Americas. Early capitalism began it's process of
primitive accumulation by wiping out entire civilizations and ethnic
groups. It became increasingly difficult to enslave indigenous
americans, as they were able to escape, hide and kill their slave
masters. So colonizers resorted to a war of extermination, justifying
their actions through concepts like civilizing, god, property and human
progress (as they burned down homes, raped women and killed
millions).How this is any different to Stalin's or Churchill's murderous
campaigns against ethnic minorities or the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki remains a mystery. Many upper-class and political elites
will saying it was 'necessary' for 'progress' to do this. But they never
asked how the poor, indigenous, downtrodden, women, LGBT people or
conscripted soldiers for their voice in this 'march of progress'. These
episodes of brutality, showing us the worst of humanity, were only to
accumulate a little more power in a great game being played all over
Europe. Not to mention how idnigenous americans had built civilizations
comparable to ancient Egypt, Sumer, China, Rome and Greece (in terms of
size, population and technology) despite less time and resources. Huge
cities spread out across North America, and civilizations had advanced
cultures, philosophies and political systems (notably the
[Haudenosaunee](Haudenosaunee_Confederacy "wikilink")). In contrasts to
Europes authoritarian, patriarchal and capitalist nature, much of
indigenous North America was libertarian and decentralized, had gender
equality and communism.
### Chapter 2: Drawing the Color Line
## External Links
- [A People's History of the United
States](http://historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html) at
historyisaweapon.com

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**A Question of Power** is a 1969 leaflet written by [Chris
Pallis](Chris_Pallis "wikilink") and published by
[Solidarity](Solidarity_\(UK\) "wikilink"). It is a short critique of
the authoritarian nature of [capitalism](capitalism "wikilink"), the
failure of [trade unions](Trade_Union "wikilink") and a call to working
class actions.
## Transcript
*Few of us run our own lives*. This is because we have no control over
the main decisions that affect us. These decisions are made by small
self-perpetuating minorities. This situation cannot be "democratically"
changed. What our rulers call "democracy" is a system which operates for
their own protection. As long as their "democracy" is not seriously
challenged, their dominating position in society is secure.
*Their threatened use of violence* is intended to frustrate any
challenge. It is implicit in the large [police](police "wikilink")
force, the courts, and the [armed forces](Military "wikilink") which
they control. The limited freedom that their "democracy" allows us is
further restricted or curtailed altogether whenever they think their
power is seriously threatened.
*They hold the power to maintain their power*. This is key to their
security. They determine the [kind of education
provided](Prussian_Education "wikilink"), and the ways and means of
providing it. By controlling what and how people are taught, those who
rule us seek to preserve the structure of existing society. Children are
educated first through the family - i.e. through the already-conditioned
parents. Then the education factories (schools and
[universities](University "wikilink")) take over. Their aim is to
produce people conditioned to fit into this rat-race society.
*Workers created trade unions and political parties to change all this*.
But gradually adopting similar patterns of organization to those of
their oppressors, and by concentrating the struggle almost solely on
improving working conditions and living standards, the original
revolutionary intentions have been bypassed. Working people have gained
considerable material advantages but they have lost control of their own
organizations. Today the hierarchies are in control. They can neither be
removed nor brought back to the initial aim of freeing people.
*Those who dominate production dominate society*. So long as they have
their kind of industrial stability, control will remain in their hands.
This control enables them to continue deciding what is to be produced,
who is to produce it, where, when how, and in what quantities. All this
conflicts with the interests of the real producers - the workers. Those
who run our lives continually seek ways of blurring the conflict and of
manipulating workers into accepting that management alone is capable of
making these decisions.
*The union hierarchy* assists them in this fraud. While acting as
middlemen in the labour market, the union bosses do all they can to
frustrate any awareness in [workers of their own ability to run
industry](Workers'_Self-Management "wikilink"). In fact, so-called
working class organizations are today an essential part of the set up.
The formation of new unions or parties would not solve the problem. In
today's conditions, they would suffer the same fate as the old ones.
*But the system is contested*. There is a constant struggle in which the
objective is self-management. In a large majority of disputes, workers
have taken real democratic decisions to act without the consent of the
union bureaucrats (so-called [unofficial
strikes](Wildcat_Strike "wikilink")). This is one of the signs that our
rulers' "industrial stability" is under strain. The strain is also
visible in the education factories, where students are increasingly
demanding the right to take decisions on fundamental issues. There are
many other signs of the crisis that is affecting every aspect of this
society.
*Solidarity* participates in the struggle wherever possible. We try to
expose the true situation. We seek to strengthen the confidence of
working people in their *own* ability to manage their *own* lives - at
work and outside of it. People's reliance on others to do things for
them has led to defeat after defeat. It is time for victories\!
Victories depend on people consciously taking action themselves. To help
in the development of this consciousness is the only reason for the
existence of *Solidarity*.
## External Links
- [A Question of
Power](https://www.marxists.org/archive/brinton/1969/07/question-power.htm)
at marxists.org

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'''A Stake, Not a Mistake: On Not Seeing the Enemy '''is a 2
## Transcript
I spent several years in the early sixties studying Underdevelopment. It
was frustrating, in that none of the theories I examined really seemed
to explain the phenomenon. That is, the Theories of Development that
were prevalent then (only in mainstream discourse, I later learned)
didn't really answer the question: Why are some countries poor? I would
look at US Aid programs, only to conclude that they didn't work, that
they didn't help countries develop, and often got in the way. My
response at that time was to argue, and to try to call to the attention
of US Aid administrators, that the programs weren't working, and were
not achieving the results they were supposed to. The programs were not
facilitating development and economic growth in the countries they were
supposed to be benefiting. Fortunately for me, with the explosion and
re-emergence of radical consciousness in late sixties, I was able to
overcome this naiveté.
Unfortunately though, for much of the American Left (especially for its
so-called progressive wing), this naiveté, this bad habit of not seeing
the enemy, this tendency to think that the US government's policies and
actions are just mistakes, this seemingly ineradicable belief that the
US government means well, is the most common outlook. It was certainly
the majoritarian belief among those who opposed the [Vietnam
War](Vietnam_War "wikilink"). I helped write a broad sheet once, which
we distributed at a big anti-war demonstration in Washington DC in
November 1969, and which was titled "Vietnam is a Stake not a Mistake".
In this document we spelled out the imperial reasons which explained why
the government was waging war, quite deliberately and rationally,
against Vietnam.
In subsequent decades there has been no end to the commentators who take
the 'this is a mistake' line. Throughout the low intensity (i.e.,
terrorist) wars against Nicaragua and El Salvador in the 1980s we heard
this complaint again and again. It is currently seen in the constant
stream of commentaries on the US assault on Colombia. It has been heard
repeatedly during the past two years in the demonstrations against the
World Bank and the World Trade Organization. Protesters complain that
the WTO's policies of structural adjustment are having the opposite
effect of what they're supposed to. That is, they are hindering, not
facilitating, development, and causing poverty, not alleviating it.
Two years ago, in 1999, throughout the 78 day bombing attack on
Yugoslavia, much of the outpouring of progressive commentary on the
event (that which didn't actually endorse the bombing that is) argued
that "this is a mistake".\[1\] My favorite quote from that episode, was
from Robert Hayden, Director of the Center for Russian and East European
Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, being interviewed by [Amy
Goodman](Amy_Goodman "wikilink") on <em>Democracy Now</em>, April 19,
1999. He said: "But we have the Clinton administration that developed a
diplomacy that seems to have been intended to have produced this war,
and now the Clinton administration's actions seem determined to produce
a wider war." Amy Goodman: "Why would the Clinton Administration want to
produce a war?" Hayden: "Boy, you know what? You've got me there. And as
I say, you have to go back to the simple principles of incompetence.
Never assume competence on the part of these guys." This was surely the
bottom of the pit for the 'this is a mistake' crowd. I could cite quotes
like this by the dozen, but instead let me turn to our current "war".
So what has been the response of the 'progressive community' to the
bombing of Afghanistan? As usual, they just don't get it. They just
can't seem to grasp the simple fact that the government does this stuff
on purpose. Endlessly, progressives talk as if the government is just
making a mistake, does not see the real consequences of its actions, or
is acting irrationally, and they hope to correct the government's course
by pointing out the errors of its ways. Progressives assume that their
goals -- peace, justice, well-being -- are also the government's goals.
So when they look at what the government is doing, they get alarmed and
puzzled, because it is obvious that the government's actions are not
achieving these goals. So they cry out: "Hey, this policy doesn't lead
to peace\!" or "Hey, this policy doesn't achieve justice (or democracy,
or development)\!" By pointing this out, they hope to educate the
government, to help it to see its mistakes, to convince it that its
policies are not having the desired results.\[2\]
How can they not see that the US government acts deliberately, and that
it knows what it is doing? How can they not see that the government's
goals are not peace and justice, but empire and profit. It
<em>wants</em> these wars, this repression. These policies are not
mistakes; they are not irrational; they are not based on a failure of
moral insight (since morality is not even a factor in their
considerations); they are not aberrations; they are not based on a
failure to analyze the situation correctly; they are not based on
ignorance. This repression, these bombings, wars, massacres,
assassinations, and covert actions are the coldly calculated, rational,
consistent, intelligent, and informed actions of a ruling class
determined at all costs to keep its power and wealth and preserve its
way of life (capitalism). It has demonstrated great historical presence,
persistence, and continuity in pursuing this objective. This ruling
class <em>knows</em> that it is committing atrocities, <em>knows</em>
that it is destroying democracy, hope, welfare, peace, and justice,
<em>knows</em> that it is murdering, massacring, slaughtering,
poisoning, torturing, lying, stealing, and <em>it doesn't care</em>. Yet
most progressives seem to believe that if only they point out often
enough and loud enough that the ruling class is murdering people, that
it will wake up, take notice, apologize, and stop doing it.
Here is a typical expression of this naiveté (written by an author,
Brian Willson, who was in the process of introducing a list of US
interventions abroad\!):
"Many of us are continually disturbed and grief stricken because it
seems that our U.S. government does not yet understand: (a) the
historical social, cultural, and economic issues that underlay most of
the political and ecological problems of the world; (b) the need to
comply with, as legally agreed to, rather than continually defy,
international law and international institutions established for
addressing conflict; and (c) that military solutions, including
production, sale, and use of the latest in technological weapons, are
simply ill-equipped and wrong-headed for solving fundamental social and
economic problems." \[3\]
He is wrong on all three counts. (a) The US government has an intimate,
detailed knowledge of the social, cultural, and economic characteristics
of every country it intervenes in. It is especially familiar with the
ethnic, linguistic, political, and religious divisions within the
country. It is not interested in how these issues "underlay most of the
political and ecological problems of the world", since it is not
interested in those problems, certainly not in solving them, since it is
the main creator of those problems. Rather, it uses its expert knowledge
to manipulate events within the country in order to advance its own
goals, profit and empire. (b) The US government understands perfectly
that it expressly needs <em><em>not</em></em> to comply with
international law in order to maintain its ability to act unilaterally,
unfettered by any constraints, to advance its imperial aims. The claim
that the US defies international law because of a misunderstanding is
absurd. (c) Who says that the US government is trying to solve
"fundamental social and economic problems"? These are not its aims at
all. The objectives that it does pursue, consciously and relentlessly,
namely profit and empire, are in fact the <em>causes</em> of these very
"social and economic problems". Furthermore, for its true aims, military
solutions, far from being "ill-equipped and wrong-headed", work
exceptionally well. Military might sustains the empire. Arming every
little client regime of the international ruling class with 'the latest
in technological weapons" is necessary, and quite effective, in
maintaining the repressive apparatus needed to defend empire, in
addition to raking in lots of profit for the arms manufacturers. But
evidently Mr. Willson "does not yet understand" any of these things.
Let's take another example. Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman,
otherwise very sensible writers, complain that "bombing a desperately
poor country under the yoke of a repressive regime is a wrongheaded
response \[to the "unspeakable acts of violence" committed on Sept.
11\]. "The U.S. bombing of Afghanistan should cease immediately," they
say. They discuss three reasons: "1. The policy of bombing increases the
risk of further terrorism against the United States. 2. The bombing is
intensifying a humanitarian nightmare in Afghanistan. 3. There are
better ways to seek justice." All three statements are true of course,
but irrelevant, because seeking justice, avoiding humanitarian
nightmares, and reducing the risk of terrorism do not enter into the
calculations of US policy makers. Quite the contrary, US policy makers
<em>create</em> injustice, humanitarian nightmares, and terrorism,
throughout the world, in pursuit of the imperial objective of making
profit, and this has been thoroughly documented in thousands of
scholarly studies. So for Mokhiber and Weissman to talk in this way, and
phrase the problem in this way, exposes their failure to really
comprehend the enemy we face, which in turn prevents them from looking
for effective strategies to defeat that enemy, like so many other
opponents of the "war". Hence all the moralizing, the bulk of which is
definitely directed at the rulers, not at the ruled. That is, it is not
an attempt to win over the ruled, but an attempt to win over the rulers.
\[4\]
It's what I call the "we should" crowd -- all those people who hope to
have a voice in the formation of policy, people whose stances are
basically that of consultants to the ruling class. "We" should do this,
"we" shouldn't do that, as if they had anything at all to say about what
our rulers do. This is the normal stance among the bootlicking
intelligentsia of course. But what is it doing among progressives and
radicals? Even if their stance is seen to be not exactly that of
consultants, but that of citizens making demands upon their government,
what makes them think that the government ever listens? I think this
attitude -- the "we should" attitude -- is rooted in part at least in
the fact that most progressives still believe in nations and
governments. They believe that this is "our" country, and that this is
"our" government, or at least should be. So Kevin Danaher says that "we
should get control of the government." They identify themselves as
Americans, or Germans, or Mexicans, or Swedes. So they are constantly
advising and making demands that 'their' government should do this and
that. If they would reject nationalism altogether, and states and
governments, they could begin to see another way.
A variation of the 'this is a mistake' theme has appeared in
commentaries on the present "war", on Afghanistan. Progressives argue
that the US is "falling into a trap". They argue that Osama bin Laden
had hoped to provoke the US into doing just what it is doing, attacking
Afghanistan. In their view, the US government is being stupid, acting
blindly, responding irrationally, and showing incompetence. That is, it
is "making a mistake". It never seems to occur to these analysts that
the government may actually be awake, even alert, or that it jumped at
the opportunity offered it by the attacks of September Eleven to do what
it had wanted to do anyway -- seize Afghanistan, build a big new base in
Uzbekistan, declare unending war on the enemies of Empire everywhere,
and initiate draconian repression against internal dissent in order to
achieve "domestic tranquility".
I saw yet another variation on the theme just recently. John Tirman
writes about "Unintended Consequences".\[5\] He thinks that "No matter
how cautious generals and political leaders are ... unseen and
unintended \[results\] occur, at times as a bitter riptide which
overwhelms the original rationales for engaging in armed combat. This
unpredictable cycle of action and reaction has thwarted U.S. policy in
southwest Asia for 50 years." It's the usual mistake: Tirman imputes
policies to the US government which it does not have. US policy has not
been thwarted, it has been highly successful. The US has succeeded in
keeping control of Middle Eastern oil for the past half century. This is
what it wanted to do, and this is what it did. Tirman however reviews
the history of US intervention in the Middle East, beginning with the
overthrow of Mossedegh in Iran in 1953, and sees it as one long blunder,
nothing but bumbling incompetence, complicated further by 'unintended
consequences' which thwart the goals of American foreign policy. He
seems to think that the US was (or "should be") trying to reduce US
dependence on Middle Eastern oil, fighting Islamic fundamentalism,
reducing human suffering, assisting in economic development, promoting
democracy, and so on -- anything and everything except what it is
actually doing, keeping control of Middle Eastern oil, and using any
means necessary to do so. Tirman is aware of course that this (oil) is
the true aim of US policy, because he quotes directly from US officials
who state this objective explicitly, but somehow this doesn't sink in.
Instead, he finally asks in exasperation: "What will be next in this
series of haunting mistakes?"
Ariel Dorfman, author of a creative critique of US imperialism, in the
form of <em>How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney
Comic</em>, was being interviewed on <em>Democracy Now</em> by Amy
Goodman, on October 25, 2001, about the assassination of Digna Ochoa,
the leading civil rights lawyer in Mexico. When asked by Goodman to put
the murder in the larger context of what was happening in the world,
like in Afghanistan, Dorfman replied: "Because the US is in Afghanistan
and it needs all its allies behind it, they are going to turn a blind
eye to all the abuses of authority that are happening." Pardon me? A
blind eye? Isn't the US government in the business, with both eyes open,
of murdering labor leaders, leftists, progressives, and civil rights
activists all over the world? Dorfman went on to say that now would be
"a good moment that President Bush could call his friend Vicente Fox and
say: 'I want the murderers of Digna Ochoa put on trial'." Excuse me\! Is
he kidding? It's quite probable that Bush did call Fox, but with a
rather different message, namely, to tell him that while the world's
attention was focused on Afghanistan, now would be a good time to kill
Digna Ochoa y Placido.
An Afghani man from Kabul escaped into Pakistan carrying a packet of
letters addressed to the world's leaders, "handwritten messages from his
panic-stricken community."
"The world must know what is happening in Afghanistan," said Mohammed
Sardar, 46, his voice ragged with anxiety and anger. "The terrorists and
the leaders are still free, but the people are dying and there is no one
to listen to us. I must get to President Bush and the others and tell
them they are making a terrible mistake." \[6\]
The widespread belief that the US government has good intentions, a
belief held onto tenaciously in spite of decades of overwhelming
empirical evidence refuting it, has got to be one of the greatest
phenomena of mass delusion in history. It would take a twenty-first
century Freud to unravel this one. Here is a government that has already
bombed two other countries to smithereens just in the past ten years,
first Iraq and then Yugoslavia (not to mention endless interventions
abroad since its inception \[7\]). Now it is bombing Afghanistan to
smithereens -- hospitals, fuel supplies, food depots, electrical
systems, water systems, radio stations, telephone exchanges, remote
villages, mosques, old folks homes, UN offices, Red Cross warehouses,
clinics, schools, neighborhoods, roads, dams, airports -- and a victim
of the assault escapes to plead for help from the very people who are
attacking him. To have created such an illusion as this is surely one of
the greatest feats of propaganda ever seen.\[8\]
So although it is important to try to shatter this illusion, it is
ultimately not enough, and of very limited effectiveness, simply to list
all the atrocities committed by our rulers, carefully expose all their
double standards, accuse them of being the real terrorists, morally
condemn what they are doing, or call for peace. All these arguments are
useful of course in the battle for the hearts and minds of average
people, <em>if average people ever heard them</em>, which they do not,
for the most part. And if they do hear them, it's like they (most of
them) are tuning in to madness, they're so brainwashed. It takes a lot
more than mere arguments to break through the mindset of a thoroughly
indoctrinated people.
Of all the dozens of comments that I read on the government's response
to the attacks of September Eleven, precious few raised the key
question: How do we stop them (the government, from attacking
Afghanistan)? For the most part, progressive commentators don't even
raise questions of strategy.\[9\] They are too busy analyzing ruling
class ideology, in order to highlight its hypocrisies. Proving that the
ruling class is hypocritical doesn't get us very far. It's useful of
course. Doing this work is an important task. Noam Chomsky, for example,
devotes himself almost exclusively to this task, and we should be
thankful that we have his research. He usually does mention also,
somewhere in almost every speech, article, or interview, that 'it
doesn't have to be this way', that this situation we are in is not
inevitable, and that we can change it. But when asked "How?", he
replies, "Organize, agitate, educate." Well, sure. But the Christian
Coalition organizes, agitates, and educates. So did the Nazis and the
Klu Klux Klan. The Taliban organizes, agitates, and educates. So does
the ruling class, and it does so in a massive and highly successful way,
which results in overwhelming hegemony for its point of view.
In spite of more than three decades of blistering exposés of US foreign
policy, and in spite of the fact that he is an anarchist, and is thus
supposedly against all government, at least in the long run, Chomsky
still regularly uses the 'universal we'. Much of the time Chomsky says
"The US government does this, or does that," but some of the time he
says "We do this, or we do that," thus including himself, and us, as
agents in the formation and execution of US foreign policy. This is an
instance of what I call the 'universal we'. It presumes a democracy that
does not exist. The average American has no say whatsoever in the
formation and execution of US foreign policy. Nor do we even have any
influence in picking the people who are making it, since we have no say
over who gets to run for office or what they do after they are elected.
So to say something like "<em><em>we</em></em> shouldn't be bombing
Afghanistan", as so many progressives do, is highly misleading, and
expresses a misperception and misdiagnosis of the situation we are in.
In the question period following Chomsky's major address on "The New War
Against Terror" (delivered at MIT on October 18) \[10\], Chomsky was
challenged by a man in the audience who accused Chomsky of blaming
America for the tragedy of September 11. Chomsky correctly said that the
term America is an abstraction and cannot do anything. But then he said
that he blamed himself, and his questioner, and others present, for this
event (implying that 'we' are responsible for what 'our' government
does). This is a half-truth at best. The blame for September Eleven
rests squarely on those who did it. Next, to the extent that a
connection can be proved between their actions and US foreign policy,
the US government is to blame, and the ruling class that controls the
government. Average Americans are to blame for what the US government
does only in the sense that they have not managed to change or block its
policies, either because they haven't tried or because they have tried
but have failed.
Of course, the category of Average American is an abstraction as well.
Many average Americans vigorously support US foreign policy. Others
oppose it, but have failed to change it. Those of us who want a real
democracy, and want to put an end to Empire, have so far failed to do
so, and only in this sense are we in anyway responsible for September
Eleven. But even this failure must be judged in light of the relative
strengths that the parties bring to the fight. We cannot fault ourselves
for being defeated by an opponent with overwhelmingly superior forces,
as long as we fought as bravely and as hard as we could. Our task is to
find ways to enhance our strengths and weaken theirs. To fail to make a
distinction between the ruling class and the rest of us hinders this
task, causes us to presume a democracy that does not exist, to
misunderstand exactly what we are up against, and to misidentify the
enemy. It thus prevents us from devising a successful strategy for
defeating this enemy.
In this same speech, which was over an hour long, Chomsky didn't once
mention oil. When questioned about this during the discussion that
followed, he said that of course oil was always there in the background,
for anything happening in the Middle East, but he didn't see oil as an
immediate factor in the current crisis. He is surely wrong about this.
There is plenty of evidence that securing Afghanistan, in order to get a
pipeline through to the Arabian Sea, is a key consideration for US
policy makers. They are already in the process of building a huge new
military base in Uzbekistan (just as they are building one in Kosovo),
and have concluded a long-term agreement with the Uzbekistan government
to do so, similar to ones they have made in Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey,
Philippines, and elsewhere. These bases will be used to secure the
Central Asian oil and gas reserves for the West. They will also be
thrown into service to accomplish another aim, beyond oil, namely, to
facilitate the recolonization of the Balkans and Russia, and to ensure
that they do not return to Communism or try to escape the New World
Order. This is the larger geopolitical objective that drives the Empire
builders.
Howard Zinn seems to think it is all a struggle between an 'old way of
thinking', based on war and violence, and a 'new way of thinking' based
on peace and nonviolence. Hardly a hint here of Empire, and no hint at
all of Profit and Capital. As moving and inspiring as his remarks were
on the September Eleven crisis,\[11\] they just didn't cut it, as
concerns getting ourselves out of the horrible situation we are in. Zinn
of course it very aware (but most so-called progressives aren't) of
ruling classes, empire, capital, and profit, and has labored long and
hard to write their histories and people's opposition to them. But
somehow this doesn't get reflected in his thinking about what to do
about it all now. When it comes to strategy, moral condemnation is where
he rested his case, in his response to these events at least.
In a speech on October 21, in Burlington, Vermont, Zinn said that we
must change from being a military superpower to being a moral
superpower.\[12\] During the speech he had vividly described the many
foreign invasions undertaken by the US government and their devastating
consequences, claimed that America was not a peaceful nation, reminded
us that governments lie, pointed out that oil is the key to American
foreign policy in the Middle East, and described the vast deployment of
military bases and armament all over the world in order to extend
American power. He may even have mentioned profit once or twice. But he
never once mentioned 'capitalism' (let alone "colonialism",
"imperialism", or "ruling class"), nor did he in any way indicate an
awareness that the projection of American power all over the world is
for a reason, that it is being used in defense of a particular social
order, and that this social order benefits, and is therefore being
defended by, a particular class.
It's almost as if Zinn thinks that the US government could simply pack
up and go home, if it only wanted to -- dismantle its bases, pull its
armies, fleets, and planes out, and leave the world alone. If the US
ruling class did that, it, and the system upon which it feeds,
capitalism, would collapse. So we know that it is not going to dismantle
its forward bases and leave the world alone, no matter how hard we try
to shame it with our moralizing. Zinn did not seem to grasp this fact or
to recognize that there is an enemy that has to be defeated, before the
$350 billion could be taken away from the Pentagon and used to help
people (another one of his recommendations). And when it came time to
talk about what to do about it all, he recommended organizing
demonstrations and writing letters to our congressional
representatives\!
The 'peace now' protesters strike a similar stance. Of course, it was
heartening to see an anti-war movement blossom almost immediately. But
it was also disheartening. It meant that radicals were letting the
war-mongers set the agenda. Instead of continuing the fight against
neoliberalism and its institutions, and against capitalism,
oppositionists suddenly dropped all this to launch an anti-war campaign.
The candlelight vigils, especially, seemed to me a pathetic response to
a war-mongering, repressive government. This happens again and again.
The government launches a war of aggression, and the peaceniks take to
the streets, with their candles, crying "peace now" and "no more war".
Do they ever win? Have they ever stopped even one war? Do they ever even
think about how they could win? Doesn't the inefficacy of their response
prove that they are not really serious about peace? Do they ever think
about ways of actually stopping the murderers rather than just pleading
with them not to kill? They keep saying that peace cannot be achieved by
going to war. Who says the US government wants peace\!? They quote A.J.
Muste as saying that war is not the way to peace; peace is the way. Is
this relevant? Does it make sense to quote such thoughts to a government
that has always engaged, from its inception two hundred years ago, in
systematic mass murder?
Similarly with the bulk of the other progressive commentators. They are
just trying to change the government's policy, not stop them and deprive
them of power. Here is a typical sentence. Rahul Mahajan and Robert
Jensen write: "The next step is for us to build a movement that can
change our government's barbaric and self-destructive policy."\[13\] You
see, from the government's point of view, its policy is not barbaric or
self-destructive. It is intelligent, self-serving, and self-preserving.
Mahajan and Jensen actually pretty much admit this in their piece, by
reasoning that "This war is about the extension of U.S. power. It has
little to do with bringing the terrorists to justice, or with
vengeance." (Such a view is rather rare among progressives actually.)
They argue that there are three other motives for the war, from the
government's point of view: the desire to defend "imperial credibility",
to control "oil and natural gas of Central Asia," and "to push a
right-wing domestic agenda." Nevertheless, in spite of these insights,
they still stop short of realizing that they therefore have to fight,
stop, and neutralize the government, rather than just change its policy.
Given who the government is, who it serves (capital, the rich), and what
its interests and priorities are, it can't change its policies into
those favored by progressives, not and survive as an imperial power that
is.
It is not only as regards foreign policy that the 'this is a mistake'
line makes an appearance. Progressive commentators suffer from this
affliction with regards to domestic policy too. If the government passes
a tax cut to benefit the richest corporations and superrich individuals,
but calls it a package to stimulate the economy, progressives complain
loudly that the bill doesn't accomplish what it's supposed to, that it
doesn't stimulate the economy. Why can't they simply admit that the
government (the Administration <em>and</em> Congress) <em>intended</em>
and <em>wanted</em> to give more money to the rich ruling class, because
it is from, and represents the interests of, this class, and that it
called its bill an economic stimulus package only in order to sell it
and to deceive the American public?
The 'this is a mistake' crowd was out in full force in the discussion
surrounding the new anti-terrorist legislation which the Bush
Administration submitted to Congress immediately after the September
Eleven attacks. Attorney General Ashcroft said that the government had
taken pains not to abridge any of our precious civil rights in its
efforts to deal with the terrorist threat, and had tried to strike a
balance between security and liberty. So progressives took him at his
word and started pointing out that this wasn't true, that the bill did
step on our civil rights and did not strike a good balance between
security and liberty. Then they started coming up with a bunch of
excuses. They said the bill was 'rammed through Congress'. Well, why did
Congress permit this? They said the leaders of Congress bypassed the
usual rules and procedures, and dealt with the bill basically in secret?
Well, if Congress is committed to democracy, why can't it practice
democracy in its own halls? And why weren't there attempts to stop this
secret handling of the bill? They said that Congress didn't even have a
chance to read the bill. Well, why didn't it take the time to do so, and
delay the vote until it had?
This bill, the so-called USA Patriot Act of 2001, which shreds the
fourth amendment (protection against unwarranted search and seizure),
gives the government the right to spy on everyone, bypasses criminal
law, the courts, and due process in numerous instances, plus dozens more
horrors, was passed in the Senate by a vote of 98-1. So this flaming
liberal senator, Edward Kennedy, didn't realize what he was voting for?
Please. He knew. They knew. <em>And they wanted it</em>. The
Administration and Congress (minus 66 representatives in the House and 1
senator in the Senate) were united in their desire to further strengthen
the Police State that they have been building for some time. They are
not committed to democracy. They are committed to preserving capitalism,
which is their lifeblood. You think they haven't noticed the growing
protest movement that has erupted onto the world scene in the last two
years? You think they're not worried about that movement and determined
to stop it?
A friendly, tolerant, enlightened, pseudo-democratic capitalism is no
longer historically feasible (not that it was ever really much of any of
these things). We are living in the age of Zero Tolerance Capitalism,
with its Global War Machine, its Mammoth Intelligence Agencies, its
Secret Police, its Echelons and Carnivores, its Covert Operations, its
humungous Police Departments, its ubiquitous Security Guards, its Death
Squads, its National Security States, its Swat Teams and Special Forces,
its State Terrorism and Torture, its High-Tech Surveillance, its
Non-Lethal Weapons, its Low-Intensity Warfare, its Para-Militaries, its
Mercenaries, its Smart Bombs, its Prison-Industrial Complex, its
Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear weapons, and its World Bank and World
Trade Organization. Now, with the US Congress's aptly-named USA Patriot
Act of 2001, it has finally managed to shred the Bill of Rights. The US
ruling class never wanted the Bill of Rights to begin with; it was
forced on them.
So the Hitlers and Mussolinis of the world have won after all (almost).
All the while we were thinking that we had rid the world of fascism in
the Second World War, fascism was sneaking in the back door, and turning
America into a World Fascist Empire. Zero Tolerance fascist-like
regimes, supported and often installed by the United States, have long
existed throughout most of the world -- Mobuto in Zaire, Pinochet in
Chile, Somoza in Nicaragua, Armas in Guatemala, Franco in Spain,
Papadopoulos in Greece, Pahlavi in Iran, Marcos in the Philippines,
Sharon in Israel. Now the repressive, Zero Tolerance, National Security
State, has come home to America. They will probably start torturing and
killing in Europe and America the way they have been doing everywhere
else. (They are already torturing and killing, but they have managed so
far to keep it under wraps). Will they get away with it?
How many centuries of mass murder does it take to prove that ruling
classes dependent on and devoted to a system based on profit are
impervious to moral appeal, and are beyond redemption, certainly as long
as they have any power left to continue killing? Moral appeals are
useless against such people. Were moral appeals enough to defeat the
Nazis, and German and Italian Fascism? Didn't we have to fight them?
Similarly with our current war-mongers and empire builders, with
American Fascism, if you will. They must be faced with real opposition,
although not necessarily military opposition, which actually is not even
an option for us, given that it is so impossible for poor people to
acquire the weapons. It is thus ineffective to even think about fighting
a war in traditional terms, as this is not a possible, nor a winning,
strategy. All the same, the rulers' power to exploit, oppress, murder,
and wage war must be destroyed. We need to come up with a strategy for
doing this. It certainly cannot be done merely by taking to the streets,
holding candlelight vigils, or exposing their hypocrisy. The war must be
fought, to be sure, but fought in new ways, ways that are within our
means and that can lead to victory.
<strong><em>The urgent need to reassemble ourselves to take power away
from criminals.</em></strong>
I believe that there is a way to defeat this global ruling class, but it
means that we have to reassemble ourselves socially on a massive scale.
We have to gather ourselves together in directly democratic,
face-to-face deliberative assemblies at work, at home, and in our
neighborhoods. This would give us a foundation from which to begin
draining power and wealth away from the ruling class. Without these
social forms, we are necessarily restricted to all the various forms of
reformism, restricted to trying to work through NGOs or state and
national governments, to changing ruling class behavior, to making moral
appeals, or to seeking to get or reverse certain legislation. But by
reorganizing ourselves into a multitude of small, decentralized,
directly democratic, face-to-face, local assemblies, coalesced together
into inter-regional associations by means of voluntary treaties, we can
begin to take back control of our lives and communities, and get the
ruling class off our backs.
I have sketched out this strategy in my book <em>Getting Free</em>
\[14\], and have discussed there in some detail its various
implications. As long as the world is organized on the basis of
governments and corporations, nations and profit, there will never be
peace, justice, freedom, or democracy. Our task is nothing less than to
get rid of the social order we live in, and to create another one to
take its place. If we fail to do this now, we will shortly find
ourselves living in a full-fledged world fascist empire a thousand times
more powerful and sophisticated than the Nazis ever could have been, and
from which it will be next to impossible to escape.
<strong>Further Reading on Selected Topics</strong>
<em>On US Interventions Abroad</em>
William Blum, <em>Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions
since World War II</em> (Common Courage, 1995, 457 pages).
<em>On Terrorism</em>
Edward S. Herman, <em>The Real Terror Network: Terrorism in Fact and
Propaganda</em> (South End Press, 1982, 252 pages).
<em>On Fascism</em>
David McGowan, <em>Understanding the F-Word: American Fascism and the
Politics of Illusion</em> (iUniverse, 2001, 276 pages).
<em>Patriot Act</em>
Analyses of the USA Patriot Act of 2001 can be found on the web sites of
the American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org) and the Electronic
Frontier Foundation (www.eff.org).
<em>On fundamentalism</em>
Fotis Terzakis, "Irrationalism, Fundamentalism, and Religious Revival:
The Colors of the Chess-Board," <em>Democracy and Nature</em>, Vol 4,
Nos. 2/3 (Issue 11/12, no date, but c.1998), also available on the
Internet at:
<em>(</em>www.democracynature.org/dn/vol4/terzakis_irrationalism.htm).
Colin Ward, "Fundamentalism", <em>The Raven</em>, No. 27 (Freedom Press)
on the Net at (www.ecn.org/freedom/ Raven/fund.html).
Frederick Clarkson, <em>Eternal Hostility: The Struggle between
Theocracy and Democracy</em> (Common Courage, 1996, 277 pages).
<em>On Empire</em>
Michael Parenti, <em>Against Empire</em> (City Lights, 1995, 216 pages).
Peter Gowan, <em>The Global Gamble: Washington's Faustian Bid for World
Dominance</em> (Verso, 1999, 230 pages).
Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, <em>Empire</em> (Harvard University
Press, 2001, 478 pages).
Joseph Gerson and Bruce Birchard, editors, <em>The Sun Never Sets:
Confronting the Network of Foreign U.S. Military Bases</em> (South End
Press, 1991, 389 pages).
<em>On Afghanistan</em>
A few of the better essays on the attack on Afghanistan, which for the
most part don't make the mistake of thinking that the US government
doesn't know what it's doing, are (all dates are from 2001): Alexander
Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair, "Bush's Wars", <em>Counterpunch</em>,
Sept 21 (plus many more fine essays on this crisis by these authors
posted on <em>Counterpunch</em> web site: www.counterpunch.org); John
Pilger, "Hidden Agenda Behind War on Terror," <em>Mirror</em> /uk,
October 29 (plus many other excellent essays, at
http://pilger.carlton.com/print); Michel Chossudovsky, "Osamagate,"
(posted October 9, at www.globalresearch.ca/articles/
CHO110A.print.html); Francis A. Boyle, "No War Against Afghanistan\!,"
Oct 18 (msanews.nynet.net/Scholars/Boyle/nolwar.html); Edward Said, "The
Clash of Ignorance," the <em>Nation</em>, October 22; Sitaram Yechury,
"America, Oil, and Afghanistan," <em>The Hindu</em>, October 13; Edward
S. Herman, "Antiterrorism as a Cover for Terrorism," (www.zmag.org/
hermancover.htm); Arundhati Roy, "War Is Peace," <em>Outlook</em>, Oct.
18 (later published in the <em>Guardian</em>, Oct 23); Sunera Thobani,
"War Frenzy," (www.neravt.com/left/thobani.html); Michael Parenti,
"Terrorism Meets Reactionism," (www.michaelparenti.org/Terrorism.html);
George Monbiot, "America's Pipe Dream," <em>Guardian</em> /uk, Oct 23);
Jared Israel, Rick Rozoff & Nico Varkevisser, "Why Washington Wants
Afghanistan," (posted Sept 18, on www.emperors-
clothes.com/analysis/afghan.htm); Sean Healy, "The Empire wants war, not
justice," (no date, www.zmag.org/healywar.htm); Noam Chomsky, "The New
War Against Terror," Oct 18 (www.zmag.org/GlobalWatch/chomskymit.htm);
Patrick Martin, "US-Uzbekistan pact sheds light on Washington's war aims
in Central Asia," <em>World Socialist Web Site</em>
(www.wsws.org/articles/2001/oct2001/uzbe-o18_pm.shtml); Nick Beams,
"Behind the 'anti-terrorism' mask: imperialist powers prepare new forms
of colonialism," <em>World Socialist Web Site</em>, Oct 18
(www.wsws.org/articles/2001/oct2001/imp-o18_pm.shtml); Vijay Prashad,
"War against the Planet," (no date, www.zmag.org/prashcalam.htm); Stan
Goff, "The So-Called Evidence is a Farce," October 10, <em>Narco</em>
<em>News</em> (www.narconews.com/ goff1.html); Al Giordano,
"Washington's 'Terrorist' List: Road through Afghanistan leads to
Colombia," Oct 1, <em>Narco</em> <em>NewsA-Info News
ServiceAl-Ahram</em>, 18-24 October
(www.ahram.org/eg/weekly/2001/556/op9); Renfrey Clarke, "War on
terrorism or war on the Third World?, <em>Green Left</em>, Oct 17
(www.greenleft.org.au/current/ 467p16.htm); Robin Blackburn, "Road to
Armageddon," <em>Counterpunch</em>, Oct 3. All web site addresses valid
as of October, 2001. (www.narconews.com/war2.html); Chicago Area
Anarchists, "Anarchists against the expansion of capitalism and the
war," (www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=01/10/25/7453849); Jared
Israel, "Washington Plots, Moscow Crawls, Kabul Burns,"
(www.emperors-clothes.com/misc/burns); Hani Shukrallah, "Capital Strikes
Back," (www.neravt.com/left).
The following web sites have extensive links covering September Eleven,
Afghanistan, and the so-called war on terrorism: <em>Common Dreams News
Center</em> (www.commondreams.org), <em>Znet</em>
(www.zmag.org/znet.htm), <em>Jay's Leftist and Progressive Internet
Directory, Alternet</em> (www.alternet.org), <em>Counterpunch</em>
(www.counterpunch.org), <em>Mid-Atlantic Info Shop</em>
(www.infoshop.org/news); <em>Global Circle Net News</em>
(www.globalcircle.net).
<strong>Footnotes</strong>
\[1\] An excellent book on Yugoslavia which does not suffer from this
naiveté, the best book so far, that I am aware of, on the bombing, is
Michael Parenti, <em>To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia</em>
(Verso, 2000, 246 pages).
\[2\] Web sites such as <em>Common Dreams</em> (www.commondreams.org),
<em>Znet</em> (www.zmag.org/znet), and <em>Alternet</em>
(www.alternet.org) are loaded with "this is a mistake" pieces, as are
magazines like the <em>Nation</em>, the <em>Progressive</em>, <em>In
These Times,</em> and the <em>Progressive Populist.</em>
\[3\] S. Brian Willson, "Who are the Real Terrorists? Why some veterans
oppose counter- "terrorist" exercises", March 1999, Veterans for Peace,
at: (www.mbay.net/\~jenvic/vfp/mar22.htm).
\[4\] Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, "Three Arguments Against the
War," posted on the <em>Common Dreams News Center</em> web site for
October 18, 2001 (www.commondreams.org).
\[5\] John Tirman, "Unintended Consequences", posted on
<em>Alternet</em>, Oct 24, 2001 (at www.alternet.org).
\[6\] Reported by Pamela Constable, <em>Washington Post</em>, Oct 24,
2001, "Plaintive Afghan's Plea from Community: Stop the Bombing".
\[7\] The best brief introduction to this history that I have seen so
far is "A Concise History of United States Global Interventions, 1945 to
Present," by William Blum, in his <em>Rogue State: A Guide to the
World's Only Superpower</em> (Common Courage, 2000, 308 pages), pp.
125-162. References to longer lists of interventions covering the whole
history of the U.S. government can be found in Zoltan Grossman's "One
Hundred Years of Intervention," on <em>Jay's Leftist and Progressive
Internet Resource Directory</em> (www.neravt.com/left/invade.htm). See
also, Steve Kangas, "A Timeline of CIA Atrocities," available on the
<em>Liberalism Resurgent</em> web site at
(http://home.att.net/\~Resurgence/CIAtimeline.html).
\[8\] The only other essay from this deluge of writing about the
so-called war on terrorism that I have seen which challenges the 'this
is a mistake' line (although many people have pointed out that the US
government is itself a terrorist state), is a really excellent piece by
Edward Herman and David Peterson, "Who Terrorizes Whom?", posted on
<em>Zmag</em> web site, dated October 18, 2001
(www.zmag.org/whoterrorizes.htm). In discussing Richard Falk's claim
that the attack on Afghanistan is "the first truly just war since World
War II", for example, they write: "it never occurs to Falk that the
right-wing Republican regime of Bush and Cheney, so close to the oil
industry and military-industrial complex, might have an agenda
incompatible with a just war." They call this Left Accommodationism,
cite several examples, and give a good analysis of the phenomenon.
\[9\] A rare exception is Naomi Klein, who frequently focuses on
questions of strategy. See for example, "Signs of the Times," the
<em>Nation</em>, October 22, 2001.
\[10\] The transcript of this speech has been posted on <em>Znet</em>.
The speech was broadcast on <em>Democracy Now</em>
(www.webactive.com/pacifica/exile) on October 23 and 24, 2001. A tape
recording of the speech is also available for purchase from
<em>Alternative Radio</em> (www.alternativeradio.org). Streaming audio
is also available on (www.zmag.org/znet/GlobalWatch/chomskymit.htm).
\[11\] Howard Zinn's initial remarks on the September Eleven tragedy
were aired on <em>Democracy Now</em> on September 13, 2001 in an
interview with Amy Goodman (www.webactive/pacifica/exile). Zinn made
similar remarks in an interview with Noelle Hanrahan on <em>Flashpoints
Radio</em> on September 13, 2001 (www.flashpoints.net). A short essay
along the same lines was published in <em>The Progressive</em>, for
November, 2001, "The Old Way of Thinking", pp. 8-9.
\[12\] Howard Zinn's speech in Burlington, Vermont on October 21, 2001
was broadcast on <em>Democracy Now</em> on Oct 22, 2001
(www.webactive/pacifica/exile). A tape recording of the speech is also
available for purchase from <em>Alternative Radio</em>
(www.alternativeradio.org)
\[13\] Rahul Mahajan and Robert Jensen, "A War of Lies", posted on the
<em>Common Dreams News Center</em> web site for October 8, 2001
(www.commondreams.org).
\[14\] James Herod, <em>Getting Free: Creating an Association of
Democratic Autonomous Neighborhoods</em> (2007) is available from AK
Press.
## External Links
- [A Stake, Not a Mistake: On Not Seeing the
Enemy](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/james-herod-a-stake-not-a-mistake)
at [theanarchistlibrary.org](theanarchistlibrary.org "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. An excellent book on Yugoslavia which does not suffer from this
naiveté, the best book so far, that I am aware of, on the bombing,
is [Michael Parenti](Michael_Parenti "wikilink"), <em>[To Kill a
Nation: The Attack on
Yugoslavia](To_Kill_a_Nation:_The_Attack_on_Yugoslavia "wikilink")</em>
(Verso, 2000, 246 pages).

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**Abkhazia** is a capitalist [state](List_of_States "wikilink") in
Northwest Asia, bordering [Russia](Russia "wikilink") and
[Georgia](Georgia "wikilink"). It is not recognised by the international
community of states and is often considered a Russian puppet government.

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**Abolish the Stock Market: A Brief Diagnosis of the Depression** is a
2009 article by [James Herod](James_Herod "wikilink") that discusses the
Great Recession and a call to abolish the stock market.
## Transcript
(Being mostly a survey of scholarly research.)
It is obscene and insane that a few ten thousand very rich persons
(multi-millionaires and billionaires) can, by placing bets (gambling) in
the world’s [stock exchanges](Stock_Market "wikilink") (casinos),
artificially jack up, within months, the price of rice, wheat, corn, and
other food staples, thus forcing a billion or more people to the very
edge of starvation. Obviously, such an abominable situation should not
exist.
So you’d think there would be a great clamor to abolish the stock
market. But then, you’d think that there would be a clamor to abolish
the [CIA](CIA "wikilink") also, which is an absolute evil, and the
Pentagon, an equally absolute evil, as well as Hollywood. But as big and
bad as these outfits are they are nothing compared to the biggest
abomination of them all – [capitalism](capitalism "wikilink"), including
its [nation-state system](State_\(Polity\) "wikilink"). (While we’re in
the abolishing mode, let’s abolish [money](money "wikilink"), which
would get rid of all these evil institutions in one fell swoop.)
The [current financial meltdown](Great_Recession "wikilink") we’re in is
just an artifact of capitalism, and it certainly can’t be explained
without taking this system into account, although plenty of people are
trying to do just that. The most popular explanation says that those
Wall Street bankers are just <em>too damned greedy</em>.
So what’s going on? I have pieced together the following sketch of the
crisis from the writings of our radical social philosophers and
historians who have studied the matter, scholars such as John Bellamy
Foster and Fred Magdoff, most importantly, but also Immanuel
Wallerstein, Michael Hudson, Michel Chossudovsky, Doug Henwood, and
[Silvia Federici](Silvia_Federici "wikilink") / George Caffentzis, among
many others.
To begin with, we are in the early stages of a major depression. This is
not a typical brief recession, but a deep, long-lasting, systemic,
global depression. It may last a decade. There will be massive
unemployment. Hundreds of thousands of businesses will go bankrupt.
Maybe a hundred thousand nongovernmental organizations will shut down
for lack of funding. Millions will lose their homes. Millions more will
lose their pensions. Malls will stand deserted. Poverty will increase
dramatically. Millions more people will starve to death in the poorer
countries.
A depression is when the so-called economy contracts significantly,
maybe by as much as 10-15%. That is, “growth” stops. Growth of what?
Capital accumulation. Capital cannot find ways to continue to expand.
That is, rich people cannot find ways to invest their surplus money
which will yield sufficient profit. When the rate of profit falters,
crisis ensues. General panic sets in amongst “investors” (people who
make money off money). Capitalism – a system for accumulating capital
for the sake of accumulating capital – requires incessant growth (new
products, new markets), which is why it is often likened to a cancer,
and why it must be eradicated.
As it happened, capitalism has a cyclical aspect. It grows for thirty
years or so and then stagnates for roughly thirty more years, with the
cycle ending in a depression. And so it has been for five hundred years.
The years of stagnation stem from the increasing difficulty of keeping
the rate of profit up through the production of goods and services. The
built-up productive capacity outstrips demand. If goods and services
don’t sell, no profit can be realized, and there is no point in making
further investments in the “real economy.” So the people who own surplus
capital shift over to financial speculation in an effort to keep the
profits flowing in. This process is entirely normal to the system.
This is what has been happening again recently. There was a stagnating
economy combined with an over-abundance of capital with nowhere to go,
so the rich turned to gambling, in a rigged game which yielded enormous
profits for a while to those in the know. But now the casino has gone
belly up, the system has crashed, and a depression has commenced.
Historically, after a depression, the cycle starts over again. There is
some disagreement among radical scholars, however, as to whether the
cycle will restart this time in the usual way and continue on as before.
Wallerstein, for example, believes that capitalism has reached barriers
to its continued growth which it will not be able to overcome and that
the system will be gone within twenty to forty years. Most analysts do
not go this far, some even claiming that the idea that capitalism will
self-destruct is nonsense.
There is general agreement though that the current crisis has
distinctive features which make it different from all preceding ones.
For one thing, there is the sheer volume of the surplus capital that is
sloshing around the world looking for “investment opportunities.” We’re
talking about tens of trillions of dollars, much of it changing hands
overnight. Also, with high-speed computers, million-dollar bets can be
placed which last only a few minutes. Very little of this betting now
takes place in the stock market per se. Most of it is done in the
commodity, bond, and currency markets, and through over the counter
betting.
Plus, in recent years, the gamblers have invented a whole basketful of
new ways to bet (called “financial instruments,” e.g., derivatives --
forwards, futures, options, swaps, collars). For example, they can bet
that the prices of currencies, commodities, or stocks will rise or fall.
Much of the spike in the price of oil last year was caused by betting.
Millions of dollars worth of bets that the value of a company’s stock
will fall can then become a self-fulfilling prophecy, and a perfectly
normal profit-earning company can be destroyed. Gamblers can buy
insurance to cover the risks of their bets, and then bet on the ability
of the insurance company to pay. These practices strike any normal
person as total madness, but they are completely rational from the point
of view of the financial elite, who will grab profit any which way they
can.
In recent years, in the United States, the financial wing of the
capitalist ruling class, which is now predominant, has further
compounded the madness by getting rid of all government regulations over
its activities. It has gotten the situation back to pre-[World War
I](World_War_I "wikilink") days when the Robber Barons had a completely
free hand to do any damned thing they wanted to, the result being the
[Great Depression of 1929](Great_Depression "wikilink"). So the
Roosevelt wing of the ruling class stepped in, back then, to save
capitalism from itself with the watered-down USAmerican version of the
welfare state – the New Deal. This is not likely to happen again,
because there is no massive socialist movement to exert pressure from
below, nor is the ruling class as divided. Capitalists have never been
in such complete control of everything as they now are in the [United
States](United_States_of_America "wikilink"). They face no serious
opposition.
What is the likely outcome of all this? We can see from the government’s
response to the crisis so far. All steps taken to date serve to cover
the losses of the financial elite (wealthy gamblers). They get to keep
the profits they made when the betting was good, and then have the
government, using general tax revenue, cover their losses after the
betting tanked. This does not mean that the banks are being
nationalized. Quite the contrary. It is the privatization of the
government. Wall Street has simply taken over the US Treasury
Department.
The end result will be the further concentration of capital into fewer
very powerful corporations, and the further consolidation of ruling
class power.
Anarchists can use this crisis to discredit capitalism and organize
campaigns to dismantle it. A good beginning is the emerging Boycott
Banks campaign. (See information at:
\<<http://www.bankstrike.net/organizing-financial-crisis>\>).
<strong>Recommended Reading</strong>
<strong><em>On the Financial Meltdown</em></strong>
Foster, John Bellamy, and Fred Magdoff, <em>The Great Financial
Crisis</em> (Monthly Review Press, February 2009, 160 pages). This is
the best radical analysis of the crisis so far.
Immanuel Wallerstein, “The Depression: A Long-Term View,” October 8,
2008, at: \<www.binghamton.edu\>. See also the long interview with
Wallerstein by Jae-Jung Suh, “Capitalism’s Demise?” January 10, 2009,
online at: \<<http://english.hani.co.kr/popups/print.hani?ksn=332037>\>.
Michael Hudson. A convenient archive of Hudson’s essays on the crisis
can be found at: \<<http://www.globalresearch.ca/>\>. Go to their author
index, click on H, and scroll down to Hudson.
Michel Chossudovsky, “America’s Fiscal Collapse,” March 2, 2009, online
at:
\<<http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12517>\>.
Doug Henwood, “Reflections on the Current Crisis – Part Two,” <em>Left
Business Observer</em> \#118, April 2008, online at:
\<[www.leftbusinessobserver.com](http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Turmoil2.html)\>.
There is a link to Part One.
Silvia Federici and George Caffentzis, “Notes on the Wall Street
Meltdown,” October 10, 2008, online at: \<freeofstate.org\>. \[link
broken\]
Peter Gowan, “Crisis in the Heartland,” <em>New Left Review</em>, \#55,
January-February 2009, online at:
\<[www.newleftreview.org](https://newleftreview.org/?page=article&view=2759)\>.
David Harvey, “Why the U.S. Stimulus Package is Bound to Fail,” February
13, 2009, online at: \< http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/20559\>.
See also Harvey’s March 13/15, 2009 essay on Counterpunch, “The Crisis
and the Consolidation of Class Power: Is This Really the End of
Neoliberalism?” online at: \<www.counterpunch.org\>. \[links broken\]
Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin, “From Global Finance to the Nationalization
of the Banks: Eight Theses on the Economic Crisis,” February 25, 2009
online at:
\<[www.globalresearch.ca](https://www.globalresearch.ca/from-global-finance-to-the-nationalization-of-the-banks-eight-theses-on-the-economic-crisis/12463)\>.
See also an interview with Panitch, February 18, 2009, at:
\<zcommunications.org\>. \[link broken\]
Paul Bowman, “Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction,” September 2008,
online at:
\<[www.anarkismo.net](http://www.anarkismo.net/article/9850?print_page=true)\>.
Matt Taibbi, “The Big Takeover,” <em>Rolling Stone</em>, issue \#1075,
April 2, 2009. Also online at:
\<[www.informationclearinghouse.info](http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article22276.htm)\>.
\[link broken\]
James Petras, “Latin America: Perspectives for Socialism in a time of a
World Capitalist Recession/Depression,” online at:
\<[petras.lahaine.org](https://petras.lahaine.org/articulo.php?p=1772&more=1&c=1)\>.
<strong><em>More Generally</em></strong>
Wallerstein, Immanuel, <em>Historical Capitalism</em>
Hudson, Michael, <em>Super Imperialism</em>
Chossudovsky, Michel, <em>The Globalization of Poverty</em>
Henwood, Doug, <em>Wall Street</em>
Ingham, Geoffrey, <em>The Nature of Money</em>
Kindleberger, Charles, <em>Manias, Panics, and Crashes</em>
Hutchinson, Frances (and others), <em>The Politics of Money</em>
McNally, David, <em>Against the Market</em>

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**Aboriginal Australia** refers to the societies that were constructed
by [Aboriginal Australians](Aboriginal_Australians "wikilink") in
[Australia](Australia "wikilink") before Australia became colonised by
the [British Empire](British_Empire "wikilink"). Composed of 500
different indigenous nations that all spoke varying languages and wildly
different cultural and economic practices, it would be impossible to
delve into all of them but we do aim to provide a general overview.
## Decision-Making
## Foreign Policy
## Crime
## Economy
## Public Services
## Environmental Protection
## Culture
## References
<references />

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The **Aboriginal Australian Movement** refers to the
[indigenist](Indigenism "wikilink") movement inside
[Australia](Australia "wikilink"), aiming to preserve aboriginal
cultural sites, abolish racist laws and even create an aboriginal
nation.
## History
In 1965, partially inspired by the 'Freedom Rides' of the US [Civil
Rights Movement](Civil_Rights_Movement_\(USA\) "wikilink"), Australian
students and Aboriginal activists organised a [freedom
ride](Freedom_Ride_\(Australia\) "wikilink"), touring the most racist
towns in Australia and documenting conditions of racism against
aboriginals. Occasionally, they were attacked by white supremacists and
these events drew the attention of Australian and international media.
In 1966, aboriginal farmworkers in Gurindji went on strike over
mistreatment. At the end of the 1960s, there was a mass exodus of
aboriginal youth from the countryside and into Sydney, particularly the
neighbourhood of Redfern. In the 1970s (partially inspired by the [Black
Panther Party](Black_Panther_Party "wikilink") in the US and [Black
Power
Revolution](Black_Power_Revolution_\(Trinidad_and_Tobago\) "wikilink")
in [Trinidad and Tobago](Trinidad_and_Tobago "wikilink")) aboriginal
activists set up free medical clinics, legal aid centres, breakfast for
children programs and housing co-operatives.
The aboriginal movement played a prominent role of boycotting the
visiting of a white South African soccer team in protest of
[Apartheid](Apartheid_South_Africa "wikilink"). The Aboriginal Tent
Embassy was established in Canberra and defended from eviction.

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The **Aboriginal Tent Embassy** is a [protest
camp](Protest_Camp "wikilink") located in Canberra,
[Australia](Australia "wikilink") outside parliament house. Established
in 1972, it has survived for nearly 50 years and continues to advocate
for [Aboriginal Australians](Aboriginal_Australians "wikilink").
## History
In response to the refusal to recognise aboriginal land rights, four
Aboriginal men ([Michael Anderson](Michael_Anderson "wikilink"), [Billy
Craigie](Billy_Craigie "wikilink"), Tony Coorey and Bertie Williams)
arrived in Canberra from Sydney on the 26th of January, 1972 and planted
a beach umbrella on the lawn in front of Parliament House. Soon several
tents emerged and Aboriginal people and non-indigenous supporters came
from all parts of Australia to join the protest. In Feburary the embassy
presented a list of demands to the Australian government:
- Control of the Northern Territory as a State within the Commonwealth
of Australia; the parliament in the Northern Territory to be
predominantly Aboriginal with title and mining rights to all land
within the Territory.
- Legal title and mining rights to all other presently existing
reserve lands and settlements throughout Australia.
- The preservation of all sacred sites throughout Australia.
- Legal title and mining rights to areas in and around all Australian
capital cities.
- Compensation money for lands not returnable to take the form of a
down-payment of six billion dollars and an annual percentage of the
gross national income.
The police deemed the embassy a [squat](Squatting "wikilink") and
evicted it, but three days later, it was retaken and the
[police](police "wikilink") could not retake it. It was destroyed in a
storm in 1974 but quickly rebuilt, and was moved to a house in the
nearby suburb of Red Hill, but abandoned in 1977. It was only in 1992
that it was re-established, it has since been subject to many arson
attacks from unknown figures (likely white supremacists or undercover
police).

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**Abortion** is a controversial [medical
procedure](Healthcare "wikilink"), involving terminating a pregnancy
before the child is born. [Libertarian
Socialists](Libertarian_Socialism "wikilink") (who tend to overlap with
[feminism](feminism "wikilink")) are usually strong supporters of rights
to abortion. The abortion debate involves whether or not it is ethical
to get an abortion, and is considered a fundamental issue in
[reproductive rights](Reproductive_Rights "wikilink").

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**Acephobia** or **Aphobia** refers to prejudice, negative feelings
and/or discrimination against [Asexual](Asexuality "wikilink") people.

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**Adolph Lessig** (1869 - 1935) was the 'business agent' of the
[IWW](Industrial_Workers_of_the_World "wikilink"). He was born in March
of 1869, participated in the [Paterson Silk Strike of
1913](Paterson_Silk_Strike_\(1913\) "wikilink") with [Big Bill
Haywood](Big_Bill_Haywood "wikilink"). He died of a heart attack in 1935
at his stationary shop in [Paterson, New
Jersey](United_States_of_America "wikilink").\[1\]
## References
<references />
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_Lessig>

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'''Aerial Bombing of Cities '''refers to the practice of states engaging
in bombings of civilian population centres with the intention to kill
workers and demoralise the enemy state.
## See Also
- [United States Bombing of
Cities](United_States_Bombing_of_Cities "wikilink")

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**Afghanistan** is a failed state located in Southwest Asia, near
Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran and China,

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**African Anarchism: The History of a Movement** is a 2001
[book](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Books "wikilink") by [Sam
Mbah](Sam_Mbah "wikilink") and I.E. Igariwey that covers the history and
potential for an [anarchist](Anarchism "wikilink") revolution across
Africa.
## Summary
### Chapter 1: What Is Anarchism?
### Chapter 2: Anarchism In History
### Chapter 3: Anarchistic Precedents in Africa
### Chapter 4: The Development of Socialism in Africa
### Chapter 5: The Failure of Socialism in Africa
### Chapter 6: Obstacles to the Development of Anarchism in Africa
### Chapter 7: Anarchism’s Future in Africa
The failures of [capitalism](capitalism "wikilink") and [authoritarian
socialism](Authoritarian_Socialism "wikilink") offer hope for
[anarchism](anarchism "wikilink") as a political project. Throughout
history, the overall tendency in the development of human society has
been toward social equality and greater individual freedom. The pace has
seemed agonizingly slow and there have been innumerable setbacks, but
the overall trend is undeniable. Change has been the one constant in
this development, and it almost certainly will be the one constant in
the future.
Africa has possibly been the worst victim of capitalism and
authoritarian socialism, having its resources bled try from colonialism
and its population annihilated by the tens of millions to fund a slave
trade and imperial ambitions. Multinational corporations and the IMF
have destroyed the ability for the continent to develop itself, leaving
it poor. The rapid loss of wealth have also triggered numerous civil
wars and orgies of violence, disintegrating of the
[state](State_\(Polity\) "wikilink"). Many of these issues are placed on
'natural' racism, but these tensions were flamed by capitalists and
governments to suit their own interests.
An anarchist movement in Africa might be very easy to build, as it lacks
a clear and stable system of states and capitalism. What is needed is a
long-term program of class consciousness building, relevant education,
and increased individual participation in social struggles. For Africa
in particular, long-term development is possible only if there is a
radical break with both capitalism and the state system - the principal
instruments of our arrested development and stagnation. Anarchism is
Africa’s way out.
## External Links
- [African Anarchism: The History of a
Movement](https://libcom.org/files/African%20Anarchism%20-%20Mbah%20and%20Igariwey.pdf)
at [libcom.org](libcom.org "wikilink")
- [African Anarchism: The History of a
Movement](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/sam-mbah-i-e-igariwey-african-anarchism-the-history-of-a-movement)
at [theanarchistlibrary.org](theanarchistlibrary.org "wikilink")

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**African Socialism** refers to a political philosophy that existed
throughout the second half of the 20th century across
[Africa](Africa "wikilink"). Common features of African Socialism
include:
- Economic development guided by the state
- A strong, pan-African identity and the condemnation of colonialism
- Centered around a strongman
- Low levels of civil liberties
African Socialism was practiced by 21 states (out of 52 states) or 40%
of the continent. Although starting with good intentions, it largely
failed due to the combined influence of the
[US](Timeline_of_US_Imperialism "wikilink") and
[USSR](Timeline_of_USSR_Imperialism "wikilink") in their efforts to
manipulate Africa in the [Cold War](Cold_War "wikilink"). Most African
Socialist States failed economically and were wiped out by revolutions,
civil wars, coups and foreign manipulation. 62% of African Socialist
States collapsed during the [Revolutions of 1986 -
1995](Revolutions_of_1986_-_1995 "wikilink").
## Variants
### Ujamaa
### Ubuntu
### Harambee
## African Socialist States
### Algeria
From 1962 to 1988
### Angola
From 1975 to 1991
### Benin
From 1975 to 1990
### Burkina Faso
From 1983 to 1987, [Burkina Faso](Burkina_Faso "wikilink") practiced
African Socialism led by [Thomas Sankara](Thomas_Sankara "wikilink").
The government had highly successful land reform, rail and road
development, construction of hundreds of new medical clinics, mass
reforestation, vaccinating millions, ending neo-colonial influence over
the country, expanding women's rights massively and increasing
agricultural production by 250%. However, his failures came from his
repression of unions, failure to raise literacy and his murder in a
military coup backed [mainly by France](Françafrique "wikilink") and the
[USA](Timeline_of_US_Imperialism "wikilink").\[1\]
### Cape Verde
From 1975 to 1990
### Congo
From 1969 to 1991
### Egypt
From 1952 to 1970
### Ethiopia
From 1974 to 1987
### Ghana
From 1957 to 1966
### Guinea
From 1958 to 1984
### Libya
From 1969 to 2011
### Madagascar
From 1975 to 1992
### Mali
From 1960 to 1968, [Mali](Mali "wikilink") practiced African Socialism
led by [Modibo Keïta](Modibo_Keïta "wikilink").
### Mozambique
From 1975 to 1990
### Senegal
From 1960 to 1980
### Seychelles
From 1977 to 2004
### Somalia
From 1969 to 1991
### Sudan
From 1969 to 1985
### Tanzania
From 1964 to 1985
### Zambia
From 1964 to 1991
### Zimbabwe
From 1980 to 2017
## Libertarian Socialism in Africa
Libertarian Socialism also became increasingly popular in Egypt after
the Arab Spring.
## See Also
- [Arab Socialism](Arab_Socialism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sankara>

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**Afrophobia** refers to [racism](racism "wikilink"), discrimination,
prejudice and/or negative feelings against African people or people of
African descent.

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The **Agbekoya Parapo Uprising** was a [peasants'
revolt](Peasants#List_of_Peasant_Rebellions "wikilink") and [class
war](Class_War "wikilink") from [1968 to
1969](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Western_Africa "wikilink")
within what we now call [Western
Nigeria](Federal_Republic_of_Nigeria "wikilink"). The uprising was
highly successful and led to a better of economic conditions for farmers
in the area and a significant expansion of political rights.
## Background
Western Nigeria had been one of the worlds most profitable areas for
[cocoa production](Agriculture "wikilink"), produced by a system of
[farmers' cooperatives](Worker_Cooperative "wikilink") rooted in
indigenous culture. The state had hoped to expand its tax base by
regulating and [taxing](Taxation "wikilink") this economy. They began to
manage the cooperatives through 'marketing boards' (decreasing
productivity, as bureaucracy became more and more common), and installed
officers to collect taxes. Corruption set in very quickly, as officers
headed extortion rings and demanded bribes, and the government only saw
the farmers as pawns to be manipulated for political gain.\[1\]
## Events
Peasants began to march from town to town, attacking government symbols
of power, such as offices and courts, while executing government
officials. Prisoners were freed from jails and violence with the police
and military escalating, with the government eventually caving in to the
peasants demands.\[2\]
## Results
The uprising led to five major changes, which benefited the peasants:
- The removal of the corrupt officials administering local villages
- Reduction in the flat tax rate
- The end of force
- An increase in the price of cocoa
- The improvement of [roads](Transportation "wikilink") leading to the
villages\[3\]
## References
<references />
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agbekoya#Background>
2. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agbekoya#The_Revolt>
3. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agbekoya#Aftermath>

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**Agnes Ann Inglis** (1870 - 1952) was an
[anarchist](Anarchism "wikilink") and librarian who became the main
architect of the [Labadie Collection](Labadie_Collection "wikilink") at
the University of Michigan.
## Life
Born to Scottish immigrants, her father was a
[doctor](Healthcare "wikilink") and her family was deeply religious and
conservative. Her father died in 1874, and her mother died in 1899. She
began to study history and literature at the University of Michigan
under an allowance from wealth family members. But dropped out and
became a social worker in Chicago, Detroit and Ann Arbor. She became
increasingly sympathetic to immigrant workers and became increasingly
political.
She met and befriended [Emma Goldman](Emma_Goldman "wikilink") and
[Alexander Berkman](Alexander_Berkman "wikilink"), performing radical
activities during [World War I](World_War_I "wikilink") and provided
money for legal support during the [First Red
Scare](First_Red_Scare "wikilink") after World War I.
She befriended Joseph Labadie in 1924 and discovered materials he
donated to the University of Michigan had hardly been cared for, kept in
a locked cage. She began to work on the collection, organizing and
cataloguing it, and sent letters to anarchists across the country asking
for information, collecting an enormour volume of publications and
writings for her collection. Including the papers of [Roger
Baldwin](Roger_Nash_Baldwin "wikilink"), [Elizabeth Gurley
Flynn](Elizabeth_Gurley_Flynn "wikilink") and [Ralph
Chaplin](Ralph_Chaplin "wikilink"). Her efforts increased the size of
the collection twentyfold, and she died in 1952.\[1\]
## References
<references />
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Inglis>

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**Agriculture** or **Farming** is the act of cultivating communities of
plants for human usage, usually for [food](food "wikilink") or as
materials. The human labour involved within farming in hierarchical
societies are usually called [peasants](peasants "wikilink").

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**Albert Camus** was a [philosopher](Philosophy "wikilink"), writer and
journalist famous for developing the philosophy of
[Absurdism](Absurdism "wikilink"), he was the second youngest winner for
the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957 at age 44.
## Life
## Ideas
## References
<references />

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**Albert Einstein** (1879 - 1955) is one of the most, if not the most,
famous scientists of all time. He made numerous landmark achievements in
theoretical physics which triggered a major [paradigm
shift](Paradigm_Shift "wikilink") in the physics community and enabled
the use of numerous new [technologies](Technology "wikilink") as well as
a deeper understanding of the universe.
## Life
## Scientific Contributions
## Political Views
## References

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**Albert Goldman** (1897 - 1960) was a civil rights lawyer and
[communist](Communism "wikilink") activist.
## Biography
### Childhood and Young Adulthood
Albert was born in 1897 in Minsk, Belarus (then the Russian Empire) and
to a Jewish family who emigrated to the US in 1904, settling in Chicago.
He attended school in Chicago and left for Cincinnati to study as a
rabbi in a Hebrew college. He was a star athlete, being captain of the
running and basketball teams. He graduated in 1919 and worked as a
tailor, being exposed to socialist ideas and joining the
[IWW](Industrial_Workers_of_the_World "wikilink") and Communist Party of
America. He went on to study at the Northwestern University Law School,
from which he graduated in 1925.\[1\]
### Communist Activism
Upon becoming a lawyer, he began to work for the legal defense of the
communist party, defending political radicals and trade unionists who
had broken the law from imprisonment. He traveled to the USSR in 1931,
and became disillusioned with Stalinism, and soon became a Trotskyist,
leading to his expulsion from the Communist Party. He joined the
Communist League of America, notably representing the CLA-led
[Minneapolis Teamsters strikers in
1934](Minneapolis_Teamsters_Strike_\(1934\) "wikilink"). He advocated
for a coalition of anti-stalinist leftists, but failed to gather support
for his position.
He later became the lawyer of [Leon Trotsky](Leon_Trotsky "wikilink")
who had been exiled in Mexico. Later defending him in the Dewey
Commission, led by [John Dewey](John_Dewey "wikilink"). He also worked
to translate and transfer Trotsky's writing collection to Harvard
University. He defended socialist workers for violating the Smith Act
during [World War II](World_War_II "wikilink") and became increasingly
critical of Trotskyism, arguing that Stalinism grew in strength and
World War II would not trigger a revolutionary wave like [World War
I](World_War_I "wikilink"). He was imprisoned and banned for being a
lawyer, leading to him opening a car rental business. He ran for mayor
of Chicago on a socialist platform but lost.\[2\]
### Death
Albert developed health problems towards the end of the 1950s, leading
to his death from cancer in 1960. His papers reside at the Wisconsin
Historical Society, located on the campus of the University of
Wisconsin, Madison.\[3\]
## References
<references />
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Goldman_(politician)#Early_years>
2. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Goldman_(politician)>
3. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Goldman_(politician)#Death_and_legacy>

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The **Occupation of Alcatraz** was a 19-month long protest
[occupation](occupation "wikilink")
([1969](Timeline_of_Indigenism "wikilink") -
[1971](Revolutions_of_1967_-_1975 "wikilink")) when 89 indigenous
Americans and their supporters occupied Alcatraz Island in San
Francisco, [USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink"). This group lived
on the island together until the protest was forcibly ended by the U.S.
government.
## Background
Since the [creation](American_Revolution "wikilink") of the
[USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink"), its government had acted in
an extremely oppressive manner towards the indigenous population.
Violating treaties made, subjecting them to brutal racism and stealing
their lands.
In the 1960s, the success of the [civil rights
movement](Civil_Rights_Movement_\(USA\) "wikilink") kicked off a global
wave of unrest as women, workers, ethnic minorities, environmentalists,
indigenous people and the LGBT community demanded greater rights and
power. In the USA, the indigenous movement became fairly big.
Alcatraz, a former prison island, had been abandoned by the federal
government and in 1964, a small group of indigenous protesters occupied
Alcatraz Island for four hours and offered to buy the island for $9.40,
the price that it was sold to the US government with the provision that
the US got to continue to use the island's lighthouse for coast guard
activities.
After the loss of the San Francisco Indian Center, which provided
indigenous people with jobs, healthcare, legal aid and social
opportunities there was an increased amount of tension with the
government.
## Events
In the early morning of the 20th of November, 1969, 89 indigenous
Americans, including more than 30 women, students, married couples and 6
children attempted to land on the island. The coast guard intercepted 75
of the protesters, but 14 managed to slip through and landed on the
island. The island's lone guard, who had been warned of the impending
occupation, sent out a message on his radio. "Mayday\! Mayday\!" he
called. "The Indians have landed\!"
Indigenous and non-indigenous people supported the occupation, supplies
were delivered secretly by canoes which avoided coast guard patrols.
Additionally, the [International Longshore and Warehouse
Union](International_Longshore_and_Warehouse_Union "wikilink") supported
the occupation, threatening [to shut down California's major
ports](Political_Strike "wikilink") if the protesters were evicted.
Protesters also set up a radio station called "Radio Free Alcatraz"
which made 39 30-minute broadcasts of which some can be listened to
here. The host, Isani Sioux John Trudell (considered by the FBI to be
very dangerous, despite being completely nonviolent) spoke about issues
facing the indigenous communities in the USA, including the forcible
loss of ancestral lands, matters of spirituality, seriously contaminated
water supply on Native reservations, sharp inequalities in infant
mortality and life expectancy among indigenous americans compared to the
majority white US public. At the height of the occupation more than 400
protesters lived on the island and support groups made consistent
contact with the media and government.
The demands listed by the protesters included:
- Complete control of Alcatraz by indigenous people
- Construction of a cultural centre that included indigenous studies
- Construction of an indigenous spiritual centre
- Construction of an ecology centre
- Construction of an indigenous american museum
The ILWU helped supply the occupation and several celebrities came out
in support. Electrical generators, water barge and an ambulance service
were provided to the island by supporters.
### Collapse
On the 3rd of January, 1970, a 13-year old girl fell to her death on the
island, prompting her family to leave. In addition, drug addiction and
burnout led to many people leaving the island, and soon non-indigenous
people were banned from staying on the island overnight. Electricity and
telephones to the island was cut by the government, destroying Radio
Free Alcatraz and the occupations reputation began to worsen. Internal
divisions among protesters also began to heighten tensions, including
accusations of [co-optation](co-optation "wikilink") by celebrity
supporters. Faced with internal divisions, lack of fresh water and
electricity, decreasing public support, people began leaving the
occupation until just 15 people remained who were removed by a large
[police](police "wikilink") raid on the 11th of June, 1971.
## Results
Along with the [Wounded Knee
Occupation](Wounded_Knee_Occupation "wikilink"), this became one of the
most notable actions of the indigenous movement in the USA and the
protests of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1975, the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 was passed by
Congress, leading to greater equality and empowerment of indigenous
communities in the USA, although it was still not enough. The Alcatraz
Occupation led to an annual celebration of the rights of indigenous
people, Unthanksgiving Day. The occupation also inspired over 200
incidents of indigenous civil disobedience across the USA in the
following years.
## References
[Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") - [Occupation of
Alcatraz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_Alcatraz)

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**Alexander Grothendieck** (/ˈɡroʊtəndiːk/; <small>German:
</small>\[ˈɡroːtn̩diːk\]; <small>French: </small>\[ɡʁɔtɛndik\]; 28
March 1928 – 13 November 2014) was a French mathematician who became the
leading figure in the creation of modern algebraic
geometry.<sup>\[6\]\[7\]</sup> His research extended the scope of the
field and added elements of commutative algebra, homological algebra,
sheaf theory and category theory to its foundations, while his so-called
"relative" perspective led to revolutionary advances in many areas of
pure mathematics.<sup>\[6\]\[8\]</sup> He is considered by many to be
the greatest mathematician of the 20th century.<sup>\[9\]</sup>
Born in Germany, Grothendieck was raised and lived primarily in France.
For much of his working life, however, he was, in effect,
stateless.<sup>\[1\]</sup> As he consistently spelled his first name
"Alexander" rather than "Alexandre"<sup>\[10\]</sup> and his surname,
taken from his mother, was the Dutch-like Low German "Grothendieck", he
was sometimes mistakenly believed to be of Dutch
origin.<sup>\[11\]</sup>
Grothendieck began his productive and public career as a mathematician
in 1949. In 1958, he was appointed a research professor at the Institut
des hautes études scientifiques (IHÉS) and remained there until 1970,
when, driven by personal and political convictions, he left following a
dispute over military funding. He later became professor at the
University of Montpellier<sup>\[4\]</sup> and, while still producing
relevant mathematical work, he withdrew from the mathematical community
and devoted himself to political causes. Soon after his formal
retirement in 1988, he moved to the French village of Lasserre in
Pyrenees, where he lived secluded, still working tirelessly on
mathematics until his death in 2014.<sup>\[12\]</sup>
## Life
### Family and childhood
Grothendieck was born in Berlin to anarchist parents. His father,
[Alexander "Sascha" Schapiro](Sascha_Schapiro "wikilink") (also known as
Alexander Tanaroff), had Hasidic Jewish roots and had been imprisoned in
Russia before moving to Germany in 1922, while his mother, Johanna
"Hanka" Grothendieck, came from a Protestant family in Hamburg and
worked as a journalist. Both had broken away from their early
backgrounds in their teens.<sup>\[13\]</sup> At the time of his birth,
Grothendieck's mother was married to the journalist Johannes Raddatz and
his birthname was initially recorded as "Alexander Raddatz." The
marriage was dissolved in 1929 and Schapiro/Tanaroff acknowledged his
paternity, but never married Hanka.<sup>\[13\]</sup>
Grothendieck lived with his parents in Berlin until the end of 1933,
when his father moved to Paris to evade Nazism, followed soon thereafter
by his mother. They left Grothendieck in the care of Wilhelm Heydorn, a
Lutheran pastor and teacher<sup>\[14\]</sup> <sup>\[15\]</sup> in
Hamburg. During this time, his parents took part in the Spanish Civil
War, according to Winfried Scharlau<sup> \[de\]</sup>, as non-combatant
auxiliaries,<sup>\[16\]</sup> though others state that Sascha fought in
the anarchist militia.<sup>\[17\]</sup>
### World War II
In May 1939, Grothendieck was put on a train in Hamburg for France.
Shortly afterwards his father was interned in Le
Vernet.<sup>\[18\]</sup> He and his mother were then interned in various
camps from 1940 to 1942 as "undesirable dangerous
foreigners".<sup>\[19\]</sup> The first was the Rieucros Camp, where his
mother contracted the tuberculosis which eventually caused her death and
where Alexander managed to attend the local school, at Mende. Once
Alexander managed to escape from the camp, intending to assassinate
Hitler.<sup>\[18\]</sup> Later, his mother Hanka was transferred to the
Gurs internment camp for the remainder of World War II.<sup>\[18\]</sup>
Alexander was permitted to live, separated from his
mother,<sup>\[20\]</sup> in the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon,
sheltered and hidden in local boarding houses or pensions, though he
occasionally had to seek refuge in the woods during Nazis raids,
surviving at times without food or water for several
days.<sup>\[18\]\[20\]</sup> His father was arrested under the Vichy
anti-Jewish legislation, and sent to the Drancy, and then handed over by
the French Vichy government to the Germans to be sent to be murdered at
the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942.<sup>\[7\]\[21\]</sup> In
Chambon, Grothendieck attended the Collège Cévenol (now known as the Le
Collège-Lycée Cévenol International), a unique secondary school founded
in 1938 by local Protestant pacifists and anti-war activists. Many of
the refugee children hidden in Chambon attended Cévenol, and it was at
this school that Grothendieck apparently first became fascinated with
mathematics.<sup>\[22\]</sup>
### Studies and contact with research mathematics
After the war, the young Grothendieck studied mathematics in France,
initially at the University of Montpellier where he did not initially
perform well, failing such classes as astronomy.<sup>\[23\]</sup>
Working on his own, he rediscovered the Lebesgue measure. After three
years of increasingly independent studies there, he went to continue his
studies in Paris in 1948.<sup>\[24\]</sup>
Initially, Grothendieck attended Henri Cartan's Seminar at École Normale
Supérieure, but he lacked the necessary background to follow the
high-powered seminar. On the advice of Cartan and André Weil, he moved
to the University of Nancy where he wrote his dissertation under Laurent
Schwartz and Jean Dieudonné on functional analysis, from 1950 to
1953.<sup>\[25\]</sup> At this time he was a leading expert in the
theory of topological vector spaces.<sup>\[26\]</sup> From 1953 to 1955
he moved to the University of São Paulo in Brazil, where he immigrated
by means of a Nansen passport, given that he refused to take French
Nationality. By 1957, he set this subject aside in order to work in
algebraic geometry and homological algebra.<sup>\[25\]</sup> The same
year he was invited to visit Harvard by Oscar Zariski, but the offer
fell through when he refused to sign a pledge promising not to work to
overthrow the United States government, a position that, he was warned,
might have landed him in prison. The prospect did not worry him, as long
as he could have access to books.<sup>\[27\]</sup>
Comparing Grothendieck during his Nancy years to the École Normale
Supérieure trained students at that time: Pierre Samuel, Roger
Godement, René Thom, Jacques Dixmier, Jean Cerf, Yvonne Bruhat,
Jean-Pierre Serre, Bernard Malgrange, Leila Schneps says:
### IHÉS years
In 1958 Grothendieck was installed at the Institut des hautes études
scientifiques (IHÉS), a new privately funded research institute that, in
effect, had been created for Jean Dieudonné and
Grothendieck.<sup>\[29\]</sup> Grothendieck attracted attention by an
intense and highly productive activity of seminars there (*de facto*
working groups drafting into foundational work some of the ablest French
and other mathematicians of the younger generation).<sup>\[14\]</sup>
Grothendieck himself practically ceased publication of papers through
the conventional, learned journal route. He was, however, able to play a
dominant role in mathematics for around a decade, gathering a strong
school.<sup>\[30\]</sup>
During this time, he had officially as students Michel Demazure (who
worked on SGA3, on group schemes), Luc Illusie (cotangent complex),
Michel Raynaud, Jean-Louis Verdier (cofounder of the derived category
theory) and Pierre Deligne. Collaborators on the SGA projects also
included Michael Artin (étale cohomology) and Nick Katz (monodromy
theory and Lefschetz pencils). Jean Giraud worked out torsor theory
extensions of nonabelian cohomology. Many others were involved.
### "Golden Age"
Alexander Grothendieck's work during the "Golden Age" period at the IHÉS
established several unifying themes in algebraic geometry, number
theory, topology, category theory and complex analysis.<sup>\[25\]</sup>
His first (pre-IHÉS) discovery in algebraic geometry was the
Grothendieck–Hirzebruch–Riemann–Roch theorem, a generalisation of the
Hirzebruch–Riemann–Roch theorem proved algebraically; in this context he
also introduced K-theory. Then, following the programme he outlined in
his talk at the 1958 International Congress of Mathematicians, he
introduced the theory of schemes, developing it in detail in his
*Éléments de géométrie algébrique* (*EGA*) and providing the new more
flexible and general foundations for algebraic geometry that has been
adopted in the field since that time.<sup>\[14\]</sup> He went on to
introduce the étale cohomology theory of schemes, providing the key
tools for proving the Weil conjectures, as well as crystalline
cohomology and algebraic de Rham cohomology to complement it. Closely
linked to these cohomology theories, he originated topos theory as a
generalisation of topology (relevant also in categorical logic). He also
provided an algebraic definition of fundamental groups of schemes and
more generally the main structures of a categorical Galois theory. As a
framework for his coherent duality theory he also introduced derived
categories, which were further developed by Verdier.<sup>\[31\]</sup>
The results of work on these and other topics were published in the
*EGA* and in less polished form in the notes of the *Séminaire de
géométrie algébrique* (*SGA*) that he directed at the
IHÉS.<sup>\[14\]</sup>
### Political activism
Grothendieck's political views were radical and pacifist, and he
strongly opposed both United States intervention in Vietnam and Soviet
military expansionism. He gave lectures on category theory in the
forests surrounding Hanoi while the city was being bombed, to protest
against the Vietnam War.<sup>\[32\]</sup> He retired from scientific
life around 1970, having found out that IHÉS was partly funded by the
military.<sup>\[33\]</sup> He returned to academia a few years later as
a professor at the University of Montpellier.
While the issue of military funding was perhaps the most obvious
explanation for Grothendieck's departure from the IHÉS, those who knew
him say that the causes of the rupture ran deeper. Pierre Cartier, a
*visiteur de longue durée* ("long-term guest") at the IHÉS, wrote a
piece about Grothendieck for a special volume published on the occasion
of the IHÉS's fortieth anniversary. The *Grothendieck Festschrift*,
published in 1990, was a three-volume collection of research papers to
mark his sixtieth birthday in 1988.<sup>\[34\]</sup>
In it, Cartier notes that as the son of an antimilitary anarchist and
one who grew up among the disenfranchised, Grothendieck always had a
deep compassion for the poor and the downtrodden. As Cartier puts it,
Grothendieck came to find Bures-sur-Yvette "*une cage dorée*" ("a gilded
cage"). While Grothendieck was at the IHÉS, opposition to the Vietnam
War was heating up, and Cartier suggests that this also reinforced
Grothendieck's distaste at having become a mandarin of the scientific
world.<sup>\[29\]</sup> In addition, after several years at the IHÉS,
Grothendieck seemed to cast about for new intellectual interests. By the
late 1960s, he had started to become interested in scientific areas
outside mathematics. David Ruelle, a physicist who joined the IHÉS
faculty in 1964, said that Grothendieck came to talk to him a few times
about physics.<sup>\[n 1\]</sup> Biology interested Grothendieck much
more than physics, and he organized some seminars on biological
topics.<sup>\[35\]</sup>
In 1970, Grothendieck, with two other mathematicians, Claude Chevalley
and Pierre Samuel, created a political group called *Survivre*—the name
later changed to *Survivre et vivre*. The group published a bulletin and
was dedicated to antimilitary and ecological issues, and also developed
strong criticism of the indiscriminate use of science and
technology.<sup>\[36\]</sup> Grothendieck devoted the next three years
to this group and served as the main editor of its
bulletin.<sup>\[4\]</sup>
After leaving the IHÉS, Grothendieck became a temporary professor at
Collège de France for two years.<sup>\[36\]</sup> He then became a
professor at the University of Montpellier, where he became increasingly
estranged from the mathematical community. His mathematical career, for
the most part, ended when he left the IHÉS.<sup>\[7\]</sup> He formally
retired in 1988, a few years after having accepted a research position
at the CNRS.<sup>\[4\]</sup>
### Manuscripts written in the 1980s
While not publishing mathematical research in conventional ways during
the 1980s, he produced several influential manuscripts with limited
distribution, with both mathematical and biographical content.
Produced during 1980 and 1981, *La Longue Marche à travers la théorie de
Galois* (*The Long March Through Galois Theory*) is a 1600-page
handwritten manuscript containing many of the ideas that led to the
*Esquisse d'un programme*.<sup>\[37\]</sup> It also includes a study of
Teichmüller theory.
In 1983, stimulated by correspondence with Ronald Brown and Tim Porter
at Bangor University, Grothendieck wrote a 600-page manuscript titled
*Pursuing Stacks*, starting with a letter addressed to Daniel Quillen.
This letter and successive parts were distributed from Bangor (see
External links below). Within these, in an informal, diary-like manner,
Grothendieck explained and developed his ideas on the relationship
between algebraic homotopy theory and algebraic geometry and prospects
for a noncommutative theory of stacks. The manuscript, which is being
edited for publication by G. Maltsiniotis, later led to another of his
monumental works, *Les Dérivateurs*. Written in 1991, this latter opus
of about 2000 pages further developed the homotopical ideas begun in
*Pursuing Stacks*.<sup>\[6\]</sup> Much of this work anticipated the
subsequent development of the motivic homotopy theory of Fabien Morel
and V. Voevodsky in the mid-1990s.
In 1984, Grothendieck wrote the proposal *Esquisse d'un
Programme*<sup>\[37\]</sup> ("Sketch of a Programme") for a position at
the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). It describes
new ideas for studying the moduli space of complex curves. Although
Grothendieck himself never published his work in this area, the proposal
inspired other mathematicians' work by becoming the source of dessin
d'enfant theory and Anabelian geometry. It was later published in the
two-volume *Geometric Galois Actions* (Cambridge University Press,
1997).
During this period, Grothendieck also gave his consent to publishing
some of his drafts for EGA on Bertini-type theorems (*EGA* V, published
in Ulam Quarterly in 1992-1993 and later made available on the
Grothendieck Circle web site in 2004).
In the 1,000-page autobiographical manuscript *Récoltes et semailles*
(1986) Grothendieck describes his approach to mathematics and his
experiences in the mathematical community, a community that initially
accepted him in an open and welcoming manner but which he progressively
perceived to be governed by competition and status. He complains about
what he saw as the "burial" of his work and betrayal by his former
students and colleagues after he had left the
community.<sup>\[14\]</sup> *Récoltes et semailles* work is now
available on the internet in the French original,<sup>\[38\]</sup> and
an English translation is underway. Parts of *Récoltes et semailles*
have been translated into Spanish<sup>\[39\]</sup> and into Russian and
published in Moscow.<sup>\[40\]</sup>
In 1988 Grothendieck declined the Crafoord Prize with an open letter to
the media. He wrote that established mathematicians like himself had no
need for additional financial support and criticized what he saw as the
declining ethics of the scientific community, characterized by outright
scientific theft that, according to him, had become commonplace and
tolerated. The letter also expressed his belief that totally unforeseen
events before the end of the century would lead to an unprecedented
collapse of civilization. Grothendieck added however that his views are
"in no way meant as a criticism of the Royal Academy's aims in the
administration of its funds" and added "I regret the inconvenience that
my refusal to accept the Crafoord prize may have caused you and the
Royal Academy."<sup>\[41\]</sup>
*La Clef des Songes*, a 315-page manuscript written in 1987, is
Grothendieck's account of how his consideration of the source of dreams
led him to conclude that God exists.<sup>\[42\]</sup> As part of the
notes to this manuscript, Grothendieck described the life and work of
**18 "mutants"**, people whom he admired as visionaries far ahead of
their time and heralding a new age.<sup>\[43\]</sup> The only
mathematician on his list was Bernhard Riemann.<sup>\[44\]</sup>
Influenced by the Catholic mystic Marthe Robin who was claimed to
survive on the Holy Eucharist alone, Grothendieck almost starved himself
to death in 1988.<sup>\[4\]</sup> His growing preoccupation with
spiritual matters was also evident in a letter titled *Lettre de la
Bonne Nouvelle* sent to 250 friends in January 1990. In it, he described
his encounters with a deity and announced that a "New Age" would
commence on 14 October 1996.<sup>\[6\]</sup>
Over 20,000 pages of Grothendieck's mathematical and other writings,
held at the University of Montpellier, remain
unpublished.<sup>\[45\]</sup> They have been digitized for preservation
and are freely available in open access through the Institut
Montpelliérain Alexander Grothendieck portal.<sup>\[46\]</sup>
### Retirement into reclusion and death
In 1991, Grothendieck moved to a new address which he did not provide to
his previous contacts in the mathematical community.<sup>\[4\]</sup>
Very few people visited him afterward. Local villagers helped sustain
him with a more varied diet after he tried to live on a staple of
dandelion soup.<sup>\[47\]</sup> After his death, it was revealed that
he lived alone in a house in Lasserre, Ariège, a small village at the
foot of the Pyrenees.<sup>\[48\]</sup>
In January 2010, Grothendieck wrote the letter "Déclaration d'intention
de non-publication" to Luc Illusie, claiming that all materials
published in his absence have been published without his permission. He
asks that none of his work be reproduced in whole or in part and that
copies of this work be removed from libraries.<sup>\[49\]</sup> A
website devoted to his work was called "an
abomination."<sup>\[50\]</sup> This order may have been reversed later
in 2010.<sup>\[51\]</sup>
On 13 November 2014, aged 86, Grothendieck died in the hospital of
Saint-Girons, Ariège.<sup>\[22\]\[52\]</sup>
### Citizenship
Grothendieck was born in Weimar Germany. In 1938, aged ten, he moved to
France as a refugee. Records of his nationality were destroyed in the
fall of Germany in 1945 and he did not apply for French citizenship
after the war. He thus became a stateless person for at least the
majority of his working life, traveling on a Nansen
passport.<sup>\[1\]\[2\]\[3\]</sup> Part of this reluctance to hold
French nationality is attributed to not wishing to serve in the French
military, particularly due to the Algerian War
(1954–62).<sup>\[53\]\[29\]\[2\]</sup> He eventually applied for
French citizenship in the early 1980s, well past the age that exempted
him from military service.<sup>\[29\]</sup>
### Family
Grothendieck was very close to his mother to whom he dedicated his
dissertation. She died in 1957 from the tuberculosis that she contracted
in camps for displaced persons.<sup>\[36\]</sup> He had five children: a
son with his landlady during his time in Nancy,<sup>\[29\]</sup> three
children, Johanna (1959), Alexander (1961) and Mathieu (1965) with his
wife Mireille Dufour,<sup>\[54\]\[4\]</sup> and one child with Justine
Skalba, with whom he lived in a commune in the early
1970s.<sup>\[4\]</sup>
## Mathematical work
Grothendieck's early mathematical work was in functional analysis.
Between 1949 and 1953 he worked on his doctoral thesis in this subject
at Nancy, supervised by Jean Dieudonné and Laurent Schwartz. His key
contributions include topological tensor products of topological vector
spaces, the theory of nuclear spaces as foundational for Schwartz
distributions, and the application of L<sup>p</sup> spaces in studying
linear maps between topological vector spaces. In a few years, he had
turned himself into a leading authority on this area of functional
analysis—to the extent that Dieudonné compares his impact in this field
to that of Banach.<sup>\[55\]</sup>
It is, however, in algebraic geometry and related fields where
Grothendieck did his most important and influential work. From about
1955 he started to work on sheaf theory and homological algebra,
producing the influential "Tôhoku paper" (*Sur quelques points d'algèbre
homologique*, published in the Tohoku Mathematical Journal in 1957)
where he introduced abelian categories and applied their theory to show
that sheaf cohomology can be defined as certain derived functors in this
context.<sup>\[14\]</sup>
Homological methods and sheaf theory had already been introduced in
algebraic geometry by Jean-Pierre Serre and others, after sheaves had
been defined by Jean Leray. Grothendieck took them to a higher level of
abstraction and turned them into a key organising principle of his
theory. He shifted attention from the study of individual varieties to
the *relative point of view* (pairs of varieties related by a morphism),
allowing a broad generalization of many classical
theorems.<sup>\[36\]</sup> The first major application was the relative
version of Serre's theorem showing that the cohomology of a coherent
sheaf on a complete variety is finite-dimensional; Grothendieck's
theorem shows that the higher direct images of coherent sheaves under a
proper map are coherent; this reduces to Serre's theorem over a
one-point space.
In 1956, he applied the same thinking to the Riemann–Roch theorem, which
had already recently been generalized to any dimension by Hirzebruch.
The Grothendieck–Riemann–Roch theorem was announced by Grothendieck at
the initial Mathematische Arbeitstagung in Bonn, in
1957.<sup>\[36\]</sup> It appeared in print in a paper written by Armand
Borel with Serre. This result was his first work in algebraic geometry.
He went on to plan and execute a programme for rebuilding the
foundations of algebraic geometry, which were then in a state of flux
and under discussion in Claude Chevalley's seminar; he outlined his
programme in his talk at the 1958 International Congress of
Mathematicians.
His foundational work on algebraic geometry is at a higher level of
abstraction than all prior versions. He adapted the use of non-closed
generic points, which led to the theory of schemes. He also pioneered
the systematic use of nilpotents. As 'functions' these can take only the
value 0, but they carry infinitesimal information, in purely algebraic
settings. His *theory of schemes* has become established as the best
universal foundation for this field, because of its expressiveness as
well as technical depth. In that setting one can use birational
geometry, techniques from number theory, Galois theory and commutative
algebra, and close analogues of the methods of algebraic topology, all
in an integrated way.<sup>\[14\]\[56\]\[57\]</sup>
He is also noted for his mastery of abstract approaches to mathematics
and his perfectionism in matters of formulation and
presentation.<sup>\[30\]</sup> Relatively little of his work after 1960
was published by the conventional route of the learned journal,
circulating initially in duplicated volumes of seminar notes; his
influence was to a considerable extent personal. His influence spilled
over into many other branches of mathematics, for example the
contemporary theory of D-modules. (It also provoked adverse reactions,
with many mathematicians seeking out more concrete areas and
problems.)<sup>\[58\]\[59\]</sup>
### *EGA*, *SGA*, *FGA*
The bulk of Grothendieck's published work is collected in the
monumental, yet incomplete, *Éléments de géométrie algébrique* (*EGA*)
and *Séminaire de géométrie algébrique* (*SGA*). The collection
*Fondements de la Géometrie Algébrique* (*FGA*), which gathers together
talks given in the Séminaire Bourbaki, also contains important
material.<sup>\[14\]</sup>
Grothendieck's work includes the invention of the étale and l-adic
cohomology theories, which explain an observation of André Weil's that
there is a connection between the topological characteristics of a
variety and its diophantine (number theoretic)
properties.<sup>\[36\]</sup> For example, the number of solutions of an
equation over a finite field reflects the topological nature of its
solutions over the complex numbers. Weil realized that to prove such a
connection one needed a new cohomology theory, but neither he nor any
other expert saw how to do this until such a theory was found by
Grothendieck.
This program culminated in the proofs of the Weil conjectures, the last
of which was settled by Grothendieck's student Pierre Deligne in the
early 1970s after Grothendieck had largely withdrawn from
mathematics.<sup>\[14\]</sup>
### Major mathematical contributions
In Grothendieck's retrospective *Récoltes et Semailles*, he identified
twelve of his contributions which he believed qualified as "great
ideas".<sup>\[60\]</sup> In chronological order, they are:
1. Topological tensor products and nuclear spaces.
2. "Continuous" and "discrete" duality (derived categories, "six
operations").
3. Yoga of the Grothendieck–Riemann–Roch theorem (K-theory, relation
with intersection theory).
4. Schemes.
5. Topoi.
6. Étale cohomology and l-adic cohomology.
7. Motives and the motivic Galois group (Grothendieck ⊗-categories).
8. Crystals and crystalline cohomology, yoga of "de Rham coefficients",
"Hodge coefficients", ...
9. "Topological algebra": ∞-stacks, derivators; cohomological formalism
of topoi as inspiration for a new homotopical algebra.
10. Tame topology.
11. Yoga of anabelian algebraic geometry, Galois–Teichmüller theory.
12. "Schematic" or "arithmetic" point of view for regular polyhedra and
regular configurations of all kinds.
Here the term *yoga* denotes a kind of "meta-theory" that can be used
heuristically; Michel Raynaud writes the other terms "Ariadne's thread"
and "philosophy" as effective equivalents.<sup>\[61\]</sup>
Grothendieck wrote that, of these themes, the largest in scope was
topoi, as they synthesized algebraic geometry, topology, and arithmetic.
The theme that had been most extensively developed was schemes, which
were the framework "*par excellence*" for eight of the other themes (all
but 1, 5, and 12). Grothendieck wrote that the first and last themes,
topological tensor products and regular configurations, were of more
modest size than the others. Topological tensor products had played the
role of a tool rather than a source of inspiration for further
developments; but he expected that regular configurations could not be
exhausted within the lifetime of a mathematician who devoted himself to
it. He believed that the deepest themes were motives, anabelian
geometry, and Galois–Teichmüller theory.<sup>\[62\]</sup>
## Influence
Grothendieck is considered by many to be the greatest mathematician of
the 20th century.<sup>\[9\]</sup> In an obituary David Mumford and John
Tate wrote:
By the 1970s, Grothendieck's work was seen as influential not only in
algebraic geometry, and the allied fields of sheaf theory and
homological algebra,<sup>\[63\]</sup> but influenced logic, in the field
of categorical logic.<sup>\[64\]</sup>
### Geometry
Grothendieck approached algebraic geometry by clarifying the foundations
of the field, and by developing mathematical tools intended to prove a
number of notable conjectures. Algebraic geometry has traditionally
meant the understanding of geometric objects, such as algebraic curves
and surfaces, through the study of the algebraic equations for those
objects. Properties of algebraic equations are in turn studied using the
techniques of ring theory. In this approach, the properties of a
geometric object are related to the properties of an associated ring.
The space (e.g., real, complex, or projective) in which the object is
defined is extrinsic to the object, while the ring is intrinsic.
Grothendieck laid a new foundation for algebraic geometry by making
intrinsic spaces ("spectra") and associated rings the primary objects of
study. To that end he developed the theory of schemes, which can be
informally thought of as topological spaces on which a commutative ring
is associated to every open subset of the space. Schemes have become the
basic objects of study for practitioners of modern algebraic geometry.
Their use as a foundation allowed geometry to absorb technical advances
from other fields.<sup>\[65\]</sup>
His generalization of the classical Riemann-Roch theorem related
topological properties of complex algebraic curves to their algebraic
structure. The tools he developed to prove this theorem started the
study of algebraic and topological K-theory, which study the topological
properties of objects by associating them with rings.<sup>\[66\]</sup>
Topological K-theory was founded by Michael Atiyah, after direct contact
with Grothendieck's ideas at the Bonn Arbeitstagung.<sup>\[67\]</sup>
### Cohomology theories
Grothendieck's construction of new cohomology theories, which use
algebraic techniques to study topological objects, has influenced the
development of algebraic number theory, algebraic topology, and
representation theory. As part of this project, his creation of topos
theory, a category-theoretic generalization of point-set topology, has
influenced the fields of set theory and mathematical
logic.<sup>\[63\]</sup>
The Weil conjectures were formulated in the later 1940s as a set of
mathematical problems in arithmetic geometry. They describe properties
of analytic invariants, called local zeta functions, of the number of
points on an algebraic curve or variety of higher dimension.
Grothendieck's discovery of the ℓ-adic étale cohomology, the first
example of a Weil cohomology theory, opened the way for a proof of the
Weil conjectures, ultimately completed in the 1970s by his student
Pierre Deligne.<sup>\[66\]</sup> Grothendieck's large-scale approach has
been called a "visionary program."<sup>\[68\]</sup> The ℓ-adic
cohomology then became a fundamental tool for number theorists, with
applications to the Langlands program.<sup>\[69\]</sup>
Grothendieck's conjectural theory of motives was intended to be the
"ℓ-adic" theory but without the choice of "ℓ", a prime number. It did
not provide the intended route to the Weil conjectures, but has been
behind modern developments in algebraic K-theory, motivic homotopy
theory, and motivic integration.<sup>\[70\]</sup> This theory, Daniel
Quillen's work, and Grothendieck's theory of Chern classes, are
considered the background to the theory of algebraic cobordism, another
algebraic analogue of topological ideas.<sup>\[71\]</sup>
### Category theory
Grothendieck's emphasis on the role of universal properties across
varied mathematical structures brought category theory into the
mainstream as an organizing principle for mathematics in general. Among
its uses, category theory creates a common language for describing
similar structures and techniques seen in many different mathematical
systems.<sup>\[72\]</sup> His notion of abelian category is now the
basic object of study in homological algebra.<sup>\[73\]</sup> The
emergence of a separate mathematical discipline of category theory has
been attributed to Grothendieck's influence, though
unintentional.<sup>\[74\]</sup>

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**Alexander M. Schapiro** (1883 - 1946) was an
[anarcho-syndicalist](Anarcho-Syndicalism "wikilink") active in the
international anarchist movement.
## Life
### Family
Schapiro's father was named Moses Schapiro, who was a member of
[Narodnaya Volya](Narodnaya_Volya "wikilink")
Schapiro was born in 1882 or 1883 in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia,
but grew up in Constantinople because his father Moses, a member of the
secret revolutionary organization *Narodnaya Volya*, which attempted to
assassinate Tsar Alexander II in 1881, was forced to flee the Russian
Empire. There, he attended the French school. Schapiro spoke Yiddish,
Russian, French, and Turkish, and would later learn German and English.
In the mid-1890s, Moses converted to anarchism and Schapiro started
studying the works of anarchist theorists Peter Kropotkin, Jean Grave
and Élisée Reclus. After finishing school, Schapiro moved to Sofia,
Bulgaria in 1899 to study mathematics and physics. In August 1900, he
moved to Paris to attend the Sorbonne and possibly to participate in an
international anarchist congress, which in the end was banned by the
authorities. He started studying either biology with the intention of
embarking on a career in medicine or engineering. He was forced to drop
out for financial reasons. In Paris, he came to know many of the city's
leading anarchists and was part of an anarcho-syndicalist
group.<sup>\[1\]</sup>
## London
In 1900 or 1901, at Kroptokin's suggestion, Schapiro moved to London,
where he joined his father, an active member of London's anarchist
milieu. In London, Schapiro worked as an assistant for the physiologist
Augustus Waller. This allowed Schapiro to devote a lot of his time to
the anarchist movement, but he is also listed as an author on several
publications from Waller's lab. He recruited the anarchist Thomas Keell
as a test subject.<sup>\[2\]</sup>
In London, Schapiro was a member of the *Arbeter Fraynd* collective.
According to Sam Dreen, another member, he was intelligent and capable,
but also a stubborn and overbearing intellectual who was not in touch
with workers' issues. The collective was split on the question of
participation in trade unions. Schapiro was opposed because he feared
anarchist principles could be compromised by unionism.<sup>\[3\]</sup>
Fermin Rocker, Rudolf Rocker's son, liked Schapiro and considered him
well-educated and intelligent, but dogmatic, intolerant, and
self-important.<sup>\[4\]</sup>
Schapiro was a delegate of the Jewish Anarchist Federation of London at
the 1907 International Anarchist Congress in Amsterdam, at which he was
elected one of three secretaries and became one of five members of a
bureau calling itself the Anarchist International.<sup>\[5\]</sup> In
the years after the Russian Revolution of 1905, Russian anarchists were
the targets of severe government repression. Hundreds were executed or
sentenced to long prison terms and many fled to the west. In 1907,
anarchist exiles established the Anarchist Red Cross to protest the
Russian Empire's treatment of anarchists and help imprisoned activists.
Along with Kropotkin, Varlam Cherkezov, and Rudolf Rocker, Schapiro
directed the London headquarters of the network.<sup>\[6\]</sup>
Schapiro took part in the First International Syndicalist Congress in
London in 1913. He did not represent any organization, but was one of
two translators, with Christiaan Cornelissen the other.<sup>\[7\]</sup>
The German delegates praised Schapiro's objective approach, while Alfred
Rosmer deemed him the only participant who did not lose his
poise.<sup>\[8\]</sup>
By the time World War I broke out, Schapiro was an important organizer
in the international anarchist movement.<sup>\[9\]</sup> He was a
signatory to the International Anarchist Manifesto against the First
World War issued in London in 1915.<sup>\[10\]\[11\]</sup> Schapiro was
one of the few anarchist friends of Kropotkin not to cut his ties with
the anarchist communist theorist over the latter's role in the pro-war
*Manifesto of the Sixteen*.<sup>\[12\]</sup>
## Russia
After the February Revolution in 1917, Schapiro returned to Russia via
the Pacific route, arriving in Petrograd in July. He was one of a number
of a number of anarcho-syndicalists returning from exile. He initiated a
Yiddish newspaper in Russia. He joined the Union of Anarcho-Syndicalist
Propaganda and contributed to its journal *Golos Truda* and its
publishing house. *Golos Truda* had previously been published in New
York as the organ of the Union of Russian Workers of the United States
and Canada, but was moved to Petrograd in 1917.<sup>\[13\]</sup> The
anarcho-syndicalists called for workers' control of production through
factory committees, which they expected would be the organizations at
the heart of future non-capitalist society. In this they agreed with the
Bolsheviks.<sup>\[14\]</sup> Like the Bolsheviks they also supported the
soviets, but were wary that they were increasingly dominated by the
former. Schapiro in September called for "complete decentralization and
the very broadest self-direction of local organizations" in order to
avoid the soviets becoming vehicles of political coercion. He called for
the abolition of the state and an immediate general
strike.<sup>\[15\]</sup>
After the October Revolution, which *Golos Truda* supported and
celebrated afterwards, the Bolsheviks took power and relations between
them and the anarcho-syndicalists became more strained.<sup>\[16\]</sup>
Yet even as they criticized Bolshevik policy, the syndicalists
collaborated with the Soviet government in its fight against the White
Army in the Civil War, as they considered the Whites the greater evil
that had to be defeated to allow for a Third Revolution. Schapiro
started working for the Commissariat of Jewish Affairs in 1918,
promoting the Soviet system among Jewish workers, but not specifically
Bolshevism. By 1920, he had transferred to the Commissariat of Foreign
Affairs where he worked as a translator. The Commissariat was led by
Georgy Chicherin, whom he had gotten to know in London.<sup>\[17\]</sup>
Revolutionary anarchist-turned-Bolshevik Victor Serge in his *Memoirs of
a Revolutionary* described Schapiro as a man "of critical and moderate
temper".<sup>\[18\]</sup>
In 1918, government repression against the anarchist movement began. In
May, *Golos Truda* was shut down.<sup>\[19\]</sup> Schapiro turned his
attention to stopping this repression.<sup>\[20\]</sup> In 1920,
syndicalists from several western countries came to Moscow to attend the
second congress of the Comintern. They knew little about conditions in
Russia. While in Moscow, several syndicalists including Augustin Souchy,
Ángel Pestaña, Armando Borghi, and Bertho Lepetit visited anarchists
like Kropotkin, Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, and Schapiro. Schapiro
relayed to them Russian syndicalists' critique of the regime and their
fears of persecution. Some of those syndicalists then raised these
issues with the Bolshevik leadership.<sup>\[21\]</sup> After the
congress, Alfred Rosmer, a French syndicalist, stayed in Russia. He
supported Bolshevism and was elected to the Comintern's executive.
Rosmer contacted Schapiro and met him at the *Golos Truda* printing
house. The Russian syndicalists had written a letter of protest and
hoped it would receive attention if Rosmer submitted it to the
Comintern. Rosmer and Schapiro discussed the issue and Rosmer was
optimistic it could be resolved. The Russian syndicalists' defiant tone
surprised Rosmer and he refused to submit their declaration unless they
softened it. Eventually, Shapiro and Gregori Maximoff, another member of
*Golos Truda*, rewrote the letter and Rosmer submitted it in February
1921.<sup>\[22\]</sup>
In January 1921, Kropotkin, almost eighty years old and living in
Dmitrov, contracted pneumonia. Schapiro, with Goldman and Nikolai
Ivanovich Pavlov, took a train to visit him, but their train was delayed
and they arrived an hour after he died on February 8. Schapiro and
Berkman organized Kropotkin's funeral.<sup>\[23\]</sup> In early 1921,
the government started to ban syndicalist and anarchist writings,
including those of syndicalist theorist Fernand Pelloutier and some by
the anarchists Kropotkin and Mikhail Bakunin.<sup>\[24\]</sup> After the
Kronstadt uprising in March, the Bolshevik government began rounding up
anarchists. Schapiro's critique of the regime, which had been fairly
moderate, turned into fundamental opposition.<sup>\[25\]</sup> In May,
Schapiro was one of several signatories of a protest against the
persecution of Russian anarchists, which was circulated in the west. In
July, at the founding congress of the Red International of Labor Unions
(RILU), several European syndicalists protested the persecution of
anarchists and syndicalists in Russia on Schapiro and others' behalf.
One syndicalist delegate demanded that Schapiro be allowed address the
congress, but he was not. The Bolshevik leadership relented and several
anarchist prisoners were released and forced into exile. Among them were
Gregori Maximoff and Volin who had worked with Schapiro in the *Golos
Truda* group.<sup>\[26\]</sup> After the congress, Schapiro denounced
the RILU as "the illegitimate daughter of the Communist International,
and consequently the handmaiden of the Russian Communist Party" and
warned Italian syndicalists against associating with
it.<sup>\[27\]</sup>
In June 1921, Schapiro, along with Goldman, Berkman, and the fellow
anarchist Alexei Borovoi, anonymously wrote a pamphlet entitled *The
Russian Revolution and the Communist Party*, which was smuggled to
Germany and published by Rocker. They argued that anarchists had
refrained from protesting the repression leveled against them in Russia
as long as the Civil War was being fought so as not "to aid the common
enemy, world imperialism". The end of the war, however, had made it
clear that the biggest threat to the revolution "was not outside, but
within the country: a danger resulting from the very nature of the
social and economic arrangements which characterize the present
'transitory stage'."<sup>\[28\]</sup> In December 1921, Schapiro,
Berkman, and Goldman received permission from the Soviet government to
attend an international anarchist congress in Berlin, which was to held
from December 25 to January 2. They were held up in Latvia and therefore
missed the congress. Sweden then allowed the trio to enter the country
and they arrived there in January. Schapiro decided to join the Russian
syndicalist exiles in Berlin.<sup>\[29\]</sup>
In June 1922, he attended a syndicalist conference in Berlin. The
meeting was called to discuss the international organization of the
movement. Schapiro and Mark Mrachnyi, recently deported from Russia,
represented the Russian syndicalist movement, but a representative of
Russia's centralist unions also attended. Schapiro and Mrachnyi used the
meeting as another opportunity to denounce the Soviet government's
repression of syndicalists and anarchists. The meeting decided to create
an international Syndicalist Bureau, to which Schapiro would be the
Russian representative, and discussed the position the syndicalist
movement should take on the RILU. Concerning negotiations with the RILU,
Schapiro presented the congress with two options. Syndicalists could
present the Bolsheviks with minimal conditions, which they might accept,
or harsher conditions, which they could not. The former he deemed a
betrayal of syndicalist principles and the latter a mere ploy. Instead,
he proposed that the syndicalists break off negotiations with the RILU
and go their own way. The assembly adopted a resolution which made no
mention of negotiations with the RILU.<sup>\[30\]</sup> After the
meeting Schapiro decided to return to Russia, feeling he could make a
contribution there. He contacted Chicherin and received assurances he
could safely return to Russia. However, on the night of September 2–3,
two weeks after Schapiro's return to Russia, he was arrested in Moscow.
The secret police charged him with working with underground anarchists,
but was mostly interested in his international contacts. Chicherin
ignored a letter Schapiro sent him from prison and the RILU refused to
notify the Syndicalist Bureau of his arrest. Nevertheless, the news soon
reached the west. After western syndicalists protested his
incarceration, the Soviet government was worried about damaging the
CGTU's relations with the RILU. Schapiro was expelled from Russia
charged with anti-Soviet activities abroad in October
1922.<sup>\[31\]</sup>
## Exile
Schapiro decided to return to Berlin. He become one of the most active
Russian syndicalist exiles. He worked on the anarcho-syndicalist
newspaper *Rabochii Put*' (*The Workers' Way*), which was secretly
distributed in Russia. It was published by a group of exiles which also
included Maximoff. It received financial support from the Syndicalist
Bureau and was printed on the presses of the German syndicalist journal
*Der Syndikalist*.<sup>\[32\]</sup> In December 1922, he participated in
the establishment of the anarcho-syndicalist International Workers
Association (IWA). This move finalized the syndicalist break with
Bolshevism. Berlin was selected as the seat of the IWA. Schapiro,
Souchy, and Rocker were elected to its secretariat. Its membership was
almost entirely European and Latin American.<sup>\[33\]</sup>
*Rabochii Put*' became the IWA's Russian-language organ. Schapiro used
the journal to expound on the lessons he drew from the Russian
Revolution. According to him, anarchists reacted to the revolution in
two ways, both of them partly counter-revolutionary. The first position
was taken by the Soviet anarchists who regarded dictatorship as a
necessary transitional phase on the way to a stateless society. The
second held that the revolution must be immediately fully anarchist and
therefore resorted to militarism like Nestor Makhno. He concluded that
anarchism could only overcome such problematic reactions by giving more
attention to a theory of the revolutionary process rather than the ideal
of a post-revolutionary society.<sup>\[34\]</sup>
He traveled on to France, where he continued to work with the IWA and
edited another anarcho-syndicalist paper, *La Voix du Travail* (*The
Voice of Labour*). Schapiro left Europe for New York, where he remained
a tireless activist in the cause of Russian political prisoners until
his death in 1946.

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'''Alfie Kohn '''(1957-) is a teacher and psychologist famous for being
critical of [competition](competition "wikilink"),
[behaviourism](behaviourism "wikilink") and [prussian
education](Prussian_Education "wikilink").
## Works
- 1986: [No Contest: The Case Against
Competition](No_Contest:_The_Case_Against_Competition "wikilink")
- 1990: You Know What They Say...: The Truth About Popular Beliefs
- 1990: [The Brighter Side of Human Nature: Altruism and Empathy in
Everyday Life](The_Brighter_Side_of_Human_Nature "wikilink")
- 1993: [Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive
Plans, A's, Praise, and Other
Bribes](Punished_by_Rewards "wikilink")
- 1996: Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community
- 1998: What To Look For In A Classroom... And Other Essays
- 1999: The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional
Classrooms and "Tougher Standards"
- 2000: The Case Against Standardized Testing: Raising the Scores,
Ruining the Schools
- 2004: What Does It Mean To Be Well Educated? And More Essays on
Standards, Grading, and Other Follies
- 2005: Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments
to Love and Reason
- 2006: [The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad
Thing](The_Homework_Myth "wikilink")
- 2011: Feel Bad Education: And Other Contrarian Essays on Children
and Schooling
- 2014: The Myth of the Spoiled Child: Challenging the Conventional
Wisdom about Children and Parenting
- 2015: Schooling Beyond Measure...And Other Unorthodox Essays About
Education

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The **People's Democratic Republic of Algeria** is an
[authoritarian](Authoritarianism "wikilink") and
[capitalist](Capitalism "wikilink") [state](List_of_States "wikilink")
in North Africa, near [Spain](Spain "wikilink"),
[Morocco](Morocco "wikilink"), [Western
Sahara](Western_Sahara "wikilink"), [Mauritania](Mauritania "wikilink"),
[Mali](Mali "wikilink"), [Niger](Niger "wikilink") and
[Libya](Libya "wikilink").
## History
### Socialist Algeria
From 1962 to 1989, Algeria was socialist.

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The **Allied Occupation of Japan** refers to the occupation of
[Japan](Japan "wikilink") by the
[USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink") following [World War
II](World_War_II "wikilink") and the [Nuclear Bombings of the
country](Nuclear_Bombings_of_Japan "wikilink") in [1945 to
1952](Timeline_of_US_Imperialism "wikilink").
## Positives
Democratisation
Trade Unions
### Sexual Liberation
## Negatives
### Rape of Civilians
### Media Censorship
Expulsion

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**Ambalavaner Sivanandan** (1923 - 2018) was an anti-racist organizer.

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**Amelia "Mildred" Milka Sablich** (1908 - 1994) also known as **Flaming
Milka**, was an [IWW](Industrial_Workers_of_the_World "wikilink")
organizer.
## Life
Amelia's parents immigrated from Volosko, Croatia (then part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire) to Trinidad, Colorado, USA in 1907, with her
father working as a coal miner. At age 19, she became a leader in the
[Colorado Coal Strike of
1927](Colorado_Coal_Strike_\(1927\) "wikilink"). She spoke out for the
cause of the miners, wearing bright red and fighting off larger men
trying to break the strike. She was arrested, and upon release gave
speeches to raise money to victims of anti-union violence.\[1\]
## References
<references />
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Milka_Sablich>

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The **American Civil Rights Movement** was a decades-long struggle in
the [USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink") with the goal of
enforcing constitutional and legal rights for African Americans that
white Americans already enjoyed.

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The **American Revolution** was a revolution that began in 1775 and
ended in 1783, leading to the creation of the United States of America
and being the first major (and successful) revolt against the British
Empire.
## Results
### Unforeseen Consequences
*Many of the further consequences of the revolution were also due in
part to the French revolution.*
- In 1783, 70,000 loyalists fled to Canada and other parts of the
British Empire (out of a population of 3.1 million, or 2.2% of the
population).
- In 1797, a republican insurrection was attempted in
[Scotland](Scotland_Rebellion_\(1797\) "wikilink"), inspired by the
revolutions in France and America.
- Debts incurred by sponsoring the revolutionaries (combined with many
french soldiers and commanders being convinced of Enlightenment
ideals) led to the [French
Revolution](French_Revolution "wikilink").
- The loss of a large colony led to the British colonisation of
Australia to compensate for land, triggering wars against the
indigenous population and Australia becoming a penal colony and the
source of the empire's wool.

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The Amish are a Christian religious group active in the
[USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink"), [Canada](Canada "wikilink")
and [Argentina](Argentina "wikilink") that live in small,
self-sufficient rural communities famous for their simple dress, sober
and hardworking culture and rejection of electricity. There are about
342,000 Amish in the world and have often been described as resembling
an [anarchist](Anarchism "wikilink") culture, although anarchists are
critical of the group.
## Crime
Amish communities are some of the safest in the world to live in,

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**Anand Milk Union Limited** or **Amul** is a [worker
cooperative](Worker_Cooperative "wikilink") consisting of 3.6 million
dairy farmers spread across [India](India "wikilink"). Founded in
[December
1946](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Southern_Asia "wikilink"), it
sells chocolate, butter and milk across the world and is the largest
worker cooperative and employer on the planet and was responsible for
the 'White Revolution' that turned India from a milk importer into one
of the largest milk exporters in the world.\[1\]
## References
<references />
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amul>

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**An Anarchist FAQ** is a 4,200 page
[book](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Books "wikilink") that explains
[anarchist](Anarchism "wikilink") philosophy and strategy in detail.
## Chapters
#### **Introduction**
Introduction
#### **Section A: What is Anarchism?**
What is Anarchism?
#### **Section B: Why do anarchists oppose the current system?**
Why do anarchists oppose the current system?
#### **Section C: What are the myths of capitalist economics?**
[What are the myths of capitalist
economics?](Section_C:_What_are_the_myths_of_capitalist_economics?_\(An_Anarchist_FAQ\) "wikilink")
#### **Section D: How do statism and capitalism affect society?**
How do statism and capitalism affect society?
#### **Section E: What do anarchists think causes ecological problems?**
What do anarchists think causes ecological problems?
#### **Section F: Is “anarcho”-capitalism a type of anarchism?**
Is “anarcho”-capitalism a type of anarchism?
#### **Section G: Is individualist anarchism capitalistic?**
Is individualist anarchism capitalistic?
#### **Section H: Why do anarchists oppose state socialism?**
Why do anarchists oppose state socialism?
#### **Section I: What would an anarchist society look like?**
What would an anarchist society look like?
#### **Section J: What do anarchists do?**
What do anarchists do?
#### **Appendix: Anarchism and “anarcho”-capitalism**
Anarchism and “anarcho”-capitalism
#### **Appendix: The Symbols of Anarchy**
The Symbols of Anarchy
#### **Appendix: Anarchism and Marxism**
Anarchism and Marxism
#### **Appendix: The Russian Revolution**
The Russian Revolution
#### <em>**Bibliography for FAQ**</em>
Bibliography for FAQ
#### **An Anarchist FAQ after ten years**
An Anarchist FAQ after ten years

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**An Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune** is a [fictional libertarian socialist
community](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Societies#Fictional "wikilink")
in medieval Britain in the film *[Monty Python and the Holy
Grail](Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grail_\(Film\) "wikilink")*.
## Decision-Making
Unlike other medieval communities, an anarcho-syndicalist commune is an
autonomous collective that doesn't have a lord (the nearby castle being
uninhabited). Dennis describes their decision-making process as follows:
> We take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the
> week, but all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a
> special bi-weekly meeting by a civil majority in the case of purely
> internal affairs, but by a two-thirds majority in the case of purely
> external affairs.\[1\]
## Economics
The community seems to mainly centered around
[farming](Agriculture "wikilink"), presumbly run according to the
principles of [workers'
self-management](Workers'_Self-Management "wikilink"). Living standards
are notably better than some of the surrounding communities, that are
often filled with poo running through the streets.
## Culture
The community is strongly skeptical of the authoritarian desires of King
Arthur, and is not subject to the [tyranny of the
majority](Tyranny_of_the_Majority "wikilink") through witch hunts or
constant lying in other communities.
## Notable Residents
- [Dennis](Dennis_\(Monty_Python\) "wikilink")
## References
<references />
1. [YouTube](YouTube "wikilink") - [Monty Python "Anarcho-Syndicalist
Commune"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7qT-C-0ajI)

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<https://anarwiki.org/index.php?title=Category:AnarWiki>

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*This page is used to tell visitors all about .*
*Click the "edit this page" link (above) to start this page and to tell
people what this wiki is all about.*

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Except where otherwise specified, the text on FANDOM sites is licensed
under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0
(Unported) (CC-BY-SA).
- [Read the license
summary](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
- [Read the full legal code of the
license](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode).
Please see [Wikia:Licensing](w:Wikia:Licensing "wikilink") for details.

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There are many **templates** in use in ; these are only a subset,
representing some of the most important and commonly used ones. If you
feel that a template belongs on this page, do not hesitate to add it.
- [:Category:Templates](:Category:Templates "wikilink") should cover
all templates in the wiki.
- The Template namespace (found from
[Special:AllPages](Special:AllPages "wikilink")) always has all
templates in the wiki, sorted alphanumerically.
## What are templates?
Wiki templates provide a means to insert the same content over and over
in different (or the same) pages. This saves editors the hassle of
duplicating the same text again and again, and also helps ensure
consistency.
Templates are generally shown with the format required to use the
template (e.g. ). Clicking the template name takes you to the template's
page, where you can see what it looks like and how it is used.
**Detailed instructions on the usage of each template should exist on:**
1. **a subpage using **; or
2. the template page itself (inside "noinclude" tags); or
3. the template's talk page.
For more information on templates, see
[Help:Templates](Help:Templates "wikilink").
## Article management templates
### Nominate an article for deletion
- Add this to an article to nominate it for deletion. It will add the
article to [:Category:Candidates for
deletion](:Category:Candidates_for_deletion "wikilink").
### Disambiguation articles
- If you have several articles that have similar or identical names,
you may wish to create a "disambiguation" page at the main article
name, with the articles taking an extra phrase in brackets
afterwards. For example:
<!-- end list -->
-
**The Prince** \<-- disambiguation page, with links to:
-
The Prince (frog)
The Prince (human)
<!-- end list -->
- Using marks an article as a disambiguation page by adding a banner
to the article and categorizing it under
[:Category:Disambiguations](:Category:Disambiguations "wikilink").
Add links to the various articles under the banner.
- For more information, see
[Help:Disambiguation](Help:Disambiguation "wikilink").
## General wiki templates
### T is for template
- This template allows you to show example template code (with a link
to the templates) without using the template itself. It is used
extensively on this page.
## Where you may find more templates
- [Templates Wiki](w:c:templates "wikilink")
- Wikipedia; may be copied with the proper acknowledgment, but some
need tweaking to work properly on Wikia, so use a Wikia version if
possible.
[Templates](Category:Templates "wikilink")

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To Do
-----
\- \[\~\] Mail server setup
\- \[\~\] \[Contact page\](Special:Contact)
\- \[ \] Add contributors guide
\- \[ \] Create list of essential articles and links
\- \[ \] Import articles from Anarchy In Action?
\- \[ \] Import articles from Anarchopedia?
\- \[ \] Import articles from Wikipedia
\- \[ \] Add list of articles needing work
\- \[ \] Add list of needed articles not yet created
\- \[ \] Add Cyber Communes users / contributors
\- \[ \] Functional welcome / guide page
\- \[ \] New theme and logo
\- \[ \] Automate backups
\- \[ \] Soft launch
Done
-----
\- \[x\] Create Wikimedia site / SSL / Short URLs
\- \[x\] Import Libertarian Socialist Wiki
\- \[x\] \[Change Wiki text\](Special:ReplaceText) to reflect new name

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'''Anarcha-feminism '''or **anarchist feminism,** **anarcho-feminism,**
and/or **anarchx-feminism** refers towards an effort to synthesize the
concerns of [feminists](Feminism "wikilink") towards
[patriarchy](patriarchy "wikilink") with the
[anarchists](Anarchism "wikilink") opposition towards all social
hierarchy, this manifests in three major ways:
1. Linking patriarchy as a uniquely important form of hierarchy with a
significantly important role in the rise of the
[state](State_\(Polity\) "wikilink"),
[capitalism](capitalism "wikilink") and other forms of social
hierarchy.
2. Attempting to integrate anarchist critiques of hierarchy with
mainstream feminism.
3. Criticizing sexist tendencies within the anarchist movement.

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**Anarchism** is a political philosophy that advocates complete freedom
from the state and social hierarchy.

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**Anarcho-Communism** (sometimes called **Anarchist Communism**,
**Libertarian Communism**, **Free Communism**, '''Communist-Anarchism
'''or **Stateless Communism**) is an [anarchist school of
thought](Anarchism "wikilink") which advocates for the complete
abolition of the [market economy](Market_Economy "wikilink"),
[money](money "wikilink") and [trade](trade "wikilink") to be replaced
by a [confederation](confederation "wikilink") of [community
assemblies](Democratic_Assembly "wikilink"), [worker
controlled-industry](Workers'_Self-Management "wikilink"), a [gift
economy](Gift_Economy "wikilink") and [horizontal economic
planning](Horizontal_Economic_Planning "wikilink").
## Example Societies
The application of anarcho-communism can mainly be seen in five kinds of
society. Hunter-gatherer groups, ancient civilizations, solidarity
economies, [intentional communities](Intentional_Community "wikilink")
and [open-source](Open_Source "wikilink") software.
### Ancient Civilizations
- [Catal Huyuk](Catal_Huyuk "wikilink")
- [Cayonu Tepesi](Cayonu_Tepesi "wikilink")
- [Cucuteni-Trypillia
Civilization](Cucuteni-Trypillia_Civilization "wikilink")
- [Hopi](Hopi "wikilink")
- [Haudenosaunee Confederacy](Haudenosaunee_Confederacy "wikilink")
### Open-Source Software
- [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink")

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**Anarcho-Syndicalism** is a [syndicalist](Syndicalism "wikilink")
strategy to create an [anarchist](Anarchism "wikilink") society by the
creation of anarchist trade unions (such as the IWW or CNT) followed by
a wave of strikes and occupations to create a society based on [workers'
control](Workers'_Self-Management "wikilink").
## Anarcho-Syndicalist Groups by Country/State
- AIT-SP (Portugal)
- APC (Bulgaria)
- [ASF](Anarcho-Syndicalist_Federation_\(Australia\) "wikilink")
([Australia](Commonwealth_of_Australia "wikilink"))
- ASI-MUR (Serbia)
- CNT (Spain)
- CNTF-AIT (France)
- COB (Brazil)
- FORA-AIT (Argentina)
- Germinal (Chile)
- KRAS-MAT (Russia)
- NSF-IAA (Norway)
- OLS (Sweden)
- PA-MAP (Slovakia)
- SEL (Colombia)
- SF-IWA (United Kingdom)
- WAS (Austria)
- WSA (United States of America)
- ZSP-MSP (Poland)

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The **Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation** or '''ASF '''is an
anarcho-syndicalist organization based in
[Australia](Commonwealth_of_Australia "wikilink") which has also made
efforts to organize in [Singapore](Republic_of_Singapore "wikilink") and
the [Philippines](Republic_of_the_Philippines "wikilink").
## History
- 1956: Exiled anarcho-syndicalists from
[Bulgaria](Republic_of_Bulgaria "wikilink") begin publishing a
newsletter in Sydney.
- 1965: Exiled [CNT](CNT_\(Spain\) "wikilink") members from
[Spain](Kingdom_of_Spain "wikilink") established a section in
Melbourne.
- 1966: CNT activists established the 'Anarchist Cellar' in Sydney and
the [Anarchist Black Cross](Anarchist_Black_Cross "wikilink")
establishes its first section in Australia.
- 1975: Federation of Australian Anarchists established in Sydney
after a conference.
- 1977: Sydney anarcho-syndicalists establish a bookshop.
- 1983: Melbourne Anarcho-Syndicalist Group established by CNT and
[IWW](Industrial_Workers_of_the_World "wikilink") activists.
- 1986: ASF founded, forms alliances with builders and nurses unions.
- 1987: ASF takes actions in support of railway and public transport
workers across Australia.
- 1988: ASF begins strongly advocating for[aboriginal
australians](Aboriginal_Australians "wikilink") and is admitted to
the [IWA](International_Workers'_Association "wikilink").\[1\]
## Affiliates and Initiatives
The ASF affiliates and initiatives are located in Brisbane, Canberra,
Melbourne, North-West Tasmania, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Geelong,
Hobart, [Manila](Republic_of_the_Philippines "wikilink"), Singapore and
Townsville.\[2\]
## Contact Edit
The various ASF affiliates and initiatives can be emailed or messaged on
facebook. Find links to their contacts
[here](http://asf-iwa.org.au/join/)
## References
<references />
1.
<!-- end list -->
1. <http://asf-iwa.org.au/history/>
2. <http://asf-iwa.org.au>

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Here is the list with double square brackets around each topic:
See the original source here -
<http://eng.anarchopedia.org/Category:Anarchism>
As for reuse the Wiki states - 'Content is available under the terms
"For those who care about capitalist values" unless otherwise noted.'
1. 1. \*\*A\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchism and capital
punishment](Anarchism_and_capital_punishment "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchism and capitalism](Anarchism_and_capitalism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchism and Marxism](Anarchism_and_Marxism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchism and religion](Anarchism_and_religion "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchism and society](Anarchism_and_society "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchism and the Arts](Anarchism_and_the_Arts "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchism In America](Anarchism_In_America "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anarchism in Free Software
Movement](anarchism_in_Free_Software_Movement "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anarchism in Serbia](anarchism_in_Serbia "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anarchism related concepts](anarchism_related_concepts "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchist Black Cross
Federation](Anarchist_Black_Cross_Federation "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anarchist economic
organization](anarchist_economic_organization "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchist economics](Anarchist_economics "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchist Federation](Anarchist_Federation "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchist Film Channel](Anarchist_Film_Channel "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anarchist institution](anarchist_institution "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchist music](Anarchist_music "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anarchist realism](anarchist_realism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anarchist social
organization](anarchist_social_organization "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [list of anarchists](list_of_anarchists "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarcho-revolutionary](Anarcho-revolutionary "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarcho-rockers](Anarcho-rockers "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anarcho-transhumanism](anarcho-transhumanism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anarcho-tribalism](anarcho-tribalism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchy 101](Anarchy_101 "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Anarchy and Kids](Anarchy_and_Kids "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anti-statism](anti-statism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [arguments surrounding the issue of the
state](arguments_surrounding_the_issue_of_the_state "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Audio Anarchy](Audio_Anarchy "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Autonomism](Autonomism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*B\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Barricada Collective](Barricada_Collective "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [black bloc](black_bloc "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Buddhism, Ethics and
Anarchism](Buddhism,_Ethics_and_Anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Buddhist anarchism](Buddhist_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*C\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [C I A â€" Communist Individualist
Anarchism](C_I_A_â€"_Communist_Individualist_Anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Christian anarchism](Christian_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Christiania](Christiania "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [classification of anarchist
theories](classification_of_anarchist_theories "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Collectivist anarchism](Collectivist_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Compassionate Anarchism](Compassionate_Anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [conceptions of an anarchist
society](conceptions_of_an_anarchist_society "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Critical Ass](Critical_Ass "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*D\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Democracy & Nature](Democracy_&_Nature "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Dielo Truda](Dielo_Truda "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Direct action](Direct_action "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [direct democracy](direct_democracy "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*E\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Echo of Freedom, Radical
Podcast](Echo_of_Freedom,_Radical_Podcast "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Eco-anarchism](Eco-anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [ecological anarchism](ecological_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [examples of organizations with anarchist
qualities](examples_of_organizations_with_anarchist_qualities "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*F\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Federation of Revolutionary Anarchist
Collectives](Federation_of_Revolutionary_Anarchist_Collectives "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [free store](free_store "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*G\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Gorgia Anarchist eMailing
List](Gorgia_Anarchist_eMailing_List "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Green anarchism](Green_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*H\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [hacklab](hacklab "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Hedono-Nihilo-Anarchism](Hedono-Nihilo-Anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [User talk:Hieronymous Rex](User_talk:Hieronymous_Rex "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Hippy](Hippy "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*I\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Indiana local anarchist mailing
list](Indiana_local_anarchist_mailing_list "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [infoanarchism](infoanarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [infomunicipalism](infomunicipalism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [infoshop](infoshop "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Infoshop Open Wiki](Infoshop_Open_Wiki "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Introductory essay on
postanarchism](Introductory_essay_on_postanarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Islam and anarchism](Islam_and_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*L\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Librairie l'Insoumise](Librairie_l'Insoumise "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [lifestyle anarchism](lifestyle_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [List of Anarchist Books](List_of_Anarchist_Books "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Living Utopia](Living_Utopia "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*M\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [martial arts in an anarchist
society](martial_arts_in_an_anarchist_society "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Maximilien Luce](Maximilien_Luce "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Minnesota Anarchists Info
Service](Minnesota_Anarchists_Info_Service "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Modern anarchism](Modern_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Mormon anarchism](Mormon_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*N\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [New Jersey Anarchist
Workers](New_Jersey_Anarchist_Workers "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [no confusion with group
entity](no_confusion_with_group_entity "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Nonviolent direct action](Nonviolent_direct_action "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*O\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Origins of anarchism](Origins_of_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [other anarchist traditions with respect to private
property](other_anarchist_traditions_with_respect_to_private_property "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*P\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Participatory economics](Participatory_economics "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Phoenix Anarchist
Coalition](Phoenix_Anarchist_Coalition "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [anarchist poetry](anarchist_poetry "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [post-left anarchy](post-left_anarchy "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [precursors of anarchism](precursors_of_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Present and Historical Anarchist
Movements](Present_and_Historical_Anarchist_Movements "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [propaganda of the deed](propaganda_of_the_deed "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Punk](Punk "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Punk rock](Punk_rock "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*R\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [radiotelegramme to the workers of all countries, from the
Provisional Revolutionary Committee of
Kronstadt](radiotelegramme_to_the_workers_of_all_countries,_from_the_Provisional_Revolutionary_Committee_of_Kronstadt "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of
Ukraine](Revolutionary_Insurrectionary_Army_of_Ukraine "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Rhode Island Anarchists](Rhode_Island_Anarchists "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*S\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [self-liberation](self-liberation "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [smygo](smygo "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Social medicine](Social_medicine "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [spontaneism](spontaneism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [Sébastien Faure Century](Sébastien_Faure_Century "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*T\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [technological anarchism](technological_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [the anarcho-socialist perspective on private
property](the_anarcho-socialist_perspective_on_private_property "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [The Iron Rail](The_Iron_Rail "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [types of anarchism](types_of_anarchism "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*V\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [Vivir la utopía](Vivir_la_utopía "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
1. 1. \*\*W\*\*
<!-- end list -->
- [what anarchism is not](what_anarchism_is_not "wikilink")
<!-- end list -->
- [World revolution](World_revolution "wikilink")

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There should be an article here about Anarchy In Action.
Below are the articles it covers. The content is under the Creative
Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, so should be able to be reused
and expanded upon on this wiki.
[1848 revolutions](1848_revolutions "wikilink")
[1911 Lima-Callao general
strike](1911_Lima-Callao_general_strike "wikilink")
[1919 Peruvian general strike](1919_Peruvian_general_strike "wikilink")
[1919 Seattle general strike](1919_Seattle_general_strike "wikilink")
[1968 revolutions](1968_revolutions "wikilink")
[1999 Seattle WTO shutdown](1999_Seattle_WTO_shutdown "wikilink")
[2007 Lakota declaration of
independence](2007_Lakota_declaration_of_independence "wikilink")
[2008 Greek insurrection](2008_Greek_insurrection "wikilink")
[2013 Mi'kmaq anti-fracking
struggle](2013_Mi'kmaq_anti-fracking_struggle "wikilink")
[Abahlali baseMjondolo](Abahlali_baseMjondolo "wikilink")
[Aboriginal Australians](Aboriginal_Australians "wikilink")
[Acorn woodpecker](Acorn_woodpecker "wikilink")
[Alcatraz occupation](Alcatraz_occupation "wikilink")
[Alter-globalization movement](Alter-globalization_movement "wikilink")
[American Revolution and
Anarchy](American_Revolution_and_Anarchy "wikilink")
[Anabaptists](Anabaptists "wikilink")
[Anarchists in the Italian Factory
Occupations](Anarchists_in_the_Italian_Factory_Occupations "wikilink")
[Anarchists in the Russian
Revolution](Anarchists_in_the_Russian_Revolution "wikilink")
[Anarchy in Action](Anarchy_in_Action "wikilink")
[Anarchy in the German
Revolution](Anarchy_in_the_German_Revolution "wikilink")
[Anarchy in the Haitian
Revolution](Anarchy_in_the_Haitian_Revolution "wikilink")
[Anarchism in the Mexican
Revolution](Anarchy_in_the_Mexican_Revolution "wikilink")
[Andamanese](Andamanese "wikilink")
[Animal Liberation Front](Animal_Liberation_Front "wikilink")
[Anarres](Anarres "wikilink")
[Anti-Shell actions](Anti-Shell_actions "wikilink")
[Appalachian forests](Appalachian_forests "wikilink")
[Athenian polis](Athenian_polis "wikilink")
[Bacteria](Bacteria "wikilink")
[Barcelona en Común](Barcelona_en_Común "wikilink")
[Batek](Batek "wikilink")
[Bayaka](Bayaka "wikilink")
[BDS Movement](BDS_Movement "wikilink")
[Bénard convection](Bénard_convection "wikilink")
[Bison](Bison "wikilink")
[Black Reconstruction](Black_Reconstruction "wikilink")
[South Carolina Commune](Black_Reconstruction "wikilink")
[Bogomils](Bogomils "wikilink")
[Bolivia Water War](Bolivia_Water_War "wikilink")
[Bonobo](Bonobo "wikilink")
[Cascadia Free State](Cascadia_Free_State "wikilink")
[Castile confederation](Castile_confederation "wikilink")
[Çatalhöyük](Çatalhöyük "wikilink")
[Cathars](Cathars "wikilink")
[Catholic Worker movement](Catholic_Worker_movement "wikilink")
[Cayonu](Cayonu "wikilink")
[Central American squirrel
monkey](Central_American_squirrel_monkey "wikilink")
[Chemical clock](Chemical_clock "wikilink")
[Cherán](Cherán "wikilink")
[Christiania](Christiania "wikilink")
[Cokaygne](Cokaygne "wikilink")
[Community taro patches](Community_taro_patches "wikilink")
[Conspiracy of Cells of Fire](Conspiracy_of_Cells_of_Fire "wikilink")
[Croatan](Croatan "wikilink")
[Cuban Revolution and
Anarchism](Cuban_Revolution_and_Anarchism "wikilink")
[Cucuteni–Trypillia
civilization](Cucuteni–Trypillia_civilization "wikilink")
[George's Hill (Diggers)](Diggers "wikilink")
[Dolphins](Dolphins "wikilink")
[Domestic cat](Domestic_cat "wikilink")
[Earth First\!](Earth_First! "wikilink")
[Earth Liberation Front](Earth_Liberation_Front "wikilink")
[Earth system](Earth_system "wikilink")
[Earthseed](Earthseed "wikilink")
[El Alto neighborhood
councils](El_Alto_neighborhood_councils "wikilink")
[Elephant](Elephant "wikilink")
[Emdrup playground](Emdrup_playground "wikilink")
[English food riots in eighteenth
century](English_food_riots_in_eighteenth_century "wikilink")
[English Peasants' Revolt of
1381](English_Peasants'_Revolt_of_1381 "wikilink")
[Essenes](Essenes "wikilink")
[Evolution of eukaryotes](Evolution_of_eukaryotes "wikilink")
[Evolution of green hydra](Evolution_of_green_hydra "wikilink")
[Evolution of horse](Evolution_of_horse "wikilink")
[Evolution of sea slugs](Evolution_of_sea_slugs "wikilink")
[Evolution of translucent
worms](Evolution_of_translucent_worms "wikilink")
[Faslane Peace Camp](Faslane_Peace_Camp "wikilink")
[First Intifada](First_Intifada "wikilink")
[Fraggle Rock](Fraggle_Rock "wikilink")
[Free Republic of Wendland](Free_Republic_of_Wendland "wikilink")
[French Revolution and
Anarchy](French_Revolution_and_Anarchy "wikilink")
[German Anti-Fascism](German_Anti-Fascism "wikilink")
[German Peasants' War](German_Peasants'_War "wikilink")
[Global postal service](Global_postal_service "wikilink")
[Gray wolf](Gray_wolf "wikilink")
[Greenham Common Women's Peace
Camp](Greenham_Common_Women's_Peace_Camp "wikilink")
[Groove-billed ani](Groove-billed_ani "wikilink")
[Hadza](Hadza "wikilink")
[Haudenosaunee](Haudenosaunee "wikilink")
[Haudenosaunee](Haudenosaunee#.22Warp_and_Weft.2C.22_from_The_Years_of_Rice_and_Salt_by_Kim_Stanley_Robinson "wikilink")
[Hopi](Hopi "wikilink")
[Horizontal organization in British
architecture](Horizontal_organization_in_British_architecture "wikilink")
[Huehuecoyotl](Huehuecoyotl "wikilink")
[Human body and anarchy](Human_body_and_anarchy "wikilink")
[Hungarian Revolution of 1956](Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956 "wikilink")
[Imazighen](Imazighen "wikilink")
[Indus Valley Civilization](Indus_Valley_Civilization "wikilink")
[Informal Anarchist
Federation](Informal_Anarchist_Federation "wikilink")
[International railways](International_railways "wikilink")
[Italian Anti-Fascism](Italian_Anti-Fascism "wikilink")
[Italian Autonomia](Italian_Autonomia "wikilink")
[Jenne-jeno](Jenne-jeno "wikilink")
[Jewish armed anti-Nazi
resistance](Jewish_armed_anti-Nazi_resistance "wikilink")
[John Brown's raids](John_Brown's_raids "wikilink")
[Karaite Judaism](Karaite_Judaism "wikilink")
[Kesh](Kesh "wikilink")
[Kharijites](Kharijites "wikilink")
[Kibbutzim](Kibbutzim "wikilink")
[King Hill hostel squat](King_Hill_hostel_squat "wikilink")
[Kronstadt rebellion](Kronstadt_rebellion "wikilink")
[Kurdish democratic
confederalists](Kurdish_democratic_confederalists "wikilink")
[Group of Communities in
Kurdistan](Kurdistan_democratic_confederalists "wikilink")
[Rojava](Kurdistan_democratic_confederalists "wikilink")
[La Paz Zapotec](La_Paz_Zapotec "wikilink")
[La Via Campesina](La_Via_Campesina "wikilink")
[Landless Workers' Movement](Landless_Workers'_Movement "wikilink")
[Laser](Laser "wikilink")
[Life and Labor Commune](Life_and_Labor_Commune "wikilink")
[Lion](Lion "wikilink")
[Little Commonwealth](Little_Commonwealth "wikilink")
[Los Angeles Rebellion of
1992](Los_Angeles_Rebellion_of_1992 "wikilink")
[Luddites](Luddites "wikilink")
[Malaipantaram](Malaipantaram "wikilink")
[Manatee](Manatee "wikilink")
[Mapuche Struggle](Mapuche "wikilink")
[Massalians](Massalians "wikilink")
[Mbuti](Mbuti "wikilink")
[Mexican Revolution and
Anarchy](Mexican_Revolution_and_Anarchy "wikilink")
[Mimosa-beetle symbiosis](Mimosa-beetle_symbiosis "wikilink")
[Minoan Crete](Minoan_Crete "wikilink")
[Movement of the Free Spirit](Movement_of_the_Free_Spirit "wikilink")
[Mumbai community dog care](Mumbai_community_dog_care "wikilink")
[Mu'tazilites](Mu'tazilites "wikilink")
[Mycorrhizal network](Mycorrhizal_network "wikilink")
[Nat Turner's rebellion](Nat_Turner's_rebellion "wikilink")
[New England town meetings](New_England_town_meetings "wikilink")
[Niitsitapi](Niitsitapi "wikilink")
[Oaxaca rebellion](Oaxaca_rebellion "wikilink")
[Occupy movement](Occupy_movement "wikilink")
[Oceti Sakowin](Oceti_Sakowin "wikilink")
[Oka Crisis](Oka_Crisis "wikilink")
[Open source](Open_source "wikilink")
[Organizations](Organizations "wikilink")
[Paliyan](Paliyan "wikilink")
[Palmares](Palmares "wikilink")
[Paris Commune](Paris_Commune "wikilink")
[Physics and anarchy](Physics_and_anarchy "wikilink")
[Pioneer Health Centre](Pioneer_Health_Centre "wikilink")
[Pirate anarchy](Pirate_anarchy "wikilink")
[Pocasset](Pocasset "wikilink")
[Prague Spring](Prague_Spring "wikilink")
[Pueblo Revolt](Pueblo_Revolt "wikilink")
[Really Really Free Market](Really_Really_Free_Market "wikilink")
[Red Cloud's War](Red_Cloud's_War "wikilink")
[Anarchism and the Spanish Revolution](Revolutionary_Spain "wikilink")
[Spain](Revolutionary_Spain "wikilink")
[Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of
Ukraine](Revolutionary_Ukraine "wikilink")
[Russian Revolution and
Anarchy](Russian_Revolution_and_Anarchy "wikilink")
[San Francisco (The Fifth Sacred
Thing)](San_Francisco_\(The_Fifth_Sacred_Thing\) "wikilink")
[San](San "wikilink")
[Seahorse](Seahorse "wikilink")
[Seminole Wars](Seminole_people "wikilink")
[Sexual revolution](Sexual_revolution "wikilink")
[Shinmin Prefecture](Shinmin_Prefecture "wikilink")
[Manchurian Revolution](Shinmin_Prefecture "wikilink")
[Solar system's planets](Solar_system's_planets "wikilink")
[South American Indians](South_American_Indians "wikilink")
[Standing Rock Uprising](Standing_Rock_Uprising "wikilink")
[Stop Huntingdon Animal
Cruelty](Stop_Huntingdon_Animal_Cruelty "wikilink")
[Stonehenge Free Festival](Stonehenge_Free_Festival "wikilink")
[SNCC](Student_Nonviolent_Coordinating_Committee "wikilink")
[Swiss city planning](Swiss_city_planning "wikilink")
[Swiss confederal leagues](Swiss_confederal_leagues "wikilink")
[Syrian Revolution](Syrian_Revolution "wikilink")
[Revolutionary Syria](Syrian_Revolution "wikilink")
[Adamites](Taborite_communes "wikilink")
[Teotihuacan](Teotihuacan "wikilink")
[Texas KXL blockade](Texas_KXL_blockade "wikilink")
[The Haymarket Martyrs](The_Haymarket_Martyrs "wikilink")
[The May-June Revolt in France,
1968](The_May-June_Revolt_in_France,_1968 "wikilink")
[The Shire](The_Shire "wikilink")
[The Yard](The_Yard "wikilink")
[Tonga people](Tonga_people "wikilink")
[Tribal Arabia](Tribal_Arabia "wikilink")
[Universe](Universe "wikilink")
[Unist'ot'en Camp](Unist'ot'en_Camp "wikilink")
[Utricularia-algae-zooplankton
feedback](Utricularia-algae-zooplankton_feedback "wikilink")
[Abalone Alliance](US_anti-nuclear_movement "wikilink")
[Clamshell Alliance](US_anti-nuclear_movement "wikilink")
[US anti-nuclear movement](US_anti-nuclear_movement "wikilink")
[US Galleanists](US_Galleanists "wikilink")
[US Green movement](US_Green_movement "wikilink")
[Venezuelan communes](Venezuelan_communes "wikilink")
[Vienna Psychoanalytic Society's child guidance
service](Vienna_Psychoanalytic_Society's_child_guidance_service "wikilink")
[Village Alternatif, Anticapitalist et
AntiGuerres](Village_Alternatif,_Anticapitalist_et_AntiGuerres "wikilink")
[Watts Rebellion](Watts_Rebellion "wikilink")
[Wendat](Wendat "wikilink")
[Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink")
[Woodstock Festival](Woodstock_Festival "wikilink")
[Yellow Turban Rebellion](Yellow_Turban_Rebellion "wikilink")
[Zapatista-run Chiapas](Zapatista-run_Chiapas "wikilink")
[Zomia](Zomia "wikilink")
[Zone to Defend (ZAD)](Zone_to_Defend_\(ZAD\) "wikilink")
[Zuni](Zuni "wikilink")

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**Anarchy Works** is a
[book](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Media "wikilink") by [Peter
Gelderloos](Peter_Gelderloos "wikilink") aiming to provide a picture at
how an [anarchist
society](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Societies "wikilink") might
function, deal with certain problems and fulfill the needs of the
people.
## Summary
### Part 1: Human Nature
#### Aren't people naturally selfish?
The notion of selfishness and [sharing and
generosity](Mutual_Aid "wikilink") are explored. Even in societies which
have endured [capitalism](capitalism "wikilink") for hundreds of years,
people still frequently engage in altruistic behavior like sharing
dinner or helping strangers. The notion of a [gift
economy](Gift_Economy "wikilink") is explored through the economic
practices of the [Semai](Semai "wikilink") in what is now
[Malaysia](Malaysia "wikilink") and [Really Really Free
Markets](Really_Really_Free_Market "wikilink"), a protest movement in
much of the western world.
#### Aren't people naturally competitive?
The concept of [competition](competition "wikilink") has been largely a
product of socialization in the west. But non-capitalist societies often
had very strong concepts of cooperation and even hostility towards
competition. The [Mbuti](Mbuti "wikilink") is what is now Central Africa
are explored in generous detail showing various aspects of how
cooperation runs in all parts of their society, from
[childrearing](childrearing "wikilink") to economic activities to
[gender equality](Gender_Equality "wikilink") as well as the destruction
of Mbuti communities from war backed by capitalists. The activities of
people after [Hurricane Katrina](Hurricane_Katrina "wikilink") are also
explored, how complete strangers were suddenly helping to save the lives
of others whilst the [police](police "wikilink") left them to die and
the [media](Mass_Media "wikilink") spread lies.
#### Haven't humans always been patriarchal?
Numerous societies have existed without
[patriarchy](patriarchy "wikilink") and fluid concepts of
[gender](gender "wikilink") and within patriarchy there has been strong
resistance to it, such as [FIERCE\!](FIERCE! "wikilink") - who organize
against [gentrification](gentrification "wikilink"), privatized
[healthcare](healthcare "wikilink") and
[discrimination](discrimination "wikilink"). Another resistance was
[Pocasset](Pocasset "wikilink"), a [colony of
England](Colonialism "wikilink") in what is now the
[US](United_States_of_America "wikilink") during the 1600s, which fought
for [direct democracy](Democratic_Assembly "wikilink"), gender equality,
[indigenous rights](Indigenism "wikilink"), religious freedom, freedom
from [debt](debt "wikilink") and abolition of [punitive justice
systems](Punitive_Justice "wikilink"). Societies outside the west have
also had gender equality and fluid concepts of gender, such as the
pre-colonial [Igbo](Igbo "wikilink") in what is now
[Nigeria](Federal_Republic_of_Nigeria "wikilink"), where women practice
collective self-defense against gender violence and abusive men. The
[Haudenosaunee](Haudenosaunee_Confederacy "wikilink") in what is now the
US and [Canada](Canada "wikilink") are also explored, with women
organizing and leading councils for decision-making and economic
distribution.
#### Aren't people naturally warlike?
The institutions of [power](power "wikilink") - media,
[academics](University "wikilink"),
[government](State_\(Polity\) "wikilink"),
[religion](Organized_Religion "wikilink") - frequently exaggerate levels
of [warfare](War "wikilink") and [violence](violence "wikilink")
throughout history, especially in areas without the state. Frequently
using heavily biased or outright fabricated research to support their
worldview. But even within the state, people frequently are horrified by
the actual consequences of violence, setting up [protest
camps](Protest_Camp "wikilink") and movements like the [Falsane Peace
Camp](Falsane_Peace_Camp "wikilink") and [Greenham Commons Women's Peace
Camp](Greenham_Commons_Women's_Peace_Camp "wikilink") in the
[UK](United_Kingdom "wikilink"), the [Life and Labor
Commune](Life_and_Labor_Commune "wikilink") in the
[USSR](Union_of_Soviet_Socialist_Republics "wikilink") and the [Catholic
Worker Movement](Catholic_Worker_Movement "wikilink"). Anarchistic
societies like the Semai have some of the lowest murder rates in the
world due to their low levels of [alienation](alienation "wikilink") and
[poverty](poverty "wikilink"), stemming from a policy of gift economics.
War is not a natural fact of human nature, but the consequence of the
structure of society.
#### Aren't domination and authority natural?
It's becoming increasingly harder to ideologically justify the state as
more and more research finds that egalitarian societies are extremely
successful and people still form egalitarian networks and communities
under capitalism. However, it is worth remembering that even
gatherer-hunter societies have had brutal systems of hierarchy and
patriarchy, even going as so far as slavery and gang rape. Whilst plenty
of societies with agriculture and metal tools have been egalitarian.
Hierarchical societies have always generated resistance, with the best
resistances forming 'reverese dominance hierarchies' where leaders were
often killed. The Amazigh in what is now Morocco managed to resist
state-formation for centuries, and resist against the state is common to
all cultures. In Medieval Europe, peasant rebellions against increasing
taxes, privatization of common land and forests and increasing
privileges of the ruling class, notably in the German Peasants Uprising
in 1524 and 1525, where 300,000 slaughtered knights and lords. The
anti-globalization movement across the world has resisted the
establishment of capitalism, notably with the Zapatistas. Plenty of
people have also fled the state, such as those in South America
researched by Pierre Clastres, Haudenosaunee in North America, Cossacks
in Russia and Zomia in Southeast Asia.
#### A broader sense of self
[Peter Kropotkin](Peter_Kropotkin "wikilink") famously wrote in his work
on [Mutual Aid](Mutual_Aid:_A_Factor_of_Evolution "wikilink") that
people are more likely to work together than against each-other. The
assumption in the west that small-scale
[forager](Forager_Economy "wikilink") societies are 'primitive' and
large post-industrial societies are 'advanced' and have nothing to learn
from 'primitive people' is at best ignorant and at worst openly
[racist](Racism "wikilink"). All human societies are tremendously
complicated and we can learn a lot from studying them, and in current
social struggles the seeds of a new society are being built.
### Part 2: Decisions
#### How will decisions be made?
#### How will decisions be enforced?
#### How will settle disputes?
#### Meeting in the streets
Hierarchy is simply not capable of making the best responsible decisions
for millions of people. The MST shows that millions can make decisions
at a grassroots level, the Oaxaca Uprising shows us that anarchists can
organize in modern cities and against militaries. Infoshops and
[Kibbutz](Kibbutzim "wikilink") show us that groups can survive even
under capitalism and the Nuer show us how this kind of decision-making
can survive the most brutal forms of colonialism. Most societies in
history have been egalitarian, and we still have the capability to
return to that lifestyle once we liberate ourselves from capitalism and
the state.
### Part 3: Economy Edit
#### Without wages, what is the incentive to work? Edit
#### Don't people need bosses and experts? Edit
#### Who will take out the trash? Edit
#### Who will take care of the elderly and disabled? Edit
#### How will people get healthcare? Edit
#### What about education? Edit
#### What about technology? Edit
#### How will exchange work? Edit
#### What about people who don't want to give up a consumerist lifestyle? Edit
#### What about building and organizing large, spread-out infrastructure? Edit
#### How will cities work? Edit
#### What about drought, famine, or other catastrophes? Edit
#### Meeting our needs without keeping count Edit
### Part 4: Environment Edit
#### What's to stop someone destroying the environment? Edit
#### What about global environmental problems, like climate change? Edit
#### The only way to save the planet Edit
### Part 5: Crime Edit
#### Who will protect us without police? Edit
#### What about gangs and bullies? Edit
#### What's to stop someone killing people? Edit
#### What about rape, domestic violence, and other forms of harm? Edit
#### Beyond individual justice Edit
### Part 6: Revolution Edit
#### How could people organized horizontally possibly overcome the state? Edit
#### How do we know revolutionaries won't become new authorities? Edit
#### How will communities decide to organize themselves at first? Edit
#### How will reparations for past oppression be worked out? Edit
#### How will a common, anti-authoritarian, ecological ethos come about? Edit
#### A revolution that is many revolutions Edit
### Part 7: Neighboring Societies Edit
#### Could an anarchist society defend itself from an authoritarian neighbor? Edit
#### What will we do about societies that remain patriarchal or racist? Edit
#### What will prevent constant warfare and feuding? Edit
#### Networks not borders Edit
### Part 8: The Future Edit
#### Won't the state just reemerge over time? Edit
#### What about other problems we can't foresee?
Anarchist societies will face problems we cannot possibly foresee right
now. In an anarchist society, we would have to invent entirely new
solutions for wholly unpredictable problems. Should we earn the
opportunity, we will do so with joy, getting our hands dirty in the
complexities of life, realizing our vast potential and reaching new
levels of growth and maturity. We need never again surrender the power
to solve our own problems in cooperation with those around us.
#### Making Anarchy Work
Where oppression exists, resistance does to. You can help out by doing
anything from graffiti to armed rebellion against the government. It is
important to support struggles even if they are not explicitly anarchist
and to not ever think you can work within the state or capitalism to
build a freer world.
## External Links
- [Anarchy
Works](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/peter-gelderloos-anarchy-works)
at [theanarchistlibrary.org](theanarchistlibrary.org "wikilink")
- [Anarchy
Works](https://libcom.org/files/Gelderloos%20-%20Anarchy%20Works.pdf)
at [libcom.org](libcom.org "wikilink")

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**Andrej Grubačić** is a sociology professor and
[anarchist](Anarchism "wikilink") specialising in the history of [mutual
aid](Mutual_Aid "wikilink"), world-systems theory and the history of the
Balkans.

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**Angola** (officially the **Republic of Angola**) is an authoritarian
capitalist [state](List_of_States "wikilink") located in Southwest
Africa, it borders the [Republic of the
Congo](Republic_of_the_Congo "wikilink"), the [Democratic Republic of
the Congo](Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo "wikilink"),
[Zambia](Zambia "wikilink") and [Namibia](Namibia "wikilink").

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[Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash](Anna_Mae_Pictou-Aquash "wikilink") was an
activist for the rights of indigenous americans and women in
[Canada](Canada "wikilink") and the
[USA](United_States_of_America "wikilink") who was murdered by an
unknown party (most likely the
[FBI](Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation "wikilink")) in 1975.

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**Anti-Fascism** is opposition to [fascist](Fascism "wikilink")
ideologies, groups and individuals. The anti-fascist movement began in a
few European countries in the 1920s, and eventually spread to other
countries around the world. It was at its most significant shortly
before and during [World War II](World_War_II "wikilink"), where the
fascist Axis powers were opposed by many countries forming the Allies of
World War II and dozens of resistance movements worldwide. Anti-fascism
has been an element of movements holding many different political
positions, including [social democratic](Social_Democracy "wikilink"),
nationalist, liberal, conservative, communist,
[Marxist](Marxism "wikilink"), trade unionist,
[anarchist](Anarchism "wikilink"), socialist, and centrist viewpoints.
## History
[Timeline of Anti-Fascism](Timeline_of_Anti-Fascism "wikilink")

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**Anti-Imperialism** refers to an ideological opposition to the creation
of empires.
## History
*See [Timeline of
Anti-Colonialism](Timeline_of_Anti-Colonialism "wikilink") for
resistance in colonised nations and [Timeline of
Anti-Imperialism](Timeline_of_Anti-Imperialism "wikilink") for
resistance in coloniser nations*

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The Anti-Iraq War Protests began in 2002 against the [invasion of
Iraq](Iraq_War_\(2003\) "wikilink"), held in 3,000 cities and towns the
protests
## Beginning in 2002, and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, large-scale **protests against the Iraq War** were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world.
In the harsh words of [Peter Gelderloos](Peter_Gelderloos "wikilink"):
"The movement accomplished nothing. It did not stop or limit the war, it
didlts not end the occupation, and if it made any real difference in its
participants' lives, it did so without a trace, since they so promptly
abandoned it."\[1\]
1. [Peter Gelderloos](Peter_Gelderloos "wikilink") (2015) - [The
Failure of Nonviolence](The_Failure_of_Nonviolence "wikilink")

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*Not to be confused with [anti-communism](Anti-Communism "wikilink")*
**Anti-Leninism** refers to an opposition to leninism and authoritarian
socialism more generally by the left.
## Anti-Leninist Uprisings
- 1918: Left SR Uprising
- 1918: [Ukrainian
Revolution](Ukrainian_Revolution#Anarchism "wikilink")
- 1920: [Tambov Rebellion](Tambov_Rebellion "wikilink")
- 1921: Tyumen Revolt
- 1921: [Kronstadt Rebellion](Kronstadt_Rebellion "wikilink")
- 1953: East German Uprising
- 1956: Poland Uprising
- 1956: Hungarian Revolution
- 1967:[January Storm](January_Storm_\(China\) "wikilink")
- 1968: [Prague Spring](Prague_Spring "wikilink")

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'''Anti-Semitism '''is hostility to, prejudice, or discrimination
against Jews and is a form of [racism](racism "wikilink"). It is unique
among racism for its persistent, scale of brutality and formation of
[conspiracy theories](Conspiracy_Theory "wikilink").
## Anti-Semitism by State
### Germany

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**Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook** is a 2017 book by Mark Bray that
discusses the history and philosophy behind the
[anti-fascist](Anti-Fascism "wikilink") movement.
## Summary
### One: <em>¡No Pasarán\!</em>: Anti-Fascism Through 1945
### Two: “Never Again”: The Development of Modern Antifa, 1945–2003
### Three: The Rise of “Pinstripe Nazis” and Anti-Fascism Today
### Four: Five Historical Lessons for Anti-Fascists
This chapter draws on five key lessons that the anti-fascist movement
must learn in order to become more effective. They are:
1. Fascist revolutions have never succeeded. Fascists gained power
legally
2. To varying degrees, many interwar anti-fascist leaders and theorists
assumed that fascism was simply a variant of traditional
counterrevolution politics. They did not take it seriously enough
until it was too late.
3. For ideological and organizational reasons, socialist and communist
leadership was often slower to assess the threat of fascism, and
slower to advocate militant anti-fascist responses, than their
parties rank-and-file membership.
4. Fascism steals from left ideology, strategy, imagery and culture.
5. It doesn't take many fascists to make fascism.
### Five: “So Much for the Tolerant Left\!”: “No Platform” and Free Speech
### Six: Strategy, (Non)Violence, and Everyday Anti-Fascism
### Conclusion: Good Night White Pride (or Whiteness Is Indefensible)
## External Links
- [Antifa: The Antifascist
Handbook](https://libcom.org/library/antifa-anti-fascist-handbook)
at [libcom](libcom "wikilink")

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**Antoinette Cauvin** or '''Madame Sorgue '''(1864 - 1924) was an
[anarcho-syndicalist](Anarcho-Syndicalism "wikilink") activist and
organizer, considered the 'the most dangerous woman in Europe'.\[1\]
## Life
### Family
Antoinette's family was very wealthy and members of the aristocracy, her
grandfather was the Russian general Piotr Chripcov, military attaché to
the Russian embassy in Washington DC, and her father was a
[Fourierist](Charles_Fourier "wikilink") doctor named Joseph-Pierre
Durand de Gros.
She had a key role in founding several socialist groups in the
department of the Aveyron, where she was brought up (her name Madame
Sorgue derives from the name of the river that runs through the
department but may also involve an anagram of her surname Gros and
sorge, ta German word for trouble)). A gifted orator, she was also a
journalist, working first on the daily the Journal des Débats. She
married a journalist Auguste Cauvin, another journalist ( who also used
a pseudonym-D’Arsac- after the estate owned by the Durand de Gros
family) who also had similar ideas to her. In 1884 they attempted to set
up a Fourierist colony in Brazil but this turned out to be a total
failure and they were forced to return to France after several months.
She tried, like her grandfather and father, to put her ideas into
practice at Arsac, but again this proved to be a failure and the land
had to be sold. Local inhabitants recalled her haranguing the workers of
the estate on socialism during their breaks and singing the
International. She was known by local peasants as the “femno del diaples
( local dialect for the devil’s woman).
She joined the Blanquist Parti Socialiste Revolutionnaire (PSR) of
Edouard Vaillant and represented three of its Aveyron groups at the
general socialist congresses of Paris in 1889 and 1900. She took most of
the Aveyron groups with her into the Parti Socialiste de France after
the Millerand affair (Millerand was a socialist who had joined a
non-socialist government). She represented them at the socialist unity
congress of Paris in April 1905 which led to the formation of the SFIO
(French Section of the Workers International) . She was a delegate to
the congress at Nancy in 1907. Here she supported Madeline Pelletier
over the right to the vote for women. Pelletier agreed that the working
class would gain nothing from the ballot box, but working class women
should be accorded the same rights as their male counterparts, having
then the choice of rejecting the vote. Sorgue declared : “ I do not
believe that woman can emancipate herself by voting slip. I believe that
the woman who interests us, which is the proletarian woman, can only
emancipate herself through the syndical struggle, that is to say the
economic struggle”. She allied herself with the “insurrectionalist” wing
of the SFIO around Gustav Hervé, which was strongly anti-electoral,
anti-parliamentarian and anti-militarist, and influenced by the ideas of
syndicalism and anarchism.
In 1905 she supported the strike of textile workers in Limoges where the
droit de cuissage ( sexual harassment of women workers by bosses and
foremen) was one of the main causes of the strike. It was only she and
the anarchists who really highlighted the problems this posed. She
praised the courage of the women workers, adding that “Wherever I go, in
the North, in the Midi, in the East,in the West, in the Centre, in
France and abroad, it is the same indignant protest I gather from the
mouths of the wives and daughters of workers: we are the victims of the
lubricity of the males of the bourgeoisie and of the foremen”.
Breaking with bourgeois feminism, she attacked the institutions of
marriage and the family. In March 1906 the Courrieres Colliery disaster
in northern France claimed the lives of one thousand, one hundred and
one miners. In the outbreak of protest and the strike that followed,
2,000 anarchists and syndicalists led by the anarchist miner Benoit
Broutchoux and by Sorgue converged on the town hall and attempted to
storm it, but were beaten back by the police.
In 1907 she was deeply involved in the strike of the women cheesemakers
at Roquefort. This not only involved the appalling conditions that these
women had to suffer, but the same sexual harassment that the women
workers of Limoges had protested against.
In 1908 she remained seated when King Carlos of Portugal entered the
Lisbon International Peace Conference. He had her imprisoned at Oporto
as a result. Thousands of workers demonstrated in Lisbon against this
and the authorities then decided to expel her, sending her down the
Tagus accompanied by a gunboat because a demonstration in her support
was taking place in Lisbon. In 1907 and 1908 she took part in the mass
movements in Northern Italy in Genoa, Milan, and Turin. She was invited
to speak to a demonstration to be followed by a party for children of
strikers in Milan. As a result of this she was arrested for apologising
for regicide for calling for the assassination of Victor Emmanuel (
which she denied). She was acquitted but still had to serve a long
prison sentence on the charge of anti-militarism\!
She headed the women's hunger march on Tower Hill in London during the
1912 dockers' strike. She also took part in the agitation during the
Tonypandy strike. Many times she had to escape from hostile mobs. She
was the only woman present at the 1910 Seamen's conference in Antwerp,
speaking there for the French dockers. In 1911 she spent some time in
Hull, during and perhaps after the June dockers’ strike, where she did
much agitational work, endearing herself to many workers in Hull. There
she was under considerable pressure from the ship-owners, merchants and
the authorities. In this period she did much to popularise the new ideas
of French syndicalism, speaking in Scotland, England and south Wales and
supplementing the work of Tom Mann and the Industrial Syndicalist
Education League. She visited Glasgow on several occasions where she
addressed mass meetings.
In 1914 she spoke at Ardrossan in Scotland alongside Ben Tillett and Joe
Houghton during the dockers’ strike. With the outbreak of the First
World War, she rejected internationalist positions and took one of
“national defence”. In fact , from ferociously denouncing capitalist
wars just a few months before, she like most of the insurrectionalists,
including her husband and Hervé, transformed themselves into the worst
ultra-patriots. This ruined her revolutionary reputation in the long
run. The “Louise Michel Aveyronnaise” ( another of her nicknames) gave a
speech on 18th June 1921 calling for the need to rebuild a bloc of the
Left at Rodez in the Aveyron. The audience was not impressed. As one of
them wrote, “Alas, everyone remarked that this was not our Louise. She
much wanted to declare herself a socialist and syndicalist, very proud
of carrying the flag of the miners’ federation but dropped a depth
charge against the Russian Revolution”.
She now spent most of her time in London and died there on 18th February
1924. She was found dead in bed at the Bonnington Hotel on Southampton
Row, apparently of a heart attack. She had come on behalf of the Belgian
paper L'Indépendance Belge to interview J. R. Clynes and Lloyd George.
Antoinette Cauvin (1864 - 18 February 1924), known by the pseudonym of
Madame Sorgue and Madame Trouble1, was a French anarcho-syndicalist. The
name of Sorgue comes from the German "Sorge" meaning "worries, problem",
being the one that brings them1, this explaining its anglicized version:
Madame Trouble. Another interpretation as to the origin of her name
comes from the Sorgues, an Aveyron river to which she borrowed her
name2. Having participated in a large number of strikes in Europe, she
traveled extensively in France, Portugal, Italy, Wales, England3 and
Scotland (notably during the dockers' strike in Leith in 1913 4).
Biography
Madame Sorgue was born in 1864, daughter of the Fourierist physician and
philosopher Joseph-Pierre Durand de Gros, whose name comes from the
domain of Gros, located in Arsac, now in the agglomeration ruthénoise,
in the Aveyron where she is from2 .
After having played a predominant role in the creation of several
socialist groups in Aveyron, and joining the Blanquist Party of
Revolutionary Socialist Party, she represented three of these groups in
1889 and 1890 at the International Socialist Congress in Paris2. She is
still their representative in 1905, at the Congress of the Globe, in
Paris, which will see the appearance of the SFIO2.
In 1905, she participated in the strike of textile workers in Limoges,
whose main claim was against the right of cuissage in force for women
workers2. In 1907, it is in Roquefort, beside the workers of the cheese
factories of the city that she is present. They protested less for
better working conditions than for the sexual abuse they suffered2.
She was reputed to be "the most dangerous woman in Europe" 1, because of
her role in spreading French syndicalist ideas and methods in Britain.
Feminist, Ms. Sorgue is in opposition to anti-parliamentarians and
anarchists on the issue of the right to vote of women, and is strongly
critical of the dominant family model and marriage. Speaker and
journalist, she wrote for the Journal des débats.
In 1914, during the First World War, she was one of the few anarchists
to be in favor of war.
She died of a heart attack on February 18, 1924 in London, at the
Bonnington Hotel on Southamton Row2,1,5,6.
<https://libcom.org/history/cauvin-nee-durand-de-gros-antoinette-aka-madame-sorgue-1864-1924>
<https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Sorgue>
1. <https://libcom.org/history/cauvin-nee-durand-de-gros-antoinette-aka-madame-sorgue-1864-1924>

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**Antonie Pannekoek** (1873 - 1960) was an
[astronomer](Science "wikilink"), astrophysicist and [council
communist](Council_Communism "wikilink").
## Life
### Early Life and Scientific Career
Anton was born in Vaassen, [Netherlands](Netherlands "wikilink") in
1873, he had an interest in astronomy (the study of objects in space
such as comets, planets, stars and galaxies) from an early age, making
observations of the star
[Polaris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaris) from a young age. He
studied mathematics and physics at the University of Leiden in 1891 and
published his first article "On the Necessity of Further Researches on
the Milky Way". After graduating, he was appointed as an observer at the
Leiden Observatory, he gained a PhD in 1902, a dissertation titled:
"Studies on the light change
[Algols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algol)". He had a child in 1905
(who became a world-renowned geologist) with his wife Aaltje
Noordewier-Reddingius.\[1\]
### Political Shift
Anton had been a [liberal](Liberalism "wikilink") for most of his life,
but became a socialist after reading books by [Edward
Bellamy](Edward_Bellamy "wikilink") and began to study [Karl
Marx](Karl_Marx "wikilink"). He left the observatory in Leiden after
becoming dissatisfied with his work and moved to Belin. He became a
teacher at a school owned by the [Social
Democrats](Social_Democrats_\(Germany\) "wikilink") and published
political articles for magazines.\[2\]
### Return to the Netherlands
At the start of [World War I](World_War_I "wikilink"), he was on holiday
in the Netherlands and did not want to return to Germany, instead
becoming a teacher in physics, chemistry and maths. After the war, he
became fiercly criticial of [Lenin's](Vladimir_Lenin "wikilink") actions
in the [October Revolution](October_Revolution "wikilink") and
[authoritarian socialism](Authoritarian_Socialism "wikilink") in
general. In 1925, he became a lecturer at the [University of
Amsterdam](University "wikilink") and was elected to the Royal
Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (actions that angered the
government, as he was a libertarian communist).
He traveled extensively through [Indonesia](Indonesia "wikilink") to
observe solar eclipses and mapped the sky in the southern hemisphere.
His application of quantum mechanics and physics to astronomy lead him
to being the founder of astrophysics in the Netherlands. He recieved an
honory doctorate from Harvard University in 1936 and in 1951 the Gold
Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society. The astronomical institute of
the University of Amsterdam, the Anton Pannekoek Institute, which he
founded was named after him.\[3\]
## References
<references />
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") (Dutch) -
<https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Pannekoek>
2.
3.

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**Apartheid** was a horrific system of racial segregation that happened
in South Africa from 1948 to 1991 (although it is debated if it actually
ended in 1994).

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The **Arab Spring** was a chain of [revolutions](Revolution "wikilink"),
armed insurrection, riots and protests across the 'Arab World' (much of
North Africa and Western Asia) from late
[2010](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Northern_Africa "wikilink")
to [2012](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Western_Asia "wikilink").
The event toppled several dictators, caused several civil wars, led to
major reforms and inspired movements like
[15M](15M_Movement "wikilink"), [Occupy](Occupy_Movement "wikilink"),
[Gezi Park](Gezi_Park_Uprising "wikilink") and the [Second Arab
Spring](Second_Arab_Spring "wikilink").
## Causes
- Authoritarianism
- Monarchy
- Demographic structural factors
- 2000s energy crisis
- Political corruption
- Human rights violations
- Unemployment
- Inflation
- Kleptocracy
- Poverty
- Sectarianism
- Self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi
## States Affected by the Arab Spring
- Tunisia: President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ousted, charged, exiled
and government overthrown.
- Egypt: President Hosni Mubarak ousted, arrested, charged, and
government overthrown.
- Libya: Leader Muammar Gaddafi killed following a civil war that saw
a foreign military intervention, and government overthrown.
- Yemen: President Ali Abdullah Saleh ousted, and power handed to a
national unity government.
- Syria: President Bashar al-Assad faced civil uprising against his
rule that deteriorated into armed rebellion and eventual full-scale
civil war.
- Bahrain: Civil uprising against the government crushed by
authorities and Saudi-led intervention.

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The **Arditi Del Popolo** (English: People's Daring Ones) was an
[anti-fascist](Anti-Fascism "wikilink")
[militia](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Organizations "wikilink") active
in [Italy](Kingdom_of_Italy "wikilink") to combat
[fascism](fascism "wikilink") from [1921 to
1925](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Southern_Europe "wikilink").
It was the first example of a militant anti-fascist group in history.
## History
Founded by Argo Secondari in Rome in late June 1921, it built an
alliance of anarchists, communists, socialists and republicans in the
structure of a [democratic militia](Democratic_Militia "wikilink"). In a
few months they had 144 sections with over 20,000 members, and won
several gunfights with fascist gangs.
## Downfall
The downfall and failure of the Arditi Del Popolo occurred for two main
reasons.
- The fascists received large amounts of financial and material
support from the rich and police, the Arditi del Popolo did not
recieve the same kind of support from anywhere.
- The [Leninist](Authoritarian_Socialism "wikilink") Communist Party
of Italy and Italian Socialist Party withdrew support from the group
for political purposes to try and win the [class
war](Class_Struggle "wikilink") through parliamentary means as well
as achieve peace with [Mussolini](Benito_Mussolini "wikilink").
Leaving only the [Italian Anarchist
Union](Italian_Anarchist_Union "wikilink") and [Italian Syndicalist
Union](Italian_Syndicalist_Union "wikilink").\[1\]
## Legacy
Many former members of the Arditi Del Popolo fought in the International
Brigades in the [Spanish Civil War](Spanish_Civil_War "wikilink") and
during the [Italian Resistance](Italian_Resistance "wikilink") in [World
War II](World_War_II "wikilink").\[2\]
## References
<references />
1. [Mark Bray](Mark_Bray "wikilink") - [Antifa: The Antifascist
Handbook](Antifa:_The_Antifascist_Handbook "wikilink")
2. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") (Italian) -
<https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arditi_del_Popolo>

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The **Argentine Republic** is a [liberal](Liberalism "wikilink"),
[colonial](Colonialism "wikilink"), [capitalist](Capitalism "wikilink")
[state](List_of_States "wikilink") in South America, bordered by Chile,
Uruguay, Paraguay, [Bolivia](Bolivia "wikilink"),
[Brazil](Brazil "wikilink") and the Falkland Islands.
## Major Social Struggles
- [Argentinazo](Argentinazo "wikilink")
- [Esquel Anti-Mine Movement](Esquel_Anti-Mine_Movement "wikilink")

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The '''Argentinazo '''was a
[near-revolution](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Revolutions "wikilink")
in [Argentina](Argentina "wikilink") in
[2001](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_South_America "wikilink"),
where hundreds of workplaces were taken over and
[self-managed](Workers'_Self-Management "wikilink"), [popular
assemblies](Democratic_Assembly "wikilink") governed a third of the
country, fought police in the streets and created a [solidarity
economy](Solidarity_Economy "wikilink") with millions of participants.

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**Armenia** is a liberal capitalist [state](List_of_States "wikilink")
located in Northwest Asia, bordering [Russia](Russia "wikilink"),
[Azerbaijan](Azerbaijan "wikilink"), [Georgia](Georgia "wikilink"),
[Turkey](Turkey "wikilink") and [Iran](Iran "wikilink").

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**Arthur Herbert "Slim" Evans** (1890 - 1944) was a [trade
unionist](Trade_Union "wikilink") and [communist](Communism "wikilink").
## Life
Nothing is known about Arthur's childhood, but he left Toronto in 1911
and worked as a [farmer](Agriculture "wikilink") and carpenter. In
[Minneapolis](United_States_of_America "wikilink") he became involved
with the [IWW](Industrial_Workers_of_the_World "wikilink"), and was shot
during the [Ludlow Massacre](Ludlow_Massacre "wikilink"), leading to him
walking with a limp for the rest of his life.
He returned to Canada and joined the [One Big
Union](One_Big_Union "wikilink"), helping to represent
[coal](Fossil_Fuels "wikilink") [miners](Mining "wikilink"). He was
arrested for five years over union activity, and became an early member
of the Communist Party of Canada. During the [Great
Depression](Great_Depression "wikilink"), he helped organise unemployed
workers across Canada. He participated in the [On-to-Ottawa
Trek](On-to-Ottawa_Trek "wikilink") and [Regina
Riot](Regina_Riot "wikilink"), and raised funds for volunteer fighters
in the [Spanish Civil War](Spanish_Civil_War "wikilink").
He was killed after being hit by a car in Vancouver, 1944.\[1\]
## References
<references />
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_%22Slim%22_Evans>

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**Arthur Caron** (1883 - 1914) was an anarchist and a member of the
[Industrial Workers of the
World](Industrial_Workers_of_the_World "wikilink"). He masterminded an
attempt to assassinate John D. Rockefeller using a bomb constructed from
dynamite. While building the device, [he was killed
along](Lexington_Avenue_Explosion "wikilink") with Carl Hanson, and
Charles Berg on July 4, 1914, when his bomb prematurely exploded. The
blast also killed a renter of the building who was not part of the plot
and injured dozens of others. In the wake of Caron's death, some 5,000
mourners gathered in New York's Union Square, where anarchist leaders
Alexander Berkman and Rebecca Edelson among others spoke in memory of
those who died.\[1\]
## References
<references />
1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Caron>

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The **Aruba Oilworkers Strike** was a
[strike](List_of_Strikes "wikilink") in
[2006](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_the_Caribbean "wikilink") in
Aruba, a territory of the [Netherlands](Netherlands "wikilink") in the
Caribbean.
In 2004, Valero, the largest independent oil refiner in the United
States, bought a refinery plant on the coast of Aruba. The workers of
the refinery were a part of the Independent Oil Workers Union of Aruba.
In September 2006, they signed an agreement to become members of the
United Steelworkers International Union. At this time, Jay Jeffries, the
lead negotiator from the United Steel Workers, met with Ray Buckley,
vice president and general manager of the refinery, to discuss a new
contract for the refinery workers.
Although Union officials and Valero worked on a new agreement from
September on, they failed to finalize a contract. On Tuesday November
28, half of the workforce, about 385 workers, went on strike and asked
for higher pay and more benefits. Since the non-unionized workers did
not participate in the strike, the refinery maintained operation at
normal pace while some of the workers went on strike.
On Wednesday November 29, 15% of the workers (about 50 workers) returned
to work. Despite this partial capitulation, the strike remained strong.
Valero executives argued that union workers had no right to strike
because the company gave its workers very competitive wages and benefit
packages compared to other jobs on the island. Their previous contract
included a 47% increase in salary and benefits over their five-year
contract, as well as a 12% boost in salary and benefits the first year
of working for Valero.
Valero attempted to convince employees that their contracts were fair.
They reminded workers that they no longer had to pay three percent of
their income to their pension plan, as Valero covered those costs.
Valero also invested $360 million to make the refinery safer, more
reliable and more environmentally friendly for its workers. However,
workers insisted on a three to four-year contract instead of a five-year
contract, better wages, and more vacation days. Employees asked for
vacation days that were in accord with the island lifestyle, but Valero
wanted to give them the same vacation time that they gave to workers in
the United States.
On December 4, 2006, union workers ended the strike by signing a
five-year contract with Valero. Jerry Rasmijn, a mediator from the
Aruban government, helped both Buckley and Jeffries come to an agreement
for the workers and the company. The package included significant wage
and shift differential increases, improvements to their pension plans,
and enhancements to insurance programs. 95% of the employees accepted
the agreement and planned to return to work the next day on December 5.

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**As We Don't See It** is a 1972 pamphlet written by [Chris
Pallis](Chris_Pallis "wikilink") and published in
[Solidarity](Solidarity_\(UK\) "wikilink"). It builds upon his previous
1967 pamphlet, [As We See It](As_We_See_It_\(Pamphlet\) "wikilink") and
responds to many of the confusions about his pamphlet, and doubles down
on a harsh criticism of [authoritarian
socialism](Authoritarian_Socialism "wikilink").
## Transcript
When, in 1967, we first published *As We See It* we felt it would be
both accurate and a fairly concise summary of our views. Alternatives
had been discussed and every possible effort had been made to avoid
ambiguities. We thought we had produced a fairly explicit text,
acceptance of which should be the basis of adherence to a *Solidarity*
group.
Over the years we have come to realize that we were wrong. There was
either something the matter with the document - or with some of those
who read it. Or perhaps there was something the matter with us - for
having thought the text was self-explanatory. Radicals repeatedly told
us that they agreed with every word of the statement ... and in the next
breath asked us why we were not doing faction work in the Labour Party,
or living in communes, or campaigning for the trade union "lefts", or
eulogizing the [Black Panthers](Black_Panther_Party "wikilink") or
Karume's anti-imperialist regime in Zanzibar, or participating in the
anti-Common-Market agitation. Some even asked why we were not advocating
the launching of a "real revolutionary, Leninist party".
We now feel it necessary to dot some i's and cross some t's. What
follows is an attempt to state explicitly thoughts that were only hinted
at, and to formulate in writing propositions that were only implied. *As
We Don't See It* would convey the general tenor of what follows. In an
attempt to avoid further ambiguity we will also discuss some matters
that were not dealt with in the original text.
1\. "Throughout the world" means exactly what it says. It does not mean
everywhere except Social-Democratic Sweden, Castro's Cuba, Tito's
Yugoslavia, Israel's [kibbutzim](kibbutzim "wikilink") or Sékou Touré's
Guinea. "Throughout the world" includes pre-Stalinist, Stalinist and
post-Stalinist Russia, Ben Bella's and Boumedienne's Algeria and the
People's Republics of Uzbekistan and North Vietnam. Everywhere also
includes Albania (and China).
Our comments about contemporary society apply to all these countries
just as much as to the USA or to Britain (under either
[Labour](Labour_Party_\(UK\) "wikilink") or Conservative governments).
When we talk of privileged minorities who "control the means of
production" and who "use the whole machinery of the state" to maintain
themselves in power we are making a universal critique to which, at the
moment, we can see no exceptions.
It *follows* that we don't regard any of these countries as socialist
and that we don't act as if we had lurking suspicions that they might be
something other than what they are: hierarchically-structured class
societies based on wage slavery and exploitation. Their identification
with socialism - even as deformed variants - is a slander against the
very concept of socialism (abortions, after all, share some of the
attributes of their parents). It is moreover a source of endless
mystification and confusion. It also follows from this basic assessment
that we do not support China against Russia, or Russia against China (or
alternatively the one and then other), that we do not carry NLF flags on
demonstrations (the enemies of our enemies are not necessarily our
friends), and that we refrain from joining sundry choruses demanding
more East-West trade, more Summit Conferences or more ping-pong
diplomacy.
In every country of the world the rulers oppress the ruled and persecute
genuine revolutionaries. In every country the main enemy of the people
is their own ruling class. This alone can provide the basis of genuine
internationalism of the oppressed.
2\. Socialism cannot be equated with the "coming of power of parties
claiming to represent the working class". Political power is a fraud if
working people do not take over and retain power *in production*. If
they achieve such power, the organs exerting it (Workers' Councils) will
take and implement all the necessary political decisions. *It follows*
that we don't advocate the formation of "better" or "more revolutionary
political parties whose objective would remain the "capture of state
power". The *Party's* power may grow out of the barrel of a gun. The
power of the *working class* grows out of its management of the economy
and of society as a whole.
Socialism cannot be equated with such measures as the "nationalization
of the means of production". These may help the rulers of various class
societies to rationalize *their* system of exploitation and solve *their
own* problems. We refuse to choose between options defined by our class
enemies. *It follows* that we don't urge nationalization (or anything
else for that matter) on governments of either "right" or "left".
Section 2 implies that modern capitalism *can* further develop the means
of production. At a cost, it can improve living standards. But neither
of these has any socialist content. Anyone who wants three square meals
a day and the prospect of endless employment can find them in any
well-run gaol. *It follows* that we don't denounce capitalism primarily
on the basis of its inadequacies in these fields. Socialism, for us, is
not about transistors for the prisoners. It is about the destruction of
the industrial prison itself. It is not only about more bread, but about
who runs the bakery.
The section finally emphasizes the multiple methods whereby the system
perpetuates itself. By mentioning *propaganda* as well as policemen,
*schools* as well as prisons, *traditional values* and *traditional
morality* as well as traditional methods of physical coercion, the
section stresses an important obstacle to the achievement of a free
society, namely the fact that the vast majority of the exploited and the
manipulated have internalized and largely accepted the system's norms
and values (for example such concepts as hierarchy, the division of
society into order-givers and order-takers, wage labour, and the
polarity of sexual roles) and consider them intrinsically rational.
Because of all this *it follows* that we reject as incomplete (and hence
inadequate) notions which attribute the perpetuation of the system
solely to police repression or to the "betrayals" of various political
or trade union leaders.
A crisis of values and an increased questioning of authority relations
are, however, developing features of contemporary society. The growth of
these crises is one of the preconditions for socialist revolution.
Socialism will only be possible when the majority of people understand
the need for social change, become aware of their ability to transform
society, decide to exert their collective power to this end, and know
with what they want to replace the present system. *It follows* that we
reject analyses (such as those of every variety of Leninist or
Trotskyist) who define the main crisis of modern society as "a crisis of
leadership". They are all generals in search of an army, for whom
recruitment figures are the main yardstick of success. For us
revolutionary change is a question of consciousness: the consciousness
that would make generals redundant.
3\. When we refer to the "traditional parties of the left" we don't only
have in mind the social-democratic and "communist" parties. Parties of
this type have administered, administer and will continue to administer
exploitative class societies. Under the title of "traditional parties of
the left" we also include the trad revs \[traditional revolutionaries\],
i.e. the various Leninist, Trotskyist and Maoid sects who are the
carriers of state capitalist ideology and the embryonic nuclei of
repressive, state-capitalist power.
These groups are prefigurations of alternative types of exploitation.
Their critiques of the social-democratic and "Stalinist" or
"revisionist" left appear virulent enough, but they never deal with
fundamentals (such as the structure of decision-making, the locus of
power, the primacy of the Party, the existence of hierarchy, the
maximization of surplus value, the perpetuation of wage labour, and
inequality). This is no accident and flows from the fact that they
themselves accept these fundamentals. Bourgeois ideology is far more
widespread than many revolutionaries believe and has in fact deeply
permeated their thinking. In this sense Marx's statement about "the
dominant ideas of each epoch being the ideas of its ruling class" is far
more true than Marx could ever have anticipated.
As far as authoritarian class society (and the libertarian-socialist
alternative) is concerned *the trad revs are part of the problem*, *not
part of the solution*. Those who subscribe to social-democratic or
Bolshevik ideology are themselves either victims of the prevailing
mystification (and attempts should be made to demystify them), or they
are the conscious exponents and future beneficiaries of a new form of
class rule (and should be ruthlessly exposed). In either case *it
follows* that there is nothing "sectarian" in systematically proclaiming
opposition to what they stand for. Not to do so would be tantamount to
suppressing our critique of half of the prevailing social order. It
would mean to participate in the general mystification of traditional
politics (where one thinks one thing and says another) and to deny the
very basis of our *independent* political existence.
4\. Because the traditional parties cannot be "reformed", "captured", or
converted into instruments of working class emancipation - and because
we are reluctant to indulge in double-talk and double-think - *it
follows* that we do not indulge in such activities as "critically
supporting" the Labour Party at election time, calling for "Labour to
Power" between elections, and generally participating in sowing
illusions, the better at a later date to "take people through the
experience" of seeing through them. The Labour and Communist Parties may
be marginally superior to the Conservative Party in driving private
capitalism along the road to state capitalism. The trad revs would
certainly prove superior to them both. But we are not called upon to
make any choice of the kind: it is not the role of revolutionaries to be
the midwives of new forms of exploitation. *It follows* that we would
rather fight for what we want (even if we don't immediately get it) than
fight for what we don't want ... and get it.
The trade union bureaucracy is an essential component of developing
state capitalist societies. The trade union leaders neither "betray" nor
"sell out" when they manipulate working class struggles and seek to use
them for their own ends. They are not "traitors" when they seek to
increase their material rewards or to lessen the frequency with which
they have to submit to election - they are acting logically and
according to their own interests, which just happen to be different from
those of working people. *It follows* that we do not urge people to
elect "better" leaders, to "democratize" the unions or to create new
ones, which under the circumstances of today would suffer exactly the
same fate as the old ones. All these are "non-issues" about which only
those who have failed to grasp the real root of the problem can get
worked up.
The real need is to concentrate on the *positive* task of building the
alternative (both in people's minds and in reality), namely *autonomous
job organizations*, linked to others in the same industry and elsewhere,
and controlled from below. Sooner or later such organizations will
either enter into conflict with the existing outfits claiming to
"represent" the working class (and it would be premature at this stage
to define the possible forms of this conflict), or they will bypass the
old organizations altogether.
5\. This section differentiates our concept of socialism from most of
those prevailing today. Socialism, for us, is not just a question of
economic reorganization from which other benefits will "inevitably"
follow, without *consciously* being fought for. It is a *total* vision
of a *completely* different society. Such a vision is linked to the
*total critique* of capitalism we have previously referred to.
Social-democrats and Bolsheviks denounce equality as "utopian",
"petty-bourgeois", or "anarchist". They dismiss the advocacy of freedom
as "abstract", and reciprocal recognition as "liberal humanism". They
will concede that the radical transformation of all social relations is
a valid ultimate objective, but cannot see it as an essential, immediate
ingredient of the very process of meaningful change.
When we talk of "man's positive self-consciousness" and of "his
understanding of his environment and of himself we mean the gradual
discarding of myths and of all types of false consciousness (religion,
nationalism, patriarchal attitudes, the belief in the rationality of
hierarchy, etc.). The precondition of human freedom is the understanding
of all that limits it. Positive self-consciousness implies the gradual
breakdown of that state of chronic schizophrenia in which - through
conditioning and other mechanisms - most people succeed in carrying
mutually incompatible ideas in their heads. It means accepting
coherence, and perceiving the relation of means and ends. It means
exposing those who organize conferences about "workers' control" ...
addressed by union officials elected for life. It means patiently
explaining the incompatibilities of "people's capitalism",
"parliamentary socialism", "Christian communism", "anarcho-Zionism",
"Party-led 'workers' councils' ", and other such rubbish. It means
understanding that a non-manipulative society cannot be achieved by
manipulative means or a classless society through hierarchical
structures. This attempt at both gaining insight and at imparting it
will be difficult and prolonged. It will doubtless be dismissed as
"intellectual theorizing" by every "voluntarist" or "activist" tendency,
eager for short cuts to the promised land and more concern with movement
than with direction.
Because we think people can and should understand what they are doing,
*it follows* that we reject many of the approaches so common in the
movement today. In practice this means avoiding the use of revolutionary
myths and the resort to manipulated confrontations, intended to raise
consciousness. Underlying both of these is the usually unformulated
assumption that people cannot understand social reality and act
rationally on their own.
Linked to our rejection of revolutionary myths is our rejection of
ready-made political labels. We want no gods, not even those of the
Marxist or anarchist pantheons. We live in neither the Petrograd of 1917
nor the Barcelona of 1936. We are *ourselves*: the product of the
disintegration of traditional politics, in an advanced industrial
country, in the second half of the twentieth century. It is to the
problems and conflicts of *that* society that we must apply ourselves.
Although we consider ourselves part of the "libertarian left" we differ
from most strands of the "cultural" or "political" underground. We have
nothing in common, for instance, with those petty entrepreneurs, now
thriving on the general confusion, who simultaneously promote such
commodities as oriental mysticism, black magic, the drug cult, sexual
exploitation (masquerading as sexual liberation) - seasoning it all with
big chunks of populist mythology. Their dissemination of myths and their
advocacy of "non-sectarian politics" do not prevent them from taking up,
in practice, many reactionary stances. In fact, they ensure it. Under
the mindless slogan of "Support for people in struggle", these
tendencies advocate support for various nationalisms (today always
reactionary) such as those of both IRAs and of all the NLFs.
Other strands, calling themselves "libertarian Marxist", suffer from
middle class feelings of guilt which make them prone to workeritis.
Despite this, their practice is both reformist and substitutionalist.
For instance, when they (correctly) support struggles for limited
objectives, such as those of squatters or Claimants' Unions, they often
fail to stress the revolutionary implications of such collective direct
action. Historically, direct action has often clashed with the reformist
nature of the objectives pursued. Again, such tendencies support the
IRAs and NLFs and refrain from criticizing the Cuban, North Vietnamese
or Chinese regimes. Having rejected the Party, they nevertheless share
with Leninism a bourgeois concept of consciousness.
Because we think our politics should be coherent we also reject the
approach of others in the libertarian movement who place their whole
emphasis on personal liberation or who seek individual solutions to what
are social problems. We dissociate ourselves from those who equate the
violence of the oppressor with the violence of the oppressed (in
condemnation of "all violence"), and from those who place the rights of
strikers on the picket line on the same footing as the right of scabs to
blackleg (in an abstract defence of "freedom as such"). Similarly,
anarcho-Catholicism and anarcho-Maoism are internally incoherent
outlooks, incompatible with revolutionary self-activity.
We feel that there should be some relation between our vision of
socialism and what we do here and now. *It follows* that we seek as from
now, and starting with those closest to us, to puncture some of the more
widely held political myths. These are not confined to the "right" -
with its belief that hierarchy and inequality are of the essence of the
human condition. We consider irrational (and/or dishonest) that those
who talk most of the masses (and of the capacity of the working class to
create a new society) should have the least confidence in people's
ability to dispense with leaders. We also consider it irrational that
most radical advocates of "genuine social change" should incorporate in
their own ideas, programmes and organizational prescriptions so many of
the values, priorities and models they claim to oppose.
6\. When we say that socialist society will be "built from below", we
mean just that. We do *not* mean "initiated from above and then endorsed
from below". Nor do we mean "planned from above and later checked from
below". We mean there should be no separation between organs of decision
and organs of execution. This is why we advocate workers' "management"
of production, and avoid the ambiguous demand for workers' "control".
(The differences - both theoretical and historical - between the two are
outlined in the introduction to our book on *The Bolsheviks and Workers'
Control, 1917-1921*.)
We deny the revolutionary organization any specific prerogative in the
post-revolutionary period, or in the building of the new society. Its
main function in this period will be to stress the primacy of the
Workers' Councils (and of bodies based on them) as instruments of
decisional authority, and to struggle against all those who would seek
to lessen or to bypass this authority - or to vest power elsewhere.
Unlike others on the left who dismiss thinking about the new society as
"preoccupation with the cookshops of the future" we have outlined our
ideas about a possible structure of such a society in some detail in our
pamphlet on *Workers' Councils and the Economics of a Self-Managed
Society*.
7\. This section is perhaps the most important and least understood of
the whole statement. It is the key to how we view our *practical work*.
It defines yardsticks with which we can approach everyday political life
and rationally use our mental and physical resources. It explains why we
consider certain questions significant while others are dismissed as
non-issues. Within the limits of our own coherence, it explains the
content of our paper.
Because we do not consider them of particular relevance to the attitudes
and aptitudes we seek to develop, we do not get worked up about such
matters as parliamentary or trade union elections (getting others to do
things for one), the Common Market or the convertibility crisis
(partisan involvement in the problems of the rulers is of no help to the
ruled), or about the struggle in Ireland or various putsches in Africa
("taking sides" in struggles waged under the domination of a totally
reactionary false consciousness). We cannot ignore these events without
ignoring a portion of reality but we can at least avoid endowing them
with a relevance to socialism they do not possess. Conversely we think
the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the French events of May 1968
*were* deeply significant (for they were struggles against bureaucracy,
and attempts at self-management in both Eastern and Western contexts).
These yardsticks also help clarify our attitude to various industrial
disputes. While most are a challenge to the employer, some have a deeper
socialist content than others. Why for instance are "unofficial" actions
on conditions of work, waged under the close control of the rank and
file, usually of deeper significance than "official" actions on
questions of wages, run from afar by the union bureaucrats? In terms of
the development of socialist consciousness *how* a struggle is waged and
what it is *about* are of fundamental importance. *Socialism*, after
all, *is about who takes the decisions*. We believe this needs
stressing, *in practice*, *from now*.
In our accounts of disputes our guide line is that one cannot tidy up
reality, and that more is gained by honestly analyzing real difficulties
than by living in a mythical world, where one takes one's wishes for
reality. *It follows* that we seek to avoid the "triumphalist" (in
reality manipulatory) tone that mars so much of the "interventions" of
the trad revs.
Finally the emphasis on self-activity, and its warning about the harmful
effects of manipulation, substitutionism or reliance on others to do
things for one have deeper implications, or relevance to our own
organization.
8\. We are not pacifists. We have no illusions about what we are up
against. In all class societies, institutional violence weighs heavily
and constantly on the oppressed. Moreover the rulers of such societies
have always resorted to more explicit physical repression when their
power and privileges were really threatened. Against repression by the
ruling class we endorse the people's right to self-defence, by whatever
means be appropriate.
The power of the rulers feeds on the indecision and confusion of the
ruled. Their power will only be overcome if confronted with ours: the
power of a conscious and self-reliant majority, knowing what it wants
and determined to get it. In modern industrial societies the power of
such a majority will lie where thousands congregate daily, to sell their
labour power in the production of goods and services.
Socialism cannot be the result of a putsch, of the capture of some
Palace, or of the blowing up of some Party or Police Headquarters,
carried out "on behalf of the people" or "to galvanize the masses". If
unsuccessful, all that such actions do is to create martyrs and myths -
and to provoke intensified repression. If "successful", they would only
substitute one ruling minority for another, i.e. bring about a new form
of exploitative society. Nor can socialism be introduced by
organizations themselves structured according to authoritarian,
hierarchical, bureaucratic or semi-military patterns. All that such
organizations have instituted (and, if "successful", are likely to
continue instituting) are societies in their own image.
*The social revolution is no Party matter*. It will be the action of the
immense majority, acting in the interests of the immense majority. The
failures of social-democracy and of Bolshevism are the failure of a
whole concept of politics, a concept according to which the oppressed
could entrust their liberation to others than themselves. This lesson is
gradually entering mass consciousness and preparing the ground for a
genuinely libertarian revolution.
9\. Because we reject Lenin's concept that the working class can only
develop a trade union (or reformist) consciousness *it follows* that we
reject the Leninist prescription that socialist consciousness has to be
brought to the people from outside, or injected into the movement by
political specialists: the professional revolutionaries. It further
follows that we cannot behave as if we held such beliefs.
Mass consciousness, however, is never a theoretical consciousness,
derived individually through the study of books. In modern industrial
societies socialist consciousness springs from the real conditions of
social life. These societies generate the conditions for an adequate
consciousness. On the other hand, because they are class societies, they
usually inhibit accession to that consciousness. Here lies both the
dilemma and the challenge confronting modern revolutionaries.
There *is* a role for conscious revolutionaries. *Firstly*, through
personal involvement, in one's own life and where possible at one's own
place of work. (Here the main danger lies in "prolier than thou"
attitudes, which lead people either to believe that there is little they
can do if they are not industrial workers, or to pretend to be what they
are not, in the false belief that the only relevant areas of struggle
are in relation to industry.) *Secondly*, by assisting others in
struggle, by providing them with help or information they are denied.
(Here the main danger lies in the offering of "interested help", where
recruitment of the militant to the "revolutionary" organization is as
much an objective of the "help" as is his victory in the struggle in
which he is involved.) *Finally*, by pointing out and explaining the
deep (but often hidden) relations between the socialist objective and
what people are driven to do, through their own experiences and needs.
(This is what we mean when we say revolutionaries should help make
"explicit" the "implicitly" socialist content of many modern struggles.)
10\. This section should differentiate *Solidarity* from the traditional
type of political organization. We are not a leadership and do not
aspire to be one. Because we do not want to lead or manipulate others,
we have no use for hierarchy or for manipulatory mechanisms within our
own ranks. Because we believe in the autonomy - ideological and
organizational - of the working class, we cannot deny groups such
autonomy within the Solidarity movement itself. On the contrary, we
should seek to encourage it.
On the other hand we certainly wish to influence others and to
disseminate Solidarity ideas (not just any ideas) as widely as possible.
This requires the co-ordinated activity of people or groups,
individually capable of self-activity and of finding their own level of
involvement and their own areas of work. The instruments of such
co-ordination should be flexible and vary according to the purpose for
which co-ordination is required.
We do not reject organizations as necessarily implying bureaucracy. If
we held such views there would be no socialist perspective whatsoever.
On the contrary, we hold that organizations whose mechanisms (and their
implications) are understood by all can alone provide the framework for
democratic decision-making. There are no institutional guarantees
against the bureaucratization of revolutionary groups. The only
guarantee is the perpetual awareness and self-mobilization of their
members. We are aware, however, of the danger of revolutionary groups
becoming "ends in themselves". In the past, loyalties to groups have
often superseded loyalties to ideas. Our prime commitment is to the
social revolution - not to any particular political group, not even to
Solidarity. Our organizational structure should certainly reflect the
need for mutual assistance and support. But we have *no* other ulterior
objectives, aspirations or ambitions. We therefore do not structure
ourselves as if we had.
## External Links
- [As We Don't See
It](https://www.marxists.org/archive/brinton/1972/as-we-dont-see-it.htm)
at [marxists.org](marxists.org "wikilink")

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'''As We See It '''is a 1967 leaflet written by [Chris
Pallis](Chris_Pallis "wikilink") and published by
[Solidarity](Solidarity_\(UK\) "wikilink"). It is brief plan of action
for creating a socialist society.
## Transcript
1\. Throughout the world the vast majority of people have no control
whatsoever over the decisions that most deeply and directly affect their
lives. They sell their labour power while others who own or control the
means of production accumulate wealth, make the laws and use the whole
machinery of the [State](State_\(Polity\) "wikilink") to perpetuate and
reinforce their privileged positions.
2\. During the past century the living standards of working people have
improved. But neither these improved living standards, nor the
nationalization of the means of production, nor the coming to power of
parties claiming to represent the working class have basically altered
the status of the worker. Nor have they given the bulk of mankind much
freedom outside of production. East and West, capitalism remains an
inhuman type of society where the vast majority are bossed at work and
manipulated in consumption and leisure. Propaganda and policemen,
prisons and schools, traditional values and traditional morality all
serve to reinforce the power of the few and to convince or coerce the
many into acceptance of a brutal, degrading and irrational system. The
"Communist" world is not communist and the "Free" world is not free.
3\. The trade unions and the traditional parties of the left started in
business to change all this. But they have come to terms with the
existing patterns of exploitation. In fact they are now essential if
exploiting society is to continue working smoothly. The unions act as
middlemen in the labour market. The political parties use the struggles
and aspirations of the working class for their own ends. The
degeneration of working class organizations, itself the result of the
failure of the revolutionary movement, has been a major factor in
creating working class apathy, which in turn has led to further
degeneration of both parties and unions.
4\. The trade unions and political parties cannot be reformed,
"captured", or converted into instruments of working class emancipation.
We don't call however for the proclamation of new unions, which in the
conditions of today would suffer a similar fate to the old ones. Nor do
we call for militants to tear up their union cards. Our aims are simply
that the workers themselves should decide on the objectives of their
struggles and that the control and organization of these struggles
should remain firmly in their own hands. The *forms* which this
self-activity of the working class may take will vary considerably from
country to country and from industry to industry. Its basic *content*
will not.
5\. Socialism is not just the [common ownership](Commons "wikilink") and
control of the means of production and distribution. It means equality,
real freedom, reciprocal recognition and a radical transformation in all
human relations. It is man's understanding of his environment and of
himself, his domination over his work and over such social institutions
as he may need to create. These are not secondary aspects, which will
automatically follow the expropriation of the ruling class. On the
contrary they are essential parts of the whole process of social
transformation, for without them no genuine social transformation will
have taken place.
6\. A socialist society can therefore only be built from below.
Decisions concerning production and work will be taken by Workers'
Councils composed of elected and revocable delegates. Decisions in other
areas will be taken on the basis of the widest possible discussion and
consultation among the people as a whole. This democratization of
society down to its very roots is what we mean by "workers' power".
7\. *Meaningful action*, for revolutionaries, is whatever increases the
confidence the autonomy, the initiative, the participation, the
solidarity, the equalitarian tendencies and the self-activity of the
masses and whatever assists in their demystification. *Sterile and
harmful action* is whatever reinforces the passivity of the masses,
their apathy, their cynicism, their differentiation through hierarchy,
their alienation, their reliance on others to do things for them and the
degree to which they can therefore be manipulated by others - even by
those allegedly acting on their behalf.
8\. No ruling class in history has ever relinquished its power without a
struggle and our present rulers are unlikely to be an exception. Power
will only be taken from them through the conscious, autonomous action of
the vast majority of the people themselves. The building of socialism
will require mass understanding and mass participation. By their rigid
hierarchical structure, by their ideas and by their activities, both
social-democratic and Bolshevik types of organizations discourage this
kind of understanding and prevent this kind of participation. The idea
that socialism can somehow be achieved by an elite party (however
"revolutionary") acting "on behalf of the working class is both absurd
and reactionary.
9\. We do not accept the view that by itself the working class can only
achieve a trade union consciousness. On the contrary we believe that its
conditions of life and its experiences in production constantly drive
the working class to adopt priorities and values and to find methods of
organization which challenge the established social order and
established pattern of thought. These responses are implicitly
socialist. On the other hand, the working class is fragmented,
dispossessed of the means of communication, and its various sections are
at different levels of awareness and consciousness. The task of the
revolutionary organization is to help give proletarian consciousness an
explicitly socialist content, to give practical assistance to workers in
struggle, and to help those in different areas to exchange experiences
and link up with one another.
10\. We do not see ourselves as yet another leadership, but merely as an
instrument of working class action. The function of *Solidarity* is to
help all those who are in conflict with the present authoritarian social
structure, both in industry and in society at large, to generalize their
experience, to make a total critique of their condition and of its
causes, and to develop the mass revolutionary consciousness necessary if
society is to be totally transformed.
## External Links
- [As We See
It](https://www.marxists.org/archive/brinton/1967/04/as-we-see-it.htm)
at marxists.org

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The **Asari** are a fictional, space-faring species and civilisation in
the [Mass Effect](Mass_Effect_\(Video_Game\) "wikilink") that employs
some principles of [libertarian
socialism](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Societies "wikilink").
## Decision-Making
According to the *codex* (the in-game lore/wiki)
> The asari came late to the concept of world government. For centuries,
> their homeworld of Thessia was dotted with loose confederacies of
> great republican cities. The closest Earthly equivalent would be the
> ancient Mediterranean [city-states](Athenian_Polis "wikilink"). Since
> the asari culture values [consensus](consensus "wikilink") and
> accommodation, there was little impetus to form larger principalities.
> Rather than hoard resources, the asari bartered freely. Rather than
> attack one another over differing philosophies, they sought to
> understand one another.
> Only in the information age did the city-states grow close.
> Communication over internet evolved into an "electronic democracy".
> Asari have no politicians or elections, but a free-wheeling,
> all-inclusive legislature that citizens can participate in at will.
> Policy debates take place at all hours of the day, in official chat
> rooms and forums moderated by specially-programmed virtual
> intelligences. All aspects of policy are opened to plebiscite at any
> time. In any given debate, the asari tend to lend the most credence to
> the opinions of any Matriarchs present, nearly always deferring to the
> experience of these millennia-old "wise women".
> Achieving consensus through public debate may take too long in a
> crisis. In cases where prompt, decisive action is required, the asari
> defer to the wisdom of local Matriarchs.\[1\]
## Economics
According to the Mass Effect [wiki](wiki "wikilink"):
> The asari possess the largest single economy in the galaxy. They have
> extensive trade and social contacts. Craft guilds, such as those
> within the cities Serrice and Armali, hold a virtual monopoly on
> advanced biotic technology. Given their political influence, an
> embargo by the asari would prove disastrous to the Alliance.\[2\]
## See Also
- [Angara](Angara_\(Mass_Effect\) "wikilink")
- [Geth](Geth_\(Mass_Effect\) "wikilink")
## References
<references />
1. <https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/Codex/Aliens:_Council_Races#Asari:_Government>
2. <https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/Asari#Economy>

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The **Athenian Polis** or **Athenian Democracy** (594BCE - 322BCE)
refers to a network of [citizen's
assemblies](Democratic_Assembly "wikilink") spread out across the city
of [Athens](Hellenic_Republic "wikilink") where around a fifth of the
population (as it excluded women, slaves, foreigners and the indebted)
could participate in direct democracy. It is more accurate to refer to
this as a [dual power](Dual_Power "wikilink") built in response to
[class struggle](Class_Struggle "wikilink") than a [genuinely
libertarian socialist
society](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Societies "wikilink").
## History
[Solon](Solon "wikilink") was appointed magistrate of Athens in order to
maintain peace as class struggle intensified. He implemented reforms
which laid the basis of the Polis which lasted for centuries. It was
crushed briefly by Spartans in the Peloponnese War, but revolution led
to its restoration again. It was crushed a hundred years later after
Macedonians took the city and destroyed direct democracy in 322BCE.\[1\]
## Decision-Making
Athenian men gathered in [assemblies](Democratic_Assembly "wikilink")
called ''demes ''in order to collectively discuss and make decisions
that affected the community as a whole. A
[confederal](Confederation "wikilink") model was used as delegates
managed each neighbourhood, scaling up the whole city.\[2\]
## Economy
Despite being a slave economy, there were very low taxes and little
restrictions on ownership. People generously and voluntarily contributed
money, resources and labor hours towards public projects that [benefited
everyone](Commons "wikilink").\[3\] However, it has been argued by
[Takis Fotopoulos](Takis_Fotopoulos "wikilink") that slavery ultimately
led to the demise of Athens, creating an apathetic and unproductive
population of slaves.\[4\]
## Environmental Protection
Athens struggled with [soil erosion and
deforestation](Ecocide "wikilink") due to an already delicate and thin
mountainside plus overgrazing. However, the creation of a
partial-direct-democracy allowed for environmentally-concerned citizens
to convince other citizens to push for ecological restoration. Including
the planting of grape gardens (viticulture) and orchards of fruit
trees.\[5\]
## Culture
One serious flaw with Athenian culture was that it practiced
[slavery](slavery "wikilink"), was extremely
[patriarchal](Patriarchy "wikilink") and enabled authoritarianism to
emerge. Only adult male citizens with military training could vote;
women, slaves, debtors, and all who lacked Athenian blood were excluded.
At the very most, democracy involved less than a fifth of the population
(40,000 people).\[6\]
During the time that the Polis existed, Athens made extremely large
strides in the area of culture, philosophy and science to the point that
it is seen as the birthplace of [Western
Civilization](Western_Civilization "wikilink") and Western Philosophy by
many. Some of the most major achievements include:
- The philosophy legends of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
- The rise of public speaking skills.
- The first developments in atomic theory.
- The first historians and economists.
- The development of the concepts of 'tragedy' and 'comedy' in
theatre.
- The reconstruction of several major temples and the great Acropolis
of Athens.
- The greatest sculptures and statues in the world at that time.
- The greatest military leaders of all time, Alexander the Great and
Xenophon.\[7\]
## References
<references />
1. John A. Rothchild - Introduction to Athenian Democracy of the Fifth
and Fourth Centuries BCE,
2. Alfred Zimmern (1956) The Greek Commonwealth: Politics and Economics
in Fifth-Century Athens
3.
4. [Takis Fotopoulos](Takis_Fotopoulos "wikilink") - Direct and
Economic Democracy in Ancient Athens and its Significance Today
5. Clive Pointing (2007) [A New Green History of the
World](A_New_Green_History_of_the_World "wikilink")
6. [Crimethinc](Crimethinc "wikilink") -
<https://crimethinc.com/2016/04/29/feature-from-democracy-to-freedom>
7. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth-century_Athens#Arts_and_literature>

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The **Athens Polytechnic Uprising** was a [student
uprising](List_of_Student_Uprisings "wikilink") in
[November](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Southern_Europe "wikilink")
[1973](Revolutions_of_1967_-_1975 "wikilink") against the Greek Military
JuntaB
## es
Since 21 April 1967, Greece had been under the dictatorial rule of the
military, a regime which abolished civil rights, dissolved political
parties and exiled, imprisoned and tortured politicians and citizens
based on their political beliefs. 1973 found the military junta leader
Georgios Papadopoulos having undertaken a "liberalisation" process of
the regime, which included the release of political prisoners and the
partial lifting of censorship, as well as promises of a new constitution
and new elections for a return to civilian rule. Opposition elements
including Socialists were thus given the opportunity to undertake
political action against the junta.
The United States took a clandestine interest in suppressing Socialists
and had a C.I.A. operative named John Maury who was in consultation
supporting the Junta Leaders. American Vice President Spiro Agnew
praised the junta as "the best thing to happen to Greece since Pericles
ruled in ancient Athens".<sup>\[*This quote needs a citation*\]</sup>
The junta, trying to control every aspect of politics, had interfered
with student syndicalism since 1967, by banning student elections in
universities, forcibly drafting students and imposing non-elected
student union leaders in the national student's union,
EFEE<sup>\[*citation needed*\]</sup>. These actions eventually created
anti-junta sentiments among students, such as geology student Kostas
Georgakis who committed suicide in 1970 in Genoa, Italy as an act of
protest against the junta.
The first massive public action against the junta came from students on
21 February 1973, when law students went on strike and barricaded
themselves inside the buildings of the Law School of the University of
Athens in the centre of Athens, demanding repeal of the law that imposed
forcible drafting<sup>\[1\]</sup> of "subversive youths", as 88 of their
peers had been forcibly drafted to the army. The police were ordered to
intervene and many students were reportedly subjected to police
brutality. The events at the Law School are often cited as the prelude
to the Polytechnic uprising.<sup>\[*citation needed*\]</sup>
The student uprising was also heavily influenced by the youth movements
of the 1960s, notably the events of May 1968 in France.<sup>\[*citation
needed*\]</sup>
An anti-dictatorial student movement was growing among the youth, and
the police utilised brutal methods and torture towards them, in order to
confront the threat.<sup>\[2\]</sup>
### Events
The entrance of the National Technical University of Athens
### 14 November
On 14 November 1973, students at the Athens Polytechnic
(*Polytechneion*) went on strike and started protesting against the
military regime (*Regime of the Colonels*). As the authorities stood by,
the students were calling themselves the "Free Besieged" (Greek:
Ελεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι, a reference to the poem by Greek poet
Dionysios Solomos inspired by the Ottoman siege of
Mesolonghi).<sup>\[3\]\[4\]\[5\]</sup>
An assembly was formed spontaneously and decided to occupy the
Polytechnic. The two main student parties, the Marxist pro-Soviet A-AFEE
and Rigas did not endorse the movement.<sup>\[6\]</sup> Leftists and
anarchists initiated the sit-in. While they contended that the uprising
should demand capitalism's abolition, the larger, unconvinced rebel
group disagreed and chose instead to demand democracy's
restoration.<sup>\[*citation needed*\]</sup> A *Coordination Commission
of the Occupation* was formed but had loose control over the
uprising.<sup>\[7\]</sup> Police had gathered outside but did not manage
to break into the premises.<sup>\[8\]</sup>
Slogans and graffiti by the students were anti-NATO and anti-American,
and compared the Greek junta with Nazi Germany.
### 15 November
During the second day of the occupation (often called *celebration
day*), thousands of people from Athens poured in to support the
students.<sup>\[8\]</sup> A radio transmitter was set up and Maria
Damanaki, then a student and member of A-EFEE, popularized the slogan
*"Bread-Education-Freedom"*. The demands of the occupation were
anti-imperialistic and anti-NATO.<sup>\[9\]</sup> Third parties that
allied themselves with the student protests were the construction
workers (who set up a parallel committee next to CCO) and some farmers
from Megara, who coincidentally protested on the same days in
Athens.<sup>\[10\]</sup>
### 16 November
A proclamation was announced on Friday, 16 November by the CCO that the
students were aiming to bring down the Junta. During the afternoon,
demonstrations and attacks against neighbouring ministries took place.
Central roads closed, fires erupted and Molotov cocktails were thrown
for the first time in Athens.<sup>\[11\]</sup> The Junta decided to
reply firmly, by repressing the riots. Snipers were placed at buildings
next to the Polytechnic and assassinated 24 people in
total<sup>\[*when?*\]</sup>.<sup>\[12\]</sup> Students barricaded
themselves in and constructed a radio station (using laboratory
equipment) that repeatedly broadcast across Athens:
Maria Damanaki, later a politician, was one of the major speakers. Soon
thousands of workers and youngsters joined them protesting inside and
outside of the "Athens Polytechnic".
### 17 November
In the early hours of November 17, 1973, the transitional government
sent a tank crashing through the gates of the Athens
Polytechnic.<sup>\[15\]</sup> Soon after that, Spyros Markezinis himself
had the task to request Papadopoulos to reimpose martial
law.<sup>\[15\]</sup> Prior to the crackdown, the city lights had been
shut down, and the area was only lit by the campus lights, powered by
the university generators. An AMX 30 Tank (still kept in a small armored
unit museum in a military camp in Avlonas, not open to the public)
crashed the rail gate of the Athens Polytechnic at around 03:00 am. In
unclear footage clandestinely filmed by a Dutch journalist, the tank is
shown bringing down the main steel entrance to the campus, to which
people were clinging. Documentary evidence also survives, in recordings
of the "Athens Polytechnic" radio transmissions from the occupied
premises. In these a young man's voice is heard desperately asking the
soldiers (whom he calls 'brothers in arms') surrounding the building
complex to disobey the military orders and not to fight 'brothers
protesting'. The voice carries on to an emotional outbreak, reciting the
lyrics of the Greek National Anthem, until the tank enters the yard, at
which time transmission ceases.
An official investigation undertaken after the fall of the Junta
declared that no students of the Athens Polytechnic were killed during
the incident. Total recorded casualties amount to 24 civilians killed
outside Athens Polytechnic campus. These include 19-year-old Michael
Mirogiannis, reportedly shot to death by officer Nikolaos Dertilis,
high-school students Diomedes Komnenos and Alexandros Spartidis of Lycee
Leonin, and a five-year-old boy caught in the crossfire in the suburb of
Zografou. The records of the trials held following the collapse of the
Junta document the circumstances of the deaths of many civilians during
the uprising, and although the number of dead has not been contested by
historical research, it remains a subject of political controversy. In
addition, hundreds of civilians were left injured during the
events.<sup>\[16\]</sup>
Ioannides' involvement in inciting unit commanders of the security
forces to commit criminal acts during the Athens Polytechnic uprising
was noted in the indictment presented to the court by the prosecutor
during the Greek junta trials and in his subsequent conviction in the
Polytechneion trial where he was found to have been morally responsible
for the events.
## Results
- The uprising led to an end to attempted liberasation of Greece and
the reinstatement of military law. However, this would backfire and
lead to the[democratisation of Greece in
1974](Timeline_of_Representative_Democracy "wikilink").
- Upon democratisation, Greece banned police from entering
universities.
- The uprising became a symbol in Greece of resistance to tyranny.
- The uprisings dates are a national holiday and often see mass
protests and riots.
- The uprising led to the increased popularity of anarchism in Greece.
- The [17N](17N_\(Greece\) "wikilink") insurrection group in Greece is
named after the final day of the uprising.

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*Content Warning: This article contains extensive*
**Auschwitz** is the name of a complex of 40 [concentration
camps](Concentration_Camp "wikilink") within
[Poland](Republic_of_Poland "wikilink") built by [Nazi
Germany](Nazi_Germany "wikilink") during [World War
II](World_War_II "wikilink") and the [Holocaust](Holocaust "wikilink")
for the purpose of [mass extermination](Mass_Killing "wikilink") of
hundreds of thousands people.
## History
### Construction
### After the War
## Mass Killings
## Resistance

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The **Commonwealth of Australia** is a
[colonialist](Colonialism "wikilink"),
[capitalist](Capitalism "wikilink"), [liberal](Liberalism "wikilink")
[state](List_of_States "wikilink") located in Oceania, near the states
[Indonesia](Republic_of_Indonesia "wikilink"), [East
Timor](Democratic_Republic_of_Timor-Leste "wikilink"), [Papua New
Guinea](Papua_New_Guinea "wikilink"), [New
Zealand](Aotearoa "wikilink"), [New Caledonia](New_Caledonia "wikilink")
([French](French_Republic "wikilink") Colonial Possesion) and the
[Solomon Islands](Solomon_Islands "wikilink").

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The **Australian Constitutional Crisis** or **The Dismissal** refers to
the controversial end of [Gough Whitlam's](Gough_Whitlam "wikilink")
term as prime minister of [Australia](Australia "wikilink") in 1975.
Whitlam is largely regarded to be the most left-wing and progressive
leader in Australian history.
## The Story
## Allegations of US Involvement
### Criticism
## Lessons for Libertarian Socialists

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**Authoritarian Socialism** or **State Socialism** refers to an effort
to build a socialist society that differs from libertarian socialists on
four main areas:
- The [state's](State_\(Polity\) "wikilink") role in history is viewed
completely differently. For authoritarian socialists, the state was
a product of [class divisions](Class "wikilink") which emerged
alongside the development of [agriculture](agriculture "wikilink")
and cannot be gotten rid of in the short run without having huge
side effects which would destroy socialism. Whereas libertarian
socialists view the state as an independent entity that accumulates
power on its own will and predates class.
- Decisions are not to be made via popular assemblies and regional
confederations, but instead through a one-party dictatorship with
little to no input from the general public. According to
authoritarian socialists, this is necessary to maintain the
organizational efficiency necessary to defend socialism from
[counter-revolutionaries](Counter-Revolution "wikilink") and
warmongering capitalists.
- Industry is to be [nationalized](Nationalization "wikilink") and
operated according to the will of the state. Industry may have some
degree of [workers'
self-management](Workers'_Self-Management "wikilink"), as in
[Yugoslavia](Federal_Socialist_Republic_of_Yugoslavia "wikilink").
This is done in order to ensure the most effective use of resources
towards building socialism.
- Dissent is to be harshly punished in order to create a stable and
harmonious nation.
## History
## Schools of Thought
## Applications
It is no secrete that authoritarian socialism has been tried many more
times and on much larger scales than libertarian socialism, these are
the results of those experiments:
### Afghanistan
### Albania
### Algeria
### Angola
### Bangladesh
### Benin
### Burkina Faso
### Bulgaria
### Burma
### Cambodia
### Cape Verde
### China
### Congo
### Cuba
### Czechoslovakia
### East Germany
### Egypt
### Ethiopia
### Grenada
### Guyana
### Hungary
### India
### Iraq
### Laos
### Libya
### Madagascar
### Mongolia
### Mozambique
### Nepal
### Nicaragua
### North Korea
### Poland
### Portugal
### Romania
### Seychelles
### Somalia
### South Yemen
### Sri Lanka
### Sudan
### Syria
### Tanzania
### USSR
### Vietnam
### Yugoslavia
## Criticism
The main criticism of authoritarian socialism advanced by [libertarian
socialists](Libertarian_Socialism "wikilink") are:
- The authoritarian socialist conception of the state is based on
outdated or misleading historical data. More recent evidence shows
that the state emerged long before class divisions, and is usually
based on factors such as [religious](Religion "wikilink")
worship.\[1\]\[2\]\[3\]
- If decision-making power is not distributed among the population, it
will create a small elite isolated from the consequences of their
actions who will quickly become consumed by greed and paranoia,
violently maintaining their control over the population and
ultimately reinstating [capitalism](capitalism "wikilink") to ensure
their own wealth and power.\[4\]
- The belief that hierarchical organizations are more efficient that
non-hierarchical ones is conflicting with existing evidence\[5\],
especially within the military, where decentralized forces
frequently defeat centralized ones despite having access to inferior
equipment, knowledge and army size.\[6\]
- Nationalization of industry or limited workers' self-management only
creates a bitter and [alienated](Alienation "wikilink") workforce,
who may begin to sympathize strongly with [far-right
anti-communist](Fascism "wikilink") ideas.\[7\]
## References
<references />
1. [Pierre Clastres](Pierre_Clastres "wikilink") (1974) [Society
Against The State](Society_Against_The_State "wikilink")
2. [David Graeber](David_Graeber "wikilink") (2011) [Debt: The First
5000 Years](Debt:_The_First_5000_Years "wikilink")
3. [Peter Gelderloos](Peter_Gelderloos "wikilink") (2017) [Worshiping
Power: An Anarchist View of Early State
Formation](Worshiping_Power:_An_Anarchist_View_of_Early_State_Formation "wikilink")
4. [Mikhail Bakunin](Mikhail_Bakunin "wikilink") (1873) [Statism and
Anarchy](Statism_and_Anarchy "wikilink")
5. [Kevin Carson](Kevin_Carson "wikilink") (2008) [Organization Theory:
A Libertarian
Perspective](Organization_Theory:_A_Libertarian_Perspective "wikilink")
6. [Peter Gelderloos](Peter_Gelderloos "wikilink") (2010) [Anarchy
Works](Anarchy_Works "wikilink")
7. [Immanuel Ness](Immanuel_Ness "wikilink") (2010) [Ours to Master and
to Own: Workers' Control from the Commune to the
Present](Ours_to_Master_and_to_Own:_Workers'_Control_from_the_Commune_to_the_Present "wikilink")
- Part III: Goran Music - Yugoslavia: Workers’ Self-Management as
State Paradigm

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**Authoritarianism** refers to a set of philosophies, behaviours and
social structures that encourage unconditional command and obedience and
the fetishisation of [social hierarchy](Social_Hierarchy "wikilink").
## Authoritarian States
Although all [states](State_\(Polity\) "wikilink") can technically be
considered authoritarian, 'authoritarian' states tend to refer to those
with no or rigged elections, state censorship of the media, restrictions
on internal freedom of movement and repression of individuals or social
movements opposed to the states.
## Authoritarian Personality
The 'Authoritarian Personality' refers to a [personality
trait](Personality "wikilink") discussed by several
[philosophers](Philosophy "wikilink") and
[psychologists](Psychology "wikilink") that indicates a strong
likelihood to either follow or be an authoritarian figure, or one who
excessively commands and obeys. Authoritarian personality is correlated
negatively with openness to new experience, support for individualism,
support for gender equality and positively correlated with higher
approval of violence against minorities or dissenters, prejudiced
beliefs and a lack of critical thinking skills.

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**Autonomism** or **Autonomist Marxism** is a [libertarian
socialist](Libertarian_Socialism "wikilink") movement which seeks to
involve people directly in decisions affecting their everyday lives,
expand democracy and to help individuals break free of political
structures and behavior patterns imposed from the outside.

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*Not to be confused with the Ukrainian [organisation of the same
name](Autonomous_Workers'_Union_\(Ukraine\) "wikilink").*The
**Autonomous Workers' Union** (APC) is an
[anarcho-syndicalist](Anarcho-Syndicalism "wikilink") organisation based
in [Bulgaria](Bulgaria "wikilink"). This group frequently acts in
solidarity with workers' from [Turkey](Turkey "wikilink"),
[Ukraine](Ukraine "wikilink") and [Russia](Russia "wikilink"), as well
as Bulgarian immigrant workers in other countries. On the 8th of March,
2015, the APC [picketed](Picketing "wikilink") a nightclub in Varna that
had not paid its workers.\[1\] On the 5th of September, 2017, 150
members of the APC protested outside the Bulgarian parliament in Sofia,
calling for harsher action on wage theft.\[2\]
## Contact
Their website can be found [here](http://arsold.antonov.space/bg/) (in
Bulgarian)
## References
<references />
1. <https://libcom.org/news/bulgaria-anarcho-syndicalists-support-protest-bar-workers-golden-sands-resort-12032015>
2. <https://libcom.org/news/joint-protest-workers-different-sectors-against-employer-iniquity-bulgaria-07092017>

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1. REDIRECT [Awareness League
(Nigeria)](Awareness_League_\(Nigeria\) "wikilink")

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The **Awareness League** was an
[anarcho-syndicalist](Anarcho-Syndicalism "wikilink") organization based
in Nigeria from the 1990s.
## Timeline
- 1989: The Awareness League is founded.
- 1996: The Awareness League joins the
[IWA](International_Workers'_Association "wikilink") at their
conference in Madrid.

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**Azerbaijan** is an authoritarian capitalist
[state](List_of_States "wikilink") in Northwest Asia that borders
[Russia](Russia "wikilink"), [Georgia](Georgia "wikilink"),
[Armenia](Armenia "wikilink") and [Iran](Iran "wikilink").

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The **BC Telephone Work-In** was an effort by telephone workers' to
[self-manage](Workers'_Self-Management "wikilink") their company for
five days in
[1981](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_North_America "wikilink").

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**Ba'athist Iraq** or the **Iraqi Republic** was...complicated. It was
the state that governed Iraq from 1968 to 2003, and is either seen as a
shining example of [anti-imperialism](Anti-Colonialism "wikilink"),
[feminism](feminism "wikilink"),
[pan-arabism](Arab_Nationalism "wikilink") and
[socialism](socialism "wikilink")...or an authoritarian dictatorship
that violently tore apart its environment and own people in the pursuit
of further power.
## Negatives
- It has been estimated that 250,000 people were executed by the
government for speaking out against authoritarianism and secular
ideas.\[1\]
- The famous Mesopotamian Marshes (a historical refuge for escaped
serfs and slaves) were drained to deny its use as a base for
anti-government insurgents (including groups as diverse as far-right
Islamists and far-left communists). Considered one of the [worst
environmental
disasters](List_of_Major_Environmental_Disasters "wikilink") of the
20th century (desertifying 19,000km2 of land), on par with the
[deforestation of the
Amazon](deforestation_of_the_Amazon "wikilink") and an estimated
275,000 people starved to death as a result of declining
agricultural yields and the loss, between 80,000 and 120,000 fled to
[Iran](Iran "wikilink") and the Marsh Arab culture had been
annihilated in a [genocidal](Crimes_Against_Humanity "wikilink") and
[ecocidal](Ecocide "wikilink") action to increase government
power.\[2\]
## References
<references />
1. <https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/01/25/war-iraq-not-humanitarian-intervention>
2. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draining_of_the_Mesopotamian_Marshes>

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Ba'thaism is a Stalinist, Ethnonationalist ideology based on the idea of
creating a unified Arab State in the Middle-East and parts of North
Africa. It is the ideology of the Bashar Al-Assad's Syrian Government
today. It was historically been closely aligned with the USSR, and has
been known for Anti-Semitism, support for active genocide of Jews in
Israel, opposition to Kurdish independence and supporting ethnic
cleansing of [Kurds](Rojava "wikilink"), and generally unsupportive of
Non-Arabs in the Middle-East and

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The **Bala Hissar Uprising** was an uprising that happened in
[Afghanistan](Afghanistan "wikilink") in
[1979](Revolutions_of_1979_-_1980 "wikilink"), as
[Maoists](Maoism "wikilink") fought against the [Marxist-Leninist
government](Socialist_Afghanistan "wikilink").
Information in English is limited, but an alliance of anti-government
Maoists and moderate [Islamists](Islam "wikilink") seized control of a
military fortress in hopes of starting a military coup, but it was then
bombed by the government and seized in five hours. With the government
claiming it was an imperialist plot.
## References
[Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") - [Bala Hissar
uprising](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bala_Hissar_uprising)

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'''Barbacha '''or the **Free Commune of Barbacha** is a small
[self-governing
town](List_of_Libertarian_Socialist_Societies "wikilink") in Kabilye,
[Algeria](Algeria "wikilink") which has been autonomous since
[2012](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Northern_Africa "wikilink").

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''This article focuses on Barcelona during the [Spanish
Revolution](Spanish_Revolution_\(1936\) "wikilink"), not ''
## Public Services
### Public Transport
After the city was liberated from fascist control by
[anarcho-syndicalists](Anarcho-Syndicalism "wikilink"), the owners of
the public transport systems fled, and the
[CNT](National_Confederation_of_Labour_\(Spain\) "wikilink")
democratised them. Buses, subway, streetcars - were separate union
"sections", as were the repair depots. These all were managed through
elected committees, answerable to
[assemblies](Democratic_Assembly "wikilink") of the workers. An engineer
was elected to each administrative committee, to facilitate consultation
between manual workers and engineers. There was an overall assembly for
decisions that affected the transit-system as a whole. There was no top
manager or executive director. A 7-member elected worker committee was
responsible for overall coordination.
#### Streetcars/Tram
![Cnt-tram.jpg](Cnt-tram.jpg "Cnt-tram.jpg") The main public transport
system was a large system of streetcars/trams that operated 60 routes
across the city and surrounding suburbs. Before the revolution, the
system was maintained by 7,000 people, 6,500 of whom were members of the
CNT. During the initial days of fighting in the [Spanish Civil
War](Spanish_Civil_War "wikilink"), many transport workers fought in the
fighting and even used an armoured streetcar/tram. The system had been
badly damaged, tracks were unworkable, overhead wires snapped, equipment
boxes shot and tracks blocked by barricades. Within 5 days, the workers
had completely repaired the system and re-painted the cars in the red
and black colour scheme of anarcho-syndicalism. Previously, the
equipment boxes of the electric company had been placed in the middle of
streets, leading to tracks being tightly curved around them, frequently
leading to derailments. Afterwards, a move of the boxes and
straightening of the tracks was made between the transport and
electrical workers. In addition, electrical wiring powering the tracks
were moved from the centre of the tracks to the side in order to be
safer.
Barcelona Tramways had operated with a fare zone system which meant that
it cost more for people in the outer working class suburbs to get into
the city center. The worker-run transit operation switched to a flat
fare throughout the metropolitan area, to equalize fare costs to riders.
Despite this lowering of the fare, the worker-run transit system
operated at a profit. A sizeable part of this profit was donated to the
anti-fascist war effort. Workers also donated their time on Sundays to
work in factories set up in transit system workshops to make munitions
for the anti-fascist armies. New tools and machinery from France and the
USA were purchased to give each section a surplus of spare parts for
repairs. Before the revolution, the private company had only made about
2% of the repairs through its own workshops and were set up only to deal
with the most urgent repairs. But within a year under workers
management, the workshops were manufacturing 98% of the parts used. They
were able to do this and still make a profit, despite a 150% increase in
prices of raw materials.

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