Notices by Spencer Beswick (spencerbeswick@kolektiva.social)

Brazil strike wave, 1919. Anarchists in the Rio Grande do Sul Labor Federation call for a revolutionary general strike, for "We are at war against private property, the State and the Church, in a war in which the greatest goal is the complete annihilation of those institutions.

We fight for an anarcho-communist society, which is a social state that allows the unobstructed unfolding of individual freedom for every man. . . This general refusal from work will reach its end with the passing of the means of production to the working people."

#anarchism #history #strike #labor #Brazil

On violence

Errico Malatesta: "Social wrongs do not depend on the wickedness of one master or the other, one governor or the other, but rather on masters and governments as institutions; therefore, the remedy does not lie in changing the individual rulers, instead it is necessary to demolish the principle itself by which men dominate over men." (1921)

Emma Goldman: "Those who insist that human nature remains the same at all times have learned nothing... Human nature is by no means a fixed quantity. Rather, it is fluid and responsive to new conditions."

Eduardo Galeano: "There is no greater purpose than to struggle with utmost love and determination for our betrayed hopes and dangerous dreams."

What is the radical Left?

The radical Left is united by a shared endeavor to address the foundational roots of social injustices. It seeks to overthrow—not simply tweak—capitalist social relations. Leftists work towards the common goal of a stateless, classless society characterized by collective self-determination, worker control of production, and individual freedom and dignity.

In my historical approach, I emphasize active participation in antisystemic movements over theoretical distinctions. Yet clarification of differences is also necessary. Anarchists are antistate or libertarian socialists who advocate the reorganization of society into voluntary federations based in social equality and individual freedom. Syndicalists, who overlap substantially with anarchists, believe that revolutionary unions should prefigure the new world and act as the vehicles to re-organize society. The labels of socialism and communism are at times used interchangeably; this paper will follow the general approach of classifying socialists as those who pursue reformist strategies whereas communists advocate revolutionary seizure of state power by a vanguard party.

An undogmatic radical Left acknowledges significant ideological differences but manages to collaborate on common projects and struggles. Dogmatism and sectarianism have long been the bane of the Left, but the transnational history discussed in this article reveals alternative currents of theory and practice that are unconstrained by both national borders and rigid ideological lines. Indeed, transnational networks have often enabled non-sectarian connections and collaboration at multiple levels, stretching from Caribbean anarchist networks in the early twentieth century to the “provocative cocktail” of political traditions represented in the Zapatistas and other new social movements of the late twentieth century.

Read more in my recent article in Left History, "Radical Americas: A Hemispheric History of the Left" https://lh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/lh/article/view/39672

#history #anarchism #syndicalism #socialism #communism #radicalhistory

Howard Zinn (2005): "It would be naïve to depend on the Supreme Court to defend the rights of poor people, women, people of color, dissenters of all kinds. Those rights only come alive when citizens organize, protest, demonstrate, strike, boycott, rebel, and violate the law in order to uphold justice. . .

The right of a woman to an abortion did not depend on the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. It was won before that decision, all over the country, by grassroots agitation that forced states to recognize the right. If the American people, who by a great majority favor that right, insist on it, act on it, no Supreme Court decision can take it away.

The rights of working people, of women, of Black people have not depended on decisions of the courts. Like the other branches of the political system, the courts have recognized these rights only after citizens have engaged in direct action powerful enough to win these rights for themselves. . .

Let us not be disconsolate over the increasing control of the court system by the right wing. The courts have never been on the side of justice, only moving a few degrees one way or the other, unless pushed by the people. Those words engraved in the marble of the Supreme Court, “Equal Justice Before the Law,” have always been a sham.

No Supreme Court, liberal or conservative, will stop the war in Iraq, or redistribute the wealth of this country, or establish free medical care for every human being. Such fundamental change will depend, the experience of the past suggests, on the actions of an aroused citizenry, demanding that the promise of the Declaration of Independence — an equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — be fulfilled."

https://www.howardzinn.org/collection/dont-despair-about-the-supreme-court/

My piece "Fighting Fascism From The Age Of Reagan To The Present" was picked up by Popular Resistance: "A look at the rise of Anti-Racist Action and the anarchist movement in the 1980s and 90s and the lessons that it leaves us with today, in a post-January 6th world."

#fascism #antifa #anarchism

https://popularresistance.org/fighting-fascism-from-the-age-of-reagan-to-the-present/

In 1993, a KKK chapter planned a protest of a Gay Pride Parade in Chattanooga, TN. Anti-Racist Action, Love & Rage, and others organized a large counter-demonstration with a range of groups and localities represented. They vowed to run the Klan out of town, by force if needed.

After years of militant action, this promise was backed up by experience. The KKK ended up canceling their own rally to avoid an embarrassing rout. The anti-fascist demonstration still took place, and anarchists marched with this banner. #anarchism #anarchisthistory #antifa