tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50137828454599016732024-03-13T17:42:17.403+00:00Surrey Libertarian CommunistsSurrey Group of the Anarchist Communist Group Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-45137318353236875022024-01-24T13:43:00.003+00:002024-01-24T13:43:10.840+00:00New Anarchist Communist Group Stickers<p> The Anarchist Communist Group has printed a new set of stickers.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyrtmT1_VHpbxUgzBGl-D1w0_CHRFiHmHy4rUDMWXePPCnEKrTDqOfZmdAFQeBM5OfiwGbqe-Gj9D2175mZBb5-ZoFDTd0SFyws6MP_H9LTKuRMnuibPV22HBLdGhQBgyI9BLFSMreI2IEA5_kBISioy9fa4aGBAVwiMmrK2-0phsg04QsrDWw6wK0WIvr/s4032/IMG_3364%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyrtmT1_VHpbxUgzBGl-D1w0_CHRFiHmHy4rUDMWXePPCnEKrTDqOfZmdAFQeBM5OfiwGbqe-Gj9D2175mZBb5-ZoFDTd0SFyws6MP_H9LTKuRMnuibPV22HBLdGhQBgyI9BLFSMreI2IEA5_kBISioy9fa4aGBAVwiMmrK2-0phsg04QsrDWw6wK0WIvr/s320/IMG_3364%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiib0IHqoO_IAvOvlBw8DhPXwnFl92mQeDxtNnHBBJNOxzHqnvLSaWCK5akSoDIrncvki7LE9wKB9vxqJrDEbQHBw04dXolCKt3vmU2aUHumBQV0Y2hlMpD95rQx43fWnXG_xzfnAwN_iXzoUSbIP0c7Xu7kWZQCAGYmiWDjvjJmGdcmYdKelxk6p3wlWmR/s3978/IMG_3366%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3978" data-original-width="2984" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiib0IHqoO_IAvOvlBw8DhPXwnFl92mQeDxtNnHBBJNOxzHqnvLSaWCK5akSoDIrncvki7LE9wKB9vxqJrDEbQHBw04dXolCKt3vmU2aUHumBQV0Y2hlMpD95rQx43fWnXG_xzfnAwN_iXzoUSbIP0c7Xu7kWZQCAGYmiWDjvjJmGdcmYdKelxk6p3wlWmR/s320/IMG_3366%20copy.jpg" width="240" /></a> <br /></div><p></p><p>You can order bundles of these stickers from: londonacg@gmail.com <br /></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-56576700787724199462024-01-24T08:57:00.009+00:002024-01-24T09:02:25.973+00:00Against Nationalism and Militarism. An on-line meeting: Thursday. February 15th. 7pm — 9pm. <p>Against Nationalism: class struggle! </p><p>Against Imperialist war: class war! <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQIfthvsHFc2gAKUedVDz0kvjDCOMPshYa8djVnnQIg7EB_4-y3OZGS157ITzXE-mdN2bGUNhO1wQZK3IpxWEmZnwFL9WhmnLrO6WoCqpB_1F52V9j9McJ2kr197gUY6LCBl2J028gvW6SGhyphenhyphen9jkBVNfp5HgER5OGQWCUWcR9BCxiOQGy3Qsv_biNkDUT/s507/GCpJuPdaIAAyhOr-507x440.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="507" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQIfthvsHFc2gAKUedVDz0kvjDCOMPshYa8djVnnQIg7EB_4-y3OZGS157ITzXE-mdN2bGUNhO1wQZK3IpxWEmZnwFL9WhmnLrO6WoCqpB_1F52V9j9McJ2kr197gUY6LCBl2J028gvW6SGhyphenhyphen9jkBVNfp5HgER5OGQWCUWcR9BCxiOQGy3Qsv_biNkDUT/s320/GCpJuPdaIAAyhOr-507x440.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p>The Left have lost sight of this, but anarchist communists mustn’t! </p><p>The
Anarchist Communist Group hosts an on-line meeting: </p><p>Thursday. February
15th. 7pm — 9pm. </p><p></p><p>The struggle against Imperialism can only be a struggle against
global capitalism in favour of global social revolution. This struggle
is the class struggle.</p>
<p>We don’t believe that it is necessary for revolutionaries to support
one Imperialist power or alliance over another, the task is to abolish
capitalism and therefore, imperialism. We are not in the business of
supporting one proto-state against the established state.</p>
<p>But we ARE required to analyse the shifting alliances, to try
understand the rationale of the Imperialist powers and to oppose them
through the only method that can ultimately stop them: the direct action
of the working class.</p>
<p>The problem is that the tendency to see the world in national rather
than class terms is deeply ingrained in the psychology of the left, as
much as it is in wider society. Though leftists may be capable of
criticising nationalism in their own back yard, they are incapable of
doing it when faced with certain foreign movements.</p>
<p>This reflects the powerlessness of the left. When faced with brutal
war and the slaughter of populations in distant parts of the world, a
proxy is sought in response to their own lack of agency. Supporting the
underdog side — the ‘resistance’ — forms a substitute.</p>
<p>But it is the power of the working class that holds the key. It is
the working class that produces and exports the weapons that, for
example, pound Gaza. We facilitate that and we can stop it. Unless we
find a way to build working class power then we remain at the mercy of
imperialist powers, hoping that the interests of one or more of those
powers might mean that another war on Gaza, another invasion of a former
Soviet country, another escalation doesn’t have to happen.</p>
<p>To register:<br /><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/against-nationalism-and-war-tickets-806317225527?aff=oddtdtcreator">https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/against-nationalism-and-war-tickets-806317225527?aff=oddtdtcreator</a><br /></p><p><br /> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-54690188236246327902023-12-12T12:18:00.004+00:002023-12-12T22:21:55.242+00:00War Fever!<h3 class="product_title entry-title" style="text-align: left;">A new pocket pamphlet has been published by Active Distribution.</h3><h3 class="product_title entry-title" style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.activedistributionshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-10-at-17.01.27.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="564" height="800" src="https://www.activedistributionshop.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-10-at-17.01.27.jpeg" width="564" /></a></div></h3><div>British Anarchism Succumbs to War Fever by Alex Adle.</div><div> <div>This revised text first published online by Libcom and others has also been
translated into both French and Czech languages so far. The pamphlet sets out
the basic anarchist critique of war and militarism and asks: “What’s
going on?</div><div> </div>
<div>In February 2022, the Russian Armed Forces invaded
Ukrainian territory, beginning an occupation and open warfare. This
followed eight years of smouldering conflict between the Ukrainian state
and Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region of Ukraine, and the
annexation of Crimea. Some anarchists, antifascists, and other
anti-authoritarians in Ukraine decided to participate in the armed
forces of the state to combat the Russian invasion. This was an
organised, collective project with a political manifesto, under the
banner of ‘The Resistance Committee’ and ‘Operation Solidarity’.</div><div> </div>
<div>Many anarchists in Britain responded with uncritical
support for the project and began actively aiding the Ukrainian war
effort, raising funds for military supplies and spreading war
propaganda. A minority of anarchists, on the other hand, raised the
banner of “no war but the class war”, opposing war itself while
advocating for working class internationalism, against all factions of
the ruling class. This latter position, previously an uncontroversial
expression of anarchist-communist politics, was all of a sudden
anathema.</div>
</div><p></p><br /><a href="https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product/war-fever-a6/ ">War Fever available from Active Distribution</a><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-91055468609714143022023-10-05T20:28:00.004+01:002023-10-05T20:33:57.714+01:00The Politics of Division.<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: normal;">The Politics of Division: An engagement with identity politics.</span></p><p></p><h2><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIrEragC2mBU4aHx268YAJxUT6Yj7j_pJ5m1fC1oaWrHTauqRlsgWmh-PISvBN601WX0jjP06ASFY67KOrL9I5Wc9pLGkRh0u5t2aoOPza2AqzbR4orx_qDZ5TxOSW5q6vrAvAuy4HqDDdsVoFrrIVd_BqoX8mYGJNKShdzofDlkMx4tdlYp3By1d2EhD/s574/IMG_1762.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="403" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIrEragC2mBU4aHx268YAJxUT6Yj7j_pJ5m1fC1oaWrHTauqRlsgWmh-PISvBN601WX0jjP06ASFY67KOrL9I5Wc9pLGkRh0u5t2aoOPza2AqzbR4orx_qDZ5TxOSW5q6vrAvAuy4HqDDdsVoFrrIVd_BqoX8mYGJNKShdzofDlkMx4tdlYp3By1d2EhD/s320/IMG_1762.jpg" width="225" /></a></h2><span style="font-family: arial;">To be human is to negotiate a balance between individual identity and
collective action. We are each simultaneously individuals and social
animals. This pamphlet does not seek to negate identity. Identity is
important to our humanity, as well as being a major focus for
oppression. What it seeks to do, rather, is to place revolutionary
politics in the collective sphere. When anarchist-communists echo
Kropotkin in saying “What we proclaim is The Right to Well-Being:
Well-Being for All!” we are advancing a vision for a free society, the
society we want to build.</span><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial;">In recent decades politics has moved a long way from expressing what
it is we want to achieve and has instead refocused on expressing who it
is I am and what I believe my heritage or essential characteristics to
be, and this is often an emotive and painful issue, especially where, as
so often, there has been a history of oppression and subjugation. While
these are indeed important enquiries and will of course inform each
individual’s perspective on what needs to change in our quest for a
better society, this pamphlet argues that to be effective revolutionary
politics must be about that shared future we seek to build. What makes
each of us an anarchist communist – or whatever vision it is you might
hold – is that set of values we will build the future upon.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial;">This pamphlet is presented with respect for our many struggles and in
anger at our many experiences of oppression, determined that our
collective efforts will build a better future.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h2></h2></div><p></p><p>This pamphlet is available form the ACG for <span class="woocommerce-Price-amount amount"><span class="woocommerce-Price-currencySymbol">£</span>3.00 inclusive of postage:<br /></span></p><p>https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/product/the-politics-of-division-an-engagement-with-identity-politics/</p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-15402205815879581332023-09-22T22:36:00.001+01:002023-09-22T22:36:38.633+01:00Anarchism 'Down Under'<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anarchism 'Down Under'.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguaOIS67uMSnJgBSIUPNSg_DJ423xpQZqRxsyTOrX-faDurS87UhEZ9dMVFnNQQ4HYEnrhnP9sQu2w1z8CIY67-Dbfobv29wB-ggKPayuVZ-JsAuTfLWcZcBwEqEfALB_2bDtzLKrUhQIaVvg6hCYhWkVWoPPNx36AqoPGLrvzqqjjGTH3H7bfokdRBz4W/s752/365102164_192529043809599_2394279722442324650_n-752x440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="752" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguaOIS67uMSnJgBSIUPNSg_DJ423xpQZqRxsyTOrX-faDurS87UhEZ9dMVFnNQQ4HYEnrhnP9sQu2w1z8CIY67-Dbfobv29wB-ggKPayuVZ-JsAuTfLWcZcBwEqEfALB_2bDtzLKrUhQIaVvg6hCYhWkVWoPPNx36AqoPGLrvzqqjjGTH3H7bfokdRBz4W/s320/365102164_192529043809599_2394279722442324650_n-752x440.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A Talk with a visiting member of the Melbourne Anarchist
Communist Group.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">London ACG Public Meeting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Monday. September 25th.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7pm.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mayday Rooms. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">88 Fleet St. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">London EC4 1DH.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Facebook:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1d9bf0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">https://www.facebook.com/events/1399438217277821?ref=newsfeed</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1d9bf0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">#anarchism</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="color: #1d9bf0;">#communism</span> <span style="color: #1d9bf0;">#anarchists</span>
<span style="color: #1d9bf0;">#communists</span></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-30904921361995364152023-09-06T08:58:00.006+01:002023-09-06T09:01:53.866+01:00Dorset's Fourth Radical Bookfair.
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkkpziJB4KiIcj5p0jTD3vZgJlnIRAB5txBkLasER4ylg4ObDL1M9rXeTePYdFaQHtiq48JaddpRQzVUlZ3XEd0Qe8n9HAwPr8v8n_r_9QOy1QnhR3W4ghpUrq0WoE-SEjljCPkD1LFgbbLB80bquUlw-jRsYg2z_kc93lHFtX0Fs95WwHw6cPH7VDA8q/s1000/cropped-banner-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="1000" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkkpziJB4KiIcj5p0jTD3vZgJlnIRAB5txBkLasER4ylg4ObDL1M9rXeTePYdFaQHtiq48JaddpRQzVUlZ3XEd0Qe8n9HAwPr8v8n_r_9QOy1QnhR3W4ghpUrq0WoE-SEjljCPkD1LFgbbLB80bquUlw-jRsYg2z_kc93lHFtX0Fs95WwHw6cPH7VDA8q/s320/cropped-banner-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anarchy in the Sticks 2023.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dorset's Fourth Radical Bookfair.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Saturday 7th of October.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11AM to 5PM.<br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bad Hand Coffee.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7 Norwich Rd.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bournemouth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BH2 5QZ.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Anarchist Communist Group will have a stall there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1d9bf0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">https://dorsetbookfair.wordpress.com/2023/02/21/were-back/</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmK_g1mByrgTB8mdRoap2TteF9OaB_yr613Zk6sHqshKYYJCtJU4kaQYc_FG_6KpOS0E8FYGZlYqKJVzE2hwTKjUjjfleE2bB8K8aCzjMCk-0UkilD5GtQ9Jyz9K2LKuQHfiGabBJwYuI3k_MbU--3HqilgOfJXILw-UFlggq-L0sFrNLmaqMqO6S1wQq/s4032/Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmK_g1mByrgTB8mdRoap2TteF9OaB_yr613Zk6sHqshKYYJCtJU4kaQYc_FG_6KpOS0E8FYGZlYqKJVzE2hwTKjUjjfleE2bB8K8aCzjMCk-0UkilD5GtQ9Jyz9K2LKuQHfiGabBJwYuI3k_MbU--3HqilgOfJXILw-UFlggq-L0sFrNLmaqMqO6S1wQq/s320/Cover.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Meeting: </span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">2pm — 3pm.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">The Idea.
Anarchist communism: past, present & future.
A new book on anarchist communism by Nick Heath. Presentation by the author. </span><span style="color: #1d9bf0; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-17422598290867589492023-06-14T22:09:00.003+01:002023-06-14T22:19:55.500+01:00Pirbright 1918 – Mutiny in the Ranks — a short account of an obscure moment of rebellion in Surrey.<p>Early in 1918 there was a mass walkout by Guards’ Machine-Gunners
stationed at Pirbright, between Woking and Aldershot <span>Garrison</span>. The origins of
this mutiny are obscure, yet for three days every private soldier
refused duty. Instead they organised voluntary route marches along the
lanes near the camp, in defiance of their officers, returning only for
meals. The strike was eventually called off when a colonel of the Welsh
Guards arrived and, giving an assurance that there would be no
victimisation, asked for a spokesman from each of the five regiments
involved. ‘Five old soldiers agreed to come to the front, though to my
knowledge they were by no means ringleaders. They were taken off to
London under close arrest, court-martialled and sentenced to two years
each in a military prison. The breach of faith may have come about
because the colonel was overruled by the GOC London District. But I
think we were naive to expect the public school code of honour to be
extended to ‘mere lower rankers’.</p>
<p>The rest of the rebels – they must have numbered a couple of hundred
or so – were split up into their original regiments, and a detachment
sent to its reserve battalion for a short time before being put on a
draft for France again. This incident was a major embarrassment to the
military higher echelons that units from the Guards could be involved in
such demonstrations, lead the powers to be to review the unit and
consider an appropriate action. This lead to the decision to the
disbandment of the Guards Machine Gun Regt and return all soldiers to
their parent regiments shortly after the war ended.</p>
<p>Item compiled by R. Bell, Surrey Fire & Rescue Service, Drill Section newsletter (2011)</p><p>reproduced from:</p><div class="entry-title" style="text-align: left;">Pirbright 1918 – Mutiny in the Ranks:</div><p><a href="https://www.surreyinthegreatwar.org.uk/story/pirbright-1918-mutiny-in-the-ranks/">https://www.surreyinthegreatwar.org.uk/story/pirbright-1918-mutiny-in-the-ranks/</a> </p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-50588456445691331432023-05-13T14:25:00.007+01:002023-05-13T14:35:35.920+01:00All Out! The Current Strike Wave. Public meeting<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1qAQ4rZQpWheRWd_YKHJw5YpcOTZsVzo-SwUkEbF0cOkEIBj8oVMhJCW-jv_9E5DPKYWZZ6V46mN_juB6cUhWP_4Nv0BI3ruE-2jzbKHlJz6pnUl5SMR0WXRmOYM7nTcW20R8C_sGD0SvaQx4SxTA7OQBvCZ_ns9gtLrwFN3mG_yf5nBedQMzdMQ6xw/s634/Screenshot%202023-05-13%20at%2014.32.10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="634" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1qAQ4rZQpWheRWd_YKHJw5YpcOTZsVzo-SwUkEbF0cOkEIBj8oVMhJCW-jv_9E5DPKYWZZ6V46mN_juB6cUhWP_4Nv0BI3ruE-2jzbKHlJz6pnUl5SMR0WXRmOYM7nTcW20R8C_sGD0SvaQx4SxTA7OQBvCZ_ns9gtLrwFN3mG_yf5nBedQMzdMQ6xw/s320/Screenshot%202023-05-13%20at%2014.32.10.png" width="320" /></a></div><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Graphic by Clifford Harper.<br /><p></p><p>Now that capitalism is forced to increase its attacks on the working
class in order to preserve its profits, the working class is driven into
struggle by necessity, necessity to preserve the old social welfare
benefits that had been won through struggle in the first place, and to
fight against the cost of living crisis. This can be seen in the mass
wave of strikes that has taken place in France to defend pensions, a
struggle that is continuing. It can be seen in the unprecedented wave of strikes in the UK, involving different sectors</p>
<p>The tempo of the class struggle is speeding up. However, all of these
struggles are defensive, in response to the vicious attacks of the boss
class. Whilst these strikes are leading to a re-emerging class
consciousness, to the awareness that workers belong to a class and that
solidarity and direct action are necessary, we are far from a situation
where our class is confident enough to develop its own base
organisations and to proceed to profound social change.</p>
<p>That is why it is important now to push the idea of grassroots
organisations against the machinations of the union bureaucrats, who are
hindering and obstructing strike action both here in the UK and abroad.</p>
<p>The ACG, Angry Workers, Plan C, and Communist Workers Organisation
will discuss recent and forthcoming strikes in the UK and elsewhere.
Plenty of time for q. and a. and discussion.</p><p>Meeting convened by London Anarchist Communist Group <br /></p>
<p>Tuesday May 23rd. </p><p>7pm</p><p>May Day Rooms.</p><p>88 Fleet Street London EC4Y 1DH. Nearest tube Blackfriars.</p><p>Tickets (free) from:</p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/all-out-the-current-strike-wave-tickets-634622471897">Eventbrite Info for this free meeting</a><br /></p><p>ACG website:<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2023/05/12/all-out-the-current-strike-wave-london-acg-public-meeting/">London ACG Public Meeting. Tuesday May 23rd.</a></p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-49998400935014129132023-02-12T12:18:00.002+00:002023-02-12T12:20:09.382+00:00British Anarchism Succumbs to War Fever.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjij72Y3y_C2ZsA4NbFgOgHxzMvrucOFgQk_IIHchJ1jqG6G2nFGRgavnstMfAheC5Pm3tQK4DYFAb77gcOPfEJml0HjGL5w_7IkLAILs_O0QOFIzJHBakkuYzq9w7a4rm-8WRXaHe69lr5d2hiULggSBtbMwqHqP5QBk4cnhwt2hI-4CUQtKd8ev6Nkg/s752/the_volunteers_kollwitz-752x440.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="752" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjij72Y3y_C2ZsA4NbFgOgHxzMvrucOFgQk_IIHchJ1jqG6G2nFGRgavnstMfAheC5Pm3tQK4DYFAb77gcOPfEJml0HjGL5w_7IkLAILs_O0QOFIzJHBakkuYzq9w7a4rm-8WRXaHe69lr5d2hiULggSBtbMwqHqP5QBk4cnhwt2hI-4CUQtKd8ev6Nkg/s320/the_volunteers_kollwitz-752x440.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p><i>A polemic against the wave of militarism seen across the
anarchist movement in Britain since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in
February 2022. Author Alex Alder.</i></p>
<p><i>The Anarchist Communist Group had no hand in the writing of the
following article. Nevertheless we feel that this well written and
comprehensive roundup of the war fever seriously affecting what passes
for an anarchist movement in Britain is something we fully endorse.</i> <i>Originally appearing on the <b>libcom </b>site, we publish it here for wider distribution.</i></p>
<p>Everyone is against war in the abstract – even the arms industry
executives can tell themselves that they are merely providing for
defence and global order, deterring war in doing so. But when war breaks
out the sentiment is made irrelevant. Peace-loving or not, war is here,
and you are either with your nation, your people, or against them.
Peace will come with victory. In any case, your side is the righteous
cause, because you fight for freedom and justice, for democracy and
stability, because your enemy were the aggressors, and tyrants and
devils to boot. The bloodshed is so easily sanctified.</p>
<p>Anarchism cuts right through such mystification. We say it as we see
it: the workers of different nations are sent to slaughter each other in
the interests of their rulers. Anti-militarism is a core principle of
anarchism. We understand armies to be a violent force underwriting
political authority (or those who would conquer it). We point to the
role of military force in suppressing uprisings and strikes at home,
while imposing national interests, enforcing capitalist markets, and
ruling colonies abroad. Military research and production is a highly
profitable investment of private capital and public funds, not least as a
subsidised source of technological development (for the purposes of
social control and generating profit). We consider how the military
system of strict hierarchy and discipline, alongside its culture of
chauvinism and othering,<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote1_tjkqt8p">1</a> breaks down the human character and reshapes it to the needs of those in command.</p>
<p>So how is it that today the anarchist movement in Britain (and
elsewhere) is supporting one nation’s military against another,
ideologically justifying and materially provisioning<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote2_ofqd8gj">2</a> the
Ukrainian war effort? Are we seeing something altogether new that would
lead us to question and revise our principles? No. We are seeing the
same tragedy brought upon the people of the region as we have seen time
after time. Our anti-militarist, internationalist, and revolutionary
perspective is as vital as ever. At this present stage, the struggle for
liberation is caught in the no-man’s-land between imperialist invasion
on the one side, and national defence (backed by an opposing
imperialism) on the other. To seek purpose in either trench would be
just more fuel in the furnace of capitalist warfare; it would mean
allegiance to the state against anarchy.</p>
<h3>National Defence and Anti-Imperialism</h3>
<p>From the long-standing anarchist paper <i>Freedom</i> and
anarcho-communist Anarchist Federation (AFed), to the anarchist “scene”
around antifascist and other activist groups, war fever is rife. At
first this involved cheerleading for the so-called ‘Anti-authoritarian
Platoon’, a unit of the Territorial Defence made up of anarchists and
antifascists, among others.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote3_7y5ld98">3</a> Participation
in military structures was explained by the need to defend themselves,
and softened by a narrative of independent popular resistance. But the
reality was quite different. The Territorial Defence Forces are the
reserve force of the Ukrainian military, subject to its command
structure. There is no question of autonomy. A member of the
Anti-authoritarian Platoon observed that in their unit “there [was]
normal military hierarchy with section commanders and platoon commander
subordinate to higher military officers.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote4_o8fy4jc">4</a> Other
anarchists and antifascists joined the regular army. Rhetoric aside,
this means collaboration in the national defence by joining the state
military, one way or another.</p>
<p>That some people choose to join or support the military defence of
the nation in which they reside when threatened by imperialist
domination is understandable<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote5_kgwe2gn">5</a> and
I do not judge anyone making such difficult choices. But it is not
anarchism – it is not compatible with anarchist ideas or practices. No
one lives up to their ideals in everything they do, but these
compromises and contradictions should be accepted as such, not
assimilated into our theory and practice such that in turn our movement
is assimilated into the society of capital and state.</p>
<p>As the reality of collaboration became clearer to British anarchists,
the message widened to support for the defence of Ukraine, maintaining
the rhetoric of ‘popular resistance’. “From Ukraine to Scotland to
Western Sahara to Palestine to Tatarstan, we stand with the people
resisting imperialism,”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote6_ncxaykn">6</a> proclaims Darya Rustamova in the pages of <i>Freedom</i> (and
reprinted by AFed). This statement raises more questions than it
answers. Who are “the people”? By what means are they resisting? To what
end? In the past, AFed were able to see through such empty talk,
arguing that “As anarchist communists, we have always opposed
nationalism, and have always marked our distance from the left through
vocally opposing all nationalism — including that of ‘oppressed
nations’. While we oppose oppression, exploitation and dispossession on
national grounds, and oppose imperialism and imperialist warfare, we
refuse to fall into the trap so common on the left of identifying with
the underdog side and glorifying ‘the resistance’ — however ‘critically’
— which is readily observable within Leninist/Trotskyist circles.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote7_cp3aiu0">7</a></p>
<p>Rustamova’s article, <i>‘A Thousand Red Flags’</i>, makes explicit
their nationalist premises by regurgitating the leftist differentiation
of good and bad nationalism. The nuance between different expressions of
nationalism in different contexts is no doubt real and significant. The
nationalism of a colony struggling for independence is obviously
different from the nationalism of the empire. Yet, for both the state is
their end (to establish, defend, or expand); both suppress or obscure
the class divide beneath nationality; and both serve the interests of a
ruling class (current or prospective). The common features of all
nationalisms that define them as such are precisely those we reject as
anarchists and revolutionary internationalists.</p>
<p>“Anarchists have taken to defence of their homeland,”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote8_mgqrjlk">8</a> announced the editor of AFed’s magazine, <i>Organise!</i>,
in issue #96. What homeland do anarchists have? The ‘homeland’ is a
sentimental notion of the nation-state in which a person is born. It is
the feelings of belonging, allegiance, and nostalgia that bonds the
individual to the nation. This clarifies the unquestioned leap that has
been made between Ukraine, as a sovereign nation, defending its
territory against invasion (i.e. national defence), and anarchists or
other individuals defending themselves (i.e. self-defence). It is a
powerful argument for going off to fight in the war in so far as few
would renounce the right of self-defence. But it assumes identity
between the nation and oneself, a formulation of nationalist ideology
that anarchists reject. Without hesitation, anarchists went from
championing “semi-autonomous” anarchist units in a “popular resistance”
to beating the drums of war for the military victory of Ukraine and
total defeat of Russia.</p>
<p>The state’s ultimate self-justification is preserving the safety and
wellbeing of its subjects. War with other nations is the greatest
unifying force of the state (initially, at least). The Ukrainian
anarchist magazine <i>Assembly</i> confirm that “we should understand
that the national unity of Ukrainians around Zelensky’s power rests only
on fear of an external threat”.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote9_7ct0pet">9</a> To
participate in this unification and raise that same instinct of
self-preservation as explanation, is to not only give legitimacy to the
state’s ideological power, but also to support the state’s material
reinforcement. To assert the necessity of participating in national
defence and joining the state military is to accept the necessity of the
state. <i>Assembly</i> lament that “the majority of those who
identify themselves as anarchists in Ukraine […] immediately merged with
the ruling class in a single nationalist impulse.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote10_jbgr0pf">10</a> The
state’s power over life and death, war and peace, is one of its
defining aspects – it is for anarchists to criticise and subvert, not
fall back on as a necessary evil.</p>
<p>Alongside the theoretical rejection of national unity, it is
important to question the practical reality of the assumption that our
personal safety is tied in with national security. Thoughts on this are
offered by Saša Kaluža, an anarchist in Ukraine, who says that “The goal
of the Ukrainian state and their military structures in this war is to
keep their power, the goal of the Russian state and their military
structures is to seize power. The participation of anarchists in the
structures of either of these states does not make the situation any
easier for the people living in Ukraine, who are suffering from the war
between two states. All the words about the army defending people,
society and their land are only part of state propaganda, and history
shows this. It is only possible to stop the war by opposing both
states.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote11_mrfqdyd">11</a> Regarding
the volunteer units specifically, they argue that the “Territorial
Defence is a good and telling example of how volunteer structures
initiated and controlled by the state can only perform volunteer support
functions within the state, by state methods and only to protect the
state itself, and cannot actually help the population with security and
other primary needs that arise in crisis situations.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote12_kps3cwp">12</a> It
can further be doubted that the participation of a hundred or so
anarchists and antifascists in the armed forces has any impact on the
outcome of the war, whereas as many dedicated agitators could be a
significant nucleus of anti-militarism.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote13_xph4ywm">13</a></p>
<p>We need to look beyond the black-and-white binary of aggressor and
resistance, imperialist nation and oppressed nation, revealing the
complexity of class antagonisms, power structures, and social
hierarchies within each nation-state, identifying the latent force of
working class internationalism.</p>
<p>In supporting Ukraine, British anarchists have found themselves on
the side of NATO, an imperialist military alliance that defends the
interests of the core capitalist nations in Europe and North America.
But rather than take this as an opportunity to repudiate NATO,
acknowledging a mere coincidence of interests in this particular
situation, anarchists in Britain have wavered in their opposition,
sympathising with Western imperialism as a check on Russian imperialism.
This is most evident in Zosia Brom’s article, <i>‘Fuck Leftist Westplaining’</i>,<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote14_remg56z">14</a> published in <i>Freedom</i> (of which she was an editor at the time), and reprinted in <i>Organise!</i> #96
by AFed. Supposing the necessity of NATO membership for the security of
Eastern Europe is no doubt correct from the perspective of state
diplomacy and international relations, but we are not politicians and we
are not part of the decision making apparatus of the state. As
anarchists we must respond to the manoeuvrings of nation-states and
imperialist blocs from a working class perspective. Autonomous of all
state machinery, its realpolitik is not for us to take up. Our
anti-imperialism cannot be the Stalinist reflex of supporting anyone
opposed to Western imperialism – but neither can it involve turning to
said imperialism to maintain our rights and safety. Rather than thinking
in terms of national agency, we need to be thinking along class lines,
in terms of social struggle.</p>
<h3>Antifascism and Class Struggle</h3>
<p>Neither the Russian nor Ukrainian state can be accurately described
as fascist, although both have tolerated, enabled, and utilised fascist
elements whenever expedient. However, the Russian state has reached a
level of authoritarian nationalism, internal repression, and revanchist
expansionism comparable to the fascist regimes of the twentieth century.
The Ukrainian state can better be described as a neoliberal, corrupt
democracy.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote15_5tyzeau">15</a> It
is necessary to thoroughly reject Russian propaganda of “de-nazifying”
Ukraine. But anarchists in Britain have simply turned this around,
framing Ukraine’s military defence as an antifascist struggle. This
risks legitimising war in the name of antifascism, an ideological
manoeuvre that Putin has so transparently played on. Projecting our
antifascist ideals onto the national defence of Ukraine does not alter
its material reality.</p>
<p>Ideological antifascism can serve to obscure class interests and
subordinate revolutionary struggle to popular fronts in defence of the
democratic state.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote16_qk7ozsg">16</a> The
movement towards anarchy is deferred to a future, more opportune time
as the immediate threat of fascism (or comparable totalitarian tendency)
redraws the board. The intermediate goal of defending the limited
rights of democratic society becomes the only legitimate reference
point. Ideological unification is mirrored by social unification in
cross-class alliances that bring together ruler and ruled, exploiter and
exploited against the exceptional threat.</p>
<p>If it means the defeat of fascism, the shielding of actual life and
liberties, conceding one’s principles may be understandable. But we
should have learned from the twentieth century that it is nothing but a
travesty.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote17_tw9jq1l">17</a> Again
and again, the democratic state which popular fronts defended gave way
to fascism with little more than a whimper. Those states prioritised –
through counter-revolution – the consolidation of their authority, even
if that meant enabling or embracing fascism. “The fight for a democratic
state is inevitably a fight to consolidate the state, and far from
crippling totalitarianism, such a fight increases totalitarianism’s
stranglehold on society.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote18_dytexh9">18</a> The
state can develop towards democracy or dictatorship depending on what
is necessary for the continuation of capitalism and the state. It is
through the struggle against the state as such that we can both confront
authoritarian tendencies in the intermediate term while overturning the
conditions that produce them in the long term.</p>
<h3>War and Revolutionary Struggle</h3>
<p>Those anarchists supporting Ukraine have revealed a great deal of
confusion about how we relate to war as anarchists. Some keep up their
anti-war rhetoric while supporting one side against another. Others
conflate warfare with the struggle for freedom. And some fully embrace
war-mongering, all things being justified by opposition to Russia.</p>
<p>Peter Ó Máille (editor of <i>Organise!</i> magazine) off-handedly
dispenses with working class anti-militarism in musing that “For the
Anarchist there is only one war which matters and that is the class war,
except for when it isn’t. There are fascists that need fighting, there
are despots, tyrants, and empires. They aren’t going to go home due to
your strongly worded petition.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote19_7zmyhx8">19</a> We
can surely agree on the need to fight against tyrants such as Putin,
but the heart of the matter is the means by which we do so. And here we
find misrepresentation and confusion. War between nations and “class
war” are distinct in kind. Anarchists are against war in the sense of
military conflict undertaken by political authority. “Class war” is a
figurative term, referring to the struggle between classes that is
framed by capitalist social relations. Revolutionary class struggle is
the collective effort of the working class to transform those social
relations, which cannot be altered by war in the proper sense. War, in
fact, consecrates those social relations in blood.</p>
<p>The war has been treated, in general, not as a war between two states, but as a struggle for the freedom of Eastern Europe.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote20_a8hkirl">20</a> Russia’s
victory would reinforce its totalitarian regime internally and
encourage the further subjugation of its neighbours, while Russia’s
defeat, we are told, would incite the collapse of Putin’s government and
reinforce democratic governance in the region, maintaining favourable
conditions for social struggle. Here it is clear that the methods and
principles of anarchism have been entirely discarded in favour of the
doctrine of military humanitarianism (exemplified by NATO interventions
across the Global South and the Balkans). With such a logic adopted, it
was only a matter of time before anarchists started arguing for NATO
member nations to send more military aid to Ukraine (or bemoaning the
hesitant lack of it).</p>
<p>The political, social, and economic outcomes of war are
unpredictable. It is not unlikely that Ukraine will emerge from the war
as an authoritarian state, an active partner in NATO’s military
imperialism, and highly susceptible to far-right ideologies whose
zealots will have been empowered by the war in more ways than one. Even
if liberal democracy survives in Ukraine, there is no guarantee that
these conditions will be favourable to the struggle for liberation. A
democratic state commanding popular support will have the free reign to
quietly suppress post-war rebellions and quell industrial unrest.
Anarchist malcontents will easily be framed as Russian-backed
separatists and saboteurs, or simply ignored in the wave of overwhelming
patriotism and desire for a return to normality and stability, which
could follow a military victory. Either way it is pure speculation, and
not a strong basis for the working class to sacrifice itself to the war
effort.</p>
<p>Anarchists have always understood that the social transformation we
wish to see cannot come about by means of the state or military force of
any kind, but must develop from the bottom-up among the oppressed and
exploited people themselves. Wars can only impose a new form of
authority, even if that new authority is a lesser evil. Deferring the
struggle against capitalism and the state until after a “victorious” war
only ensures the conditions for further war and oppression remain,
while undermining the struggle against them. <i>War is not a means of liberation.</i> Just
as we use direct action, self-organisation, mutual aid, and sabotage to
pursue our revolutionary ends, those same means can be used to
undermine tyrants and invaders, without facilitating other forms of
domination.</p>
<h3>Action From Principle</h3>
<p>The coherency of means and ends is a notion fundamental to anarchism.
The principles that guide us, and the methods we employ, are a
continuous thread linking our partial struggles today with the social
revolution we seek to hasten and the free society born thereof. Action
from principle underpins everything we do. In defending a course of
statist military action, anarchists will have stumbled into basic
contradictions. This has been resolved through a series of
falsifications and concessions.</p>
<p>Anti-militarism, internationalism, and so on, are all very nice in theory, we are told, but ultimately empty abstractions.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote21_6wraf3s">21</a> They
are simply not applicable to the reality faced by anarchists on the
ground. Here we see the separation of theory and practice. Theory
belongs in books, we would be led to believe, while the plans and
practices of anarchists are driven by force of circumstances. The lesser
evil displaces any self-determined goal as the point of reference,
while expediency becomes the measure of all choice. Necessity justifies
all, in the end.</p>
<p>What is forgotten is that the theory and practice of anarchism are
drawn from one another in a constant process of mutual development. It
is from experience – of success and defeat, war and peace, revolution
and reaction – from generation to generation, all over the world, that
we have cultivated a method of freedom: anarchism. It is false to
contrast principles with pragmatism, because our principles are the
crystallisation of precisely <i>what works</i>.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote22_aq2naa8">22</a> There
may be more appealing options in the short term, in relation to more
immediate interests, but these will lead us away from our goals.
Anarchists, for example, refuse to act within state structures or
collaborate with state forces not in obedience to unquestionable dogma,
but because we know that by such means we will only perpetuate state
power, that our struggle will be recuperated into political channels and
reshaped by institutional pressures. We know this both through abstract
analysis of the modern state, and through the experiences of
individuals, organisations, and whole movements.</p>
<p>Such an understanding used to be at the core of the Anarchist
Federation. Now they openly disparage anarchist principles as “slogans”
used to sidestep critical analysis, provoke emotional responses, and
shut down debate. Anti-militarist agitation is compared to the
manipulative and authoritarian practices of Brexiteers and the
far-right.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote23_zke3j7f">23</a> This
simply does not reflect the reality of the propaganda work of “No War
but the Class War” groups, for whom this slogan is just a masthead.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote24_rtzzkuh">24</a> Meanwhile, the editor of their theoretical journal <i>Organise!</i> now asserts that “I doubt the theory works past the first barrage of artillery on the neighbourhood.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote25_h2l3qr4">25</a> In
that case, we may as well give it up and don our khakis. Anarchism, we
would conclude, is nothing but naive idealism, belonging to a more
peaceful world than our own. I would say, quite the opposite, that it is
precisely in such times of heightened conflict, of raised stakes and
mortal threats, that learning from our past is more vital than ever. And
I would say, far from limiting ourselves to ideal conditions, the
anarchist movement has a strong tradition of anti-militarism in times of
war, as well as heroic, constructive efforts in the depths of crisis
and disaster.</p>
<p>Once we separate our methods from our goals, our ideas from our
actions, we are left only with the rule of expediency: the most
efficient means of attaining immediate objectives, regardless of other
considerations. If the military victory of Ukraine and collapse of
Putin’s government comes before all else then there are much more
effective ways to pursue this goal than forming ideologically bound
“anti-authoritarian” Territorial Defence units made up of volunteers
with little to no combat experience. It is entirely logical that
anarchists and other left-wing activists fighting in the war would
become frustrated with the auxiliary role and bureaucratic limitations
faced in the ‘Anti-authoritarian Platoon’ and disperse into more
effective fighting units of the army closer to the frontline. And since
“fascists are much better organized in the ranks of the Ukrainian army”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote26_8tyfce9">26</a> –
also sharing the motivation to be fighting on the frontline – it is
predictable that “attempts to get a place in the military ranks brought
[anti-authoritarian fighters] directly to units directly connected with
Ukrainian fascist groups”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote27_c2mbyot">27</a> and “in one way or another, becoming forces that support the development of far-right politics in Ukraine”.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote28_lzwupom">28</a> This is the logical outcome of relinquishing anarchist principles to the practical needs of the war effort.</p>
<p>In our own context, the war fever that has overcome British anarchism
will likely lead to support for British military intervention (through
military aid and technical support, if not actual combat involvement)
and, by extension, NATO imperialism. It is through such means that
Ukraine will be able to defeat Russia. Given that NATO members are
currently hesitant to escalate into direct conflict between nuclear
powers, some anarchists find themselves in the absurd position of being
more eager for the generalisation of imperialist war than their own
ruling classes. Will anarchists be signing up to the British Army to go
kill Russians? We don’t have any anarchist MPs to vote for war credits,
at least.</p>
<h3>The Lesser Evil</h3>
<p>In our proletarian condition of dispossession, disempowerment, and
alienation, our entire lives have been reduced to a search for the
lesser evil. Looking at Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, the war
crimes it has perpetrated, and the harsh repression brought upon its own
citizens, we could identify Ukraine’s national defence as the lesser
evil. Yet, acknowledging that <i>there is</i> a lesser evil does not
mean, without further reason, that we should be supporting it. And, from
an anarchist perspective, we can find no good reason to collaborate
with either state. At the same time, refusing to support one state
against another does not mean equating both sides. We don’t say that
both sides are the same, simply that neither have anything to offer the
working class.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote29_ihr8jf9">29</a> Different
structures and forces of oppression should be analysed in their
particular nature, and action can be focused on one thing over another,
without resorting to collaboration.</p>
<p>The lesser evil is still an evil. In defending its territory, the
Ukrainian state has not been transformed into a force for good. While
the war rages, the capitalist class in Ukraine has only intensified its
exploitation and abuse of the working people, backed by new restrictions
on industrial action and the dismantling of workers’ rights.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote30_nnx80jb">30</a> That
is, for those who have not been conscripted to the killing fields.
Conscription is a form of slavery, to be resisted at all costs.
Ukraine’s borders have been closed to all men of conscription age (a
category in which trans women have been included, erasing their
identity) to enable the rounding up of cannon fodder. Meanwhile, Ukraine
contributes to the genocidal war in Tigray, providing support for the
use of drones by the Ethiopian military.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote31_qf0pbst">31</a> Along
the road of the lesser evil, the political and economic conditions that
produce war and dictatorship will continue to perpetuate themselves;
“it is forgotten that to choose an evil – even if it is a lesser evil –
is the best way to prolong it.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote32_fubiswx">32</a></p>
<p>We need to choose our own battles. The threat of co-optation and
counter-insurgency is that we seem to be constantly denied the
possibility of fighting on our own terms. Whether that be pushing social
movements into the electoral graveyard, or driving rebellion into the
field of military conflict, our real social strength is lost leaving us a
controlled opposition or a symmetric enemy of the state that can be
isolated and crushed. The strength of anarchism – what has made it a
truly subversive force outside of and against every system of authority –
is that anarchists have constantly struggled to fight on their own
terms, even if that means facing marginalisation or suppression. If at
first we speak alone with the voice of revolutionary internationalism,
the tide can quickly turn – a tide that not uncommonly surges towards
the tail end and aftermath of war.</p>
<h3>Neither East Nor West</h3>
<p>Many of the anarchists in Ukraine, and across Eastern Europe, have
thrown themselves behind Ukraine’s war effort. This creates a tension
with anti-militarist, internationalist agitation in Britain and across
the world. As Peter Ó Máille puts it, “You just can’t bear to listen to
Eastern European Anarchists eh? […You] forget to listen to the fucking
locals as [you] act like the Politburo of Anarchism. Please kindly, shut
the fuck up.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote33_e5jz7oo">33</a> Meanwhile,
Zosia Brom bemoans “westplaining” – western leftists condescendingly
explaining to Eastern Europeans their own reality. We should “be
informed that many Eastern Europe leftists are on the same page here,
and we have been discussing it for a while now”.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote34_s7epym5">34</a></p>
<p>In this way, the debate between war anarchists and anti-militarist
anarchists is reframed into a confrontation between Western Europe and
Eastern Europe, between Westerners’ ignorance and arrogance on the one
hand, and the pro-Ukraine “consensus” in Eastern Europe on the other.
This is of course a rhetorical device for shaming any criticism. In
reality, many anarchists in Eastern Europe, including some in Ukraine
itself, have responded to the Russian invasion with internationalist,
anti-militarist propaganda and action. The anarchist collective behind
the <a href="https://assembly.org.ua/"><i>Assembly</i></a> magazine,
based in Kharkiv, Ukraine, have withstood the urge of nationalist
militarism and chosen to focus on mutual aid, counter-information, and
class conflict. All of the sections of the anarcho-syndicalist
International Workers’ Association (IWA) in the region – in Poland,<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote35_asjemwt">35</a> Slovakia,<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote36_t53sdce">36</a> Serbia,<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote37_287df31">37</a> and Russia<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote38_o7mfufz">38</a> – have taken a clear stand for revolutionary internationalism. An ‘<a href="https://antimilitarismus.noblogs.org/english/">Anti-militarist Initiative</a>’
based in Central Europe was launched in response to the surge of
militarism across Europe, not least in the anarchist movement. They may
be a minority, but anarchists have no faith in the inherent virtues of
any majority. There is also a problem of Eurocentrism in the <i>East versus West</i> dichotomy, since internationalist reactions to the invasion of Ukraine can be seen from around the world.</p>
<p>Even without such concrete examples, we should be sceptical of anyone
who claims to speak on behalf of a whole region, as if the anarchists
of Eastern Europe were a homogenous collective with a consensus of
opinion. The logic of representation itself must be scrutinised by
anarchists. Those speaking for the region “extract only one tendency
from the multidimensional whole and ignore or downplay the others”.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote39_4lq52b2">39</a> In
contrast “We try to listen to as many voices as possible, but we only
support those that we find constructive. Others we criticize and refuse
to support. In short, we perceive different tendencies and do not try to
support war propaganda that portrays the Ukrainian population as a
united community calling unanimously for involvement in the war.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote40_0hwdek7">40</a> We should listen, yes, but also think for ourselves.</p>
<p>I totally reject the construction of an <i>us and them</i> paradigm
between Eastern Europe and Western Europe. We relate to each other as
individuals and collectives on the basis of shared struggles and shared
principles, not as geopolitical blocs. KRAS (the Russian section of the
IWA) have been slandered and had their members doxxed<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote41_0n901ia">41</a> for
not falling into line behind the supposed pro-Ukraine “consensus”,
despite their anti-war efforts. One of the perpetrators of this doxxing
was subsequently given a platform in Britain by <i>Freedom</i>,<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote42_p42jpm6">42</a> in
an interview about the defunct RKAS of Ukraine, an organisation accused
of cult-ish authoritarian dynamics and nationalist sympathies, whose
members dissolved into the conflict between the Ukrainian state and
Donbass separatists.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote43_gm3ns1u">43</a> At the same time, the editors of <i>Freedom</i> refused to publish anything contrary to their pro-Ukraine line.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote44_blfdcuy">44</a> This kind of tribalism can tear international movements apart.</p>
<h3>Working Class Internationalism</h3>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>“The position of ‘no war but the class war’ is not a cop-out, it is a
long term and short term principle which denies the false choice
between ‘evils’. To make it a reality we need to be even more active in
encouraging internationalism in the working class to the extent that
ordinary people feel confident, organised and supported enough to resist
their war-mongering governments and national liberation movements.”<br />— <a href="https://files.libcom.org/files/Organise%2052%20-%20Autumn-Winter%201999_compressed_0.pdf"><i>Organise!</i> #52</a> (1999), Anarchist Federation</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Make no mistake, in opposing capitalist wars we are not pleading for
peace at all costs. We are not pacifists. There can be no peace between
people so long as one part of society oppresses and exploits the rest.
The violent enforcement of power and wealth underlies everything in our
society, and in times of war it erupts to the surface in a terrible orgy
of blood. One power structure clashes with another; but whoever wins,
our slavery continues. Our struggle is to overturn these powers and
build new social forms without hierarchy. We will not be passive victims
of violence: every struggle for freedom must defend itself when
necessary. There is a long history of libertarian partisans fighting
against oppressive governments and occupiers. Armed militias and
guerilla units answerable to self-organised workers (such as
revolutionary unions and workers’ councils) have sprung up in times of
social revolution.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote45_9uy2nuc">45</a> <i>The people armed</i> are
the surest safeguard against counter-revolution. But regular armies –
permanent, specialised forces monopolising legitimate violence with
hierarchical discipline – are a function of state power (and a rudiment
of the state-in-formation).<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote46_7df8zri">46</a></p>
<p>In Ukraine and Russia there is no revolution, only war. The war
between nations, then, must be transformed into open class struggle.
This begins when workers reject the social truce within their “own”
nation, and organise on a class basis against the people who oppress and
exploit them every day.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote47_307sgd5">47</a> Internationalists
aim to build solidarity between workers across borders, while agitating
for soldiers to fraternise, desert, and mutiny. Military infrastructure
can be sabotaged, as has been happening on the railways connecting
Russia and Belarus to Ukraine.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote48_bti46um">48</a> Mutual aid networks can be set up, so that people can support each other to survive the devastation and hardship.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote49_umq3yaf">49</a> Support needs to be given to draft-evaders, deserters, prisoners, and refugees.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote50_pzba8ho">50</a> All
such vital efforts, and newly emerging forms of social struggle, should
be organised from below, independent of all state, military, and
corporate structures. Anarchists can take the initiative in agitating
and organising such activity, while arguing for working class
internationalism and opposing the authoritarian measures of the
militarised state.</p>
<p>Workers around the world can intensify the latent struggle in their
workplaces and communities, taking direct action against war industries
and arms trading through strikes, boycotts, and sabotage. It is
imperative that we oppose war-mongering and militarisation in Britain
and Europe, resisting the generalisation of war. Direct action is
already being used effectively by activists against arms companies
linked to the Israel Defense Forces, for example.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote51_p96qcdi">51</a> We
need to link the class struggle in Britain, which is currently growing
in intensity due to the cost of living crisis, to the struggles faced by
the working class in Ukraine and Russia. ‘<a href="https://nwbcwliverpool.wordpress.com/">NWBCW Liverpool</a>’
have been agitating on this basis on picket lines across Merseyside
during the current strike wave. We need to spread information about the
daily struggles and emerging acts of rebellion in warring territories,
and find ways to support them in practice.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote52_mbyf5c8">52</a> Meanwhile we can seek to assist the people fleeing the war, whether they be civilian refugees or military deserters.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote53_mlkfifu">53</a> The ‘<a href="https://nowar.solidarite.online/">Olga Taratuta Solidarity Initiative</a>’
in France offers a good example of such practical support. This should
bolster a broader struggle against the “Fortress Europe” border regime
and Britain’s “hostile environment” policy. Some anarchists in Britain
have taken this course of working class internationalism – such as the <a href="https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/tag/internationalism/">Anarchist Communist Group</a>, Liverpool Solidarity Federation,<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote54_3ygbah7">54</a> and <a href="https://anarcomuk.uk/">AnarCom Network</a> – but they are a minority.</p>
<p>The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the immiseration of the working
class in Britain are both products of the same capitalist system in
crisis. And this capitalist crisis can only be overcome by the
revolutionary struggle of the international working class. If that <i>revolutionary</i> struggle and <i>international</i> working class solidarity have yet to develop, it is our task to help bring them about.<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote55_lpl6j0g">55</a> What
was said by anarchists during the First World War is no less true
today: “No matter where they may find themselves, the anarchists’ role
in the current tragedy is to carry on proclaiming that there is but one
war of liberation: the one waged in every country by the oppressed
against the oppressor, by the exploited against the exploiter. Our task
is to summon the slaves to revolt against their masters.”<a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnote56_hazqj98">56</a> Desertions, mutinies, mass strikes, and international revolutionary upheaval brought that war to an end.</p>
<p>In Britain we are at the heart of the global capitalist economy and
NATO imperialism; to fall into war fever at this time is disastrous. The
class struggle is already being waged by our bosses, bankers,
oligarchs, and their lackeys in government: we can fight back or we can
go to the slaughter.</p>
<h3>Further Reading:</h3>
<p>~ ‘<a href="https://umanitanova.org/guerra-in-ucraina-e-diserzione-intervista-con-il-gruppo-anarchico-assembly-di-kharkiv-iten/">War in Ukraine and desertion: Interview with the anarchist group “Assembly” of Kharkiv</a>’, International Relations Commission of the Italian Anarchist Federation.<br />~ ‘<a href="https://libcom.org/article/interview-anarchosyndicalists-russia-no-war-class-war">An interview with anarchosyndicalists from Russia: no war but the class war!</a>’, Grupo Moiras.<br />~ ‘<a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anonymous-anarchist-antimilitarism-and-myths-about-the-war-in-ukraine">Anarchist Antimilitarism and Myths About the War in Ukraine</a>’, Some Anarchists from the Central European Region.<br />~ <a href="https://libcom.org/tags/assemblyorgua"><i>Assembly</i> coverage of anti-war direct action and social struggle in Ukraine and Russia.</a><br />~ ‘<a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anarchist-federation-against-nationalism">Against Nationalism</a>’, Anarchist Federation.</p>
<p><b>Featured Image:</b><br />‘The Volunteers’, woodcut on paper by Käthe Kollwitz (1921–2).</p>
<ul><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref1_tjkqt8p">1</a>Anarchists
are no less susceptible to these pressures, for all our ideals, as can
be seen with anarchist fighters in Ukraine referring to Russian soldiers
as “orcs” and “Putin’s horde”.</li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref2_ofqd8gj">2</a>Anarchists
have been raising funds for the ‘Solidarity Collectives’ (formerly
‘Operation Solidarity) who provide military supplies to libertarian and
antifascist activists in the Ukrainian Armed Forces (in addition to
humanitarian aid). Between February and June 2022, out of €59,680 spent
by Operation Solidarity, €41,404 was used for “military causes”. <a href="https://operation-solidarity.org/2022/07/06/operation-solidarity-the-end/">https://operation-solidarity.org/2022/07/06/operation-solidarity-the-end/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref3_7y5ld98">3</a>Since
the beginning of the war, they have dispersed into various Territorial
Defence and regular army units (many of them transferring so as to be
closer to the frontline), but still connected through the Resistance
Committee and supported by the Solidarity Collectives.</li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref4_o8fy4jc">4</a>“Defensive
war as an act of popular resistance…”: Exclusive Interview with an
Anarchist Fighter of the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine. <a href="https://enoughisenough14.org/2022/06/02/defensive-war-as-an-act-of-popular-resistance-exclusive-interview-with-an-anarchist-fighter-of-the-territorial-defense-forces-of-ukraine/">https://enoughisenough14.org/2022/06/02/defensive-war-as-an-act-of-popular-resistance-exclusive-interview-with-an-anarchist-fighter-of-the-territorial-defense-forces-of-ukraine/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref5_kgwe2gn">5</a>Just
as it is understandable that other people will seek to escape the
war-zones and seek refuge elsewhere, to evade being drafted, or desert
from the military.</li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref6_ncxaykn">6</a>‘A thousand red flags’, Darya Rustamova. <a href="https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/03/07/a-thousand-red-flags/">https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/03/07/a-thousand-red-flags/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref7_cp3aiu0">7</a>‘Against Nationalism’, Anarchist Federation. <a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anarchist-federation-against-nationalism">https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anarchist-federation-against-nationalism</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref8_mgqrjlk">8</a>‘Editorial’, <i>Organise!</i> #96. <a href="https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/">https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref9_7ct0pet">9</a>‘War
in Ukraine and desertion: Interview with the anarchist group “Assembly”
of Kharkiv’, International Relations Commission of the Italian
Anarchist Federation. <a href="https://umanitanova.org/guerra-in-ucraina-e-diserzione-intervista-con-il-gruppo-anarchico-assembly-di-kharkiv-iten/">https://umanitanova.org/guerra-in-ucraina-e-diserzione-intervista-con-il-gruppo-anarchico-assembly-di-kharkiv-iten/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref10_jbgr0pf">10</a><i>Ibid.</i></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref11_mrfqdyd">11</a>‘Anarchist Organization in Times of War and Crisis’, Saša Kaluža. <a href="https://enoughisenough14.org/2022/03/07/anarchist-organization-in-times-of-war-and-crisis-ukraine/">https://enoughisenough14.org/2022/03/07/anarchist-organization-in-times-of-war-and-crisis-ukraine/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref12_kps3cwp">12</a><i>Ibid.</i></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref13_xph4ywm">13</a>Back
in 2018, in relation to the war against Russian-backed separatists in
the Donbass region, but before the full Russian invasion of 2022,
Ukrainian anarchist group ‘RevDia’ (who now participate in the
Resistance Committee) argued that “The army is a hierarchical structure,
where an ordinary soldier can not influence the course of the war”, and
that “…the army does not protect us. And does not defend our
interests”. <a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/rev-dia-thought-of-war">https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/rev-dia-thought-of-war</a> and <a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/rev-dia-anarchism-in-action#toc6">https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/rev-dia-anarchism-in-action#toc6</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref14_remg56z">14</a>‘Fuck Leftist Westplaining’, Zosia Brom. <a href="https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/03/04/fuck-leftist-westplaining/">https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/03/04/fuck-leftist-westplaining/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref15_5tyzeau">15</a>Although the extra-parliamentary far-right in Ukraine should not be brushed under the rug.</li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref16_qk7ozsg">16</a>This
is not a criticism of antifascism in the general sense, but of a
particular antifascist ideology that was prevalent in the popular fronts
of the mid-twentieth century, and which continues to be present in
liberal opposition to fascism.</li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref17_tw9jq1l">17</a>“For
revolutionaries, and particularly for anarchists, the tragic experience
of Spain in ‘36 should suffice to keep oneself free of illusions in
respect to antifascism, which is no more than the defense of the
democratic forms of capitalist management, reconciliation between
classes, the option of the “lesser evil” and the abandonment of the
revolutionary horizon.” <a href="https://malcontent.noblogs.org/post/2022/03/28/reflections-on-the-ongoing-capitalist-butchery-russia-ukraine-vamos-hacia-la-vida/">https://malcontent.noblogs.org/post/2022/03/28/reflections-on-the-ongoing-capitalist-butchery-russia-ukraine-vamos-hacia-la-vida/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref18_dytexh9">18</a>‘When Insurrections Die’, Gilles Dauve. <a href="https://libcom.org/article/when-insurrections-die-gilles-dauve">https://libcom.org/article/when-insurrections-die-gilles-dauve</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref19_7zmyhx8">19</a>‘Editorial’, <i>Organise!</i> #96. <a href="https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/">https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref20_a8hkirl">20</a>See, for example, ‘Why Do Anarchists Go To War?’, by RevDia, March 2022. Featured in <i>Organise!</i> #96. <a href="https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/">https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref21_6wraf3s">21</a>For
example, “The [internationalist] analysis is […] full of abstractions
and unreal at ground level, from where Ukrainian anarchists are asking
for our practical help including military equipment”. Quoted from
‘Ukraine – Anarchist Approaches’ in <i>Organise!</i> #96. <a href="https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/">https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref22_aq2naa8">22</a>‘Pragmatism as Ideology’, Joseph Kay. <a href="https://libcom.org/article/pragmatism-ideology">https://libcom.org/article/pragmatism-ideology</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref23_zke3j7f">23</a>‘The Trouble With Slogans’, Emma Hayes, <i>Organise!</i> #96. <a href="https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/">https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref24_rtzzkuh">24</a>See NWBCW Liverpool’s list of internationalist positions. <a href="https://nwbcwliverpool.wordpress.com/internationalist-positions/">https://nwbcwliverpool.wordpress.com/internationalist-positions/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref25_h2l3qr4">25</a>‘Editorial’, <i>Organise!</i> #96. <a href="https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/">https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref26_8tyfce9">26</a>’A
political and personal statement as well as a review of our solidarity
work around the war in Ukraine so far’, Anarchist Black Cross Dresden. <a href="https://enoughisenough14.org/2022/12/04/a-political-and-personal-statement-as-well-as-a-review-of-our-solidarity-work-around-the-war-in-ukraine-so-far-anarchist-black-cross-dresden/">https://enoughisenough14.org/2022/12/04/a-political-and-personal-statement-as-well-as-a-review-of-our-solidarity-work-around-the-war-in-ukraine-so-far-anarchist-black-cross-dresden/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref27_c2mbyot">27</a><i>Ibid.</i></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref28_lzwupom">28</a><i>Ibid.</i></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref29_ihr8jf9">29</a>“Nationalism
can offer nothing except further rounds of conflict, which look set to
increase in number and severity as national competition over the world’s
dwindling energy resources increases. When conflict is framed in
national terms — understood as the conflict between an oppressed and an
oppressor nation — the working class necessarily loses out.” <a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anarchist-federation-against-nationalism">https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anarchist-federation-against-nationalism</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref30_nnx80jb">30</a>‘Ukraine’s anti-worker law comes into effect’, openDemocracy. <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/ukraine-labour-law-wrecks-workers-rights/">https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/ukraine-labour-law-wrecks-workers-rights/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref31_qf0pbst">31</a>”Turkey,
a member of NATO, sells to the Ethiopian government drones whose
engines are manufactured in Ukraine, in Kyiv. The government of Ukraine
which – although itself under the threat of imperialism – did not
hesitate to provide after-sales service and to send mercenary
technicians to teach the Ethiopian imperialist army how to use these
drones against the populations in Tigray.” <a href="https://cnt-ait.info/2022/02/27/tigre-ukraine/">http://cnt-ait.info/2022/02/27/tigre-ukraine/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref32_fubiswx">32</a>‘The Lesser Evil’, Dominique Misein. <a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/dominique-misein-the-lesser-evil">https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/dominique-misein-the-lesser-evil</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref33_e5jz7oo">33</a>‘Editorial’, <i>Organise!</i> #96. <a href="https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/">https://organisemagazine.org.uk/3d-flip-book/organise-96-plus/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref34_s7epym5">34</a>‘Fuck Leftist Westplaining’, Zosia Brom. <a href="https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/03/04/fuck-leftist-westplaining/">https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/03/04/fuck-leftist-westplaining/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref35_asjemwt">35</a>‘Against the War!’, ZSP. <a href="https://zsp.net.pl/przeciw-wojnie">https://zsp.net.pl/przeciw-wojnie</a>. See also, anti-war actions in front of Russian and Ukrainian embassies. <a href="https://zsp.net.pl/anti-war-actions">https://zsp.net.pl/anti-war-actions</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref36_t53sdce">36</a>Reproduced anti-militarist articles from CNT-AIT and KRAS. <a href="https://www.priamaakcia.sk/Medzinarodny-den-zien-a-vojna-na-Ukrajine.html">https://www.priamaakcia.sk/Medzinarodny-den-zien-a-vojna-na-Ukrajine.html</a> and <a href="https://www.priamaakcia.sk/Ruska-sekcia-Medzinarodnej-asociacie-pracujucich-KRAS-odpoveda-na-otazky-tykajuce-sa-vojny-na-Ukrajine.html">https://www.priamaakcia.sk/Ruska-sekcia-Medzinarodnej-asociacie-pracujucich-KRAS-odpoveda-na-otazky-tykajuce-sa-vojny-na-Ukrajine.html</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref37_287df31">37</a>‘Let’s turn capitalist wars into a workers’ revolution!’, ASI. <a href="https://iwa-ait.org/content/lets-turn-capitalist-wars-workers-revolution">https://iwa-ait.org/content/lets-turn-capitalist-wars-workers-revolution</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref38_o7mfufz">38</a>‘No War!’, KRAS. <a href="https://aitrus.info/node/5921">https://aitrus.info/node/5921</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref39_4lq52b2">39</a>‘Anarchist Antimilitarism and Myths About the War in Ukraine’, Some Anarchists from the Central European Region. <a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anonymous-anarchist-antimilitarism-and-myths-about-the-war-in-ukraine#toc28">https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anonymous-anarchist-antimilitarism-and-myths-about-the-war-in-ukraine#toc28</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref40_0hwdek7">40</a><i>Ibid.</i></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref41_0n901ia">41</a>‘Again about “anarchists” who forget the principles’, KRAS. <a href="https://iwa-ait.org/content/again-about-anarchists-who-forget-principles">https://iwa-ait.org/content/again-about-anarchists-who-forget-principles</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref42_p42jpm6">42</a>‘“Leftists”
outside Ukraine are used to listening only to people from Moscow:
Interview with anarcho-syndicalists in Eastern Ukraine’. <a href="https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/10/04/leftists-outside-ukraine-are-used-to-listening-only-to-people-from-moscow-interview-with-rkas-anarcho-syndicalists-in-eastern-ukraine/">https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/10/04/leftists-outside-ukraine-are-used-to-listening-only-to-people-from-moscow-interview-with-rkas-anarcho-syndicalists-in-eastern-ukraine/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref43_gm3ns1u">43</a>‘Caution: platformist party and psychosect in one bottle!’, Eretik. <a href="https://eretik-samizdat.blogspot.com/2013/01/caution-platformist-party-and.html">https://eretik-samizdat.blogspot.com/2013/01/caution-platformist-party-and.html</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref44_blfdcuy">44</a>See, ‘Fuck Leftist Westplaining’, by Zosia Brom. <a href="https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/03/04/fuck-leftist-westplaining/">https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/03/04/fuck-leftist-westplaining/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref45_9uy2nuc">45</a>The
formation of militias by the CNT-FAI in Spain, July 1936 – prior to
their regularisation into the armed forces of the Republic – are a good
example of this.</li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref46_7df8zri">46</a>For
example, the regularisation of the anarchist militias [see footnote
above] into the military of the bourgeois-Stalinist Republic, alongside
the disarming of CNT Defence Councils in the towns and cities, was a key
stage of counter-revolution and reinforcement of state power in the
Spanish Civil War.</li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref47_307sgd5">47</a>See, for example, ‘Wildcat strikes in Ukraine on both sides of the front line’, <i>Assembly</i>. <a href="https://libcom.org/article/wildcat-strikes-ukraine-both-sides-front-line">https://libcom.org/article/wildcat-strikes-ukraine-both-sides-front-line</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref48_bti46um">48</a>See,
also, the fire-bombing of military recruitment offices across Russia,
and the sabotage campaign of the ‘Anarcho-Communist Combat Organisation’
(BOAK).</li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref49_umq3yaf">49</a>The ‘Solidarity Collectives’ and <i>Assembly</i> have both been actively organising humanitarian aid for civilians.</li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref50_pzba8ho">50</a>Soldiers
will be more likely to refuse to fight if they know there will be a
support network to aid them when facing the consequences (or help to
evade them). The prosecution and abuse of deserters and conscientious
objectors has already begun. See, “Repression against those who do not
want to fight”, KRAS. <a href="https://aitrus.info/node/6044">https://aitrus.info/node/6044</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref51_p96qcdi">51</a>Although I don’t fully agree with their politics, ‘Palestine Action’ are a good example of the potential for direct action. <a href="https://www.palestineaction.org/news/">https://www.palestineaction.org/news/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref52_mbyf5c8">52</a><i>Assembly</i>’s libcom blog is a good source of information on this subject. <a href="https://libcom.org/tags/assemblyorgua">https://libcom.org/tags/assemblyorgua</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref53_mlkfifu">53</a>The
Anti-Militarist Initiative report that “At least 200,000 people are
fleeing Russia to escape Putin’s military mobilisation, and tens of
thousands more are avoiding mobilisation in Ukraine. Yet some voices
claim that <i>‘the number of deserters is so negligible that it is strange to even begin to talk about it.’</i> These
cynical attempts to ‘make invisible’ people who choose not to serve in
the army, to defect or to emigrate for political reasons, must be
opposed. Their voices must be heard and practical help must be given.” <a href="https://antimilitarismus.noblogs.org/post/2022/09/12/appeal-days-of-international-solidarity-with-deserters/">https://antimilitarismus.noblogs.org/post/2022/09/12/appeal-days-of-international-solidarity-with-deserters/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref54_3ygbah7">54</a>Liverpool SolFed set up ‘No War But the Class War – Liverpool’, alongside the Communist Workers’ Organisation. <a href="https://nwbcwliverpool.wordpress.com/">https://nwbcwliverpool.wordpress.com/</a></li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref55_lpl6j0g">55</a>Some
anarchists have justified collaboration by arguing that the lack of a
strong revolutionary movement in Russia or Ukraine makes an
(internationalist) anarchist approach unworkable. But this logic would
result in anarchists abandoning anarchism for the preferable faction of
the ruling class every time circumstances push them to make this choice
(i.e. every decisive historical moment). Anarchism would thus devolve
into a liberal, reformist politics.</li><li><a href="https://libcom.org/article/british-anarchism-succumbs-war-fever#footnoteref56_hazqj98">56</a>‘Anti-War Manifesto’, February 1915. <a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/various-authors-the-anarchist-international-and-war">https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/various-authors-the-anarchist-international-and-war</a></li></ul><p> https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2023/02/08/british-anarchism-succumbs-to-war-fever/ <br /></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-34237701260564543212023-01-21T16:08:00.010+00:002023-01-21T16:13:47.906+00:00Special New Year ACG Publications Offer!<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxoXSdjd1QJwpZUihfP_xhUKxNOedeyqA4uQlvwD2MFglVE4BOxXpHLWsUP4aG4TUS95PHwiSIpCqniKzrT7ouHrvfQ-mbZHXCQjD1QTinoKDZPgvefbsjEBQ45KaDdWdCHL4iOBSdhRSamifDxauFztcqCvXoagG6TGaIHHkaDzYUaQtB4yVJPnNVg/s4032/Cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxoXSdjd1QJwpZUihfP_xhUKxNOedeyqA4uQlvwD2MFglVE4BOxXpHLWsUP4aG4TUS95PHwiSIpCqniKzrT7ouHrvfQ-mbZHXCQjD1QTinoKDZPgvefbsjEBQ45KaDdWdCHL4iOBSdhRSamifDxauFztcqCvXoagG6TGaIHHkaDzYUaQtB4yVJPnNVg/s320/Cover.jpg" width="240" /></a></b></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7p9V46Eof0J2q40fMNOc0W1qkfrE7cgeiZf0SMiG_TraYmIwpyEloc5ON0EYPT5WOIJTSPACCxhfKUT_zypL6E6sH6ff2uK9DVzLPcZ9KZalm7QobgArwPQtMuAZXoZ8sXZjhNXDhMrtC5Cq8OJKtBrdT-9OuJoa17MUgmDU0c4tI1tyjjibsGoHFOQ/s1497/Stormy-Petrel-Cover-4-pdf.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1497" data-original-width="1058" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7p9V46Eof0J2q40fMNOc0W1qkfrE7cgeiZf0SMiG_TraYmIwpyEloc5ON0EYPT5WOIJTSPACCxhfKUT_zypL6E6sH6ff2uK9DVzLPcZ9KZalm7QobgArwPQtMuAZXoZ8sXZjhNXDhMrtC5Cq8OJKtBrdT-9OuJoa17MUgmDU0c4tI1tyjjibsGoHFOQ/s320/Stormy-Petrel-Cover-4-pdf.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><b>Valid until February 15<sup>th</sup></b><p></p>
<p><b>For only £14, including postage, </b>you get a copy of <b><i>The Idea </i></b>by Nick Heath — <b><i></i></b>key new text on anarchist communism, <b>plus</b> any two pamphlets, or issues of <i>Stormy Petrel, </i>of your choice (see: <a href="https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/shop/">https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/shop/</a> for options).</p>
<p><i>The Idea </i>on its own retails for 18.99 so this is a really good deal.</p>
<p>Contact <a href="mailto:londonacg@gmail.com">londonacg@gmail.com</a> or go direct to Paypal, the <a href="mailto:londonacg@gmail.com">londonacg@gmail.com</a>, and pay in 14.00, quoting New Year 23 Offer.</p><p><a href="https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2023/01/17/special-new-year-publications-offer-valid-until-february-15th/">ACG Special Offer details </a></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-10544934811747325542022-12-25T14:27:00.003+00:002022-12-25T14:28:08.536+00:00Whose strike is it? Health Workers United Strike Newsletter.<p>NHS strike newsletter – Whose strike is it?</p><p>Health Workers United has produced a strike newsletter to coincide with the upcoming strikes. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUa0Nx_K3RlDIedMtYpRmeQien072LY4BgwSpcJIQNMJ_oO0uIh3FkuWJHDNg3JBFyC5wZGX44fPaisTxTFvNoYWsolIdX8z7dMOpkN2aXv28w0VaT6_6swsH3-NYNFdT6JH1hVL5fWxNaiFBhYYlMUqWWXCEjr4l1C5TYVxkk9kp4XQAA6UvxFXHvA/s727/Screenshot%202022-12-25%20at%2014.25.15.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="727" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUa0Nx_K3RlDIedMtYpRmeQien072LY4BgwSpcJIQNMJ_oO0uIh3FkuWJHDNg3JBFyC5wZGX44fPaisTxTFvNoYWsolIdX8z7dMOpkN2aXv28w0VaT6_6swsH3-NYNFdT6JH1hVL5fWxNaiFBhYYlMUqWWXCEjr4l1C5TYVxkk9kp4XQAA6UvxFXHvA/s320/Screenshot%202022-12-25%20at%2014.25.15.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><i>Download and distribute the newsletter at your local hospital or picket line!</i><p></p><p><a href="https://healthworkersunited.wordpress.com/2022/12/09/nhs-strike-newsletter-whose-strike-is-it/ ">PDF download of NHS strike newsletter:</a><br /></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-19681166171464326542022-12-04T16:05:00.004+00:002022-12-04T16:09:45.392+00:00Two New Books Published on Anarchist Communism — Audio Recording Now Available of the Authors Speaking.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVRnn1mba7ewfLe0RKuX_UWLkapmaF0-H3TlMP601CTJmvw1OJ_Eo9eCNo_UVLmdJkvmDn8elZkD-o4bNssiIaDEyF0O76ZWSORmWf3v2lCnCenFsa31xGG85ldFffPYkJhNXH-jn_-BPndwzG_YEJwSjsGoc076Rq7DXT4AvPwRYlPKDaKMrQFkNyw/s752/DSC00731-1-752x440-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="752" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVRnn1mba7ewfLe0RKuX_UWLkapmaF0-H3TlMP601CTJmvw1OJ_Eo9eCNo_UVLmdJkvmDn8elZkD-o4bNssiIaDEyF0O76ZWSORmWf3v2lCnCenFsa31xGG85ldFffPYkJhNXH-jn_-BPndwzG_YEJwSjsGoc076Rq7DXT4AvPwRYlPKDaKMrQFkNyw/s320/DSC00731-1-752x440-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p>Brian Morris, the author of <strong>A Defence of Anarchist Communism</strong> and Nick Heath, author of <strong>The Idea: Anarchist Communism, Past, Present and Future </strong>spoke to a crowded room at the May Day Rooms on Saturday November 19<sup>th</sup>.
They re-affirmed the working class origins of anarchist communism and
criticised various currents like individualism and post-modern
anarchism. There was time for a lively questions and answers sessions
followed by a bit of socialising with food and drink.</p>
<p>The podcast of the book launch is now up on Spotify.<br /></p><p><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/4U0sq0MSFWwEZml9Muncl7?si=8605eaa91d974d08&nd=1">Audio of Brian Morris and Nick Heath talking about their recent books.</a><br /></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-65009036650019572562022-10-13T21:49:00.005+01:002022-10-13T21:53:18.468+01:00Public Meeting — Cost of Living: Organising to Resist<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmwerMTEY5-lmS4XsTnwnqUBt-r7Oe8f3J17v_yajwj5KAz0KhaLVBNewGCfpKBT3zYkiZF1wZTEP9muT0CmullgMWIG0iEzwu7SlHCktXb3e_CWWmtoPVCM7XwJxw-PRbB2uFmjfkvPijQwviAJeWP6O5lOaOxBogwDDcYtbtJtP18TpqyoIuI3O8Rw/s488/Screenshot%202022-10-13%20at%2021.27.54.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="488" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmwerMTEY5-lmS4XsTnwnqUBt-r7Oe8f3J17v_yajwj5KAz0KhaLVBNewGCfpKBT3zYkiZF1wZTEP9muT0CmullgMWIG0iEzwu7SlHCktXb3e_CWWmtoPVCM7XwJxw-PRbB2uFmjfkvPijQwviAJeWP6O5lOaOxBogwDDcYtbtJtP18TpqyoIuI3O8Rw/s320/Screenshot%202022-10-13%20at%2021.27.54.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Prices are soaring, at the shops and in our energy bills. It’s
becoming more and more of a struggle for many to pay bills. At the same
time, wages, benefits and pensions have been virtually frozen for years.
This is happening whilst big business is making massive profits and the
rich are getting richer and richer. The divide between the haves and
the have nots is opening wider.</p>
<p>We will discuss what is happening now both in the workplace and in
the community and consider how to organise resistance in the workplace
and in the community. How can the struggles be joined up?</p><p>Join Plan C, the Angry Workers, the ACG, and Don't Pay to discuss organising effective resistance to the cost of living crisis. </p><p>Thursday 20th October.</p><p>May Day Rooms.</p><p>88 Fleet Street. </p><p>London EC4Y 1DH</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cost-of-living-organising-to-resist-tickets-438550535457">London Public Meeting Event Info.</a><br /></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-8481705386772029052022-10-13T21:26:00.007+01:002022-10-13T21:42:12.499+01:00Anarchist Communist Group's Cost of Living leaflet. PDF download<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivtXOPRaJVKBWr1M22mqknmwBKwqSSEc2NL-MwnIkDDSsSTfqawA16mrAv18XOyo_7t7HQ-_WwEFGsj-LGlpLIChvtiR8OESm3xcEnEihkMdGKRpyUdRNZHYF-TJNLj5QN7luIgU8RXfIcbBP4cbMCCam7lWe7TtSzXmfkbblNN0LX5wAohTB47OJEaQ/s488/Screenshot%202022-10-13%20at%2021.27.54.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="488" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivtXOPRaJVKBWr1M22mqknmwBKwqSSEc2NL-MwnIkDDSsSTfqawA16mrAv18XOyo_7t7HQ-_WwEFGsj-LGlpLIChvtiR8OESm3xcEnEihkMdGKRpyUdRNZHYF-TJNLj5QN7luIgU8RXfIcbBP4cbMCCam7lWe7TtSzXmfkbblNN0LX5wAohTB47OJEaQ/s320/Screenshot%202022-10-13%20at%2021.27.54.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Here is a free PDF download of an ACG leaflet that will be distributed at demonstrations and pickets.<p></p><p>Please download, print out and distribute this leafet if you want.<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Cost-of-living-leaflet-Final.pdf">Cost of Living Leaflet: PDF download.</a><br /></p><p> </p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-18188426772125436352022-09-08T12:16:00.009+01:002022-09-08T12:17:57.925+01:00SICK OF IT ALL: Work, inquiry & struggle in the NHS<p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbhE7JM-FdJC7QBxEnfsCnDcxzfCFghz5PTzTj0ZslGtpY7LueRqO8wdcertif4bb1Lj4Eg2i27-od9x1Y2jouNoEarVTvy5G2dzK3Ogtzyu1eIh_pmEws3c7-PacQGjmfUbv7GfcHdHT1AK0qAzFFkiUoUPZ10dit_fExDbJbnTtz2klk_z0cHGoLg/s752/Sick-of-it-all-752x440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="752" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbhE7JM-FdJC7QBxEnfsCnDcxzfCFghz5PTzTj0ZslGtpY7LueRqO8wdcertif4bb1Lj4Eg2i27-od9x1Y2jouNoEarVTvy5G2dzK3Ogtzyu1eIh_pmEws3c7-PacQGjmfUbv7GfcHdHT1AK0qAzFFkiUoUPZ10dit_fExDbJbnTtz2klk_z0cHGoLg/s320/Sick-of-it-all-752x440.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>New book on the crisis in the NHS, jointly produced by Angry Workers of the World and the Anarchist Communist Group:
</p><p>Essays exploring how workers in the NHS are fighting to improve
patient care and working conditions, whilst also having an eye on
creating a future of vastly improved health and healthcare for all in a
post-capitalist world.</p>
<p>The NHS is often called a ‘national treasure’, and its workers are
sometimes lauded as angels and heroes. In the last two years of the
Covid-19 pandemic we have more than ever seen the reality of how it
works – and also sometimes how it doesn’t.</p>
<p>How have we ended up in this situation? What are the factors that
have led to healthcare being organised and run the way it is? What
struggles are happening in the NHS currently, and how might we magnify
their impact and win gains now?</p>
<p>Understanding all this is fundamental to enabling us as workers and
patients to fight for better work conditions and better patient care
under capitalism now, while also having an eye on ultimately creating a
future of vastly improved health and healthcare for all in a
post-capitalist world.</p>
<p><b><u>Essays include:</u></b></p>
<ul><li><b>Lost in service: </b><i>How the NHS works for us & how we work for the NHS</i></li><li><b>The identity crisis of hospitals: </b><i>Know the past to understand the present</i></li><li><b>A cup of tea and some militancy please?</b><i>Thoughts of an NHS housekeeper</i></li><li><b>Struggles in scrubs: </b><i>A history of industrial action in the NHS</i></li><li><b>Fuck the clapping, let’s get angry!</b> S<i>truggles in and beyond the white factory</i></li><li><b>A hotbed of pestilence: </b><i>Cholera, covid, and the class struggle</i></li><li><b>Reports from the care sector </b><i>Work and survival & Resistance in a crisis</i></li><li><b>Superstition, sickness, or service?</b> <i>Mental healthcare under (and after) capitalism</i></li><li><b>We only got that through struggle! </b><i>Work, politics, and the future of the NHS</i></li><li><b>You’ve made your own bed, now die in it: </b><i>Towards an emancipatory medicine</i></li><li><b><i>Care not capital: </i></b><i>Improving the lives and deaths of older people</i></li><li><b><i>Pandemic struggles and future healthcare in Greece: </i></b><i>A view from below</i></li></ul>
<p><b><u>Book details:<br /></u></b>Editorial Crew: Angry Workers, ACG</p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-74923378165576532582022-08-27T18:21:00.006+01:002022-08-27T18:22:30.293+01:00Class anger, class struggle, class unity!<p>The discontent in British society is moving from simmering to boiling
as more and workers go into action, either in official strikes or in
unofficial wildcat strikes.<br /><br />The conditions created by Brexit and
then by the Covid lockdown pushed workers to agitate around pay demands.
This situation was further aggravated by the war in Ukraine, with
scarcity of foodstuffs and raw materials causing price rises and a
willingness by capitalists to take advantage of this. Inflation is now
running at 13% and rising. Employers are offering pay offers of between 2
and 5% often after years of pay freezes in some sectors. In other words
many workers are facing what in fact is a pay cut. The Bank of England
responded by pushing up the base rate by a half percent, the highest
increase since 1995. This will mean that more and more people will not
be able to keep up with their mortgage payments.<br /><br />As a result of
this situation, more and more workers have taken to industrial action
over this summer. This includes workers organised in the rail unions, in
RMT, ASLEF and the TSSA. Forty thousand RMT members went out on strike
for two days in the week ending August 21st, and were joined in London
by London Underground and London Overground workers and by bus workers
in West London working for the London United bus company, as well as
some rail workers in the TSSA.Train drivers in ASLEF have also taken
strike action over the last two weeks across Britain.<br /><br />Elsewhere,
around 2,000 workers organised in the Unite union will go on strike at
Felixstowe, the largest container port in Britain from August 21st to
August 29th. Approximately 50% of the UK’s container traffic comes in
through Felixstowe. This will undoubtedly have a drastic effect on the
supply of food and raw materials, already in a parlous state.<br /><br />On Wednesday, August 24th, many wildcat strikes are expected to happen at construction sites and refineries.<br /><br />On
Friday August 26th , 115,000 Royal Mail workers in the CWU union will
go out on a one day strike, and will be joined by 2,000 workers in the
Post Office Crown Office who will start a two day strike. This will be
followed on Tuesday August 30th by a strike by 40,000 BT and Openreach
workers, and by Post Office administration and supply chain workers.<br /><br />On
August 31st workers at Royal Mail, BT and Openreach will strike
simultaneously, involving 150,00 workers. More strikes by Royal Mail
workers will take place on 8th and 9th September.<br /><br /></p>
Bus workers working for the Arriva bus company have continued
industrial action in north west England and in Bedfordshire,
Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire, as well as in north London, Kent and
Essex.<br /><br />Hundreds of workers at the Grangemouth oil refinery in
Scotland went out on a wildcat strike last week. They will be taking
wildcat action again on August 24th (see above).<br /><br />Amazon workers
went out on wildcat strikes too. In Bristol they went on strike and
organised a sit-in at the BRS1 centre. On the same day Amazon workers
went on wildcat strike at Rugeley. Workers also walked out on the same
day at the BHX1 Site in Rugeley. Earlier wildcats took place at Amazon
centres in Coventry and Tilbury and at Swindon. Amazon workers at
fulfilment centres in Dartford, Tilbury, Belvedere, Hemel Hempstead,
Chesterfield and Rugeley operated slowdowns in work last week, refusing
to pick more than one package an hour.<br /><br />Workers in the Unite union
at Dundee University plan to go on continuous strike from August 25th
whilst workers at the AQA exam board struck for four days and plan to
come out again on a five day strike. Meanwhile workers at the posh
London store Harrods are balloting for strike action. Bin workers
throughout Scotland are also due to come out on strike.<br /><br />These
waves of militancy have alarmed the boss class. They know that the
summer of strikes will be followed by increasing industrial action in
the autumn. The Tory Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has threatened to
introduce more guard-less trains and strike bans for the transport
sector. Both the candidates for the next Tory leadership, Liz Truss and
Rishi Sunak, have talked tough about cracking down on industrial action.<br /><br />As
for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, they too are horrified by this
wave of militancy. They are intent on attempting to prove to the bosses
that they are the most competent party to deal with working class
militancy as they have done before.<br /><br />What is needed is for workers
to make sure that they come out on strike at the same time. The next
opportunity for this is August 31st, with many workers already due to
strike that day. This should be accompanied by rallies and
demonstrations in local areas. Pensioners, the unemployed and youth
(school students and college students) should support the strikes and
reinforce picket lines, rallies and demonstrations. Local solidarity
committees should be created in neighbourhoods, involving both striking
workers, pensioners, unemployed and students.<br /><br />We cannot trust the
union leaders to carry out a successful outcome to these strikes, even
the most radical sounding of them like Sharon Graham and Mick Lynch. The
latter, despite his previous criticisms of the Starmer leadership, was
ready to endorse Starmer by saying “I want him to be prime minister.
That’s what we’ve got. He must win. We’ve got to push him and persuade
him to get into a position where he’s in the front rank with you, all of
you.”<br /><br />But Starmer has already made his position clear. He is
opposed to strikes and to any meaningful action by workers. He is our
enemy. The union leaders are desperately trying to stop workers breaking
with Labour. We know that Labour has consistently throughout its
history opposed itself to strikes by workers. In the coming months
Labour will stand side by side with the Tories in denouncing these
strike waves. As for the union leaders, they will attempt to sabotage
any meaningful action. We as workers must resist and develop our own
grassroots organisations, not just in the workplaces but in the
neighbourhoods.<p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2022/08/19/class-anger-class-struggle-class-unity/</p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-45313098954256009832022-08-14T18:01:00.021+01:002022-08-21T21:02:49.326+01:00Wildcat strikes: a very basic introduction.<p><b></b></p><b> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKL2DKdyg3Eq3xdsx0SbXcuC8O9PFFvFPYHkxyat5DLqnaUFvb8rykEizHilUO16wzMzcDmqTAmwLzc8xsfo4OAucUive7kwW3Ts58uvZVqHOpOuXl0O_SmDYQ6bFo6Fw1Gt1GMsKYJlQe8_dMynx1t-iuO0khwGmaj0Y0xWHLrOsqtboCtX__7MlrA/s690/000_ts-del6249273.si__0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKL2DKdyg3Eq3xdsx0SbXcuC8O9PFFvFPYHkxyat5DLqnaUFvb8rykEizHilUO16wzMzcDmqTAmwLzc8xsfo4OAucUive7kwW3Ts58uvZVqHOpOuXl0O_SmDYQ6bFo6Fw1Gt1GMsKYJlQe8_dMynx1t-iuO0khwGmaj0Y0xWHLrOsqtboCtX__7MlrA/s320/000_ts-del6249273.si__0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></b><p></p><p><b>A number of wildcat strikes broke out in the UK during August.<br /><br />The
wave of wildcat action kicked off at Cranswick Continental Foods in
Pilsworth. Next, wildcat strikes broke out at several Amazon warehouses
including Tilbury, Rugeley, Coventry, Bristol, Dartford, Coalville,
Belvedere, Hemel Hempstead and Chesterfield.<br />There were also more
wildcat strikes at Grangemouth oil refinery. Chemical plant workers also
took wildcat action at several sites across Teesside and at Humber
Refinery in North Lincolnshire as well as at Valero refinery in Milford
Haven. Train drivers at Avanti West Coast brought some services to a
halt by refusing shifts.<br /><br />But what makes a strike ‘wildcat’?<br />Wildcat
strikes are a form of autonomous direct action. Autonomous because they
are not officially sanctioned by and are likely to be outside of the
control of the unions and left-wing political parties. Direct because
they short circuit the mediating and representative role of the trade
unions.<br />As the recent wildcat strikes spread like wildfire, media outlets were keen to describe the danger to businesses.<br /><br />Share Talk website wrote:<br />"Businesses
cannot plan for wildcat strikes, making it difficult to manage them.
These strikes are dangerous for employees who abandon the legal
protections granted to them in collective bargaining."<br /><br />The Evening Standard asked:<br />“What
is a wildcat strike?” Wildcat strikes don’t have the permission of
their union, and workers don’t go through the typical process a union
does when arranging industrial action, which sometimes challenges their
union’s authority."<br /><br />Computer Weekly stated:<br />"Amazon workers
also have staged wildcat strikes (meaning they were conducted without
the involvement or support of a union) in Rugeley, Coventry, Swindon,
Rugby, Doncaster, Bristol, Dartford, Belvedere, Hemel Hempstead and
Chesterfield"<br /><br />A couple of dictionary definitions of wildcat strikes are: <br />Wildcat strike: a strike that is started by a group of workers without the approval of their union.<br />Merriam-webster dictionary.<br /><br />Wildcat
strike: a sudden strike (= act of refusing to work as a protest)
without any warning by the workers and often without the official
support of the unions.<br />Cambridge dictionary.<br /><br />But council
communist Anton Pannekoek outlined the reason that anarchist communists
and libertarian communists emphasise the subversive potential of wildcat
strikes:<br />"In the wildcat strikes, we may see the beginnings of a new
practical orientation of the working class, a new tactic, the method of
direct action. They represent the only actual rebellion of man against
the deadening suppressing weight of world-dominating capital."<br /><br />Wildcat
strikes are a form of direct action and the anarchist Emile Pouget
explained the significance for revolutionaries of this tactic of
militant working class action:<br />“Direct Action is a notion of such
clarity, of such self-evident transparency, that merely to speak the
words defines and explains them. It means that the working class, in
constant rebellion against the existing state of affairs, expects
nothing from outside people, powers or forces, but rather creates its
own conditions of struggle and looks to itself for its means of action.”<br /><br />As
a form of autonomous action, wildcat strikes have the potential to go
beyond the narrow framework of trade unionism. Anarchist communists and
other communist revolutionaries offer criticisms of the limitations of
trade unions.<br /><br />William Morris, the author of News from Nowhere and Lectures on Socialism, wrote in 1885 that:<br />Trade
unions [do not] "represent the whole class of workers as working men
but rather are charged with the office of keeping the human part of the
capitalists' machinery in good working order and freeing it from any
grit of discontent". <br /><br />In a similar observation to William Morris, council communist Cajo Brendel described the role of unions:<br />"The
undeniable fact that from the very first day of their existence unions
have had the task of mediating between capitalists and workers,
mediating of course in order to extinguish the flames of conflict
between the two parties, not to kindle the fire by pouring oil into it,
mediating in order to stabilize the antagonistic relationship of workers
and capitalists, not to destroy it."<br /><br />The wildcats in the UK have
been in mostly, though not entirely, in workplaces where there are
either no unions or they are unrecognised. The GMB are talking credit
for at least some of the Amazon actions, but they are, for the most
part, self-organised. What is important about these wildcat strikes is
that they show what workers can do for themselves. If they can be
extended and spread then they can overcome isolation and being picked
off. <br /><br />Useful texts and pamphlets:<br /></b></p><p><b><a href="https://libcom.org/article/goodbye-unions-controversy-about-autonomous-class-struggle-great-britain">Goodbye to the Unions! Controversy About Autonomous Class Struggle in Great Britain </a><br /><br />Direct Action. Emile Pouget:<br /><a href="http://libcom.org/article/direct-action-emile-pouget">libcom.org/article/direct-action-emile-pouget</a></b></p><p>France Winter 1986-87: The Railways Strike – Henri Simon: </p><p><a href="http://libcom.org/article/france-winter-1986-87-railways-strike-henri-simon">libcom.org/article/france-winter-1986-87-railways-strike-henri-simon</a><br /></p><div class="wp-container-1 is-vertical wp-block-group">
</div><p><b> </b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxeJfoe6nNH50r65OM01Eouy3dVTeCJL-jKLNQbC6tVbQjIeHlWiW6Mlm64alPOXZR1dKvM2Na-N5kCfLeqswd6yXY6Eo2NmfMyQ18xtKfdvMN0wj31jQWGYV0DOfLyc0kNMN9tNBJTGV8gBpuRDX7HXQCE9Qnt4cPChIJ1r7k8-jIWR7kubmWzOIRQ/s690/000_ts-del6249273.si__0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="690" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxeJfoe6nNH50r65OM01Eouy3dVTeCJL-jKLNQbC6tVbQjIeHlWiW6Mlm64alPOXZR1dKvM2Na-N5kCfLeqswd6yXY6Eo2NmfMyQ18xtKfdvMN0wj31jQWGYV0DOfLyc0kNMN9tNBJTGV8gBpuRDX7HXQCE9Qnt4cPChIJ1r7k8-jIWR7kubmWzOIRQ/s320/000_ts-del6249273.si__0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-74090941416866001732022-08-07T18:24:00.010+01:002022-08-07T20:11:40.844+01:00Fresh Strikes in August on Trains and Boats and Planes<p style="text-align: left;">Strike action is
being planned for dates in late August across rail, London Tube trains
and buses as well as at the container port at Felixstowe. In Germany,
pilots for the airline Lufthansa are also planning to strike. </p><p id="monday-aug-8" style="text-align: left;">On Monday August 8th Ryanair Spanish cabin crews plan four-day strikes every week for the next five months.</p><p id="friday-aug-12" style="text-align: left;">On Friday August 12th EasyJet Spanish pilots to strike through to Sunday 14th.</p><p style="text-align: left;">ASLEF
Train drivers are striking on Saturday August 13th, at the following rail
companies: London Overground, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway,
Hull Trains, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Southeastern, West
Midlands Railway, Avanti West Coast, Crosscountry. Rail service covered
by those railway companies will come to an abrupt halt.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />The Rail,
Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT) have also announced new days
of strike action involving London Underground and Overground staff on
Thursday August 18th and Friday 19th. <br /><br />On Thursday August 18th
and Saturday August 20th RMT workers will be striking at rail companies
Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East
Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South
Eastern, South Western Railway Transpennine Express, Avanti West Coast,
West Midlands Trains and GTR (including Gatwick Express).<br /><br />Members
of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) are also
considering strike action over pay, jobs and conditions. The train
company Southeastern, which is wholly owned by the Department for
Transport and runs train services between London and Kent, as well as
parts of East Sussex, will be hit by the TSSA strikes. Major stations
potentially effected include London St Pancras, Victoria, Charing Cross
and Cannon Street, as well as Dover Priory, Ramsgate, Ashford
International, Dartford and Sevenoaks.<br /><br />Over 1,600 London bus
drivers are also set to walk out. The drivers, who are members of the
Unite union and employees of London United, are set to strike on Friday August 19th and Saturday August 20th.<br /><br />Public transport in and
around London in this period will be severely disrupted and business
will most certainly not be as usual in the capitol. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Also on Friday August 19th EasyJet Spanish pilots in SEPLA union to strike through to Sunday 21st.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Meanwhile, workers at the UK's biggest container port in Felixstowe also intend to strike for eight days in a dispute over pay. Around
1,900 members of the Unite union will walk out on August 21st after
rejecting a 7% pay offer from Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company. The
strike will be from Sunday August 21st until Monday August 29th.<br />Around half of containers brought in to the UK are transported via the port at Felixstowe.<br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p>Airline
pilots working for the German airline Lufthansa have voted in favour of
potential strike action over pay. They would be taking action during
the peak of the summer travel season. The Vereinigung Cockpit union is
calling for a 5.5% pay increase this year and an automatic adjustment
for inflation starting next year.</p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p id="saturday-aug-27">Saturday August 27th EasyJet Spanish pilots in SEPLA union strike through Monday 29th.</p><p id="saturday-aug-27">There is also the growing possibility of British Airways pilots going on strike, with negotiations ongoing. Royal Mail staff have voted to back a strike but there are no dates set yet<br /></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p>The
momentum for strike action is significant and the idea of strikes as a
means of resistance continues to grow amongst larger groups of workers,
spreading to non-unionised sectors such as Amazon, but things will have
to escalate further and direct action must be applied if workers are to
create a crisis for the capitalist class.</p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-41599087330238144642022-08-05T22:35:00.008+01:002022-08-07T14:49:05.981+01:00Wildcat Actions Breakout at Amazon in the UK<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSvyDgmdqB_1MnTZhnpwnATP3NKizbZS2H0jPphg7eHPZChrC7sYc44cAuX2WRiti8bsWlbcmW0mYBrSRkXDqJiKQ5wR1F1n7oTxSaWEQy1KdSHaYJ7TTDS452WC4Bo-0sqaFZ5jpS36n2ZIaRVztiO7EnestMPb_eBi57862cz8gHQ3nLji26cZr5aA/s427/Screenshot%202022-08-05%20at%2013.14.36.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="427" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSvyDgmdqB_1MnTZhnpwnATP3NKizbZS2H0jPphg7eHPZChrC7sYc44cAuX2WRiti8bsWlbcmW0mYBrSRkXDqJiKQ5wR1F1n7oTxSaWEQy1KdSHaYJ7TTDS452WC4Bo-0sqaFZ5jpS36n2ZIaRVztiO7EnestMPb_eBi57862cz8gHQ3nLji26cZr5aA/s320/Screenshot%202022-08-05%20at%2013.14.36.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">On August 4th
between 700 and 1000 workers at an Amazon warehouse in Tilbury, Essex
took wildcat action in response to a pay increase offer of only 35p-per-hour increase.</p><p>The
Tilbury warehouse is one of Amazon’s largest in Europe. One worker at
the warehouse said Amazon treats them “like slaves”.<br />The actions started on Wednesday 3rd and escalated by Thursday 4th.</p><p>Workers also took action at the Lyon's Park Amazon warehouse in Coventry with about 100 workers occupying the canteen. </p><p>Similar actions happened at Dartford in Kent as well as depot in Belvedere, Hemel Hempstead, Chesterfield and <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Coalville, Leicestershire.</span> </p><div>On
August 3rd scores of Amazon workers also took wildcat action at Rugeley
Amazon Fulfilment Centre in the West Midlands. That strike was over a
50p-per-hour pay rise offer.</div><div>There was also wildcat action at
Amazon’s massive warehouse in Bristol. Only a week before the Amazon
strikes, on the 28th of July, a wildcat strike happened at Cranswick
Continental Foods in Pilsworth, Bury. Over 100 workers were involved in
the action that was about pay and conditions. One worker said: "People
are tired, exhausted, and just want to have proper breaks - drink,
rest".<br /></div><p>Seething anger amongst workers could result in this form
of militant direct action spreading. Wildcat strikes are feared by
bosses and union officials because they show how people can act outside
the control of the mediating role of trade unions. Wildcat strikes also
can spread like wildfire, especially in distribution industries. </p><p>This
current set of actions by Amazon workers has the potential to go global.</p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-54838232184873848142022-08-02T11:39:00.006+01:002022-08-02T11:45:31.455+01:00 Strikes: Towards a Summer and Autumn (Winter and Spring!) of struggle!<p>We
are entering a period of heightened class struggle. The so-called Cost
of Living Crisis has seen significant sections of the working class
refuse to meekly accept pay offers that are way under inflation and
therefore wage cuts. And the unions have been forced to make moves,
militant noises and call strikes. And the idea of striking is proving
popular. There is talk of a General Strike ( see <a href="http://redirect.viglink.com?key=71fe2139a887ad501313cd8cce3053c5&subId=6903903&u=https%3A//www.anarchistcommunism.org/2022/06/21/why-a-general-strike-is-better-than-a-general-strike/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.anarchistcommunism.org/2022/06/21/why-a-general-strike-is-better-than-a-general-strike/</a> for our thoughts on generalizing the strikes). <br /></p><p>UNISON
Local Government workers in Scotland have voted for strike action in
response to the ‘final’ pay offer of 2%, with nine local authority
branches exceeding the required 50% turnout threshold required by the
Trade Union Act. It remains to be seen if the unions will be able to
avoid calling a strike.<br />Unite Subway (underground railway) workers in
Glasgow have voted to strike, calling days when their action will
impact Scottish Premier League football. A UK wide ASLEF train driver’s
strike is scheduled for July 31st whilst BT workers in the
Communications Workers Union (CWU) have taken action this week, and
postal workers in CWU look like they will be going out on strike
shortly.</p><p><br />Aside from the ongoing, though presently fragmented, pension
fight, the University and College Union (UCU) are preparing to ballot
on the 3% pay offer (effectively a serious pay cut) which has been
rejected by all Higher Education (HE) unions. UNISON in HE are
balloting, but there remains the possibility that despite the rejection,
not all unions will take action together thereby weakening the fight.<br />The
RMT and the ‘white collar’ transport union, TSSA, are to strike in
August for two days. Like with the July 27th RMT strike, the rail system
will be severely impacted.</p><p><br />But let’s not get carried away. RMT’s
leader Mick Lynch has indeed exposed the combination of ignorance and
malice that the various government representatives embody, but he is
part of a union bureaucracy that has to work within the confines of
legality and in a way that will not ultimately jeopardize the union’s
seat at the table. </p><p><br />There is anger, there are masses of workers who
are ready for mobilisation and action, but there is almost no
significant rank and file organization in most TUC affiliated unions so
workers are dependent upon their national officials. Some are more left
than others, but the fight will remain in their hands unless the rank
and file take control.</p><p><br />There is the possibility of spreading strike
action to non-unionised sectors, the strike at Cranswick Continental
Foods in Bury by a multi-national super exploited workforce was
organised without a union. This inspirational self-organised strike has
the potential to be replicated as momentum builds and workers gain in
confidence. </p><p><br />But there remains a crucial need to create rank and file
bodies that will control the struggles from below and extend them to
ever wider groups of workers.</p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-78321843442878922532022-07-31T17:08:00.001+01:002022-07-31T17:08:58.599+01:00ACG stickers in Guildford<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Tg0-qdkL5ZZfht2IFpSAziCQLwPVlCZ4-ztXCKqa4S6wlQjmeyOtmprp-4H9HsqHI4iHM2GEXb3rDFZZiG9nFhJaQG3rF-wBvx7ceLQkrXTTT-cvbNr6r57Qc-KyYG-eyTqonv1-PUHpj7IqTHuK0tQMeOyy-wSLnDE5jh91kFC-Af8UZ7DrNgAGTw/s2806/IMG_0841.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2564" data-original-width="2806" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Tg0-qdkL5ZZfht2IFpSAziCQLwPVlCZ4-ztXCKqa4S6wlQjmeyOtmprp-4H9HsqHI4iHM2GEXb3rDFZZiG9nFhJaQG3rF-wBvx7ceLQkrXTTT-cvbNr6r57Qc-KyYG-eyTqonv1-PUHpj7IqTHuK0tQMeOyy-wSLnDE5jh91kFC-Af8UZ7DrNgAGTw/s320/IMG_0841.heic" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6Oa7cq6X_CKQQVJSx_1suJ6Xx9gg0l5mAIM1Hf1e6CBzHuw9yv9L_8Sa-rejivWcyNdzmSt7sXhohtqatAO99r-txyY_p2YnhYpha0_MnJGI5U1M3XvNi0mv4BesDAGYuKsJdA6qm_RA-r1ebtraSdY3FDPd5HythwEhifRhgheoIR83OXgrHeQFvw/s2816/IMG_0840.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2164" data-original-width="2816" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6Oa7cq6X_CKQQVJSx_1suJ6Xx9gg0l5mAIM1Hf1e6CBzHuw9yv9L_8Sa-rejivWcyNdzmSt7sXhohtqatAO99r-txyY_p2YnhYpha0_MnJGI5U1M3XvNi0mv4BesDAGYuKsJdA6qm_RA-r1ebtraSdY3FDPd5HythwEhifRhgheoIR83OXgrHeQFvw/s320/IMG_0840.heic" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZVlCl3Ezy9yj8qx9hg00auj8aAWlGFVw4SVsHYU99xgov5joZtonkEuFh1aOoxQHiHh_8qkdn1gZZyrDwVZAZNS0wSdQtnMYkSMk6YJsSX7yMCrXC8u-HmyjuqjYeyNXIodK6ZxJtHrbxKPHGtFc3Hu-ANO_MuyM0RG7U8SAdRav-CDWlXjqlKjRMg/s3024/IMG_0839%202%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijZVlCl3Ezy9yj8qx9hg00auj8aAWlGFVw4SVsHYU99xgov5joZtonkEuFh1aOoxQHiHh_8qkdn1gZZyrDwVZAZNS0wSdQtnMYkSMk6YJsSX7yMCrXC8u-HmyjuqjYeyNXIodK6ZxJtHrbxKPHGtFc3Hu-ANO_MuyM0RG7U8SAdRav-CDWlXjqlKjRMg/s320/IMG_0839%202%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-10581953061968978702022-02-17T21:18:00.005+00:002022-02-17T21:25:15.764+00:00'The Idea' A new book on anarchist communism <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4gAkKGLPD4J__glQ3X5L0eWq7T_3fY0Q3YjZgYLfe5UvnaLpGXdsiqtWaT6d35PEcdqUL48AtjGvzLskiFxhtxRxwqcNoGeyQz-eWUKuJT4FYwEEoK8jag163SxHeyShpX6DS1c0dXLgV8DVOeI9WmRAZu987yeO0urtNVdKA0aCwmTvSrMinvp_3Ig=s875" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="875" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4gAkKGLPD4J__glQ3X5L0eWq7T_3fY0Q3YjZgYLfe5UvnaLpGXdsiqtWaT6d35PEcdqUL48AtjGvzLskiFxhtxRxwqcNoGeyQz-eWUKuJT4FYwEEoK8jag163SxHeyShpX6DS1c0dXLgV8DVOeI9WmRAZu987yeO0urtNVdKA0aCwmTvSrMinvp_3Ig=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>Photo: Ottorino Bonati, anarchist marble quarry worker in Carrara, Italy.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Just Books in Belfast are running a crowdfunder to publish <em>The Idea</em> by the ACG’s Nick Heath.</h3><p><u>About this project.</u></p>
<p class="selectionShareable">Help us to publish this timely new work in
English on Anarchist Communism from long-term activist and historian
Nick Heath. This work weighs in at around 370 pages with a full index.
Proof-reading, layout, isbn are all in their final stages. We just have
to add a barcode. Then once the funds are secured its straight off to
the printers.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable">Anarchist communism often hides in the
shadows in the general works on anarchism available, only clearly
emerging when the ideas of Kropotkin, Reclus and Malatesta are
discussed. All too often, apart from the worthless speculations on
various philosophers outside of the historic anarchist movement,
anarchist communism is rejected as a poor relation to the mass movements
launched by anarcho-syndicalism and revolutionary syndicalism. Others
state that the accommodation of anarchist communism to syndicalism, made
it a simple variant of anarcho-syndicalism, that it failed to discover
the causes of the counter-revolution initiated by the Bolsheviks, and
that it died as a credible current with the aftermaths of the Mexican
and Russian Revolutions and that it was absorbed or replaced by
anarcho-syndicalism. This book will seek to counter these assertions. </p><p class="selectionShareable">Anarchist communism, as opposed to anarchist collectivism, is the only
anarchist current that specifically argues for the end of the market
economy and of exchange value. It has survived down to the present day
and features as an important current in Russia, France, Latin America,
Ukraine, China and Japan amongst other countries. This book seeks to
rehabilitate the current of anarchist-communism and make it better known
and understood; and to renovate and modernise it. It offers a
prehistory of the idea, its origins in the First International and
extensive chapters on the history of anarchist communism in Europe, the
Americas, and Asia. As such it will be the first comprehensive work on
anarchist communism, one where it is not side-lined or where it ends up
as a footnote. As Brian Morris has correctly asserted, anarchist
communism has been the main current within the body of anarchism and
this book aims to stress that and to bring it out of the shadows.</p><p><a href="https://startsomegood.com/just-books-publishing-the-idea?fbclid=IwAR0KuqyVssQy7DgzBkUJiGPaGHLYSvV5i4Fy4Gjgtn5zVBrhVvZG122Od0w">https://startsomegood.com/just-books-publishing-the-idea?fbclid=IwAR0KuqyVssQy7DgzBkUJiGPaGHLYSvV5i4Fy4Gjgtn5zVBrhVvZG122Od0w</a><br /> </p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-58315970298497795822022-01-29T13:29:00.005+00:002022-01-29T13:30:47.140+00:00Ukraine: neither NATO nor Moscow!<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc_oM9jk1yzDceyKEu7gfTecxnyR-caQSw__ZTRQFCmoBi2sxPO02NvIR3h-7fy6NW58I7rs-GsIomvZ1uu6AAj6qJ-mMidg8jk586uxmpqvVZmpEDpwrPmttBweR761Mo9_0PkBBOBDo7RTEUTGxRGAOyQsWJvTqRHMGY-gjnWqGMeOtH4KVFdH55Wg=s752" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="752" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc_oM9jk1yzDceyKEu7gfTecxnyR-caQSw__ZTRQFCmoBi2sxPO02NvIR3h-7fy6NW58I7rs-GsIomvZ1uu6AAj6qJ-mMidg8jk586uxmpqvVZmpEDpwrPmttBweR761Mo9_0PkBBOBDo7RTEUTGxRGAOyQsWJvTqRHMGY-gjnWqGMeOtH4KVFdH55Wg=w395-h253" width="395" /></a></div><p></p><p>The Western media is pounding the drum for a conflict between Putin’s Russia and the Western powers over Ukraine.</p>
<p>Let us be clear. Vladimir Putin leads a gangster regime in Russia,
sometimes referred to as a kleptocracy (rule by thieves). He runs an
oppressive regime and as an ex-high up in the Russian secret police, the
KGB, he has extremely close relations with its latest incarnation, the
FSB (Federal Service Bureau of the Russian Federation). He has come down
heavily on any form of opposition, and the anarchist movement in Russia
has suffered, with anarchist militants, arrested tortured and given
heavy prison sentences. The Putin regime is massing large numbers of
troops on Ukraine’s borders for a number of reasons. The domestic
situation is far from healthy and the Covid pandemic has aggravated
this. Putin is wary of growing discontent and hopes that his belligerent
attitude will unite the Russian masses behind him and make them forget
their economic woes. This is a gamble, as the Russian masses are in
general not keen to engage in warfare with their fellow Slavs in
Ukraine, and remember the disastrous consequences of the war in
Afghanistan, when Russian troops sent in to save the pro-Russian regime
there were bogged down for years with massive casualties.</p>
<p>With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, a number of republics
emerged that had separated from the Russian Federation. Among these was
Ukraine, the largest in terms of landmass and the most important in
terms of industrial development, an industrial development that had
reached its climax under Stalin and his successors.</p>
<p>The fall of the Soviet Union seriously weakened Russia but thanks to
rising oil prices coupled with the rise to power of Putin, it began to
re-assert itself. It was determined to control and influence the
surrounding countries on its borders, both for defence reasons and to
re-affirm its control over those regions which it had established after
World War Two.</p>
<p>The political-military alliance it had established with its
satellites, the Warsaw Pact, was dissolved. However, the corresponding
political-military alliance developed by the United States and the
Western European powers, NATO, was not wound up and remains an
instrument of both the USA and various component Western countries. In
fact, NATO sought to increase its influence and has intervened in
Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya. Despite promising the Russian regime that
it would not expand its influence east of what was East Germany, it has
invested its forces in the countries surrounding Russia, including the
Baltic States.</p>
<p>NATO is an aggressive military machine, not a body there to passively
defend the West. It has intervened in Libya, in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It actively seeks to recruit not just former Soviet republics like
Ukraine and Georgia into its alliance, but also so called neutral
countries like Finland and Sweden, both very close to Russia. It demands
that each component country of NATO spends at least 2% of its Gross
Domestic Product on military expenditure.</p>
<p>At home here, Johnson and the Tories have attempted to divert
attention away from the whirlpool of scandals that is pulling them down.
The British spook agency, MI6, has claimed Russia is preparing to
install a puppet regime in Ukraine. The Labour Party of Keir Starmer
have joined in with the sabre rattling.</p>
<p>However, NATO itself is unstable. The predominantly Slavic countries
of Croatia and Bulgaria, who have membership of NATO, have indicated
that they would send no troops into any possible conflict in Ukraine.
Germany, and to a slightly lesser extent France, have shown a reluctance
to be involved in this.</p>
<p>As for the government in Ukraine, it contains several far right
ministers keen on reviving reactionary, fascistic and anti-Semitic
sentiment in that region.</p>
<p>No taking sides in this conflict. Neither the Putin regime nor the
NATO military machine and the reactionary Ukrainian government.
Mobilisation against any war moves. Our real enemy is the class enemy,
the ruling classes, whether in Washington, Whitehall, Moscow or Kyiv.</p>
<p><b>P.S.</b></p>
<p><a href="https://www.thecommoner.org.uk/assembly-a-ukrainian-anarchist-magazine-on-politics-and-a-possible-russo-ukrainian-war/">In an interview with <i>The Commoner</i></a>, the Ukrainian anarchist grouping, Assembly, have stated that:</p>
<p>“It may surprise you, but we know almost no one here who is
interested in such news, and even fewer who take it seriously. For the
most part, people are worried about exorbitant energy bills that are
leading to more and more houses having their heating switched off, and
enterprises to working or going into the shadow sector precarising their
workers. Ukrainian gas is mostly exported to Europe, while energy
carriers for power plants are bought from Russia and the occupied part
of Donbass. So you can imagine why we would be sceptical about these
horror forecasts from the Western press. It’s true that we are on the
verge of social collapse, but it won’t be caused by a military conflict…
There is no doubt that Putin’s regime is now playing the same role of a
continental gendarme as did Russian Tsarism under Nicholas I. You are
also absolutely right that before 1917 there was 1914, when all of
Europe thought that a small victorious war would last a couple of weeks,
only to result in a world-revolutionary wave ending in 1923. With this
in mind, we can see why the imperialist politicians and corporations are
wary all the more that a military clash in the very centre of Europe
will again lead to a comparable social explosion in their countries (at
least in the USA — taking into account the rise of revolutionary
struggle there during the last years). So the world leaders intend to
divide spheres of influence peacefully and rattle their weapons just to
facilitate their negotiations. The pandemic has shown that the modern
capitalist order is a Colossus with feet of clay — and the very fact
that the world has entered a new era of global repartition confirms this
with all clarity.</p>
For example, Ukraine also conducts military exercises on the Polish
border and Ukrainian officials glorify those who carried out the
genocide of the Poles during the Second World War. So what — do you
really think that Ukraine is preparing to attack Poland? Neither do we…” <br /><p><a href="https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2022/01/29/ukraine-neither-nato-nor-moscow/">https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2022/01/29/ukraine-neither-nato-nor-moscow/</a> </p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-41625802328811616472022-01-23T14:57:00.004+00:002022-01-23T15:01:30.524+00:00New Jackdaw out now!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4jHvqa2IOW81ks2pqwTyvxjtMHJYp23YxBVWNKO0_uHPn9J5TdBFg7w7BUO0vjMyhY0RVH1khrkjFuhfz5pbbXquQ4wcerHNpANYcD2dc9EB_dr-TaoK0y8bJ2Q8OBbBTRX43KVhDGMrXyUThehUDGKollevddOg2zkx7YEfqaowfYM88SirJJvuTqQ=s1065" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="1065" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4jHvqa2IOW81ks2pqwTyvxjtMHJYp23YxBVWNKO0_uHPn9J5TdBFg7w7BUO0vjMyhY0RVH1khrkjFuhfz5pbbXquQ4wcerHNpANYcD2dc9EB_dr-TaoK0y8bJ2Q8OBbBTRX43KVhDGMrXyUThehUDGKollevddOg2zkx7YEfqaowfYM88SirJJvuTqQ=w322-h130" width="322" /></a></div><p></p><p>Issue 10 of<i> Jackdaw,</i> the ACG's free agitational bulletin, is hot off the press and on its way to shops, social centres and ACG groups around the country.</p>
<p>This issue contains the following articles:</p>
<ul><li>On whose authority?</li><li>Lies, corruption and sleaze</li><li>Covid: Occupational Sick Pay for all!</li><li>Great Ormond Street UVW strike</li><li>Refugee crisis</li><li>Brewery workers: fermenting real change</li></ul><p> Get a free PDF download of Jackdaw here:</p><p><a href="https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jackdaw-10-web-version.pdf">https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jackdaw-10-web-version.pdf</a><br /></p><p>Jackdaw on the main ACG website:<br /></p><p><a href="https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2022/01/20/jackdaw-issue-10-out-now/ ">https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2022/01/20/jackdaw-issue-10-out-now/ </a><br /></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5013782845459901673.post-39267469193769880552021-11-28T16:23:00.003+00:002021-11-28T16:44:32.875+00:00Surrey Group meet up in real life again.<p>Surrey Anarchist Communist Group have now been able to meet up at an actual, real venue. We now have access again to a meeting room in a pub in the East Surrey area. The venue is very convenient in terms of public transport as well as being a large room specifically for meetings. We intend to meet up again in the New Year.<br /></p>Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13914204518995332645noreply@blogger.com0