Compendium of Marx’s Capital.

 

The ACG is pleased to be publishing the first English language print edition of Cafiero’s summary of Marx’s Capital.
Capital, Marx’s epic work, describes in detail the capitalist system and how it functions. The anarchist Mikhail Bakunin saw the importance of Marx’s Capital, to the extent that he put any rivalries with Marx aside and immediately embarked on the first Russian translation.
But Capital is a notoriously hard read…
The anarchist communist Carlo Cafiero, rather than translate it, wanted to popularise Marx’s work in order to make it easier to read and be better understood by those who didn’t have a university education or weren’t so well versed in economics. In other words, his Compendium was aimed at ordinary working people.
Cafiero’s Compendium is a gateway to understanding the contents of Marx’s Capital.
This edition, translated by Paul M. Perrone, contains an ACG introduction and a biography of Carlo Cafiero.
Compendium of Capital is available direct from the ACG.
108 pages
Price £7 + £1.40 postage
Visit our publications page for details on how to order our copy.

 

No War But The Class War

On 26th January Surrey ACG jointly hosted a No War But The Class War meeting with the Communist Workers' Organisation in Dorking. Fifteen people were there which was a pretty good attendance. Members of the SPGB came down from London and the CWO had members attend from Surrey and London. It was a decent discussion and after the formal meeting, people stayed on for some beers. The meeting was part of the ongoing NWBTCW initiative by the ACG and CWO and we agreed to produce a brief statement to attract other internationalists to future meetings around the UK.

No War But the Class War. Public Meeting. Newcastle.

Graffiti from imprisioned First World War conscientious objector held in the cell block at Richmond Castle.

"By any criteria the world is in a problematic state. There are ominous signs of worse to come. The rise of Trump and other populists is the outcome, not the cause, of a life-threatening crisis for world capitalism which started decades ago and which has seen the working class share of GDP decline ever since. Since the 2007/8 financial crash the pretence that international bodies like the UN can keep the peace or that the IMF can resolve the problem of a world economy paralysed by debt has worn more than thin. The ground is now being prepared for the ‘final solution’ to the crisis: war – large-scale, world war. There isn’t a set of progressive policies which can alter this course."

"But the alternative is not to do nothing. The alternative is not to be dragged into support for the lesser imperialism. The only alternative to capitalist barbarism and towards a civilised future is for the working class of the world to raise its head and reject all war but our own class war for a new world of peace and prosperity where borders, wars, states, and the financial speculation and production for profit which cause them, are a thing of the past."

"The capitalists think the working class is dead as an international political force. But there is a groundswell preparing to challenge their complacency. If you are interested in being part of this, come and discuss how we can launch No War But the Class War in the North East."

Organised by the Communist Workers’ Organisation.


Public Meeting.
Friday 9th of June.
Hosted by Communist Workers' Organisation.
Bar Loco. 22 Leazes Park Road.
Newcastle upon Tyne.
NE1 4PG 

Windrush – Tories, Labour, LibDems all guilty!

Thanks to Windrush, Amber Rudd has fallen. She became the necessary sacrifice to save the Theresa May government. She has been replaced as Home Secretary by Sajid Javid, the first Black, Asian Minority Ethnic member to sit in one of the three most important positions within the State. 

 

Rudd was forced to resign because she was caught lying about targets for deportation and to save Theresa May herself, the previous Home Secretary.

In 2016 almost 40,000 people were removed from the United Kingdom or left “voluntarily” after receiving threatening letters. Many others have been detained at ferry terminals and airports and sent to another country under the “deport first, appeal later” process. In addition, at least 10,000 others have waited for more than six months for decisions on claiming asylum and because they cannot work, live on an allowance of £37.75 a week, which reduces them to extreme circumstances.

This hostile environment, this intimidating atmosphere did not originate under Rudd and neither did it under Theresa May. We have to go back to the Labour Party under Blair for that. In fact “hostile environment” was first used as a term in February 2010 in a Home Office report which said: “This strategy sets out how we will continue our efforts to cut crime and make the UK a hostile environment for those that seek to break our laws or abuse our hospitality.” This was the Home Office presided over by Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson. He gloated over the destruction and clearance of the “Jungle camps” by the French authorities in 2009. When asked in Parliament “Would you deport a family whose children know no home other than the United Kingdom?” Johnson replied: “It is not my personal job to do the deportation. If that was the judgement, having gone through due process, then yes”.

It ended up with the Labour election campaign of the same year with the slogan “Controls on immigration. I’m voting Labour” on mugs and badges. And only 18 Labour MPS (including Corbyn and Diane Abbott) voted against the Immigration Act in 2014.

The hostile attitude to immigrants continued under the coalition government with the nodding complicity of the Liberal Democrats and then under the Conservatives ruling alone. Rudd escalated the policy as she had promised to the previous Home Secretary and now Prime Minister Theresa May. This was all done knowingly, with an awareness of the terrible consequences for so many working class families.

The destruction of thousands of documents related to Windrush incomers also points to a hostile environment, making it more difficult for people to prove their status.
Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry backed the checks on people looking for jobs, homes and healthcare, which were brought in by the 2014 Immigration Act. She defended Alan Johnson by saying that “The words were used but the culture was not!!"

We should also recall that after the referendum on the EU in 2016, Corbyn stated on several occasions that immigration controls would remain in place under Labour. Diane Abbott went on to state that Labour did not condone an amnesty, and when questioned, remained silent on what Labour would do about illegal immigrants.

So far, the controversy has centred on Windrush migrants but already tens of EU citizens have been refused permanent residence. We should resist the attempt to divide people into “good migrants”, those who emigrated to Britain from the Commonwealth from the 1940s onwards and “bad” migrants, those from the EU. In particular Boris Johnson is pushing this line with his hard Brexit politics which envisages the re-establishment of better relations, both economic and trading with the Commonwealth countries.

So will the appointment of Javid make a blind bit of difference? The answer is a categoric NO! Many residents of the UK are under the illusion that they have the right to live in Britain. They are kept in the dark about the need to apply for “settled status” whilst others under threat include all those family dependents like children and the elderly who believe that other family members are UK citizens just because they live here!

Javid will change the language from emphasis on targets and deportations but in fact it will be business as usual. He has already been caught out after denying that any members of the Windrush generation had been illegally deported. In fact, this went beyond them and included someone originally from Somalia who was a legal British citizen. The head of Home Office Immigration, Hugh Ind, admitted that such illegal deportations had taken place and said he did not know why Javid and the immigration minister, Caroline Nokes, claimed to be unaware of this.

It should be remembered that in the past Sajid Javid has supported every aspect of the “hostile environment” policy including voting to extend powers to deport before appeal on human rights grounds.

Meanwhile members of the Windrush generation are excluded from Britain after having gone away on holiday, are interned in camps like Yarl’s Wood, are illegally deported and are harassed with threatening notices and denied work and access to health services after checks. Some have lost earnings because their employers sacked them after immigration checks.
At the same time we heard of the women who went on a hunger and work strike at Yarl’s Wood after being detained there indefinitely. In response to the strike they were issued with letters threatening them with accelerated deportation if they continued with their protest. This was all condoned and enacted by Caroline Nokes.

Capitalism and the State use racism and xenophobia to divide and weaken us. We should resist the increasing levels of racism and xenophobia that both the May regime and the mass media are peddling. We should argue against the false divide between “deserving” and “undeserving” migrants. We should mobilise against the “immigration removal centres” like Yarl’s Wood run by companies like Serco, where conditions are appalling and detainees are treated abysmally, and we should fight for the closing down of these centres.

The treatment of the Windrush generation is appalling but we can’t just say that and forget about those who have not been here for as long who are suffering the same treatment. We should not draw any difference between which refugees and immigrants we show solidarity with.

Oppose All Borders! For Internationalism!

 

No War But The Class War!

A hundred cruise missiles were launched against the military installations of the Assad regime. In the aftermath the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, stated that the United States was “locked and loaded”. Together the US, France and Britain have engaged in bombings that will be of no benefit to the Syrian masses suffering under the murderous regime of Bashar Assad.

It can be seen that all three regimes in the USA, France and Britain have their own domestic problems, and that a military adventure is always a good ploy to divert attention. Trump is wrestling with the ongoing Muller investigation, the revelations of ex-FBI Director Comey, and ongoing legal wrangles with porn star Stormy Daniels and polls that show his lack of popularity. Theresa May is faced with serious divisions in her own Party, deepening problems over Brexit, not to mention that she is hanging on to power thanks to an alliance with the DUP. Macron faces increasing unrest at home with what looks increasingly like a re-run of May 1968.

Trump was elected President on a populist programme, but part of that programme was that he would withdraw troops from Iraq and not be involved in military adventures in the Middle East. This was in stark contrast to Hillary Clinton who maintained an aggressive stance towards Russia and calls for a no-fly zone over Syria that would have caused confrontation with Russia, Assad’s ally. Now Trump has betrayed his populist base, to the horror of some of his previous conservative backers.
Haley has stated that the US would maintain its troops in Syria and would start sanctions against Russian firms doing business with Assad.

Some of the most virulent critics of Trump have been papers like the Washington Post. In a lead editorial just after the bombings it criticised the joint US, French and British attack as inadequate and attacked Trump for saying that he had been ready to withdraw American troops from Syria. Similar views were aired in anti-Trump paper the New York Post. It is clear that a substantial part of the US ruling class wish to pursue a more aggressive attitude towards Russia and its allies. They are concerned by the new alliance between Russia, Turkey and Iran and the weakening US influence in the Middle East.

For the last quarter of a century, the US and its allies have been engaged in constant warfare, using fabricated excuses like the bogus weapons of mass destruction to dismantle the regime of their former ally Saddam, overthrow Gaddafi in Libya because of an “imminent” massacre of civilians and now the gas attacks by the Assad regime.

The attacks on the Syrian regime were not a last minute response but the result of plans prepared over many months as can be seen by the high level of coordination between the three state powers.
Large sections of the US ruling class including the leaders of the military have little confidence in Trump being able to oversee moves against Russia and its allies. That is why the campaign against Trump is increasing in intensity at the same time as aggressive moves by the US and its allies. This has been explicitly stated by neo-conservatives who link the removal of Trump to the expansion of war moves.

In the USA, France and Britain there is widespread anti-war feeling and this has been aggravated by the bombing attacks. In Germany, sections of the ruling class there have expressed the need to re-arm and, at the same time, pursue foreign policies less dependent on the USA. This turn is justified by lauding German “high moral and humanitarian standards”.

Assad is a bloody dictator and it is highly possible that he used gas attacks against the Syrian population. However those who condemn Assad are the same States that justified mass bombings of Hamburg and Dresden and two atom bomb attacks on Japan during World War Two, the use of the chemical Agent Orange in Vietnam, as well as the deployment of napalm there and previously in Greece, and the use of white phosphorus in Fallujah by Saddam, then the ally of the West. More recently, the British government has had few qualms about providing the weaponry used by the Saudi Arabian military to kill numerous civilians in Yemen.

The USA realised it has lost influence in the Middle East. It and its allies initially backed the Islamist militias in their attempts to overthrow Assad. Now ISIS is a shadow of its former self and Assad controls 75% of Syria. Russia had been warned before the bombing attacks with the hint that its own forces and bases there would not be touched. Nevertheless it was implied that the USA was still the only surviving superpower and that Russia should not overstep the mark.

Russia will not easily abandon its ally, Syria. It needs the Mediterranean ports that Syria provides. On the other hand the USA would like to confine Russia to the Black Sea and is seriously concerned about the new alliance, temporary though it may be, between Turkey and Russia and the increasing strength of the Shiite axis in Iran, Iraq and with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel launched its own attacks on its old enemy, Syria, obviously with the approval of the USA. For its part, Turkey is looking to increase influence and presence in Syria and has moved against the Kurdish controlled enclave of Afrin, exploiting the tensions between the great powers.

Whatever the outcome, it is clear that the different world and regional powers are gearing up for more armed conflict. In Syria over 400,000 people have been slaughtered and many more have been displaced. The situation is the same in Iraq. The masses there have nothing to gain from the murderous and barbarous depredations of the different armed gangs, whether they be Russian, American, Turkish or Islamist etc. Only revolution to overthrow all these regimes offers any alternative.

For now, we call on all internationalist and class conscious workers, communists, anarchists and revolutionary socialists to come together under the ‘No War But The Class War’ banner to promote working class resistance to the bosses’ war machine.

War Is The Health of The State!

No War But The Class War!

No War but the Class War

Claimants Fight Back Surrey

New Surrey based group formed to oppose Universal Credit:

"We are a militant working class self defence organisation fighting to protect the rights of benefits claimants. No one should live in poverty!"

Claimantsfight on Twitter.

Afrin: an internationalist position.

French Translation.

Afrin : Une Position Internationaliste – Déclaration de l’ACG

Nous déplorons l’invasion de la ville d’Afrin par l’Etat turc et ses forces armées. La principale raison de cette aventure militaire est que le gouvernement turc soit préoccupé par le fait que les Forces Démocratiques Syriennes (FDS) – principalement contrôlées par des forces kurdes comprenant le PYD (Parti de l’Union Démocratique), les Unités de Protection du Peuple kurde (YPG) et les Unités de Protection des Femmes (YPJ), étroitement liées au PKK, le parti nationaliste kurde opérant à l’intérieur des frontières de l’Etat turc – ait tenté de créer une zone d’influence proche des frontières de la Turquie. Avoir une zone kurde si proche fait peur au régime d’Erdogan en Turquie, qui redoute les encouragements que cela donnerait aux 16 millions de Kurdes vivant à l’intérieur des frontières de la Turquie.

Pour sa part, la Russie a conclu une alliance avec la Turquie, ce qui représente des problèmes pour son satellite, le régime d’Assad en Syrie. Les forces aériennes russes contrôlaient l’espace aérien au-dessus d’Afrin, ce qui signifie que la capture de cette ville par l’armée turque n’a pu se faire qu’avec l’approbation tacite de la Russie.

Le régime d’Assad est préoccupé par le soutien américain aux YPG. Les Etats-Unis ont soutenu les FDS dans ses attaques contre les djihadistes de l’EIIL, tout en renforçant leurs intérêts et leur influence dans la région. Ils ont établi dix bases temporaires afin de faciliter ces objectifs.
Le régime d’Assad veut voir le retrait de toutes les forces d’occupation en Syrie, y compris celles des Américains et des Turcs. La Russie, qui jusqu’à présent a pleinement soutenu Assad, a établi des relations avec la Turquie et souhaite la fin de la guerre dans la région qui, jusqu’à récemment, impliquait sa propre intervention dans la région avec des frappes aériennes et le déploiement de forces spéciales. Le régime d’Assad est lui-même préoccupé par le développement des enclaves kurdes mais il est conscient que l’Etat turc ne souhaite pas seulement détruire ces enclaves mais démanteler la Syrie, avec son soutien aux forces armées djihadistes.

Les Etats-Unis ont soutenu les forces kurdes non pas par souci de « démocratie », mais afin d’utiliser ces forces pour combattre l’EIIL et d’accéder aux ressources pétrolières et gazières. Les YPG, quant à eux, étaient assez heureux de ce soutien. Cependant, les Etats-Unis craignent que leur alliance avec l’Etat turc ne soit compromise par les relations de plus en plus cordiales entre le gouvernement turc et la Russie, ce qui explique la décision des Etats-Unis de mettre fin au soutien aux Kurdes.

Pour nous, en tant qu’internationalistes, notre premier objectif doit être de condamner et de mobiliser contre l’invasion turque et contre la poursuite des livraisons d’armes britanniques à l’Etat turc.
Comme nos camarades du groupe communiste anarchiste en Turquie, Yeryüzü Postası, le notent :
« Nous pouvons voir que les détenteurs de pouvoir dans différents pays se frottent les mains en jubilant à propos de l’opération Afrin. Il est entendu que la Russie et les Etats-Unis sont en train de construire leur plan de division de la Syrie en fonction de leurs sphères d’influence et ils se sont probablement mis d’accord à ce sujet. Pour ce qu’on peut en déduire des déclarations de l’Angleterre, ils sont prêts à prendre une part des réserves de pétrole et d’autres ressources naturelles – peut-être, encore une fois, grâce à un partenariat entre Shell et Koç Holding. La France veut rétablir son activité dans la région. »

Pour sa part, l’auto-administration démocratique de la province d’Afrin, qui est le gouvernement de facto de la région et contrôlé par les FDS, a demandé à Assad de leur venir en aide. En d’autres termes, le soutien d’un régime meurtrier dont ils veulent s’autonomiser.

Comme l’a remarqué un anarchiste kurde,
« Je peux conclure qu’au Bakur et au Rojava, deux partis politiques fortement disciplinés et autoritaires, le PKK et le PYD, sont à l’origine de la construction du confédéralisme démocratique dans deux parties du Kurdistan, le Bakur et le Rojava. Ce sont ces partis qui prennent les décisions les plus importantes, qui planifient et conçoivent les politiques, et qui établissent aussi des relations diplomatiques avec d’autres pays et d’autres partis politiques. Ce sont eux qui négocient avec leurs ennemis ou les Etats, et font la guerre ou la paix. Bien sûr, ce sont de très gros problèmes et extrêmement importants car ils façonnent la destination future de la société. Cependant, ce sont malheureusement les partis politiques qui prennent ces décisions et non les gens dans leurs propres assemblées et réunions de masse, ou par l’action directe. »

Comme d’habitude, les puissances impérialistes prennent parti en fonction de ce qui convient à leurs intérêts et non de ce qui est le meilleur pour les gens au Moyen-Orient. En tant que communistes anarchistes, nous ne soutenons aucune faction dans une guerre inter-impérialiste, même si certaines d’entre elles semblent se ranger du côté de ceux qui sont attaqués par l’Etat islamique ou par la Turquie. Nous ne soutenons pas non plus les partis politiques nationalistes qui ont pour but d’établir de nouveaux Etats, peu importe à quel point la rhétorique peut être libertaire. Il peut bien y avoir des exemples d’auto-organisation dans des zones du Rojava mais le problème, c’est qu’ils sont toujours contrôlés en fin de compte par des partis politiques autoritaires qui ont voué un culte à leur chef Öcalan. Ce n’est pas un mouvement vers une véritable auto-organisation si vous êtes capable de le faire parce que le grand leader a dit que c’est ce que vous devriez faire. La situation est très compliquée et bien que nous soyons solidaires avec tous ceux qui sont tués et qui résistent aux forces turques, aux forces syriennes, à Daech, etc., nous ne soutenons pas pour autant sans réserves les partis nationalistes tels que le PYD qui a assumé la direction de la résistance.

Ce sont les masses de la province d’Afrin et de Syrie, les paysans et les ouvriers qui souffrent des déprédations de tous ces gangs meurtriers, que ce soient ceux de l’Etat turc, des différents groupes djihadistes, des USA et de la Russie, du Hezbollah et des unités iraniennes. Ce sont les masses qui subissent les déplacements, les massacres, les bombardements, les viols de masse et la destruction de leurs terres et de leurs maisons. On ne peut pas non plus compter sur les nationalistes kurdes qui cherchent à maintes reprises à former des alliances avec différentes puissances régionales et mondiales, pour être finalement trahis à chaque fois et sans exception. La seule réponse à cette situation, c’est le développement d’un puissant mouvement ouvrier contre la guerre et contre le capitalisme lui-même.

Source en anglais : https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2018/04/03/afrin-an-internationalist-position-acg-statement/

Traduction française : BLESK 

French Translation provided by BLESK on Libcom.org

Anti-Fracking Action — Next Round.

A brief summery of the resistance to the fracking industry during 2017.

During 2017 the fracking industry’s activity continued but strong, well organised and imaginative community opposition resulted in delays and heavy costs for the corporations involved. This year promises to be another grinding, slow slog for the fracking industry with money being lost hand over fist due to community opposition around the UK.
The fracking industry has to artificially crank up the possibility of profit to draw in investment capital that is its life blood. But there are over 300 local groups in the anti-fracking movement which has successfully increased in numbers, strength and motivation. It is this direct action movement which threatens to bleed the fracking industry of its profit and stop it dead in its tracks.
Last year saw a broad range of creative resistance to the fracking industry. That resistance focused on the fracking sites with protest camps, marches and blockades. But the challenge to fracking also involved organising disruption of the network of supply routes and support sites. Lorries have been held-up for days with different tactics including lorry surfing. 
The tactic of communications blockades such as coordinated mass phone-ins has also been used to effect business and cut the profit of those companies engaged in fracking. In the face of these organised protests some suppliers have stopped working with the fracking industry. Some fracking operations have been slashed. Cuadrilla planned two large shale gas sites in Lancashire but the these were scaled down to only one at Preston New Road. That site was going to have four wells but those were then reduced to just two. The construction work took over six months — double the planned time. 
While Lancashire is a major front in the battle against fracking, North Yorkshire, the East Midlands, South East and other areas are important and anti-fracking actions are ongoing in these places. A winning strategy of causing construction costs to skyrocket by creating painful delays through organised disruption using a whole array of tactics could mean that the fracking industry grinds to a halt. Organised direct action against fracking can win, both in the UK and internationally.
For extensive info about the anti-fracking movement, including updates, local groups, maps and other resources check: frack-off.org.uk

Anti-Fracking Action — Next Round

Bristol Radical History Group

Check this excellent website by the Bristol Radical History Group. As they say themselves: "Since 2006 BRHG have organised over 250 events; staging walks, talks, gigs, recreations, films, exhibitions, trips through the archives and fireside story telling. We have several active research projects, publish a range of books and pamphlets and host an archive on this website.
BRHG projects and events are organised by local people from Bristol and are NOT funded by universities, political parties, business or local government. To break even we rely on members giving their labour for free, donations from the audiences and the sale of publications.
BRHG are associated with several other history groups in Bristol including Remembering the Real World War One, Eastville Workhouse Memorial Group and the Counter-Colston Group. BRHG have also recently become a member of the International History From Below Network."

Bristol Radical History Group

A Bulgarian Anarchist's Story - Alexander Nakov

The following book is the autobiography of the 97 year old revolutionary anarchist communist in Bulgaria, Alexander Nakov. This first English translation was edited and contributed to by former AF members now associated with this Communist Anarchism blog.

The Dossier of Subject No. 1218 

A Bulgarian Anarchist's Story

by Alexander Nakov

ALEXANDER NAKOV, BORN 1919: “SECONDARY EDUCATION IN FASCIST PRISONS… HIGHER EDUCATION IN BOLSHEVIK PRISONS”

Of the few who managed to survive the horrors of Bulgaria’s Stalinist concentration camps, Alexander Nakov is possibly the most representative of the older generation of active and committed anarchists.

Initially reluctant to write his memoirs, Alexander was eventually persuaded by friends that his story needed to be told. And by telling that story, he now remains a vital link between the anarchist militants of the past and the youth of today.

In clear and concise prose, Alexander details his youthful activity, his subsequent imprisonment and his fierce resistance to an inhuman system.

As well as his memoirs, this book also contains official government and state security documents about the author – documents that give yet another insight into the anarchist Alexander Nakov, targeted by the "People’s State" and classified as "Subject No.1218."

Translated from the Bulgarian original by Mariya Radeva, edited by Rob Blow, foreword by Nick Heath.

Check the Communist Anarchism site for info about how to get your hands on a copy.

Joseph Déjacque — The first person to use the term libertarian.

We reproduce here a brief excerpt taken from the projected book The Idea: Anarchist Communism Past, Present and Future written by Nick Heath. The text below describes how Joseph Déjacque was the first person to use the word libertarian as a term interchangeable with anarchist. Nick Heath also outlines how Déjacque was an early and significant theorist of communist anarchism.

The first two chapters of The Idea are currently available in full on Libcom.org.

______________________________________________________________________

Joseph Déjacque also participated in the 1848 events as well as in the insurrection the following year. In often extremely violent and poetic language, he attacked religion, property, the family and the State, and advocated action by small groups who would hasten the end of the old hierarchical order.

The massacres of June 1848 brought him not only to a rejection of exploitation and economic privilege, but equally to a rejection of all forms of authority. In exile in the States he produced a journal in French, Le Libertaire, the first recorded use of the term libertarian as an alternative to that of anarchist.

He continued the trailblazing work of the Humanitaire Group in his development of a kind of anarchist communism –“the anarchist community” (communauté anarchique). He rejected the strategy of Blanquism with its secret societies. Unlike Proudhon, he was able to reject the idea of the family. Indeed, he was able to offer fraternal criticisms of Proudhon himself, for his failure to carry his thoughts through to their ultimate conclusion.

He rejects Proudhon’s mutualism as much as he rejects the Statism of the inheritors of the Jacobin tradition. In reply to Proudhon’s belief in the individual ownership of the products of labour, Déjacque replied that “it is not the product of his or her labour that the worker has a right to, but to the satisfaction of his or her needs, whatever may be their nature"("l'Echange", article in Le Libertaire no 6, September 21, 1858, New York). It is true that he owed a great debt to Fourier, - and this becomes apparent in his pamphlet L’Humanisphere: utopie anarchique - but his Fourierism is one stripped of all its reformist and authoritarian traits and he often makes criticisms of the prophet of social harmony.

He may be correctly cited as one of the grandfathers of anarchist communism, his project of collective class emancipation was linked to complete liberty for the individual, thus being one of the first to re-define communism in opposition to the authoritarian concepts of Cabet et al.

Importantly, in opposition to Proudhon, he was deeply concerned with linking the emancipation of women to that of the working class. Castigating Proudhon for his rampant misogyny he was to say:

"Is it possible, great publicist, that under your lion’s skin so much of the ass may be found?...Father Proudhon, shall I say it? When you talk of women you appear like a college boy who talks very loudly and in a high key, at random and with impertinence, in order to appear learned, as you do to your callow hearers, and who like you knows not the first thing of the matter he is talking about …Listen, Master Proudhon! Before you talk of woman, study her; go to school."

"Stop calling yourself an anarchist, or be an anarchist clear through. Talk to us, if you wish to, of the unknown and the known, of God who is evil, of property which is robbery; but when you talk of man do not make him an autocratic divinity, for I will answer you that man is evil. Attribute not to him a stock of intelligence which belongs to him only by right of conquest, by the commerce of love, by usury on the capital that comes entirely from woman and is the product of the soul within her. Dare not to attribute to him that which he has derived from another or I will answer you in your own words: “Property is robbery!” …Raise your voice, on the contrary, against the exploitation of woman by man”. …"centre right anarchist, liberal and not libertarian you want free trade for cotton and the candle, and you advocate protective systems of man against woman in the movement of human passions; you shout against the barons of capital, and you want to rebuild the high barony of male over female vassal; ... " (On The Human Being, Male and Female, 1857).


"The Idea" part 1.

"The Idea" part 2.

Turkish Government Assault on Afrin

Turkish anarchist communist group Yeryüzü Postası's statement on the assault on Afrin by the Turkish government.

Here's the orginal statement on Yeryüzü Postası's website

Led by AKP government, an operation of invasion against Afrin has been started with a consensus between all factions inside the state. Boss organizations such as TÜSİAD, MUSIAD, TOBB, unions that defend the interests of bosses against workers and all the constitutional parties have made statements with “national reconciliation” supporting the operation. They became so wild that some bosses dared to say “You can take from workers of my factory to military operation as much as you want.”.By this way, a new phase in imperialist fantasies of state has begun, which is represented by AKP who has been aiming at suppression of the opposition and wild implementation of denial and extermination policies regarding Kurdish question.

We can see that power-holders in different countries are rubbing their hands with glee about the Afrin operation. It is understood that Russia and USA are constructing their plan on dividing Syria in line with their spheres of influence and probably they have agreed on it. As far as we’ve inferred from statements of England, they are willing to take a share from oil reserves and other natural resources – possibly, again, via a partnership between Shell and Koç Holding. France wants to re-establish its activity in the region. Probably, European governments facing refugee crises are quite happy with the statement of Erdoğan that “3.5 million of Syrians will be settled in Afrin.” And can there be any better opportunity for Turkey to prevent forthcoming strike of metal workers?

The war in Syria that motivated capitalists and powers of the world about greater profits haven’t brought anything other than death, destruction and poverty to laborers of Syria. And with this operation, the war will intensify more and the chaos will deepen in the region. This means more death, more poverty and more misery for us.

Powers, who seemed to be accompanying Kurdish national movement until now, made contradictory and unclear statements. From this fact, not surprisingly, we’ve seen again that dominant classes and their servitude countries are not acting with ethical motivations or supreme goals. As it was in the World War 1, imperalist powers’ are conducting their competition of spheres of influence via enforcing people in Syria and Middle East to fight each other. Even though they establish strategic alliance with Kurdish movement, they don’t really care what will happen to Kurdish people in the end. Although we aren’t able to know the content of secret and dirty diplomatic negotiations between states, it is obvious that they only care about their interests and this war is dragging not only the region, but also the world into an unknown situation.

None of the dominant classes or states that are serving to their interests has intention to stop this war. Statements of UN and EU allow us to see that they don’t have any strategy to do it and they don’t have troops they can use. Structural crises of capitalism are pushing dominant powers to make crazy moves that will drag the humanity into a barbarism era. Just like the same as the period before World War 1 and 2.

The only power that can stop this course of events is the working-class. For now, war drums’ voice might be drowning the sigh of young soldiers forced to fight in fronts and their families’ secret cries; it might be drowning the scream of the people in Afrin that are killed or forced to leave their home. Today, voice of politicians from different parties, voice of clowns that call themselves experts in TVs and voice of warmongers’, in general, might be overshadowing the voice of people who are opposing war. They’re all sitting on their comfortable seats and while children of the laborers are dying, they are distributing heroic ranks to themselves.

However, they also know that it will not continue in this way. Therefore, the state is trying to prevent the reaction of mass of people, who are killed, impoverished and forced to leave their homes, by increasing the oppression. Police is wildly attacking press statements in public places, people are handcuffed just because they made posts in social media against war and arrested. Against all these attacks, as anarchists, communists from Turkey and other international comrades, we should stick together and altogether continue to raise our voice against war.

Furthermore, people of Afrin and people of Turkey who are fighting against this invasion are in need of international solidarity more than ever. This international war, in which the only winners are capitalists and the only losers are laborers of all nations, can only be stopped with international solidarity.

We think that to struggle against this war is a historical duty for anarchists, communists and other internationalists all around the world. We are calling all of our comrades to struggle against the operation of Afrin, against AKP’s oppression to war resisters and against all states that are responsible for the actual situation in Syria.

Internationalist Class Solidarity or Capitalist War and Barbarism
War to Palaces, Peace for Slums!
No to war between nations
No war but class war

Yeryüzü Postası

Communist Anarchism

The Elephant in the Council Chamber

 
London Anarchist Communists supported the demonstration on 16th January against the Elephant and Castle development (see previous blog posts). The demo marched from the occupied London College of Communications to the Southwark Council building, and was lively and vocal. A large part of the demonstration then gained access to the building.

The bid by the developer Delancey was rejected at the council planning committee with 3 votes in favour, 4 against and 1 abstention. This means a delay for the bid, but as usually happens a revised bid will probably be put forward. Nevertheless a small victory!

Delancey cynically ofered only 3% social rented  housing as part of the development bid compared to the 35% affordable housing, of which 50% must be at social rents, which they need to build to remain compliant with Southwark council's minimum standards.

We have to remain vigilant and mobilise for Delancey's next move!

Elephant in the Chamber demo report.

Demo at Senate House 25th January

The University of London continues to deny the outsourced workers that keep the institution running the terms and conditions afforded to their colleagues that are directly employed by the university. Outsourced workers suffer from far worse pensions, holiday entitlements, sickness entitlements, and maternity and paternity leave than in-house employees.

Full text here:

London Anarchist Communists

In Days of Old

A leaflet  from October 1896 for a meeting of London Anarchist Communists to 'bid farewell to Louise Michel and Pietro Gori on their departure to America on a lecturing tour' The meeting at the Club & Institute Union Hall in Holborn also featured the prominent anarchists Errico Malatesta and Sebastian Faure, as well as Tom Mann one of the leaders of the 1889 dock strike in London.

Stop Universal Credit!

May's Tory government is bringing in Universal Credit (UC) by stages. It replaces Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support, ESA, Housing Benefit, Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits. At the moment there are 590,000 people on Universal Credit in England and Wales, with around 50,000 new claims each month.

The Tories have been planning this since the 2010 Election and have been slowly introducing Universal Credit since 2013 
Lies

·        The Tories say it will encourage more people back to work

·        It will be more efficient than previous benefits

·        It will improve people’s lives and raise their incomes

Facts 
More people back to work?- in minimum wage, zero hour contract or other unreliable jobs!

·     More efficient? You can only apply for Universal Credit online, and only get messages about UC online. But many don’t have the internet at home, and with the closing of many public libraries with free internet access, many a will be forced to pay to use a cybercafé.  Already, people have to wait six weeks or longer to receive their first UC payment. This causes hardship to many who have no savings to rely on.

Billions taken from the unemployed, the disabled, the needy

When fully implemented millions will be worse off. What this is really about is cutting social security.
Housing subsidy will be cut creating more homeless.
Disability elements cut or abolished
completely.
Some rates lower than current benefit rates.
Support for child care massively cut.
Easier sanctioning, forcing people off UC to live on nothing.
UC will be time-limite.

Facts

Many have turned to Citizens Advice - one in ten of those already claiming UC.
The six weeks already means referrals to food banks, many getting in arrears with their rent, resulting in evictions. One foodbank has said that its referrals have doubled. Two south
London boroughs have said that half of the claimants there have gone into further debt as a result.
“While the Universal Credit will in many cases increase the financial incentive for one person in couple households to move into some form of employment, incentives for many second earners will be weakened in comparison to the current situation…This will particularly affect women as they are more likely to be the second earners in households and they usually earn less than men and do more informal caring work. Worryingly, the Government finds ‘that any such risk of decreased work incentives for women in couples is justified.’ … this could mark the start of a return to a ‘male breadwinner model’ in which men do paid work and women stay at home to look after children and other dependants.” (Women’s Budget Group)

The Way Forward

Universal Credit could be the equivalent of the Poll Tax for the May regime. The Thatcher government’s very unpopular Poll Tax resulted in mass non-payment, riots and the eventual resignation of Thatcher.

This government is weak and fragile and mass resistance could topple it. But we have to turn the despair at worsening conditions into a positive anger and a determination to resist. But don’t rely on the Labour Party to help. All they can offer is not abolition of UC but a tinkering with it.

Already the Tories have been forced to climb down over the 55p a minute Universal Credit helpline charge. As well as that, twelve back bench Tory MPs are worried about a Poll Tax style scenario and about their seats and asked the Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke to pause the roll out back in September 2017.

The message has to be NO! We won’t pay for your crisis!

London Anarchist Communists

The above text is for a leaflet for the Universal Credit demo this Saturday Jan 27th at 1pm, Trafalgar Square

London Anarchist Communists blog

London Anarchist Communists support Anti-Fracking Leafleting in Dorking

Members of London Anarchist Communists helped out with leafleting alongside Surrey & Hants Anarchist Federation members plus a member of Surrey Communist Anarchists on Saturday January 13th in Dorking to publicise the proposed drilling at nearby Leith Hill.

Europa Oil & Gas have fought a six year battle against local residents to impose the drilling site on the community, first submitting their planning application in 2009.

All necessary planning consents are now in place for the drilling of the Holmwood-1 exploration well. This well is intended to test the Portland sandstone, Kimmeridge Clay and Corallian targets, and is similar to the Horse Hill-1 well drilled by UKOG. At present Europa is planning to attempt to drill the Holmwood-1 well in late 2016 or 2017.

Fracking company UK Oil and Gas Investments (UKOG) have stated that the proposed Holmwood-1 well at the site would provide a further valuable “proof of concept” step in UKOG’s plans to exploit the Kimmeridge Clay for shale oil. This threatens the drilling of thousands of wells across the Weald. The British Geological Surveys estimates well over a thousand wells while those from UKOG, based on data from Horse Hill, might require over 3000 wells.

Frack Off

Frack Off: Voice for Leith Hill

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