I am told, however, that instead of being
centrally
anti-authoritarian, as in the old days, nowadays being
an
anarchist implies having a gender, cultural, economic, and
a
politically-rooted orientation, each aspect on a par with
and also
informing the rest. This is new in my experience of
anarchism, and it is
useful to recall that many anarchists
as little as a decade back, perhaps
even more recently,
would have said that anarchism addresses everything,
yes,
but via an anti-authoritarian focus rather than by elevating
other
concepts in their own right. They thought, whether
implicitly or
explicitly, that analysis from an
overwhelmingly anti-authoritarian angle
could explain the
nuclear family better than an analysis based in
kinship
concepts, and could explain race or religion better than
an
analysis based in cultural concepts, and could explain
production,
consumption, and allocation better than an
analysis based in economic
concepts. They were wrong, and it
is good to hear that many modern
anarchists know this.
Tom:
Living in what has become known as "The Anarchist Capitol of America"
(Eugene Oregon) since the WTO in Seattle, I can attest to the observations you
make here, Andrej. There is a whole subset of "politically correct" views that
must be ascribed to if one wants to be accepted as an anarchist in the
"inside" of the movement here. Many of these, particularly in the area
of gender and religion, have their own authorities and rules that seem very
un-anarchist-like. In parctice the young anarchists here follow the authority
of a few old university professors who have very definite agendas and are well
aware of the power they wield to direct the young activists toward not-so-pure
goals in some cases.
Andrej:
Anarchist Vision?
There is much to celebrate in the
breadth and depth of
anarchism, of course, but we must also overcome
lingering
faults, and I think a primary fault to overcome is
that
anarchism lacks vision.
Tom:
This seems true as well of the anarchist activists I have associated
with. To put it bluntly,there is a very good tactical awareness among them,
but no strategy. Furthermore, since this "lack of vision" is historic, well
known, and rather obvious, it is easy for other movements to let the
anarchists take the point -- and the heat -- in demonstrations, mass actions,
and the like. One need only be moderately aware of "timing" to step in
and co-opt the gains of anarchists and bend them to one's own agenda, simply
because -- as you say -- there is no political vision that can flash a
warnign sign to anarchists when they are about to be steamrollered by a
co-opting type groups. (These range from the police to left parties to
environmentalists, etc etc.)
For this reason, when I speak with someone who informs me he is an
anarchist, forgive me but the second word that pops into my mind is of all
things: "naive".
Andrej:
I guess I would say that if anarchism has truly recognized
the need
for culture-based, economy-based, and gender-based,
as well as polity-based
concepts and practice, and if
anarchism can support vision arising from
non-governmental
social dimensions while also itself providing serious
and
compelling political vision, and if the anarchist community
can
avoid or at least minimize lifestyle sectarianism as
well as strange
confusions between bad technology and
technology per se, authoritarian
government and political
structures per se, oppressive institutions and
institutions
per se, and seeking to win reforms versus being reformist
*
then I think anarchism has a whole lot going for it as a
source of
movement inspiration and wisdom in the effort to
make our world a much
better place.
Tom:
Lately it seems that a difficulty closer to the barricades has plagued
anarchists and others who are in movements for social change, at least in my
region. The police have begun to ignore the civil liberties of activists
wholesale -- without any pretense otherwise. Almost ALL activists in any
public mass demonstration are arrested for something, however minor the
charge. One can be arrested and charged for "not moving fast enough when
told to disperse."
The effect of this is to tie up the resources and organization of many
movements by requiring long hours in court, hiring lawyers and eventually
paying disproportionate fines. Just dealign wiht the problem of an arrest here
has become a nightmare for many anarchist I am aware of. Rod Coronado -- an
activist who has been in the area recently -- stated that his estimate was
that the effect of this tactic by the police had limited the effectiveness of
people in the movement by 25%. (to use an esoteric kind of
statistic.)
Anarchist groups here seem particularly targeted, yet their
anti-authoritarian credo does not allow them to "get out of the way" when
a cop comes along to spike their cannons via a trumped-up charge that puts
them in the court system for months rather than leaving them at liberty
to work for change.
Tom
"IF the corporations only can be stopped by human die off, THEN the
corporations will be stopped by human die off."--- Jay's Theorem (Jay
Hanson)
