Building a bridge to the anarcho-socialists is probably a doomed endeavor,
given that they tend to be so dogmatic, vicious, and unwilling to listen.
But not entirely doomed. You see, despite significant values and
theoretical differences, a lot of the conflict is due to misunderstanding.
This is because both ansocs and market anarchists use the same terms to
mean different things. Hence, the two groups talk past one another. To get
on the same page, you must learn to communicate so that they will
understand you. This means framing your issues within their worldview, and
refraining from language that sends up their red flags.
You may argue, why should you bend over backwards to change the way you say
things? Why shouldn't they meet you halfway? They should, but they probably
won't. If you want any genuine communication to take place, you'll need to
heed my advice, or else don't bother trying. You see, ansocs view their
lives and politics as a large-scale struggle of the poor masses fighting to
end their enslavement by the rich few. Due to this context, and since they
believe this struggle can only be won by organizing into large groups,
political theory is to them another kind of street barricade, and discourse
another kind of molotov. To stray from the flock isn't just an individual
doing their own thing, but weakens the group, which compromises the group's
ability to struggle, which in turn threatens the entire future of the human
race!
Their fear, stemming from their belief that every thought carries extremely
high stakes, is why they tend to denounce others based on who they're
associated with rather than what they say, and why they lump all their
enemies together, drawing no distinction between market anarchists,
Republicans, and Klansmen, calling them all, "fascists". To an ansoc,
seeing the enemy as complex and nuanced is a waste of time, and giving an
enemy the benefit of the doubt gives them a dangerous inroad into your
mind, which they will use to confuse and beguile you. But only the
hard-core theory-heads are like that. Some ansocs just casually show up at
protests or events, maybe casually pick up some literature, and leave it at
that. The latter are likely to be much more open to your ideas.
Unfortunately, you're less likely to find the latter discussing theory online.
As a recovering ansoc myself, let me tell you how to build a bridge to the
ansocs:
Don't assume each and every ansoc is an authoritarian would-be tyrant. Many
of them are, while many are not. Mostly, they're just not aware of the
difference. Some of these anarchists are just (non-classical) liberal
reformists who like living-wage laws and punk rock and hate cops. Some are
militant versions of Green Party members. Some are very close to being
Leninists, except that maybe they see some virtue in decentralized
organizing and they like the sound of the word, "freedom." The latter
consider themselves anarchists because they do not want to seize the State,
but rather intend to build a new one from scratch (which they deny would be
a state). And some genuinely oppose the State in any form.
How can such disparate elements consider themselves part of the same
movement? Because a lot of them unquestioningly buy into the myth of
democracy. They assume that anyone who criticizes democracy must be
advocating tyranny by default. They have never heard of any other
alternatives. To some, democracy implies ruling over others against their
will, while to others, democracy is just a means of organizing within their
own group, and they wouldn't dream of subjecting outsiders to their rules.
Advocates of consensus don't want their group to do anything against any
group-member's will, ever. Most ansocs have never given the issue any
thought. The litmus test to separate the anarcho-statists from the true
anarchists is to ask if they support freedom of association. They may have
heard of this term, but probably have little idea what it means in
practice. Tell them.
Don't knock democracy, just emphasize freedom of association. Let them
practice any and all democracy they want to, just insist on your right to
opt out of being subject to their group's decisions. And let them know
Malatesta would have agreed.
Don't defend corporations. Tell them that corporations depend on the State
for their existence. Tell them that if we work together to abolish the
State, the corporations will inevitably collapse. Tell them that any
corporation that had its own army and initiated aggression upon others
would be a de facto state, and should be opposed. Ansocs do not understand,
nor do they care to learn, the differences between market anarchism,
anarcho-capitalism, the Libertarian Party, the World Trade Organization,
social Darwinism, and fascism. So don't label your ideology, but try to
explain it in detail.
Don't use free-market buzzwords. It will only alienate and confuse them.
These would include "market", "capitalism", "property", "product",
"capital", "competition", "compensation", "risk", and "value". If you must
use these terms, include lengthy definitions each time, written in language
they're familiar with. Try to replace your buzzwords with theirs:
"liberation", "DIY", "personal possessions", "social wealth",
"cooperation", "sharing", "creativity", and "meaningful existence".
I think there's two conceptions of "free market": one is a condition of
freedom in which people are free to do whatever they wish as long as it's
consensual, and the other is an image of commerce as we know it with the
State removed. Ansocs may have many legitimate beefs with commerce as we
know it under a State, and that is why they react so negatively to the
mention of a free market. They're told that we already live in a free
market, and they assume that if it were any freer, it would get even worse.
Yet in a truly stateless society, the market might be vastly different than
commerce, as we know it today. That's why I think it's best to emphasize
the condition of freedom, and de-emphasize the commerce for the ansoc
audience. A clean slate will sound better to them than an untaxed McDonald's.
Don't accuse them of tyranny, and don't tell them their system will never
work. We want a free market, right? So encourage them to build whatever
federations of workers' councils they feel like. Emphasize market anarchy's
live-and-let-live attitude. Let them know that it's not an either-or issue.
The condition of freedom, which you call a free market, can form a
meta-context that could include communist systems, as well as every other
conceivable voluntary system. Let them know that communism is compatible
with a free market as long as it's strictly voluntary. Goad them to imagine
a free-market land in which most of the population would choose communism.
Don't threaten to shoot them if they mess with your property. This is no
way to get a constructive dialog going, even if you insist they started it.
You see, while you believe that involuntary wealth redistribution is
violence, they believe that poverty is literally a form of violence enacted
by the rich against the poor. Each side ardently believes that the other is
the aggressor. Instead of getting defensive, take a deep breath, and try to
patiently explain why you believe that the institution of property is the
simplest or most effective way of negotiating who uses what. Explain it to
them not in terms of defending your hoard, but in terms of letting their
commune or federation keep their own stuff. Make sure they understand that
they can be as sharing as they want to be within their own organizations.
Denounce capitalism. That's right. They define capitalism as including the
military-industrial complex, state socialism as it was practiced in the
Soviet Union and elsewhere, and recipients of corporate welfare. You
probably don't want to be associated with that stuff. So let them define
the term for now, and tell them you hate capitalism too. Say that what you
support is free enterprise, like in the case of a sidewalk pretzel-vendor.
None but the most rabid ansocs would dare criticize a solo tradesperson
with no employees. Employment is a thorny issue with ansocs, so it's best
not to bring it up until you've built a rapport. When it does come up,
argue it as a freedom-of-association issue. Say, "would you forcibly stop
someone from working for someone else for a wage?" If they say no, then
tell them that they are a market anarchist.
Don't use the term, "private property." Ansocs have a vastly different
definition of this term, often using it synonymously with the capitalist
system, which, by their definition, it inextricably entwined with the
state. However, ansocs are okay with small-scale personal possessions like
a toothbrush, which they see as entirely different than owning private
property in the form of a factory or a huge tract of land. So use the term,
"personal possession" any time you'd normally say, "private property". Say,
"personal possession" even when you're discussing ownership of a factory or
a huge tract of land. This will force both parties to get very precise
about what kinds of relationships people should have to objects, and how
people can best negotiate these relationships amongst themselves.
Never discuss environmental protection. Consider this topic taboo. From the
ansoc point of view, your ideas on the topic would sound insanely reckless,
criminally negligent, blind to obvious truths, denying of proven facts,
heartless and soulless, racist and violent, and so maniacally selfish that
you're willing to destroy the whole world for your short-term convenience.
And their ideas would sound to you ridiculously apocalyptic, terribly
self-sacrificing, blind to obvious truths, denying of proven facts,
heartless and soulless, callously violent, and a lame excuse for
totalitarian tyranny. A whole lot of mutual trust and goodwill needs to be
established before either side can begin to hear one another on this issue.
So don't even go there.
Don't let them tell you you're not an anarchist. This point is worth
arguing vehemently even though it may intensify the conflict. Ansocs feel
threatened by anarcho-capitalists. They view ancaps (a camp into which they
include all market anarchists--they think all non-socialists are alike) as
johnny-come-lately's who defected from the Libertarian Party, and like the
word "anarchism" because it sounds cool and rebellious. They accuse ancaps
(their definition) of selective reading of old individualist anarchists in
order to justify their appropriation of the term. They resent ancaps (their
definition) for stealing the term "anarchism" from its rightful owners, the
heirs to the glorious tradition of worker's struggle. They really view it
as stealing, and they're determined to steal it back by any means necessary.
The only means they have are knee-jerk denunciation and ostracism. So you
need to stake a claim to the term, a claim they can respect. You can do
this by telling them that you're a legitimate anarchist because you oppose
all forms of domination. When they insist that capitalism and property are
forms of domination, tell them that you hate capitalism but support free
enterprise as a way for people to meet their own and others' needs without
recourse to a planned economy that would tell people what to do. Tell them
you see voluntary communism as just another form of free enterprise. Tell
them that property is just a way of negotiating the use of objects by
people, and that they're welcome to propose other systems. Tell them to
have faith that people will choose (don't use the word "market") the
economic systems that best meet their needs.
Focus on the State. This is the real bridge-builder. This is the main issue
the two camps share in common. So emphasize to them that market anarchists
are the only group besides themselves and the primitivists who want to
abolish the State. Talk about the awful things the State does (other than
taxes and regulation, as ansocs don't care about those issues) and you'll
have lots to discuss, and you'll build great camaraderie.
Let them know that Leninists are going to stab them in the back. Most
anarchists are aware of the bloody history of anarchist victimization at
the hands of Leninists. Just say the words "Spain", "Kronstadt", and "The
Ukraine" over and over again until their affinity for Leninists cracks.
Then they'll be more open to accepting market anarchists as their natural
allies.
Sell market ideas in terms of broad-scale social benefits. This may be very
uncomfortable for you, as you're probably accustomed to touting the virtues
of your system in terms of individual benefit. Ansocs want to know what's
good for society as a whole. Ansocs want to help the working class, the
poor, the homeless, the hungry, the sick, the mentally ill, drug addicts,
and the most downtrodden and suffering. They want to help women, racial
minorities, sexual minorities, people with disabilities, and indigenous
tribes. So tell them how a rising tide lifts all boats. Tell them how
government regulation favors big business, and how after the State is
abolished, small, local businesses will thrive. Tell them how private
charities are able to meet human needs better than the welfare state.
Sell them capitalism as DIY. Most ansocs do not feel a strong need for
their own individual autonomy. They depend on their groups for their sense
of identity, and they seek to gain power together as a group. They do,
however, recognize the need for their groups and networks to gain autonomy
from the capitalist market. You should do everything you can to encourage
their do-it-yourself (DIY) ethic. To them, DIY means breaking free of
corporate domination, and building a strong autonomous people's network
providing necessary goods and services to rival the power of capitalism in
a dual-power scenario. You recognize that their DIY efforts are really free
enterprise entrepreneurship within a market. Everyone is happy.
Sell market anarchism as class war. Yes, you heard me right. Tell 'em you
hate the ruling class as much as they do. It's all in how you define the
ruling class. Tell them the ruling class is comprised of the people who
work for the government, plus those corporations who lobby for, and
receive, corporate welfare. They're the ones who use the military and
police to coerce others. It's a corrupt system where the powerful dominate
the powerless, and it all must be swept aside.
Do speak against government ownership of land, airwaves, and other
resources. Speak of timber sales, mining, and grazing on federal land. They
hate that. Denounce so-called "privatization" as the government making
money off the sale of stolen goods.
Do speak against gun control. Even anarcho-pacifists understand that gun
control is just a means to centralize power into the hands of the State.
Do speak against war, imperialism, and domestic repression. These topics
are timely, cut to the core of any version of anarchism, and are sure to
win you comrades on the Left.
Don't bitch about taxes. Ansocs don't care about taxes because most of them
are under the poverty line and aren't themselves subject to the income tax.
They take taxation as a given, and agree with Chomsky and other liberals
who complain about the tax burden being shifted from the rich to the poor.
Most of them are broke, and only stand to gain from statist wealth
redistribution. They want to abolish money anyway, so why should they care?
However, since all ansocs oppose imperialism, sell your anti-tax ideas to
them in terms of war-tax resistance. It's not the money people lose through
taxes that matters to them, but rather the evil ends to which the State
puts that money.
Emphasize the hell out of freedom of association, and non-initiation of
force. Tell them your respect for property rights means you won't steal
their stuff or invade their land, and that's a better promise than they'll
ever get from Leninists or the Green Party.
Expect to fail. Ansocs are often extremely dogmatic and hostile to market
ideas. This is because they so often fail to think, and because they're
unwilling to think outside their box. It is the rare ansoc who will think
independently, genuinely listen, and try to learn. They are out there, and
maybe a larger trend toward free-market anarcho-communism may eventually
arise. Just don't expect to win any converts. Let your mission be to learn
about them, and only secondarily to promote your own view. Then you won't
be wasting your time.
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Nexus X Humectress lived in an egalitarian, income-sharing commune for 7
years. Unlike other anarcho-socialists, he resolved to think for himself
and observe how theories pan out in practice. He now lives by himself.
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