NoStateEver
4th June 2009, 16:19
Greetings, all,
There seems to be the general consensus here that we, as Anarchists, are opposed to both the Capitalist system as well as the state. The economic authority can deprive you of employment, and starve you to death. The political authority can throw you in prison, or put a bullet in the back of your head. There is more than one way to kill a human being, but either way, both methods amount to a type of murder. This is what our revolution is against!
There are the two popular methods for achieving a Social Revolution: the political party, and the trade union. The political party's main methods involve parliamentary action, like lobbying, campaigining, and electioneering, as well as a coup or armed aggression. The trade union's methods involve the strike, the boycott, picketting, demonstration, and finally, its most powerful weapon, The General Strike. Below I have listed some examples of each and their result.
The Trade Union :
1917 - St. Petersburg General Strike - After strikes and public demonstrations, workers convince the military to join their cause in resisting the Tzar, who is overthrown and executed as a result.
1919 - Barcelona General Strike - Workers force the state into passing the first, national eight-hour day law.
1920 - German Kapp Putsch Strike - Workers strike and break the strength of what turns out to be a failed, Monarchist uprising.
1936 - Syrian General Strike - Workers in Syria go on strike to get revolutionaries out of prison, and once they got their demands, they established national independence.
1946 - Indian General Strike - Workers went on strike and held public demonstrations, creating insurrection throughout the country. Britain conceded and granted national independence.
1968 - French General Strike - Workers go on the biggest wildcat strike in history, with two out of every three workers striking. Federal government dissolves, and new elections are called.
1984 - Uruguan General Strike - Workers strike, and force the removal of a military dictator.
1989 - Polish General Strike - The trade-union Solidarity goes on strike and holds demonstrations, resulting in the abolishment of Soviet rule.
Similar successes I won't go into: 2007 Guinea General Strike, 2009 French Caribbean General Strike, 2005 Bolivian General Strike, among many others.
The Political Party :
The Bolshevik Political Party: Abolished the right for workers to organize and created a dictatorship.
Korean Workers' Political Party: Same.
Communist Party of Vietnam: Same.
Lao People's Revolutionary Party: Same.
Communist Party of Cuba: Same.
Similar failures: Communist Parties of Romania, Ukraine, Czech, Afghanistan, Poland, and Hungary.
Just given WHAT WORKS and WHAT DOES NOT WORK, isn't it about time to abandon the political party and work on creating an Anarcho-Syndicalist federation?
Andy Carloff,
There seems to be the general consensus here that we, as Anarchists, are opposed to both the Capitalist system as well as the state. The economic authority can deprive you of employment, and starve you to death. The political authority can throw you in prison, or put a bullet in the back of your head. There is more than one way to kill a human being, but either way, both methods amount to a type of murder. This is what our revolution is against!
There are the two popular methods for achieving a Social Revolution: the political party, and the trade union. The political party's main methods involve parliamentary action, like lobbying, campaigining, and electioneering, as well as a coup or armed aggression. The trade union's methods involve the strike, the boycott, picketting, demonstration, and finally, its most powerful weapon, The General Strike. Below I have listed some examples of each and their result.
The Trade Union :
1917 - St. Petersburg General Strike - After strikes and public demonstrations, workers convince the military to join their cause in resisting the Tzar, who is overthrown and executed as a result.
1919 - Barcelona General Strike - Workers force the state into passing the first, national eight-hour day law.
1920 - German Kapp Putsch Strike - Workers strike and break the strength of what turns out to be a failed, Monarchist uprising.
1936 - Syrian General Strike - Workers in Syria go on strike to get revolutionaries out of prison, and once they got their demands, they established national independence.
1946 - Indian General Strike - Workers went on strike and held public demonstrations, creating insurrection throughout the country. Britain conceded and granted national independence.
1968 - French General Strike - Workers go on the biggest wildcat strike in history, with two out of every three workers striking. Federal government dissolves, and new elections are called.
1984 - Uruguan General Strike - Workers strike, and force the removal of a military dictator.
1989 - Polish General Strike - The trade-union Solidarity goes on strike and holds demonstrations, resulting in the abolishment of Soviet rule.
Similar successes I won't go into: 2007 Guinea General Strike, 2009 French Caribbean General Strike, 2005 Bolivian General Strike, among many others.
The Political Party :
The Bolshevik Political Party: Abolished the right for workers to organize and created a dictatorship.
Korean Workers' Political Party: Same.
Communist Party of Vietnam: Same.
Lao People's Revolutionary Party: Same.
Communist Party of Cuba: Same.
Similar failures: Communist Parties of Romania, Ukraine, Czech, Afghanistan, Poland, and Hungary.
Just given WHAT WORKS and WHAT DOES NOT WORK, isn't it about time to abandon the political party and work on creating an Anarcho-Syndicalist federation?
Andy Carloff,