Proliferation of Insurrectionary Anarchism

[palotin]

My political ideas have evolved considerably over the years. When I became radicalized it was as a sort of general anarchist. I hung with with punks, hippies, nihilists. My assortment of friends remains varied, but once I started gravitating more towards a Marxist theoretical tradition I began spending less time with people who were anti-intellectual. This is all by way of preface to a recent realization of mine: multiple people I knew as anarcho-primitivists 5-10 years ago now identify as insurrectionary anarchists. I only heard about insurrectionary anarchism in the past year and a half or so. Now it seems to be a big thing in the anarchist community and a decent part of that growth seems to have been at the expense of primitivism. Has anyone else noticed this? Does anyone have a sense of the timeline of insurrectionary anarchism's adoption in the North American anarchist community?

[Rocky Rococo]

Year and a half ago. Wasn't that when Glenn Beck did his broadcasts on "The Coming Insurrection"? I can see why being what Beck holds up as "what to be afraid of" would appeal to some people.

[theblackmask]

Does anyone have a sense of the timeline of insurrectionary anarchism's adoption in the North American anarchist community?

No timeline needed. The worse shit gets, the more people want to smash things. I think this holds true in pretty much any case.

[blake 3:17]

Time and place. Read the chapter on insurrection in Trotsky`s History of The Russian Revolution.

Was looking for Linton Kwesi Johnson's Insurrection Is The Order Of The Day but found my favourite track instead Peach Dub: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm2vcAJbFL0&feature=related

Its for Blair Peach an antifascist killed by police: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blair_Peach

All this will be better time spent than on a vague apocalypse.

Fight the power!

[Delenda Carthago]

Fight the shower

[palotin]

This wasn't in response to Glenn Beck at all. It predates that. Hell, The Coming Insurrection is put out in a popular edition by MIT press. They had to know there was a market for it.

[StalinFanboy]

My political ideas have evolved considerably over the years. When I became radicalized it was as a sort of general anarchist. I hung with with punks, hippies, nihilists. My assortment of friends remains varied, but once I started gravitating more towards a Marxist theoretical tradition I began spending less time with people who were anti-intellectual. This is all by way of preface to a recent realization of mine: multiple people I knew as anarcho-primitivists 5-10 years ago now identify as insurrectionary anarchists. I only heard about insurrectionary anarchism in the past year and a half or so. Now it seems to be a big thing in the anarchist community and a decent part of that growth seems to have been at the expense of primitivism. Has anyone else noticed this? Does anyone have a sense of the timeline of insurrectionary anarchism's adoption in the North American anarchist community?
Modern insurrectionary anarchism has been around for a while. It's influenced theoretically by Bonanno, Killing King Abacus, and Wolfi Landstreicher. A lot of people became primitivists because of a growing dissatisfaction with the Left, and later became insurrectionary anarchists because of a dissatisfaction with primitivism, I'm assuming. It definitely started getting popular within the last 3 years or so with the translations of things by Tiqqun and the Invisible Committee. But it's certainly older than 2 years. The journal I write for on and off has called itself "an insurrectionary journal of class struggle" for the better part of a decade now.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Hipsters are more into IA than primitivism nowadays, LOL. Out with Zerzan and in with TIQQUN.

As far as how influential it is in the milieu, though, my best answer is "not very", with the exception of Greece, where it maintains some popularity (and where direct action cells have names like "Max Stirner Fighting Cores", LOL). Some other pockets here and there, but my impression is that most European anarchism sects kind of distance themselves from IA as it's traditionally understood, a trend that goes all the way back to Pelloutier criticizing the Galleanists.

As far as American anarchism goes, it's basically a hodgepodge of New Age-y radicalism, primitivism, so-called "lifestylism" and traditional "class struggle anarchism". I don't think that many people here explicitely identify with the IA tradition, though, or call themselves "insurrectionary anarchists".

[anticivanarchist]

Insurrectionary Anarchism actually has a really broad history that goes back as far as Malatesta. There are, of course, these new strains of thought and tendencies that go along with the new French uncontrollables like Tiqqun.

But, yeah, the historical timeline is a bit more complex than just this recent shift from Primitivism to Insurrectionary.

[StalinFanboy]

Hipsters are more into IA than primitivism nowadays, LOL. Out with Zerzan and in with TIQQUN.

As far as how influential it is in the milieu, though, my best answer is "not very", with the exception of Greece, where it maintains some popularity (and where direct action cells have names like "Max Stirner Fighting Cores", LOL). Some other pockets here and there, but my impression is that most European anarchism sects kind of distance themselves from IA as it's traditionally understood, a trend that goes all the way back to Pelloutier criticizing the Galleanists.

As far as American anarchism goes, it's basically a hodgepodge of New Age-y radicalism, primitivism, so-called "lifestylism" and traditional "class struggle anarchism". I don't think that many people here explicitely identify with the IA tradition, though, or call themselves "insurrectionary anarchists".
I did for quite a while.

I currently like the term "insurrectionary communist" but I'm not that partial to labels.