18th November 2011, 10:57
The Empress Has No Clothes
Message for the Northern Anarchists
From the North Eastern Anarchists
Comrades,
Over the past year we have seen a major upswing in political action, with spontaneous outbreaks of direct democracy and direct action all over the country and the world. However, while this is to be welcomed as a vindication of anarchist principles in action, it must also be admitted that this has largely been unconnected with the activities of conscious anarchists.
People have adopted these strategies because they are practical and effective, not because they have an ideological commitment to them, and consequently the lack of conscious principle has meant the various movements have often lacked focus and direction and have been vulnerable to hijacking by Lefty paper-sellers and other conspiracy-fixated cranks. Political circumstances keep throwing opportunities right into our laps, but are we really making ourselves heard?
We think not. Given the virtual collapse of the Labour Party and the utter contempt most people have for the parliamentary system. Given the continued inability of revolutionary Marxist's to make themselves relevant to the working class. Given the disorder on the far-Right, as the BNP collapses and the EDL splinters into factions, and given the sheer naked privilege, hypocrisy and callousness of the Tory government. The situation could hardly have been scripted more to our advantage, but where are the anarchists in all this?
The Manchester TUC event in October provided evidence that we have to consider if we are to be effective as anarchists. The different groups organised isolated actions, which were politically ineffective because they were small and easily containable. Anarchists need to do far better than they are doing to be politically relevant. The temporary Occupation event was interesting, but completely separate from the tens of thousands of demonstrators and the hundreds of thousands of Mancunians.
It may have been the best Manchester comrades could organise (and in a similar situation we’d likely have done no better), and progress of a sort, but there is we believe a wider responsibility beyond our local groups, and comfort zones. The event was a national one, and the anarchists should have and should be able to participate and respond nationally. The Manchester TUC event was a chance for the Northern anarchists to manifest publicly, to have an impact politically and show our credentials given the widely acknowledged political growth and show progress anarchists are meant to be making. Instead, more or less the opposite happened amidst a lot of well-meaning but ineffectual politics, in practice letting the left be the dominant ideological and visible alternative.
This is the reality of the situation; it is no longer good enough (if it ever was), for people to carry on in denial and delusion, as do the so called Marxist organisations. The tragedy of Russia could well repeat itself (anarchists were/are split, small and ineffectual), and even the 'organised anarchists' do not try to organise a larger movement beyond themselves. The Marxists have a point, and it pains us to say it, but when they say there is an anarchist inability to present a realistic organised revolutionary alternative, it is an argument that contains some truth (despite the disastrous consequences of the ‘realism’ of the likes of the SWP etc.).
We are well aware that these patterns are reflected generally in the national political situation, but we are content with starting from where we are at, and our ability is more localised than national. Therefore we aim to start in the North East in particular and the North more generally to tackle the systemic anarchist movement failure to organise itself, the chronic London centric focus of the anarchist movement and we anticipate that this initiative may resonate widely.
We believe that anarchists could soon be the single largest radical tendency in the North-East and wider North, yet we remain largely invisible, rarely initiating action ourselves and instead just tagging along in ones and twos with events organised by the left and liberals. We have repeatedly found anarchists who have joined Trotskyist parties simply because they couldn't find an organised anarchist presence here, older comrades coming out of retirement spend 6 months looking for political anarchists and cannot find any during that time. It's not good enough. If we are serious about change, we have to step up and make ourselves visible.
To this end, North-East Anarchists are making this call-out to all comrades, Red, Green and Black, to meet up and discuss how we can improve communication and co-ordination between anarchists in the North-East. We need to start realising our collective potential and we do that by working together practically to encourage the class struggle. What actions can we take together to push the struggle onwards and develop a real anarchist presence in the region? How can we ensure that the best traditions of the anarchist movement become embedded in the social struggles?
We are also aware that many anarchists are not part of any organisation, and if they are active at all, they are active in isolation. Bringing all these people together could enable genuinely effective mass action, providing we can demonstrate that we are not just running some sectarian recruiting racket, and we do that by focusing on enabling effective protest, class struggles, genuine cooperation and progress. Not by flogging people dead ideologies and worthy but limited and ineffectual sectarian politics. We all need to get to know each other and maybe we can surprise ourselves at just how many of us there are when we're gathered in one room.
Building upon a very successful public meeting, and the November 5th Bookfair, North East Anarchists have energy and ambition. This event aims to discuss events, identify our targets, seek cooperation and potentially increase our collective capability.
Finally, we do not view this event as an end in itself, despite the need we do not think there is a 'road to Damascus' conversion possible for the anarchist movement in the North (or beyond), and we will be organising hopefully bigger and better encounters like this until the movement starts to improve capabilities and achieve the mature debate and participatory democracy we all want.
We are also open to the idea that anarchists in the wider North eg. York/ Leeds etc. may wish to organise similar events, which we all can participate in, until we get the types of organisation we all need. These issues are not going to go away, and we will continue to emphasise these systemic anarchist movement problems until there are some more effective anarchist politics taking place.
The Empress has no clothes, she has been called out, and will she seek her clothing in Newcastle on December 3rd 2011? We eagerly anticipate responses and participation.
Comrades, the present capitalist crisis is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make the social revolution a reality: let's not disappoint posterity!
Proposed Programme:
4pm – Event presentation & Introductions – who we all are, where we're from, and which organisation, if any, we're representing (3-5 minute group introductions).
5pm – Guest speaker Ian Bone, and summary of the current political situation.
Open or group discussions on how we can improve our collective effectiveness, and what possible actions we can undertake in the coming year (2012).
6:15pm - Break for food and chat while the PA is set up
7pm - Film showing highlighting some of the spontaneous emergence of anarchist principles in the various movements of the last year or so.
8:30pm - Retire to the bar for drinks and music provided by a DJ and a couple of MCs
The Venue: The Star And Shadow Cinema is in Battlefield, Newcastle Upon Tyne. You can find us on the corner of Stepney Bank and Crawhall Road, opposite the Tanners pub. The nearest Metro station is Manors. Turn right out of the station, and turn right up New Bridge Street. You’ll see us on the right about 5 minutes walk up the road, next to the Tanners. Buses 6B, 12, 22, 39, 40, 62, 63, 106, 301, 302 all stop just around the corner. Ask for the New Bridge Street stop, or mention the Tanners pub. There is no car park at the cinema but if you arrive by bike you can park and lock it inside the building. The bar, cinema and toilets are all fully wheelchair accessible.
Love from the North East Anarchists - http://neanarchists.com/ :thumbup:
Message for the Northern Anarchists
From the North Eastern Anarchists
Comrades,
Over the past year we have seen a major upswing in political action, with spontaneous outbreaks of direct democracy and direct action all over the country and the world. However, while this is to be welcomed as a vindication of anarchist principles in action, it must also be admitted that this has largely been unconnected with the activities of conscious anarchists.
People have adopted these strategies because they are practical and effective, not because they have an ideological commitment to them, and consequently the lack of conscious principle has meant the various movements have often lacked focus and direction and have been vulnerable to hijacking by Lefty paper-sellers and other conspiracy-fixated cranks. Political circumstances keep throwing opportunities right into our laps, but are we really making ourselves heard?
We think not. Given the virtual collapse of the Labour Party and the utter contempt most people have for the parliamentary system. Given the continued inability of revolutionary Marxist's to make themselves relevant to the working class. Given the disorder on the far-Right, as the BNP collapses and the EDL splinters into factions, and given the sheer naked privilege, hypocrisy and callousness of the Tory government. The situation could hardly have been scripted more to our advantage, but where are the anarchists in all this?
The Manchester TUC event in October provided evidence that we have to consider if we are to be effective as anarchists. The different groups organised isolated actions, which were politically ineffective because they were small and easily containable. Anarchists need to do far better than they are doing to be politically relevant. The temporary Occupation event was interesting, but completely separate from the tens of thousands of demonstrators and the hundreds of thousands of Mancunians.
It may have been the best Manchester comrades could organise (and in a similar situation we’d likely have done no better), and progress of a sort, but there is we believe a wider responsibility beyond our local groups, and comfort zones. The event was a national one, and the anarchists should have and should be able to participate and respond nationally. The Manchester TUC event was a chance for the Northern anarchists to manifest publicly, to have an impact politically and show our credentials given the widely acknowledged political growth and show progress anarchists are meant to be making. Instead, more or less the opposite happened amidst a lot of well-meaning but ineffectual politics, in practice letting the left be the dominant ideological and visible alternative.
This is the reality of the situation; it is no longer good enough (if it ever was), for people to carry on in denial and delusion, as do the so called Marxist organisations. The tragedy of Russia could well repeat itself (anarchists were/are split, small and ineffectual), and even the 'organised anarchists' do not try to organise a larger movement beyond themselves. The Marxists have a point, and it pains us to say it, but when they say there is an anarchist inability to present a realistic organised revolutionary alternative, it is an argument that contains some truth (despite the disastrous consequences of the ‘realism’ of the likes of the SWP etc.).
We are well aware that these patterns are reflected generally in the national political situation, but we are content with starting from where we are at, and our ability is more localised than national. Therefore we aim to start in the North East in particular and the North more generally to tackle the systemic anarchist movement failure to organise itself, the chronic London centric focus of the anarchist movement and we anticipate that this initiative may resonate widely.
We believe that anarchists could soon be the single largest radical tendency in the North-East and wider North, yet we remain largely invisible, rarely initiating action ourselves and instead just tagging along in ones and twos with events organised by the left and liberals. We have repeatedly found anarchists who have joined Trotskyist parties simply because they couldn't find an organised anarchist presence here, older comrades coming out of retirement spend 6 months looking for political anarchists and cannot find any during that time. It's not good enough. If we are serious about change, we have to step up and make ourselves visible.
To this end, North-East Anarchists are making this call-out to all comrades, Red, Green and Black, to meet up and discuss how we can improve communication and co-ordination between anarchists in the North-East. We need to start realising our collective potential and we do that by working together practically to encourage the class struggle. What actions can we take together to push the struggle onwards and develop a real anarchist presence in the region? How can we ensure that the best traditions of the anarchist movement become embedded in the social struggles?
We are also aware that many anarchists are not part of any organisation, and if they are active at all, they are active in isolation. Bringing all these people together could enable genuinely effective mass action, providing we can demonstrate that we are not just running some sectarian recruiting racket, and we do that by focusing on enabling effective protest, class struggles, genuine cooperation and progress. Not by flogging people dead ideologies and worthy but limited and ineffectual sectarian politics. We all need to get to know each other and maybe we can surprise ourselves at just how many of us there are when we're gathered in one room.
Building upon a very successful public meeting, and the November 5th Bookfair, North East Anarchists have energy and ambition. This event aims to discuss events, identify our targets, seek cooperation and potentially increase our collective capability.
Finally, we do not view this event as an end in itself, despite the need we do not think there is a 'road to Damascus' conversion possible for the anarchist movement in the North (or beyond), and we will be organising hopefully bigger and better encounters like this until the movement starts to improve capabilities and achieve the mature debate and participatory democracy we all want.
We are also open to the idea that anarchists in the wider North eg. York/ Leeds etc. may wish to organise similar events, which we all can participate in, until we get the types of organisation we all need. These issues are not going to go away, and we will continue to emphasise these systemic anarchist movement problems until there are some more effective anarchist politics taking place.
The Empress has no clothes, she has been called out, and will she seek her clothing in Newcastle on December 3rd 2011? We eagerly anticipate responses and participation.
Comrades, the present capitalist crisis is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make the social revolution a reality: let's not disappoint posterity!
Proposed Programme:
4pm – Event presentation & Introductions – who we all are, where we're from, and which organisation, if any, we're representing (3-5 minute group introductions).
5pm – Guest speaker Ian Bone, and summary of the current political situation.
Open or group discussions on how we can improve our collective effectiveness, and what possible actions we can undertake in the coming year (2012).
6:15pm - Break for food and chat while the PA is set up
7pm - Film showing highlighting some of the spontaneous emergence of anarchist principles in the various movements of the last year or so.
8:30pm - Retire to the bar for drinks and music provided by a DJ and a couple of MCs
The Venue: The Star And Shadow Cinema is in Battlefield, Newcastle Upon Tyne. You can find us on the corner of Stepney Bank and Crawhall Road, opposite the Tanners pub. The nearest Metro station is Manors. Turn right out of the station, and turn right up New Bridge Street. You’ll see us on the right about 5 minutes walk up the road, next to the Tanners. Buses 6B, 12, 22, 39, 40, 62, 63, 106, 301, 302 all stop just around the corner. Ask for the New Bridge Street stop, or mention the Tanners pub. There is no car park at the cinema but if you arrive by bike you can park and lock it inside the building. The bar, cinema and toilets are all fully wheelchair accessible.
Love from the North East Anarchists - http://neanarchists.com/ :thumbup: