The Feral Underclass
27th April 2004, 09:43
COMRADE RAF
Anarchists believe that once a socialists society evolves, the state will inevitably become "oppressive" and "corrupted" and will never allow the governing factor to "wither away", therefore the masses must become "suddenly enlightened" and "jump" directly to communism.
Anarchists to do believe that from some mystical place the working class will magically become enlightened and want to change society. This is just a myth, either from a purposful agenda to undermine anarchism or from misunderstanding. We do not believe that spontaniety will simply happen fro no purpose, but will happen because it is inevitable. We believe that it will be a gradual process, that must be a grandual process, if fundamental change is going to be lasting and meaningful.
That is two seperate things then. The first being how "enlightenment" will come to lead to a revolution, and why it has to come before that revolution happens. Firstly, enligtenment is simply a shift in understanding of certain concepts. You would argue that this shift in understanding can only happen when capitalism has been destroyed (how did you have a revolution in the first place?) but history proves that shifts in understanding occur regardless of the historical period.
History is not static, and neither are concepts. They change and alter. Look at black struggle, womens struggle and gay struggle. It was only three years ago that the age of consent for gay men was reduced from 18 to 16. Bourgeois governments do not do what is not popular, and this proves that concepts of homosexuality had shifted to the point that equality had become acceptable to a society which was extremly homophobic.
There is no reason why concepts about working class situations can not shift either. You argue that the ruling class will not permit it. The point is, they wont have a choice. Just like the archaic old men and women who wanted to keep the age of consent at even 21, which was only reduced in 1994, could not do it. The concept of spontaniety comes from that basis. It was a historical development, a spontaneous shift in thinking that created change. At some spontaneous historical period, just like gay rights and black rights and the bourgeois revolutions, the workers will move to destroy capitalism in the name of workers rights and the working class.
Nobody believes that workers will mystically become enlightened from nothing, but that they will become enlightened due to the illogicalness of society and an inevitable historical process.
Why is this desribale? This is the second point. Why must this happen before a revolution? An anarchist perspective is that working class action, in order to be lasting and meaningful must begin from the beginning with the control of the working class. As soon as power is handed over to elected or unelected leaders, the ability to regain power from them will become increasinly more difficult, and with the perpetration of the very thing that creates the oppression youa re fighting against, in the first place, by those people you have handed over power to, as history proves, working class liberation and thus communism will and can never happen.
Therefore, class consciousness within a capitalist society, (not only being inevitable) is desirable because it empowers the workers and negates the need for a vangaurd. It creates the necessary situation to create a communist society, by smashing the state, removng the ruling class, destorying authority and establising rank and file democratic federations of workers, you are creating the conditions which the revolution was ultimatly about.
Anarchists believe that once a socialists society evolves, the state will inevitably become "oppressive" and "corrupted" and will never allow the governing factor to "wither away", therefore the masses must become "suddenly enlightened" and "jump" directly to communism.
Anarchists to do believe that from some mystical place the working class will magically become enlightened and want to change society. This is just a myth, either from a purposful agenda to undermine anarchism or from misunderstanding. We do not believe that spontaniety will simply happen fro no purpose, but will happen because it is inevitable. We believe that it will be a gradual process, that must be a grandual process, if fundamental change is going to be lasting and meaningful.
That is two seperate things then. The first being how "enlightenment" will come to lead to a revolution, and why it has to come before that revolution happens. Firstly, enligtenment is simply a shift in understanding of certain concepts. You would argue that this shift in understanding can only happen when capitalism has been destroyed (how did you have a revolution in the first place?) but history proves that shifts in understanding occur regardless of the historical period.
History is not static, and neither are concepts. They change and alter. Look at black struggle, womens struggle and gay struggle. It was only three years ago that the age of consent for gay men was reduced from 18 to 16. Bourgeois governments do not do what is not popular, and this proves that concepts of homosexuality had shifted to the point that equality had become acceptable to a society which was extremly homophobic.
There is no reason why concepts about working class situations can not shift either. You argue that the ruling class will not permit it. The point is, they wont have a choice. Just like the archaic old men and women who wanted to keep the age of consent at even 21, which was only reduced in 1994, could not do it. The concept of spontaniety comes from that basis. It was a historical development, a spontaneous shift in thinking that created change. At some spontaneous historical period, just like gay rights and black rights and the bourgeois revolutions, the workers will move to destroy capitalism in the name of workers rights and the working class.
Nobody believes that workers will mystically become enlightened from nothing, but that they will become enlightened due to the illogicalness of society and an inevitable historical process.
Why is this desribale? This is the second point. Why must this happen before a revolution? An anarchist perspective is that working class action, in order to be lasting and meaningful must begin from the beginning with the control of the working class. As soon as power is handed over to elected or unelected leaders, the ability to regain power from them will become increasinly more difficult, and with the perpetration of the very thing that creates the oppression youa re fighting against, in the first place, by those people you have handed over power to, as history proves, working class liberation and thus communism will and can never happen.
Therefore, class consciousness within a capitalist society, (not only being inevitable) is desirable because it empowers the workers and negates the need for a vangaurd. It creates the necessary situation to create a communist society, by smashing the state, removng the ruling class, destorying authority and establising rank and file democratic federations of workers, you are creating the conditions which the revolution was ultimatly about.