Platformism

[Y Chwyldro Comiwnyddol Cymraeg]

What exactly is Platformism, i believe its a type of anarchism.

Could someone explain its principals

[rebelworker]

I think there have been other threads on this, so you might want to search around, but Ill do my best to give a breif intro.

Platformism (http://nefac.net/node/544), is a current wing of anarchism that is pro organisation, pro social struggle(and mass movement) and communist.

Platformism has developed parallel to a Latin American tendancy called Especifismo (http://nefac.net/node/2081) that espouses some of the same organisational positions, especially the idea of the "pure " anarchist revolutionary organisation, and the importance of insertion or engagement by revolutionaries in social struggles.

A breif list of Platformist and Especifist influenced groups (not at all inclusive):
* Workers Solidarity Movement (Ireland)
* Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Federation (South Africa)
* Norht Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists (Canada & USA)
* Alternative Libertaire (France)
* Federazione dei Comunist Anarchici (Italy)
* Organizace Revolucnich Anarchistu-Solidarita (Czech Republic)
* Federacao Anarquista Gaucha (Brazil)
* Congreso de Unificacion Anarco-Comunista (Chile)
* Organisation Communiste Libertaire (France)
* Federacion Anarquista Uruguaya (Uruguay)
* Organisation Socialiste Libertaire (Switzerland)
* Laboratorio de Estudos Libertarios (Brazil)
* Organizacion Socialista Libertaria (Argentina)
* Coletivo Comunista Anarquista (Brazil)
* Barricade Collective (Hungary)
* Kara Kizil (Turkey)
* Badil al-Shuyu'i al-Taharruri (Lebanon)
* Alianza Comunista Libertaria (Mexico)

Before giving a history Ill say that the movement consisits many newly emerging and some older groups around the world. Although we dont have an official international right now the Anarkismo.net page (http://www.anarkismo.net/index.php) represents a collectve project off our tendancy.

Although it has very little to do with our day to day work, the name Platformism comes from The Organisational Platform of Libertarian Communists (http://www.nestormakhno.info/english/platform/org_plat.htm), a text written by Russian and ukranian anarchist in exile in France after the Russian revolution (the most famous among them was Nestor Makhno).

They wrote a document that was to be a suggestion of how anarchist should organise, based on their feeling that the failure of anarchist during the Revolution was a lack of proper organisation and program.

The document caused quite a stir in anarchist circles at the time, being called by some "Bolshevism in anarchist clothes" ect. There was an important debate that took place between the Workers cause group (authors of the text) and Errico Malatesta (at the time known as "The Lenin of Italy"). You can read more of this here. (http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=5348).

Unfortunately this debate happened a little to late, as with the major exception of the Spanish Civil War, anarchism had succum to the failings talked about in the platform and had largely become overshadowed by Bolshevism.

After the fall of the soviet union, anarchism again began to emerge from the dissaster the revolutionary left had become. A group in Ireland and another in South Africa began to develop what has become the modern day Platformist Movement. The stresed the importance of a strong libertarian revolutionary organisation, with a disciplined membership who focused their energy on building social movements and winning ideological battles within these movements.

15 years later, platformism has grown into a relatively large and somewhat influential revolutionary current that in my opinion is starting to save anarchism from self imposed irrelevance.

Hope that helps clear things up a bit.

[Y Chwyldro Comiwnyddol Cymraeg]

thanks


do think that the labour/union movment is the key to a revolution, like Syndicalists?

[rebelworker]

Originally posted by Y Chwildro Comiwnyddol [email protected] 23, 2007 02:23 pm
thanks


do think that the labour/union movment is the key to a revolution, like Syndicalists?
Yes

[Janus]

Platformism (http://anonym.to/?http://libcom.org/thought/platformism-an-introduction)

what's the difference between platformist and nonplatformist groups? (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=65538&hl=platform*)

[The Feral Underclass]

This is quite an interesting debate: Debate on the Organisational Platform (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=66499)