Anarchists condemn international terrorism

[antigovernment]

From worldarmy.org

We join the world in mourning the dreadful deaths of the innocent airline passengers, tourists, office workers and emergency workers who died as a result of the aircraft attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Arlington Virginia. The attack was a brutal violation of International Humanitarian Law as embodied in the Geneva Conventions and it was also clearly in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.



There can be no excuse for using civilian workers as 'collateral' in warfare. This holds true for all who engage in political violence, whether it be actions by a nation state or an insurgent guerilla force.

The ends do not justify the means. Libertarian Socialists have always argued that the only way to create a just society is to act justly, and the only way to create a participant democracy is to act democratically. The World Army reaffirms its belief that a free and socially just society cannot be created by an elitist terrorist group. Terrorism is a form of political violence that can only benefit authoritarian and overtly fascistic tendencies. As a political technique this form of violent action is perpetrated to terrorize a population so that it will accept a tougher regime and be willing to exchange freedom for a promise of security.

As Libertarian Socialists we struggle peacefully to support our communities, to expose the brutality of international capitalism and the violent governments that protect multinational corporations, and to create alternatives forms of self-governance and mutual economic assistance. We are not anti-globalists, but pro-human, not anti-authoritarian but pro-democractic, not anti-capitalist but pro-mutualist. We do not aim to attack the US government or any government, we intend simply to make the State an unnecessary institution with direct action by and for ourselves in mutual support and defense of our communities.

As much as our struggle is a peaceful struggle, the expropriators of wealth (the Capitalists), and their political agents have waged a terrible war against the producers of wealth (ordinary working men and women). This is what socialists call the Class War. Let it be noted that we did not start this war and we do not want it, but the capitalists must wage it against us nonetheless in order to maintain their power and privilege. History has shown that when people have attempted to reassert the collective power of their communities the State usually acts with violent intensity to restore the social relations that have invested them with sole political power.

Let us be clear that when we talk of 'the capitalists' we do not refer to the working men and women who hold modest 401k retirement plans and IRA accounts invested in small stock, mutual funds and other instruments of investment. We are refering to the world's elite 7 million member club (0.1% of world population), High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) who collectively own $27 trillion of the world's wealth (World Wealth Report 2000).

Most of these people did not work for their wealth, they inherited it. These people are not evil or particularly monstrous, they are simply benefiting from an evil and unjust system. They follow the logic and imperatives of capitalism, just as we working people do when we make contributions to our 401k and IRA accounts.

The Warriors of the World Army promise to defend the will of the people. If that will is to devolve personal power to the State and accept expropriation of the wealth born of their labor we will defend that will against harm from elitist terror, even as we will attempt to remove fear, instill confidence and promote critical thinking, to direct the collective spirit towards an historical realization of the mutual interest of all humanity. If and when the collective will of society chooses to act for and by itself in act of social revolution we will be ready to defend that will with all vigor and moral fortitude.

[Jurhael]

I'm glad to know that Libertarian Socialists DO exist. It's not uncommon for "Libertarian Socialism" to be referred to as an oxymoron.

(Edited by Jurhael at 6:38 am on Sep. 26, 2001)

[Guest]

would one of you kindly explain what libertarian socialism means. Is it simply that you like to smoke pot while being fellated by a minor and receiving free amenities from the state. As far as i can tell the basic foundation for libertarianism is the belief that you can do what you want with the money you earn. And in socialism that freedom is restricted tremendously.

[Guest]

Libertarian Socialism is just an alternative label for Anarchism or Anarcho-communism. Some people, such as Noam Chomsky, prefer this term to other alternatives. As a socialist movement we refute the claim that social justice can only be achieved by authoritarian means that deny individual liberty. The free-market 'libertarians' believe in minimal state interference in capitalist economic activities. As history shows capitalist free-enterprise bestows greater liberty to the owners of capital and reduces the liberty of the working population. For this reason I would argue that market-capitalism is incompatible with liberty and that market libertarianism is the oxymoron.

Just as the capitalist political parties use the word Justice in a different way to how socialists would use the same word (i.e. social justice), so too is the word liberty does not belong to the capitalists. Liberty for capitalists really refers to economic-liberty, free trade, unregulated markets and various 'civil liberties', freedom from interference. For socialists and anarchists liberty is not just passive liberty, 'freedom-from' but positive 'freedom-to' - for example we want the freedom to organize our own work environment (workers councils), freedom to travel (no immigration boundaries), etc. etc.

Libertarian Socialists are basically socialists who work for social justice, but who refuse the authoritarian approach of Marxism or social democracy. We are revolutionaries who advocate direct action rather than the political appropriation of state power. We don't want to acquire state power, we want to replace it with a system of free-association and federated self-organizing communities. We believe in reappropriating capital directly in the workplace and for workers to replace management with a democratic workplace and workers councils (note: the origins of the Russian revolution were in the workers councils, the soviets).

For more information I would recommend http://www.infoshop.org/ as an excellent portal to the rich tradition of anarchism and libertarian socialism.

Thanks

[libereco]

ah great post guest (the second), better than I could ever put it with my limited means of english.

[Potyondi]

In the words of V.I. Lenin, "A bayonet is a weapon with a worker at both ends."

Perhaps a little out of context in this situation, but definitely applicable.