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1
J.7 What do anarchists mean by "social revolution"?
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3
In anarchist theory, "social revolution" means far more than just
4
revolution. For anarchists, a true revolution is far more than just a
5
change in the political makeup, structure or form of a society. It must
6
transform all aspects of a society -- political, economic, social,
7
interpersonal relationships, sexual and so on -- and the individuals
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who comprise it. Indeed, these two transformations go hand in hand,
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complementing each other and supporting each other -- individuals,
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while transforming society, transform themselves in the process.
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12
As Alexander Berkman put it, "there are revolutions and revolutions.
13
Some revolutions change only the governmental form by putting a new set
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of rulers in place of the old. These are political revolutions, and as
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such they are often meet with little resistance. But a revolution that
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aims to abolish the entire system of wage slavery must also do away
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with the power of one class to oppress another. That is, it is not any
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more a mere change of rulers, of government, not a political
19
revolution, but one that seeks to alter the whole character of society.
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That would be a social revolution." [ABC of Anarchism, p. 34]
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It means two related things. Firstly, it means transforming all aspects
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of society and not just tinkering with certain aspects of the current
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system. Where political revolution means, in essence, changing bosses,
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social revolution means changing society. Thus social revolution
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signifies a change in the social, economic and cultural and sexual in a
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libertarian direction, a transformation in the way society is organised
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and run. Social revolution, in other words, does not aim to alter one
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form of subjection for another, but to do away with everything that can
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enslave and oppress the individual. Secondly, it means bringing about
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this fundamental change directly by the mass of people in society,
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rather than relying on political means of achieving this end, in the
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style of Marxist-Leninists and other authoritarian socialists. For
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anarchists, such an approach is a political revolution only and doomed
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to failure. Hence the "actual, positive work of the social revolution
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must . . . be carried out by the toilers themselves, by the labouring
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people." [Alexander Berkman, Op. Cit., p. 45]
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That is not to say that an anarchist social revolution is not political
40
in content -- far from it; it should be obvious to anyone reading this
41
FAQ that there are considerable political theories at work within
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anarchism. What we are saying, however, is that anarchists do not seek
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to seize power and attempt, through control of law enforcement and the
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military (in the style of governments) to bring change about from the
45
top-down. Rather, we seek to bring change upward from below, and in so
46
doing, make such a revolution inevitable and not contingent on the
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machinations of a political vanguard. As Durruti argued, "[w]e never
48
believed that the revolution consisted of the seizure of power by a
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minority which would impose a dictatorship on the people . . . We want
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a revolution by and for the people. Without this no revolution is
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possible. It would be a Coup d'Etat, nothing more." [quoted by Abel
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Paz, Durruti: The People Armed, pp. 135-7]
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Thus, for anarchists, a social revolution is a movement from below, of
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the oppressed and exploited struggling for their own freedom. Moreover,
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such a revolution does not appear as if by magic. Rather, it is the
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case that revolutions "are not improvised. They are not made at will by
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individuals. They come about through the force of circumstance and are
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independent of any deliberate will or conspiracy." [Michael Bakunin,
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quote by Brian Morris, Bakunin: The Philosophy of Freedom, p. 139] They
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are, in fact, a product of social evolution and of social struggle. As
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Malatesta reminds us:
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"the oppressed masses . . . have never completely resigned
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themselves to oppression and poverty, and who today more than ever
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than ever show themselves thirsting for justice, freedom and
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wellbeing, are beginning to understand that they will not be able to
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achieve their emancipation except by union and solidarity with all
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the oppressed, with the exploited everywhere in the world. And they
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also understand that the indispensable condition for their
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emancipation which cannot be neglected is the possession of the
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means of production, of the land and of the instruments of labour."
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[Anarchy, p. 30]
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Thus any social revolution proceeds from the daily struggles of working
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class people (just as anarchism does). It is not an event, rather it is
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a process -- a process which is occurring at this moment. Thus, for
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anarchists, a social revolution is not something in the future but an
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process which is occurring in the here and now. As German Anarchist
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Gustav Landauer put it:
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"The State is not something that can be destroyed by a revolution,
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but it is a condition, a certain relationship between human beings,
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a mode of human behaviour; we destroy it by contracting other
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relationships, by behaving differently." [quoted by George Woodcock,
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Anarchism, p. 421]
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This does not mean that anarchists do not recognise that a revolution
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will be marked by, say, insurrectionary events (such as a general
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strike, wide scale occupations of land, housing, workplaces, etc.,
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actual insurrections and so on). Of course not, it means that we place
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these events in a process, within social movements and that they do not
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occur in isolation from history or the evolution of ideas and movements
94
within society.
95
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Berkman echoes this point when he argued that while "a social
97
revolution is one that entirely changes the foundation of society, its
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political, economic and social character," such a change "must first
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take place in the ideas and opinions of the people, in the minds of men
100
[and women]." This means that "the social revolution must be prepared.
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Prepared in these sense of furthering evolutionary process, of
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enlightening the people about the evils of present-day society and
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convincing them of the desirability and possibility, of the justice and
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practicability of a social life based on liberty." [Alexander Berkman,
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Op. Cit., p. 38] And such preparation would be the result of social
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struggle in the here and now, social struggle based on direct action,
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solidarity and self-managed organisations. While Berkman concentrates
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on the labour movement in his classic work, but his comments are
109
applicable to all social movements:
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"In the daily struggle of the proletariat such an organisation [a
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syndicalist union] would be able to achieve victories about which
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the conservative union, as at present built, cannot even dream. . .
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. Such a union would soon become something more than a mere defender
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and protector of the worker. It would gain a vital realisation of
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the meaning of unity and consequent power, of labour solidarity. The
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factory and shop would serve as a training camp to develop the
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worker's understanding of his proper role in life, to cultivate his
119
[or her] self-reliance and independence, teach him [or her] mutual
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help and co-operation, and make him [or her] conscious of his [or
121
her] responsibility. He will learn to decide and act on his [or her]
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own judgement, not leaving it to leaders or politicians to attend to
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his [or her] affairs and look out for his [or her] welfare. . . He
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[or she] will grow to understand that present economic and social
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arrangements are wrong and criminal, and he [or she] will determine
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to change them. The shop committee and union will become the field
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of preparation for a new economic system, for a new social life."
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[Op. Cit., p. 59]
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In other words, the struggle against authority, exploitation,
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oppression and domination in the here and now is the start of the
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social revolution. It is this daily struggle which creates free people
133
and the organisations it generates "bear . . . the living seed of the
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new society which is to replace the old one. They are creating not only
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the ideas, but also the facts of the future itself." [Michael Bakunin,
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Bakunin On Anarchism, p. 255] Hence Bakunin's comment that anarchists
137
think socialism will be attained only "by the development and
138
organisation, not of the political but of the social organisation (and,
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by consequence, anti-political) power of the working masses as much in
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the towns as in the countryside." [Michael Bakunin: Selected Writings,
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pp. 197-8] Such social power is expressed in economic and community
142
organisations such as self-managed unions and workplace/community
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assemblies (see [1]section J.5).
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Anarchists try and follow the example of our Spanish comrades in the
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C.N.T. and F.A.I. who, when "faced with the conventional opposition
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between reformism and revolution, they appear, in effect, to have put
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forward a third alternative, seeking to obtain immediate practical
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improvements through the actual development, in practice, of
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autonomous, libertarian forms of self-organisation." [Nick Rider, "The
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Practice of Direct Action: The Barcelona Rent Strike of 1931", in For
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Anarchism, pp. 79-105, David Goodway (ed.), p. 99] While doing this,
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anarchists must also "beware of ourselves becoming less anarchist
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because the masses are not ready for anarchy." [Malatesta, Life and
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Ideas, p. 162]
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Therefore, revolution and anarchism is the product of struggle, a
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social process in which anarchist ideas spread and develop. However,
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"[t]his does not mean. . . that to achieve anarchy we must wait till
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everyone becomes an anarchist. On the contrary. . . under present
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conditions only a small minority, favoured by specific circumstances,
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can manage to conceive what anarchy is. It would be wishful thinking to
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hope for a general conversion before a change actually took place in
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the kind of environment in which authoritarianism and privilege now
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flourish. It is precisely for this reason that [we] . . . need to
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organise for the bringing about of anarchy, or at any rate that degree
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of anarchy which could become gradually feasible, as soon as a
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sufficient amount of freedom has been won and a nucleus of anarchists
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somewhere exists that is both numerically strong enough and able to be
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self-sufficient and to spread its influence locally." [Errico
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Malatesta, The Anarchist Revolution, pp. 83-4]
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Thus anarchists influence the struggle, the revolutionary process by
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encouraging anarchistic tendencies within those who are not yet
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anarchists but are instinctively acting in a libertarian manner.
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Anarchists spread the anarchist message to those in struggle and
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support libertarian tendencies in it as far as they can. In this way,
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more and more people will become anarchists and anarchy will become
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increasingly possible. We discuss the role of anarchists in a social
180
revolution in [2]section J.7.4 and will not do so now.
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For anarchists, a social revolution is the end product of years of
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social struggle. It is marked by the transformation of a given society
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and the breaking down of all forms of oppression and the creation of
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new ways of living, new forms of self-managed organisation, a new
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attitude to live itself. Moreover, we do not wait for the future to
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introduce such transformations in our daily life. Rather, we try and
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create as much anarchistic tendencies in today's society as possible in
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the firm belief that in so doing we are pushing the creation of a free
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society nearer.
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So anarchists, including revolutionary ones, try to make the world more
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libertarian and so bring us closer to freedom. Few anarchists think of
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anarchy as something in (or for) the distant future, rather it is
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something we try and create in the here and now by living and
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struggling in a libertarian manner. Once enough people do this, then a
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more extensive change towards anarchy (i.e. a revolution) is
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inevitable.
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J.7.1 Are all anarchists revolutionaries?
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No, far from it. While most anarchists do believe that a social
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revolution is required to create a free society, some reject the idea.
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This is because they think that revolutions are by their very nature
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violent and coercive and so are against anarchist principles. In the
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words of Proudhon (in reply to Marx):
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"Perhaps you still hold the opinion that no reform is possible
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without a helping coup de main, without what used to be called a
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revolution but which is quite simply a jolt. I confess that my most
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recent studies have led me to abandon this view, which I understand
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and would willingly discuss, since for a long time I held it myself.
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I do not think that this is what we need in order to succeed, and
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consequently we must not suggest revolutionary action as the means
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of social reform because this supposed means would simply be an
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appeal to force and to arbitrariness. In brief, it would be a
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contradiction." [Selected Writings of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, p.
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151]
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Also they point to the fact that the state is far better armed than the
221
general population, better trained and (as history proves) more than
222
willing to slaughter as many people as required to restore "order." In
223
face of this power, they argue, revolution is doomed to failure.
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225
Those opposed to revolution come from all tendencies of the movement.
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Traditionally, Individualist anarchists are usually against the idea of
227
revolution, as was Proudhon. However, with the failure of the Russian
228
Revolution and the defeat of the C.N.T.-F.A.I. in Spain, some social
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anarchists have rethought support for revolution. Rather than seeing
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revolution as the key way of creating a free society they consider it
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doomed to failure as the state is too strong a force to be overcome by
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insurrection. Instead of revolution, such anarchists support the
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creation of alternatives, such as co-operatives, mutual banks and so
234
on, which will help transform capitalism into libertarian socialism.
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Such alternative building, combined with civil disobedience and
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non-payment of taxes, is seen as the best way to creating anarchy.
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Most revolutionary anarchists agree on the importance of building
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libertarian alternatives in the here and now. They would agree with
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Bakunin when he argued that such organisations as libertarian unions,
241
co-operatives and so on are essential "so that when the Revolution,
242
brought about by the natural force of circumstances, breaks out, there
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will be a real force at hand which knows what to do and by virtue
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thereof is capable of taking the Revolution into its own hands and
245
imparting to it a direction salutary for the people: a serious,
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international organisation of worker's organisations of all countries,
247
capable of replacing the departing political world of the States and
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the bourgeoisie." [The Political Philosophy of Bakunin, p. 323] Thus,
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for most anarchists, the difference of evolution and revolution is one
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of little import -- anarchists should support libertarian tendencies
251
within society as they support revolutionary situations when they
252
occur.
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Moreover, revolutionary anarchists argue that, ultimately, capitalism
255
cannot be reformed away nor will the state wither away under the
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onslaught of libertarian institutions and attitudes. They do not
257
consider it possible to "burn Property little by little" via "some
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system of economics" which will "put back into society . . . the wealth
259
which has been taken out of society by another system of economics", to
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use Proudhon's expression. [Op. Cit., p. 151] Therefore, libertarian
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tendencies within capitalism may make life better under that system but
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they cannot, ultimately, get rid of it. This implies a social
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revolution, they argue. Such anarchists agree with Alexander Berkman
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when he writes:
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"This is no record of any government or authority, of any group or
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class in power having given up its mastery voluntarily. In every
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instance it required the use of force, or at least the threat of
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it." [ABC of Anarchism, p. 32]
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Even the end of State capitalism ("Communism") in the Eastern Block
272
does not contradict this argument. Without the mass action of the
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population, the regime would have continued. Faced with a massive
274
popular revolt, the Commissars realised that it was better to renounce
275
power than have it taken from them. Thus mass rebellion, the start of
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any true revolution, was required.
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Moreover, the argument that the state is too powerful to be defeated
279
has been proven wrong time and time again. Every revolution has
280
defeated a military machine which previously been claimed to be
281
unbeatable. For example, the people armed is Spain defeated the
282
military in two-thirds of the country. Ultimately, the power of the
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state rests on its troops following orders. If those troops rebel, then
284
the state is powerless. That is why anarchists have always produced
285
anti-militarist propaganda urging troops to join strikers and other
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people in revolt. Revolutionary anarchists, therefore, argue that any
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state can be defeated, if the circumstances are right and the work of
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anarchists is to encourage those circumstances.
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In addition, revolutionary anarchists argue that even if anarchists did
291
not support revolutionary change, this would not stop such events
292
happening. Revolutions are the product of developments in human society
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and occur whether we desire them or not. They start with small
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rebellions, small acts of refusal by individuals, groups, workplaces,
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communities and grow. These acts of rebellion are inevitable in any
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hierarchical society, as is their spreading wider and wider.
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Revolutionary anarchists argue that anarchists must, by the nature of
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our politics and our desire for freedom, support such acts of rebellion
299
and, ultimately, social revolution. Not to do so means ignoring people
300
in struggle against our common enemy and ignoring the means by which
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anarchists ideas and attitudes will grow within existing society. Thus
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Alexander Berkman is right when he wrote:
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"That is why it is no prophecy to foresee that some day it must come
305
to decisive struggle between the masters of life and the
306
dispossessed masses.
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"As a matter if fact, that struggle is going on all the time. There
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is a continuous warfare between capital and labour. That warfare
310
generally proceeds within so-called legal forms. But even these
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erupt now and then in violence, as during strikes and lockouts,
312
because the armed fist of government is always at the service of the
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masters, and that fist gets into action the moment capital feels its
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profits threatened: then it drops the mask of 'mutual interests' and
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'partnership' with labour and resorts to the final argument of every
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master, to coercion and force.
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"It is therefore certain that government and capital will not allow
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themselves to be quietly abolished if they can help it; nor will
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they miraculously 'disappear' of themselves, as some people pretend
321
to believe. It will require a revolution to get rid of them."
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[Op. Cit., p. 33]
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However, all anarchists are agreed that any revolution should be as
325
non-violent as possible. Violence is the tool of oppression and, for
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anarchists, violence is only legitimate as a means of self-defence
327
against authority. Therefore revolutionary anarchists do not seek
328
"violent revolution" -- they are just aware that when people refuse to
329
kow-tow to authority then that authority will use violence against
330
them. This use of violence has been directed against non-violent forms
331
of direct action and so those anarchists who reject revolution will not
332
avoid state violence directed against.
333
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Nor do revolutionary anarchists think that revolution is in
335
contradiction to the principles of anarchism. As Malatesta put it,
336
"[f]or two people to live in peace they must both want peace; if one
337
insists on using force to oblige the other to work for him and serve
338
him, then the other, if he wishes to retain his dignity as a man and
339
not be reduced to abject slavery, will be obliged, in spite of his love
340
of peace, to resist force with adequate means." [Malatesta, Life and
341
Ideas, p. 54] Under any hierarchical system, those in authority do not
342
leave those subject to them in peace. The boss does not treat his/her
343
workers as equals, working together by free agreement without
344
differences in power. Rather, the boss orders the worker about and uses
345
the threat of sanctions to get compliance. Similarly with the state.
346
Under these conditions, revolution cannot be authoritarian -- for it is
347
not authoritarian to destroy authority! To quote Rudolf Rocker:
348
349
"We . . . know that a revolution cannot be made with rosewater. And
350
we know, too, that the owning classes will never yield up their
351
privileges spontaneously. On the day of victorious revolution the
352
workers will have to impose their will on the present owners of the
353
soil, of the subsoil and of the means of production, which cannot be
354
done -- let us be clear on this -- without the workers taking the
355
capital of society into their own hands, and, above all, without
356
their having demolished the authoritarian structure which is, and
357
will continue to be, the fortress keeping the masses of the people
358
under dominion. Such an action is, without doubt, an act of
359
liberation; a proclamation of social justice; the very essence of
360
social revolution, which has nothing in common with the utterly
361
bourgeois principle of dictatorship." [Anarchism and Sovietism]
362
363
Errico Malatesta comments reflect well the position of revolutionary
364
anarchists with regards to the use of force:
365
366
"We neither seek to impose anything by force nor do we wish to
367
submit to a violent imposition.
368
369
"We intend to use force against government, because it is by force
370
that we are kept in subjection by government.
371
372
"We intend to expropriate the owners of property because it is by
373
force that they withhold the raw materials and wealth, which is the
374
fruit of human labour, and use it to oblige others to work in their
375
interest.
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"We shall resist with force whoever would wish by force, to retain
378
or regain the means to impose his will and exploit the labour of
379
others. . .
380
381
"With the exception of these cases, in which the use of violence is
382
justified as a defence against force, we are always against
383
violence, and for self-determination."
384
[Op. Cit., p. 56]
385
386
This is the reason why most anarchists are revolutionaries. They do not
387
think it against the principles of anarchism and consider it the only
388
real means of creating a free society -- a society in which the far
389
greater, and permanent, violence which keeps the majority of humanity
390
in servitude can be ended once and for all.
391
392
J.7.2 Is social revolution possible?
393
394
One objection to the possibility of social revolution is based on what
395
we might call "the paradox of social change." This argument goes as
396
follows: authoritarian institutions reward and select people with an
397
authoritarian type of personality for the most influential positions in
398
society; such types of people have both (a) an interest in perpetuating
399
authoritarian institutions (from which they benefit) and (b) the power
400
to perpetuate them; hence they create a self-sustaining and tightly
401
closed system which is virtually impervious to the influence of
402
non-authoritarian types. Therefore, institutional change presupposes
403
individual change, which presupposes institutional change, and so on.
404
Unless it can be shown, then, that institutions and human psychology
405
can both be changed at the same time, hope for a genuine social
406
revolution (instead of just another rotation of elites) appears to be
407
unrealistic.
408
409
Connected with this problem is the fact that the psychological root of
410
the hierarchical society is addiction to power -- over other people,
411
over nature, over the body and human emotions -- and that this
412
addiction is highly contagious. That is, as soon as any group of people
413
anywhere in the world becomes addicted to power, those within range of
414
their aggression also feel compelled to embrace the structures of
415
power, including centralised control over the use of deadly force, in
416
order to protect themselves from their neighbours. But once these
417
structures of power are adopted, authoritarian institutions become
418
self-perpetuating.
419
420
In this situation, fear becomes the underlying emotion behind the
421
conservatism, conformity, and mental inertia of the majority, who in
422
that state become vulnerable to the self-serving propaganda of
423
authoritarian elites alleging the necessity of the state, strong
424
leaders, militarism, "law and order," capitalist bosses, etc. Hence the
425
simultaneous transformation of institutions and individual psychology
426
becomes even more difficult to imagine.
427
428
Serious as these obstacles may be, they do not warrant despair. To see
429
why, let's note first that "paradigm shifts" in science have not
430
generally derived from new developments in one field alone but from a
431
convergence of cumulative developments in several different fields at
432
once. For example, the Einsteinian revolution which resulted in the
433
overthrow of the Newtonian paradigm was due to simultaneous progress in
434
mathematics, physics, astronomy and other sciences that all influenced,
435
reacted on, and cross-fertilised each other (see Thomas Kuhn, The
436
Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 1962). Similarly, if there is
437
going to be a "paradigm shift" in the social realm, i.e. from
438
hierarchical to non-hierarchical institutions, it is likely to emerge
439
from the convergence of a number of different socio-economic and
440
political developments at the same time. We have discussed these
441
developments in [3]section J.4 and so will not repeat ourselves here.
442
In a hierarchical society, the oppression which authority produces
443
resistance, and so hope. The "instinct for freedom" cannot be repressed
444
forever.
445
446
That is why anarchists stress the importance of direct action and
447
self-help (see sections [4]J.2 and [5]J.4). By the very process of
448
struggle, by practising self-management, direct action, solidarity
449
people create the necessary "paradigm shift" in both themselves and
450
society as a whole. In the words of Malatesta, "[o]nly freedom or the
451
struggle for freedom can be the school for freedom." [Life and Ideas,
452
p. 59] Thus the struggle against authority is the school of anarchy --
453
it encourages libertarian tendencies in society and the transformation
454
of individuals into anarchists. In a revolutionary situation, this
455
process is accelerated. It is worth quoting Murray Bookchin at length
456
on this subject:
457
458
"Revolutions are profoundly educational processes, indeed veritable
459
cauldrons in which all kinds of conflicting ideas and tendencies are
460
sifted out in the minds of a revolutionary people. . .
461
462
"Individuals who enter into a revolutionary process are by no means
463
the same after the revolution as they were before it began. Those
464
who encounter a modicum of success in revolutionary times learn more
465
within a span of a few weeks or months than they might have learned
466
over their lifetime in non-revolutionary times. Conventional ideas
467
fall away with extraordinary rapidity; values and prejudices that
468
were centuries in the making disappear almost overnight. Strikingly
469
innovative ideas are quickly adopted, tested, and, where necessary,
470
discarded. Even newer ideas, often flagrantly radical in character,
471
are adopted with an elan that frightens ruling elites -- however
472
radical the latter may profess to be -- and they soon become deeply
473
rooted in the popular consciousness. Authorities hallowed by age-old
474
tradition are suddenly divested of their prestige, legitimacy, and
475
power to govern. . .
476
477
"So tumultuous socially and psychologically are revolutions in
478
general that they constitute a standing challenge to ideologues,
479
including sociobiologists, who assert that human behaviour is fixed
480
and human nature predetermined. Revolutionary changes reveal a
481
remarkable flexibility in 'human nature,' yet few psychologists have
482
elected to study the social and psychological tumult of revolution
483
as well as the institutional changes it so often produces. Thus much
484
must be said with fervent emphasis: to continue to judge the
485
behaviour of a people during and after a revolution by the same
486
standards one judged them by beforehand is completely myopic.
487
488
"I wish to argue [like all anarchists] that the capacity of a
489
revolution to produce far-reaching ideological and moral changes in
490
a people stems primarily from the opportunity it affords ordinary,
491
indeed oppressed, people to exercise popular self-management -- to
492
enter directly, rapidly, and exhilaratingly into control over most
493
aspects of their social and personal lives. To the extent that an
494
insurrectionary people takes over the reins of power from the
495
formerly hallowed elites who oppressed them and begins to
496
restructure society along radically populist lines, individuals grow
497
aware of latent powers within themselves that nourish their
498
previously suppressed creativity, sense of self-worth, and
499
solidarity. They learn that society is neither immutable nor
500
sanctified, as inflexible custom had previously taught them; rather,
501
it is malleable and subject, within certain limits, to change
502
according to human will and desire."
503
[The Third Revolution, vol. 1, pp. 6-7]
504
505
So, social revolutions are possible. Anarchists anticipate successful
506
co-operation within certain circumstance. People who are in the habit
507
of taking orders from bosses are not capable of creating a new society.
508
Tendencies towards freedom, self-management, co-operation and
509
solidarity are not simply an act of ethical will which overcomes the
510
competitive and hierarchical behaviour capitalism generates within
511
those who live in it. Capitalism is, as Malatesta argued, based on
512
competition -- and this includes the working class. Thus conflict is
513
endemic to working class life under capitalism. However, co-operation
514
is stimulated within our class by our struggles to survive in and
515
resist the system. This tendency for co-operation generated by struggle
516
against capitalism also produces the habits required for a free society
517
-- by struggling to change the world (even a small part of it), people
518
also change themselves. Direct action produces empowered and
519
self-reliant people who can manage their own affairs themselves. It is
520
on the liberating effects of struggle, the tendencies towards
521
individual and collective self-management and direct action it
522
generates, the needs and feelings for solidarity and creative solutions
523
to pressing problems it produces that anarchists base their positive
524
answer on whether social revolution is possible. History has shown that
525
we are right. It will do so again.
526
527
J.7.3 Doesn't revolution mean violence?
528
529
While many try and paint revolutions (and anarchists) as being violent
530
by their very nature, the social revolution desired by anarchists is
531
essentially non-violent. This is because, to quote Bakunin, "[i]n order
532
to launch a radical revolution, it is . . . necessary to attack
533
positions and things and to destroy [the institution of] property and
534
the State, but there will be no need to destroy men and to condemn
535
ourselves to the inevitable reaction which is unfailingly produced in
536
every society by the slaughter of men." [Michael Bakunin: Selected
537
Writings, pp. 168-9]
538
539
As Bakunin noted elsewhere, the end of property is also non-violent:
540
541
"How to smash the tyranny of capital? Destroy capital? But that
542
would be to destroy all the riches accumulated on earth, all primary
543
materials, all the instruments of labour, all the means of labour. .
544
. Thus capital cannot and must not be destroyed. It must be
545
preserved . . . there is but a single solution -- the intimate and
546
complete union of capital and labour . . . the workers must obtain
547
not individual but collective property in capital . . . the
548
collective property of capital . . . [is] the absolutely necessary
549
conditions for of the emancipation of labour and of the workers."
550
[The Basic Bakunin, pp. 90-1]
551
552
The essentially non-violent nature of anarchist ideas of social
553
revolution can be seen from the Seattle General Strike of 1919. Here is
554
a quote from the Mayor of Seattle (we do not think we need to say that
555
he was not on the side of the strikers):
556
557
"The so-called sympathetic Seattle strike was an attempted
558
revolution. That there was no violence does not alter the fact . . .
559
The intent, openly and covertly announced, was for the overthrow of
560
the industrial system; here first, then everywhere . . . True, there
561
were no flashing guns, no bombs, no killings. Revolution, I repeat,
562
doesn't need violence. The general strike, as practised in Seattle,
563
is of itself the weapon of revolution, all the more dangerous
564
because quiet. To succeed, it must suspend everything; stop the
565
entire life stream of a community . . . That is to say, it puts the
566
government out of operation. And that is all there is to revolt --
567
no matter how achieved." [quoted by Howard Zinn, A People's History
568
of the United States, pp. 370-1]
569
570
If the strikers had occupied their workplaces and local communities can
571
created popular assemblies then the attempted revolution would have
572
become an actual one without any use of violence at all. This indicates
573
the strength of ordinary people and the relative weakness of government
574
and capitalism -- they only work when they can force people to respect
575
them.
576
577
In Italy, a year latter, the occupations of the factories and land
578
started. As Malatesta pointed out, "in Umanita Nova [the daily
579
anarchist newspaper] we . . . said that if the movement spread to all
580
sectors of industry, that is workers and peasants followed the example
581
of the metallurgists, of getting rid of the bosses and taking over the
582
means of production, the revolution would succeed without shedding a
583
single drop of blood." Thus the "occupation of the factories and the
584
land suited perfectly our programme of action." [Life and Ideas, p.
585
135]
586
587
Therefore the notion that a social revolution is necessarily violent is
588
a false one. For anarchists, social revolution is essentially an act of
589
self-liberation (of both the individuals involved and society as a
590
whole). It has nothing to do with violence, quite the reverse, as
591
anarchists see it as the means to end the rule and use of violence in
592
society. Therefore anarchists hope that any revolution is essentially
593
non-violent, with any violence being defensive in nature.
594
595
Of course, many revolutions are marked by violence. However, as
596
Alexander Berkman argues, this is not the aim of anarchism or the
597
revolution and has far more to do with previous repression and
598
domination than anarchist ideas:
599
600
"We know that revolution begins with street disturbances and
601
outbreaks; it is the initial phase which involves force and
602
violence. But that is merely the spectacular prologue of the real
603
revolution. The age long misery and indignity suffered by the masses
604
burst into disorder and tumult, the humiliation and injustice meekly
605
borne for decades find vents in facts of fury and destruction. That
606
is inevitable, and it is solely the master class which is
607
responsible for this preliminary character of revolution. For it is
608
even more true socially than individually that 'whoever sows the
609
wind will reap the whirlwind;' the greater the oppression and
610
wretchedness to which the masses had been made to submit, the
611
fiercer the rage [of] the social storm. All history proves it . . ."
612
[ABC of Anarchism, p. 50]
613
614
He also argues that "[m]ost people have very confused notions about
615
revolution. To them it means just fighting, smashing things,
616
destroying. It is the same as if rolling up your sleeves for work
617
should be considered the work itself that you have to do. The fighting
618
bit of the revolution is merely the rolling up of your sleeves." The
619
task of the revolution is the "destruction of the existing conditions"
620
and "conditions are not destroyed [by] breaking and smashing things.
621
You can't destroy wage slavery by wrecking the machinery in the mills
622
and factories . . . You won't destroy government by setting fire to the
623
White House." He correctly points out that to think of revolution "in
624
terms of violence and destruction is to misinterpret and falsify the
625
whole idea of it. In practical application such a conception is bound
626
to lead to disastrous results." [Op. Cit., pp. 40-1]
627
628
Thus when anarchists like Bakunin speak of revolution as "destruction"
629
they mean that the idea of authority and obedience must be destroyed,
630
along with the institutions that are based on such ideas. We do not
631
mean, as can be clearly seen, the destruction of people or possessions.
632
Nor do we imply the glorification of violence -- quite the reserve, as
633
anarchists seek to limit violence to that required for self-defence
634
against oppression and authority.
635
636
Therefore a social revolution may involve some violence. It may also
637
mean no-violence at all. It depends on the revolution and how widely
638
anarchist ideas are spread. One thing is sure, for anarchists social
639
revolution is not synonymous violence. Indeed, violence usually occurs
640
when the ruling class resists the action of the oppressed -- that is,
641
when those in authority act to protect their social position.
642
643
The wealthy and their state will do anything in their power to prevent
644
having a large enough percentage of anarchists in the population to
645
simply "ignore" the government and property out of existence. If things
646
got that far, the government would suspend the legal rights, elections
647
and round up influential subversives. The question is, what do
648
anarchists do in response to these actions? If anarchists are in the
649
majority or near it, then defensive violence would likely succeed. For
650
example, "the people armed" crushed the fascist coup of July 19th, 1936
651
in Spain and resulted in one of the most important experiments in
652
anarchism the world has ever seen. This should be contrasted with the
653
aftermath of the factory occupations in Italy in 1920 and the fascist
654
terror which crushed the labour movement. In other words, you cannot
655
just ignore the state even if the majority are acting, you need to
656
abolish it and organise self-defence against attempts to re-impose it
657
or capitalism.
658
659
We discuss the question of self-defence and the protection of the
660
revolution in [6]section J.7.6.
661
662
J.7.4 What would a social revolution involve?
663
664
Social revolution necessitates putting anarchist ideas into daily
665
practice. Therefore it implies that direct action, solidarity and
666
self-management become increasingly the dominant form of living in a
667
society. It implies the transformation of society from top to bottom.
668
We can do no better than quote Errico Malatesta on what revolution
669
means:
670
671
"The Revolution is the creation of new living institutions, new
672
groupings, new social relationships; it is the destruction of
673
privileges and monopolies; it is the new spirit of justice, of
674
brotherhood, of freedom which must renew the whole of social life,
675
raise the moral level and the material conditions of the masses by
676
calling on them to provide, through their direct and conscious
677
action, for their own futures. Revolution is the organisation of all
678
public services by those who in them in their own interest as well
679
as the public's; Revolution is the destruction of all of coercive
680
ties; it is the autonomy of groups, of communes, of regions;
681
Revolution is the free federation brought about by a desire for
682
brotherhood, by individual and collective interests, by the needs of
683
production and defence; Revolution is the constitution of
684
innumerable free groupings based on ideas, wishes, and tastes of all
685
kinds that exist among the people; Revolution is the forming and
686
disbanding of thousands of representative, district, communal,
687
regional, national bodies which, without having any legislative
688
power, serve to make known and to co-ordinate the desires and
689
interests of people near and far and which act through information,
690
advice and example. Revolution is freedom proved in the crucible of
691
facts -- and lasts so long as freedom lasts. . ." [Life and Ideas,
692
p. 153]
693
694
This, of course, presents a somewhat wide vision of the revolutionary
695
process. We will need to give some more concrete examples of what a
696
social revolution would involve. However, before so doing, we stress
697
that these are purely examples drawn from previous revolutions and are
698
not written in stone. Every revolution creates its own forms of
699
organisation and struggle. The next one will be no different. Just as
700
we argued in [7]section I, an anarchist revolution will create its own
701
forms of freedom, forms which may share aspects with previous forms but
702
which are unique to themselves. All we do here is give a rough overview
703
of what we expect (based on previous revolutions) to see occur in a
704
social revolution. We are not predicting the future. As Kropotkin put
705
it:
706
707
"A question which we are often asked is: 'How will you organise the
708
future society on Anarchist principles?' If the question were put to
709
. . . someone who fancies that a group of men [or women] is able to
710
organise society as they like, it would seem natural. But in the
711
ears of an Anarchist, it sounds very strangely, and the only answer
712
we can give to it is: 'We cannot organise you. It will depend upon
713
you what sort of organisation you choose.'" [Act for Yourselves, p.
714
32]
715
716
And organise themselves they have. In each social revolution, the
717
oppressed have organised themselves into many different self-managed
718
organisations. These bodies include the Sections during the Great
719
French Revolution, the workers councils ("soviets" or "rate") during
720
the Russian and German revolutions, the industrial and rural
721
collectives during the Spanish Revolution, the workers councils during
722
the Hungarian revolution of 1956, assemblies and action committees
723
during the 1968 revolt in France, and so on. These bodies were hardly
724
uniform in nature and some were more anarchistic than others, but the
725
tendency towards self-management and federation existing in them all.
726
This tendency towards anarchistic solutions and organisation is not
727
unsurprising, for, as Nestor Makhno argued, "[i]n carrying through the
728
revolution, under the impulsion of the anarchism that is innate in
729
them, the masses of humanity search for free associations. Free
730
assemblies always command their sympathy. The revolutionary anarchist
731
must help them to formulate this approach as best they can." [The
732
Struggle Against the State and Other Essays, p. 85]
733
734
In addition, we must stress that we are discussing an anarchist social
735
revolution in this section. As we noted in [8]section I.2.2, anarchists
736
recognise that any revolution will take on different forms in different
737
areas and develop in different ways and at different speeds. We leave
738
it up to others to describe their vision of revolution (for Marxists,
739
the creation of a "workers' state" and the seizure of power by the
740
"proletarian" vanguard or party, and so on).
741
742
So what would a libertarian social revolution involve? Firstly, a
743
revolution "it is not the work of one day. It means a whole period,
744
mostly lasting for several years, during which the country is in a
745
state of effervescence; when thousands of formerly indifferent
746
spectators take a lively part in public affairs . . [and] criticises
747
and repudiates the institutions which are a hindrance to free
748
development; when it boldly enters upon problems which formerly seemed
749
insoluble." [Peter Kropotkin, Op. Cit., pp. 25-6] Thus, it would be a
750
process in which revolutionary attitudes, ideas, actions and
751
organisations spread in society until the existing system is overthrown
752
and a new one takes its place. It does not come overnight. Rather it is
753
an accumulative development, marked by specific events of course, but
754
fundamentally it goes on in the fabric of society. For example, the
755
real Russian revolution went on during the period between the 1917
756
February and October insurrections when workers took over their
757
workplaces, peasants seized their land and new forms of social life
758
(soviets, factory committees, co-operatives, etc.) were formed and
759
people lost their previous submissive attitudes to authority by using
760
direct action to change their lives for the better (see The Unknown
761
Revolution by Voline for more details and evidence of this
762
revolutionary process in action). Similarly, the Spanish Revolution
763
occurred after the 19th of July, 1936, when workers again took over
764
their workplaces, peasants formed collectives and militias were
765
organised to fight fascism (see Collectives in the Spanish Revolution
766
by Gaston Leval for details).
767
768
Secondly, "there must be a rapid modification of outgrown economical
769
and political institutions, an overthrow of the injustices accumulated
770
by centuries past, a displacement of wealth and political power." [Op.
771
Cit., p. 25]
772
773
This aspect is the key one. Without the abolition of the state and
774
capitalism, not real revolution has taken place. As Bakunin argued,
775
"the program of social revolution" is "the abolition of all
776
exploitation and all political or juridical as well as governmental and
777
bureaucratic oppression, in other words, to the abolition of all
778
classes through the equalisation of economic conditions, and the
779
abolition of their last buttress, the state." That is, "the total and
780
definitive liberation of the proletariat from economic exploitation and
781
state oppression." [Statism and Anarchy, pp. 48-9]
782
783
We should stress here that, regardless of what Marxists may say,
784
anarchists see the destruction of capitalism occurring at the same time
785
as the destruction of the state. We do not aim to abolish the state
786
first, then capitalism as Engels asserted we did. This perspective of a
787
simultaneous political and economic revolution is clearly seen when
788
Bakunin wrote that a city in revolt would "naturally make haste to
789
organise itself as best it can, in revolutionary style, after the
790
workers have joined into associations and made a clean sweep of all the
791
instruments of labour and every kind of capital and building; armed and
792
organised by streets and quartiers, they will form the revolutionary
793
federation of all the quartiers, the federative commune. . . All . .
794
.the revolutionary communes will then send representatives to organise
795
the necessary services and arrangements for production and exchange . .
796
. and to organise common defence against the enemies of the
797
Revolution." [Michael Bakunin: Selected Writings, p. 179]
798
799
As can be seen from Bakunin's comments just quoted that an essential
800
part of a social revolution is the "expropriation of landowners and
801
capitalists for the benefit of all." This would be done by workers
802
occupying their workplaces and placing them under workers'
803
self-management. Individual self-managed workplaces would then federate
804
on a local and industrial basis into workers' councils to co-ordinate
805
joint activity, discuss common interests and issues as well as ensuring
806
common ownership and universalising self-management. "We must push the
807
workers to take possession of the factories, to federate among
808
themselves and work for the community, and similarly the peasants
809
should take over the land and the produce usurped by the landlords, and
810
come to an agreement with the industrial workers on the necessary
811
exchange of goods." [Errico Malatesta, Op. Cit., p. 198 and p. 165]
812
813
In this way capitalism is replaced by new economic system based on
814
self-managed work. The end of hierarchy in the economy, in other words.
815
These workplace assemblies and local, regional, etc., federations would
816
start to organise production to meet human needs rather than capitalist
817
profit. While most anarchists would like to see the introduction of
818
communistic relations begin as quickly as possible in such an economy,
819
most are realistic enough to recognise that tendencies towards
820
libertarian communism will be depend on local conditions. As Malatesta
821
argued:
822
823
"It is then that graduation really comes into operation. We shall
824
have to study all the practical problems of life: production,
825
exchange, the means of communication, relations between anarchist
826
groupings and those living under some kind of authority, between
827
communist collectives and those living in an individualistic way;
828
relations between town and country, the utilisation for the benefit
829
of everyone of all natural resources of the different regions [and
830
so on] . . . And in every problem [anarchists] should prefer the
831
solutions which not only are economically superior but which satisfy
832
the need for justice and freedom and leave the way open for future
833
improvements, which other solutions might not." [Op. Cit., p. 173]
834
835
No central government could organise such a transformation. No
836
centralised body could comprehend the changes required and decide
837
between the possibilities available to those involved. Hence the very
838
complexity of life, and the needs of social living, will push a social
839
revolution towards anarchism. "Unavoidably," argued Kropotkin, "the
840
Anarchist system of organisation -- free local action and free grouping
841
-- will come into play." [Op. Cit., p. 72] Without this local action
842
and the free agreement between local groups to co-ordinate activity, a
843
revolution would be dead in the water and fit only to produce a new
844
bureaucratic class structure, as the experience of the Russian
845
Revolution proves. Unless the economy is transformed from the bottom up
846
by those who work within it, socialism is impossible. If it is
847
re-organised from the top-down by a centralised body all that will be
848
achieved is state capitalism and rule by bureaucrats instead of
849
capitalists.
850
851
Therefore, the key economic aspect of a social revolution is the end of
852
capitalist oppression by the direct action of the workers themselves
853
and their re-organisation of their work and the economy by their own
854
actions, organisations and initiative from the bottom-up. As Malatesta
855
argued:
856
857
"To destroy radically this oppression without any danger of it
858
re-emerging, all people must be convinced of their right to the
859
means of production, and be prepared to exercise this basic right by
860
expropriating the landowners, the industrialists and financiers, and
861
putting all social wealth at the disposal of the people." [Op. Cit.,
862
p. 167]
863
864
However, the economic transformation is but part of the picture. As
865
Kropotkin argued, "throughout history we see that each change in the
866
economic relations of a community is accompanied by a corresponding
867
change in what may be called political organisation . . . Thus, too, it
868
will be with Socialism. If it contemplates a new departure in economics
869
it must be prepared for a new departure in what is called political
870
organisation." [Op. Cit., p. 39] Thus the anarchist social revolution
871
also aims to abolish the state and create a confederation of
872
self-governing communes to ensure its final elimination. To really
873
destroy something you must replace it with something better. Hence
874
anarchism will destroy the state by a confederation of self-managed,
875
free communities (or communes).
876
877
This destruction of the state is essential. This is because "those
878
workers who want to free themselves, or even only to effectively
879
improve their conditions, will be forced to defend themselves from the
880
government . . . which by legalising the right to property and
881
protecting it with brute force, constitutes a barrier to human
882
progress, which must be beaten down . . . if one does not wish to
883
remain indefinitely under present conditions or even worse." Therefore,
884
"[f]rom the economic struggle one must pass to the political struggle,
885
that is to the struggle against government." [Malatesta, Op. Cit., p.
886
195]
887
888
Thus a social revolution will have to destroy the state bureaucracy and
889
the states forces of violence and coercion (the police, armed forces,
890
intelligence agencies, and so on). If this is not done then the state
891
will come back and crush the revolution. Such a destruction of the
892
state does not involve violence against individuals, but rather the end
893
of hierarchical organisations, positions and institutions. It would
894
involve, for example, the disbanding of the police, army, navy, state
895
officialdom etc. and the transformation of police stations, army and
896
naval bases, state bureaucracy's offices into something more useful
897
(or, as in the case of prisons, their destruction). Town halls would be
898
occupied and used by community and industrial groups, for example.
899
Mayors' offices could be turned into creches, for example. Police
900
stations, if they have not been destroyed, could, perhaps, be turned
901
into storage centres for goods. In William Morris' utopian novel, News
902
from Nowhere, the Houses of Parliament were turned into a manure
903
storage facility. And so on. Those who used to work in such occupations
904
would be asked to pursue a more fruitful way of life or leave the
905
community. In this way, all harmful and useless institutions would be
906
destroyed or transformed into something useful and of benefit to
907
society.
908
909
In addition, as well as the transformation/destruction of the buildings
910
associated with the old state, the decision making process for the
911
community previously usurped by the state would come back into the
912
hands of the people. Alternative, self-managed organisations would be
913
created in every community to manage community affairs. From these
914
community assemblies, confederations would spring up to co-ordinate
915
joint activities and interests. These neighbourhood assemblies and
916
confederations would be means by which power would be dissolved in
917
society and government finally eliminated in favour of freedom (both
918
individual and collective).
919
920
Ultimately, anarchism means creating positive alternatives to existing
921
institutions which provide some useful function. For example, we
922
propose self-management as an alternative to capitalist production. We
923
propose self-governing communes to organise social life instead of the
924
state. "One only destroys, and effectively and permanently," argued
925
Malatesta, "that which one replaces by something else; and to put off
926
to a later date the solution of problems which present themselves with
927
the urgency of necessity, would be to give time to the institutions one
928
is intending to abolish to recover from the shock and reassert
929
themselves, perhaps under other names, but certainly with the same
930
structure." [Op. Cit., p. 159] This was the failure of the Spanish
931
Revolution, which ignored the state rather than abolish it via new,
932
self-managed organisations (see [9]section I.8).
933
934
Hence a social revolution would see the "[o]rganisation of social life
935
by means of free association and federations of producers and
936
consumers, created and modified according to the wishes of their
937
members, guided by science and experience, and free from any kind of
938
imposition which does not spring from natural needs, to which everyone,
939
convinced by a feeling of overriding necessity, voluntarily submits."
940
[Errico Malatesta, Life and Ideas, p. 184]
941
942
These organisations, we must stress, are usually products of the
943
revolution and the revolutionary process itself:
944
945
"Assembly and community must arise from within the revolutionary
946
process itself; indeed, the revolutionary process must be the
947
formation of assembly and community, and with it, the destruction of
948
power. Assembly and community must become 'fighting words,' not
949
distinct panaceas. They must be created as modes of struggle against
950
existing society . . . The future assemblies of people in the block,
951
the neighbourhood or the district -- the revolutionary sections to
952
come -- will stand on a higher social level than all the present-day
953
committees, syndicates, parties and clubs adorned by the most
954
resounding 'revolutionary' titles. They will be the living nuclei of
955
utopia in the decomposing body of bourgeois society" In this way,
956
the "specific gravity of society . . . [will] be shifted to its base
957
-- the armed people in permanent assembly." [Post-Scarcity
958
Anarchism, pp. 167-8 and pp. 168-9]
959
960
Such organisations are required because, in the words of Murray
961
Bookchin, "[f]reedom has its forms . . . a liberatory revolution always
962
poses the question of what social forms will replace existing ones. At
963
one point or another, a revolutionary people must deal with how it will
964
manage the land and the factories from which it requires the means of
965
life. It must deal with the manner in which it will arrive at decisions
966
that affect the community as a whole. Thus if revolutionary thought is
967
to be taken at all seriously, it must speak directly to the problems
968
and forms of social management." [Op. Cit., p. 143] If this is not
969
done, capitalism and the state will not be destroyed and the social
970
revolution will fail. Only be destroying hierarchical power by
971
abolishing state and capitalism by self-managed organisations can
972
individuals free themselves and society.
973
974
As well as these economic and political changes, there would be other
975
changes as well -- far too many to chronicle here. For example, "[w]e
976
will see to it that all empty and under-occupied houses are used so
977
that no one will be without a roof over his [or her] head. We will
978
hasten to abolish banks and title deeds and all that represents and
979
guarantees the power of the State and capitalist privilege. And we will
980
try to reorganise things in such a way that it will be impossible for
981
bourgeois society to be reconstituted." [Malatesta, Op. Cit., p. 165]
982
Similarly, free associations will spring up on a whole range of issues
983
and for a whole range of interests and needs. Social life will become
984
transformed, as will many aspects of personal life and personal
985
relationships. We cannot say in which way, bar there will be a general
986
libertarian movement in all aspects of life as women resist and
987
overcome sexism, gays resist and end homophobia, the young will expect
988
to be treated as individuals, not property, and so on.
989
990
Society will become more diverse, open, free and libertarian in nature.
991
And, hopefully, it and the struggle that creates it will be fun --
992
anarchism is about making life worth living and so any struggle must
993
reflect that. The use of fun in the struggle is important. There is no
994
incongruity in conducting serious business and having fun. We are sure
995
this will piss off the "serious" Left no end. The aim of revolution is
996
to emancipate individuals not abstractions like "the proletariat,"
997
"society," "history" and so on. And having fun is part and parcel of
998
that liberation. As Emma Goldman said, "If I can't dance, it's not my
999
revolution." Revolutions should be "festivals of the oppressed" -- we
1000
cannot "resolve the anarchic, intoxicating phase that opens all the
1001
great revolutions of history merely into an expression of class
1002
interest and the opportunity to redistribute social wealth." [Murray
1003
Bookchin, Op. Cit., p. 277f]
1004
1005
Therefore a social revolution involves a transformation of society from
1006
the bottom up by the creative action of working class people. This
1007
transformation would be conducted through self-managed organisations
1008
which will be the basis for abolishing hierarchy, state and capitalism.
1009
"There can be no separation of the revolutionary process from the
1010
revolutionary goal. A society based on self-administration must be
1011
achieved by means of self-administration. . . . If we define 'power' as
1012
the power of man over man, power can only be destroyed by the very
1013
process in which man acquires power over his own life and in which he
1014
not only 'discovers' himself, but, more meaningfully, formulates his
1015
selfhood in all its social dimensions." [Murray Bookchin, Op. Cit., p.
1016
167]
1017
1018
J.7.5 What is the role of anarchists in a social revolution?
1019
1020
All the great social revolutions have been spontaneous. Indeed, it is
1021
cliche that the revolutionaries are usually the most surprised when a
1022
revolution breaks out. Nor do anarchists assume that a revolution will
1023
initially be libertarian in nature. All we assume is that there will be
1024
libertarian tendencies which anarchists are work within and try and
1025
strengthen. Therefore the role of anarchists and anarchist
1026
organisations is to try and push a revolution towards a social
1027
revolution by encouraging the tendencies we discussed in the [10]last
1028
section and by arguing for anarchist ideas and solutions. In the words
1029
of Vernon Richards:
1030
1031
"We do not for one moment assume that all social revolutions are
1032
necessarily anarchist. But whatever form the revolution against
1033
authority takes, the role of anarchists is clear: that of inciting
1034
the people to abolish capitalistic property and the institutions
1035
through which it exercises its power for the exploitation of the
1036
majority by a minority." [Lessons of the Spanish Revolution, p. 44]
1037
1038
For anarchists, their role in a social revolution is clear. They try to
1039
spread anarchist ideas and encourage autonomous organisation and
1040
activity by the oppressed. For example, during the Russian Revolution
1041
anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists played a key role in the factory
1042
committee movement for workers' self-management. They combated
1043
Bolshevik attempts to substitute state control for workers'
1044
self-management and encouraged workplace occupations and federations of
1045
factory committees (see Maurice Brinton's The Bolsheviks and Workers'
1046
Control for a good introduction to the movement for workers'
1047
self-management during the Russian Revolution and Bolshevik hostility
1048
to it). Similarly, they supported the soviets (councils elected by
1049
workers in their workplaces) but opposed their transformation from
1050
revolutionary bodies into state organs (and so little more than organs
1051
of the Communist Party and so the enemies of self-management). The
1052
anarchists tried to "work for their conversion from centres of
1053
authority and decrees into non-authoritarian centres, regulating and
1054
keeping things in order but not suppressing the freedom and
1055
independence of local workers' organisations. They must become centres
1056
which link together these autonomous organisations." [G. P. Maksimov in
1057
Paul Avrich (ed.) The Anarchists in the Russian Revolution, p. 105]
1058
1059
Therefore, the anarchist role, as Murray Bookchin puts it, is to
1060
"preserve and extend the anarchic phase that opens all the great social
1061
revolutions" by working "within the framework of the forms created by
1062
the revolution, not within the forms created by the party. What this
1063
means is that their commitment is to the revolutionary organs of
1064
self-management . . . to the social forms, not the political forms.
1065
Anarcho-communists [and other revolutionary anarchists] seek to
1066
persuade the factory committees, assemblies or soviets to make
1067
themselves into genuine organs of popular self-management, not to
1068
dominate them, manipulate them, or hitch them to an all-knowing
1069
political party." [Post-Scarcity Anarchism, p. 215 and p. 217]
1070
1071
Equally as important, "is that the people, all people, should lose
1072
their sheeplike instincts and habits with which their minds have been
1073
inculcated by an age-long slavery, and that they should learn to think
1074
and act freely. It is to this great task of spiritual liberation that
1075
anarchists must especially devote their attention." [Malatesta, Op.
1076
Cit., pp. 160-1] Unless people think and act for themselves, no social
1077
revolution is possible and anarchy will remain just a tendency with
1078
authoritarian societies.
1079
1080
Practically, this means the encouragement of self-management and direct
1081
action. Anarchists thus "push the people to expropriate the bosses and
1082
put all goods in common and organise their daily lives themselves,
1083
through freely constituted associations, without waiting for orders
1084
from outside and refusing to nominate or recognise any government or
1085
constituted body in whatever guise . . . even in a provisional
1086
capacity, which ascribes to itself the right to lay down the law and
1087
impose with force its will on others." [Malatesta, Op. Cit., p. 197]
1088
This is because, to quote Bakunin, anarchists do "not accept, even in
1089
the process of revolutionary transition, either constituent assemblies,
1090
provisional governments or so-called revolutionary dictatorships;
1091
because we are convinced that revolution is only sincere, honest and
1092
real in the hands of the masses, and that when it is concentrated in
1093
those of a few ruling individuals it inevitably and immediately becomes
1094
reaction." [Michael Bakunin: Selected Writings, p. 237]
1095
1096
As the history of every revolution shows, "revolutionary government" is
1097
a contradiction in terms. Government bodies mean "the transferring of
1098
initiative from the armed workers to a central body with executive
1099
powers. By removing the initiative from the workers, the responsibility
1100
for the conduct of the struggle and its objectives [are] also
1101
transferred to a governing hierarchy, and this could have no other than
1102
an adverse effect on the morale of the revolutionary fighters." [Vernon
1103
Richards, Lessons of the Spanish Revolution, pp. 42-3] Such a
1104
centralisation of power means the suppression of local initiatives, the
1105
replacing of self-management with bureaucracy and the creation of a
1106
new, exploitative and oppressive class of officials and party hacks.
1107
Only when power rests in the hands of everyone can a social revolution
1108
exist and a free society created. If this is not done, if the state
1109
replaces the self-managed associations of a free people, all that
1110
happens is the replacement of one class system by another. This is
1111
because the state is an instrument of minority rule -- it can never
1112
become an instrument of majority rule, its centralised, hierarchical
1113
and authoritarian nature excludes such a possibility (see [11]section
1114
H.3.7 for more discussion on this issue).
1115
1116
Therefore an important role of anarchists is to undermine hierarchical
1117
organisation by creating self-managed ones, by keeping the management
1118
and direction of a struggle or revolution in the hands of those
1119
actually conducting it. It is their revolution, not a party's and so
1120
they should control and manage it. They are the ones who have to live
1121
with the consequences of it. "The revolution is safe, it grows and
1122
becomes strong," correctly argues Alexander Berkman, "as long as the
1123
masses feel that they are direct participants in it, that they are
1124
fashioning their own lives, that they are making the revolution, that
1125
they are the revolution. But the moment that their activities are
1126
usurped by a political party or are centred in some special
1127
organisation, revolutionary effort becomes limited to a comparatively
1128
small circle from the which the large masses are practically excluded.
1129
The natural result of that [is that] popular enthusiasm is dampened,
1130
interest gradually weakens, initiative languishes, creativeness wanes,
1131
and the revolution becomes the monopoly of a clique which presently
1132
turns dictator." [Op. Cit., p. 65]
1133
1134
The history of every revolution proves this point, we feel, and so the
1135
role of anarchists (like those described in [12]section J.3) is clear
1136
-- to keep a revolution revolutionary by encouraging libertarian ideas,
1137
organisation, tactics and activity. To requote Emma Goldman:
1138
1139
"No revolution can ever succeed as factor of liberation unless the
1140
MEANS used to further it be identical in spirit and tendency with
1141
the PURPOSE to be achieved." [Patterns of Anarchy, p. 113]
1142
1143
Anarchists, therefore, aim to keep the means in line with the goal and
1144
their role in any social revolution is to combat authoritarian
1145
tendencies and parties while encouraging working class
1146
self-organisation, self-activity and self-management and the spreading
1147
of libertarian ideas and values within society.
1148
1149
J.7.6 How could an anarchist revolution defend itself?
1150
1151
To some, particularly Marxists, this section may seem in contradiction
1152
with anarchist ideas. After all, did Marx not argue in a diatribe
1153
against Proudhon that anarchist "abolishing the state" implies the
1154
"laying down of arms" by the working class? However, as will become
1155
very clear nothing could be further from the truth. Anarchists have
1156
always argued for defending a revolution -- by force, if necessary.
1157
Anarchists do not think that abolishing the state involves "laying down
1158
arms." We argue that Marx (and Marxists) confuse self-defence by "the
1159
people armed" with the state, a confusion which has horrific
1160
implications (as the history of the Russian Revolution shows -- see the
1161
appendix on [13]"What happened during the Russian Revolution?" for
1162
details).
1163
1164
So how would an anarchist revolution (and by implication, society)
1165
defend itself? Firstly, we should note that it will not defend itself
1166
by creating a centralised body, a new state. If it did this then the
1167
revolution will have failed and a new class society would have been
1168
created (a society based on state bureaucrats and oppressed workers as
1169
in the Soviet Union). Thus we reject Marx's notion of "a revolutionary
1170
and transitory form" of state as confused in the extreme. [Marx quoted
1171
by Lenin, Essential Works of Lenin, p. 315] Rather, we seek libertarian
1172
means to defend a libertarian revolution. What would these libertarian
1173
means be?
1174
1175
History, as well as theory, points to them. In all the major
1176
revolutions of this century which anarchists took part in they formed
1177
militias to defend freedom. For example, anarchists in many Russian
1178
cities formed "Black Guards" to defend their expropriated houses and
1179
revolutionary freedoms. In the Ukraine, Nestor Makhno helped organise a
1180
peasant-worker army to defend the social revolution against
1181
authoritarians of right and left. In the Spanish Revolution, the C.N.T.
1182
and F.A.I. organised militias to free those parts of Spain under
1183
fascist rule after the military coup in 1936.
1184
1185
(As an aside, we must point out that these militias had nothing in
1186
common -- bar the name -- with the present "militia movement" in the
1187
United States. The anarchist militias were organised in a libertarian
1188
manner and aimed to defend an anti-statist, anti-capitalist revolution
1189
from pro-state, pro-capitalist forces. In contrast, the US "militia
1190
movement" is organised in a military fashion, defend property rights
1191
and want to create their own governments.)
1192
1193
These anarchist militias were as self-managed as possible, with any
1194
"officers" elected and accountable to the troops and having the same
1195
pay and living conditions as them. Nor did they impose their ideas on
1196
others. When a militia liberated a village, town or city they called
1197
upon the population to organise their own affairs, as they saw fit. All
1198
the militia did was present suggestions and ideas to the population.
1199
For example, when the Makhnovists passed through a district they would
1200
put on posters announcing:
1201
1202
"The freedom of the workers and the peasants is their own, and not
1203
subject to any restriction. It is up to the workers and peasants to
1204
act, to organise themselves, to agree among themselves in all
1205
aspects of their lives, as they themselves see fit and desire. . .
1206
The Makhnovists can do no more than give aid and counsel . . . In no
1207
circumstances can they, nor do they wish to, govern." [quoted by
1208
Peter Marshall, Demanding the Impossible, p. 473]
1209
1210
Needless to say, the Makhnovists counselled the workers and peasants
1211
"to set up free peasants' and workers' councils" as well as to
1212
expropriate the land and means of production. They argued that
1213
"[f]reedom of speech, of the press and of assembly is the right of
1214
every toiler and any gesture contrary to that freedom constitutes an
1215
act of counter-revolution." [No Gods, No Masters, vol. 2, pp. 157-8]
1216
The Makhnovists also organised regional congresses of peasants and
1217
workers to discuss revolutionary and social issues (a fact that annoyed
1218
the Bolsheviks, leading to Trotsky trying to ban one congress and
1219
arguing that "participation in said congress will be regarded as an act
1220
of high treason." [Op. Cit., p. 151] Little wonder workers' democracy
1221
withered under the Bolsheviks!).
1222
1223
The Makhnovists declared principles were voluntary enlistment, the
1224
election of officers and self-discipline according to the rules adopted
1225
by each unit themselves. Remarkably effective, the Makhnovists were the
1226
force that defeated Denikin's army and helped defeat Wrangel. After the
1227
Whites were defeated, the Bolsheviks turned against the Makhnovists and
1228
betrayed them. However, while they existed the Makhnovists defended the
1229
freedom of the working class to organise themselves against both right
1230
and left statists. See Voline's The Unknown Revolution and Peter
1231
Arshinov's History of the Makhnovist Movement for more information or
1232
the appendix on [14]"Why does the Makhnovist movement show there is an
1233
alternative to Bolshevism?" of this FAQ.
1234
1235
A similar situation developed in Spain. After defeating the
1236
military/fascist coup on 19th of July, 1936, the anarchists organised
1237
self-managed militias to liberate those parts of Spain under Franco.
1238
These groups were organised in a libertarian fashion from the bottom
1239
up:
1240
1241
"The establishment of war committees is acceptable to all confederal
1242
militias. We start from the individual and form groups of ten, which
1243
come to accommodations among themselves for small-scale operations.
1244
Ten such groups together make up one centuria, which appoints a
1245
delegate to represent it. Thirty centurias make up one column, which
1246
is directed by a war committee, on which the delegates from the
1247
centurias have their say. . . although every column retains its
1248
freedom of action, we arrive at co-ordination of forces, which is
1249
not the same thing as unity of command." [No Gods, No Masters, vol.
1250
2, pp. 256-7]
1251
1252
Like the Makhnovists, the anarchist militias in Spain were not only
1253
fighting against reaction, they were fighting for a better world. As
1254
Durruti argued, "Our comrades on the front know for whom and for what
1255
they fight. They feel themselves revolutionaries and they fight, not in
1256
defence of more or less promised new laws, but for the conquest of the
1257
world, of the factories, the workshops, the means of transportation,
1258
their bread and the new culture." [Op. Cit., p. 248]
1259
1260
When they liberated towns and villages, the militia columns urged
1261
workers and peasants to collectivise the land and means of production,
1262
to re-organise life in a libertarian fashion. All across anti-Fascist
1263
Spain workers and peasants did exactly that (see [15]section I.8 for
1264
more information). The militias only defended the workers' and
1265
peasants' freedom to organise their own lives as they saw fit and did
1266
not force them to create collectives or dictate their form.
1267
1268
Unfortunately, like the Makhnovists, the C.N.T. militias were betrayed
1269
by their so-called allies on the left. The anarchist troops were not
1270
given enough arms and were left on the front to rot in inaction. The
1271
"unified" command by the Republican State preferred not to arm
1272
libertarian troops as they would use these arms to defend themselves
1273
and their fellow workers against the Republican and Communist led
1274
counter-revolution. Ultimately, the "people in arms" won the revolution
1275
and the "People's army" which replaced it lost the war. See Abel Paz's
1276
Durruti: The People Armed, Vernon Richards Lessons of the Spanish
1277
Revolution and George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia for more
1278
information.
1279
1280
While the cynic may point out that, in the end, these revolutions and
1281
militias were defeated, it does not mean that their struggle was in
1282
vain or a future revolution will not succeed. That would be like
1283
arguing in 1940 that democracy is inferior to fascism because the
1284
majority of democratic states had been (temporarily) defeated by
1285
fascism or fascist states. It does not mean that these methods will
1286
fail in the future or that we should embrace apparently more
1287
"successful" approaches which end in the creation of a society the
1288
total opposite of what we desire (means determine ends, after all, and
1289
statist means will create statist ends and apparent "successes" -- like
1290
Bolshevism -- are the greatest of failures in terms of our ideas and
1291
ideals). All we are doing here is pointing how anarchists have defended
1292
revolutions in the past and that these methods were successful for a
1293
long time in face of tremendous opposition forces.
1294
1295
Thus, in practice, anarchists have followed Malatesta's argument for
1296
the "creation of a voluntary militia, without powers to interfere as
1297
militia in the life of the community, but only to deal with any armed
1298
attacks by the forces of reaction to re-establish themselves, or to
1299
resist outside intervention by countries as yet not in a state of
1300
revolution." [Op. Cit., p. 166] This militia would be based on an armed
1301
population and "[t]he power of the people in arms can only be used in
1302
the defence of the revolution and the freedoms won by their militancy
1303
and their sacrifices." [Vernon Richards, Lessons of the Spanish
1304
Revolution, p. 44] It does not seek to impose a revolution, for you
1305
cannot impose freedom or force people to be free against their will.
1306
1307
Hence anarchists would seek to defend a revolution because, while
1308
anarchism "is opposed to any interference with your liberty . . . [and]
1309
against all invasion and violence" it recognises that when "any one
1310
attacks you, then it is he who is invading you, he who is employing
1311
violence against you. You have a right to defend yourself. More than
1312
that, it is your duty, as an anarchist to protect your liberty, to
1313
resist coercion and compulsion. . . In other words, the social
1314
revolution will attack no one, but it will defend itself against
1315
invasion from any quarter." [Alexander Berkman, ABC of Anarchism, p.
1316
81]
1317
1318
As Berkman stresses, this revolutionary defence "must be in consonance
1319
with th[e] spirit [of anarchism]. Self-defence excludes all acts of
1320
coercion, of persecution or revenge. It is concerned only with
1321
repelling attack and depriving the enemy of opportunity to invade you."
1322
Any defence would be based on "the strength of the revolution . . .
1323
First and foremost, in the support of the people . . . If they feel
1324
that they themselves are making the revolution, that they have become
1325
masters of their lives, that they have gained freedom and are building
1326
up their welfare, then in that very sentiment you have the greatest
1327
strength of the revolution. . . Let them believe in the revolution, and
1328
they will defend it to the death." Thus the "armed workers and peasants
1329
are the only effective defence of the revolution." [Op. Cit., pp.
1330
81-81]
1331
1332
Part of this strength lies in liberty, so no attempt would be made to
1333
"defend" the revolution against mere talk, against the mere expression
1334
of an opinion. To "suppress speech and press is not only a theoretical
1335
offence against liberty; it is a direct blow at the very foundations of
1336
the revolution. . . It would generate fear and distrust, would hatch
1337
conspiracies, and culminate in a reign of terror which has always
1338
killed revolution in the pass." [Op. Cit., p. 83]
1339
1340
Moreover, in the case of foreign intervention, the importance of
1341
international solidarity is important. As Bakunin argued, "a social
1342
revolution cannot be a revolution in one nation alone. It is by nature
1343
an international revolution." [Michael Bakunin: Selected Writings, p.
1344
49] Thus any foreign intervention would face the problems of solidarity
1345
actions and revolts on its own doorstep and not dare send its troops
1346
abroad for long, if at all. Ultimately, the only way to support a
1347
revolution is to make your own.
1348
1349
Within the revolutionary area, it is the actions of liberated people
1350
than will defend it. Firstly, the population would be armed and so
1351
counter-revolutionaries would face stiff opposition to their attempts
1352
to recreate authority. Secondly, they would face liberated individuals
1353
who would reject their attempts:
1354
1355
"The only way in which a state of Anarchy can be obtained is for
1356
each man [or woman] who is oppressed to act as if he [or she] were
1357
at liberty, in defiance of all authority to the contrary . . . In
1358
practical fact, territorial extension is necessary to ensure
1359
permanency to any given individual revolution. In speaking of the
1360
Revolution, we signify the aggregate of so many successful
1361
individual and group revolts as will enable every person within the
1362
revolutionised territory to act in perfect freedom . . . without
1363
having to constantly dread the prevention or the vengeance of an
1364
opposing power upholding the former system . . . Under these
1365
circumstance it is obvious that any visible reprisal could and would
1366
be met by a resumption of the same revolutionary action on the part
1367
of the individuals or groups affected, and that the maintenance of a
1368
state of Anarchy in this manner would be far easier than the gaining
1369
of a state of Anarchy by the same methods and in the face of
1370
hitherto unshaken opposition." [Kropotkin, Op. Cit., pp. 87-8]
1371
1372
Thus any authoritarian would face the direct action of a free people,
1373
of free individuals, who would refuse to co-operate with the would-be
1374
authorities and join in solidarity with their friends and fellow
1375
workers to resist them. The only way a counter-revolution could spread
1376
internally is if the mass of the population can become alienated from
1377
the revolution and this is impossible in an anarchist revolution as
1378
power remains in their hands. If power rests in their hands, there is
1379
no danger from counter-revolutionaries.
1380
1381
In the end, an anarchist revolution can be defended only by applying
1382
its ideas as widely as possible. Its defence rests in those who make
1383
it. If the revolution is an expression of their needs, desires and
1384
hopes then it will be defended with the full passion of a free people.
1385
Such a revolution may be defeated by superior force, who can tell? But
1386
the possibility is that it will not and that is what makes it worth
1387
trying. To not act because of the possibility of failure is to live
1388
half a life. Anarchism calls upon everyone to live the kind of life
1389
they deserve as unique individuals and desire as human beings.
1390
Individually we can make a difference, together we can change the
1391
world.
1392
1393
References
1394
1395
1. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secJ5.html
1396
2. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secJ7.html#secj74
1397
3. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secJ4.html
1398
4. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secJ2.html
1399
5. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secJ4.html
1400
6. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secJ7.html#secj76
1401
7. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secIcon.html
1402
8. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secI2.html#seci22
1403
9. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secI8.html
1404
10. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secJ77.html#secj74
1405
11. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secH3.html#sech37
1406
12. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secJ3.html
1407
13. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/append41.html
1408
14. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/append46.html
1409
15. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secI8.html
Loggerhead is a web-based interface for Breezy
Version: 2.0.1