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TROPHY CASE


  • Two-Year Club

Questions for anarchists from a libertarian... by the_raging_fistin Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 1 point2 points ago

Most branches of Marxism want to use the state to impose social change. This change is usually referred to as top-down change.

Anarchists, on the other hand, do not want to use the state or any sort of top-down command in order to create change. Anarchists want bottom-up change. They differ on specifics, but anarchists want to use trade unions, neighborhood assemblies, collectives, cooperatives and grassroots organization in general to create social change.

By the way, I hope you know that "libertarian" for most of history was a synonym for anarchism. It was only in the past 30-40 years that American proprietarians underwent a huge propaganda campaign to call their philosophy "libertarianism."

Read this for more info, just so you know:

http://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/The_Anarchist_FAQ_Editorial_Collective__150_years_of_Libertarian.html

As is well known, anarchists use the terms “libertarian”, “libertarian socialist” and “libertarian communist” as equivalent to “anarchist” and, similarly, “libertarian socialism” or “libertarian communism” as an alternative for “anarchism.” This is perfectly understandable, as the anarchist goal is freedom, liberty, and the ending of all hierarchical and authoritarian institutions and social relations.

Unfortunately, in the United States the term “libertarian” has become, since the 1970s, associated with the right-wing, i.e., supporters of “free-market” capitalism. That defenders of the hierarchy associated with private property seek to associate the term “libertarian” for their authoritarian system is both unfortunate and somewhat unbelievable to any genuine libertarian. Equally unfortunately, thanks to the power of money and the relative small size of the anarchist movement in America, this appropriation of the term has become, to a large extent, the default meaning there. Somewhat ironically, this results in some right-wing “libertarians” complaining that we genuine libertarians have “stolen” their name in order to associate our socialist ideas with it!

The facts are somewhat different. As Murray Bookchin noted, “libertarian” was “a term created by nineteenth-century European anarchists, not by contemporary American right-wing proprietarians.” [The Ecology of Freedom, p. 57] While we discuss this issue in An Anarchist FAQ in a few places (most obviously, section A.1.3) it is useful on the 150th anniversary to discuss the history of anarchist use of the word “libertarian” to describe our ideas.

The first anarchist journal to use the term “libertarian” was La Libertaire, Journal du Mouvement Social. Somewhat ironically, given recent developments in America, it was published in New York between 1858 and 1861 by French communist-anarchist Joseph Déjacque. The next recorded use of the term was in Europe, when “libertarian communism” was used at a French regional anarchist Congress at Le Havre (16–22 November, 1880). January the following year saw a French manifesto issued on “Libertarian or Anarchist Communism.” Finally, 1895 saw leading anarchists Sébastien Faure and Louise Michel publish La Libertaire in France. [Max Nettlau, A Short History of Anarchism, pp. 75–6, p. 145 and p. 162]

Indonesia: Billy and Eat, anarchists who torched an ATM in solidarity with Luciano Tortuga, sentenced to 20 months in prison by bl4ckb4dg3r5in Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 0 points1 point ago

Any Indonesian anarchist comrades here who can explain what's the situation like in Indonesia?

David Graeber and David Harvey in Conversation by MikeBodain Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 2 points3 points ago

I don't know if it was just me, but it seemed like David Harvey was really tense throughout the talk.

Also, mad props for Harvey for acknowledging the anarchist roots of modern-day geography: Reclus, Kropotkin, Geddes and Mumford.

My favorite part of the talk is when Graeber talks about the need for "finding a balance". Questions of organization are really meaningless without a specific context. When they started talking about Bookchin's idea of confederated municipalities, I like how Graeber just cuts through all the bullshit and says simply that we have to find a way to balance workers control with direct democracy. I love Bookchin and all, but I have to agree with Graeber that Bookchin dichotomizes too much.

So what do my comrades in /r/anarchism think of David Graebers little brainchild, IOPS (International Organisation for a Participatory Society?) by CJLockein Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 4 points5 points ago

Actually, I think it's Michael Albert's brainchild. Yes, people like Graeber, Noam Chomsky and others have joined it, but as far as I know it's Albert's idea.

May Day by Noam Chomsky: "Perhaps the time has come to resort to coercive measures in defense of rights and justice" by sama102in Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 8 points9 points ago

Actually, if you read the context of what is quoted above, you'll notice that it's consistent with what Noam Chomsky has been saying for decades. He hasn't suddenly gotten more militant, in case that's what anyone here is thinking.

What follows, by the way, is the full context of that sentence:

Secondly, on strategic grounds, you have to show that there are limits to reform. Perhaps sometimes the system will accommodate to needed reforms. If so, well and good. But if it won’t, then new questions arise. Perhaps that is a moment when resistance is a necessary step to overcome the barriers to justified changes. Perhaps the time has come to resort to coercive measures in defense of rights and justice, a form of self-defense. Unless the general population recognizes such measures to be a form of self-defense, they’re not going to take part in them, at least they shouldn’t.

So there shouldn't really be anything surprising or new about what Chomsky says here. He's always been for this sort of "reform as a road towards revolution", which all of my fellow anarchists -- and non-anarchists as well -- should be for.

My favorite Bakunin quote... by [deleted]in Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 1 point2 points ago

Well, considering that the quotation is from Bakunin's "Statism and Anarchy", I think that Bakunin had state socialism in mind when he was talking about "The People's Stick". At the same time, though, I think that Bakunin's idea generalizes to what I and NewhlBcnSmrt-ttck below says, namely, that states coerce under the pretense of democracy, with state socialist bureaucrats being the most shameless.

My favorite Bakunin quote... by [deleted]in Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 4 points5 points ago

I think that Bakunin was referring more to institutional violence than he was about literal violence. "The People's Stick" represents the way states often coerce people under the pretense that the coercion is the will of the people. It could refer to police brutality, seeing as how the police often do the awful things they do in the name of public order and security. However, Bakunin was I think referring more to institutions.

Who influences you? Where do you get your news on a daily basis? What blogs do you read? by fox321in Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 0 points1 point ago

It's a great aggregate site for anarchism-related news. My only problem with it is that the users there are almost always incredibly mean, cynical, rude, and often closed minded. It's not the kind of place where there can be productive debates.

Glenn Greenwald's "The roots of the UC-Davis pepper-spraying" is a stunning indictment of authority by SwtorBuildPCin Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 4 points5 points ago

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For the past couple of years, Glenn Greenwald has generally been one of the most radical voices in the mainstream media. He hasn't always been this way though; it looks like he was really radicalized thanks to Obama's contempt for international and domestic law.

In fact, Greenwald has even appeared at events like Socialism 2011, and he's also done a recent public conversation with Noam Chomsky about the nature of the law. He, along with Chris Hedges and others, is one of the handful of relatively well-known media figures who have undergone a far left radicalization in the past few years.

My only gripe with him is that he still has a lot of the unnecessary vestiges of a lawyer. He still thinks that laws are what give people incentive to not commit crimes, for instance; this view and many more of his is probably due to his history of being a law scholar. I really want to give him the works of Kropotkin, or maybe even Kristian Williams's book "Our Enemies in Blue."

How would anarchism take us to Space? by coprophiliacin Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 6 points7 points ago

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Using a space ship, obviously.

I wanted to share this classic anarchist work with you, Michael Bakunin - God and the State by kropotkinbakuninin Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 2 points3 points ago

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Not my favorite Bakunin work, since it focuses way too much on "God" and less so on "the State." Also, it is kind of unfocused as a work, especially with that one ridiculously long, albeit insightful, footnote on Chapter 2. Then again, this is Bakunin we're talking about -- the man who was busy doing revolution instead of theorizing it (this isn't an insult, to be clear).

I prefer "Statism and Anarchy," "Federalism, Socialism and Anti-Theologism," and "On Representative Government and Universal Suffrage," all of which can be found at the Anarchist Library website.

Link: http://theanarchistlibrary.org/authors/Michail_Bakunin.html

Refrigerators eat up a good deal of my electricity bills. Is there any frugal alternative? by snakedawgGin Frugal

[–]snakedawgG[S] 0 points1 point ago

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Sorry about that. I guess my post was vague. I only have one fridge. It's relatively old, at five years. And, finally, yes, it's full.

Refrigerators eat up a good deal of my electricity bills. Is there any frugal alternative? by snakedawgGin Frugal

[–]snakedawgG[S] 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I live in a country on the equator. Never any snow here, unfortunately!

Alliance of the Libertarian Left by dear_liza_janein Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 0 points1 point ago

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dialectical anarchists

What the hell is that? I've read dozens of books worth of anarchist literature, but this is the first time I've heard of "dialectical anarchism."

Also, why is Murray Rothbard on that list? Since when have An-Caps been considered "left"?

Slavoj Žižek at Occupy Wall Street: "There is a danger. Don’t fall in love with yourselves. We have a nice time here. But remember, carnivals come cheap. What matters is the day after, when we will have to return to normal lives. Will there be any changes then?" by lisamargin Anarchism

[–]snakedawgG 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I thought the speech was okay. He made some colorful analogies. This is one of the few moments when he isn't advocating for Leninist ideas. Nor is he mixing his ideas with obscurantist psycho-analysis or Hegelian jargon.

If the speech consisted of him talking about the importance of centralized, top-down socialist parties, then I'd be the first to criticize him.

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