It might be fruitful to quote at length from a previous article in Organise! from issue
42, spring 1996: ---- ?The ACF remains a comparatively small organisation. Its desire to
create or be the component of a large revolutionary organisation and movement has failed
to happen. Many are put off joining a group where a strong commitment and a lot of
determination are required. Many libertarian revolutionaries are as yet unconvinced of the
need to create a specific libertarian communist organisation. They remain tied to the
ideas of local groups, or at best regional federations loosely linked, being adequate for
the very difficult tasks of introducing libertarian revolutionary ideas and practices to
the mass of the population. They remain unconvinced of the need for a unified strategy and
practice, for ideological and tactical unity and collective action as we in the ACF have
insisted upon consistently. Some remain mesmerised by the myths of nationalism and
national liberation, some by illusions in the unions. ??.
As we noted in Virus 9, in late 1986-early 1987:"There has been little sharing of
experiences among libertarians in various campaigns and struggles. Even on something as
basic as a demonstration, libertarians have marched separately and in different parts of
the demonstration". This still remains true today, despite several attempts by the ACF
over the years to encourage coordinations, and even (still) on basic things like a united
contingent on a demo. Libertarians remain within their separate local groups and
organisations. There is little dialogue and little attempt for united activity, for forums
and debates where these are possible. And yet not since the pre-World War 1 period and the
late 60s has there been such a potential for the growth of the libertarian revolutionary
movement. The collapse of Stalinism, the changes within social-democracy-including the
British variety of Labourism- with the end of welfarism, and the effects of both of these
on Trotskyism, have created a space which revolutionary anarchists must fill.?
Unfortunately these words remain as true today as they were those 18 years ago. Whilst
there has been some growth in both the Anarchist Federation and the Solidarity Federation,
there seems little will or desire for collaboration, both between the national
organisations, and between national federations and local unaffiliated groups.
An indication of the malaise within this scene- a scene rather than a movement as the last
term implies some shared identity, which seems lacking- is the disappearance of hard copy
publications like the newspaper Freedom and the magazine Black Flag [update: there is a
plan for an issue in time for the London Bookfair 2014]. These both disappeared
essentially because they lacked a base able to write for them and to distribute and sell
them. Other magazines like the magazine of the Solidarity Federation, Direct Action, and
Here and Now, based in Glasgow and Leeds, have also disappeared. They were unconnected to
a movement, a network of groups and individuals, or a national organisation or
organisations. Even the problem of a lack of a visible and united presence on
demonstrations and actions is one that still plagues British anarchism.
In 1997, the year after these words above were written we saw the collapse of the Class
War Federation, though a rump continued on and still produced Class War into the 21st
century. With its final extinction one would have thought that we had seen the last of
the mix of populism, heavy use of stunts, and occasional electoral adventures coupled with
an anti-theoretical base. At its outset Class War had been a refreshing new venture
breaking with the liberalism and pacifism of what passed for an anarchist movement in the
late 1970s and early 1980s. However it soon became a parody of itself and its
unwillingness to develop beyond the politics of the stunt doomed it. Now however, just
like the way the traditional left continues to repeat its errors over and over again, new
attempts by some people with their origins in Class War are reappearing. A loose and adhoc
attempt to run CW candidates in the next election is under way, with stickers already
appearing, where a few revolutionary demands are covered up by a host of reformist and
populist slogans. Like the traditional left, the old ex-Class War seems to have learnt no
new lessons.
What passes for British anarchism seems at the moment unable to develop as a result of the
space created by the decline of the traditional left and seems to be in crisis itself.
Various conferences which somehow sought to unite the different anarchist groups and
develop a revolutionary practice- Mayday 1998, the Anarchist Movement Conference of 2009,
the ALARM Conference of 2012- all proved to be damp squibs and failed as organisers. Some
local attempts to organise- the Whitechapel Anarchist Group, the ALARM London-wide
network, also collapsed. Meanwhile the Haringey Solidarity Group, which has done sterling
local work over many decades has, we must speak truthfully, failed to develop its idea of
a network of local London community groups, influenced by libertarian ideas. Apart from
the HSG, few local neighbourhood/borough groups have developed and the network, Radical
London, only flickers on.
What then can we do? If we are serious anarchists we must look at how we can grow our
influence and numbers. As already cited there has been some useful local work in
neighbourhoods and several interesting attempts to set up Solidarity Networks. There has
been some work around workplace issues and strikes, and some valuable work around housing,
evictions, Workfare, and the Bedroom Tax. This work is not enough, it needs to be
multiplied. We need to develop a serious class struggle anarchist practice and theory. We
need to move away from amateurism and lack of seriousness. We have to develop a
willingness and practice of coordinated activity wherever we can, and that includes
coordinated blocs on demonstrations. We must turn away from the outlook of organisational
patriotism and look for practical unity wherever possible. We have to reject populism,
electoralism and anti-organisationalism.
At a time when the intensity of the ruling class attack on our living standards, on our
wages and conditions, on free speech and assembly, are increasing at a frightening pace,
British anarchism must heed the wake-up call. Either it undergoes a renaissance, with the
possible emergence of grass roots struggle (see the separate article in this issue The
Fire Next Time?) and relates to that struggle, or it consigns itself to continued irrelevance.
Home »
» Britain, AFED Organise! #82 - British Anarchism? Oh dear! (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)