African Anarchist Collective Tokologo #3 - FIGHT BACK - Why is it important to build an anarchist political organisation By BONGANI MAPONYANEE (TAAC)

Anarchism is a socialist ideology aiming to bring about a radical change, involving 
getting rid of the state and capitalism. We aim to change the current economic system that 
is backed up by state of icials, and based on maximizing the pro its of the elite few. 
---- We the majority, are currently victims of our fate and mere pawns in ruling class 
economic and political games, but it does not have to stay like that. We want a world 
based on freedom, liberation, anti-authoritarianism and anti-statism: a world free of all 
forms of domination, capitalism and the state. ---- Sharing this ideal is one of the most 
important requirements for joining the anarchist movement. We want to build a 
non-hierarchical stateless society that will rise through a revolution, from the ground 
up. What we need is a free society, not a declaration of freedom but freedom from the 
reality of a class-divided society.

Poverty is one form of oppression by those that are "superior":
what makes that person "special" is owning the means of production, coercion or 
administration.

We will implement anarchist ideas through democratic organisations of working class 
counter-power (such as trade unions and social movements) which will plan, organise and 
coordinate their activities from the grassroots level.

In this process the idea will be to take control of decision making, to begin running our 
own lives. These are fundamental aspects of anarchism that can be incorporated in the way 
we think, organise and rebel against our economic and political chains.

Moreover we need to build our own culture - a counter-culture challenging the ideas of 
capitalism and the state - through media controlled by community and worker organisations. 
We need our own newspapers, TV channels, and radio stations to spread our own ideas.

The requirements to join an anarchist organisation would be to have theoretical unity 
(everyone sharing the same understanding of the meaning of anarchism), tactical unity (a 
common plan), collective responsibility and lastly an understanding of federalism. By 
pulling in the same direction we would row the boat along a steady course, rather than 
being hustled by the current.

We would be able to work together in complete trust, willingness, transparency and in 
ethical conditions.

Altogether, this will develop into an international scheme, and will be a building block 
of our triumph in this revolution. Capitalism is based on two elements of state control. 
The main problems are physical control and ideological control, hence I mentioned that we 
need our own media and counter culture. These fundamental aims have logical reasons, and 
show the importance of the need for proper understanding when coming to the ideological 
perspectives of anarchism.

Thus anarchists want to build the working class organizations and consciousness from the 
ground level up, with the ideas of Michael Bakunin. This will include organised committees 
to demolish the inferiority complex our people face, with a ground-level understanding of 
the true situation, and a true solution, through information, communication and 
participation in planning, discussing and acting.

We must all be leaders, and conduct and coordinate ourselves in an anarchist way.

Within this struggle there are no leaders who will steal our victory.

There is only us.