Today's Topics:
1. Germany, fda-ifa: Solidarity with linksunten.indymedia.org
von IT-Kollektiv (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. Australia, Book Reviews From Rebel Worker Paper of the
Anarcho-Syndicalist Network Vol.35 No.2 (229) Aug.-Sept. 2017
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. Greece, verba-volant - Libertarian Trade Union of
Thessaloniki: The tourist seasons of terror (ca, fr, gr, it, pt)
[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. Poland, Amazon Worker Initiative on Recent Rise [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. collective action au: From ‘Anarchist Affinity' to
‘Collective Action' - A brief history and future directions.
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. WSM.ie: Belfast anarchist bookfair 2017 - 9th Sept
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
On the 25th of August the well known, german speaking open posting news website
linksunten.indymedia.org was declared illegal by the german state. On the same day raids
took place in Freiburg to seize computers, money and various technical equipment. The
events were covered by a media disinformation campaign calling linksunten a means of
organization of militant criminals, quoting unlawful posts by anonymous users and
presented weapons found in the raids, which in reality turn out to be a bunch of kitchen
and construction equipment. We feel the need to emphasize our solidarity with the
autonomous media collective linksunten and the indymedia network as a whole as well as all
unrelated projects and individuals harmed by the raids. There is a lot of talking about so
called "spaces without law", where the state presents itself as angel of salvation
spilling their law like medicine in every corner of society and by doing so solving all
its problems. But the problems of society, injustice, repression and violence are central
results of this law. While it is e.g. unlawful to gather in the street without permission,
it is lawful to exploit employees and renters, it is lawful to speculate on food, it is
lawful for the cops to beat down citizens, it is lawful to trade weapons, it is lawful to
fund foreign militias, it is lawful to invade remote territory. This is why we support
spaces without the law of the state in cyberspace and on the streets. Lawless spaces are
seldom spaces of violence and survival of the fittest. They are organized by communities
forming their own norms, perspectives and discurs. Social change will never be achieved
through legal institutions, but by organizing solidary free or open spaces to challenge
national rule.
https://fda-ifa.org/solidarity-with-linksunten-indymedia-org/
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Message: 2
Anarchists, Syndicalists and the First World War by Vadim Damier Published by Black Cat
Press. Reassessing The Transnational Turn: Scales of Analysis in Anarchist and Syndicalist
Studies Edited by Constance Bantman and Bert Altena Published by PM Press 2017. ---- Today
we are threatened as never before by the spectre of the eruption of global war. Stemming
from major pushes by key sections of the US ruling class for war with China and Russia.
Whilst US President Trump is coveting the rare earths and rich mineral wealth of North
Korea on behalf of US based mining companies. Tensions between other nuclear weapons
equipped powers are increasing elsewhere. ---- "Revolutionary Unionism Today" ---- The
state of what passes as "revolutionary unionism" is currently in many former heart lands
such as France, Spain and Italy in a very poor state. In these countries revolutionary
unionism has the look of "micro" allegedly democratic versions of the "corporate-business
unions" which wage little in the way of direct action and work within the framework of
industrial relations systems often relying on lawyers. Whilst attracted to "red and black"
colour schemes and have a nostalgia for long distant mass revolutionary heritages.
In other countries in Europe, and elsewhere there is the problem of weird sects and cults
fascinated with red and black iconography and often manipulated by the notorious
"politicos" heavily influenced by the Stalinist/Trotskyist legacies. Obsessed with
political correctness displays and identity politics. Encouraging students/middle class
elements to play at activoid superheroes/pseudo social workers. Whilst on occasion they do
win microscopic victories for tiny handfuls of workers, this activity has no significant
impact on the class struggle or challenges the tempo of the employer offensive. They also
get drawn into the "smoke and mirrors" performances orchestrated by the union bureaucracy
to sell out workers' struggles. They are also often unwholesomely engrossed in organisng
so called unions which have largish phone booths as union halls or are completely
imaginary. In 3rd World labour movements there maybe new mass syndicalist formations
emerging, but so far it is unclear. (1) Certainly this movement or milieu is incapable of
facilitating the internationally coordinated workers direct action and anti-war activity
which would meet the new challenge of the path toward war of key forces in global
capitalism. Radical measures need to be taken to tackle the problem. In the shape of
moving away
from the sects and allegedly micro democratic versions of the corporate business unions
into cultivating syndicalist catalysts and associated informal militant networks focusing
on key arteries of capitalist economies to facilitate workers large scale direct action
and self organisation and turning the tide against the employer offensive and neo-liberal
push.
A Dozen Diamonds to Turn the Tide
In contrast to the politicos and sect/cult gurus, the catalyst militant would be heavily
drawn into the practicalities of assisting militant workers in the day to day class
struggle. Each key militant could potentially be the editor of 2 to 3 workplace papers. So
even a dozen could produce quite a network of publications and militants drawn into the
work on the job and outside the job. Such media is vital to breaking through atomisation
on the job and facilitating collective action. Internet based media would mainly play a
supplementary role. Particularly given the atomisation caused by looking at your
individual computer. Whilst such militants would encourage scientific processes and
research to assist militant activity on the job. This "yeast" will be a key factor in the
rise of a syndicalist labour movement in the new time of today.
The "Corporate Unions"
Like the bureaucratic/reformist unions which supported the war effort of various warring
states during WWI, today's "corporate" unions such as the affiliates of the ACTU
(Australian Council of Trade Unions) and its counterparts in other Western countries are
certain, to be heavily behind the new war drive. The Corporate unions in Australia like
their overseas counterparts are interwoven with the international capitalist "deep state"
of the CIA, ASIO, MI5, MI6, etc and local industrial relations rackets and social
democratic/Labor Party bureaucracies. Aiding the employer offensive. and supporting the
constant strengthening of the neo-liberal strong state which will play a key role in
repressing workers resistance to the outbreak of war.
Anarchists, Syndicalists and the First World War by Vadim Damier, provides a lot of new
and interesting information on revolutionary tendencies in the WWI period. In the years
prior to the cataclysm, there were mass syndicalist union movements with tens of thousands
and hundreds of thousands of members in many countries which actually did wage direct
action on a major scale. Whilst there also existed a significant revolutionary anarchist
movement based in the working class. In sharp contrast to the largely lower middle class
and student milieu of today. This movement was interwoven with a revolutionary mass media
which in certain countries rivalled the circulation of the bourgeois press. Despite this
media and influence it was unable to counter the patriotic upsurge in many countries.
The author particularly focuses on one of the most important syndicalist union movements
in this era, the French CGT (General Confederation of Labour) with 600,000 to 700,000
members. The author examines how it backed away from launching the General Strike to
oppose the war and became drawn into support of the war effort via the "Sacred Union".
However, he fails to adequately discuss the internal factional situation in the CGT, with
the "revolutionaries" only ever being a minority of the membership but in the early years
exerting wide influence via quirks of the COT constitution.
In the years immediately prior to WWI, the "reformists" which controlled the largest
affiliates downplaying direct action and emphasising the "negotiations" game become
predominant, but maintaining "neutrality" from political parties. (2) In this discussion
he also throws light on the origins of today's "Corporate Unions". Another major reason
for this trajectory was the massive patriotic fervour associated with the outbreak of war
affecting France, the other Entente powers and the "Central Powers". The author ably
outlines how the outbreak of war and the associated jingoist upsurge together with state
repression made anti-war organising very difficult and caused significant splits in the
syndicalist/anarchist movements. It certainly emphasises the profound impact the bourgeois
media and cultural/educational set up had in those days, despite a vibrant anti-capitalist
workers mass media existing in many countries. The author goes on to outline how massive
new grass roots workers' movements mushroomed based on shop steward committees in the UK
and Germany later during the conflict due to grievances over conscription and deskilling,
and opposition to the union hierarchy's collaboration in the war effort. The author goes
on to sketch various generally unsuccessful attempts by resurgent syndicalist and
anarchist groups to conduct general strikes and uprisings against the war.
The pamphlet concludes by looking at how alliances developed between Leftwing Anti-War
Socialists and Syndicalists, particularly associated with the Zimmerwald Anti-War
conference and movement which led to the emergence of the Moscow dominated Communist
Parties in the post WWI period. Whilst significant nationalist/patriotic splits erupted in
syndicalist and anarchist movements, encouraging syndicalist movements to develop more
explicit revolutionary platforms.
Reassessing The Transnational Turn Edited by Constance Bantman and Bert Altena.
This book particularly focuses on the contradictory politics of various syndicalist and
anarchist movements and key militants up until the late 1930's and the international
networks linking them. Whilst supporting internationalism and the class war in early
phases, often sliding into support for nationalism and racialist identity politics
informed conceptions in different phases.
One of the most interesting and disturbing essays in the volume is "Mother Spain, We Love
You!" Nationalism and Racism in Anarchist Literature during the Spanish Civil (1936-1939)
by Martin Baxmeyer. He focuses on the tremendous shift toward nationalism in anarchist
literature and racial identity politics during the Civil War. Despite in the pre war
years, anarchist-nationalism being a very tiny
current. The author refers to the cases of Progres Autonimista which tried to link
anarchism to nationalism (Catalan) to oppose the Central Spanish State and Savador Canovas
Cervantes another anarchist nationalist who became a staff member of the CNT( National
Confederation of Labour - anarcho-syndicalist union movement) mass circulation
"Solidaridad Obrera" daily newspaper during the Civil War . The author sees this
nationalist orientation associated with the anarchist/syndicalist movement e.g. the CNT
and the FAI (Iberian Anarchist Federation) in Spain being drawn into defence of the
Republican/Popular Front State and war effort. Moving sharply away from its traditional
commitment to the revolutionary project and class war. He fails to examine how this
trajectory was connected with the failure of the CNT to develop a revolutionary political
strategy based on a workers councils state in the years immediately preceding the Civil
War. Stemming from it being swept up in an insurrectionary cycle encouraged by ultra
radical militants associated with the Barcelona based FAI and suffering massive state
repression. Consequently the CNT/FAI were drawn into collaboration with the Republican
State. Whilst he sees a possible major contributory factor requiring further research
being the impact of the curriculum of the rationalist/anarchist school movement in
encouraging nationalist conceptions. (3)
Other essays of less interest are "A Networking Historian": The Transnational, the
National, and the Patriotic in and around Max Nettlau's Geschlchte der Anarchie by Bert
Altena. The authors examines the contradictions which developed in Nettlau's views. Whilst
he supported cosmopolitan anarchism and collaborated with a range of militants on the
international scale with his historical research. In his later years he moved toward
supporting a Greater Germany.
Another interesting essay is "Dangerous Liaisons of Belle Epoque": Anarchist
Internationalism and Nationalism in the
French Anarchist Movement (1880-1914) by Constance Bantman. It discusses a small group of
prominent militants such as Louise Michel, Jean Grave, Emile Pouget and Charles Molarto.
Probably the most important being Pouget who as a journalist and editor played an
important role in encouraging many anarchists to move toward promoting syndicalism in the
French labour movement. All these militants were drawn into positions which contradicted
basic anarchist principles of internationalism. The outbreak of WWI and the associated
upsurge in patriotic fervour encouraged by the bourgeois media particularly played an
important role in the disorientation of Jean Grave and Charles Molarto resulting in their
support of the Entente powers.
Another key figure in international anarchism in the years leading up to WWI and onwards
discussed in the volume is Peter Kropotkin in "Kropotkin's Theory of the State": A
Transnational Approach by Ruth Kinna. Like the above two militants he was also drawn into
support of the Entente Powers during WWI. Kinna examines Kropotkin's analysis of the State
particularly focusing on its monopolising role and link to capitalist patterns of
ownership. The instability of the international state system he saw as encouraging a
popular anti-state movement, however in the years after the outbreak of WWI, a renewed
nationalist upsurge occurred. His support for the Entente powers the author argues
particularly stemmed from his opposition to Prussian militarism.
In conclusion, the pamphlet and book under review certainly show the great problems and
opportunities for, organising presented by the outbreak of major war. Particularly the
difficulty in combating the impact of the capitalist media/cultural and educational set
ups in encouraging patriotic upsurges, spreading disorientation amongst key militants and
departure from the class struggle orientation. Whilst the hazards of waves of state
repression during war time are highlighted. These publications certainly emphasise the
importance of building an internationally coordinated mass syndicalist union movement to
oppose the current war drive and fight international capitalism generally.
Mark McGuire
Notes
1. See "Revolutionary Syndicalism in France: The Direct Action of Its Time" by F.F.Ridley
2. See Review of "Unruly Equality: US Anarchism in the 20th Century" by Andrew Cornell
published by University of California Press in RW Vol.34 No.2 (226) July - Aug. 2016 in
web site www.rebelworker.org
3. See "Red Barcelona" Edited by Angel Smith and "The Agony of Modernisation" by Benjamin
Martin
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Message: 3
In a very hot summer in Greece of the crisis , some have spent many months on an island,
not on holiday but trying to survive. It seems that in this environment (environment) of
total dissolution, with youth unemployment reaching 50%, the tourism sector can absorb a
small part of the potential of workers, especially young people. Experts have been saying
for years: The future of Greece is obligatory for tourism. ---- But what is hidden behind
this showcase that we see as "customers"? How sincere is this smile with which we welcome
the workers in the tourist business in which they work? And, finally, how much does it
cost the bosses the dignity and the need to survive of the workers? ---- Many workers,
especially young people, do not make vacations in summer. They try to save money so they
can survive in winter. They work and suffer the violation of their rights by the
employers. The latter often exploit workers who leave (to tourist sites) to work in
season, thinking that the workers who work for them are part of their property and have no
right to privacy.
The most frequent exploitation phenomenon in several tourist areas is that the employer
has declared the worker to be a full-time worker, ie eight hours a day, five days a week,
for the worker to be forced to work nine or ten hours at day, seven days a week, and that
(obviously) never covers these overtime.
Also, bosses often take a long time to pay workers (if they get paid all salaries at the
end of the season). This means that the worker has to survive at his own expense during
his time on the island. Also, it is assumed that the money collected is almost always
"black", while the working day is constantly changing according to the employer's need,
without being consulted the worker.
Very often the demands of the bosses are exorbitant, as many of them forbid workers to sit
down and take some rest during the day. Some want to control the clothes or the dress of
the workers, as they require staff not to have nails painted, not wear earrings, not have
tattoos and other accessories that can make them lose their valuable clientele.
Some bosses get to even more extreme points. Wanting to have absolute control over the
life of the workers, they have the key to the lavatory of the business, since they
maintain that under the pretext of their physiological need the workers abstain from work
more due time. Finally, in some cases employers do not hesitate to cut workers' wages,
either by way of example, or on the pretext of non-compliance with business "rules" (for
example, by arguing that workers have been chatting for a long time, or that they were
seated, if this is forbidden, e.tc.).
The only advantage that usually have those who go to a tourist place to work during the
season is that the patron provides them with lodging and food. However, this is not
entirely positive, since the accommodation of the workers is of poor quality and does not
even have the basic amenities. Very often cases are reported in which the rooms do not
even have windows, are very small and can be used exclusively for sleeping.
In order to be able to respond to these arbitrariness of the employers, we, the workers,
regardless of age, sex and nationality, must organize in a combative way in our unions,
sharpen class antagonism and claim our rights, until we recover what belongs to us, being
aware that societies that are driven to destitution tend to rebel.
Libertarian Trade Union of Thessaloniki
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Message: 4
At the end of August, all-hands meetings were held on the results of the payroll review.
We were informed that the base rate of a serial Amazon employee would increase by $ 1 from
September - it would be $ 16. There was also an increase in traineeships: employees with a
one-year internship will receive 17 PLN and two years 18 zl. These increases, while
worsening employment stability and rising standards, are not satisfactory to the crew.
---- Amazon introduced one-year employment contracts this year instead of stable contracts
for an indefinite period of time. It is based on his "long-term policy of being an
attractive employer" - so at least the company's representatives on the company billboard
say so. This means that most of the employees, especially the employees and employees of
the Adecco and Randstad employment agencies, have little chance of getting traineeship or
some non-payroll allowances. The training is paid for by Amazon only after one year of
placement, while the agency can work half a year, then 3 months for a probationary period
and only then you will receive an annual contract. Already, there are very few of the
lowest level employees with a two- or three-year degree.
Recent standards have also increased (minimum targets). In the perspective of the year,
the growth in some processes was up to 40% (LP-receive, pack multi, returns) and 20-30%
(pack singles, receive, gifts). The increases do not offset the increase in workload.
In May 2017, the Employee Initiative union conducted a staff survey on min. Expected
height increase. The letter with the postulate of a 30% increase and other allowances was
submitted to the employer. Amazon has not responded satisfactorily to these expectations
and has ignored trade union organizations in the official process of setting hikes,
showing that it does not count on the crew representation but only market research. With
the guts of this research employees are not able to get acquainted - we understand,
however, that according to this logic our rates are only to be slightly higher than in the
statistical competition. We know, however, magazines in the vicinity of Poznan or Wroclaw,
where at the entrance the pay is 18-20 zl per hour.
As representatives of the crew, we do not agree that this procedure, completely detached
from the profits we make, determines the amount of our earnings. We will strive for
further wage growth. As working primarily in magazines in Wroclaw, but with the same
employer, the trade union "Solidarnosc" On September 1, 2017, he announced that if Amazon
did not raise the salary by 30%, the union would enter into a collective dispute. The
Worker Initiative, in agreement with this request, promised that it would support any
initiative aimed at improving working conditions.
Our trade union commission, which has been in dispute with the Amazon since June 2015, has
gone through wage negotiation and mediation, yet realizes that the closed doors with the
Amazon corporation are not enough to force the giant to make concessions. The rise in
wages is compounded by pressure from the union and the workers and the labor market - if
it is bigger, we will be able to improve the situation for all of us.
That is why, together with Amazone employees and employees from other European countries,
we announce on November 24, 2017 the "International Day of Action" under the slogan "Make
Amazon Pay", or "Amazon has to pay." On this day, which is Black Friday - mass sale day -
was announced min. block the distribution center of Amazona in Berlin (more: https:
//blackfriday.blackblogs.. We will inform you soon about our plans.
OZZ Amazon Worker Initiative
http://ozzip.pl/teksty/informacje/ogolnopolskie/item/2296-inicjatywa-pracownicza-amazon-o-ostatnich-podwyzkach
------------------------------
Message: 5
Over the past year, the members of Anarchist Affinity have discussed changing our name so
that we can adopt a label that better reflects our understanding of anarchist communist
politics and vision for social change. To this end, we've decided to call ourselves
‘Collective Action.' ---- Anarchist Affinity emerged, in a very basic form, from a reading
group in 2012. Early members of the group came together out of a sense of shared
frustration with the limitations of anarchist politics in Melbourne. Anarchists can be
inward looking - it's easy to get caught up in the internal issues and culture of the
anarchist scene, and miss out on engaging with broader social movements. We often lack the
organisation and political confidence needed to make anarchist ideas relevant to
contemporary political and social struggles.
Anarchist politics have a lot to offer. Our ideas about direct action, the dangers of
reformism and electoralism, and the importance of bottom-up decision making in mass
movements have the potential to help us build stronger, more resilient social movements.
But for anarchist ideas to have any impact, we must put them into practice.
And to do this, we need political structures and methods of organising which will allow us
to think and act collectively. As it is, too often we end up reinventing the wheel. Our
political memory is very short, there is little sense of the history of previous
struggles, and few opportunities to learn from past mistakes. We lack a clear vision of
what winning would look like. The skills we need to do necessary long-term organising
often aren't present or need to be shared more thoroughly. In Melbourne, most people get
involved in anarchist politics through friendship networks and use these networks as the
basis for their organising. But we need to be able to reach those who are already within
the ‘left' and work together with people who might not be our friends otherwise.
These are some of the challenges we face as anarchists in Melbourne in 2017. The name
Anarchist Affinity is an odd one given our politics and the common associations attached
to the word ‘affinity' among anarchists. The term ‘affinity group' is most commonly
associated with a more temporary grouping, brought together for a specific goal or action,
and usually characterised by a closed membership, consensus decision making, and decidedly
less formal structures. Our aim has long been to build something other than an ‘affinity
group' as it is commonly understood. We aim to build a political organisation with shared
politics and strategy, organised in local groups in various workplaces, universities,
neighbourhoods, and wider campaigns. We want to be part of an outward facing group that
can clearly communicate and articulate its politics to anyone who is interested, whether
we meet them at work, in the community or at a rally.
We need to develop anarchist and other left-wing political collectives to help us engage
in political struggles, reflect, learn and grow as activists. The particular
organisational form that a group adopts is a lot less important than a commitment to
organise and act collectively. Our ideas about anarchist organisation have been influenced
by the political tendencies known as platformism and specifism. Platformists and
specifists argue for the importance of specifically anarchist organisations as a means of
linking together broad social movements. For our purposes, platformism is not an
all-encompassing political theory which ought to be embraced uncritically. It is a set of
principles about how we, as anarchists, can play a useful role in increasing the capacity
of ordinary people to struggle for the issues which matter to them (and us!).
To us, the platformist idea of ‘collective responsibility' means being accountable to each
other, ‘theoretical unity' means working to arrive at a shared political understanding,
‘tactical unity' is a commitment to plan and act together, with the aim of testing and
refining our political ideas in practice, and anarchist ‘federalism' offers a method by
which we can implement a shared strategy without resorting to the hierarchies inherent in
so-called ‘democratic centralism.' The idea of collective responsibility is particularly
important to us. We live in a society where the isolated, ‘independent,' individual is
held up as the centre of everything.
Many of us have little experience of working with others in a context not structured by
oppression and exploitation. Our workplaces, families, and friendship groupings don't
provide us with a good model for political organisation and action. Part of the task that
faces us as anarchists is to create forms of organisation which allow us to relate to one
another in new ways. This requires work - we can't expect to unlearn the limited and
oppressive habits of thought we have accumulated through a life time of social
conditioning in an instant or by ourselves. Part of collective responsibility means
committing to learning about forms of oppression, like sexism, racism and prejudice
against LGBTIQ+ people, and challenging our role in maintaining them. This involves
understanding how different forms of oppression support one another and how they
reinforce, but are not reducible to, capitalism and the state. Collective responsibility
also means that we take responsibility for the political development of the people we work
with. This means being prepared to be critical of the actions of others and to help each
other respond to any criticisms constructively. We are all works-in- progress, and we need
each other's support to become better anarchists.
Being part of an organisation is one important way we can help build a culture of
solidarity on the left. We want to create political spaces where we help each other out as
much as we can, and we get help if we need it. Our actions should be oriented around
improving our everyday lives, working in the here-and- now with an eye to the future.
We want to be unified not just by an abstract set of ideals, but a day to day commitment
to increasing our capacity to live and fight back against the blows of capitalism and
other oppressive systems. To that end we wish to take part in and build projects that
substantively address peoples' real needs, showing the efficacy of anarchist politics in
the process. We need a clear vision so that we aren't just stuck trying to survive, but
are able change the world so that we can live in it.
Collective Action is a new name, not a new grouping. The politics, aims, positions, and
membership of the grouping remain the same. We hope this name better reflects our
understanding of anarchist politics, our position on the question of organisation, and
what we see as the task confronting revolutionary anarchists and others who dream of the
overthrow of all systems of oppression and exploitation.
Anarchists must develop the capacity to advance our ideas whilst simultaneously
engaging with and advancing wider struggles. Political forces which do not organise will
inevitably remain marginal. We want to work with people who share our ideas and outlook,
and we want you to join us. The collective capacity of an organised group is greater than
the sum of the individual efforts of disconnected activists. At the same time, there are a
range of different views on how to do politics amongst Australian anarchists.
It is more important that anarchists organise in general, than that anarchists join this
or that grouping in particular. For this reason, we encourage all anarchists to organise
however they see fit. Whether you join our group or seek to build something different,
let's communicate, collaborate and cooperate wherever possible.
The struggle before us is ultimately one of the political status quo or survival. Will we
let the hierarchies of our present social, economic and political order continue until the
planet is destroyed, or is another world possible? If we are committed anarchists, and if
we believe that our ideas offer some possibility for real change in the face of these
challenges, then let's work together to learn from the lessons of past struggles and fight
for a better future.
The members of Collective Action, August 2017.
http://www.collectiveaction.org.au/2017/08/02/from-anarchist-affinity-to-collective-action-a-brief-history-and-future-directions/
------------------------------
Message: 6
The WSM will be at this years Belfast Anarchist Bookfair at the Catalyst Art Gallery, come
along to our stall - one of over a dozen, see below - to pick up some good anarchist reads
from Ireland and to say hi. ---- 10th Belfast Anarchist Bookfair ---- Catalyst Arts ----
Ground Floor, 5 College Court, BT1 6BS Belfast ---- 9th September 2017 1pm - 7pm ----
Talks, workshops, discussions: ---- 1.00pm Abolish Prisons; ---- "Mass incarceration is
not a solution to unemployment, nor is it a solution to the vast array of social problems
that are hidden away in a rapidly growing network of prisons and jails. However, the great
majority of people have been tricked into believing in the efficacy of imprisonment, even
though the historical record clearly demonstrates that prisons do not work." Angela Davis.
Panel with Joe Conlon, Joanne Donnelly (JFC2), Sean Dubh (Derry Anarchists, WSM, IWW) and
Manchester No Prisons.
2.15pm The Worms Who Saved the World;
Kevin Doyle on his childrens book with a radical message. Based on the very real campaign
for public access to the Old Head of Kinsale.
3.30pm The Spectres of Loyalty: History, Memory and the Moral Economy of Loyalty;
Dr. Christopher J. V. Loughlin Did the Ulster Unionist Party create a ‘monolithic regime'
in Northern Ireland? Were the ‘linen lords' of Belfast bourgeois or aristocratic? And what
impact did class politics, labour and antisectarianism have on the regime constructed in
the province? Using the manuscript to be published by Palgrave MacMillan later in the
year, this paper will discuss the ‘moral economy of loyalty' in Northern Ireland, 1921-72,
the history of loyalty on the islands and the contemporary spectres of loyalty.
4.45pm The Life and Ideas of Michael Bakunin;
Tony Zurbrugg Bakunin was a contemporary of Marx, propagator of Anarchist Socialism and an
active promoter of the International Workers' Association (IWA). Ultimately clashing with
Marx and the authoritarian wing of the international Bakunin argued for International
workers' solidarity, change involving rural and industrial workers, and a Libertarian or
Anarchist form of Socialism with federated accountable democratic organisations
responsible to the grassroots. The editor of the recently published "Bakunin: Selected
Texts 1868-1875" talks about the life and ideas of often, unjustly, maligned Mikhail Bakunin.
6.00pm Syndicalism in Ireland;
Capitalism is bringing the world to the brink of extinction while goverments everywhere,
even "left" governments, prove time and again that they are the lackies of the bosses. Our
panel looks at the anti- and non parliamentary alternative offered by syndicalism. Panel
with Jason Brannigan (Organise!), Dek Keenan (IWW) and IWU.
Stalls:
AK Press
artbiaoife
Barricade Distribution
Empty Cages Collective
Haymarket Books
Just Books
Larne House Visitors Group
Live Deliciously - scrummy vegan deliciousness
Organise!
Pluto Press
Rally for Choice
Workers Solidarity Movement
IWW
LPut it in you calendar and let us know you are coming via our FB event
https://www.wsm.ie/c/belfast-anarchist-bookfair-2017sept
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» Anarchic update news all over the world - 8.09.2017