I thought this was interesting, it’s an overview of how an anarchist revolution would work without entrenching authoritarianism or vanguard parties.
I thought this was interesting, it’s an overview of how an anarchist revolution would work without entrenching authoritarianism or vanguard parties.
I agree. I think the role of the union in an anarchist society would be to manage the commons through elected stewards and coordinate production between communities in a library economy. In the rare instances where cross-community needs must be handled, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how the Haudenosaunee handled consensus in the confederacy. Unions should have 10% of their unit in the stewardship role, and I see no reason why that can’t translate to what amounts to bargaining committees negotiating tentative agreements for the community. The largest communities must have a consensus before the proposal goes to any involved small communities, with the smallest/target community having a tie-breaking vote (requiring consensus for the vote). After that, the proposal goes for a vote by the communities before being implemented.
Any such idea is possible in principle, but ultimately no configuration will be actual except the one constructed through general participation. Variation may be considerable across locality and over time.
absolutely. It’s why I tend not to think about how communities will self organize. Of course I think about how I want MY community to organize, but it’s not my place to dictate that to other communities. Instead, I focus my thoughts on inter-communal politics in a direct, self-actualizing manner.
There is a curious tension between the prudence of conceiving a coherent plan versus the aspiration to foster a politics of participation.
I am often criticized, when advocating for transformative change, for not proffering a vision. It seems everyone is expecting to be led, as though conditioned to be no more than a follower.
It represents a profound challenge to transform our society away from adherence to fixed ideals and toward expression of individual agency.
It’s part of why organizing unions are difficult. As an organizer, I have to try and help people recognize that only we can save ourselves. I always have to help people awaken to class consciousness and re-enforce the idea that workplace democracy is the only fair way forward. It’s an immense challenge. I have to help people realize that we aren’t deciding things for them, they decide things for themselves. Seeding the idea that we should have control of our lives is a huge part what I do.
I think unfortunately a stage of deconstruction is often needed for each individual, if any space it to open for consciousness to take hold.
thankfully my 2 years of organizing are paying off. He hasn’t come out and said it, but I suspect that my CWA district organizer is also a type of anarchist. Our campaign is deeply rooted in the liberation of marginalized individuals, so people that benefit from white male patriarchy are also identifying with the struggles of marginalized people in our workplace. It’s gotten me addicted to the dynamic of direct action, because seeing that uprising even in a civil manner is amazing.
We absolutely need people to acquire experience for developing resilient organization that can be generalized to other locations, and shared across broader coalitions.