Anarchic update news all over the world - 23.07.2017

Today's Topics:

   
1.  Vrije Bond Secretariaat:political summer days in Appelscha
      2018 (nl) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  England, anarchist communist group ACG: Leicester meeting on
      the NHS 24/07/18 (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  Russia, avtonom Raising the retirement age: before the
      consideration of the bill in the first reading near the State
      Duma will meet with deputies [machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
4.  France, Alternative Libertaire AL #285 - Movie: "The Sun
      Lid" (fr, it, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
5.  [Spain] The CGT continues demanding justice for the victims
      and reprisals of the Civil War to 80 years of the fascist
      military uprising By ANA (ca, it, pt) [machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
6.  Anarchist Federation of Rio de Janeiro: [NOTE OF SOLIDARITY
      TO THE 23 MILITANTS PERSECUTED BY THE STATE] (pt) [machine
      translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
  
 7.  Collective Rupture (RC): "For autonomy and community
      harmony, political parties never again!": MOVEDITE statement
      against the false electoral illusion (ca) [machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
8.  US, black rose fed: SOCIALISM WILL BE FREE, OR IT WILL NOT
      BE AT ALL! - An Intro to Libertarian Socialism By Arthur Pye
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


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Message: 1




To get through the summer and still be engaged, a weekend has been organized in Appelscha 
from Friday 10.08 to Sunday 12.08. ---- The weekend, political summer days of the Free 
League, starts on Friday afternoon -10.08- with a walk-in. Le Sabot will provide a vegan 
meal. In the evening, a film (Ken Loach) will be screened in the great hall. ---- The 
Saturday -11.08- will start with breakfast, after which there will be a workshop on the 
current migration policy and the resistance against it (with the cooperation of Stop The 
War On Migrants, AAGU and the No Border Network). A possible topic that can be discussed 
is the organization of a No Border Camp (international) in 2019 in the Netherlands / 
Belgium. ---- In the afternoon there will be a book review (by the people of Paper Jam). 
There is a series of book presentations through the country, this concerns the book 
Anarchism "an introduction". The book published by Tommy Ryan (in collaboration with the 
Vrije Bond) is an analysis of anarchism in the past and present and discusses strategies 
for the future.

Lunch and dinner by le Sabot everything organic and vegan.

In the evening a film is on the program (this in collaboration with
the people of Spoorloos from Emmen). We intend to show a part
of No Gods No Masters. No Gods, No Masters. This is a comprehensive,
sympathetic introductory history of a century of anarchist thought and
practice that sought "not to seize political power, but to utterly
destroy it," featuring historians and essayists, archival footage, and
commentary.

After that, singing, dancing and music.

After breakfast, on Sunday morning, we will continue with the explanation
about Code Red's action conspiracy. In the penultimate Outside Order
there was an article with criticism of the Code Red organization and there
was a follow-up discussion during the PL in Appelscha.
Recently, Code Rood has taken a new decision on this
matter and they will explain about this. It is important enough for anarchists
to determine whether they agree with the upcoming Red Action Program
in August in Groningen.

In the afternoon we will clean up the things and people will
leave again . The program is certainly not full of planned content
themes. For example, we are still trying to talk about the educational strikes
and the opposition to the abolition of dividend taxes. Sign
up if you want to organize something about this. There is also room
enough to bring in and challenge other inspiring matters.
There will be stands (distro) from Paper Jam and the Free Bond and of
course there will also be second hand books ready to be taken.

A contribution will be requested (on a donation basis) for the
food / drinks and the stay. If you want to come then it is useful
to report via mikkie@antenna.nl . The overnight stay will be done in
the camping mode in your own sleeping bag and tent! For the route you
can look at http://www.pinksterlanddagen.org/

If you do not have a tent, please let us know. For more information
about the campground https://www.anarchistischecamping.nl/

So plenty to do in Appelscha during the summer days in August.
With solidarity greetings

Free Bond

https://www.vrijebond.org/politieke-zomer-dagen-in-appelscha-2018/

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Message: 2





Libertarian socialist discussion on Tuesday the 24th July, 7:30pm at the Regent Club 102 
Regent Road, Leicester LE1 7DO.
This months meeting is on the NHS.

The local ACG are meeting to discuss the NHS, why we should defend it and why we must move 
beyond it. This is an open meeting for everyone who is interested in discussing the 
limitations of a nationalised health service and how political resistance can move beyond 
simply defending a  flawed system.

https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2018/07/18/leicester-meeting-on-the-nhs-24-07-18/




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Message: 3





On the opening day of the World Cup, the government announced plans to raise the 
retirement age. From 55 years to 63 - in women, and from 60 to 65 - in men. Up to this age 
in Russia 43% of men and almost 20% of women do not live. Everyone who is lucky enough to 
live will receive from the state almost one million rubles less pension payments. ---- It 
is obvious that older people have the right to support from the community. In Russia at 
the moment it is carried out ugly. It is necessary to change the system in the direction 
of raising pensions: not by a thousand rubles, as the government suggests. ---- The 
authorities are talking about the economic and demographic reasons for their reform. Given 
the level of social inequality in the country, these arguments are untenable. When the 
economy ceases to be focused on the interests of a handful of oligarchs and officials, 
there will be money for good pensions and good salaries.

Protests against pension reform have already taken place in many cities of Russia. In 
Moscow, the authorities refused to agree on a mass demonstration and rally in the center 
of Moscow, announced on July 18 by a coalition of democratic trade unions, a number of 
political parties and public associations. The mass picketing of the State Duma of the 
Russian Federation on the first day of the consideration of the draft law on pension 
reform (July 19) was also not agreed upon by the Moscow authorities.

Nevertheless, on July 19 from 9:00 to 12:00 there will be a meeting of the State Duma 
deputies from the Communist Party faction with voters to raise the retirement age. The 
meeting will take place on the inner yard near the house 1 along Okhotny Ryad (near the 
main building of the State Duma of the Russian Federation).

Come protest against the predatory bill!

Meetings in social networks:
- in contact with https://vk.com/event168588908
- in facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/2110274469258580/

https://avtonom.org/news/povyshenie-pensionnogo-vozrasta-pered-rassmotreniem-zakonoproekta-v-pervom-chtenii-okolo

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Message: 4





It has been five years since the Fukushima disaster occurred, and already forgotten. 
Remote anxieties, distant headlines. In the news now, everything is fine, the monster has 
fallen asleep again. Everything is under control after Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, 
"cocottes minutes of death", nuclear power plants are still there and the steam is running 
at full speed. ---- Political choices and decisions are suicidal for humanity. According 
to medical authorities in Japan, half of the 18-year-olds (300,000) monitored in the 
Fukushima region have either thyroid cancer, nodules, or irreversible genetic changes. The 
same observation has already been made by the association Children of Chernobyl, because 
childhood cancers of the thyroid are particularly worrying. Not to mention the rest of the 
population, and all that makes "life". It is a crime to perpetuate the implementation of 
the principle of atomic destruction.

So, yes, we have to go see this brave film. Yes, you have to go see The Sun Lid , a 
fiction film that traces the decisions of the Japanese power of the time, the fight 
against the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEP-CO). At a time when the French government is 
trying to sell EPRs, at least in Japan, a big film production poses the nuclear problem in 
Japan as elsewhere and the opposite of the obscurantism, in France, of CEA et al. Go see 
it, it puts oxygen in the heads.

Claude (Friend of AL)

Futoshi Sato, The Sun Lid , 2016, 2:12

http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Lire-Le-Couvercle-du-soleil-7876

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Message: 5






It was not an "exemplary transition" but a "shameful deal" to contain those seeking 
justice after decades of repression and death ---- The General Confederation of Labor 
(CGT) has issued a statement calling for remembrance, justice and reparation for the 
thousands of victims of the Civil War and the fascist terror imposed by Francisco Franco 
for 40 years. ---- The anarcho-syndicalist organization stressed that despite the passage 
of the years, the justice for these people and their families still does not appear. In 
this sense, the CGT recalled several cases of state impunity, such as the procedure 
against the anarchists Granado and Delgado, murdered by a vile garrote in August 1963. His 
death sentence was signed by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, who would go down in history as 
"father of democracy. " Granado and Delgado were tortured and accused of installing 
explosives in state offices in Madrid, but these allegations have never been proven.

The "incidents" in the Sanfermines of the year 78, in Pamplona (Navarra), are another 
example of the fascist repression that was imposed in the first years of that exemplary 
transition. The regime police assassinated Germán Rodríguez, a member of the Basque 
section of the Revolutionary Communist League (LKI) with a frontal shot, at that time only 
23 years old. The police, in order to "shoot with all their energy and the strongest they 
could without killing", also injured more than 150 people.

The CGT, on the other hand, recalls the course of many families of losers and losers who 
have to seek justice through their own means because the state has abandoned their fate. 
Zapatero's Law of Historical Memory, according to the CGT, was only an "image wash" but 
never had the true intention of recovering from the ditches so many people who gave their 
lives in the struggle for a fairer world.

The General Confederation of Labor (CGT), on the other hand, also criticized the fact that 
the remains of fascist assassins, such as General Quipo de Llano, better known as the 
"butcher of Seville", were not exhumed and moved to private places, and that sowed terror 
throughout Andalusia. It was Gonzalo Queipo de Llano who ordered a whole column of miners 
from Huelva, mostly anarchists, to be executed. Today, its remains, remain buried in the 
basilica of the Esperanza Macarena of Seville, under the protection of the Catholic Church 
and its religious acolytes, the great beneficiaries of the Franco regime.

The CGT denounces that it is not enough to change names in the streets and squares of the 
Spanish state or the elimination of the Francoist symbology of towns and cities, used 
politically in this "democracy." The CGT points out that it is necessary and urgent to 
demand an end to Franco's impunity, both the old and the new regime, and declares that, as 
a libertarian organization, it will continue to fight for the memory of those who gave 
their lives for a more just world to continue live, year after year, in our society.

Press Office of the CGT Confederal Committee

Source: 
http://www.cgt.info/toledo/noticias/cgt-contin%C3%BA-exigiendo-justicia-para-las-v%C3%ADctimas-and-represaliadas-de-la-carra-civil- 
80

Translation> Sol de Abril

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Message: 6





Companions and companions, we publicly stand in solidarity with the 23 militants before 
they are being accused and persecuted by the Police State. They are being charged with a 
series of crimes that we know they did not commit. ---- Are being sentenced and sentenced 
to 7 years in prison in a closed regime, why? ---- For having the initiative to 
participate in the series of acts and activities that intensified during the Days of June 
2013 and extended to the acts against the World Cup in 2014, including occupations such as 
the Cabral, which at that time denounced the crimes of the then governor and today are 
proven, Manifestations that were driven by the poor and working youth. ---- State 
terrorism shows its cruelest face by attempting to imprison female comrades and comrades 
who organize themselves socially and fight for a new world.

We can not allow our comrades to be condemned without seeking together organizations, 
movements and collectives, to organize a campaign in solidarity, supporting in what is 
possible and necessary the struggle for the freedom of these and these comrades.

We can not have illusions with the racist, bourgeois judiciary and aligned with the most 
reactionary sectors of the political elites. The same judiciary that criminalizes fighters 
and social fighters is what condemned 5 years ago for possession of Pinho Sol Rafael 
Braga, chosen as a scapegoat at the time for being Black and poor.

Against the criminalization of protest!
For the freedom of the 23 companions!
Surround oneself with solidarity and those who struggle!
No one is left behind!

# Euapoioos23

FARJ / CAB

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Message: 7





"Those who do not believe and expect nothing from this indigenous race will be surprised, 
because there is in this race a new consciousness, a proper vision and a proper definition 
of human values towards the inevitable progress of development " ---- Nigtipipi Ailigandi, 
indigenous Kuna woman ---- To the Mexican and Mexican brothers and sisters ---- To the 13 
municipalities of MODEVITE ---- To the Social Organizations of Chiapas and all of Mexico, 
---- To all the Media, ---- To all those who see hope drawing on the horizon ---- From the 
search for autonomy for the indigenous peoples of Chiapas, from our right to demand the 
fulfillment of campaign promises, from our duty as citizens, from our poverty that is our 
strength to fight, we do not lower our arms in the search for a better present and future.

In the origins of our movement we speak out against the partisan system and its form of 
division in our communities; We make a pilgrimage on behalf of the community governments 
as a different way and in the way of our peoples to elect their municipal representatives, 
we support the legal process that Chilón and Sitalá started before the IEPC to assert 
their right to self-determination. All this as an alternative to the game system.

The elections were held in the known way, but it is our duty and part of our struggle to 
say that HERE DOES NOT END.

Removing political parties from our municipalities and their way of operating is a job 
that takes time, their way of manipulating our poverty and the need for hope, become their 
easiest way to use our communities. But if they think that with this we will forget the 
outstanding debts they have with us and us, it will not be like that.

How can we forget the millions of pesos owed to us in terms of health, maintenance of 
roads, in the abandonment of the education system? How are we going to stop thinking about 
the way in which they take advantage of our natural resources? If you think that our fight 
was left alone until the first of July, you are very wrong.

The construction of community harmony, the main objective of our entire organization, 
requires our collective work, reflection on our personal and community needs. Therefore, 
during the day of July 1, each community was organized within the 13 municipalities of 
MODEVITE to celebrate the new stage of our dream on the road to "a different way of 
governing" and confirm that we want to do it without political parties.

As we know who will govern in our municipalities and in our State, it will also be our 
struggle to demand better mandates in our municipalities because the response to the 
problems of our communities does not end with the arrival of a new municipal president. 
Let's keep organizing, compañeras y compañeros, only together we will be able to confront 
this whole system against which we fight and resist.

Let us make our organization stronger, it is time to stop being satisfied with the "social 
supports" or with the promises of the new rulers, we and we have strength and heart to 
create a better present and future.

As MODEVITE we did not sell to any party because our dreams do not fit in the polls.

  FOR LIFE FOR PEACE POLITICAL PARTIES NEVER AGAIN!

MODEVITE in its 13 fronts:

Salto de Agua, Palenque, Yajalón, Sitalá, Chilón, Altamirano, Ocosingo, Oxchuc, Tenejapa, 
Cancúc, Huixtán, Chicomuselo and Ejido Candelaria of SCLC.

http://rupturacolectiva.com/por-la-autonomia-y-la-armonia-comunitaria-partidos-politicos-nunca-mas-comunicado-del-movedite-ante-la-falsa-ilusion-electoral/

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Message: 8





Click for pdf pamphlet 
http://blackrosefed.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Libertarian_Socialism_Intro_Compressed_v3.0.pdf 
---- Introduction ---- Socialism is officially a buzzword again. According to a recent 
poll, 44% of U.S. millennials "prefer socialism to capitalism", and even mainstream 
Democrats are starting to call themselves socialist. As one headline put it: "Socialism is 
so hot right now." Used to describe everything from Bernie Sanders to Stalinist Russia, 
there are few words which inspire such varied and contradictory meanings. Like most 
buzzwords, socialism's true meaning has been obscured by its popularity. ---- But what 
does socialism actually mean, and what does it look like in practice? ---- At its core, 
socialism is the idea that resources and institutions in society should be managed 
democratically by the community as a whole. Whereas under capitalism, economic and 
political power is concentrated in the hands of the rich, socialists fight for a society 
in which the means of producing and distributing goods and services are held in common 
through the democratic self-management of workplaces and communities.

This article will make the case that libertarian socialism represents the most thorough 
and consistent embodiment of core socialist principles. In essence, libertarian socialism 
is a politics of freedom and collective self-determination, realized through a 
revolutionary struggle against capitalism, state power and social oppression in all its forms.

Part 1: Freedom from Capitalism
Socialism vs Capitalism
In order to survive under capitalism, those without property are forced to rent themselves 
to property owners and be exploited for profit. This relationship between "haves" and 
"have-nots" forms the very basis of capitalist society - class exploitation. In such a 
society, power flows directly from one's relationship to property, i.e. one's class 
position. While a handful of people own and control society's institutions, the vast 
majority of people (the working class) are rendered powerless as individuals. As the 
revolutionary socialist and disability rights activist Helen Keller put it: "The few own 
the many because they possess the means of livelihood of all."

Virtually nothing happens in a capitalist society unless it makes a rich person even 
richer. By its very nature, capitalism not only feeds on class exploitation and wealth 
inequality, but it also requires endless growth and expansion of the economy, resulting in 
wars, colonialism, and ecological destruction. Corporations will stop at virtually nothing 
in their pathological pursuit of profit.

Socialists advocate a "class struggle" in which those of us rendered powerless under 
capitalism organize to shift the balance of power until society's institutions are brought 
under democratic control and class-as-such has been abolished. In a socialist society 
private profit would be eliminated. Instead, the purpose of political and economic 
institutions would be to sustainably meet the needs and desires of the people through the 
democratic self-management of workplaces and communities. As the socialist maxim goes: 
"From each according to their ability, to each according to their need."

Eliminating the need for a propertied employing class and a propertyless employed (or 
unemployed) class, workplaces would instead be cooperatively managed by the workers 
themselves, replacing private business. Public policy would be planned through democratic 
councils of self-administration, federated from the neighborhood outward, replacing the 
centralized state. It's in this original spirit that we define socialism as a 
revolutionary movement for a classless society.

Socialism vs Social Democracy
This vision stands in clear contrast not only to so-called "socialist" dictatorships in 
Russia or China, but also to capitalist countries such as Sweden or Norway, often 
described as "socialist." These societies (also called "social democracies") have the same 
power dynamics as any other capitalist state. Whereas socialism calls for cooperative 
ownership and direct democracy, "social democracies" maintain concentrated economic power 
in the hands of the rich, with a powerful central government regulating social programs, 
thus leaving the class structure of society unchanged. In this sense, self-described 
socialists such as Bernie Sanders would be more appropriately described as "social 
democrats" or "liberals" because their end goal is to carry out progressive reforms to 
make life under the capitalist state more tolerable. Such reforms can improve people's 
living and working conditions in important ways, but taxes and cheaper healthcare do not 
constitute socialism. Socialism is the revolutionary appeal for a classless society.

Isn't Libertarian Socialism an Oxymoron?
In the United States, the word "libertarian" has taken on the opposite meaning from that 
of the rest of the world. Strangely, it's become synonymous with advocacy of extreme 
capitalist individualism, private property and the "rights" of corporations to be "free" 
from public oversight. But freedom for the powerful is not freedom at all.

Since its origin, libertarianism has been synonymous with anarchism or 
anti-authoritarianism: the belief that relationships based on domination, hierarchy and 
exploitation should be dismantled in favor of freedom and self-determination. To 
anarchists, an individual can only be free in a community of equals. As the 19th century 
Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin put it: "Political Freedom without economic equality is 
a pretense, a fraud, a lie." It should come as no surprise then, that libertarians have 
always been socialists, since capitalism is based on class domination.

Though the possible confusion is understandable, libertarian socialism is more of a 
redundancy than a contradiction in terms. Freedom and socialism are indispensable to one 
another. Without one, the other loses its meaning. So libertarian socialism simply means 
"free socialism." As the anarchist thinker Rudolf Rocker put it: "Socialism will be free, 
or it will not be at all."

Part 2: Freedom from State Power
Libertarian Socialism vs State Socialism
Historically there have been two general tendencies in movements for socialism, which we 
can roughly describe as those "from above" and those "from below." Both sides are 
dedicated to the abolition of capitalism but they differ crucially in their vision of a 
future society and how to get there. The key difference between these tendencies is their 
approach to state power. While state socialists view the state as the means to socialism, 
libertarians see it as a barrier.

Socialism from Below:
Libertarian socialists have long argued that states (or governments) are not neutral 
institutions, but instruments of class rule, set up to protect a ruling minority through a 
monopoly on violence. Without police, jails, militarized borders and centralized political 
control, a state is no longer a state. Such a concentration of power is antithetical to 
democratic self-management, and therefore to socialism.

To achieve "free socialism," those of us rendered powerless under capitalism must empower 
ourselves by organizing where we live, work and go to school, creating popular 
organizations (ie, rank and file unions for workers and tenants, popular assemblies, mass 
community organizations) and building the collective power not only to push back against 
the problems imposed on us, but to bring the institutions around us under democratic 
control. Eventually, workers can seize their workplaces from bosses, tenants can seize 
housing from landlords, and indigenous communities can assert sovereignty over colonized 
territory. If movements are sufficiently organized and united with one another, isolated 
actions can grow into a full scale social revolution, laying the basis for a new society 
in which governments and corporations have been replaced by coordinated bodies of self-rule.

Such structures should be based on the principle of direct democracy, in which people 
directly participate in the decisions which affect their lives. Rather than simply 
electing our own rulers (a.k.a. "representative democracy"), direct democracy empowers 
people to collectively govern themselves.

The world is complex and the details always depend on the circumstances, but our guiding 
principles are uncompromising: concentrated power in all its forms must be overcome in 
favor of freedom, equality and direct-democracy.

Socialism from Above:
State socialists take a different view. Rather than seeing the revolution as a wave of 
transformation from below, it must instead be implemented from above. From this 
perspective socialism is understood as a science, requiring professional administration. A 
core of professional revolutionaries (the "vanguard") must therefore seize control of the 
capitalist state on behalf of "the masses" (through either electoral or military means) 
and administer socialism through the existing mechanisms of power. Rather than bringing 
the economy under community and worker self-management, land and industry are instead 
nationalized and placed under direct state control.

Revolution vs Regime-Change:
There's no shortcut to socialism. Replacing a capitalist ruling class with a 
self-proclaimed "socialist" ruling class is not a social revolution, but a coup; a 
regime-change. State socialism, therefore, is a contradiction in terms, more accurately 
described as "state capitalism" since the general population is still forced to rent 
themselves to a boss (in this case the all-powerful "socialist" state).

If the core of socialism is collective self-management, then socialism at gunpoint can't 
be socialism at all. Even Karl Marx himself famously said: "the emancipation of the 
working classes must be conquered by the working classes themselves." A society in which 
power flows from the bottom upward can only be built from the bottom upward. Therefore, 
any attempt to impose socialism from above will logically fail at its professed aim. 
Throughout history, whenever a small group of people take state power in the name of 
socialism, instead of creating a classless society, the state becomes increasingly 
centralized, often resulting in a society more oppressive than that which it overthrew.

The Russian Example:
The "vanguardist" ideology of state socialism was first developed by Vladimir Lenin during 
the Russian Revolution, and then implemented once he and the Bolshevik party seized state 
control in 1917. While a genuine socialist revolution did indeed sweep the country, it was 
quickly co-opted and overturned by the new "socialist" state. The newly-formed democratic 
workers councils (soviets) and agricultural communes - the very foundations of a socialist 
revolution - were dismantled by the Bolsheviks and placed under direct state control. 
While the Russian workers demanded "All power to the councils!," Lenin insisted that: 
"revolution demands ... that the masses unquestionably obey the single will of the 
leaders." Countless socialists were jailed or killed in the name of socialism long before 
Stalin ever came to power.

Vanguardism in its various forms (Leninism, Trotskyism, Maoism, etc) was taken as an 
ideological model throughout the 20th century by many who succeeded in taking state power. 
Unfortunately, due to the model's success at producing self-described "socialist" regimes 
(Russia, China, Cuba), the vanguardist ideology has largely become synonymous with 
revolutionary socialism itself.

Libertarian Socialist Revolutions:
Fortunately not all socialist revolutions have been co-opted by authoritarians. From the 
Spanish anarchist revolution, to the Zapatista uprising and the Rojava revolution in 
Northern Syria, there are numerous examples of movements reorganizing society along 
socialist principles without a state. These movements, like any, are not universal models 
to be replicated, but examples which can teach us important lessons and inspire us with 
the hope of revolutionary possibility.

Part 3: Freedom from Social Oppression
Solidarity and Collective Liberation:
For libertarian socialists, all struggles against oppression are necessarily linked in a 
broader struggle for collective liberation. A society rooted in self-determination 
requires the full emancipation of all people - not only from class exploitation and state 
authority, but from any and all forms of social oppression, period.

As socialists, we believe concentrated economic power and class exploitation are 
fundamental to the oppression people face today under capitalism. But as libertarians, we 
also reject the idea that simply "socializing the means of production" would automatically 
create a free society. Instead, we believe that in any society, capitalist or otherwise, 
people of all walks of life have to defend their rights against any and all forms of 
discrimination and oppression.

Fighting against social oppression such as racism, sexism and transphobia should not be 
treated as an afterthought or side note to the "real work" of class struggle. Instead, it 
should be understood as central and indispensable to any libertarian socialist project. 
With a holistic understanding of oppression, we can see that if class struggle means the 
struggle of working class people for their freedom, then there can be no class struggle 
without queer struggle, feminist struggle, anti-racism and anti-colonialism. A libertarian 
socialist society necessarily requires an end to all social oppression because true 
freedom for anyone requires a dignified life for all. Or as the old Wobbly slogan puts it: 
"An injury to one is an injury to all."

Power vs Privilege:
For libertarian socialists, collective liberation also requires that we address the root 
causes of oppression. Manifestations of personal privilege and cultural discrimination 
should be understood as symptoms of underlying structures in society which determine who 
has power and who doesn't. The powerful (mostly rich white men) have used their control of 
society's institutions to shape the dominant culture in their own image and their own 
interests. Only through shared struggle and revolutionary transformation can we 
fundamentally reshape these institutions so that they serve everyone's interests.

Part 4: In Practice: Building Power vs Taking Power
How do we fight for socialism without getting caught in the traps of liberalism or 
authoritarianism? The short answer: by building popular power. Popular power is the 
opposite of concentrated power. It means building self-managed social movements 
independent of the institutional left that can win meaningful reforms while laying the 
groundwork for pushing beyond them.

The question we must ask ourselves is not who should sit in the seat of power, but rather 
how do we shift the balance of power so that the seat loses its meaning. Rather than 
putting our faith in those who profess to represent us as benevolent rulers (in this 
society or the next), we should see ourselves as responsible for our own liberation. This 
is the difference between representative politics and direct action.

Representative Politics:
Representative politics requires that most of us take a back seat. By focusing on electing 
politicians or rallying behind charismatic leaders, we surrender our agency in exchange 
for promises. In practice, what our "representatives" are seeking is access to state 
power. This is dangerous because, as mentioned, states are not neutral institutions but 
instruments of minority rule. States can (and should) be reformed in ways that improve 
people's lives but the history of electoral politics shows that they will defang, 
demobilize and create relationships of dependency with social movements rather than 
strengthen them. If we want transformational change, we have to fight for reforms by 
building power from below, not by reinforcing it above us.

Direct Action:

There's no substitute for popular power. Not parties, nor charismatic leaders. Direct 
action means fighting for ourselves: uniting with others and fighting oppression with our 
own power rather than through some third party. A strike is the perfect example: workers 
use their own collective power to simply stop working until their demands are met. Not 
only is this a more direct and effective means of change, but it's also transformational, 
emboldening workers towards a future where they could run their own workplace. The same is 
true of struggles over land, housing, education, etc. Transformational change happens when 
everyday people discover and exercise their own collective power.

Conclusion
If we take an honest look at the structures and relationships around us today and ask 
ourselves: "could this be more free, equal and democratic?," our answer will almost always 
be: "yes." If you take these principles seriously, and follow them to their logical 
conclusion, you just may wake up and discover you're a libertarian socialist. But fear 
not! Socialism is not some utopian pipedream. Freedom is possible. And admitting it is the 
first step of the revolution.

Arthur Pye is a member of Black Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation in Seattle.

http://blackrosefed.org/will-be-free-libertarian-socialism/

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