#WORLDWIDE #News #Journal #Anarchism from all over the #world - WEDNESDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2020

 

Today's Topics:

   

1.  Greece, Libertarian group of the University of Patras: THE
      COPS OUT OF THE UNIVERSITIES. HANDS DOWN 

      FROM STUDENTS AND THOSE
      WHO ARE FIGHTING [machine translation] 

      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   

2.  France, Union Communiste Libertaire AL #309 - Ecology, Major
      useless projects: the ZAD du Carnet, to defend the 

      Loire estuary
      (de, it, fr, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   

3.  France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL - Existransinter
      2020: in the fight against transphobia in all its forms (de, it,
      fr, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   

4.  CGT-LKN Nafarroa closes with a demonstration to the
      headquarters of the Community of Madrid a general 

      strike with
      little impact on the productive fabric 

      [machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   

5.  Greece, liberta salonica: Interventions of AUTh. with
      breakage and paint in 2 stores of the supermarket chain 

      Lidl in
      Thessaloniki. [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   

6.  Newzeland, Tamaki Makaurau Anarchists: Kia ora e te whanau,
      welcome to the fifty fifth Auckland Activist Newsletter!
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   

7.  anarkismo.net: A Fundamental Thesis of Revolution and the
      State by Wayne Price (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


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Message: 1



A meeting was held on Monday, November 2, attended by the country's university
rectors, the prime minister and members of the government. Central to this
discussion was the proposal to upgrade repression and control in university
institutions through the establishment of a university police force, the
mandatory display of student identity and face control to enter the university,
the installation of cameras to monitor the movements. of students but also the
tightening of penalties for the "misdemeanors" that will arise. The atmosphere of
the discussion is reflected in the statements of the rector of the University of
Patras, Christos Bouras, who immediately after the meeting stated, among other
things: "I can only support,

The specific proposal of the government does not come, of course, to surprise us
as it is another link in the chain of repressive attack that the state has
launched against students and society. Already last summer, the government,
taking the thread from where the previous state administration of SYRIZA had left
it, proceeded to the abolition of the university asylum and triumphantly stated
that it paved the way for the "fight against lawlessness and delinquency" and
within of the university premises, while he then ordered the invasion of the cops
in ASOEE in order to hit the students who were fighting. The diffusion of the
"theory of the two extremes" plays an important ideological weapon in this effort
to legalize students and activists. which identifies the world of struggle and
those who fight for a world of freedom and equality with the fascists who, acting
as the long arm of the state and the bosses, hate every notion of freedom and
equality. However, the repressive enterprise of the state through the doctrine of
"Law and Order" is not limited to students but spreads throughout the social
body. In the last year alone, the government's actions include the abolition of
asylum, the passage of the anti-education bill on all levels of education, the
banning of demonstrations and strikes, the evacuation of squatters and the
beating of protesters by students and pupils. teachers, doctors and every
employee. acting as the long arm of the state and the bosses, they hate every
notion of freedom and equality. However, the repressive enterprise of the state
through the doctrine of "Law and Order" is not limited to students but spreads
throughout the social body. In the last year alone, the government's actions
include the abolition of asylum, the passage of the anti-education bill on all
levels of education, the banning of demonstrations and strikes, the evacuation of
squatters and the beating of protesters by students and pupils. teachers, doctors
and every employee. acting as the long arm of the state and the bosses, they hate
every notion of freedom and equality. However, the repressive enterprise of the
state through the doctrine of "Law and Order" is not limited to students but
spreads throughout the social body. In the last year alone, the government's
actions include the abolition of asylum, the passage of the anti-education bill
on all levels of education, the banning of demonstrations and strikes, the
evacuation of squatters and the beating of protesters by students and pupils.
teachers, doctors and every employee.

We can not fail to refer to the situation in which the proposal for the
university police comes to the fore. Since the beginning of this year, we are
facing an unprecedented health crisis that has caused the death of millions of
people around the world. Throughout this period of the pandemic, instead of the
state aiming at dealing with it and protecting society (strengthening the NSS,
recruiting medical staff, mass tests) it used the health crisis in order to
further consolidate its sovereignty and attack the lower classes. with a number
of anti-social bills (education, environment, labor, demonstrations) and
practices (such as the evacuation of squatters and the intensity of the
confinement of refugees and migrants).

The establishment of the university police and the other proposals discussed at
the rectors' meeting, the abolition of asylum, the anti-education bill and the
introduction of e-education all express the ultimate goal of the rulers which is
none other than disarmament, student movement, so that they can launch their
attacks on our acquis and interests with the best possible terms and
correlations. They seek to form a university sterile from every trace of
political fermentation, friction and discussion among students about their
problems. A university where class student unionism and any attempt to organize
collective resistance as well as any attempt to challenge state and capital plans
will be fully supervised and criminalized. The clear purpose of the police
presence in the universities is to break student squatters (or any other form of
struggle), imposing a condition where "law and order reigns". Law and order of
the market, capitalist profitability, all kinds of arbitrariness (teachers and
non-teachers), discipline, intensification and control. They want a university
fully in line with the requirements of the state and capital, a university of
greater class barriers, where attendance is the prerogative of the few, the elite
and the affluent,

We, against the plans of the rulers and the dystopian future that they are
preparing both for us and for the wider sections of the exploiting class, have to
oppose the power that comes from collectivization and struggle. A key guarantee
for the restart of the movement and the overall confrontation with what is to
come is the horizontal organization of the struggles on the basis of our common
material interests, needs and desires. It is the militant defense and guarding of
our acquis that we see numbly taking us one by one. It is the appropriation and
transformation of university spaces into living centers of struggle, into places
of collective discussion, fermentation, challenge and resistance. With
decision-making bodies the general assemblies, weapons the coordinated - at the
base - lasting squatting and mass demonstrations and vehicle the autonomous and
militant student - class union, we defend at all costs the asylum and the rest of
our class interests. Against the culture of defeatism, individualization and
assignment to promote faith in collective struggle, solidarity and self-organization.

THE COPS ARE OUT OF THE SCHOOLS

HANDS DOWN FROM ASYLUM

AGAINST THE OPERATION OF TERRORISM OF STUDENTS AND SOCIETY

ORGANIZATION AND STRUGGLE IN EVERY SCHOOL

NOT A STEP BACK AGAINST REPRESSION

https://eleftheriakosxhmapatras.wordpress.com/

------------------------------

Message: 2



The Loire estuary is under threat from the extension of the large seaport of
Nantes Saint-Nazaire. A ZAD was established on the Carnet site, while in Donges,
almost opposite, the occupation of a farm gave birth to the People's Village. The
two are now launching a joint appeal to join the estuary in defense. ---- The
Grand Maritime Port of Nantes Saint-Nazaire and the local agglomeration community
are seeking to spread new industries on both sides of the Loire. On the one hand,
the island of Carnet, the center of a victorious anti-nuclear fight of the 80s
and 90s, since re-savaged, today a mosaic of dry and wet environments, intended
to be partly backfilled but defended by a whole new area to defend since August
31: La ZAD du Carnet.

On the other hand, a 57 hectare grove and a place of collective and supportive
life, in an old farm where families with children live, now threatened: clearing
in progress, eviction scheduled for early October. The People's Village (VDP),
the Stop Carnet collective and the Carnet ZAD are launching a joint call to join
the Loire estuary.

Resistance against the proposed industrial zone dedicated to environmental
technologies on the banks of the Loire has taken root on the Carnet site, where
110 hectares of natural area and 116 protected species are threatened [1]. The
festive mobilization weekend organized by the Stop Carnet collective on August 29
and 30 brought together nearly 1,500 people and made it possible to sensitize the
local population and the media to the ecological consequences of such a project.

The establishment of the ZAD au Carnet
Following the collective's call to prevent the works the following Monday,
activists from all over France erected barricades to block access to bulldozers.
Unfortunately, the start of work on the so-called "  compensatory   " measures
had started on the sly the previous week. This work, which was to remove the
baccharis, an invasive plant, was carried out with a bulldozer, devastating
everything in its path (30 cm of arable land over several hundred square meters):
the edge of the Loire begins to sag and part of the reed beds has been devastated ...
To prevent the work, activists from all over France set up barricades.
GABRIEL PACHECO
But the ZAD prevents the continuation of work and daily life is organized on the
spot: barricades have been erected on the two access points to the area, adjacent
unused land is squatted, camps have been created at various strategic locations.
of the area. On these places, light self-constructions are emerging to protect
the inhabitants from the cold and the rain: common living spaces arranged thanks
to the recovery and donations of materials, bicycle repair workshop to move
around the site , etc.

The young ZAD breaks free from the rules imposed by capitalism and hopes to
federate in order to establish a sufficient physical and material balance of
power against the promoters of the project, the Grand Port Maritime de Nantes -
Saint-Nazaire, the political actors (State, Region, Department) and economic
players (Engie, Cargill, Total ...).

However, it does not plan to evolve, in the event of victory, into a definitive
Autonomous Zone, due to the great fragility of the ecosystem - the ambition being
rather to protect the zone in order to sanctify it. The Stop Carnet collective,
for its part, essential support for the ZAD, mobilizes legal remedies and
organizes events in order to raise awareness, mobilize and reflect on a more
desirable Loire estuary, far from the artificialization and commodification of
the environment. living.

The activists present on the spot face a very particular repression. Although the
new Loire-Atlantique prefect Didier Martin does not seem in a hurry to evacuate
the area, preferring first to focus on the eviction of the Village of the people
of Donges, constant surveillance takes place.

In fact, a helicopter flies over the area daily, drones have already been
sighted, infiltration attempts have taken place, high-level surveillance
equipment has been spotted, and daily police checks take place on the roads
leading to the zoned.

The People's Village under threat of eviction
Almost opposite the site of the Carnet industrial project, on the other side of
the Loire, a natural and agricultural area of 57 hectares is threatened by
another project to extend the industrial activities of the great maritime port of
Nantes Saint-Nazaire ! Resistance to the work which should begin shortly
materialized in the occupation of a farm and agricultural land which had to be
razed for the extension of the industrial site of Donges.

In May 2019, a few yellow vests and members of the former People's House of
Saint-Nazaire gathered in the countryside of Donges, at a place called La Petite
Lande, to renovate and maintain an old abandoned farmhouse, in the goal of
developing an autonomous village and preserving this place and its surroundings.
In the meantime, some have left, others have arrived, especially since the end of
confinement. They have joined the Sourie'ion anti-waste collective which collects
unsold products from the markets.

The land of 10 hectares includes, in addition to the house, an old press, a bread
oven and an adjoining workshop, a well and a barn. This land and its buildings
were bought by a private company for future demolition and an expansion of the
industrial zone of Donges. The surrounding land, belonging to a horse breeder,
would also be affected (45 hectares).

The occupation of this place therefore also aims to preserve this environment. A
person on the spot testifies: "  Our project is the development of an autonomous
village with vegetable and fruit crops, by promoting creative, alternative, green
energy, eco-construction and participatory projects  " projects .

Following the court's decision to expel the people's village in early October, it
is appealing for support. A festive weekend will be held there for the occasion
on October 3 and 4.

ZAD activists, with the UCL Ecology commission

Validate

[1] See Libertarian Alternative of July-August 2020, "  Destructive projects: on
the banks of the Loire, the threat of an industrial zone  " .

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Grands-projets-inutiles-la-ZAD-du-Carnet-pour-defendre-l-estuaire-de-la-Loire

------------------------------

Message: 3



On 17 October, to be held the 24 th edition of the Existransinter, walking trans
and intersex people, but it was canceled because of the health situation. While
the government has just released its "  action plan for equal rights», Which
essentially consists of the publication of brochures, the rights of trans and
intersex people stagnate while discrimination is still present. Likewise, the
bioethics bill, which the government touts as progressive, is ultimately very
unsatisfactory for trans and intersex people: access to assisted reproduction has
been refused or limited for trans people for overtly transphobic ideological
reasons while that the Assembly refused to ban the mutilation of intersex
children. ---- Control of bodies, limitation of rights, infantilization, physical
violence and failure to respect self-determination

A few weeks ago, Doona's suicide shed light on what many trans people know all
too well - the inherent transphobia of medical institutions and administrations.
Whereas, like any manifestation of patriarchy, transphobia manifests itself
within the family unit, work, medical institutions etc. Medical transphobia is
the heir to that which until recently still practiced the sterilization of trans
people. Transphobia manifests itself in the legal and institutional complexity of
gender reassignment procedures. Procedures for which psychiatric monitoring and
body modifications are still all too often required in practice. Thus, the
nursing staff as a whole,[1], still considers the need for transition as linked
to a mental pathology. This leads the medical profession to only rarely respect
the self-determination of patients, by misleading them[2]. This, along with the
infantilization of trans people by medical personnel, results in psychological or
physical abuse that decreases trans men's and women's access to health. This is
all the more so when they are prostitutes or migrants. Getting proper treatment
is much more difficult when you're trans.

Likewise, denying trans people access to ART is part of the patriarchal history
of control over the bodies and reproductive rights of LGBTI people in general and
trans in particular. If we no longer systematically sterilize, the reproductive
rights and access to parentage of trans women and men is still limited by
bioethics law. This prolongs an exceptional procreative regime and unequal rights
for ideological reasons which resonate with those of La Manif pour Tous.

Control of bodies, limitation of rights, infantilization, physical violence and
non-respect for self-determination form a structural oppressive framework that
promotes discrimination within families, work, administrations and have their
responsibility in the face of murders and transphobic violence.

This is why, so that what happened to Doona and to far too many others never
happens again, it is absolutely vital that the nursing staff are directly trained
by trans associations and not by lobbies of "  specialist doctors". trans  ".

Insecurity at work, in housing and in studies

Transphobia, because it is systemic, leads to insecurity in terms of housing and
work. Thus, many trans people at the start of their career are rejected by their
families or materially dependent on a discriminating household, do not have
access to RSA. However, in order to be able to calmly approach a transition
process, it is essential to have stable material conditions. Housing and
employment insecurity is much greater among trans people compared to the rest of
the population. This increases the risks of depression and suicidal thoughts,
which many experience when they are totally or partially isolated from their
social circles. Contrary to what reactionaries of all stripes would have us
believe, it is not the transition itself that makes us unhappy, it is
institutional, medical, family and social transphobia that endangers people
wishing to change their sex. The transition is perceived as a transgression by
the patriarchal order, a transgression that must be repressed and made invisible.

As libertarian communists, we support trans struggles. We support the
self-organization of trans people, relay and support the initiatives of
self-managed reception centers or appeals for donations such as the trans social
aid front, finally, by recognizing that trans men and women are men and women
with their specificities arising from transphobic and transmogynous discrimination.

So we support and ask:

Access to a free and free change of civil status
The prohibition of mutilation of intersex children
Access to the same reproductive and parentage rights as cis people
The recognition of the self-determination of every person and the reimbursement
of all types of transition path
The training of healthcare, administrative and institutional personnel in trans
and intersex issues, training which should be initiated by trans and intersex groups
The total stop of expulsions and the regularization of migrants who are all the
more in danger because they are trans and / or homosexual
While waiting for the abolition of the prison system, that the wishes of trans
people regarding the choice of a prison for men or for women be taken into
account during their imprisonment
If we support the struggles for concrete legislative measures, such as a
simplified change in civil status or better consideration by doctors, we believe
that, alone, they would be insufficient and that it is just as important to fight
against the whole patriarchal system, to put an end to all the oppressions and
violence that result from it: sexism, homophobia and transphobia.

Libertarian Communist Union November 12, 2020

Validate

[1]French Professional Association for Transgender Health, formerly SoFECT French
company for the study and support of transidentity

[2]When speaking of a person, use a genre in which they do not recognize themselves

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Existransinter-2020-en-lutte-contre-la-transphobie-sous-toutes-ses-formes

------------------------------

Message: 4



Outstanding Mobilizations Union Social ---- Little impact of the general strike
in the Community of Madrid called by the General Labor Confederation. From CGT
they value as positive the simple fact of going out against the "predatory model"
of Isabel Díaz Ayuso. ---- Without "cheating the loner" but also without
defeatism. This is how CGT assumes that the day of general strike in the
Community of Madrid has not reached the status of a "social strike" under which
it was called but that it has served as a first step to mobilize various social
and union sectors in Madrid. for the neoliberal policies of Isabel Díaz Ayuso and
the Popular Party.
The demonstration that started from Cibeles and ended in Puerta del Sol, in front
of the regional government headquarters, began at 5:00 p.m. Around a thousand
people have marched under slogans such as "the virus is capitalism" and shouts in
favor of public health. In addition to CGT, organizations such as Marea Blanca-
MEDSAP, Anticapitalistas, Fridays for Future or Marea Verde have supported the
mobilization today, November 11.

But that push has not been translated in recent weeks into greater convening
capacity. Although the date was modified to add more organizations to today's
strike, November 11, economic uncertainty and health precautions themselves have
acted as a demobilizing factor, the CGT acknowledges.

During the day, however, actions have been carried out in logistics centers such
as Decathlon and Amazon in the polygons south of Madrid. Likewise, several
informational pickets have toured the health centers of Leganés and have
converged on the Severo Ochoa Hospital in the Pepinero municipality, one of the
most affected by the health situation of the Community.

The mobilization had a main objective of defense of public health and against
privatizations. "Evictions continue, layoffs increase, while a few profit from
public money," says Santiago de la Iglesia, for whom the denunciation of
neoliberal policies justifies a call like the one today. "Going out to the
streets is always a success, it is useless to stay at home, we cannot leave the
streets to the extreme right", defends this union member.

In the must is the discussion on the problems of coordination and understanding
of organizations and social movements in the region. "Everyone is clear that the
government of the Community of Madrid deserves a response commensurate with the
aggression it is committing," says de la Iglesia, before concluding "but we
already know that it is difficult to reach consensus in Madrid" .

https://www.elsaltodiario.com/comunidad-madrid/cgt-cierra-huelga-general-poca-incidencia-tejido-productiva

https://www.cgt-lkn.org/blog/archivos/8997

------------------------------

Message: 5



On Thursday 12/11/2020 we carried out interventions in two stores of the
supermarket chain Lidl in Thessaloniki, in response to the criminal indifference
of the employer for the safety and lives of its employees, after the confirmation
of a Cov-19 case in the chain's warehouses: ---- ii) we attacked and broke the
facade of the Lidl store at 102 Papanastasiou Alexandrou Street in Kato Toumpa
ii) we intervened by throwing paint on the facade of the Lidl store at 56
Olympiados Street in the city center. ---- We will not allow the pandemic to
become an occasion for the further material devaluation of our class. ---- >From
the first months of the pandemic, in the spring, the bosses were discouraged from
taking the slightest protection for the workers, leaving them exposed to the
virus, clearly showing how expendable they considered their workforce and that
they would not hesitate to no way to sacrifice even the lives of employees and
their families on the altar of profit.

In particular, Lidl did not even provide the basic health protection measures to
the employees. In fact, during the first period they were forbidden to wear a
mask, which they themselves supplied at their own expense, so as not to spoil the
false image of the forced smiling employee. Based on the health instructions of
EODY, the employer is obliged to provide the employees with masks. Lidl, however,
does not provide masks to employees, and the necessary glazing was never
installed at the checkout. And as turnover increases, work intensification
increases and employees dwindle.

The culmination came in the last days, after the confirmation of a case in the
company's warehouses, the employer refused to conduct a test on the 150 employees
working in the warehouses, without any substantial health protection measures.
With the coverage they provide to the employer and the "protocols" of EODY and of
course... none of the 150 employees who worked together with the confirmed case
was put in preventive quarantine! In fact, the well-known candy of "individual
responsibility" was used and the employer considered it reasonable for the
employees to pay for the tests themselves from the meager wages he gives them.

All this, of course, does not come as a surprise, considering the consistent
practices of the supermarket chains and especially that of Lidl, which in fact
has been awarded as the best employer (!). Numerous complaints about employer
terrorism, ghost overtime, ban on (certain by law) breaks, depressing
environment, bullying, ban on social interaction with colleagues in the store and
all this to avoid dismissal. Hundreds are the redundancies of the last years,
with the most glaring example being the dismissal of a cancer patient with the
excuse that he contradicted a client, but also the resignations due to the
miserable conditions.

At the moment all we are allowed to do is go to work (with a suffocatingly full
bus), we are blamed solely for the spread of the virus, while the bosses
themselves are the ones who expose us to the virus, always with blessings of the
state. The pandemic is portrayed as a unique opportunity for the state and
capital to exhaust every opportunity to infringe on labor rights. The 400 euros /
month of the suspension of work and the release of the dismissals are
supplemented by a bill-abortion that is submitted in the next period and violates
the 8-hour and the possibility of strike, rights, that is, won by struggles and
blood of workers. The government, in the service of capital, in the face of the
huge health and economic crisis, does not hesitate at all and attacks the social
base in every way, exposing in the eyes of the working people the barbarity of
the class nature that governs the capitalist beast. The slogan of the workers in
the supermarkets of France could not be more accurate: "Your profits, our dead!"

We are not beggars, nor do we owe it to the bosses that we sell our labor to make
them rich. For all of us who have no other means of survival, this is all we have
to sell. Their blatant demands and employer impunity, which are exacerbated
during the pandemic, can only be stopped by the class self-organization and the
militant trade union action of the workers themselves. Our answer to the bosses
is that in every attack, the working class will always find ways to
counterattack, until it abolishes the privileges and powers of the parasitic
capitalist oligarchy.

It is time to counterattack. Let not let the intensification, the degrading
behaviors and the degradation of the value of our own life become the rule for
all of us.

DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE WORLD OF WORK AND effective measures to shield
HEALTH AGENCIES

DO NOT allow any circumvention LABOR OUR RIGHTS

ORGANIZATION AND STRUGGLE IN AREAS OF WORK, THE ERGODOSIAS break the TSAMPOUKAS

SOLIDARITY WEAPON OF LABOR, WAR WAR OF BOSS

Freedom Initiative of Thessaloniki (member of the Anarchist Federation)
e-mail contact:  lib_thess@hotmail.com
blog: libertasalonica.wordpress.com
??. Precisely because the state management of the pandemic is consistent with
repression instead of sanitary measures and with absolutely no support of the
NSS, at the same time that huge sums are scattered in the canals and on long
walks, because our bosses have found in the pandemic a communication "perfect"
occasion, to trample us even more, because the state has seen in the pandemic the
best opportunity, to pass anti-labor laws that will further crush our order, such
as the bankruptcy code and the new labor bill, that is why we, Workers,
unemployed and unemployed, we have no choice but to take to the streets on
November 17, to finally demand that the state stop walking around us at this
critical juncture,hiring more and more cops, while we do not have doctors and
ICU, to demand that he stop exploiting the pandemic, to seize even our first home
and to trample on our last labor rights.

NOVEMBER 17 ALL AND EVERYONE ON THE STREETS OF THE RACE RESPECTING THE NECESSARY
HEALTH PROTECTION MEASURES

https://libertasalonica.wordpress.com/2020/11/13/

------------------------------

Message: 6



While we're at Alert Level 1, we need to do what needs to be done to make sure we
stay there! You can find all the up to date information on COVID-19 here
(https://covid19.govt.nz/). ---- If you have an event that you want added to the
next newsletter, which will be released on Sunday 29 November, then please email
your event details to tamakimakaurauanarchists@protonmail.com ---- We're happy to
announce that we're bringing back (A)Space! Come along between 12pm-5pm on
Saturday 21st November at MoveSpace on 473 Dominion Road for the infoshop,
library, social centre, discussions, to find out about Tamaki Makaurau Anarchists
and more! ---- There are a range of events happening in the rest of November and
into December. More specifically, several demonstrations are being held,
including End Synthetic and Blood Phosphate: Time to Put Our Whenua and People
First on Monday 16 November from 8am nationwide, Genesis: Climate Criminal on
Friday 20 November from 3pm at 155 Fanshawe Street and Make the Connection on
Saturday 21 November from 3pm at Mojo Queen Street.

There are also several talks and workshops happening, including Reversing Global
Warming: Introduction to Drawdown on Wednesday 18 November and Tuesday 24
November from 7pm at Onehunga Community Hall and online via Zoom respectively,
Resistance and Solidarity - Trans Resilience Virtual Workshop on Thursday 19
November from 6.30pm online via Zoom, Migrant Zine Collective: Magic and Joy with
Marc Conaco and Louie Bretana on Saturday 21 November from 12pm at Objectspace
and ASTR Te Tiriti Worlshop on Saturday 28 November from 9am at Auckland Central.

There are also other events being held, including High Tide Don't Hide on Sunday
22 November from 11am at The Civic, Auckland - UN International Day for
Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Sunday 29 November from 7pm at Western
Srpings Garden Community Hall and Write holiday cards to prisoners! (Auckland) on
Saturday 5 December from 10am at Auckland Old Folks Association.

We're getting near the holiday season, so let's put everything we can into
organising for the rest of the year and then have an end of year break!

We are an explicitly anarchist group in Auckland struggling for a better, fair
and equal world. We are always open to new members. To find out more, come along
to a public meeting, or you can find us at tamakimakaurauanarchists@gmail.com.
Upcoming Events on the Left in Auckland

Ongoing
Occupation @ Ihumatao, Oruarangi Road, Ihumatao
Occupation and blockade of the Ihumatao site. Family-friendly. Check facebook for
updates on situation, material needs and carpooling etc.
Page: https://www.facebook.com/protectihumatao/

Ongoing Monthly on Thursdays until Thursday 26 November, 6.45-8.30pm
XR Auckland Central - Social, Fhloston Paradise
A regional induction where new Extinction Rebellion members can meet existing XR
members and ask questions and discuss what's going on. Free. RSVP.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1245163849155889/

Monday 16 November, 8am-6pm
END SYNTHETIC and BLOOD PHOSPATE: Time to Put Our Whenua and People First, nationwide
Extinction Rebellion Aotearoa calls a national day of action on 16 November to
highlight the incoming shipment of blood phosphate from Western Sahara and issues
surrounding Blood phosphate mined on stolen land in Western Sahara, alongside
Climate and Ecological kaupapa. Free.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/3396708697085556/

Wednesday 18 November, 7-9.30pm
Reversing Global Warming: Introduction to Drawdown, Onehunga Community Hall
A free 2.5 hour workshop that invites you to see both the possibility of
reversing global warming and the important part you play in that process. RSVP.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/723376464917892/

Thursday 19 November, 6.30-8pm
Resistance & Solidarity - Trans Resilience Virtual Workshop, online via Zoom
The theme of this workshop is 'Resistance & Solidarity'. We will be discussing
intersectionality, community building and better understanding people's struggles
so we can support each other. This is an opportunity to share our collective
knowledge around advocacy and strategies for systemic change. Free. RSVP.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/651755855706564/

Friday 20 November, 3-5pm
Genesis: Climate Criminal, 155 Fanshawe Street
Call to Action Nov 20th XR in collaboration with Auckland Climate Action will
take action at Genesis. The goal is to bring attention to this business refusing
to stop generation of electricity from coal mined at Huntly Coal mine, thus
making Genesis a Climate and ecological criminal. Free.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1000022160484107/

Saturday 21 November, 12-5pm
November (A) Space! MoveSpace
This month's (A) Space is on Saturday 21st November! Come along between
12:00pm-5:00pm for the Info-shop, library, social centre, discussions, to find
out about Tamaki Makaurau Anarchists and more!
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/373309040570495/

Saturday 21 November, 12-3pm
Migrant Zine Collective: Magic and Joy with Marc Conaco and Louie Bretaña,
Objectspace
In collaboration with Migrant Zine Collective and Marc Conaco and Louie Bretaña's
exhibition, Syokes, Objectspace is hosting a zine workshop. The workshop will
focus on personal and cultural objects connecting us to our lands and communities
from diaspora. Free.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/364058777985350/

Saturday 21 November, 3-5.30pm
Make the Connection, Mojo Queen Street
Join Auckland Vegan Actions as they promote compassion to animals. They bring
footage of animal agriculture's hidden practices to the streets. The public can
then connect with the victims and discuss solutions for change. Free.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1573512082855443/

Sunday 22 November, 11am-12.30pm
High Tide Don't Hide, The Civic
A film that weaves the stories of five teenagers as they rally against anxiety,
climate denial, and white privilege. With intimate access to student meetings,
homes, and personal video diaries, filmmakers The Rebel Film Collective, have
dedicated the film to the late politician and environmentalist, Jeanette
Fitzsimons, who makes a brief appearance.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/829981891094408/

Tuesday 24 November, 7-9.30pm
Reversing Global Warming: Introduction to Drawdown, online via Zoom
A free 2.5 hour workshop that invites you to see both the possibility of
reversing global warming and the important part you play in that process. RSVP.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/723376464917892/

Saturday 28 November, 9am-4pm
ASTR Tiriti Workshop, Auckland Central
A one day free introductory workshop for people of Asian descent to learn about
Te Tiriti o Waitangi. RSVP required to find out location.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/682119935773147/

Sunday 29 November, 7-10.30pm
Auckland - UN International Day for Solidarity with the Palestinian People,
Western Springs Garden Community Hall
Join the Palestinian Community of New Zealand and Palestine Solidarity Network
Aotearoa as they join the rest of the world to speak out for Palestine.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/653345142021209/

Saturday 5 December, 10am-4pm
Write holiday cards to prisoners! (Auckland), Auckland Old Folks Association
Prisoner Correspondence Network is redoing our card drive to send holiday cards
to people incarcerated in New Zealand this Holiday Season. Come along if you want
to make or write cards. If you have any old cards, magazines, or stationery you
don't need, please bring them along! Free.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/431552931148750/
Disclaimer: inclusion of events in this message is not necessarily an
endorsement. We try to only include events of relevance to members from groups we
know & trust. However, we may miss some events or include some by organisers we
don't know. If you have anything to add or question the inclusion of some events,
please let us know and we'll try to remedy it.
Groups in AKL
Tamaki Makaurau Anarchists, location varies
First Sunday of the Month, 2pm
Anarchist group in Auckland.
Contact: tamakimakaurauanarchists@protonmail.com / FB: AucklandAnarchists

Tamaki Solidarity Network, location varies
Meeting dates vary, 6.30pm
Mutual support network for workers and tenants that are being screwed over by
their bosses and landlords. All workers or tenants welcome.
Contact: aucklandsolnet@gmail.com

People Against Prisons Aotearoa, location varies
Every 2nd Monday, 7:00-8:30pm
Prison Abolitionist Group.
Contact: FB peopleagainstprisonsaotearoa

Auckland Peace Action, location varies
Every Second Thursday, 7:00-8:30pm
Group organizing against the arms trade as well as other campaigns.
Contact: FB AucklandPeaceAction

Green Living Savings Pool, 10 Rawhiti Road, Onehunga
Last Thursday of the Month (except Jan), 6pm (potluck)
Community loaning money to those in need and for good with no interest.
Contact: mikeshpatel39@gmail.com

Ihumatao Occupation, Ihumatao
Ongoing
Occupation resisting the proposed development on sacred land.
Contact: FB Kaitiaki Village, SOUL.

Te Reo Lessons, Unitec, AUT, Te Wananga o Aotearoa
Anytime you want
Free te reo lessons offered by multiple institutions at multiple times in
multiple locations.
Contact: Unitec, AUT, tWoA

Tamaki Treaty Workers, Cityside Church
Network for all those working towards a healthy treaty relationship
Contact: mikeshpatel39@gmail.com

Tumeke Bike Space, 27 Edinburgh Street, Eden Terrace
Thursdays and Sundays, 17:30-19:30pm and 1:00-3:00pm respectively
Community bike shop run and set up by anarchists.
Contact: FB Tumeke Bike Space

Pacific Panther Network, location varies
Meeting dates vary.
Group for Pacific activists.
Contact: FB PacificPantherNetwork

Auckland Action Against Poverty, 20 Church Street, Onehunga
Open Tues-Fri for advocacy, Mondays open to all for campaigning, 9:00-3:00pm
Advocacy group for beneficiaries. Volunteers welcome.
Contact: FB AAAP

Tenants Protection Association,
Wednesdays and Fridays, 10:00-2:00pm
Advocacy and advice service for tenants. Volunteers welcome.
Contact: tpa@auckland.nz

Food Charter / Sovereignty Meet, location varies
Second Wednesday of the Month, 6.30pm
Creating a food charter for NZ and then a network to push it forward.
Contact: FB Growing Power NZ, mikeshpatel39@gmail.com

Unions Auckland, NZEI office
Second Monday of the Month, 6.30pm
Meetup for the CTU branch in Auckland. Open to all union members.
Contact: sarah.barker@nzno.org.nz

Direct Animal Action
Irregular meeting times
A group that meets roughly monthly struggling for the liberation of other animals.
Contact: FB

Te Homiromiro Reading Group, Online
2nd Friday of the month, 1pm
Online decolonization reading and discussion group.
Contact: alexlbarnes@gmail.com
Panui
1. Tamaki Makaurau Anarchists is Live!
If you would like to join this exciting initiative, we now have a formal
membership process and welcome all people who identify as anarchists in Auckland
to join.
Contact: tamakimakaurauanarchists@protonmail.com

2. Mental Health Collective Care
If you're interested in helping develop a collective mental health care project,
please get in touch with us, we are currently developing one.
Contact: tamakimakaurauanarchists@protonmail.com

3. Problems at work?
Contact the Tamaki Solidarity Network, which is a network of workers helping each
other to solve problems at work.
Contact: tamakisolnet@gmail.com

https://mailchi.mp/ea54250bdafe/auckland-activist-fortnightly-newsletter-55

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Message: 7



Can Radicals Use the State? ---- A fundamental thesis which all varieties of
revolutionary socialists and anarchists once generally accepted: this state
cannot be used to create socialism (communism or anarchism). It must be
overturned, destroyed, and replaced by alternate social forms. ---- Now that the
2020 U.S. national elections are past, I think it may be time to go over a
fundamental thesis which all varieties of revolutionary socialists and anarchists
once generally accepted: this state cannot be used to create socialism (communism
or anarchism). ---- But first a comment on the presidential election. As I wrote
before the votes, "While it will be good to see the back of the vile Donald
Trump, electing Joe Biden will not really solve ‘the problem.' " (Price 2020.)
Not any of the problems of capitalist-industrial society, which led to Trump in
the first place.

Assume that we think that a new, post-capitalist, society is desired, that we are
not satisfied with just trying to improve the current social system. This may be
for moral reasons, because we think that this capitalist society is oppressive
and prevents the full, free, and equal development of all humans. Or perhaps for
a belief in necessity, that unless this society is replaced it will result in
economic collapse, wars leading to nuclear war, and deadly ecological
catastrophes including pandemics and global warming. For either or both of these
reasons, we want a new social system, what has been referred to as socialism or
communism (with a lower-case "c") or anarchism. (I am not going to argue this
assumption at this time.)

I am asserting here a fundamental thesis of revolution and the state (the basic
structure of government): The state-the existing, capitalist, patriarchal,
imperialist, state-cannot be used to create a socialist society. If socialism is
to be achieved, this state must be overturned and dismantled and must be replaced
with different structures .In older language, there is no parliamentary
(electoral) road to socialism.

By "state" I am not referring to every possible form of social coordination,
conflict resolution, and social protection. The state is the
bureaucratic-military-police institution of our capitalist society, which stands
above society, alienated from the mass of people, and maintains the hierarchical
structure of "law and order." Such a system has existed through all forms of
class society, including slavery and feudalism. It has been perfected under
industrial capitalism. It is an institution for maintaining the rule of the few,
who drain wealth from the labor of the many. It cannot be used otherwise. (For
discussion of the nature of the state, see Price July 2018; Sept. 2018.)

This is not to deny that reforms may be won from the state. Especially in times
of prosperity, workers and others may pressure the state to grant improvements in
their lives, higher wages, less discrimination, an end to specific wars, a slow
down to climate change, etc. It is to say that fundamental change from capitalism
to a new, more humane, society is not possible through taking over this state.

In an 1872 Preface to the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels wrote that
(contrary to their original opinion in 1848), "One thing especially was proved by
the[1871 Paris]Commune, viz., that ‘the working class cannot simply lay hold of
the ready-made state machinery and wield it for its own purposes.' " (Bender
2013; 48)

The Reformist Objection to the Fundamental Thesis

The objection to this thesis is that the state is not monolithic. It has
conflicting parts and subsystems; these reflect clashes in the rest of society.
Liberals and reform socialists argue that the working class and oppressed can use
these internal contradictions to advance their interests. This is especially
true, supposedly, under the system of representative democracy. The people can
use their numerical strength to vote in representatives and policies which they
want. Using their numbers, they can vote for changes which move in the direction
of socialism. In fact, governments have (under popular pressure) granted reforms
to the working classes and the oppressed-as I have admitted it can. Does this
show that the working class can wield the ready-made state machinery for its own
purposes?

In response, it may be pointed out that the management of any capitalist
corporation has internal conflicts. These include differences among the top
managers about how to treat their workers. If the workers make demands, say, for
better pay or conditions, some managers may be willing to grant concessions.
Others will be inclined to fight against them, tooth and nail. The workers can
put pressure on the bosses, by strikes, boycotts, or other means. At times the
workers may be successful in gaining their demands. This does not make the
management any less an agent of capital and the enemy of the workers. The state
should be seen as the collective capitalist management of society-not as neutral
between the workers and the corporate rich.

Meanwhile those who attempt to change the state from within, by running in
elections and by serving in government positions, will be affected by
it-corrupted by it. Just running to win in elections means that a clear
revolutionary program cannot be raised. Attempting to win a majority of the
voters requires appealing to people who are still under the influence of
capitalist propaganda and ideology (except during an actual revolutionary
situation). The revolutionary program will have to be modified and compromised.
And once elected to power, the revolutionaries would have to run a capitalist
state and manage a capitalist economy. How could they do this without
compromising their actual program?

Even the most democratic, popularly-controlled, state (which is not the U.S.A.!)
exists in the context of a capitalist economy. This economy is not at all
democratic nor does it claim to be (its ideological rationalization is that it
expresses "freedom"). From the smallest shops to the semi-monopolistic,
multinational, corporations, these are top-down institutions, with controls
coming solely from above. Employees follow orders. The people may elect anyone
they like to the government, but they have no real control over the decisions
made by the auto industry, the steel makers, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs ,
computer makers, the airlines, agribusiness, etc., etc. These in turn may be said
to be dominated by the market, which no one controls.

The U.S.'s two parties run on rivers of money. Without money they cannot make
"democratic" appeals to the voters. To imagine that even the most "progressive"
politician could run for high office without oodles of boodle, from big donors
(along with whatever they could get from little donors) is absurd. These big
donors might be from the more "progressive" wing of the capitalist class (for
abortion rights and a reasonable immigration program, for example) but they are
still for...capitalism and won't support a program for expropriating themselves.

But suppose a party rejects all big donors and manages to get elected anyway (as
has happened in other countries with Socialist Parties)? Once elected, they have
the job of managing a state in a capitalist economy. If they are too benevolent
to the working class, the capitalists will object. Not only will they pour money
into the coffers of the conservative parties, but they will go on a "capital
strike." They will stop investing, send their money overseas, fire large numbers
of workers, and otherwise sabotage the economy. Large parts of the state will be
on the side of big capital: bureaucrats, civil servants, intelligence agencies,
police forces, and the military. These will also sabotage the Socialists' policies.

Then the elected Socialist government will be in a quandary. If they go ahead
with their reform socialist program, capitalists will cause the economy to tank.
Then the voters will turn against them, not only middle class people but even
workers. They could go further and socialize private corporations, but this is to
go into revolutionary policies which they are not prepared for. They may be voted
out of office at the next election. Or they may back down, faced with such
obstruction. If they stick to their guns, the capitalists may feel impelled to
get rid of representative democracy for a time: build up fascist gangs, whip up
mass hysteria on sexual or racial or nativist grounds, cancel elections and shut
down the socialist media. Finally they may call on some combination of the
fascists and the military to stage a coup.

Is this all my own imagination? All these things have been done and done again,
from the founding of the socialist movement to now. It is astonishing to me how
often I read socialist theorists (not new activists but long-time radicals) who
do not seem to have considered the history of socialist reformism.

Even in the most recent period, there was the 1981 election of Mitterand's
Socialists in France. This ended after the capitalists went on a "strike,"
forcing the government to adopt an austerity program-and eventually to be voted
out of office without creating "socialism". Or consider the 1970 Popular Unity
government of Allende in Chile. With the help of U.S. imperialism, the military
overthrew and killed Allende, setting up a terroristic dictatorship. Or the 2003
election of the Workers Party of Lula in Brazil, which was eventually forced out
of office through the judiciary and elections. Or the SYRIZA government in Greece
of 2015, which was going to avoid all the mistakes of the social democratic
reformists. It ended up overwhelmed by the European banks and governments, until
it capitulated to the right and then lost elections. I could give many more
examples. In one way or another, attempts by socialist parties to get elected to
manage capitalist governments and economies have not worked out.

Running in Elections?

 From the fundamental thesis, the anarchists draw the logical conclusion not to
participate in elections. In 1910, Peter Kropotkin wrote, "The anarchists refuse
to be a party to the present state organization and to support it by infusing
fresh blood into it. They do not seek to constitute, and invite the working men
not to constitute, political parties in the parliaments. Accordingly...they have
endeavored to promote their ideas directly among the labor organizations and to
induce those unions to a direct struggle against capital...." (Kropotkin 2014; 165)

This was not Marx's conclusion. After the 1871 Paris Commune (and the quotation
about the state cited earlier), Marx and Engels redoubled their efforts to get
the First International to form workers' parties in every European country, to
run in elections and try to take over their governments. In fact, the split in
the First International, between Marx and Michael Bakunin's anarchists, was over
this issue.

Apparently Marx did not expect these workers' parties to peacefully and legally
take over most of the European capitalist states (which in those days were also
semi-feudal). But he thought that they would be able to make revolutionary
propaganda and build up the strength of the organized workers and their allies.
The problem was that it was impossible in practice to keep separate these two
perspectives: building electoral parties with the aim of taking over the
capitalist states vs. building electoral parties with the aim of overthrowing
these states.

In fact, Marx and Engels speculated that workers' parties might legally take over
some states, particularly Britain and the U.S. They usually added that they
expected this to be followed by attempted counterrevolutions by the
capitalists-similar to what had happened in the U.S., when Lincoln was elected
and the slaveholders had revolted, setting off a vicious civil war. Such beliefs
made it hard to distinguish between "revolutionary" and reformist electoralism.

The Marxist David Fernbach writes, " ...Revolutionary Marxists and ‘political'
reformists were united by agreement on the immediate tactical priority-the need
to build up the workers' movement in the electoral arena. The label of ‘Social
Democracy' thus concealed from the start the crucial question that divided
revolutionaries from reformists, and neither Marx nor Engels ever fully realized
the nature of the parties to which they gave their blessing." (Fernbach1992; 58)

As we know, the social democratic parties which were inspired by Marx and Engels
were to become bureaucratic and reformist, mostly supporting "their own"
imperialist governments in World War I, opposing the Russian and German
revolutions afterwards, failing to resist the rise of fascism, and supporting the
Western imperialists in the Cold War. After World War II they abandoned all
claims to be advocating a new society called "socialism." (Similar paths may be
traced for the Eurocommunist parties and also for Green parties.)

What Would Replace This State?

Implicit in the fundamental thesis about the state and revolution is the issue of
what would replace the state. What would be the "alternate institutions" which a
revolution would establish when overthrowing the capitalist state?

Of those who see themselves as revolutionary Marxists today, the alternate they
usually advocate is a new state supposedly representing the rule of the working
class. This would be a centralized, bureaucratic, top-down regime, with
specialized police and military. It would be managed by a single centralized,
top-down, political party whose ideology would become the official ideas of all
society. This centralized state would own the main parts of commerce, industry,
and land. Whatever their subjective intentions, in practice the leadership would
become a new ruling class and the economy would be best described as
state-capitalist. I doubt that this is what Marx had intended. But it has been
the result of every successful Marxist revolution so far (until the
state-capitalisms have collapsed back into traditional capitalist forms).

Anarchists want to replace the state with a federation of workplace councils,
community assemblies, self-managed industries, and other voluntary associations.
There would be an armed population (the original meaning of "militia") so long as
one is needed. Certain Marxists of a libertarian and humanistic trend also
propose a system similar to the extremely democratic Paris Commune or the
original soviets (councils) of the Russian revolution. In any case, time and
again revolutions have thrown up such working class and popular forms of direct
democracy and associated them as alternatives to the state.

"From the largely medieval peasant wars of the sixteenth century Reformation to
the modern uprisings of industrial workers and peasants, oppressed peoples have
created their own popular forms of community association-potentially the popular
infrastructure of a new society-to replace the oppressive states that have ruled
over them...During the course of the revolutions, these associations took the
institutional form of local assemblies, much like town meetings, or
representative councils of mandated recallable deputies...[based in]committee
networks and assemblies...." (Bookchin 1996; 4-5)

Anarchist Reformism

All anarchists reject using the state to try to create a new society. They want
the state gone and a new system of voluntary association in its place. But many
anarchists may still be considered "reformist." (I am describing, not
name-calling.) They do not accept all of the fundamental thesis. They do not
believe that a main aim of anarchist strategy must be to overthrow, smash, and
actively get rid of the state; that this requires a revolutionary clash-at some
point in time-with the forces of the state.

For example, the anarchist Kevin Carson writes, " We want to build a
counter-economy...leaving the corporations to die on the vine along with the
state....The solution is not to seize the state, to seize control of the
heirarchies...nor to displace the existing ruling class....The only solution is
to secede from their rule, to bypass them,...to build a new society in which they
are no longer needed." (Massimino & Tuttle 2020; i-ii) There is also a trend
among certain libertarian-autonomist Marxists for a strategy of "exodus." This is
a similar proposal to "withdraw" from capitalist, statist, society and create a
new world.

Carson and other such libertarian socialists have offered valuable insights into
capitalist-industrial society and what might replace it. But they underestimate
the extent to which the state and the capitalist economy are intertwined. They
know that they cannot take over the state, even the most democratic one. It is an
institution of the capitalist system and deeply rooted in it. But they think that
they can organize within the existing market, build a "counter-economy," and
"bypass" the corporate economy. Alas, the marketplace is also a capitalist
institution (!). It has many ways to make small alternate enterprises "wither on
the vine." Even more, it has many ways to co-opt alternate businesses and to
integrate successful ones into the existing economy. This has been repeatedly
done with producer and consumer coops, which have been brought into the
system-but at the margins. They are never threats to big business. And if they
were, the state would intervene, outlawing "dangerous" businesses, perhaps just
adding new regulations and taxes to crush them. I am not against community
organizing, nor against building cooperatives and alternate activities-these may
be good in themselves and do not need to be justified. But as a strategy for
"building a new society" by itself, it is a fantasy. No, we do not want to "seize
the state" but to overturn and dismantle it. There is no alternative to revolution.

(Advocating revolution is not a call for violence and bloodshed, as is often
charged. How violent or nonviolent a revolution has been-or will be-depends on
many factors. It would be less violent if the majority of the population is
united and committed, if the ranks of the armed forces-daughters and sons of the
people-are won over, if the ruling minority is isolated, and if it is
demoralized-by successful revolutions elsewhere-and prone to give up.)

Conclusion

What I have called a fundamental thesis is, to repeat, that this capitalist state
cannot be used by the exploited and oppressed people to create a new,
non-capitalist, society. It must be overthrown and destroyed, and replaced by
alternate institutions.

In some version, this thesis was central to the programs of the revolutionary
anarchists, from Bakunin and Kropotkin to the communist-anarchists and
anarchist-syndicalists. It was held by Marx and the early Marxists, and raised by
V.I. Lenin (especially in his State and Revolution) as well as Leon Trotsky. It
was believed by libertarian-humanist-autonomist Marxists (who rejected Lenin's
electoralism).

Of course, liberals do not accept the thesis, since they do not believe that a
totally new society is needed. They are happy attempting to use the state to
improve the people's conditions-which is getting more difficult as the capitalism
continues its long-term decline. Social democrats (or "democratic
socialists"-more accurately reformist state socialists) also do not accept the
thesis. They believe that the existing state may be turned into an instrument of
the working class and oppressed-despite the repeated failures of such attempts.
Various anarchists, from Proudhon to now, have also rejected the need to
eventually confront and overthrow the state. They think that they can create a
counter-society which can peacefully and gradually replace capitalism and the
state. They underestimate the state's ubiquity in society.

What is stranger is the way that militants calling themselves revolutionary
socialists (Marxists, Leninists, Maoists, or Trotskyists) "forget" the thesis as
soon as some radicals get elected to a government. They jump up for SYRIZA in
Greece, insisting that it is not like social democratic parties. They went wild
for Hugo Chavez's Venezuelan regime, even though it was managing a capitalist
state with its unreformed armed forces (which is not to deny the need to defend
the Venezuelan people from U.S. aggression). When U.S. "democratic socialists"
have successes in the Democratic Party and the national government (Bernie
Sanders, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, and others), they became foot soldiers for the
capitalist Democratic Party. They get involved in the internal organizing of one
of the two parties of U.S. imperialism.

Their main motivation is a lack of belief in the working class-in the possibility
of a revolution by the working class and other oppressed people. Such skepticism
is understandable, especially in the conservative U.S. However there was rarely a
time when society was more unstable, when accepted political beliefs were being
so questioned, and when the population was less quiescent. People of Color,
working class people, women, young people, LGBTQ people, and many others are
dissatisfied and looking for answers. It does them no favor to promote the lie
that elections to this state can lead to a better society.

References

Bender, Frederick (ed.) (2nd. Ed.). Karl Marx. The Communist Manifesto.
NY/London: Norton.

Bookchin, Murray (1996). The Third Revolution; Popular Movements in the
Revolutionary Era; Vol. 1. NY/London: Cassell

Fernbach, David (1992). "Introduction." In Karl Marx. The First International and
After; Political Writings; Vol. 3. (D. Fernbach, ed.). Pp. 9-72. London: Penguin
Books.

Kropotkin, Peter (2014). Direct Struggle Against Capital; A Peter Kropotkin
Anthology (Iain McKay, Ed.). Oakland: AK Press.

Massimino, Cory; & Tuttle, James (eds.). Anarchy & Democracy; Discussing the
Abolition of Rulership. Center for a Stateless Society; Kindle Direct Publishing.

Price, Wayne (Sept. 2018). "Post-Anarchism on the State-An Anarchist Critique"
Anarkismo.
https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31126?search_text=Wayne+Price

Price, Wayne (July 2018). "An Anarchist View of the Class Theory of the State"
Anarkismo.
https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31082?search_text=Wayne+Price

Price, Wayne (2020). "Mary Trump on the Political Psychopathology of President
Donald" Anarksimo.
https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31996&comment_limit=0&condense_comments=false#comment16805

*written for www.Anarkismo.net

https://www.anarkismo.net/article/32086

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