WORLD WORLDWIDE GERMANY News Journal Update - (en) Germany, FAU, direkte aktion: ANARCHISM IN THE COMMUNIST SALON By: Jonathan Eibisch (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 A report from the "Kantine Sabot" in Chemnitz (July 31 - August 6) ----

Background ---- For the sixth time, a group of Marxist-oriented people
organized the "Kantine Festival" in the large hall of the socio-cultural
center "Subbotnik" in Chemnitz. While in the previous editions the
prominent theorists Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Antonio Gramsci, as well
as Walter Benjamin and the medieval writer Christine de Pizan were the
subject, the organizers decided this year to present a "Kantine Sabot '
to the history and theory of anarchism. This relatively rare event is
worth discussing and reporting on, as anarchism is rarely the subject of
a designated theory event. FAU comrades from several cities were also
present, who were interested in discussions on the content. As usual, I
can only give subjective impressions of this meeting, especially since I
was asked to give the introductory lecture on Monday, which can be
listened to with the opening words on youtube here
.https://translate.google.com/website?sl=auto&tl=en&hl=en&client=webapp&u=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D5HW89bvvWvc

A RESPECTFUL COOPERATION IN A WELL-ORGANIZED ENVIRONMENT
For a whole week, around 200 interested people came together for joint
education, discussions and encounters. With exemplary communication, an
appealing design and a varied program, the organizational group of the
canteen festival has developed a format over the years that seemed
particularly appealing to radical leftists and this time also attracted
committed anarchists because of the topic. Beyond university contexts
and self-organized reading circles, this serves the obviously existing
need of some to deal theoretically with socialist traditions of thought
in a broader sense.
The good and coherent organization of the festival not only made it easy
to find your way around the program and the site, but also represents an
appreciation for the theoretical debate and organization which
unfortunately is only sometimes made visible in anarchist circles. In
this regard, anarchists can learn a lot from their libertarian communist
comrades.

Adequate breaks, a varied evening program with readings, concerts and a
bar, a suitable site and the crew who took care of the supplies created
an atmosphere that invited exchanges and controversial discussions. In
my opinion, it is the existing power relations and the challenges of
social-revolutionary practices and actions that are usually subsequently
theoretically classified, reflected on and interpreted. Spaces and times
are needed for this, as they are created at the canteen festival. I
believe that such awareness-raising would also be important for the
plural anarchist scene. The participants do not necessarily have to come
to a common denominator, but at least strive for a self-understanding of
your own basic concepts. All in all, I was able to spend a good time
with others in Chemnitz, collect suggestions for my own thinking and
review my own positions.

A WILD MIX OF, WITH AND AGAINST ANARCHISTS
As already mentioned, the organizers of the Kantine Festival see
themselves primarily as Marxists, without therefore representing uniform
views. The mottos of the previous series of events clearly show that
they wanted to address leftists who were Marxist in character but tended
to be "anti-authoritarian".

This resulted in a degree of indecisiveness this year. Explicitly
anarchist lecturers such as Antje Schrupp on the dispute among
communards in the Paris Commune and Vera Bianchi on anarcha-feminism
were invited. Steffi Albicker drew a continuity from historical to
contemporary anarch@-syndicalist practice, while the makers of the
surface podcast discussed "problems with the transitional society" with
Jan Groos and Larissa Schober. And editors of the magazine Tsveyfl
discovered new potential for social change from a self-critical view of
anarchism.

Furthermore, sympathizers such as Detlef Hartmann gave an exciting
lecture about the split in the IAA and made the perspective of the
history of the movement strong. Reiner Tosstorff presented Spanish
anarchism, Lucien van der Walt presented anarch@-syndicalist approaches
on the African continent and Mario Cravallo made insurrectionalism
understandable primarily from the Italian context.

On the other hand, seemingly Marxist theorists should explain to
anarchists why they have no theory, why their practice is truncated and
contradictory, and might tend to become reactionary. For example, Peter
Bierl presented an all too German lectern socialism and criticized
economic concepts in anarchism. In a remarkably boring contribution,
Heide Gerstenberger explained the materialistic criticism of the state.
Samuel Denner defended the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution,
implicitly justifying their claim to power. And Evgeniy Kazakov once
again got the opportunity to spread his false claims about anarchists,
which he cemented with mere insinuations.

ATTEMPT AT MEDIATION, CONTRADICTIONS AND CRITICISM
As is clear, I do not claim to be a neutral representation. However, the
approach of the organizers seems strange, with which they believe they
have to justify and classify their work. Behind this is an instructive
attitude, which also goes hand in hand with a claim to truth that needs
to be problematized. Beyond the controversial negotiation of different
contents and positions, the form and framework in which such debates
take place must also be discussed. So I went through different emotions
and irritations at the event over the course of the days. Through
several conversations it became clear to me that there are some abstract
questions to think through when considering anarchism theoretically.
Dogmatic Marxists assume an established truth that could be
theoretically known. Undogmatic communists are ready to compare them
with real social developments, economic conditions and shifts in
political power relations. Dogmatic anarchists of various currents
derive their truths from immediate experience or assumed basic
positions. Undogmatic anarchists know that there are always different
truths and perspectives that need to be conveyed continuously in order
to come closer to the whole. Dogmatic anarchists of various currents
derive their truths from immediate experience or assumed basic
positions. Undogmatic anarchists know that there are always different
truths and perspectives that need to be conveyed continuously in order
to come closer to the whole. Dogmatic anarchists of various currents
derive their truths from immediate experience or assumed basic
positions. Undogmatic anarchists know that there are always different
truths and perspectives that need to be conveyed continuously in order
to come closer to the whole.

There are different views on what theory actually is, whether
theoretical work is self-explanatory, whether it is more of a hobby,
passion or necessary practice. Likewise, all of us mix theoretical
considerations with ideological references - which must therefore be
made transparent and reflected on with regard to our own subjectivity.
Finally, it is also not easy to speak with, about, and against
anarchists without questioning the methods by which this is done. Even
if it always depends on how these are carried out, lectures alone are
not the method of choice. Accordingly, it is not just a matter of
looking at and discussing a few anarchist contents, but rather the
framework in which knowledge is produced and the way

One starting point was the workshop of the canteen crew, which
supposedly moved towards anarchism with their theses on anarchistic
criticism of the state, but actually remained relatively superficial.
The speakers rightly criticized the fact that criticism of the state in
historical anarchism often appears abridged. The state is not simply the
evil outside, but the concentration and centralization of the political
power relationship. Classical anarchism also has gaps with regard to
considerations of a possible social transformation. In addition, it was
also claimed that the demand for decentralization in anarchism was not
sufficient to make the organization of a complex form of society
conceivable. But all three criticisms do not apply to the status and
debates among contemporary anarchist thinkers. The speakers could have
dug deeper and included more recent theoretical contributions to defuse
their prejudices. Even if they cited texts by Isaak Steinberg, who
oscillated between left-wing communism and anarchism, as an offer to
mediate, a serious exploration of the complex anarchist thinking seems
to be blocked by their own bias.

VOID ANARCHIST THEORY NETWORK
After a full week of a self-organized theory festival, I have mixed
feelings. The good organization of the event, interesting discussions
and the encounter between comrades* awoke my sympathy for the series of
events in Chemnitz again. It can be asked who is addressed with such
formats and what they are intended for. There was a balanced gender
ratio among the participants. But, as is so often the case, almost all
of them were white and of German origin. Unfortunately, this also
applies to numerous events among anarchists and one must therefore
continue to actively try to establish relationships with people with
other positions and backgrounds.

However, this does not make engaging with content at a higher
theoretical level any less important. On the contrary, theoretical work
and awareness-raising are essential prerequisites for
social-revolutionary and emancipatory organizations and actions. There
should be rooms for this in which interested parties can deal
intensively with it, as well as educational events where knowledge and
intellectual skills can be passed on and disseminated. As far as the
explicit anarchist theory, its discussion, further development and
application for social understanding, criticism and alternatives are
concerned, in my perception a gap becomes visible in anarchist scenes.
It's not just about in-depth study of the content, which may be nice in
itself, but needs to be embedded in concrete practices in order to be
effective. Theoretical work as an activity and medium is also an
organizational frame of reference in which critically thinking people
who have a serious longing for social change and comprehensive
emancipation come together.

In anarchist scenes, there is often a skepticism about expertise, a
discomfort with lecture formats, a more open and process-oriented
understanding of truth, and the demand that knowledge should be
universally understandable and application-oriented. This is for a
number of reasons and justification. However, if various anarchist
currents want to grow and gain relevance, neither learning from
practical experience and social struggles alone, nor the selective
adaptation of fragments from various theoretical traditions that appear
useful are enough. I think there needs to be an organized framework for
the elaboration of explicit anarchist theories and a systematic and
ongoing engagement with them. These should not only according to the
content, but also to be anarchistic in its forms and its purposes. In
addition, the exchange with followers of related movements is still
important, inspiring and productive. In many ways, there is a lot to be
learned from the Canteen Festival.

https://direkteaktion.org/anarchismus-im-kommunistischen-salon/
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