While anarchists mostly agree that a different and better society is
needed, there are numerous differences about what this society should
look like and how we get there. Therefore, there are also numerous
approaches and theories about how anarchist organizations should be
structured. As our name suggests, we are committed to platformist
anarchism. Platformism describes a form of organization that is
structured according to four basic principles: theoretical unity,
tactical unity, collective responsibility and federalism.
Theoretical unity
We as platformists are convinced that a unified idea in theory and
practice is necessary for successful political organization. The aim is
to counteract arbitrariness of position and inability to act due to a
lack of engagement with theoretical views and to have clarity about the
positioning of the group. This makes it easier for the individual parts
of the organization to present a united front to the outside world and
to make clear decisions in the interests of everyone.
Unity in theory refers to a common idea of all members about the
fundamental analysis of people and society. This means that all members
should share a common view of humanity, as well as an idea of the
current political upheavals and the perspective of a liberated society.
Unity in practice, on the other hand, describes a general agreement on
what needs to be done to achieve the goals of a new and better society.
This is not about detailed questions that belong more to the strategic
realm, but about looking at the big picture.
The demand for a unified idea is not the demand for a party line.
Rather, it is about positions that have emerged organically in exchange,
which have grown through consensus among members and in a process that
includes all parts of the organization. The central, unchanging idea of
an anarchist philosophy is the possibility of free decision for everyone
and is therefore also an integrative part of platformism.
Tactical unity
We have a common goal through the theoretical unity in our organization,
but there are always many different ways to achieve goals. Through
tactical and strategic unity, we want to achieve that we can turn our
shared conviction into a shared practice. Only with the help of this
unified practice can every person in the organization develop trust in
every other person. Trust, in turn, is the central building block of
every organizational decision-making process. Only when every person
trusts every other person in an organization can common goals really be
achieved.
Unity in tactics is about a shared idea of concrete practice.
It is about certain actions or projects that are carried out being seen
by the whole group as effective in achieving the goals. The tactical
unity is based on the experiences of the members and should always be
geared towards a strategic unity. This strategic unity describes a
shared idea of how all members work together. It is still about
concrete, detailed questions of practice, but in a holistic view. Every
person should know how they can support the activist work of their
comrades and how these comrades can support their work.
Unity in tactics and strategy is repeatedly established through rigorous
self- and community criticism. It is as flexible as the group itself and
should always be adapted to the situation in which the organization
finds itself. The greatest advantage of anarchist structures is the
possibility of extensive multi-perspective consideration and therefore
this strength should be constantly used in practice.
Collective responsibility
Real revolutionary goals cannot be achieved by individuals. It takes a
growing revolutionary community to work towards them. Of course, this
community is driven by this goal, but it is held together by mutual
trust. Collective responsibility is the lived consequence of this trust.
If we can trust our comrades that we have the same goals, if we trust
each other that we can make the right decisions, we must also be able to
take responsibility for each other.
Collective responsibility means that we never leave our comrades alone,
no matter what happens. We help them where they need help, we address
problems, we act in their interests and trust them to act in our
interests. Their victories and defeats are our victories and defeats and
vice versa. We trust them that their decisions are always in the
interests of everyone and we take responsibility for these decisions.
In practical terms, there can therefore be no collective responsibility
without theoretical and practical unity. Only through this can the trust
that is necessary for the big step of collective responsibility be
created. This means that this unity must be clear and we all keep asking
each other whether we are acting in the interests of this unity and, if
not, whether we are taking responsibility for it.
Only here can the nucleus of revolutionary society emerge. We as
anarchists believe that people can make their own decisions, that in a
community every part must participate fully in the decision-making
process. Collective responsibility is the construction of this world in
the old. Only if we really live it can a forest emerge from it that
grows over the ruins of the old world.
Federalism
Building a new world also means building the structures that this new
world should have. This means that we must negotiate everything in truly
democratic structures right now. Therefore, the last pillar of
platformism is federalism.
Federalism is a grassroots democratic structure in which the smallest
unit of the member of a local assembly or council is also the
determining unit for all subsequent political structures. Our
decision-making takes place via successive council structures. Here the
members determine the program and all decisions are always communicated
back and forth between the councils. In the end, all decisions must be
made collectively.
We live in a society that does not value such decision-making. The
oligarchic structures of the Federal Republic offer the appearance of
democracy, but are in fact anti-democratic. It therefore seems as if
this federal structure is inefficient or almost impossible. However,
this is only the case if we look at it under the competitive ideology of
the prevailing capitalism.
We believe that people can work together to reach decisions that take
everyone into account, satisfy and involve them. Through the active
participation of everyone, we can collectively reach a truly democratic
consensus. With this, we are able to find unity in ideology and strategy
and to bear collective responsibility for each other and the organization.
We must build structures in which we want to live, and we must live them
in the here and now and not in a mystical future in which everything
will be better. Organization is work, but this work must be done so that
a different world becomes a reality
https://trier.dieplattform.org/2024/12/23/saeulen-des-plattformismus-eine-uebersicht/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
needed, there are numerous differences about what this society should
look like and how we get there. Therefore, there are also numerous
approaches and theories about how anarchist organizations should be
structured. As our name suggests, we are committed to platformist
anarchism. Platformism describes a form of organization that is
structured according to four basic principles: theoretical unity,
tactical unity, collective responsibility and federalism.
Theoretical unity
We as platformists are convinced that a unified idea in theory and
practice is necessary for successful political organization. The aim is
to counteract arbitrariness of position and inability to act due to a
lack of engagement with theoretical views and to have clarity about the
positioning of the group. This makes it easier for the individual parts
of the organization to present a united front to the outside world and
to make clear decisions in the interests of everyone.
Unity in theory refers to a common idea of all members about the
fundamental analysis of people and society. This means that all members
should share a common view of humanity, as well as an idea of the
current political upheavals and the perspective of a liberated society.
Unity in practice, on the other hand, describes a general agreement on
what needs to be done to achieve the goals of a new and better society.
This is not about detailed questions that belong more to the strategic
realm, but about looking at the big picture.
The demand for a unified idea is not the demand for a party line.
Rather, it is about positions that have emerged organically in exchange,
which have grown through consensus among members and in a process that
includes all parts of the organization. The central, unchanging idea of
an anarchist philosophy is the possibility of free decision for everyone
and is therefore also an integrative part of platformism.
Tactical unity
We have a common goal through the theoretical unity in our organization,
but there are always many different ways to achieve goals. Through
tactical and strategic unity, we want to achieve that we can turn our
shared conviction into a shared practice. Only with the help of this
unified practice can every person in the organization develop trust in
every other person. Trust, in turn, is the central building block of
every organizational decision-making process. Only when every person
trusts every other person in an organization can common goals really be
achieved.
Unity in tactics is about a shared idea of concrete practice.
It is about certain actions or projects that are carried out being seen
by the whole group as effective in achieving the goals. The tactical
unity is based on the experiences of the members and should always be
geared towards a strategic unity. This strategic unity describes a
shared idea of how all members work together. It is still about
concrete, detailed questions of practice, but in a holistic view. Every
person should know how they can support the activist work of their
comrades and how these comrades can support their work.
Unity in tactics and strategy is repeatedly established through rigorous
self- and community criticism. It is as flexible as the group itself and
should always be adapted to the situation in which the organization
finds itself. The greatest advantage of anarchist structures is the
possibility of extensive multi-perspective consideration and therefore
this strength should be constantly used in practice.
Collective responsibility
Real revolutionary goals cannot be achieved by individuals. It takes a
growing revolutionary community to work towards them. Of course, this
community is driven by this goal, but it is held together by mutual
trust. Collective responsibility is the lived consequence of this trust.
If we can trust our comrades that we have the same goals, if we trust
each other that we can make the right decisions, we must also be able to
take responsibility for each other.
Collective responsibility means that we never leave our comrades alone,
no matter what happens. We help them where they need help, we address
problems, we act in their interests and trust them to act in our
interests. Their victories and defeats are our victories and defeats and
vice versa. We trust them that their decisions are always in the
interests of everyone and we take responsibility for these decisions.
In practical terms, there can therefore be no collective responsibility
without theoretical and practical unity. Only through this can the trust
that is necessary for the big step of collective responsibility be
created. This means that this unity must be clear and we all keep asking
each other whether we are acting in the interests of this unity and, if
not, whether we are taking responsibility for it.
Only here can the nucleus of revolutionary society emerge. We as
anarchists believe that people can make their own decisions, that in a
community every part must participate fully in the decision-making
process. Collective responsibility is the construction of this world in
the old. Only if we really live it can a forest emerge from it that
grows over the ruins of the old world.
Federalism
Building a new world also means building the structures that this new
world should have. This means that we must negotiate everything in truly
democratic structures right now. Therefore, the last pillar of
platformism is federalism.
Federalism is a grassroots democratic structure in which the smallest
unit of the member of a local assembly or council is also the
determining unit for all subsequent political structures. Our
decision-making takes place via successive council structures. Here the
members determine the program and all decisions are always communicated
back and forth between the councils. In the end, all decisions must be
made collectively.
We live in a society that does not value such decision-making. The
oligarchic structures of the Federal Republic offer the appearance of
democracy, but are in fact anti-democratic. It therefore seems as if
this federal structure is inefficient or almost impossible. However,
this is only the case if we look at it under the competitive ideology of
the prevailing capitalism.
We believe that people can work together to reach decisions that take
everyone into account, satisfy and involve them. Through the active
participation of everyone, we can collectively reach a truly democratic
consensus. With this, we are able to find unity in ideology and strategy
and to bear collective responsibility for each other and the organization.
We must build structures in which we want to live, and we must live them
in the here and now and not in a mystical future in which everything
will be better. Organization is work, but this work must be done so that
a different world becomes a reality
https://trier.dieplattform.org/2024/12/23/saeulen-des-plattformismus-eine-uebersicht/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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