In recent years, the repression of social movements -against the labor
law or pension reform, against the yellow vests- has intensified
significantly. The bourgeoisie has intensified its austerity policies
and social control, partly thanks to the pandemic, while politicians and
the media have continued to convince us that there is no possible
alternative. The prevailing slump has fueled anger and resentment, to
which the call "Block everything!" attempted to respond by proposing an
emancipatory perspective. September 10th thus marked a milestone by
establishing a movement independent of political parties and trade
unions. It's an important movement if it helps rebuild connections,
trust, and awareness of its strengths, but it can only last if it is
massively joined by exploited people who have not yet mobilized.
The "September 10" movement was diverse, both in its forms of action and
its objectives, depending on the region and whether it took place in
large, medium-sized, or small cities, or even villages. Its social
composition, the age of its participants, and the choice of actions
carried out largely contradicted the government and media propaganda
that reduced it to the "violent ultra-left."
Sensing the potential momentum there, the major trade unions were forced
to include it in their calendars and even to call for participation.
September 10th was a pleasant surprise, both because of the number of
people who took part in this social protest, and also because a
significant proportion of them were taking this path for the first time.
We now believe that several pitfalls must be avoided to ensure the
movement continues:
Believing that the fight to be waged is only against the austerity plan
decided by Macron, or that the fall of the government could change the
situation. The replacement of Barnier by Bayrou and then Lecornu changes
nothing: we're taking the same people and starting again, for ever more
austerity and social repression. This is because it doesn't matter who
leads the states: our adversary is a system of global economic
exploitation: capitalism. The rise to power in France of the
institutional left would only increase the number of crumbs distributed
to maintain the established order; and the far right, for its part, is
only after immigrants: it is not against capitalism. Lecornu "gave way"
on the two public holidays... as the government may have planned to do
in its negotiations with the unions, if that meant they would accept the
rest of its plan.
* Turning a means into an end, for example by practicing "blockades for
the sake of blockades." Blockades of infrastructure obviously cannot
destroy the capitalist system: work must also cease in businesses.
Moreover, the current blockades are far too minor to really hamper the
economy. Similarly, talking about an "immediate general strike" is a
mere incantation as long as participation in strikes in businesses and
public institutions is so low. Let's therefore keep in mind that
"blockades" are no more THE infallible recipe than "general strikes,"
and instead consider the various means of action implemented in the
current dynamic (blockades, strikes, demonstrations, etc.) as complementary.
* Seeking to apply an ideological discourse to the "September 10"
dynamic rather than concretely analyzing both its content and its
limitations. Or, to convey this discourse and impose the "right"
direction on this dynamic, retaining only the Parisian demonstrations of
the Yellow Vest movement, when this movement was above all politically
important due to its enormous presence at the roundabouts and its
spontaneity.
* Ostracizing union members. This would be a mistake because many of
them are aware that their leaderships still want to control autonomous
movements, notably by deciding on widely spaced "days of action," and
this is what leads them to participate in these movements (even by
making union tools available to them).
Without deluding ourselves about the reality of the current dynamic - at
the risk of contributing to generating a major disappointment that will
be detrimental to subsequent movements - let us finally keep in mind
this certainty: there is no inevitability that the union bureaucracies
endorsed by the State will once again take control of a mobilization.
So, let's not let them do this. Likewise, let's move beyond the action
lists established at general meetings, which are too often lost in a
formalism that leads to their abandonment. Let's have in-depth
discussions to decide for ourselves what we want to do!
Libertarian Communist Organization (OCL),
contact us: oclibertaire@riseup.net
http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4515
_________________________________________
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
law or pension reform, against the yellow vests- has intensified
significantly. The bourgeoisie has intensified its austerity policies
and social control, partly thanks to the pandemic, while politicians and
the media have continued to convince us that there is no possible
alternative. The prevailing slump has fueled anger and resentment, to
which the call "Block everything!" attempted to respond by proposing an
emancipatory perspective. September 10th thus marked a milestone by
establishing a movement independent of political parties and trade
unions. It's an important movement if it helps rebuild connections,
trust, and awareness of its strengths, but it can only last if it is
massively joined by exploited people who have not yet mobilized.
The "September 10" movement was diverse, both in its forms of action and
its objectives, depending on the region and whether it took place in
large, medium-sized, or small cities, or even villages. Its social
composition, the age of its participants, and the choice of actions
carried out largely contradicted the government and media propaganda
that reduced it to the "violent ultra-left."
Sensing the potential momentum there, the major trade unions were forced
to include it in their calendars and even to call for participation.
September 10th was a pleasant surprise, both because of the number of
people who took part in this social protest, and also because a
significant proportion of them were taking this path for the first time.
We now believe that several pitfalls must be avoided to ensure the
movement continues:
Believing that the fight to be waged is only against the austerity plan
decided by Macron, or that the fall of the government could change the
situation. The replacement of Barnier by Bayrou and then Lecornu changes
nothing: we're taking the same people and starting again, for ever more
austerity and social repression. This is because it doesn't matter who
leads the states: our adversary is a system of global economic
exploitation: capitalism. The rise to power in France of the
institutional left would only increase the number of crumbs distributed
to maintain the established order; and the far right, for its part, is
only after immigrants: it is not against capitalism. Lecornu "gave way"
on the two public holidays... as the government may have planned to do
in its negotiations with the unions, if that meant they would accept the
rest of its plan.
* Turning a means into an end, for example by practicing "blockades for
the sake of blockades." Blockades of infrastructure obviously cannot
destroy the capitalist system: work must also cease in businesses.
Moreover, the current blockades are far too minor to really hamper the
economy. Similarly, talking about an "immediate general strike" is a
mere incantation as long as participation in strikes in businesses and
public institutions is so low. Let's therefore keep in mind that
"blockades" are no more THE infallible recipe than "general strikes,"
and instead consider the various means of action implemented in the
current dynamic (blockades, strikes, demonstrations, etc.) as complementary.
* Seeking to apply an ideological discourse to the "September 10"
dynamic rather than concretely analyzing both its content and its
limitations. Or, to convey this discourse and impose the "right"
direction on this dynamic, retaining only the Parisian demonstrations of
the Yellow Vest movement, when this movement was above all politically
important due to its enormous presence at the roundabouts and its
spontaneity.
* Ostracizing union members. This would be a mistake because many of
them are aware that their leaderships still want to control autonomous
movements, notably by deciding on widely spaced "days of action," and
this is what leads them to participate in these movements (even by
making union tools available to them).
Without deluding ourselves about the reality of the current dynamic - at
the risk of contributing to generating a major disappointment that will
be detrimental to subsequent movements - let us finally keep in mind
this certainty: there is no inevitability that the union bureaucracies
endorsed by the State will once again take control of a mobilization.
So, let's not let them do this. Likewise, let's move beyond the action
lists established at general meetings, which are too often lost in a
formalism that leads to their abandonment. Let's have in-depth
discussions to decide for ourselves what we want to do!
Libertarian Communist Organization (OCL),
contact us: oclibertaire@riseup.net
http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4515
_________________________________________
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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