As anarchist communists, we want to organise in our workplaces, our
industries, and our neighbourhoods to unite all workers in classstruggle against the bosses and government. ---- We fight for higher
wages, rent reductions, better community services, and other immediate
improvements in our lives. Through this organisation, we aim to build
the power necessary to kick out the bosses, take control of our
workplaces, and create a new society where workers run things
themselves. ----- This all sounds great in theory. But most people will
understandably point to a few obstacles in our way. Most obviously, the
vast majority of working-class people in Australia currently lack the
consciousness and the confidence to do any of this.
Union membership sits at a historically low 13%. Most workers aren't
even in a position to win basic improvements at work, let alone take
over their workplaces and carry out a revolution. Wherever we live, and
whatever our industry, we're likely to be surrounded by people who are
mostly apathetic about the likelihood of any substantial change.
Given this is where things stand, what are we supposed to do? Before we
throw up our hands and give up completely, it's worth reflecting on a
fundamental truth-ideas don't come out of nowhere.
Conditions shape consciousness
Most working-class people in Australia aren't pessimistic about politics
because they're stupid. They're not brainwashed or just choosing bad
ideas over good ones.
The idea that "nothing can change" is reinforced every single day by the
reality of living under capitalism. We have no control over our
workplaces or communities. We spend most of our waking lives getting
bossed around at our jobs, with almost no ability to change anything
about the way society operates. As we scroll through our feeds, we read
news headlines that seem straight out of a horror movie.
Consequently, it's perfectly natural that most people feel that change
is impossible and won't be convinced by purely abstract arguments or
debate. Few people will have had any experiences to actually back up the
idea that workers can organise, fight, and win.
But minds can be changed. People's ideas are primarily shaped by the
conditions and circumstances they find themselves in. Instead of trying
to argue our way to socialist revolution, we have to start by changing
people's on-the-ground circumstances.
Change through struggle
I've seen it happen myself. Take one of my old workplaces: when I first
started the job, there were very few union members and little being done
to improve the workplace. Apathy seemed to reign. But then I became a
union rep. I went around, talking and listening to co-workers about
their problems. Just this process alone started breaking down feelings
of isolation-it showed that other people cared.
When we organised a union meeting to discuss our problems together,
everyone could see that there were substantial numbers of workers who
shared the same problems. Better yet, it showed that we all wanted to do
something about them. We held more union meetings and they started
getting larger. Co-workers told me that they were beginning to see their
colleagues in a new light- they all felt like we had each other's backs.
I didn't spread these ideas by sharing articles or giving lectures, but
by concretely demonstrating them in practice.
I never abstractly argued for the idea that bosses are our enemies and
have opposed interests to us. Instead, once we'd built up enough
confidence, we collectively formulated polite requests to improve our
conditions, and presented these to management. Of course, these
extremely polite and extremely reasonable requests were completely
dismissed. And so my co-workers, who only weeks before had been very
reluctant to do anything antagonistic, were soon voting to take action
together and, eventually, to go on strike.
Having gone through this experience, many co-workers started referring
to each other as 'comrades'. Scores of people joined up to the union
with little need to be convinced. Some even told me they thought bosses
were unnecessary! Suddenly, so much more seemed possible
The task for anarchists
Changed circumstances lay the basis for changed people and changed
ideas. Apathy, isolation, and pessimism can give way to confidence,
solidarity, and a belief that things really can be better.
Of course, ideas matter. We should argue for what we believe. But ideas
can only ever gain traction on a large scale when people's experiences
actually validate them. Talking to our co-workers about problems at
work, and how we can work together to change them, shows what solidarity
is about more than any article ever could.
Getting results requires united action. In practice, this demonstrates
the need for organisations open to all workers. To win our fights
against the bosses, we're forced to overcome racist, sexist, and
homophobic divisions. Struggling tlds these links of solidarity far
better than moral lecturing.
And as much as we might learn from revolutionary history or theory, it's
by organising together that workers really get to see their power-and
that we can run things perfectly well without the bosses.
https://ancomfed.org/2025/11/how-do-peoples-ideas-change/
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