#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #SPAIN #ANARCHISM #LIBRARY #News #Journal #Update - (en) #Spain, EMBAT: For a theory of strategy (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 Our permanent strategy involves the construction of popular power from the

creation (or regeneration) of classist and autonomous popular organizations,
which advance step by step in their role as an organized people. But, only a
declaration of intentions would not be enough to fulfill the task of
participating and disputing the hegemony of this popular power. It is not simply
a question of propagating the principles but influencing and guaranteeing the
functioning of these organizations. The more libertarian and socialist these
organizations and movements are internally, the more opportunities our project
will have. In other words, having a functional federalism as a way of political
management; aim at self-management as a mode of socio-economic production; to
behave in solidarity with other organizations and class movements; have internal
democracy and a high degree of popular participation, and give the battle in the
most advanced form for each stage of the popular struggle. In this way we will
build the anarchist hegemony within the popular movements in construction and/or
advance.

Power, dominance and social classes

Power relations permeate all social relations. These involve social agents in the
most diverse disputes and attempts to influence situations. In societies divided
into social classes there is a specific power relationship that can be manifested
in the different social spheres (economic, political and ideological): dominance
and domination.

Domination takes place when a class, a group or an individual, executes the
project of another person, group or class against its own interests, harming
itself and strengthening the privileges of the dominator.

Social classes mark the history of humanity from the appearance of the great
civilizations to the present day; they have a prominent and specific role in
capitalism. Relations between social classes are relations of dominance.

Anarchism, as a socialist trend, fights for the end of domination and,
consequently, for the end of social classes, aiming to build an egalitarian
(socialist) and free (libertarian) system.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary for anarchists in general, and our
political organizations in particular, to build a strategy and a program that
guides the general path of this transformation.

The following table systematizes what we mean by the strategy and program of a
political organization:

Strategic-programmatic elements

Next, we discuss and conceptualize the strategy and the program in general,
continuing with the other elements present in the table.

Strategy and program

The strategy surrounds a reading of reality, the objectives that are to be
achieved and a path for it. It is nothing more than the science of conflict,
ultimately the study of war (at all levels, forms and intensities), including
social war or class struggle.

The idea of strategy arises from the conflictual relationship between classes,
groups or people and from the fact that political disputes involve antagonistic
interests.

We need to draw a line that unifies our action so that it is federalist, never
more fragmented. So that we can carry out a compact and internally cohesive
action, a political practice that accumulates for the organization and this means
simply, a line that builds or reconstructs the necessary social organizations
that will be the basis of popular power. We give this unifying line the name and
conceptual load of the program .

The program formalizes a particular strategy and thus directs actions for a
particular period and place. For the construction of a program, we must use
assessment and strategic planning, which must present both strategic reflections
and notions about where we are, where we want to reach at a given moment and how
we will travel that way .

A program specifies the line that we apply to a period. It can be taken for
shorter or longer periods of time. It contains a series of points, milestones and
objectives to be applied in the very short term or in the short term (between
congresses, for example) and reflects the central objective of the strategy
(general or limited time). It presents the appropriate tools for popular,
grassroots and combative action, for a work of unifying the struggles, of acting
from our fronts and the generation of an identity in which various social
subjects see themselves and act from a notion of an oppressed class.

There is, with this, a general political line that guides our initiatives at a
specific time. However, it may happen that the strategic objectives of a period
do not fully correspond to our militant capacity (both infra and personnel to
work at all the necessary levels) nor to our social intervention force. Even so,
we must transform into concrete political practice what we aim for as general
objectives for this stage. The program will be the instrument that will guide the
specific actions we will take to realize our strategy hypothesis. That's why we
can also talk about the agenda, which will be the different operations that will
have to be underway to give birth to it and which faces harsh living conditions,
fragmentation, desperation caused by misery, loss of the idea of a collective
future, fragmented social fabric and ideological progress both of the old right
(oligarchies, physiological, financial and/or national capital) and of the new
right (fractions of the ruling class making up a new political-administrative
elite from the "official left" governments).

Obviously, the ultimate goal and overall strategy of the organization can appear
in the program. In this case, it is a "maximum program", with little variation.
However, it is important that the program contains more restricted, short- and
medium-term elements.

Structure / structural analysis

It is the evaluation of the elements that allow us to understand the system and
structure in which we are inserted, taking into account long-standing notions.
This type of analysis is based on history and seeks to present the main
structural features (which do not vary much with the conjuncture) of the
capitalist system, of the State, of the current hegemonic culture (always with
this long-term notion).

Marx's analysis of capitalism in Capital, for example, is structural, as is the
anarchist theory of the State (regardless of which party is in power). The
structure is deeper and has elements of more permanence than the conjuncture; in
such an analysis, we address the system of domination and its class structure,
regardless of whether company X or Y has greater economic power or whether party
A or B is in executive or legislative power.

Analysis of the situation / situation

It is the evaluation of the elements that make it possible to understand the
moment in which the system and structure of society is found, that is to say,
what is the characterization of the period in which a society is found and its
most important features. This type of analysis is therefore more immediate than
structural analysis and takes into account changes in economic policies,
political parties in power, capitalist economic blocs, international and national
scenarios, wars, conflicts, major events , popular movements, culture in a more
immediate sense, etc.

As anarchists, we believe that even with structural/conjunctural limitations,
human action has the potential to modify/transform society. For this reason, we
must take into account in these analyzes the human actions that have contributed
to the social formations in question. Since we are not completely conditioned by
the structure/conjuncture, we have to think about how we position ourselves and
how we act in relation to them.

The conjuncture is the lived moment, but it is necessary to make a cut from
reality to be able to intervene. They are, at least, three simultaneous cuts. One
of them is a temporary cut, that is to say, the period we are referring to.

We can say that the time period we stipulate is the following (very short term =
2 years; short term = 4 years; medium term = 8 years; and long term = 12 years or
more), or what we are analyzing the situation of the month , bimonthly, quarterly
and so on. We can also state that we analyze the planning of some other agent
(example: it can be another political party or an institution of the enemy), and
there the time cutoff that this other agent considered is used. Another necessary
time cut is the geographical dimension, that is to say, on which territory we
base the analysis. We can analyze both the conjuncture of a metropolitan region
(e.g. Restinga, in Brazil) and we can try to analyze Rio Grande do Sul (also in
Brazil) or even venture into a global analysis of the reality of the War against
Iraq.

Finalist goal

It is inflexible and establishes the society that is wanted for the future. In
the case of the CAB, according to our principles, the ultimate goals are social
revolution and libertarian socialism. In the case of an anarchist program, we
consider that it is necessary to delineate the general features of this system,
that is, what we propose for self-management and federalism in the three spheres.
The finalist objective is consolidated with the conquest of society through the
forces of the people with the victory of popular power, through a long-term
revolutionary process. This victory means that political power will be organized
in a federalist and revolutionary way, and socio-economic self-management will be
present on the entire scale of the liberated territory.

It is important to know that the finalist goals should not be confused with the
overall strategy. The definition of the objectives we want to achieve is defined
by the ideological position we assume, therefore, changing the general objectives
implies an ideological change, but the same thing would not necessarily happen
with the strategy since revising the strategy does not imply changing the
principles Libertarian socialism would be a goal, the construction of popular
power might be more in the field of strategy.

It is these objectives that will condition the establishment of our strategies
and tactics, since it is the objectives that condition the strategies and these
condition the tactics; this is what anarchism has called the coherence between
means and ends. This finalist goal is established from utopia.

Utopia is an inflexible and permanent element; it is a place to be built, the
inspiration that, applied in concrete terms, traces the final objective. The
place to be built is the socialist and libertarian society, where the form of
social organization to live in collectivity will not go through methods of
injustice, systems of privilege or reconstitution of a State. We may never have
to reach it, but this place is what directs the organization's strategic goals
and timing.

General / permanent strategy

It is inflexible and is characterized as the general planning that coordinates
the finalist goals (where we want to get to) and the means employed, so that
these goals are promoted in relation to the other forces in dispute, starting
from the moment in which it is (characterized by structural and conjunctural
analysis). In the case of the CAB, we point out as a general strategy: "The
general strategy of anarchism that we defend is based on popular movements, on
their organization, accumulation of strength and the application of forms of
advanced struggle in order to reach revolution and libertarian socialism; process
that occurs together with the specific anarchist organization that, functioning
as a ferment/motor, acts together with the popular movements and provides the
conditions for transformation. These two levels (the popular movements and the
anarchist organization) can also be complemented by a third: the tendency, which
adds a related sector of the popular movements. This strategy, therefore, aims to
create and participate in popular movements by defending certain methodological
and programmatic conceptions within them, so that they can point towards a
finalist-type objective,"

This strategy involves the long-term revolutionary process, with the protagonism
of the oppressed classes and with a high level of confrontation (at all levels,
military, political, social, economic, legal and mainly, ideological). An
anarchist program needs to be discussed in more detail to characterize the
general lines of the strategy. In general, in a program, it is relevant that a
more or less expected time is set for this major stage, that is to say, for the
consolidation of these objectives.

We can say more: The strategy corresponds to a theory of the most general aspects
and slow change of the system, and a policy of rupture directed towards its
fundamental structures of domination. In this category is defined a
characterization of the system of domination, capitalism and dominant power
structures, the hard core instituted by socio-historical formation... In this
area we have defined a strategy of revolutionary popular power. We postulate as
its constitutive elements: the prominence of popular organizations, a new
politico-social articulation, the revolutionary break as a popular insurrection.
The set of systematically and coherently assembled elements point towards
finalist-type objectives: a socialist and libertarian revolution that includes a
front of oppressed classes as the subject of transformation. This is where the
finalist program goes, which contains a set of measures and proposals that
represent the meaning of such social restructuring.

Our permanent strategy involves the construction of popular power from the
creation (or regeneration) of classist and autonomous popular organizations,
which advance step by step in their role as an organized people. But, just a
declaration of intentions would not be enough to fulfill the task of
participating and contesting the hegemony of this popular power. It is not only
about propagating the principles but influencing and guaranteeing the functioning
of these organizations. The more libertarian and socialist these organizations
and movements are internally, the more opportunities our project will have. In
other words, having a functional federalism as a form of political management;
aim at self-management as a mode of socio-economic production; to behave in
solidarity with other organizations and class movements; have internal democracy
and a high degree of popular participation, and fight in the most advanced form
for each stage of the popular struggle. In this way we will build the anarchist
hegemony in the heart of popular movements in construction and/or progress.

Limited time strategy

It is inflexible within the stipulated term and constitutes the strategy for a
certain time less than the time of the general strategy; it is not the general
strategy since its time is more restricted and it is not the tactic because it
has more durable and less flexible and not only operational features. Likewise,
it occupies a certain stage, less than the stage of general strategy and greater
than the stage of a restricted set of tactics.

It is linked to changes with greater speed and that cannot be reduced to the
field of tactics, they correspond to an analysis of a specific social formation
in its current stage of development, to consider particularly its conditions and
possibilities. It is about finding logical answers to a previous statement that
said: "The strategy is one, the one that changes in the ebb time is the tactic".
It's not just the tactics that change, but also certain aspects, or areas, of the
strategy. Strategy is understood in constant articulation and interaction with
tactics.

For this category we take definitions about the character of the stage (or
phase), where we gather descriptive and analytical elements that "cut" historical
periods and provide us with operational models of the system in its historical
dynamics. The minimal program, in particular, is tied to the problems faced with
the dominant model and the accumulation of antagonistic forces to build a
libertarian alternative.

It may be that because of the minimal program we have an area of consensus with
the class sectors of the left camp, which in itself is not a problem. What cannot
be missing as elements of distinction and definition are the general lines that
must mark our profile in political practice and in the corresponding tasks within
plans and deadlines that we demarcate in the current stage. In the broad
framework of a minimum program that groups the guidelines for fighting against
the model, our strategy starts from where we are and how we are doing, to have
priorities and growth plans, form alliances and create more decisive social forces .

It is something that is part of the general strategy, but limited to a certain
field. Its possibility of change is greater than that of general strategy and
less than that of tactics. They will be general lines in a certain field of
action that will feed the work program for a certain period. For example, we have
a general strategy to reach libertarian socialism and a strategy of restricted
meaning within the field of health, which dialogues with the general strategy. In
the action within the fight in the field of health we will use several tactics.

As this is our permanent strategy, we make time cuts, that is, cuts with a
stipulated deadline. For the very short term (with an exact time = 2 years), and
for the short term (= 4 years), time in which we will carry out our strategy. In
the shortest and most visible period of time (that is, where and when we can
carry out our planning), we will define central objectives, determining the
variations and changes throughout this period of time and appropriate to
guarantee decision-making autonomy through of the federalist model. We give this
shorter form of the strategy a name that reflects the concept of a restricted
time strategy (applied in these times)

tactic

It is flexible and endowed with autonomy, it constitutes an action or a set of
actions of a momentary nature that aims to promote the restricted strategy as
well as the general strategy. They are quite practical and concrete because they
"dialogue" with the day to day of the organization and its political practice.

It is constituted by the action plan to be carried out as milestones of the
organization for the short term. In this sense, it operates in the historical
present, from specific specific problems and conflicts. It is where he bets on
organizational solutions and general tactics, that is, the agreements, concepts,
work criteria and objectives that will be transversal to all militancy, as a
single political commitment during the action. Its execution and its good or bad
results depend, therefore, on a global and/or solidarity vision of the
colleagues, in addition to their own place of insertion or specific task. This is
the nature of a political organization. If he is not able to concentrate his
strength in transverse lines, his associative agreement is weakened and he ends
up defining himself with meaningless actions.

To go through the strategy until we reach the final goal, we must have short,
medium and long-term intermediate goals, since they are part of the path we are
building. The organization of social militancy in trends, for example, is
something tactical that may or may not be within the same strategy, but once
adopted it can last over the years, even if it is a tactic. These actions linked
to these objectives, called tactics, must be in tune with the general objectives,
therefore with the general strategy. They must be executed based on the
principles, but with sufficient sensitivity to perceive their greater
malleability in the sense of changing the various tactics throughout the
strategic construction that must dialogue with the context in which it is inserted.

Ends and means

Tactics must be subordinated to the limited time strategy, which in turn must be
subordinated to the overall strategy, which must be subordinated to the finalist
objectives.

It does not mean that "the ends justify the means", but the ends must determine
the means (strategies, tactics, etc.)

This is a consistency we cannot give up. What we do today contributes to where we
will be tomorrow.

https://embat.info/per-a-una-teoria-de-l-estrategia/
_________________________________________
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