We present this translation of a booklet produced by our Argentine
sibling organization Federación Anarquista Rosario (FAR) as a basicintroduction to our tradition within the anarchist movement. ----
Translation by Enrique Guerrero López ---- Introduction ---- For a long
time, our organization[FAR]has had the intention of creating an
introductory piece on Anarchism, and especially of our current,
Especifismo. Mainly because there are different interpretations of
Anarchism, fairly widespread, established as a kind of "common sense"
that we believe are significantly different from our proposal. Lately
Anarchism has been associated with a "rebellious" lifestyle, rather than
with a project of struggle and popular organization that aims to achieve
a socialist and libertarian society.
This material is introductory, and therefore implies curtailing topics
that should be taken up elsewhere, particularly by those who wish to
deepen what has been engaged with here.
Our intention is to root this project in the various social sectors that
suffer the consequences of Capitalism, seeking to add more comrades to
the struggle for a new SOCIALIST AND LIBERTARIAN1 world.
UP WITH THOSE WHO STRUGGLE!
Where Does Our Proposal Come From? (Some History)
Anarchism emerged as a current of socialism at the end of the 19th
century in Europe and then, thanks to the phenomenon of immigration, it
spread throughout the world. In our country[Argentina], during the last
decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th, it was
one of the predominant ideologies of the working-class. At that time,
exploited workers sought to resist the living conditions imposed on them
by the capitalist class, and at the same time they yearned for another
social arrangement without exploitation or domination.
The IWA (International Workingmen's Association) brought together
workers and revolutionaries from Europe, and from various countries
around the world, to outline a strategy to fight against the system. In
that organization, also known as the First International, the figure of
Mikhail Bakunin stood out, who argued with Karl Marx on the strategic
orientation of revolutionary struggle. The main difference between the
two was in relation to the State. Marx argued that the State could be an
instrument for the liberation of the working class, while Bakunin
proposed that Capitalism and the State were two sides of the same coin.
Although this was not the only difference, it was the most important and
led to the breakdown of the First International. The field of Socialism
would be divided between Marxists and Anarchists.
Anarchism would not go unnoticed in the history of the struggle of the
oppressed. It has been the protagonist of great processes of social
transformation, such as the Libertarian Makhnovist Ukraine, anarchist
contributions to the Mexican Revolution, the Spanish Social Revolution,
and the Commune of Manchuria, among others.
What Do We Fight Against? (How We See the System of Domination)
AGAINST CAPITAL
In today's society, the phenomenon of economic exploitation is so
characteristic that it has led some currents of Socialism to think that
it is the defining feature of the historical moment in which we live, to
the point of thinking that it determines all the rest of the forms of
domination. In other words, everything that happens in a capitalist
society is explained solely by the economy.
For our part, while we do not believe that exploitation mechanically
determines our existence, we do not ignore the importance of this
phenomenon, which, in the emergence of our ideology, has been the
articulating axis of the organizations and resistance of the oppressed
class. What is exploitation? Basically it divides society into classes.
Thus we find on the one hand the owners of the means of production and
the land, called: Bourgeoisie, Employers, these are the Exploiters. On
the other hand there are those who own nothing but their labor power:
the Proletariat, the Workers, these are the Exploited.
Through a series of historical processes, capitalist society, since its
birth, has created and recreated this structural inequality, also
drawing from inequalities inherited from previous historical moments. In
this system the Bourgeois "freely hire" the Workers and in exchange for
their work they give them a "wage." This is always less than the wealth
generated by the Workers, but enough for their survival. In Capitalism
then, the Bourgeois have the freedom to accumulate wealth, and therefore
to live in great luxury. Workers, for their part, have the freedom to
sell their labor power and thus are barely able to achieve subsistence.
This is a conception of freedom, which, as we will see, is absolutely
opposite to the one upheld by anarchism.
AGAINST THE STATE
In the current context, defining the State is complex, since throughout
history it has changed and perfected itself as an institution of domination.
The State acquired different functions and forms, becoming an
increasingly important and constitutive element of the capitalist system.
Schematically, we can say that the State is the institution that
suppresses the people's ability to decide how to administer and carry
out social life. The State always works for the operation of the system
of domination, intervening in social conflict, guaranteeing the
privileges of the powerful and seeking to bring the entire political
life of society into its orbit.
If we think about the changes experienced through time, we find that in
the 19th century the state had a purely repressive function, but for
much of the 20th century it was
becoming a more "friendly" institution for society, guaranteeing certain
essential services such as healthcare and education. This adopted form
became known as the Welfare State. But the Welfare State did not arise
from the goodwill of the rulers, rather it can be explained as a product
of a clever maneuver by the dominant classes to contain social
struggles, which had generated a significant challenge to Capitalism. It
has now been several decades since the State was transformed into what
is usually called a Neoliberal State, where its role has focused
primarily on ensuring the functioning of the Market.
Despite these changes, the State never abandoned its repressive
function, since it holds what is known as the "monopoly on the
legitimate use of force," that is to say, that it has the legal capacity
to repress the population to impose its decisions. Nor did it stop
trying to control society in various ways, especially in its protection
of the exploitative social arrangement which produces wealth and
privilege of the Bourgeois.
Today the Neoliberal State primarily assumes the form of domination
through social control. This mechanism enables the possibility of highly
unequal societies, with highly controlled areas where wealth and power
are found, and areas of exclusion, generally located on the peripheries.
Excluded populations live in these areas, where the State intervenes in
a dual sense: through social containment with welfare policies and
through militarization and repression. Over time, social control is
assumed by the general population to be normal, incorporating into
everyday life the logic of surveillance, allowing the State to transfer
this function to society.
It is also important to analyze so-called "democracy" at this point,
which, through the fiction of political participation through voting,
has the effect of legitimizing the unjust functioning of today's
society. Any possibility of social transformation is subject to the
logic of bourgeois democracy, which in practice generates apathy and
depoliticization, since the people "delegating" the resolution of their
affairs to professional politicians-who centralize this task-lose all
connection to and responsibility for social decisions. It must be
admitted that these operations aimed at legitimizing the functioning of
capitalist society have been relatively successful. Thus, a certain part
of the left today is institutionalized, and all its practice is
meticulously regulated by the State. From Marxism this orientation is
justified by understanding the State as a neutral instrument, which, in
the hands of the workers, can serve to achieve Socialism. History shows
otherwise, with the experience of the Soviet Union and others that ended
up leading to yet another variant of Capitalism.
AGAINST PATRIARCHY
Patriarchal oppression is sustained through asymmetric power relations
and uses mechanisms to generate, develop and perpetuate the domination
of heterosexual men over women and other gender identities. Over time
these differences in power have crystallized in our culture, giving rise
to the existence of roles and values assigned to the feminine (for
example, weak, caring, sensitive) and the masculine (for example,
strong, hard working, intelligent). School, Family, Work, the State and
other institutions educate us to assume these roles, while those who do
not fit into them are discriminated against in different areas of life.
Likewise, everything related to the feminine is undervalued, and that
translates into a lack of access to rights and participation.
We can say that Femicides are the most visible expression of patriarchal
violence, however there are other violent mechanisms that are unleashed
on women's bodies, which have important effects on the reproduction of
the system of domination. Problems such as Sex Trafficking, the
Violation of Sexual and Reproductive Rights - that is, the elimination
of bodily autonomy - high levels of Sexual Harassment both within the
family and public, and Wage Discrimination are just some of the many
expressions of Patriarchy. While it is more evident in the cultural
sphere, Patriarchy operates in an economic dimension, since, within the
gender roles imposed by this form of oppression, women in general attend
to domestic tasks (eg, feeding, cleaning, caring for children and the
elderly) but without any remuneration or recognition. This is very
relevant because social reproduction is key to the functioning of the
system. Even in Capitalism this unpaid work is essential for the
functioning of the market, since it allows people to arrive well fed,
rested, and prepared to be exploited.
Now, in a Capitalist System where everything is measured in money, it is
thanks to Patriarchy that domestic work is understood as an
uncompensated obligation, since this mechanism of oppression appeals to
the moral imposition that falls on women to assume these tasks for the
mere fact of being women.
AGAINST COLONIALISM, IMPERIALISM AND RACISM
Throughout history, Capitalism expanded, creating institutions and
social forms that did not exist before. Borders and Nation-States
emerged from this process. The notion that political authority must
perfectly coincide with a clearly determined geographic space and
borders is an invention of Capitalism; this notion did not exist before.
The idea that the spaces occupied by a State must coincide with a
Nation, that is, with a group of inhabitants with a common culture and
identity, is also new.
As we know, the region in which we live is going through a colonization
process that began in the 15th century, with the arrival of conquerors
from Europe. This meant the possibility of expanding Capitalism, through
the looting of common goods and also the standardization of the world,
imposing on the peoples of these lands the culture, laws and language of
the conqueror. The ideology of Nationalism is part of this process,
which occurred through systematic violence and genocide against
indigenous and black populations.
From this process, Racism was established as a mechanism of cultural
and political domination, dividing society into castes, where races
considered inferior occupied the lowest echelons. We can assert that
this form of Racism endures to this day.
The initial phenomenon of Colonization began to transform itself and its
economic and cultural dimension took on a greater intensity through what
is known as Globalization. In this way, a world with central countries
was configured, where most of the technologically advanced industrial
production is found, and peripheral countries from which natural
resources are extracted at the expense of peoples and nature.
In today's world there are various Imperialist World Powers that compete
for the territories and markets of the world. This cuts through the
reality of the peoples on a daily basis, since these imperial projects
intervene not only through the military dimension but, as we said above,
their presence is important economically, politically and culturally.
Some expressions of this form of oppression can be found in: the
presence of foreign military bases in different parts of the country and
region, in the looting of common goods and economic dependence, in the
colonization of culture, in the interference of the transnational
control and surveillance apparatuses, in the action of international
NGOs that impose welfare. In turn, the local State itself operates with
a colonialist logic, repressing and starving native populations, denying
them their right to self-determination.
What Do We Propose? Toward a Socialist and Libertarian Society
We aim, as final objectives, at the destruction of the Capitalist System
of Domination and the construction of a Socialist and Libertarian Society.
The destruction of the system of domination can be framed in the pursuit
of a revolutionary process of rupture with the current social order,
which occurs in parallel with the construction of the society we want.
A break with domination as a model of power, and the construction of a
model of Popular Power, necessarily leads us to discard statist and
institutional routes in our strategy since these are contradictory with
the objective of social revolution.
That is why we advocate Self-Management, Libertarian Federalism,
Anarcho-Feminism and Anti-Colonialism as methodologies of social
organization, which can transform the power model of domination and turn
it into one of Popular Power.
We propose, therefore, a federal organization of society, organized from
the bottom up through basic bodies of discussion and decision making,
which are coordinated with each other through delegation, forming a
dynamic, decentralized and directly controlled society. The objective of
Federalism is a new institutionality, where there is no place for any
kind of privilege, be it economic, social or political. It is an
institutional framework where the revocation of delegates is immediately
assured and where, therefore, there is no room for the usual political
irresponsibility that characterizes Representative Democracy.
This is a practice and an institutionality that must reflect the rights
and obligations of all members of society. Their right to be elected and
elector, and also their obligation to report back in an effective,
practical, daily way. This must be applicable both for the broadest
global bodies as well as for bodies at the grassroots.
In the economic sphere, this process will go hand in hand with the
abolition of private property and socialization of all the means of
production, all that is produced and all the resources vital to
humanity. Building a new egalitarian society carries with it a
distribution of the collective product of our labor based on the
determination of needs and the distribution of work equitably according
to individual capacities. Guiding all economic activity towards the
sustainability of life, understanding that the economy also includes all
actions related to the reproduction and care of people and that this
must also be carried out within a framework of respect and protection of
the natural world of which we are part.
In the political-cultural sphere, the destruction of Patriarchy and
Racism in pursuit of a just society-which does not discriminate based on
people's gender or race-will not only imply questioning of our existing
social relationships, but also require the construction of other types
of relationships, alongside the specific struggles of social movements.
But we understand these organizational models in relation to the
processes of struggle, and with the particularities of each place,
taking into account cultural integrity, language, ways of life, and
ethnic identities. Thus, we do not think of a revolution as a
homogenizing phenomenon of society, but rather, as one precisely capable
of making those individual, collective, cultural, regional, etc.
particularities blossom, so that they do not deny others and so that
they recognize and strengthen each other in these differences. That is
why we advocate anti-colonialism as a perspective and methodology of
action that aims at people's cultural self-management.
How Can We Achieve Our Objectives?
Especifismo proposes organizational action through two parallel paths:
the path of Anarchist Political Organization and the path of Social
Organization for the class struggle.2 We chose this organizational
method because it respects the specificity and dynamics of each space of
struggle, making social spaces remain open to comrades of different
ideologies, in addition to the fact that the political organization can
function cohesively without being tied to the dynamics of social struggles.
The anarchist political organization practices Federalism and is
therefore deeply democratic, with decisions being made from the base.
Collective Responsibility and Discipline are also emphasized, that is,
carrying out agreements, consistency and constancy in the daily life of
militants. The organization functions based on collective agreements for
which Theoretical, Ideological and Strategic Unity is fundamental. At
the same time, it carries out Social Insertion in spaces where the class
struggle takes place to become a motor of these struggles.
To carry out social insertion, which implies organization at the
social-political level, the organization is divided into fronts: Union,
Neighborhood, Student, etc. It is on this terrain where the struggle
against the system of domination takes place, resisting the oppression
of Capital, the State, Patriarchy, and Imperialism. This is where a
project of Revolutionary Rupture with the system is built.
This project is built from the perspective of Popular Power, which
implies that social struggles are carried out with a combative method of
construction from the base, with the leadership of popular
organizations. Class Independence is extremely important in this sense,
in order to maintain autonomy from the State and Capitalism. For this
reason, the method of struggle that we propose for the popular field is
that of Direct Action, which forges a Strong People in the daily
struggle and resistance.3
It will be the task of the political organization to promote
mobilization for short-term demands within the social milieu,
articulated with the project of radical transformation of society, with
a view toward building a Socialist and Libertarian society.
For Socialism and Freedom
Organized Anarchism or Especifismo is a conception of Anarchism that
emerged in Latin America in the 1960s from the impetus of the FAU
(Uruguayan Anarchist Federation). Especifismo is a historical form of
organization that is related to a broader tradition of Anarchism called
Organizational Dualism, which proposes anarchist organization at two
levels: an ideological-political one, specifically anarchist, composed
of the Political Organization and another a social-political level
composed of Social or Mass Organizations. We have already seen this
proposal in the conceptions and practices of Bakunin and Malatesta.4
We aim at a change in the social structures that sustain Capitalism by
deploying a method of building Popular Power which is developed in the
daily class struggle. For this purpose, in addition to organizing
ourselves politically as anarchists in the FAR, we play an active part,
strategically and collectively, in Unions, Neighborhood and Student
Organizations, etc.
"...high politics is not the origin point (...) or reason behind our
struggle. The origin is in the pain and longing of that great humanity
of which our people are a part.
Because we know that man[sic]is a social being, we want him[sic]to
develop his[sic]capacity and put it at the service of society, because
we want all decisions that concern society to be assumed and resolved in
a social way, because we want wealth not to be individual or of a few
but social, of all, that is why we call ourselves Socialists.
Because we trust more in agreement than in imposition, in knowledge than
in coercion, in freedom than in authority. That is why we are libertarians.
But we've already learned that labels are sometimes misleading. That is
why we do not dedicate ourselves to labeling the struggle of the
oppressed. There may be people who identify themselves in a similar way
who do not know well what they want, and there are also those with other
names, or sometimes even without knowing how to give it a name, seeking
the same thing.
We call all those who, without pettiness, in their own way and in their
measure, fight for these ideals."
Gerardo Gatti
Definitions of a Comrade
Buenos Aires, June / July 1975
The contents expressed in this booklet are not intellectual speculations
carried out in spaces far removed from popular reality, rather they are
systematizations of years of struggle and organization, which function
as working hypotheses and point to an accumulation of experiences toward
the construction of a revolutionary strategy in the anarchist sense.
Therefore, its reading, and its necessary rereading throughout the
militant trajectory of each reader, implies a commitment to the cause of
SOCIALISM AND LIBERTY.
Notes
Libertarian here refers to a socialist political perspective that
embraces federalism and opposes the state. Originally used by the French
anarchist communist Joseph Déjacque in 1857 as a synonym for anarchism,
the term only recently became associated with a strain of far-right
pro-market individualism. This inversion of the term's original meaning
is largely limited to the United States; elsewhere in the world the
phrase retains its association with left-wing anti-state socialism.
We took the concept of "parallel paths" from a Catalan anarchist,
Antonio Pellicer Paraire, who belonged to the Bakuninist wing of the 1st
International, and who was very influential in the formation of
anarchism and in the organized labor movement in Argentina.
See: Create a Strong People: Discussions on Popular Power by Felipe Corrêa.
See: Bakunin, Malatesta and the Platform Debate: The Question of
Anarchist Political Organization by Felipe Corrêa and Rafael Viana da Silva.
https://www.blackrosefed.org/far-organized-anarchism-translation/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
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